Who would be your next GM choice

I say The Fighting Montagoose atleast deserves an interview :D

I like David Poile for sure. I also like McPhee.

Neely4Life wrote:I like David Poile for sure. I also like McPhee.

Mike McPhee was the Dung!

I'd try to right a wrong and bring in Jarmo Kekaleinen too.

Phoenix30 wrote:So if Melnyk removes Murray in the off season. WHo would be your choice to replace him?

So not knowing who is available. I am going to pick Bob Clarke. With Burke in TO and going to make TO a rough and tough team to play against I think that Clarke would be a good choice to balance build skillful and tough team to play against.

There are other questions to consider...

Mlakar is almost at the end of his 1 year extension. Internally he let it known he was pissed that they relieved Muckler, so one has to wonder if Melnyk replaces the president. Before you start looking for a new GM wonder if the president will be signed. If not then I look to Bob Nicholson to become the President and Govenor of the Sens...then the question begs who he appoints as GM. I would guess he would keep Murray until after the olympics and then see if Stevie Y. is interested. But then again thats just a womans opinion.

I don't think Murray is going anywhere. Coaching snafu aside he has done a great job of rebuilding Bingo and really besides the Meszaros trade is there anyone who complained about all the moves he made.

I was critical of some and liked others, even if they didn't work out. I would still to this day do the Stillman/Commodore for Eaves/Corvo. That was the right move, and those guys couldn't fix the mess this team was in. Corvo hasn't been great for Carolina, in fact they have been trying to move him, never mind the fact he didn't want to be here let alone in Canada. You can't keep guys on the team if they don't want to play here, it means you have a player who is disinterested and that isn't a good thing. Losing Eaves hurts, but we have 5 "Eaves" type players on the farm so really what was the loss.

Redden's loss is significant because we lost Corvo and Meszaros, but really would you have signed him to a 2 year 5 million dollar deal let alone the 6 x 6.5? Didn't think so.

Meszaros is the only move I disagree with. I said it here on this board and on other forums that Murray needed to sit back and let the Lightning make their pitch and they take their draft picks. How good would Ottawa look now getting their own lottery pick as well as Tampa's, not to mention their 2nd and 3rd rounder’s (assuming the $$$ rumors for the signing sheet were accurate).

I'll hold off on my final decision on that trade till I see what they get for the 1st rounder from San Jose (do they use it to trade up or get another asset) and what happens to Kuba (will he waive his NTC).

I guess this turned into another long post from a woman who just can't keep her mouth shut...(keep your retorts to yourselves boys!)

Dawg's Wife

Number Twenty Nine wrote:What about Pierre McGuire? (runs away laughing)

LOL!! Yeah, you better run boy! LOL

I'd say Poile wouldn't suck, and perhaps (I know, it's beyond a long-shot) trying to schmooze Stevie-Y?

It's a tough one in a sense because I like what Murray brings in his experience and such, but at the same time, there's SO much going on behind the scenes that none of us seem to be able to get access to that truly makes me wonder if every single choice Murray has made was truly is or Melnyk's?

Cronenbergfan wrote:
LOL!! Yeah, you better run boy! LOL

I'd say Poile wouldn't suck, and perhaps (I know, it's beyond a long-shot) trying to schmooze Stevie-Y?

It's a tough one in a sense because I like what Murray brings in his experience and such, but at the same time, there's SO much going on behind the scenes that none of us seem to be able to get access to that truly makes me wonder if every single choice Murray has made was truly is or Melnyk's?

Stevie Y is out of the running until after the Olympics...but after that he's going to be hired within 6 months somewhere.

Dawg's Wife wrote:

Phoenix30 wrote:So if Melnyk removes Murray in the off season. WHo would be your choice to replace him?

So not knowing who is available. I am going to pick Bob Clarke. With Burke in TO and going to make TO a rough and tough team to play against I think that Clarke would be a good choice to balance build skillful and tough team to play against.

There are other questions to consider...

Mlakar is almost at the end of his 1 year extension. Internally he let it known he was pissed that they relieved Muckler, so one has to wonder if Melnyk replaces the president. Before you start looking for a new GM wonder if the president will be signed. If not then I look to Bob Nicholson to become the President and Govenor of the Sens...then the question begs who he appoints as GM. I would guess he would keep Murray until after the olympics and then see if Stevie Y. is interested. But then again thats just a womans opinion.

