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Post by Ryan on Nov 23, 2003 22:49:35 GMT -5
With this weekend's back to back losses against the Pens and Rangers, the Sens, and more specifically Muckler are in deep trouble.
Muckler promised there would be changes unless there was a turnaround immediately. Obviously he gambled that the public threat of breaking up the team would work to motivate them. Now he is left with a struggling, albeit talented team and a public demanding moves be made.
Whether it's right or wrong to make some deals is irrelevant, Muckler promised change and now has to back it up. All 29 other GM's know this and are definitely throwing some lowball offers Muckler's way because he could make a bad decision because of the pressure.
My target if I'm Gainey is Spezza. Spezza has never seemed completely happy in Ottawa, and they have never been completely happy with him IMO. I think Spezza's a franchise forward that would look great here in Montreal. If the Habs could pry Spezza out from Ottawa it would give you a lot of flexibility, even enough to safely dangle Koivu out there to see what the market is for him.
Sens are loaded on D, and probably aren't looking at trading roster players for prospects at this point. We know they don't want big contracts, so it might cost something like Zednik to get it done.
Zednik + mid-level prospect/pick for Spezza
Any thoughts?
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Post by Andrew on Nov 23, 2003 23:39:43 GMT -5
In a hearbeat. I can't see Ottawa making a panic move and giving away a potential superstar, however. I'd think it would take at least Zednik and Perezhogin.
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Post by MTLMan on Nov 24, 2003 9:05:06 GMT -5
They would not give up Spezza. Money is an issue in Ottawa and I think Alfredsson is a free agent at the end of the year so I would see them shopping him not their future.
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Post by Maritimer on Nov 24, 2003 9:43:36 GMT -5
I'd do it in a split second  Zednik is pretty cheap and could somewhat replace Alfredesson if he walked. |
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Post by BadCompany on Nov 24, 2003 9:55:09 GMT -5
Can't see a veteran GM like Muckler dealing within his own division like that.
How about Alfreddson to the Rangers for Messier though? Muckler gets the team shake-up he was looking for, Messier brings in a little bit of fire for a complacent dressing room, and perhaps one more kick at the Stanley Cup can, while the Rangers get a talented player to shore up their wings, perhaps replacing Bure.
That kind of shake up, trading away their captain (who is a UFA anyways), might be exactly what the Sens need.
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Post by Polarice on Nov 24, 2003 13:22:38 GMT -5
The only two players the Sens would trade would be Bonk and Havlet. Spezza is out of the question.
I cant see them touching the defence.
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Post by mikeg on Nov 24, 2003 14:12:55 GMT -5
lol
man i needed something to cheer me up this morning and this had to be the post to do it...
if you are near some water i suggest you spalsh it in your face and ask yourself if you are not in the matrix cuz that trade proposal is quite... uhmmm.. ridiculous.
to get spezza from ottawa you have to do the following:
komisarek/ 1st in '04/ zednik and another prospect (balej maybe).. then.. maybe.. just maybe you might get spezza
mike
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Post by Montrealer on Nov 24, 2003 14:36:46 GMT -5
How about Alfreddson to the Rangers for Messier though? Yuck. BC, I love 99% of your posts but this one has me completely  |
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Post by BadCompany on Nov 24, 2003 16:59:45 GMT -5
Well, my logic was this:
Sens need a shakeup. Trading a 4th liner for a 4th liner probably isn’t going to do it. What they need is to redo the chemistry on the team. I was listening to Pierre McGuire (and I’ve heard it mentioned elsewhere as well) and he was saying that the Sens are just too laid back, too easy going. Their coach isn’t a fire breather, and neither is anybody on the team. The “leaders” are all quiet, lead by example, “nice” guys. Alfredsson, Redden, Hossa, Bonk, Phillips, Chara, etc. Not a lot of spunk on the team. They showed a lot during last year’s playoffs, and they came oh so close, but that momentum doesn’t appear to have carried over into the new season. Will it come back for the playoffs? Perhaps, and the “do nothing” approach probably isn’t a bad one at this point.
However, Muckler has stated that he wants to shakeup the team. Everybody, from McGuire to Bob Mackenzie thinks a trade is coming. As I said, dumping a 4th liner isn’t going to do it. What they need to do – if they are really serious about changing the dynamic of the team – is dump a core player. The key, of course, is you don’t want to change the dynamic too much. With a team as talented as the Sens are, I see no need for a big, 12 player deal. You just want to shake everybody up.
To me, Alfredsson is the logical choice. He’s the captain, of course, and what better way to shake up a team than by trading the captain? However, even though he is the captain, he isn’t the key player to that team, in the same way that Hossa is, for example. He may be the leader, but hasn’t the knock on the Sens always been questionable leadership? Now, perhaps more than ever? Alfredsson is also a UFA (I think), which automatically makes him expendable in Ottawa. He may walk at the end of the year anyways. So for me, if Muckler really wants to make a change in Ottawa, a significant change, Alfredsson would be the guy I think he should shop.
The question is, then, who to get in return. For sure, Ottawa could probably get more than Messier for Alfredsson. But talent level is not their problem. Where would they stick two or 3 young, hot shot players? There is no room for them. Considering that the core of their team is all ridiculously young anyways, they don’t need more youth. Messier I think would be a great choice. He hasn’t been able to lead New York anywhere, but I don’t think God could lead the collection of egos and slackers on that team. In Ottawa, Messier would be the unquestioned leader, but he wouldn’t have to produce to save the team. All he has to do is make sure everybody else is working hard, and let their talent carry the team.
Messier is off to a pretty good start, and with the talent in Ottawa, one more decent season can be coaxed out of him. He would be a great mentor for Spezza (and Hossa, Havlat, Fisher, Redden, etc) and with a real good shot at a Cup this year, he just might be inspired coming playoff time, in much the same way the Grumpy Old Men line of a few years ago played so well. Again, they don’t need him to score 30 goals, they just need him to bring a little life to a dressing room that is much too quiet.
Ottawa doesn’t need Alfredsson long term, anymore than they need Messier long term. Losing one or both is no big deal. But what they do need, is somebody short term, to knock them out of their doldrums. Alfredsson is probably not that guy. Messier, I think, would be.
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Post by Doc Holliday on Nov 24, 2003 19:09:16 GMT -5
lol man i needed something to cheer me up this morning and this had to be the post to do it... if you are near some water i suggest you spalsh it in your face and ask yourself if you are not in the matrix cuz that trade proposal is quite... uhmmm.. ridiculous. to get spezza from ottawa you have to do the following: komisarek/ 1st in '04/ zednik and another prospect (balej maybe).. then.. maybe.. just maybe you might get spezza mike Mike, keep your stick on the ice. You don't have to ridicule the proposal to make a point that in your opinion it would take more. |
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Post by PTH on Nov 24, 2003 23:03:51 GMT -5
I think Spezza might be pushing it, but when a team isn't doing well sometimes you can try and get a skilled player out of there on the cheap.
It all depends on having a veteran a playoff team might want, and targeting a kid they're underrating because they can't give him a decent enough chance. Schastlivy perhaps ?
They'd probably want someone like Rivet, but who knows, they might want a UFA to be like Juneau or Dackell for depth. They know the guys and it wuold be a comfortable match for everyone involved.
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Post by seventeen on Nov 25, 2003 0:08:25 GMT -5
Or they could entice Gilmour out of retirement. Ted Lindsay's still alive too, isn't he?
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