Bryan Murray: "We Have To Make A Tweak"

Devo wrote:I think we can still make it work...

**I'm not suggesting this guy but using his name as an example**

What if we picked up someone like Chelios, a guy who is older and "getting to the end of his career", but he can still play good 5/6 minutes and even fill in on the top 4 from time to time to help out.

That's what you could trade for.

Send Picard/Campoli/(PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE) Lee along with one of the forwards for that guy.

I'll have to scour the internet for potential suitors and players but thats what I'm thinking of.

EDIT...

Carolina is struggling..what about Aaron Ward?

Aaron Ward is a great suggestion. Rutherford just acquired him in the summer though, would he move him?

If it's a big, keep-it-simple D-man we're looking for - who's got a ton of grit, then that's the guy to look at.

Can Rutherford just sit back and watch this team implode? I doubt it and if there is a GM who is being pressured to make changes it's him. Hell I was just down in Charlotte and they were even talking about hockey on the sports talk shows (trust me that is a very very rare thing). All the talk was about how could this team be struggling and what needs to be done.

Devo wrote:Can Rutherford just sit back and watch this team implode? I doubt it and if there is a GM who is being pressured to make changes it's him. Hell I was just down in Charlotte and they were even talking about hockey on the sports talk shows (trust me that is a very very rare thing). All the talk was about how could this team be struggling and what needs to be done.

I think Rutherford gets the benefit of the doubt no matter what though. He'll do what he has to do. I would expect Whitney to start being shopped soon, perhaps Corvo as well, maybe even Ruutu and/or Jokinen.

It'll be interesting to see what he does. If he deems Ward expendable, there'll be a decent little lineup for his services - BUT - he and Murray have been close for years and years, they'd probably talk first.

I think they'd be dumb to move Ruutu personally. You should be building around guys like him and Staal for the future. Brind'Amour has to go, he is not helping the situtation at all. He has to realize that his career is over. It really is. He needs to step aside and let them fix this, they could use the money he's making. Whitney is a guy you keep too, they'd be silly to shop him around. He's they're future as well. Now Corvo is a good bait piece for them, I don't really know who else is worth anything though...I can't think of their lineup really.

Scratch the Aaron Ward talk! I went back to some Canes forums and they call him the all-out most horrible D-man they've ever seen, aside from Walling.

So here is my theory (DTR feel free to pick it apart).

Murray needs to target teams who are in the bottom 4 or 5 spots in each conference, who traditionally come from markets that are used to winning teams, or have high expectations.

Here is my list of teams that I look at.

Nashville, Minnesota, Anaheim, Carolina, and Florida. Atlanta while in the mix doesn't have any D-men I'd be looking at

From those teams I think gettnig one of these guys may be possible and could come at a resonable price. I'm all about fair trades, so I assume any deal done will be beneficial for both sides. If Murray fleeces the other GM then great, but don't expect it.

So we have...

Aaron Ward 36 yrs old 2.5 million cap hit (UFA next year)
Nicklas Wallin 34 yrs old 1.74 million cap hit (UFA next year)
Jordan Leopold 29 yrs old 1.75 million cap hit (UFA next year)
Bryan Allen 29 yrs old 2.9 million cap hit
Shane Hnidy 34 yrs old 750 k cap hit (UFA next year)
Nick Boynton 30 yrs old 1.5 million cap hit (UFA next year)
Sheldon Brookbank 29 yrs old 500k cap hit (UFA next year)
Dan Hamhuis 29 yrs old 2.0 million cap hit (UFA next year)

I think you have to think realistically that they can only go after a guy who is a UFA next year unless you're willing to let Volchenkov walk. I don't think you can take on a 3+million dollar contract and keep Volchenkov, and I'm staring right at Hamhuis. I know he's top 4 in Nashville, but they have 3 gems coming on D (Ellis, Blum and Laakso) and both Franson and Klein are RFA's next year.

We may even be able to trade Lee or Picard for them along with other potentials.