I don't think Murray is going anywhere. Coaching snafu aside he has done a great job of rebuilding Bingo and really besides the Meszaros trade is there anyone who complained about all the moves he made.

I was critical of some and liked others, even if they didn't work out. I would still to this day do the Stillman/Commodore for Eaves/Corvo. That was the right move, and those guys couldn't fix the mess this team was in. Corvo hasn't been great for Carolina, in fact they have been trying to move him, never mind the fact he didn't want to be here let alone in Canada. You can't keep guys on the team if they don't want to play here, it means you have a player who is disinterested and that isn't a good thing. Losing Eaves hurts, but we have 5 "Eaves" type players on the farm so really what was the loss.

Redden's loss is significant because we lost Corvo and Meszaros, but really would you have signed him to a 2 year 5 million dollar deal let alone the 6 x 6.5? Didn't think so.

Meszaros is the only move I disagree with. I said it here on this board and on other forums that Murray needed to sit back and let the Lightning make their pitch and they take their draft picks. How good would Ottawa look now getting their own lottery pick as well as Tampa's, not to mention their 2nd and 3rd rounder’s (assuming the $$$ rumors for the signing sheet were accurate).

I'll hold off on my final decision on that trade till I see what they get for the 1st rounder from San Jose (do they use it to trade up or get another asset) and what happens to Kuba (will he waive his NTC).

I guess this turned into another long post from a woman who just can't keep her mouth shut...(keep your retorts to yourselves boys!)

Dawg's Wife

Great post DW, as always.

I agree with your take on the Mezie thing, but have 2 points of my own to add...

1) I truly believe Mezie was moved rather quickly because of possible 'locker room issues" and the other rumors that came out (some have quite adamantly been substantiated by various members, both here and various other forums) so in the vein of trying to "chemo" the room, if you will, he made his choice. Whether truly good or bad, the jury's still out;

2)Rumors and such aside, and my personal bias of Murray aside, I tried to consider the following: a)Did Murray know something we didn't regarding an offer sheet? Was one definitely forthcoming? Were others sure to follow?
b) since he already qualified Mezie and went on the record many a times that he REFUSED to overpay for abilities not yet shown or for a salary yet to be earned (a very admirable trait in my view for any GM, cap world and in a very competitive sports environment notwithstanding) and so with Mezie's camp refusing, a line in the sand had been drawn.

So, hindsight being perfect, I too have wondered (considering how much TB continues to struggle in the standings) what could have been ours if the rumors of a $4M - $5M offer sheet was coming, but considering Murray's astute hockey mind and experience, I have a hard time believing he did NOT analyse every possible angle before making his choice. In the end, as is always the way, we'll see if it was a good one or the right one.

Dawg's Wife wrote:

Phoenix30 wrote:So if Melnyk removes Murray in the off season. WHo would be your choice to replace him?

So not knowing who is available. I am going to pick Bob Clarke. With Burke in TO and going to make TO a rough and tough team to play against I think that Clarke would be a good choice to balance build skillful and tough team to play against.

There are other questions to consider...

Mlakar is almost at the end of his 1 year extension. Internally he let it known he was pissed that they relieved Muckler, so one has to wonder if Melnyk replaces the president. Before you start looking for a new GM wonder if the president will be signed. If not then I look to Bob Nicholson to become the President and Govenor of the Sens...then the question begs who he appoints as GM. I would guess he would keep Murray until after the olympics and then see if Stevie Y. is interested. But then again thats just a womans opinion.

I don't think Murray is going anywhere. Coaching snafu aside he has done a great job of rebuilding Bingo and really besides the Meszaros trade is there anyone who complained about all the moves he made.

I was critical of some and liked others, even if they didn't work out. I would still to this day do the Stillman/Commodore for Eaves/Corvo. That was the right move, and those guys couldn't fix the mess this team was in. Corvo hasn't been great for Carolina, in fact they have been trying to move him, never mind the fact he didn't want to be here let alone in Canada. You can't keep guys on the team if they don't want to play here, it means you have a player who is disinterested and that isn't a good thing. Losing Eaves hurts, but we have 5 "Eaves" type players on the farm so really what was the loss.

