Time to make a move

Cronenbergfan wrote:

jamvan wrote:

Cap'n' Clutch wrote:

jamvan wrote:That's because Smith can be pencilled in above him, those are just the pairings I'd like to see.

Is Mclaren what we need? Is Lee and Mesz good enough for puck movers?

It's more of what is available IMO. MacLaren also has some offensive upside in him.

Valid point. The market is pretty thin as it is, and really I agree, McLaren fits perfectly within Ottawa's cap and he brings enough offensive upside to make it interesting.

I've heard some bad things about McLaren's health though and from the SJ fans they can't wait to get rid of him. I worry it could be another Commodore but with injury issues.

oh, that's not good... If McLaren is a liability, then I saw try to snag Boucher or Schneider instead.

Cronenbergfan wrote:oh, that's not good... If McLaren is a liability, then I saw try to snag Boucher or Schneider instead.

That's what I was tryin' to say with my Schneider post. Did you vote on that?

Cap'n' Clutch wrote:

Cronenbergfan wrote:oh, that's not good... If McLaren is a liability, then I saw try to snag Boucher or Schneider instead.

That's what I was tryin' to say with my Schneider post. Did you vote on that?

Yes I did as a matter of fact!

Cronenbergfan wrote:

Cap'n' Clutch wrote:

Cronenbergfan wrote:oh, that's not good... If McLaren is a liability, then I saw try to snag Boucher or Schneider instead.

That's what I was tryin' to say with my Schneider post. Did you vote on that?

Yes I did as a matter of fact!

Dude, we cracked 2 pages! I know, I know it aint much but I'm pretty happy to see it

My most likely candidate for a trade is Meszaros because of his current status. It's taking a long time to re-sign him, and that makes the talk that Murray and Mesz' crew are not seeing eye to eye on a mutual agreement and are far apart. Add in that he is allegedly hanging an offer from the KHL as leverage, I say if he doesn't want to play here, right now, send him to a team that can take him. Those teams would be ones looking to move surplus defenceman and/or a team that has the cap room and will give him the amount he is looking for (~$4-million?). Regardless if he sits out or is traded, we have a glaring hole in our blueline. There aren't any defenceman out there in free agent land right now that jump out at you, and we would likely be forced to play one of or at some point all three of Carkner, Bell and Nycholat. Neither of whom are nowhere near the talent level of Meszaros. So, does Murray:

• Give in to the Meszaros camp's demands?
  
• Allow him to sign with KHL and be a hold-out, thus retaining him?
  
• Trade him or his rights to another team and fill the void that way?
  
• or; fill the position from within?
  

Boucher really is the best option. The team likes to keep some room for trade deadline acquisitions, so it's highly unlikely that they can fit in both Schneider and Meszaros. And while Schneider is perhaps an upgrade on Meszaros now, giving up on Meszaros now for Schneider could have disastrous consequences long-term.

Even with the loss of Norstrom, the Stars have a stacked blue-line and may want to deal Boucher to let their young defencemen get more ice-time. His salary is very affordable and, when healthy, he brings the best game out of the three options you've mentioned.

Frankly, I think trading for McLaren is about as attractive as re-signing Richardson. The Sharks can't give this guy away.

DashRiprock wrote:My most likely candidate for a trade is Meszaros because of his current status. It's taking a long time to re-sign him, and that makes the talk that Murray and Mesz' crew are not seeing eye to eye on a mutual agreement and are far apart. Add in that he is allegedly hanging an offer from the KHL as leverage, I say if he doesn't want to play here, right now, send him to a team that can take him. Those teams would be ones looking to move surplus defenceman and/or a team that has the cap room and will give him the amount he is looking for (~$4-million?). Regardless if he sits out or is traded, we have a glaring hole in our blueline. There aren't any defenceman out there in free agent land right now that jump out at you, and we would likely be forced to play one of or at some point all three of Carkner, Bell and Nycholat. Neither of whom are nowhere near the talent level of Meszaros. So, does Murray:

• Give in to the Meszaros camp's demands?
  
• Allow him to sign with KHL and be a hold-out, thus retaining him?
  
• Trade him or his rights to another team and fill the void that way?
  
• or; fill the position from within?
  

Check out Cronenberfan's Rumour chat post. He has a source telling him Murray's final offer and it's under 3M. I think Mesz takes it and stays with the team. Our Cap situation is much brighter if that happens. Who woulda thought Verm and Mesz for under 6M combined?