For Hamhuis? The can have Lee and Picard +. I still doubt they're interested right now, they'll wait until the deadline and drive the price up.

SpezDispenser wrote:

Devo wrote:Lets be honest, there is no way without significantly disrupting the current roster (ie trading one of the top contracts) that Bryan can add a top 4 d-man. Maybe I'm wrong but any team with a top 4 d-man (should they be stupid enough to want to trade them now) will want serious prospects/picks in return.

You know Ottawa doesn't have the cap room to afford a top 4, so what we're really talking about is getting a guy who plays like top 4 and can fill in from time to time, but will sit on our 5/6 to stabilize the incompetent triplets.

I don't have a clue who you're thinking of, but I'm guessing that anyone who can play that role, will be coveted by their current team, and wont trade them easily.

If we can hold off for the next week or two until Volchie gets back, and our D doesn't suffer any serious set backs before the deadline, then that's where you're likely to see something done.

You know what? Diddle it, you're right, we have no choice but to continue with the current inception of the team until either the deadline - or next summer. Murray didn't get the 4th top 4 D-man this summer - and that's his problem. Now we need to trust the coach and trust the guys like Lee, Campoli, Carkner etc. to pick up the slack 100%. Even Picard might get lucky and string a few strong games together.

It wasn't us who wanted a trade though, it's obvious Murray isn't 100% satisfied, but astoundingly, the last I heard he wanted a forward.

IMO, Murray envisions Karlsson back up after Christmas, so along with Volchenkov our D would be:

Phillips - Volchenkov
Kuba - Karlsson
Picard - Carkner
Campoli
with Lee in Bingo.

That isn't too bad. With Murray wanting to resign Volchie, and Cowan coming in next year along with Phillips, Karlsson and Carkner signed, there isn't really room for another D unless it's an expiring contract or a Bonafide #1. That's probably why he isn't looking at adding a Dman.

Murray has always maintained (at least the last 2 years) he needs/wants another top 6 forward. He added Kovie but he is still one short.

Murray's chips are a young cheap Dman Lee/Picard/Campoli, a 3rd line player with upside Foligno, maybe Shannon as well as a veteran forward like Kelly.

There isn't really many forwards out there who would fit a top 6 role on this team and be available.

@Devo> I think Robby's hypothesis is correct.

SensGirl11 wrote:Ah man! Volchenkov says it'll be at least another 2 weeks before he's back. Maybe even 1 month they say, with the way he was feeling yesterday. OMG!!! We're going down!!! Our D is nothing without him, NOTHING!! Wow, how depressing.

We really need to get a REAL defenseman soon.

http://www.ottawasun.com/sports/columnists/chris_stevenson/2009/11/11/11716091.html

For Dung sake, he can't shoot the puck yet he can't even pass it. This might be even longer than 1 month.

Why don't they ever put people on the LTIR? wtf !

Once you go on LTIR, you HAVE to serve the time, even if you are ready to come back. I guess they're hoping he'll be ready sooner...

How about retroactive? Can't you do that when a player is out for longer than anticipated?

Gohan wrote:How about retroactive? Can't you do that when a player is out for longer than anticipated?

Maybe... they could "back date" it and then it would not seem as long. I don't know those details.

RobbyJ wrote:IMO, Murray envisions Karlsson back up after Christmas, so along with Volchenkov our D would be:

Phillips - Volchenkov
Kuba - Karlsson
Picard - Carkner
Campoli
with Lee in Bingo.

That isn't too bad. With Murray wanting to resign Volchie, and Cowan coming in next year along with Phillips, Karlsson and Carkner signed, there isn't really room for another D unless it's an expiring contract or a Bonafide #1. That's probably why he isn't looking at adding a Dman.

Murray has always maintained (at least the last 2 years) he needs/wants another top 6 forward. He added Kovie but he is still one short.

Murray's chips are a young cheap Dman Lee/Picard/Campoli, a 3rd line player with upside Foligno, maybe Shannon as well as a veteran forward like Kelly.

