Cullen or Spezza?

Gohan wrote:Don't forget that in December, the likes of Rooney and Neely (to name only two) were 99.9995% convinced that moving him was not only the right thing to do, but was inevitable. The fact that it's this much of a toss-up says a lot.

Oh, I think they still think that the best thing to do is to move him, but only in a perfect-world-trade scenario, where you trade for another #1 centre. Perhaps a change of scenery kind of trade. Realistically, though, the kind of player they want in return (at the same age, same number of years in the NHL, producing at a GPG clip *and* all heart in big games) are either playing for $8+M or signed on to 12+ year contracts or there is not a hope in hell their current team moves them.

Maybe such a player exists in one of the European leagues, but there isn't such a trade to be made here. And, as many have pointed out, the Euge isn't going to mess up all that playoff revenue by doing a re-build. Face it, why should he? We finally have some young players to get excited about. 94 points battling through all kinds of injuries is nothing to sneeze at. If not for two torn ACLs and a bulging disc they'd be playing another 2-3 home dates. We've got a good thing going, why mess with it?

cain69 wrote:Does anyone have any new info on the A-train front ?
I would like to know what kind of contract he is looking for.

Are you seriously asking? The smileys at the end made that not very clear, especially with guys like SSF around.

Last I heard reported was the Sens offered him $4Mx5 before the Olympics and that was turned down. He's likely seeking $5M and no less than $4.5M with a longer term (after all, he had a 5 year deal on the table, so he's not looking for anything less than that unless someone gives him, say, $5Mx3).

I think Murray would rather give Sutton $3-3.5M for two years, and by then we'll have Cowen and Wiercioch ready to step in.

SC is saying that Cullen is looking for a long term deal in the 3-4 year range. Make it so Murray.

From Murray's comments he sounds like someone who's looking to trade. Will be awful tough to speculate on what our roster will look like in 2010-11 or even which picks we will have at the upcoming draft.

It did sound an awful lot like Spezza is here to stay, though.

PKC wrote:SC is saying that Cullen is looking for a long term deal in the 3-4 year range. Make it so Murray.

Done. Murray to Cullen - "Here is your contract for 4 years. Just fill in the dollar amount you want and will send it to the league."

Cap'n Clutch wrote:

PKC wrote:SC is saying that Cullen is looking for a long term deal in the 3-4 year range. Make it so Murray.

Done. Murray to Cullen - "Here is your contract for 4 years. Just fill in the dollar amount you want and will send it to the league."

If he gets that term does he still play for 2.8?

PKC wrote:SC is saying that Cullen is looking for a long term deal in the 3-4 year range. Make it so Murray.

As long as it's for 3.5 or less, make it so.

EDIT: Please be less on a 4 year contract, please be 3.3, every little bit helps when you're trying to ice the best roster.

SeawaySensFan wrote:

Cap'n Clutch wrote:

PKC wrote:SC is saying that Cullen is looking for a long term deal in the 3-4 year range. Make it so Murray.

Done. Murray to Cullen - "Here is your contract for 4 years. Just fill in the dollar amount you want and will send it to the league."

If he gets that term does he still play for 2.8?

From what I read it sounds quite possible to me. Murray give the guy his 4 years. I'll be a combination of this , this , this this this this this this this and this

If Murray does not sign him and Cullen goes elsewhere for 3ish per on a 4 year deal.

It could mean that for all the nice things Cullen has said, he never really wanted to sign here as a UFA. There's always that consideration.

Not sure how the CBA works with front loaded contracts but this is what I'd consider offering him based on recent comments from Murray.

4 year deal, cap hit of 3.25

Year 1 - 5.25, Year 2 - 4.25, Year 3 - 2.25, Year 4 1.25

Cap'n Clutch wrote:Not sure how the CBA works with front loaded contracts but this is what I'd consider offering him based on recent comments from Murray.

4 year deal, cap hit of 3.25

Year 1 - 5.25, Year 2 - 4.25, Year 3 - 2.25, Year 4 1.25

Perfect. Cap hit of 3.25 and later years he's easier to trade to a team with an internal cap. Do it up, the numbers are spot on IMO.

I think a NTC will be part of the equation here.

SeawaySensFan wrote:I think a NTC will be part of the equation here.

Fine. Give him a limited one for the first year or 2 and definitely nothing involving a NMC. Limited No trade is fine but not no movement. Maybe something like what Kubina had where he could be traded in the off season.

If I was GM there would be no more than 2 full NTCs or NMCs on my team at any one time. I'm fine with giving a veteran like Cullen something like 1st year - full NTC, all subsequent years limited NTC whereby he provides a list of 10 teams he would not agree to.

SeawaySensFan wrote:I think a NTC will be part of the equation here.

For the first year, then we need a list of teams he'll go to. In the cap era, NTC and especially NMC are devastating.

RobbyJ wrote:If I was GM there would be no more than 2 full NTCs or NMCs on my team at any one time. I'm fine with giving a veteran like Cullen something like 1st year - full NTC, all subsequent years limited NTC whereby he provides a list of 10 teams he would not agree to.

Yep, +1.

Cap'n Clutch wrote:

SeawaySensFan wrote:I think a NTC will be part of the equation here.

Fine. Give him a limited one for the first year or 2 and definitely nothing involving a NMC. Limited No trade is fine but not no movement. Maybe something like what Kubina had where he could be traded in the off season.

Ottawa has demonstrated that they can live with burying contracts in the minors. I wouldn't be surprised if a NMC would be a demand as well.