GAME DAY: Florida Panthers @ Ottawa Senators - 7:00pm ET - Sat. Jan. 9th, 2010

For the record, I'm not necessarily advocating acquiring Kovalchuk, depending on what the price is. But I'm wondering if a scenario where we sacrifice some depth for a near-generational talent is so much worse than the current one.

And it's a good question. My hesitation is based on keeping the money available for a stud d man. Whether that's reasonable/realistic... I have no idea.

This guy is a truly elite player so if there is no shot at drastically improving our defense then my next question is what do we give up to get him? The salary will have to make sense... Either way we will be losing Kovalev after one more season, losing Michalek in the trade would leave Fisher alone as a real second line guy in my opinion. Maybe Foligno will have improved but I wouldn't count on it.

Salary is coming off the books in the coming seasons but a Kovalchuk extension is likely to be pricey, limiting our free agent options to fill in the holes.

The cash line was dominant, but if they weren't producing it seemed no one was. This year there is more balance, but it's hard to compare to last year's cash line situation, where we tanked the first half and exceled the second half, to the current one.

This certainly is a complex question...
If someone can work out the logistics cash-wise to see if we could grab Kovalchuk AND a top D man in the coming years. THAT is something I would be all for.

cloverleaf wrote:

Dash wrote: Even Vermette for Leclaire + pick is looking bad.

It looked bad from the very start, but now it looks like a train wreck. That trade is horrendous. Counting on Leclaire to be a number 1
Thanks for bringing a realistic view Dash. I haven't read every post of yours yet, but some of this is refreshing to hear.

Vermette for Leclaire and Lehner is a steal for us, I do that trade again in a second even after watching the first half of this year.

Dash wrote: Even Vermette for Leclaire + pick is looking bad.

It looked bad from the very start, but now it looks like a train wreck. That trade is horrendous. Counting on Leclaire to be a number 1
Thanks for bringing a realistic view Dash. I haven't read every post of yours yet, but some of this is refreshing to hear.

Just curious, are you saying we'd be better off with Elliott as our number 1, Mike Brodeur as the back up while keeping Vermette in the lineup? Doesn't sound very sexy to me.

Here's a question for you Dash, when we are 6th (before last night) in the conference, and we get 13,000 (approx) in attendance, what would you think be the attendance if this team goes on a full rebuild?

Forget the elite defenseman guys, we wait for our prospects to develop and that's it. We may not be in a full rebuild, but we are not contending either.
Patching holes may seem weak for some, but at the same time it keeps your team competitive while your prospects develop.

Drafts are better than in previous years now, there are more and more good players, you can get a nice forward at 10-20 and after 2 or 3 drafts you can build a good group of guys. Maybe not 3 Patrick Kanes, but you can have a Hodgson, Beach and Eberle.

Murray has set the D, started in goal, and the forwards are coming.

Forget the elite defenseman guys, we wait for our prospects to develop and that's it.

I don't mind the patchwork and mini rebuild, but an elite defenseman would be beneficial to our defensive prospects' development. After all, they're still prospects, not guarantees.

beerandsens wrote:

Forget the elite defenseman guys, we wait for our prospects to develop and that's it.

I don't mind the patchwork and mini rebuild, but an elite defenseman would be beneficial to our defensive prospects' development. After all, they're still prospects, not guarantees.

The problem is how to get one outside of the draft. The only potentially available elite defenceman out there right now that I can think of is Scott Niedermayer, and that'd probably be a waste of assets given he's so close to retirement.

beerandsens wrote:

Forget the elite defenseman guys, we wait for our prospects to develop and that's it.

I don't mind the patchwork and mini rebuild, but an elite defenseman would be beneficial to our defensive prospects' development. After all, they're still prospects, not guarantees.

THe problem is, you'd end up with a Brian Campbell when you have a Keith and Seabrook to resign.

Dan Boyle was could have been had for free, Murray didn't do it, He won't do anything.

beerandsens wrote:

Forget the elite defenseman guys, we wait for our prospects to develop and that's it.

After all, they're still prospects, not guarantees.

Amen! I will never understand the fascination with annointing a prospect as a savior when in reality if he has proved squat at the nhl level and won't for at least three years.

How have the last 16 years of 2nd round selections done for the Sens? Penney, bicanek, neckar, moro, fisher, bala, lajeunesse, sainomaa, chouinard, vermette, uchevatov, kaigorodov, mirnov, lyamin, bashhkirov, wiercioch, silverberg or lehner?
No joke. Those are the last 16 years of 2nd rounders. Forget about what they have done for the sens, what have they done in the entire nhl?
I will tell you...prospect to sweet nothing was the overwhelming majority career lifeline.

cloverleaf wrote:

beerandsens wrote:

Forget the elite defenseman guys, we wait for our prospects to develop and that's it.

After all, they're still prospects, not guarantees.

Amen! I will never understand the fascination with annointing a prospect as a savior when in reality if he has proved squat at the nhl level and won't for at least three years.

How have the last 16 years of 2nd round selections done for the Sens? Penney, bicanek, neckar, moro, fisher, bala, lajeunesse, sainomaa, chouinard, vermette, uchevatov, kaigorodov, mirnov, lyamin, bashhkirov, wiercioch, silverberg or lehner?
No joke. Those are the last 16 years of 2nd rounders. Forget about what they have done for the sens, what have they done in the entire nhl?
I will tell you...prospect to sweet nothing was the overwhelming majority career lifeline.

Well, do we even have the choice? If we want elite, well 1st of all there is pratically none available, and 2nd even if there is, you sacrifice your cap and your future.

It`s good to find the problems, it's another thing to find the solution. I challenge you to provide us with some possible moves our GM should make.

marakh wrote:Forget the elite defenseman guys, we wait for our prospects to develop and that's it. We may not be in a full rebuild, but we are not contending either.
Patching holes may seem weak for some, but at the same time it keeps your team competitive while your prospects develop.

Drafts are better than in previous years now, there are more and more good players, you can get a nice forward at 10-20 and after 2 or 3 drafts you can build a good group of guys. Maybe not 3 Patrick Kanes, but you can have a Hodgson, Beach and Eberle.

Murray has set the D, started in goal, and the forwards are coming.

But I'm not talking about patchwork, I'm talking about buying a couple of elite players to go with the young guys and doing everything possible to jettison some of the ridiculous number of 3 million dollar contracts we have.

I'm willing to give Lehner the benefit of the doubt - I hope he becomes a solid #1 goalie, and for Ottawa too. I think Ottawa's got a history of ruining goalies though. We have such a high expectation for all our goalies to be saviours that we set ourselves up for disappointment.

Can't rush him, but can't let his talent waste away. He should play in the OHL as long as he is eligible and then make his way to the AHL for a year or two. Afterall, Leclaire is still on the books for another two years or so.