Cap'n' Clutch wrote:

DashRiprock wrote:My most likely candidate for a trade is Meszaros because of his current status. It's taking a long time to re-sign him, and that makes the talk that Murray and Mesz' crew are not seeing eye to eye on a mutual agreement and are far apart. Add in that he is allegedly hanging an offer from the KHL as leverage, I say if he doesn't want to play here, right now, send him to a team that can take him. Those teams would be ones looking to move surplus defenceman and/or a team that has the cap room and will give him the amount he is looking for (~$4-million?). Regardless if he sits out or is traded, we have a glaring hole in our blueline. There aren't any defenceman out there in free agent land right now that jump out at you, and we would likely be forced to play one of or at some point all three of Carkner, Bell and Nycholat. Neither of whom are nowhere near the talent level of Meszaros. So, does Murray:

• Give in to the Meszaros camp's demands?
  
• Allow him to sign with KHL and be a hold-out, thus retaining him?
  
• Trade him or his rights to another team and fill the void that way?
  
• or; fill the position from within?
  

Check out Cronenberfan's Rumour chat post. He has a source telling him Murray's final offer and it's under 3M. I think Mesz takes it and stays with the team. Our Cap situation is much brighter if that happens. Who woulda thought Verm and Mesz for under 6M combined?

Oh yeah. All we need now is Mezie to sign it... LOL

We're all still waiting!

Hopefully either myself or any one of our fellow rabid hockey fans will hear something!!

No disrespect to anyone with or claiming to have sources, but it's hard to believe that Meszaros signs for under $3-million? Impossible no, but unlikely. However, stranger things have happened.

Here's a few thoughts:

• Meszaros could sign for under $3-million, but only for 1-2 years. No player's going to sign at that price nowadays for long-term knowing very well that every year they are signed for they could be getting another $1-million+. There are exceptions, but not everyone is a selfless, team-first person.
  
• Meszaros has not been tendered an offer sheet, which makes you wonder why not? If he is that good and is taking this long for his team to re-sign him, and with the number of free agent defenceman that are questionably not as good being signed for a lot more, why wouldn't a team make an offer? The worst case scenario is the team matches, or you give up a 1st round pick.
  

It's just that Murray has made it clear he wants people who want to play here. To me it shows a lack of commitment and devotion when a player does this sort of thing. You'd think that with all the friends he has he'd want to be a part of the team. Sure, who doesn't want money, but give me a break. If he doesn't want to sign, then find someone who will.

EDIT:

So I just got around to reading the aforementioned thread and I see I share similar thoughts as Cronenberg.

DashRiprock wrote:No disrespect to anyone with or claiming to have sources, but it's hard to believe that Meszaros signs for under $3-million? Impossible no, but unlikely. However, stranger things have happened.

Here's a few thoughts:

• Meszaros could sign for under $3-million, but only for 1-2 years. No player's going to sign at that price nowadays for long-term knowing very well that every year they are signed for they could be getting another $1-million+. There are exceptions, but not everyone is a selfless, team-first person.
  
• Meszaros has not been tendered an offer sheet, which makes you wonder why not? If he is that good and is taking this long for his team to re-sign him, and with the number of free agent defenceman that are questionably not as good being signed for a lot more, why wouldn't a team make an offer? The worst case scenario is the team matches, or you give up a 1st round pick.
  

It's just that Murray has made it clear he wants people who want to play here. To me it shows a lack of commitment and devotion when a player does this sort of thing. You'd think that with all the friends he has he'd want to be a part of the team. Sure, who doesn't want money, but give me a break. If he doesn't want to sign, then find someone who will.

EDIT:

So I just got around to reading the aforementioned thread and I see I share similar thoughts as Cronenberg.

The same was said to be true about Vermette right? No one thought we'd get him under $3.5 and Murray got him under $3!!! Mez wants to stay here big time, he will not go to Russia despite what is being said, he knows that if he goes there the chances of playing in the NHL again are slim to none. I seriously think he takes this 1 year deal and next year can option to walk of stay, by then Murray will have much more options on the back end.

jamvan wrote:

DashRiprock wrote:No disrespect to anyone with or claiming to have sources, but it's hard to believe that Meszaros signs for under $3-million? Impossible no, but unlikely. However, stranger things have happened.

