Murray sounds off on Meszaros

Senators GM Bryan Murray fired back at Andrej Meszaros yesterday.

While the 22-year-old defenceman told Sun Media Sunday he wanted to stay in Ottawa, Murray said Meszaros' agent Ritch Winter complained that Jason Smith wasn't going to be a good enough partner for his client.

After dealing Meszaros to the Tampa Bay Lightning Friday in exchange for Filip Kuba, Alexandre Picard and a No. 1 draft pick, Murray was still steaming yesterday.

"I'm certainly satisfied with the deal at the end of the day, but I'm not happy with the way it came down," said Murray. "I'm not happy they asked me for $4.5 (million) all the way through, they threatened an offer sheet, which they had going on Friday. The choice I had after talking to (owner Eugene Melnyk) was: 'Do we overpay (to keep) this guy?' "As much as it has been written he wanted to be in Ottawa ... he didn't want to be in Ottawa. He wanted to move on. I was told his (defensive) partner wouldn't be good enough for him and lots of other stuff. So we just decided at the end that if we could get value, we'd just make the deal and that would be it."

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Murray confirmed a Sun Media report he offered Meszaros a five-year deal at $3.5- million per season. He also "offered a little higher than that" at the last minute. Meszaros accepted a six-year, $24-million deal from the Bolts. "I was told at the last minute if I offered $4 million that maybe (Winter) could take it to his client. He signed for $4 million in one day with Tampa, but I was also assured an offer sheet was coming and I'm pretty sure there was," said Murray. "If it was an offer sheet we were going to be short on the blue line. Just as important was the fact that I felt it would have a tremendous effect on the rest of the NHL when you pay Andrej Meszaros ($5.2) million or more. I called (Tampa GM) Brian Lawton and I said, 'If you want this player, there are two options: Make the offer sheet or this is the trade I want to make with you.' It took all day to agree to do this."

Interesting. So he *did* offer him $3.5M for 5 years. Garrioch was correct (dammit!). I think Winters is the major culprit here (as is usual with agents), feeding Murray the line that he *might* sign for $4M, then turning around and signing a $4M contract a split-second after the trade. Murray made the right move forced by circumstances.

wprager wrote:Interesting. So he *did* offer him $3.5M for 5 years. Garrioch was correct (dammit!). I think Winters is the major culprit here (as is usual with agents), feeding Murray the line that he *might* sign for $4M, then turning around and signing a $4M contract a split-second after the trade. Murray made the right move forced by circumstances.

What I hope happens is Jason SMith teaches this little f'er a lesson when we play them. To come out and say a veteran such as Smith isn't good enough to play with when he himself has underachieved for the past two years and proven he's not that good without Big Z, then I hope he gets what is coming to him.

Wow. I'm torn over this.

On the one hand, I can't believe we lost him over so little money; Murray says he even offered 'a little more' than $3.5 / 5 yrs at the last minute, which means probably something like $3.75. This mystifies me, both on Murray's and Meszaro's part, and makes me feel that we lost him over nothing.

On the other hand, it certainly does seem like Mesz didn't want to stay here at all, given that he settled instantly for such a marginal increase with Tampa. This angers me and makes me think the move was for the best.

jamvan wrote:

wprager wrote:Interesting. So he *did* offer him $3.5M for 5 years. Garrioch was correct (dammit!). I think Winters is the major culprit here (as is usual with agents), feeding Murray the line that he *might* sign for $4M, then turning around and signing a $4M contract a split-second after the trade. Murray made the right move forced by circumstances.

What I hope happens is Jason SMith teaches this little f'er a lesson when we play them. To come out and say a veteran such as Smith isn't good enough to play with when he himself has underachieved for the past two years and proven he's not that good without Big Z, then I hope he gets what is coming to him.

You took the words out of my mouth. So Smith isn't good enough for him, but a declining Redden was for two years? Maybe he didn't want a partner who would hold him quite so accountable and teach him defensive responsibility. If that is the case, I'm glad he's in Tampa. I bet Carle won't be too strict on him.

OK, so what I don't understand is; did Murray offer him $4 x 6? I can't imagine he wouldn't, he would be overpaying for the first year, but then after that, he should be worth the $4 per.

I really don't understand what happened here. Was he actually upset about his defensive pairing??? I'm sure he would've been just fine with Smith.

So, basically Mesz is an Donkey and wanted no part of this team. To that I say, good riddance, and have fun playing on one of the worst teams in the league. Who will be your partner there??

We don't need rubbish like that on our team, I'm happy that this all came out now and we got rid of the punk.

SensGirl11 wrote:OK, so what I don't understand is; did Murray offer him $4 x 6? I can't imagine he wouldn't, he would be overpaying for the first year, but then after that, he should be worth the $4 per.

I really don't understand what happened here. Was he actually upset about his defensive pairing??? I'm sure he would've been just fine with Smith.

So, basically Mesz is an Donkey and wanted no part of this team. To that I say, good riddance, and have fun playing on one of the worst teams in the league. Who will be your partner there??

We don't need rubbish like that on our team, I'm happy that this all came out now and we got rid of the punk.