There isn't really many forwards out there who would fit a top 6 role on this team and be available.

I would bring back Karlsson ASAP. He can learn in the NHL, while not costing the team points IMO. He can take Picard's place in a heartbeat - even Campoli's. So, perhaps you're onto something, perhaps Karlsson is called back up when we trade one of the 3 sisters back there.

As for the overall discussion at hand, let's look at our team in the most stringent way: Take the NTC's (Kuba, Phillips, Fisher, Alfie, Spezza), the players, either prospects or otherwise, that are simply untradeable (3 D, Regin, Michalek, 3 G), and the players that can't be traded because they've just been signed/re-signed to term (Carkner, Neil, Kovalev).

What does that leave us with? Foligno, Shannon, Ruutu, Kelly, Picard, Lee, Campoli, Volchenkov, Cheechoo, Winchester, Donovan, all the remaining prospects, and our picks.

We all have preferences on who stays and who goes, but in essence that is the grouping of assets currently available for trade.

Is it really that impossible to package Campoli, O'Brien, and a 4th and come away with Boynton? or Lee, Silfverberg, and a 2nd and come up with Hamhuis? We should be able to get something done...we just have to be willing to make a change...

Gohan wrote:As for the overall discussion at hand, let's look at our team in the most stringent way: Take the NTC's (Kuba, Phillips, Fisher, Alfie, Spezza), the players, either prospects or otherwise, that are simply untradeable (3 D, Regin, Michalek, 3 G), and the players that can't be traded because they've just been signed/re-signed to term (Carkner, Neil, Kovalev).

What does that leave us with? Foligno, Shannon, Ruutu, Kelly, Picard, Lee, Campoli, Volchenkov, Cheechoo, Winchester, Donovan, all the remaining prospects, and our picks.

We all have preferences on who stays and who goes, but in essence that is the grouping of assets currently available for trade.

Is it really that impossible to package Campoli, O'Brien, and a 4th and come away with Boynton? or Lee, Silfverberg, and a 2nd and come up with Hamhuis? We should be able to get something done...

Madness! Too much. We'd have to win the Cup in order for those moves to be considered good.

Actually, Campoli, O'Brien and the Sharks' 2nd (conditional on him re-signing) for Hamhuis isn't too bad a deal for either team.

SpezDispenser wrote:

Gohan wrote:As for the overall discussion at hand, let's look at our team in the most stringent way: Take the NTC's (Kuba, Phillips, Fisher, Alfie, Spezza), the players, either prospects or otherwise, that are simply untradeable (3 D, Regin, Michalek, 3 G), and the players that can't be traded because they've just been signed/re-signed to term (Carkner, Neil, Kovalev).

What does that leave us with? Foligno, Shannon, Ruutu, Kelly, Picard, Lee, Campoli, Volchenkov, Cheechoo, Winchester, Donovan, all the remaining prospects, and our picks.

We all have preferences on who stays and who goes, but in essence that is the grouping of assets currently available for trade.

Is it really that impossible to package Campoli, O'Brien, and a 4th and come away with Boynton? or Lee, Silfverberg, and a 2nd and come up with Hamhuis? We should be able to get something done...

Madness! Too much. We'd have to win the Cup in order for those moves to be considered good.

Actually, Campoli, O'Brien and the Sharks' 2nd (conditional on him re-signing) for Hamhuis isn't too bad a deal for either team.

Thats the other thing I wanted to mention: We simply aren't in a position to be gambling at this point. We aren't Cup contenders right now. What's the point in making a deal if it just moves us from 7th place to 5th? We need to make the playoffs this year. Thats about it.

Gohan wrote:Thats the other thing I wanted to mention: We simply aren't in a position to be gambling at this point. We aren't Cup contenders right now. What's the point in making a deal if it just moves us from 7th place to 5th? We need to make the playoffs this year. Thats about it.

Thing is, with any more significant injuries to one of our 3 good D-men, we're not making it into the playoffs. That would be the point of this, to get into the playoffs.