Meszaros and Murray at a stand still

504Heater wrote:

Cronenbergfan wrote:
However, on the other hand, I'm kind of excited to see what Schneider or Van Ryn can do in a Sens uni...

Me too. I'd love to see Schneider. 75 points later, I'm sure of it.

I was on that train over at HB. I think if we can find a way to make it fit with an appropriate cushion then our back end would be unreal. Yes I realise it would be unlikely to occur I just really like the idea.

Schneider would be an ideal addition IMO. HE gives us points, offence and we only need him for a year. I'm getting so anxious for the season to start that this Mez thing is pi$$ing me off.

jamvan wrote:Schneider would be an ideal addition IMO. HE gives us points, offence and we only need him for a year. I'm getting so anxious for the season to start that this Mez thing is pi$$ing me off.

I almost wish Murray would trade for Schneider and take the offer off the table and present Mesz with a lowball offer. What's Mesz going to do? Yes people I realise that it would be the end of his time in Ottawa but it would put Mesz in a no win situation and Ottawa would be fine for this season and we'd have tonnes of Cap room to go shopping in the offseason and Lee would be ready to step up along with possibly Karlsson getting his feet wet a little on callups.

jamvan wrote:Schneider would be an ideal addition IMO. HE gives us points, offence and we only need him for a year. I'm getting so anxious for the season to start that this Mez thing is pi$$ing me off.

Welcome to my world Jam. The longer this goes on, the more veins I discover in my forehead! :lol:

Mezaros.. what can I say about him.. lol

I have had confidence in him as a player since i first watched him play and well, I really would like to keep him around I think. But it really depends at what price.. $3mil? I would say that is the most i would do. He has had his good times but i still remember a good amount of times last year where i would drop my head in shame with the name "Mezaros" in my head. I just want something to happen with this whole situation.. we almost have our own little Sundin on our hands!

IT's true isn't it mosky69? He has said countless times how bad he wants to remain here and play long term, but he doesn't want to earn it. I guess he doesn't see how he has not been great the past two years.

I dont know if its not as much that he doesn't want to earn it as that he thinks he already has. But the fan base and Murray have both made it very clear that they don't think he has.

Well, I think the fact that NO offer sheets have come in should give Mesz a clue that he hasn't quite earned it yet.

Cap'n' Clutch wrote:Well, I think the fact that NO offer sheets have come in should give Mesz a clue that he hasn't quite earned it yet.

Mez isn't worth an offer sheet to be honest. There has been no interest in him what's so ever. That's why Murray has the bargaining chips on his side, the Mez camp has nothing to go on...nothing.

Acrobat wrote:Couldn't he fire his agent, and then sign? (essentially, he gets 10% higher than he would otherwise...) The agent's a dipwad anyhow for pissing off Murray at this stage. Things aren't going to get better...

(as you can tell, I'm not a big fan of lawyers - no offense intended to anyone out there who happens to be one, but my experience with them so far hasn't been good)

Reminds me of a joke:

Buddy walks into a bar, sits down and orders a drink. He downs the drink in one gulp, mutters:

"All lawyers are a**holes" and orders a second.

The guy at the other end of the bar says:

"Hey, buddy, watch your mouth."

"Why, are you a lawyer?"

"No, I'm an a**hole!"

mosky69 wrote:I dont know if its not as much that he doesn't want to earn it as that he thinks he already has. But the fan base and Murray have both made it very clear that they don't think he has.

Thing is, if you forget about how much Phillips and Volchenkov are making (which you should), he *has* earned $3M or more given his play. He's a 100 hits/100 blocked shots defenseman who doesn't miss games and consistently gets 35+ points. With Redden's PP ice time he will get 40+ this year.

He led the following players in points, hits and blocked shots (not just one category, but all three):

Aucoin ($4M)
Kronwall ($3M)
Rivet ($3.5M)
Zubov ($5.35M)
Spacek ($3.3M)
Hainsey ($4.5M)

He had a bad sophomore season but improved his +/- by 20 points last year. He hasn't missed a playoff game in his first three seasons.

Jeff Finger got $3.5M and he is not even in the same ballpark in any of the statistical categories apart from height, weight and shoe-size.

I realize I am being a devil's advocate, but how on Earth can anyone convince him that he is *not* worth $3.5 - 4M, easy? Trying to convince him to *take* a one-year deal below that range is one thing, but trying to convince him that he hasn't yet earned $3M or more is a little ridiculous.

it might just be me then stuck on the fact that i don't think any of those players should be making the amount that they do, and im not just talking defensemen. the jump in pay has sky rocketed and i guess i need to catch up. lol Mez is an amazing dman when he comes to play, and i never doubted that he cannot perform at a very high caliber, i just don't think that the consistency is there yet. Maybe the hold up is something completely different then we all think and its just not out because of Murray's supposed "gag-order" on everyone in the organization.

jamvan wrote:The latest news is Murray has (was said awhile ago) tabled his final offer. Murray apparently has a deadline that if Meszaros doesn't sign, he will allow him to sit out. And I don't mean the start of the season, the whole thing. Word is, if he's not signed by Murray's self imposed deadline, he has a backup plan for another d-man and someone he'd much rather have than Meszaros.

