The New Centaurs: Murray's Makeover

Cap'n Clutch wrote:

As far as the ASG; I don't think it's the place to judge whether or not Heatley needs Spezza.

Not a judgement, but it raises the question...

I think the more pertinent question is "why does Dany Heatley play the exact same in the All-Star game as he does in regular season games?? The number one thing Hartsburg should be doing right now is splicing tape from the ASG and from the game against NYR and showing it to Heatley so he can see that he has been utterly useless all season long - his last 3 games notwithstanding...

asq2 wrote:
Spezza has lacked a centre remotely as good as he is offensively, he has lacked a second line capable of scoring consistently since 2005-2006, and a veteran coach, and elite puck-moving defencemen since that time as well.

Am I the only one who truly believes Regin is that guy?

cash wrote:Am I the only one who truly believes Regin is that guy?

Man...I hope you're right. Spezza needs a bit of insulation. It's getting ridiculous that he's the only center capable of putting up a point, let alone a goal.

Anybody hear the news reported by RDS today that the Flames may want to bring Martin Gerber on board to back up Kipper?

That would be good news for Bryan Murray contract-wise, and a break for Martin...the guy is a class act and no doubt being a #2 on the Flames would be better for him than what he was expected to do in Ottawa.

Thoughts/reactions?

davetherave wrote:Anybody hear the news reported by RDS today that the Flames may want to bring Martin Gerber on board to back up Kipper?

That would be good news for Bryan Murray contract-wise, and a break for Martin...the guy is a class act and no doubt being a #2 on the Flames would be better for him than what he was expected to do in Ottawa.

Thoughts/reactions?

Not fair at all. Bingo lost both games this weekend. Enough, Gerber owes us being the starting goalie in Bingo.

50 votes in the poll...thanks everybody!

504Heater wrote:

davetherave wrote:Anybody hear the news reported by RDS today that the Flames may want to bring Martin Gerber on board to back up Kipper?

That would be good news for Bryan Murray contract-wise, and a break for Martin...the guy is a class act and no doubt being a #2 on the Flames would be better for him than what he was expected to do in Ottawa.

Thoughts/reactions?

Not fair at all. Bingo lost both games this weekend. Enough, Gerber owes us being the starting goalie in Bingo.

Tough call -

The selfish side of me wants him in Bingo to see them win, but perhaps the answer is to demand a decent AHL goalie back.

Acrobat wrote:

504Heater wrote:

davetherave wrote:Anybody hear the news reported by RDS today that the Flames may want to bring Martin Gerber on board to back up Kipper?

That would be good news for Bryan Murray contract-wise, and a break for Martin...the guy is a class act and no doubt being a #2 on the Flames would be better for him than what he was expected to do in Ottawa.

Thoughts/reactions?

Not fair at all. Bingo lost both games this weekend. Enough, Gerber owes us being the starting goalie in Bingo.

Tough call -

The selfish side of me wants him in Bingo to see them win, but perhaps the answer is to demand a decent AHL goalie back.

Gerber's savings realistically does nothing for us this season. It's not like we are loading up for a cup run. If we load up, it's to finsh somewhere around 7th-10th. No thanks. Keep Gerber in Ottawa, and give Elliott back to the kids in Bingo. They deserve to have a good shot at success too. I think we all know that Elliott is a full time fixture in Ottawa next season regardless.

Moving Gerber saves Mr Melnyk almost a million dollars. That helps pay for a young talent.

davetherave wrote:Moving Gerber saves Mr Melnyk almost a million dollars. That helps pay for a young talent.

Only this year. Where does this talent come from? We are NOT makng the playoffs. As someone pointed out, we'd have to play at around .700 to make the playoffs, while we've hit at a marvelous .350 clip in the first half. It's almost foolish to think otherwise. A 4 game stretch of good hockey right before the break does not a season make.

Moving Gerber makes no sense, unless we can get a mid level pick minimum. I would like to see Elliott returned to Bingo, Gerber back with the Sens, and the status quo maintained until the deadline. Then, deal off pieces like Vermette, Kuba, and possibly Neil, who may have some value for youth and/or draft picks. That alone should ensure a nice pick, possibly a top 5 selection. It also isn't tanking so fans who object to that can rest easy.

