Gerber clears!!!!

Murray knows that he has to move dollars out the door soon. I predict we will see a glut of talented players being traded for next to nothing in order to clear cap space by this time next year. Look at Philly - I don't think they could move Briere even if they wanted to.

I think Murray hasn't decided about Spezza. He is wondering if Vermette/Fisher/Comrie can be good enough down the middle to trade Spezza for a skilled/physical winger. With the prospect of Chara and Pronger together in Boston, the Sens will need to get some more size up front. I pity the Comrie-Kelly-Shannon line when they chip that puck in deep.

If he keeps Spezza, the goaltending tandem will remain the same going into next year. If the goaltending is just ok halfway through the 09-10 season, getting someone like Dan Ellis, Leclaire, or even Giguere could be doable with fewer dollars left on their deal.

It's a trickle-down effect after deciding on Spezza. The Sens have six D-men under contract for next year (Picard, Schubert, Volchenkov, Phillips, Smith, Lee), but I bet at least 3 of them are gone by the draft.

Bold prediction for players traded by Wednesday:

Chris Neil
Filip Kuba
Jason Spezza
Chris Kelly
Alex Picard
Christoph Schubert

I predict six guys go.

Kuba, Neil and PIcard... THat's about it for Wednesday IMO. May be add in some prospects, if Murray wants to make a push for a goalie for Bingo. Sexsmith would be nice, I don`t think San Jose would suffer much from losing him, and they sure want Neiler.

dennycrane wrote:
Bold prediction for players traded by Wednesday:

Chris Neil
Filip Kuba
Jason Spezza
Chris Kelly
Alex Picard
Christoph Schubert

I predict six guys go.

Agree with the following:

Neil will be gone if not signed for $1.2M or less
Kuba will be gone if not signed for $3M or less (I'd like to see him go for picks no matter what)
Picard will probably stay, unless Comrie signs (gotta have something substantial from the loss of Mez)
Schubert - waived or low pick/low end prospect

Wildcards - low probability, but will bring back a premium:

Spezza - lots to gain, lots to lose; after Canada Day, Murray is tied down, and cap is an issue, so finances may be the deciding factor. As has been said though, he'll have to be blown away by the offer, because there's no doubt a trade will come back to bite Ottawa in the a$$

Heater - as above, but NMC in place now

Vermette - for some reason, I don't hear as many rumblings about Kelly moving as Vermette. Makes no sense to me, but one should go once Comrie resigns (if he resigns)

Smith - would be great to mentor the young'uns, but would also command a good premium from a contender (and he deserves to go on a cup run, if he wants it)

Phillips - I'd hate to see the Big Rig go, but he's not the player we drafted, and I don't want to watch another Redden play out.

^ I agree. Picard stays because Murray is too pig-headed to admit he was wrong with him.

Kelly stays...because Murray is too pig-headed to admit...

dennycrane wrote:Murray knows that he has to move dollars out the door soon. I predict we will see a glut of talented players being traded for next to nothing in order to clear cap space by this time next year. Look at Philly - I don't think they could move Briere even if they wanted to.

I think Murray hasn't decided about Spezza. He is wondering if Vermette/Fisher/Comrie can be good enough down the middle to trade Spezza for a skilled/physical winger. With the prospect of Chara and Pronger together in Boston, the Sens will need to get some more size up front. I pity the Comrie-Kelly-Shannon line when they chip that puck in deep.

If he keeps Spezza, the goaltending tandem will remain the same going into next year. If the goaltending is just ok halfway through the 09-10 season, getting someone like Dan Ellis, Leclaire, or even Giguere could be doable with fewer dollars left on their deal.

It's a trickle-down effect after deciding on Spezza. The Sens have six D-men under contract for next year (Picard, Schubert, Volchenkov, Phillips, Smith, Lee), but I bet at least 3 of them are gone by the draft.

Bold prediction for players traded by Wednesday:

Chris Neil
Filip Kuba
Jason Spezza
Chris Kelly
Alex Picard
Christoph Schubert

I predict six guys go.

Picard I think will stay. He has been on bad teams for the most part of his early career and that has got to do something to his development. If he stays I suspect its because Murray feels that Picard still can be something special.