Two names that have been mentioned to me are: Schneider (ofcourse and makes the most sense) and Van Ryn from Florida. Van Ryn is intriguing to me, as he had a nightmarish season last year, but has put up some pretty good totals before that. I was told that Florida wants some young forwards in return with some offensive upside and the deal could involve Nikulin and Hennessey.

I've crunched the numbers on this one back on KLee's page, and we should be able afford to get Van Ryn (should we want him) even if Meszaros signs, provided Mesz's deal is in the $3 mil range. If he's the guy Murray is after, there's nothing saying we can't have him and Mesz on the same blueline.

504Heater wrote:

jamvan wrote:

504Heater wrote:What a franking waste of a year that would be for Mez (and us), huh? Idiot. Sign. Quickly.

I hear you, his agent is making a mess out of this for him. I know for fact that Mez wants to play no where else but here, but sadly it's coming down to the money. I'm almost at my wits end, but in the same breath, Murray is lowballing him, which I'm glad he's doing.

What's lowballing though? 2.2? Is he worth more than that as a 22 year old? Frank that, IMO, you need to prove you're worth 4 million before you get 4 million.

I'd be shocked, and very impressed with Murray, if Meszaros signed a contract at that price. Never say never, but I think something in the $2.5-3 mil range is more likely.

DashRiprock wrote:Again the offer sheet scenario can be brought up... if he was worth it, wouldn't teams have made an offer already? I mean, really, with it taking this long, wouldn't other teams suspect somethign and just take a shot?

Check out the compensation due to teams for RFAs signed to offer sheets, tho'; it's pretty stiff:

GROUP 2 COMPENSATION CHART
OFFER SHEET COMPENSATION
$660,000 or below None
Over $660,000 to $1 million Third Round
Over $1 million to $2.0 million Second Round
Over $2.0 million to $3.0 million First Round and Third Round
Over $3.0 million to $4.0 million First Round, Second Round, and Third Round
Over $4.0 million to $5.0 million Two First Rounds, Second Round, and Third Round
Over $5 million Four First Rounds

Realistically speaking, anyone who signs Mesz to an sheet for somewhere in between $2-3 mil is going to be matched in a heartbeat. It would probably take an offer close to or over $4 mil to push Murray off -- and look at the compensation for that: either a 1st, 2nd, and a 3rd, or 2 1sts, a 2nd, and a 3rd. With next year's draft being as deep as it is, can youn blame anyone for not wanting to give up their first 3 picks for one player?

Cap'n' Clutch wrote:

jamvan wrote:Schneider would be an ideal addition IMO. HE gives us points, offence and we only need him for a year. I'm getting so anxious for the season to start that this Mez thing is pi$$ing me off.

I almost wish Murray would trade for Schneider and take the offer off the table and present Mesz with a lowball offer. What's Mesz going to do? Yes people I realise that it would be the end of his time in Ottawa but it would put Mesz in a no win situation and Ottawa would be fine for this season and we'd have tonnes of Cap room to go shopping in the offseason and Lee would be ready to step up along with possibly Karlsson getting his feet wet a little on callups.

I know we've been over this to death, but I don't see a way in which we can have Mesz and Schneider on the backend without shedding at least one mid-level contract like Kelly's, Volchenkov's, or Smith's, on top of the other usual suspects we've discuseed. Unless, I suppose, Mesz somehow gets strongarmed into a $1 mil deal or something, which I find unlikely.

If Mesz doesn't play, tho', I would love to see Schneider back there, even if his salary is less than ideal.

mosky69 wrote:I dont know if its not as much that he doesn't want to earn it as that he thinks he already has. But the fan base and Murray have both made it very clear that they don't think he has.

He must have caught that attitude from Emery. :D He's not a bad word around here yet, is he?

SensChirp is reporting that the Russian team offer Meszaros has is in the $5M range. That changes things just a bit.

Previously I was saying that, for his agent there is no difference between $2M tax free in Russia versus $2M here; it would be a huge difference for Meszaros. In other words, I would find it odd for the agent to push him into rejecting a similar offer from the Sens.

However, if the offer from the Russian team is not only tax-free but also significantly higher then, for sure, the agent would be pressuring him to sign there, big time.

If it's true, why is he even thinking about it? Frankly, it makes me think this particular "rumour" is off the mark.