All Playoff talk all the time.

Regardless of how the Sharks-Hawks series goes it still will never compare to the historic choke job of the Boston Bruins. Nothing will compare for probably the next 30 plus years.

What a disaster in San Jose...wow.

Cap'n Clutch wrote:

N4L wrote:Sharks are done which is nice! I would say The Habs have a better chance then The Sharks at this point, but all in all, no cup for Heatley, no cup for The Habs, and Sens move up 2 spots in the draft... a good playoff.

Let the Thornton rumours BEGIN!

Does the GM finally get fired for this? He's the one that pulled the trigger on the Heatley deal which was supposed to put them over the top.

How is this the GM's fault? He put the best roster on paper that he could. What else do people expect GMs to do? At some point you have to stop tinkering with your lineup and force your players to get the job done.

PKC wrote:

Cap'n Clutch wrote:

N4L wrote:Sharks are done which is nice! I would say The Habs have a better chance then The Sharks at this point, but all in all, no cup for Heatley, no cup for The Habs, and Sens move up 2 spots in the draft... a good playoff.

Let the Thornton rumours BEGIN!

Does the GM finally get fired for this? He's the one that pulled the trigger on the Heatley deal which was supposed to put them over the top.

How is this the GM's fault? He put the best roster on paper that he could. What else do people expect GMs to do? At some point you have to stop tinkering with your lineup and force your players to get the job done.

The think the old "You can't fire all the players" addage is in play here. I think Doug Wilson has done a fine job, building this team, being patient, and resisting temptation for a quick fix in some cases. Yes, he's went out and spent assets, but he wasn't reckless about it.

This is squarely on the players. They've already changed the coach, and it didn't work. It's time to break up the core of this team. Thornton should be the first to go. Then Nabokov, and so on.

PKC wrote:
How is this the GM's fault? He put the best roster on paper that he could. What else do people expect GMs to do? At some point you have to stop tinkering with your lineup and force your players to get the job done.

It's time for a 100% change in direction IMO. That begins with the GM.

N4L wrote:Yup and that is very well what could be needed on both sides. Im not saying Thornton is the answer in Ottawa or even that much better then Spezza (he is a better player though) but it could very well what could be needed for eveyr party involved.

People ALWAYS say "who will produce the points Spezza will?", well, if you trade him for Thornton, that's who. Cant use that excuse anymore if it happens.

Thornton also has 1 year left on his deal and can probably get resigned for about 6 mil a year, if he didnt work out at least The Sens could go in another direction without be tied down with a NTC. The most usefull asset in a cap syatem is flexability.

This is probably just a move that would be spinning The Sens wheels but it's a very real possibility IMO. Im def not a Thornton fan and would have all the same questions about him that I do of Spezza, but it makes a ton of sense if The Sharks get swept or beat in 5.

I don't want this. When it comes to the playoffs, Thornton has largely been a paper tiger. I could care less about regular season points and wins. I want a guy who's going to lead this team, or at least be a leader on the ice in the playoffs.

Thornton may be an upgrade on regular season points, but he's a bigger playoff choker than Spezza is. At least Spezza has made the final and won the playoff scoring title (tied).

I fail to see how this makes us a better playoff team, and for me, that's what matters most.

SpezDispenser wrote:

PKC wrote:
How is this the GM's fault? He put the best roster on paper that he could. What else do people expect GMs to do? At some point you have to stop tinkering with your lineup and force your players to get the job done.

It's time for a 100% change in direction IMO. That begins with the GM.

If they do decide to blow it up, they need a new GM. Someone with a different outlook and direction. Sad for Wilson cause he's been a very good GM for them, but the reality is that if they decide to blow it up, someone else needs to do it.

hemlock wrote:If they do decide to blow it up, they need a new GM. Someone with a different outlook and direction. Sad for Wilson cause he's been a very good GM for them, but the reality is that if they decide to blow it up, someone else needs to do it.

He did fine until he rolled the dice on Heatley. That was it. Now you have Thornton at 7+ million, Heatley at 7.5 (OMG that's so scary), Marleau leaving, Setoguchi and Pavelsi set for massive raises, Boyle @ 6.66 million.

Not to mention him trading Ehrhoff for a bag of Dung. That's killing the Sharks right now.

Two detrimental moves in the off-season = Wilson in trouble IMO.

Am I wrong to be amused by the thought of the next GM coming in and putting the "Heat" on Heatley to accept a trade. I would be very amused by that, because honestly, Healtey's a 5.5-6 million dollar player who's making 7.5 against the cap.

hemlock wrote:

SpezDispenser wrote:

PKC wrote:
How is this the GM's fault? He put the best roster on paper that he could. What else do people expect GMs to do? At some point you have to stop tinkering with your lineup and force your players to get the job done.

It's time for a 100% change in direction IMO. That begins with the GM.

If they do decide to blow it up, they need a new GM. Someone with a different outlook and direction. Sad for Wilson cause he's been a very good GM for them, but the reality is that if they decide to blow it up, someone else needs to do it.

Exactly. Wilson has done some good things but, clearly, being patient with Thornton, Marleau and Nabokov was the wrong decision and enough playoff failure and enough time has passed to prove that. Bringing in Heatley just added more of the same type of playoff no show. How is it not the GM?

Definitely the players need to perform and when they don't assessments are made by the coach and the GM. The GM needs to have the foresight to know if the group of players he assembles is going to get the job done. This core has had enough time to show they can't do it.

SpezDispenser wrote:

hemlock wrote:If they do decide to blow it up, they need a new GM. Someone with a different outlook and direction. Sad for Wilson cause he's been a very good GM for them, but the reality is that if they decide to blow it up, someone else needs to do it.

