BlogsJul 13, 2008A couple of things
I took plenty of calls from people asking me Saturday if the Senators had signed Jason Williams.
The quick answer: No. The reality: They held one brief conversation with Williams and decided to go in another direction. The Senators simply can't afford to sign anybody to a contract at the moment. They could set themselves up for a Group II offer on Andrej Meszaros. Yes, the Senators still need a top six forward, but unless Ottawa has a change of heart they won't be signing Williams. His agent, Wade Arnott, sent a note late Saturday saying that Williams won't be signing with Ottawa. l Antoine Vermette's agent Allan Walsh has denied his client has asked for a trade and wants to work out a long term deal. The two sides have an arbitration hearing scheduled for July 31st. Expect to see a deal done that morning. Just my thinking. Comments:
Comment from: JIM BRIDGMAN [Visitor]
Why are we wasting time with the likes of Williams? Where are the young Russian 1st round picks from several years ago? Are they not ready yet? They would add youth, skill, speed & would work cheap for the next few seasons. To remain competative in the cap era you need 2 or 3 rookies to make the team each year while you say goodbye to middle tier guys, thus allowing you to overpay your stars. And it appears we have certainly overpaid our stars. Oh yea, for the last decade we knew we had a goaltender problem. So where are all the promising young goalies we drafted? I think what what was once the Sens strength, i.e. soouting (especially in Europe) & drafting, has become their major weakness.
13/07/2008 @ 19:18
Comment from: [Visitor]
Emery was a good goaltending pick for us but the country club couldn't reign him in.
Hearing that Vermette isn't at Kelly's wedding but his fiancee is... Man, this team is a mess. We overpaid for Spezza and Heatley something fierce, and now ALfredsson is up for renewal soon. He's worth more than those two stiffs to this team and city, are they going to lowball him too next year?
13/07/2008 @ 20:12
Comment from: [Visitor]
Oh and the Meszaros and Vermette signings are another indication of Murray napping.
He could see this coming a mile away, why not give these guys an offer in the three to four million range for Mesz and two to three for Vermy...then just dump Neil and others to make up for salary on the cap. As it is, this team is stalling in its improvement and the window is closing. Only positive is Murray might be canned if this team misses the playoffs or chokes it up in round 1 or 2 (again!). This team needs a major workover.
13/07/2008 @ 20:17
Comment from: JIM BRIDGMAN [Visitor]
WOW! The NY Islanders have fired Ted Nolan, the best coach in hockey. He was the only reason that team remained competative for the past 2 seasons. Cripe with another coach they may have never won a game with their acute lack of talent. Too bad this didn't happen earlier & the Sens could have had a shot at a real coach. This shows the Isles are a nothing team on the road to a distant last place finish, behind the Leafs. Garth Snow makes Mike Milbury look good.
14/07/2008 @ 18:39
Comment from: don don [Visitor]
I wanna say great job by TSN and OTR to finally ask the question that everyone wanted to here the answer to, "Ray, do you have a drug problem". Geez it took way to long for the media to ask that. As far as his answer which was "No", well I would have like to hear TSN ask if he HAD a drug problem when answer no to not having one.
15/07/2008 @ 07:43
Comment from: Nancy Dddd [Visitor]
Nah, I think Ted Nolan is overrated. He's a decent coach, but he's one of those guys who's only effective with a team for a maximum of two years. He would make an awesome assistant coach though, but I don't hink his ego and need for control would take that.
15/07/2008 @ 07:44
Comment from: Nancy Dddd [Visitor]
You know, I really take issue with teh Emery article in teh Sun today. Look at all the quotes from Emery and compare them to teh same quotes in the TSN atricle, and they are different. The Sun article seems to add a few "whatevers" then what I see in TSN. It makes for a very different perspective.
Of course, it would've helped if I had seen the Off The Record show, but who the heck can stand listening to Lansburg for more than 10 seconds? That guy is such an arrogant little you-know-what.
15/07/2008 @ 07:51
Comment from: don don [Visitor]
Thanks Nancy, I was gonna say the same thing but didn't want to rip into the sun. Once again the sun media downplay emery's party lifestyle and drug issues, and instead focus on the issue of him being late for practice and flights. Let's get serious, the lateness issue is bs. People show up to work late all the time, i see it everyday at work, sometime the same person twice in a week. Maybe Emery doesn't have a drug problem anymore, but he did and this city, team, media, and pretty much everyone involved in hockey knew it. But as usual leave it up to the media to sugar coat it.
15/07/2008 @ 09:22
Comment from: don don [Visitor]
BTW Nancy, I know you can;t stand Lansburg, and neither can I, but it is worth it to see the interview.
15/07/2008 @ 09:24
Comment from: Nancy Dddd [Visitor]
I think I may just tune in at, what, noon? to catch the rerun. But I can't promise how long I'll watch it.
15/07/2008 @ 09:51
Comment from: bobby goodman [Visitor]
I agree with you Don Don. Everyone including we bloggers are afraid to call it straight up. Lansburg is a Loudmouth Lime but he did ask the questio...even if he knew how Emery would respond. I would like to see the kid get back on track but I don;t think he is a good goatender and perhaps, we will know that in 10 months. I hope we sign Vermy (10 times better than Kelly) and allow him to play his position and log more minutes. Aren't you glad to see the Make Believes sign a bum like Holweg...there notion of toughness is different from mine.