It would be very difficult at this point to improve the team through trades anyway. Everyone knows that Murray is at a disadvantage in any dealings he has. I say, if there are some smaller deals to be had at the deadline (Kuba etc), do that if the return is right, then wait until closer to the draft, when we know who picks where. This would also be a better time value-wise to make major changes if that's the way Melnyk decides to go (dealing one of the core).

Hemlock writes: Moving Gerber makes no sense, unless we can get a mid level pick minimum.

Well, Murray may not get that. It's not like he's dealing from a position of strength.
:pirat:

Anyway, not making a case for or against the move; just suggesting some possible whys and wherefores.

Anybody heard Bryan Murray on team 1200? he said he heard the talks about tanking etc to get a good pick for the draft. His answer was loud and clear: That is absolutely ridiculous and they will do everything to win every game THIS season, and NEXT season. He said maybe after 4 years we would see the upgrade, but for the next 2 seasons, its not the solution.

I guess all the tanking fans can do now is pray

EDIT: http://www.ottawasun.com/Sports/Senators/2009/01/27/8157976-sun.html

Kuba, Neil and Mcammond are gone, IMO.

davetherave wrote:Hemlock writes: Moving Gerber makes no sense, unless we can get a mid level pick minimum.

Well, Murray may not get that. It's not like he's dealing from a position of strength.
:pirat:

Anyway, not making a case for or against the move; just suggesting some possible whys and wherefores.

Yeah. I only think it makes no sense because I want to see Elliott back in Bingo for a long playoff run with our kids. If we had another goaltender to replace Gerber I don't have an issue with him leaving for nothing more than cap space.

I suspect Murray gets a whole lot more than we are seeing - the problem is that he is also under a ton of pressure for short-term and long-term results.

I'm sure Murray would love to be guaranteed Cowen or better yet, Hedman. But to be fair, if Ottawa plays only marginally better than they did in the first half, he's basically picking fourth or fifth anyhow, and he must have done the math to know that.

The only way that he doesn't get a great pick is if Ottawa suddenly makes a run, and then he has a decision to make. I'd suspect that he is planning to slowly, one by one, bring up the kids.

Smith is sitting today, maybe as a prelude to being shipped out. Schubert has to be on the way out, as he has been on the bubble all season. I can't imagine they want to keep paying Kelly and Vermette next year, so one will go as well. Kuba is a UFA, so he'll likely go too.

Thus, without being accused of tanking, the kids are moved up, but only as they look ready (like Regin). They get a taste of the big leagues, but at the same time, Murray already knows that Bingo isn't going to go anywhere without all of them, so he isn't worried about keeping Gerber down there if he can divest himself of the salary (doesn't look like it's happening anyhow). Bingo may suffer, and perhaps they lose their shot at the title, but the kids are likely more interested in their shot at the big time.

The youth movement is on. It's just going to be subtle, sort of.

Keep a few vets, and stock the roster with talented kids. and ONLY keep the players who hate to lose.

It will interesting to see what happens tomorrow...Eugene Melnyk gave a very measured interview on Sportsnet tonight. He looks ready to make changes.

davetherave wrote:Keep a few vets, and stock the roster with talented kids. and ONLY keep the players who hate to lose.

It will interesting to see what happens tomorrow...Eugene Melnyk gave a very measured interview on Sportsnet tonight. He looks ready to make changes.

Can you elaborate? Or do you have a link?

We've been anticipating changes since Hartsburg was first hired.

Jason Williams, JayBo, Leclaire, Quinn/Nicholson and on and on and on and on.

This isn't a team that seems to make a lot of changes in the regular season. Granted, this one is a bit different from past regular seasons, but I'm so sick of holding my breath that I'll only believe it when I see it.

Of course, having said that, massive changes will probably come tomorrow as a result.

hemlock wrote:

davetherave wrote:Keep a few vets, and stock the roster with talented kids. and ONLY keep the players who hate to lose.

It will interesting to see what happens tomorrow...Eugene Melnyk gave a very measured interview on Sportsnet tonight. He looks ready to make changes.

Can you elaborate? Or do you have a link?

It was during the intermission with Ian Mendes...maybe it'll show up on the Sportsnet website. If I find a link or a news recap I will post it.

Basically, he said the team wouldn't be 'blown up'. He emphasized that he is happy with the strength of the organization, and said that with the talent the Sens have, they should, without a doubt, be doing better.

That sounds like a prelude to a major trade.... 8)