Matt Cullen to the sens

Ojk this is irrelevant, but Cullen has a 85 rating in the sim on faceoffs, and 67 overall

Isn't Cullen essentially an older Kelly? I don't like that we have some pretty good lines right now and that is without Cullen and Foligno as mentioned. Where do these guys fit in? More trades must be coming. Maybe a big package of 1-2 roster forwards and 1 defenceman for an impact defenceman?

rooneypoo wrote:

M_Christopher wrote:

N4L wrote:Because Cullen is a perfect depth guy and can probably be resigned cheap next year. Looks like Lee might be up here to stay now though, hopefully he can get it done.

So glad to see Derek Smith get a look as well, he had an awesome camp and it's time to see if they have a player or just a really good AHLer.

Lee had been looking better in his last tour of duty with the Sens, so lets just pray it's a sign of things to come.

Hopefully Smith will have better luck defensively playing with us.

Personally I wanted to see Kudelka get the call-up.

D. Smith looked very poised in the pre-season. He's not going to wow us with his offence, but he looked pretty steady and solid. Time to see if that was a fluke or not.

He was definitely one of our better D-men in the pre-season. I've been asking for him to get the call all season. Happy he's getting his chance for sure. Lee...well...I have 0 love left for him.

Excited to see Derek Smith. He's been solid in Bingo. I see this as an audition between Smith and Lee now to stay up with the club when Karlsson gets back.

However, something's gotta give at Forward.

rooneypoo wrote:

M_Christopher wrote:

Michallica wrote:According to Team 1200, sens have recalled Derek Smith. So no Cowen

Smith and Lee called up.....hmmmm

And, given the roster freeze tonight, that call up is gonna cost us even more money against the cap... we're gonna have to pay him and Lee now for the next two weeks.

Given how tight we have to be against the cap right now, I don't know if we'll be able to do anything more than a trade of the "5th rounder for Brookbank" variety in March.

Still, very excited to see D. Smith get a chance, as well as Lee, and to see where Cullen slots in and fits in.

The next 2 weeks count against the cap even if they're not playing?

We're pretty deep offensively. Now I wouldn't be surprised to see a 2 forwards for 1 defensemen type of swap.

Maybe something like Cheechoo and Shannon for Randy Jones and a pick? I don't really see a need for Shannon with Cullen here now.

Travis Yost (who I'm liking more and more) reports that Campoli is out 4-6 weeks with an MCL injury.

http://www.hockeybuzz.com/blog.php?blogger_id=134

Could be a shaky few weeks on the back end, especially if Karlsson isn't ready to go right after the Olympics.

Maybe we're finally getting that Hamhius we've been hearing so much about

Dash wrote:Isn't Cullen essentially an older Kelly? I don't like that we have some pretty good lines right now and that is without Cullen and Foligno as mentioned. Where do these guys fit in? More trades must be coming. Maybe a big package of 1-2 roster forwards and 1 defenceman for an impact defenceman?

Don't think so. Cullen has basically Kovalev/Fisher types of production this year, even on +/- on a -29 team.
Cullen also plays on the point on the PP.

TheAvatar wrote:

rooneypoo wrote:

M_Christopher wrote:

Michallica wrote:According to Team 1200, sens have recalled Derek Smith. So no Cowen

Smith and Lee called up.....hmmmm

And, given the roster freeze tonight, that call up is gonna cost us even more money against the cap... we're gonna have to pay him and Lee now for the next two weeks.

Given how tight we have to be against the cap right now, I don't know if we'll be able to do anything more than a trade of the "5th rounder for Brookbank" variety in March.

Still, very excited to see D. Smith get a chance, as well as Lee, and to see where Cullen slots in and fits in.

The next 2 weeks count against the cap even if they're not playing?

Yep. Players get paid by day with the club, not by game. All NHL salaries are paid out on a regular bi-monthly basis (I think) over the course of the season.

That said, Mark just pointed out that the roster freeze doesn't go into effect until sometime Sunday. If it's midnight Sunday, we should be able to have Lee and Smith play the NYI game, and then send them down for 2 weeks to get their salaries off the books. It's getting to the point here that we probably need to do these things to make sure we don't get cap handcuffed.

No trades after 3 PM today.

Bit of a head scratcher this deal. I like Cullen, don't care for Picard, but is this the deal you make with a 2nd rd. pick when you only have 4 regulars on D? With Campoli out at least one month, you would think Murray is moving at least one forward off of the roster out to add to the blueline.

With Foligno back and everyone healthy, I assume the scratches would be Donovan, Cheechoo, and Winchester. That also means that the team can only carry 6 d-men.

According to tsn and Bob mckenzie the trade freeze starts today at 3 eastern

Can Cullen play wing? Because I don't want Regin shifting from his centre position. He's way more effective in the middle.

I guess we know who occupies the first speed dial slot on Murray's phone.

I'm not thrilled about giving up a 2nd.

rooneypoo wrote:Travis Yost (who I'm liking more and more) reports that Campoli is out 4-6 weeks with an MCL injury.

http://www.hockeybuzz.com/blog.php?blogger_id=134

Could be a shaky few weeks on the back end, especially if Karlsson isn't ready to go right after the Olympics.

Yeah, I like Yost as well.

Can someone please tell me why we'd delete Cheechoo and Picard to bring in a forward, when we are now down Campoli (Karlsson too, but it's not too long)?

Is this REALLY the deal Murray should have blown his cap-space nut on???

this is what Matt Karash (HBuzz carolina blogger) had to say about Cullen :

As for my 2 cents on Cullen, I think he is a great addition to any playoff team:

1) Quantity of "deep" playoff experience with his name on the Cup and another deep run just last Spring.

2) Incredibly versatile player with wheels. You can put him with some scoring talent and expect something like 50-60-point pace, but he would not at all be out of place on a defense-first checking line.

3) Special teams help. He is a solid penalty killer with speed that leads to shorthanded chances. He is also comfortable (skilled) at playing the point on the power play if you do not have enough offensive defensemen to fill this role.

I'm on board.