15/07/2008 @ 11:05
Comment from: bobby goodman [Visitor]
One more thing...Islanders organization is a cluster
$#&$. Snow is a jerk and the owner is a rich fool. If snow thinks that a 38 and 34 year old are going to lead the tieam (Guerin and Satan) he is crazy and Tambalini is there only because of his father. I am a big fan of Ted Nolan's but he does not learn. He was hired by the GM to coach and you don't bite the hand that feeds you. He was black balled for 7 years because he went to the owner in Buffalo and Mucklar is far more connected than he will ever be. Ted...time to smell the coffee.
15/07/2008 @ 11:23
Comment from: don don [Visitor]
Hope Don's write up is true in the sun today and happens. I am not keen on Cam Barker, but getting Seabrook would be awesome. Plus an upgrade in goal would be nice too.
16/07/2008 @ 07:54
Comment from: JIM BRIDGMAN [Visitor]
What an awsome trade for the Sens if it is indeed true! Imagine getting a goalie who can actually stop the puck & has proven he can backstop his team to the cup. Plus in either Seabrook or Barker a young defender with great potential. Moving out would be a goalie who can't stop a beachball & a defenseman whose best days appear to be behind him. Maszeros has been playing scared the past 2 seasons & his play has slipped dramaticly. If Murray can pull off this trade the Sens become a contender.
16/07/2008 @ 08:05
Comment from: don don [Visitor]
I agree 100% Jim, they become a contender!!! A serious contender.
16/07/2008 @ 08:19
Comment from: [Visitor]
I see this trade as a wash if it's true.
Khabi is pretty much done, slower than Gerber but he might rebound behind our defense. Seabrook is just great. He's a solid replacement for Meszaros and has room to improve. I think he's paid 3.5 so that's a good price... The only thing that smells fishy is that I cannot ever see the Los Angeles Kings trading Anze Kopitar, he IS their future. Let's write this one to a hopeful attempt.
16/07/2008 @ 11:29
Comment from: kurt hinds [Visitor]
first of all i do think we need a top six forward. i like vermette but he is not a top six forward. meszaros does not deserve 3.5 million as a a player cause he did not display( brent seabrook like numbers). i like the signing of jason smith alot and he is a better(hammer) than mike commodore.I do think we may have to look to our prospects for a top six forward if we can't swing a trade.
18/07/2008 @ 13:51
Comment from: tom reynolds [Visitor]
Kurt:
You should spend a moment on Statistics for the two players(Meszaros, Seabrook). You will see that last year, they had many of the same stats and Seabrook earns $3.5.
18/07/2008 @ 17:59
Comment from: DANIEL MURPHY [Visitor]
So much for the rumours. I would like to know who the so-called informed sources are. If the so-called informed sources are NHL employees, or team employees, then considering the number of trade rumours that bounce around each year, would one has to think that the NHL or any NHL team for that matter have major security issues. I have to assume any possible trades etc...are highly confidential, if not secret, therefore how do these trade rumours become common knowledge. Is Garrioch's tipster or so called informed source the shoe shine guy where Leslie Nielsen got his tips in Police Squad? Food for thought.
19/07/2008 @ 07:06
Comment from: dennis wade [Visitor]
Daniel,
I quite agree. Garrioch and Brennan seem to pull these rumours out of a hat and that gets the whole city yapping about a non-existent trade for days. It sells papers and radio air time, but that's all. The funniest part in that whole 3-way was that, whoever thought it up, didn't know much about Kopitar. LA would be nuts to make that trade. And if the rumour was true, Murray should've just by-passed Chicago and gotten Kopitar for Meszaros and Gerber. Sure the sens would take a step backwards for a year, but the future would be very bright.
19/07/2008 @ 10:50
Comment from: Pavan Singh [Visitor]
I called BS on this rumour when it was posted. Like Dennis said, it sells papers and fills up radio time.
20/07/2008 @ 14:34
Comment from: kurt hinds [Visitor]
tom
You are right about the stats. seabrook is gettin 3.5 but in your mind would you give andrej the money knowing that next year we have to resign alfie? Do you think vermette deserves more than what the sens is offering him? I also think that people are fickle in their mind in this town. When we went to the cup fianl year before we had a defense that was so outstanding that our goaltender(emery) just needed to make saves when called upon. He did not have to steal any games and look what happened when he did, he fell short. i believe that our success stemmed from a defense that was willing to pay the price.
21/07/2008 @ 13:13
Comment from: DANIEL MURPHY [Visitor]
I guess Bruce, Chris and Don are on vacation. Time to shut down this blog site.
22/07/2008 @ 14:53
Comment from: don don [Visitor]
HAHA Daniel, I agree, shut it down, no rumors or action on here has made the last week go by pretty slow. Geez make somthing up atleast just to keep us interested, lol...
22/07/2008 @ 17:22
Comment from: Cliff Lawson [Visitor]
Here's your 'Rumour de jour, from THE most reliable source-ever(!), from deep within the confines of Shawville: 'Sticking with his hometown-discount strategy, Murray will shore up Ottawa's questionable defence by signing legendary Islanders' QB: DENNIS POTVIN(the man from Vanier)to a multi-million dollar 2 year deal! Still no comment from Mr Potvin, Opra, or the Pope. Details to follow...
24/08/2008 @ 06:54 Leave a comment:
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Don Brennan, Bruce Garrioch and Chris Stevenson are Ottawa's all-star hockey writing trio, and all will be regularly contributing to Off The Posts. Their combined experience of more than 60 years as sports writers means they have the sources to get the inside information not available to others on the Senators and the NHL. Check back often for notes, quotes and commentary. They might even disagree with each other once in awhile. Last 10 postsLast 10 comments
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