Redden's loss is significant because we lost Corvo and Meszaros, but really would you have signed him to a 2 year 5 million dollar deal let alone the 6 x 6.5? Didn't think so.

Meszaros is the only move I disagree with. I said it here on this board and on other forums that Murray needed to sit back and let the Lightning make their pitch and they take their draft picks. How good would Ottawa look now getting their own lottery pick as well as Tampa's, not to mention their 2nd and 3rd rounder’s (assuming the $$$ rumors for the signing sheet were accurate).

I'll hold off on my final decision on that trade till I see what they get for the 1st rounder from San Jose (do they use it to trade up or get another asset) and what happens to Kuba (will he waive his NTC).

I guess this turned into another long post from a woman who just can't keep her mouth shut...(keep your retorts to yourselves boys!)

Dawg's Wife

I am surprised you didn't like the Meszaros trade. Really surprised actually. The deal was...

Meszaros

for

Kuba
Picard
Sj 1st round pick (25th-30th overall probably)

Meszaros has 2 goals and 14 assists for 16 points with a minus 4

While Picard and Kuba have 39 points between them and are a plus 5 combined (Picard (6, 8, 14 and -1) and Kuba (1, 24, 25 and +6) plus we get a late first round pick. I think Murray made out like a bandit on this one personally.

MurderOnIce wrote:
I am surprised you didn't like the Meszaros trade. Really surprised actually. The deal was...

Meszaros

for

Kuba
Picard
Sj 1st round pick (25th-30th overall probably)

Meszaros has 2 goals and 14 assists for 16 points with a minus 4

While Picard and Kuba have 39 points between them and are a plus 5 combined (Picard (6, 8, 14 and -1) and Kuba (1, 24, 25 and +6) plus we get a late first round pick. I think Murray made out like a bandit on this one personally.

It's not that I didn't like the deal...I guess I should have stated my position clearer. I would have prefered that they take the picks as a result of an offer sheet rather than the trade. Only because Kuba has a NTC and I said at the time, you may have a hard time moving him as I didn't see him resigning here. That would make the trade...

Meszaros for Picard and SJ's pick.

I'm assuming that Tampa's threat of an offer sheet was something they were going to go through with...who knows..maybe Murray knew they were blowing smoke and didn't want to get stuck with having a contract situation with him so decided to get what he could...in that case the deal was great...still would have prefered the picks.

Neil Smith is a great candidate, so is Poile from Nashville, good suggestion. Mike McPhee? Would he be good? He was a good player, but that doesn't always translate.

At this point, I would stay as far away from the unknowns as humanly possible. Smith or Poile for me.

I now have come to the realization that I too dislike the Meszaros trade - fairly immensely actually.

If TB was gonna dump Boyle and Mez would've cost 4 million, then isn't that a difference of but 2.7 million? The difference between Boyle and Mez is laughable, the difference between Boyle and Kuba/Picard/30th overall is amusing with Boyle still being worth more.

I'm going out of a limb here, but the woody that TB had for Mez, I bet it would've been close to a 1 for 1 deal - Mez for Boyle. It's called due diligence Murray, it's really, really important when you're the GM of a team.

I am still not sold. Sure I would have liked Boyle here... local boy true PMD, good guy in the room/community.. all good. His contract at his age is not very cap friendly.

As far as the trade goes. We got two serviceable d-men for one aledgedly bad influence d-man who was expecting to be paid for potential rather than production. Plus a first rounder. I still think it's okay. Picard has some upside, really he has a lot of potential. Kuba has been better than Mesz has this year single handedly... for less. And we have the option to resign him if we want or potentially move him for more picks. Say we move him for another first rounder. The deal becomes 2 - 1sts and a good prospect for Meszaros plus a year of production from what was surprisingly (and sadly) our best defenseman.

MurderOnIce wrote:I am still not sold. Sure I would have liked Boyle here... local boy true PMD, good guy in the room/community.. all good. His contract at his age is not very cap friendly.

As far as the trade goes. We got two serviceable d-men for one aledgedly bad influence d-man who was expecting to be paid for potential rather than production. Plus a first rounder. I still think it's okay. Picard has some upside, really he has a lot of potential. Kuba has been better than Mesz has this year single handedly... for less. And we have the option to resign him if we want or potentially move him for more picks. Say we move him for another first rounder. The deal becomes 2 - 1sts and a good prospect for Meszaros plus a year of production from what was surprisingly (and sadly) our best defenseman.

