Wow! Murray Quote from today's con call.

wprager wrote:

marakh wrote:I wouldnt be surprised if Deano came out of nowhere with more fuel to the fire. :geek: I dont know about Media, but I translated Vermette's comments word to word, you can't transform that.

The thing is, he never said anything bad about the players. In fact, it sounded like he will really miss playing with them. Nothing was said about a cancer. He said something about chemistry, but given how he liked playing with them, it doesn't sound like he meant it was a personality thing. Just not the right mix of players.

Spin it how ever you feel the need to. Not one team mate would ever out a player, fact of the matter is when you cannot develope chemistry there is a problem in the dressing room, and there are only a few guys here left. Maybe people in the dressing room get put off with Phillips and Fisher taking out too much time for the kids and the community. That messed up thing is, that wouldnt surprise me!

OK, I went back and re-read it. These are the points he made:
1. sad to leave the guys
2. a lot of friends
3. didnt have the beginning we expected
4. management need to improve the team
5. not sure if the team is out of the flunk
6. to win, you need some chemistry

It could be interpreted that he doesn't exactly agree with management about the move. He concedes that management had to improve the team, but the moves may have, sadly, destroyed the great chemistry he felt when playing here.

marakh wrote:I wouldnt be surprised if Deano came out of nowhere with more fuel to the fire. :geek: I dont know about Media, but I translated Vermette's comments word to word, you can't transform that.

I forgot to mention this before, but then soon after Hartsburg pulls a Paddock and Wing Dang Doodle about the Sens organization and Bryan Murray/Melnyk.

I have always believed the chemistry issue comes from the drastic changes to the line-up and roster, and line juggling. It's hard to develop chemistry when your constantly playing with new players, and have multiple coaching changes.

Chemistry starts in the dressing room and anyone will tell you that about a hockey team, at any kind of competitive level.

I don't think it necessarily means there's a problem with the chemistry personally among the players or within the dressing room. All Vermette could have meant is that - although very talented - their individual way of playing hockey didn't work well together on the ice. They might all get along or even be friends but whatever each individual brings to the ice might not work together to produce a cohesive unit. Thus, it's obvious management would get blamed for building an imbalanced team lacking on-ice chemistry. I tend to think it has nothing to do with a poisonous evironment in the change room.

At least in this case. With the problems last year it sounded like a different story altogether.

It's obvious that it has a lot to do with the revolving door for players and coaches.

You cannot force chemistry. This used to be a group of close, tight players/friends on and off the ice, then they saw their group get blown up.

In the last 3 years or so they've lost:
- Peter Schaefer
- Zdeno Chara
- Wade Redden
- Brian McGrattan
- Joe Corvo
- Tom Preissing
- Cory Stillman
- Ray Emery
- Martin Havlat
- Andrej Meszaros
- Pat Eaves
- Antoine Vermette
- Mike Commodore
- Dean McAmmond

Am I missing anyone else?

Yeah, Commodore, Deano just to name two. I'm sure there are others.

wprager wrote:Yeah, Commodore, Deano just to name two. I'm sure there are others.

Kaigordov, which might have been the guy we dumped to get comrie the first time.

Kaigorodov and Nikulin had little impact on the team I think. They may have, but I doubt it. Same reason I left out Bochenski.

It's pretty hard to argue that outside of the big three, we have no other lines that are as effective or threatening.

I remember back when the Schaefer-Fisher-Neil was pretty good.

Dash wrote:Kaigorodov and Nikulin had little impact on the team I think. They may have, but I doubt it. Same reason I left out Bochenski.

It's pretty hard to argue that outside of the big three, we have no other lines that are as effective or threatening.

I remember back when the Schaefer-Fisher-Neil was pretty good.

that was the name i was looking for, brandon bochenski, is that guy even still in the league? nikulin was the other bust of a russian prospect we had, he was soft at best. am guessing the only good russian prospect I know we have is zubov.

I think Bochenski signed in Tampa to play in Norfolk.... don't know if he is still there.

Dash wrote:I think Bochenski signed in Tampa to play in Norfolk.... don't know if he is still there.

I remember him on the first line in training camp tearing it up, season started, nothing. he was bounced around after that.

Maybe going back too far with a couple of these, but Smolinski, Martins, Havlat, Varada, Hamel (played more games than Kaigorodov), Pothier, Hasek, Richardson, Nycholat, Arnason, Saprykin, Robitaille, Lapointe

wprager wrote:Maybe going back too far with a couple of these, but Smolinski, Martins, Havlat, Varada, Hamel (played more games than Kaigorodov), Pothier, Hasek, Richardson, Nycholat, Arnason, Saprykin, Robitaille, Lapointe

Hamel is still around, and you know, from what a lot of people say, I hear he is a perfect guy to captain Bingo and help the young guys along.

Yeah, they gave him a minor league contract, he doesnt want to come up to Ottawa. He is happy there, had a house and a family there as well.

Neely4Life wrote:Yeah, they gave him a minor league contract, he doesnt want to come up to Ottawa. He is happy there, had a house and a family there as well.

definitely good for him and it's great for us, seems to be like a consumate team first guy.

SensFan71 wrote:

Neely4Life wrote:Yeah, they gave him a minor league contract, he doesnt want to come up to Ottawa. He is happy there, had a house and a family there as well.

definitely good for him and it's great for us, seems to be like a consumate team first guy.

Def a guy you want bringing the young guys along.