Ottawa trade rumours

I keep hearing fans complaining about us not having any blue chip forward prospects... last I checked, you only get those when you pick 1st or 2nd overall, or manage to setup a monster deal and cough up some other key assets in the process... or pull the old "offer sheet swindle" on another team and lose some draft picks in the process, or get very lucky in the draft and pick a prospect that everyone missed and turns into one.

It ain't easy when you don't bottom out...

shabbs wrote:I keep hearing fans complaining about us not having any blue chip forward prospects... last I checked, you only get those when you pick 1st or 2nd overall, or manage to setup a monster deal and cough up some other key assets in the process... or pull the old "offer sheet swindle" on another team and lose some draft picks in the process, or get very lucky in the draft and pick a prospect that everyone missed and turns into one.

It ain't easy when you don't bottom out...

With good scouting you can find some in the later rounds(ie. Claude Giroux). Our own captain was drafted in the later rounds.

We've got Hoffman who will hopefully pan out in a few years time, and we've got Butler and I'm sure Murray will continue to target good NCAA players.

Personally I think their plan is to trade one of our surplus D-man prospects for a forward if an opportunity comes along.

The biggest problem is that Foligno and Regin are largely busts so far (in terms of point production). They were both slotted for top-6 duty and neither is producing enough.

Nobody in the top-six is producing in the last dozen games or so.

Hoags wrote:

shabbs wrote:I keep hearing fans complaining about us not having any blue chip forward prospects... last I checked, you only get those when you pick 1st or 2nd overall, or manage to setup a monster deal and cough up some other key assets in the process... or pull the old "offer sheet swindle" on another team and lose some draft picks in the process, or get very lucky in the draft and pick a prospect that everyone missed and turns into one.

It ain't easy when you don't bottom out...

With good scouting you can find some in the later rounds(ie. Claude Giroux). Our own captain was drafted in the later rounds.

We've got Hoffman who will hopefully pan out in a few years time, and we've got Butler and I'm sure Murray will continue to target good NCAA players.

Personally I think their plan is to trade one of our surplus D-man prospects for a forward if an opportunity comes along.

The biggest problem is that Foligno and Regin are largely busts so far (in terms of point production). They were both slotted for top-6 duty and neither is producing enough.

I agree, but Giroux was drafted in the first round.

Also, when you draft thos later guys, you need a ton of luck, obviously.

If anyone thought that Datsuyk, Zetterberg, Alfredsson, ect would be as good as they are they would have been drafted earlier.

Obviously there's some skill that goes into that, but a lot more luck.

wprager wrote:Nobody in the top-six is producing in the last dozen games or so.

THIS is the reason people are up in arms about not having a blue-chip forward. I think we all just want to see a forward who's up and coming and supposed to be the future with all the hype surrounding it (it could be Regin, but there's no hype around that guy )

Your best bet to get a blue chip forward prospect is to bottom out and win the lottery. Chicago and Pitt are recent examples of that with LA and St. Louis showing amazing progress as well. Combine lottery picks with good scouting in general, smart moves by your GM and you have the recipe for success.

Simple eh?



Heh heh.

Frig.

I still want Pierre McGuire as GM. Who better to rebuild a roster than the king of prospects and scouting talent?

Big Ev wrote:I still want Pierre McGuire as GM. Who better to rebuild a roster than the king of prospects and scouting talent?

Yeah, who wouldn't wanna give up all our young talent for Dion Phaneuf?

We already have the king og prospects and scouting in Murray, it's the other parts of his GM'ing that need upgrading.

stempniaksen wrote:

Big Ev wrote:I still want Pierre McGuire as GM. Who better to rebuild a roster than the king of prospects and scouting talent?

Yeah, who wouldn't wanna give up all our young talent for Dion Phaneuf?

We already have the king og prospects and scouting in Murray, it's the other parts of his GM'ing that need upgrading.

Murray's good at drafting but he's not the king...neither is Pierre though, I was just kidding.

Please, Murray continue to head up the scouting with your nephew and we'll hire some young hockey version of Anthopolis.

stempniaksen wrote:

Big Ev wrote:I still want Pierre McGuire as GM. Who better to rebuild a roster than the king of prospects and scouting talent?

Yeah, who wouldn't wanna give up all our young talent for Dion Phaneuf?

We already have the king og prospects and scouting in Murray, it's the other parts of his GM'ing that need upgrading.

Did McGuire approve that trade? I'm not sure I understand your comment.

shabbs wrote:Your best bet to get a blue chip forward prospect is to bottom out and win the lottery. Chicago and Pitt are recent examples of that with LA and St. Louis showing amazing progress as well. Combine lottery picks with good scouting in general, smart moves by your GM and you have the recipe for success.

Simple eh?



Heh heh.

Frig.

Good scouting and smart moves by your GM is the recipe for success. Philly had that one year as a bottom feeder and are now a powerhouse because of moves by Holmgren, not because JvR has lifted them to the top.

Meanwhile, teams like Florida and NYI get high draft picks but continue to suck.

shabbs wrote:

SpezDispenser wrote:

shabbs wrote:More fuel for the Cowen vs MSP debate? MSP is a left winger.

What's your thoughts on that Shabbs? I love Cowen, I'd still choose him personally because he's the rock-solid defender that this team sorely lacks right now - until Phillips plays like he can again that is.

It's a tough one and we've debated this over and over. Long term, I think Cowen was the right choice... but man, it would be nice to have MSP with us now.

A rock solid mobile defense can make you win games every single night (see Nashville).
A rock solid top line can win you games some nights (see Sens 08-09)

Think about this:
2009-2010 Leading scorer:
Patric Hornqvist: 80 GP, 51 Pts

Those who watched that series will agree with me. A hair away from beating the Stanley Cup Champions in round one...

Yeah, what happened there? Hossa high sticked a Predator player badly, they missed the call and he tied it up and won it in OT? Something like that.

I also agree that GOod drafting anywhere in the 1st round and early second can give you nice forwards.
I mean, Philly have built their forward core with mid to late 1st rounders, not top 5 picks.

marakh wrote:A rock solid mobile defense can make you win games every single night (see Nashville).
A rock solid top line can win you games some nights (see Sens 08-09)

Agreed, and hopefully fans see that Murray is steering us in that direction. But, I'd add that a flashy top line puts butts in the seats, see New Jersey's pre-Kovalchuk history for an opposite example of that. Although, Kovalchuk ain't exactly selling out the place either... so maybe a bad example.

SpezDispenser wrote:Yeah, what happened there? Hossa high sticked a Predator player badly, they missed the call and he tied it up and won it in OT? Something like that.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NNC8-PTTee0

yes, heartbreaker... 5th game, OT, powerplay nashville... then Hossa comes out of the box and scores. They go up 3-2 in the series
And that was probably the closest series the Blackhawks had during that run.

Now, compare the forwards corps of the 2 teams.