The trade itself I didn't mind, we got Kuba and Picard and a 1st for a young guy with no future here. I actually like the way it worked out.

I just regret not getting Boyle for Mez straight up is all.

504Heater wrote:

MurderOnIce wrote:I am still not sold. Sure I would have liked Boyle here... local boy true PMD, good guy in the room/community.. all good. His contract at his age is not very cap friendly.

As far as the trade goes. We got two serviceable d-men for one aledgedly bad influence d-man who was expecting to be paid for potential rather than production. Plus a first rounder. I still think it's okay. Picard has some upside, really he has a lot of potential. Kuba has been better than Mesz has this year single handedly... for less. And we have the option to resign him if we want or potentially move him for more picks. Say we move him for another first rounder. The deal becomes 2 - 1sts and a good prospect for Meszaros plus a year of production from what was surprisingly (and sadly) our best defenseman.

The trade itself I didn't mind, we got Kuba and Picard and a 1st for a young guy with no future here. I actually like the way it worked out.

I just regret not getting Boyle for Mez straight up is all.

I like Boyle a lot, I am worried about Boyle 3 years from now with a cap hit of what $6M or $6.5M?

MurderOnIce wrote:
I like Boyle a lot, I am worried about Boyle 3 years from now with a cap hit of what $6M or $6.5M?

It's a good point, you can't hide from the fact that he'll be 38 when the package expires. It would have been a crazy risk as well considering he sliced his tendon last year.

Plus, his cap hit is 6.66 million. That alone may have scared Murray off.

504Heater wrote:Neil Smith is a great candidate, so is Poile from Nashville, good suggestion. Mike McPhee? Would he be good? He was a good player, but that doesn't always translate.

At this point, I would stay as far away from the unknowns as humanly possible. Smith or Poile for me.

Neil Smith is my favourite drummer, ever.

504Heater wrote:

MurderOnIce wrote:
I like Boyle a lot, I am worried about Boyle 3 years from now with a cap hit of what $6M or $6.5M?

It's a good point, you can't hide from the fact that he'll be 38 when the package expires. It would have been a crazy risk as well considering he sliced his tendon last year.

Plus, his cap hit is 6.66 million. That alone may have scared Murray off.

I've been doubted on this when I first posted it butttt..


it was Melnyk that killed the DAn Boyle trade and not Murray. Murray had the deal done and took it to The Gene and he was the one that got the cold feet.

....and no doubt it was over the money and the term...

going back in time, I would've totally held off on giving Spezza his big deal for that long and gave Boyle that money....

Of course if I had a time machine, it would've also been used to keep BOTH (you heard me right), BOTH Chara and Redden. 12 Million on two top D is looking much smarter that the 14 Million on Batman and Robin are making right now.


As for GM, coaching, and other staffing matters....

I would strongly consider Neil SMith (GM), Ted Nolan (Coach), and that fat Spartan that they used before the 1st playoff home game last year as Prez.

Dawg's Wife wrote:

MurderOnIce wrote:
I am surprised you didn't like the Meszaros trade. Really surprised actually. The deal was...

Meszaros

for

Kuba
Picard
Sj 1st round pick (25th-30th overall probably)

Meszaros has 2 goals and 14 assists for 16 points with a minus 4

While Picard and Kuba have 39 points between them and are a plus 5 combined (Picard (6, 8, 14 and -1) and Kuba (1, 24, 25 and +6) plus we get a late first round pick. I think Murray made out like a bandit on this one personally.

It's not that I didn't like the deal...I guess I should have stated my position clearer. I would have prefered that they take the picks as a result of an offer sheet rather than the trade. Only because Kuba has a NTC and I said at the time, you may have a hard time moving him as I didn't see him resigning here. That would make the trade...

Meszaros for Picard and SJ's pick.

I'm assuming that Tampa's threat of an offer sheet was something they were going to go through with...who knows..maybe Murray knew they were blowing smoke and didn't want to get stuck with having a contract situation with him so decided to get what he could...in that case the deal was great...still would have prefered the picks.

We needed Defensemen to fill the roster. Badly.