Murray offered a five year deal worth $3.5 million and didn't go any higher cause he'd already be over paying at $3.5. You have to remember that Meszaros' play was in a downward spiral, he wasn't getting better which is why Murray had a hard time paying him the money. He didn't earn anything. $3.5 would be considered over paying for a 4th slot defenceman.

Meszaros has now proven he's a baby la la and I'm 200% glad he's gone from here. We got better with the return from the trade, so once again...props to Murray.

jamvan wrote:

SensGirl11 wrote:OK, so what I don't understand is; did Murray offer him $4 x 6? I can't imagine he wouldn't, he would be overpaying for the first year, but then after that, he should be worth the $4 per.

I really don't understand what happened here. Was he actually upset about his defensive pairing??? I'm sure he would've been just fine with Smith.

So, basically Mesz is an Donkey and wanted no part of this team. To that I say, good riddance, and have fun playing on one of the worst teams in the league. Who will be your partner there??

We don't need rubbish like that on our team, I'm happy that this all came out now and we got rid of the punk.

Murray offered a five year deal worth $3.5 million and didn't go any higher cause he'd already be over paying at $3.5. You have to remember that Meszaros' play was in a downward spiral, he wasn't getting better which is why Murray had a hard time paying him the money. He didn't earn anything. $3.5 would be considered over paying for a 4th slot defenceman.

Meszaros has now proven he's a baby la la and I'm 200% glad he's gone from here. We got better with the return from the trade, so once again...props to Murray.

At the end of the article it said that Murray offered closer to $4 at the last minute...I don't know why he would do that if he didn't think that he would be worth it in the long run. Don't get me wrong, I don't think he's worth close to $4 right now, but I do think that a year or 2 from now he would be. I know his play got worse these past 2 years, but remember who he was playing with, and to have a young man, who isn't fully developped yet playing with a veteran who's seriously in a downward spiral, isn't going to help matters. I think with a different partner, he would've been quite good. Again, I'm happy he's gone because he didn't want to be here, and if he wants to play for a loser team, so be it. I think in the end, we won the trade for sure. Murray must have known what he was doing by waiting as long as he did and not breaking in any way. I welcome Picard and Kuba with open arms, and I know that they will bring some added character to our room. Kuba knew he wanted to get out of dodge, and he was handed the perfect opportunity. At least we know he wants to win.

SensGirl11 wrote:

jamvan wrote:

SensGirl11 wrote:OK, so what I don't understand is; did Murray offer him $4 x 6? I can't imagine he wouldn't, he would be overpaying for the first year, but then after that, he should be worth the $4 per.

I really don't understand what happened here. Was he actually upset about his defensive pairing??? I'm sure he would've been just fine with Smith.

So, basically Mesz is an Donkey and wanted no part of this team. To that I say, good riddance, and have fun playing on one of the worst teams in the league. Who will be your partner there??

We don't need rubbish like that on our team, I'm happy that this all came out now and we got rid of the punk.

Murray offered a five year deal worth $3.5 million and didn't go any higher cause he'd already be over paying at $3.5. You have to remember that Meszaros' play was in a downward spiral, he wasn't getting better which is why Murray had a hard time paying him the money. He didn't earn anything. $3.5 would be considered over paying for a 4th slot defenceman.

Meszaros has now proven he's a baby la la and I'm 200% glad he's gone from here. We got better with the return from the trade, so once again...props to Murray.

At the end of the article it said that Murray offered closer to $4 at the last minute...I don't know why he would do that if he didn't think that he would be worth it in the long run. Don't get me wrong, I don't think he's worth close to $4 right now, but I do think that a year or 2 from now he would be. I know his play got worse these past 2 years, but remember who he was playing with, and to have a young man, who isn't fully developped yet playing with a veteran who's seriously in a downward spiral, isn't going to help matters. I think with a different partner, he would've been quite good. Again, I'm happy he's gone because he didn't want to be here, and if he wants to play for a loser team, so be it. I think in the end, we won the trade for sure. Murray must have known what he was doing by waiting as long as he did and not breaking in any way. I welcome Picard and Kuba with open arms, and I know that they will bring some added character to our room. Kuba knew he wanted to get out of dodge, and he was handed the perfect opportunity. At least we know he wants to win.

The article says he was told if they offered $4 there was a chance he'd sign, but he never offered him that, especially after talking to Melnyk. Kuba waived a no-trade to come here as well, so he wants to be here, unlike MESSaroz.

I'm very happy with the return we got for Mesz and the subsequent cap situation we'll be in next year as well. I think Kuba will fit in nicely and to get Picard alone is awesome then you throw in a first and I love this deal. Kuba helps for this season while Lee learns for a year, then Karlsson gets callups next season and Picard learns next season as well. by 2010 we should have a D that includes Lee, Karlsson, Picard, Volchie and Phillips as our top 5!! That will be very nice indeed.