Here's a few thoughts:

• Meszaros could sign for under $3-million, but only for 1-2 years. No player's going to sign at that price nowadays for long-term knowing very well that every year they are signed for they could be getting another $1-million+. There are exceptions, but not everyone is a selfless, team-first person.
  
• Meszaros has not been tendered an offer sheet, which makes you wonder why not? If he is that good and is taking this long for his team to re-sign him, and with the number of free agent defenceman that are questionably not as good being signed for a lot more, why wouldn't a team make an offer? The worst case scenario is the team matches, or you give up a 1st round pick.
  

It's just that Murray has made it clear he wants people who want to play here. To me it shows a lack of commitment and devotion when a player does this sort of thing. You'd think that with all the friends he has he'd want to be a part of the team. Sure, who doesn't want money, but give me a break. If he doesn't want to sign, then find someone who will.

EDIT:

So I just got around to reading the aforementioned thread and I see I share similar thoughts as Cronenberg.

The same was said to be true about Vermette right? No one thought we'd get him under $3.5 and Murray got him under $3!!! Mez wants to stay here big time, he will not go to Russia despite what is being said, he knows that if he goes there the chances of playing in the NHL again are slim to none. I seriously think he takes this 1 year deal and next year can option to walk of stay, by then Murray will have much more options on the back end.

I believe Mesz will sign for less than 3M per on a 1 year deal and then the money will be available for a raise next season if earned.

Let's assume that he signs for an even $3M/1yr.
That leaves about $3.5M in space for another offensive D and/or T6F (or both) with ideally $1.5M give or take a bit in wiggle room.

Schneider is a no-go, as far as I'm concerned - too close to the cap, and no long-term gains (Murray always has a long-term plan).

From what I can see, the only viable option for a PMD otherwise is Boucher, and a trade involving Neil has been tossed out.

On paper, it looks great, and works out wonderful for Ottawa, but how many stars would have to align for all this to happen?

My biggest question would be why Dallas would feel compelled to dump anyone. Cap-wise, my quick-and dirty calculations suggest that they are about $950K under, so they could still make a run for it. It would take some fancy footwork, and maybe some of the kids would ride the bus for a few games, for cost reasons only, but I'm sure they could do it. The only reason to dump Boucher otherwise, as I see it, is to make space for the "up-and-comers", and that I can't comment on. But Dallas doesn't really need someone like Neil, do they? And if they wanted to dump salary, they wouldn't want half of it back. We'd end up sending picks and prospects, which is what we don't want to do.

Going back to my original question, as much as I'd love to see him in Ottawa, I suspect Boucher remains in Dallas, at least until Feb.

The more I look at things, the more I'm afraid (really afraid) that we may be looking at the opening day roster, or at least all the pieces of it (once we sign Mez). That concerns me immensely.

jamvan wrote:
The same was said to be true about Vermette right? No one thought we'd get him under $3.5 and Murray got him under $3!!! Mez wants to stay here big time, he will not go to Russia despite what is being said, he knows that if he goes there the chances of playing in the NHL again are slim to none. I seriously think he takes this 1 year deal and next year can option to walk of stay, by then Murray will have much more options on the back end.

Just a quick question, why do you think his NHL chances become slim-to-none if he plays one year in Russia? The players that go away and not come back are usually Russian players, or those who, frankly, could *only* get a job over there (and even some of those come back, like Robitaille).

Pretty much everyone thinks that Emery (providing he has a good year) is back next year or soon after. Why not Meszaros?

wprager wrote:

jamvan wrote:
The same was said to be true about Vermette right? No one thought we'd get him under $3.5 and Murray got him under $3!!! Mez wants to stay here big time, he will not go to Russia despite what is being said, he knows that if he goes there the chances of playing in the NHL again are slim to none. I seriously think he takes this 1 year deal and next year can option to walk of stay, by then Murray will have much more options on the back end.

Just a quick question, why do you think his NHL chances become slim-to-none if he plays one year in Russia? The players that go away and not come back are usually Russian players, or those who, frankly, could *only* get a job over there (and even some of those come back, like Robitaille).

Pretty much everyone thinks that Emery (providing he has a good year) is back next year or soon after. Why not Meszaros?

I personally don't think he'd be gone for good. I think he doesn't want to go and he's in the same boat when he comes back isn't he? It's not all Shits and giggles going to the KHL from what I hear and then he starts this fiasco all over again next season. If he takes Murray's deal then he proves himself with more minutes and increased PP time and then cashes in without having to go to Russia.