He did fine until he rolled the dice on Heatley. That was it. Now you have Thornton at 7+ million, Heatley at 7.5 (OMG that's so scary), Marleau leaving, Setoguchi and Pavelsi set for massive raises, Boyle @ 6.66 million.

Not to mention him trading Ehrhoff for a bag of Dung. That's killing the Sharks right now.

Two detrimental moves in the off-season = Wilson in trouble IMO.

Am I wrong to be amused by the thought of the next GM coming in and putting the "Heat" on Heatley to accept a trade. I would be very amused by that, because honestly, Healtey's a 5.5-6 million dollar player who's making 7.5 against the cap.

I think they're stuck with him. Maybe they can hire Fisher to practice with him and hope he Leclaire's him to the point he's on LTIR? Too much?

Cap'n Clutch wrote:
I think they're stuck with him. Maybe they can hire Fisher to practice with him and hope he Leclaire's him to the point he's on LTIR? Too much?

Brilliant!

Heatley's contract is gonna look worse by the month IMO. He's lost a lot, his knees must be shot or he just doesn't bother back checking.

It's hard to describe, but you remember he used to take two strides, then coast, then two more stride, then coast - on the back check? He's doing it again and it ain't pretty to watch.

SpezDispenser wrote:

hemlock wrote:If they do decide to blow it up, they need a new GM. Someone with a different outlook and direction. Sad for Wilson cause he's been a very good GM for them, but the reality is that if they decide to blow it up, someone else needs to do it.

He did fine until he rolled the dice on Heatley. That was it. Now you have Thornton at 7+ million, Heatley at 7.5 (OMG that's so scary), Marleau leaving, Setoguchi and Pavelsi set for massive raises, Boyle @ 6.66 million.

Not to mention him trading Ehrhoff for a bag of Dung. That's killing the Sharks right now.

Two detrimental moves in the off-season = Wilson in trouble IMO.

Am I wrong to be amused by the thought of the next GM coming in and putting the "Heat" on Heatley to accept a trade. I would be very amused by that, because honestly, Healtey's a 5.5-6 million dollar player who's making 7.5 against the cap.

He's a 5.5-6 million dollar player now....what will he be in 3 years if he continues to regress.

hemlock wrote:He's a 5.5-6 million dollar player now....what will he be in 3 years if he continues to regress.

Unless he gets a knee and heart transplant, it could be intriguing to see.

For all the crap Heatley put this fanbase through, this is a warming post from a San Jose fan:

we can all stop claiming he's hurt and this and that to defend him now. if he really was that hurt, he shouldn't be playing because he's doing more damage than good. i mean isn't this why we called up all those AHL guys? i'd rather see ferrerio, mclaren, helminen, ANYBODY, that can skate and play. bump up mcginn to the first line.

heatley is done. (medium well)

hemlock wrote:

N4L wrote:Yup and that is very well what could be needed on both sides. Im not saying Thornton is the answer in Ottawa or even that much better then Spezza (he is a better player though) but it could very well what could be needed for eveyr party involved.

People ALWAYS say "who will produce the points Spezza will?", well, if you trade him for Thornton, that's who. Cant use that excuse anymore if it happens.

Thornton also has 1 year left on his deal and can probably get resigned for about 6 mil a year, if he didnt work out at least The Sens could go in another direction without be tied down with a NTC. The most usefull asset in a cap syatem is flexability.

This is probably just a move that would be spinning The Sens wheels but it's a very real possibility IMO. Im def not a Thornton fan and would have all the same questions about him that I do of Spezza, but it makes a ton of sense if The Sharks get swept or beat in 5.

I don't want this. When it comes to the playoffs, Thornton has largely been a paper tiger. I could care less about regular season points and wins. I want a guy who's going to lead this team, or at least be a leader on the ice in the playoffs.

Thornton may be an upgrade on regular season points, but he's a bigger playoff choker than Spezza is. At least Spezza has made the final and won the playoff scoring title (tied).

I fail to see how this makes us a better playoff team, and for me, that's what matters most.

Perhaps you are right but again if a trade for a number 1 center in return for Spezza is going to happen, it will be Thornton. The one year left on his deal gives The Sens a ton of flexability as well going forward and they can make the choice whether they want to sign him or let him walk come the new year and go in another direction.

Like I said, this would be a move that would help Murray in the short tem and perhaps the long term meaning he can shape the team with some other parts and 15 million coming off the cap the next season if he chooses to do so.

It's all abotu flexability in this case.

In all honesty though, Spezza and Thornton are basically no different and I would rather have Thornton based simply on the fact he plays a way more physical game and in a wide open East he may very well be a better player without the grind of The West. Spezza has just be awful in his last 3 playoffs, way worse then Thornton.

Seriously, that Michalek for Heatley deal is going to look fantastic in about a year. I said this last year, Ottawa got the best player in the deal IMO and it's looking more and more to be true.

Give it 2 years and there will be no debate at all. Add on top of that the fact he may very well have gotten his brother to come here to Ottawa, it's almost laughable.

Murray did the same thing in Anahiem by getting Rob and Scott was not far behind.

Kind of feel like the Sens dodged a bullet with Heatley.

If you trade Spezza and can do it to SJ because they think that he can reproduce the chemistry he and Heatley had, then maybe you do it.

N4L wrote:Seriously, that Michalek for Heatley deal is going to look fantastic in about a year. I said this last year, Ottawa got the best player in the deal IMO and it's looking more and more to be true.

Give it 2 years and there will be no debate at all. Add on top of that the fact he may very well have gotten his brother to come here to Ottawa, it's almost laughable.

Murray did the same thing in Anahiem by getting Rob and Scott was not far behind.

Michalek looked pretty good the first 25 games or so, but then he slowed down, as did many of the players, though Spezza caught fire. I worry about his knees though.