Cap'n' Clutch wrote:I'm very happy with the return we got for Mesz and the subsequent cap situation we'll be in next year as well. I think Kuba will fit in nicely and to get Picard alone is awesome then you throw in a first and I love this deal. Kuba helps for this season while Lee learns for a year, then Karlsson gets callups next season and Picard learns next season as well. by 2010 we should have a D that includes Lee, Karlsson, Picard, Volchie and Phillips as our top 5!! That will be very nice indeed.

Do you think it would be best for Lee to play with Phillips this year? I think it would help his development more if he were to play with him. Or do we leave Philly and Volchenkov together and place Lee with Smith or Kuba??

SensGirl11 wrote:

jamvan wrote:

SensGirl11 wrote:OK, so what I don't understand is; did Murray offer him $4 x 6? I can't imagine he wouldn't, he would be overpaying for the first year, but then after that, he should be worth the $4 per.

I really don't understand what happened here. Was he actually upset about his defensive pairing??? I'm sure he would've been just fine with Smith.

So, basically Mesz is an Donkey and wanted no part of this team. To that I say, good riddance, and have fun playing on one of the worst teams in the league. Who will be your partner there??

We don't need rubbish like that on our team, I'm happy that this all came out now and we got rid of the punk.

Murray offered a five year deal worth $3.5 million and didn't go any higher cause he'd already be over paying at $3.5. You have to remember that Meszaros' play was in a downward spiral, he wasn't getting better which is why Murray had a hard time paying him the money. He didn't earn anything. $3.5 would be considered over paying for a 4th slot defenceman.

Meszaros has now proven he's a baby la la and I'm 200% glad he's gone from here. We got better with the return from the trade, so once again...props to Murray.

At the end of the article it said that Murray offered closer to $4 at the last minute...I don't know why he would do that if he didn't think that he would be worth it in the long run. Don't get me wrong, I don't think he's worth close to $4 right now, but I do think that a year or 2 from now he would be. I know his play got worse these past 2 years, but remember who he was playing with, and to have a young man, who isn't fully developped yet playing with a veteran who's seriously in a downward spiral, isn't going to help matters. I think with a different partner, he would've been quite good. Again, I'm happy he's gone because he didn't want to be here, and if he wants to play for a loser team, so be it. I think in the end, we won the trade for sure. Murray must have known what he was doing by waiting as long as he did and not breaking in any way. I welcome Picard and Kuba with open arms, and I know that they will bring some added character to our room. Kuba knew he wanted to get out of dodge, and he was handed the perfect opportunity. At least we know he wants to win.

Thats the way I feel about it...nice post.
Still, I'm betting Redden and Meszaros have great seasons. I put them both over 40 points, easy.

The article says he was told if they offered $4 there was a chance he'd sign, but he never offered him that, especially after talking to Melnyk. Kuba waived a no-trade to come here as well, so he wants to be here, unlike MESSaroz.[/quote]

Murray confirmed a Sun Media report he offered Meszaros a five-year deal at $3.5- million per season. He also "offered a little higher than that" at the last minute. Meszaros accepted a six-year, $24-million deal from the Bolts. (as per the Sun)

After that it said that he was told if he offered $4 he would take it to his agent...etc...

SensGirl11 wrote:

Cap'n' Clutch wrote:I'm very happy with the return we got for Mesz and the subsequent cap situation we'll be in next year as well. I think Kuba will fit in nicely and to get Picard alone is awesome then you throw in a first and I love this deal. Kuba helps for this season while Lee learns for a year, then Karlsson gets callups next season and Picard learns next season as well. by 2010 we should have a D that includes Lee, Karlsson, Picard, Volchie and Phillips as our top 5!! That will be very nice indeed.

Do you think it would be best for Lee to play with Phillips this year? I think it would help his development more if he were to play with him. Or do we leave Philly and Volchenkov together and place Lee with Smith or Kuba??

Imo these pairings work best:
Phillips - Kuba
Volchenkov - Lee
Smith - Picard/Schubert

You've got the veteran pairing, the youth movement, and the other guys...EAch line has a shutdown man and each line has a puck mover.
Phillips had one of his best seasons when paired with Chara and Kuba is as close as you get to Chara in this league...
Volchenkov and Lee are both solid defenders, one can move the puck the other can destroy people.
Smith is not top-4 anymore but he is the ultimate 3rd pairing shutdown man. He insulates whichever "rookie" is beside him.

SensGirl11 wrote:

Cap'n' Clutch wrote:I'm very happy with the return we got for Mesz and the subsequent cap situation we'll be in next year as well. I think Kuba will fit in nicely and to get Picard alone is awesome then you throw in a first and I love this deal. Kuba helps for this season while Lee learns for a year, then Karlsson gets callups next season and Picard learns next season as well. by 2010 we should have a D that includes Lee, Karlsson, Picard, Volchie and Phillips as our top 5!! That will be very nice indeed.

Do you think it would be best for Lee to play with Phillips this year? I think it would help his development more if he were to play with him. Or do we leave Philly and Volchenkov together and place Lee with Smith or Kuba??

I think Philly will see some time with Lee and some with Volchie such that Lee's minutes aren't too high for his first season and so he is sheltered with a veteran Defensive D in Philly. That's what I would suspect anyway.