Kovalev acquired by Pittsburgh

spader wrote:

TheAvatar wrote:

spader wrote:Meh

I'm fine with this. I don't think we were gonna get any more for him.

My guess? He blocked a trade with Montreal, preventing any sort of bidding war. Conjecture, sure, but it makes sense to me.

Yeah, I've changed my mind. I'm sure we couldn't get more. I'm sure Murray pushed as hard as he could.

I can't tell if that's sarcastic or not.

No; it wasn't meant to be anyways.

If Kovalev gets hurt, he's not traded and they are on board for his remaining 1.25 million.

As far as the scoreboard goes - I was just in Raleigh and saw a game at the (much better than SBP) RBC Center. They have a hi-def scoreboard and the difference is incredible.

dennycrane wrote:If Kovalev gets hurt, he's not traded and they are on board for his remaining 1.25 million.

As far as the scoreboard goes - I was just in Raleigh and saw a game at the (much better than SBP) RBC Center. They have a hi-def scoreboard and the difference is incredible.

Haha...so instead of a bag of pucks, we traded AK27 for a scoreboard? I hadn't thought of it quite like that. I love it.

Dash wrote:So not having Kovalev on the Sens is worth a 7th round pick? Was it that necessary to trade him? Was there any harm waiting until Monday?

The harm is losing any chance of moving him, and cost Melnyk 1M+.

Kovalev for a scoreboard. We raped Pittsburgh.

Interesting comment from Strickland:

"Told Pittsburgh doesn't make the Kovalev trade if they believed they wouldn't be getting Crosby back."

http://twitter.com/#!/andystrickland/status/40860998348976128

So, they're expecting Crosby back then?

shabbs wrote:Interesting comment from Strickland:

"Told Pittsburgh doesn't make the Kovalev trade if they believed they wouldn't be getting Crosby back."

http://twitter.com/#!/andystrickland/status/40860998348976128

So, they're expecting Crosby back then?

Just like I said in this thread earlier...

Murray's presser:

http://video.senators.nhl.com/videocenter/console?catid=1141&id=99653

NEELY wrote:There are probably 10-20 guys Dorrion and The Sens have on their draft list that could be has in round 4-7 and 1/2 the teams may not even have them on their lists at all.

Stone is a nice example. A huge project that was taken with a 6th last year. I would bet that he could have been had with a 7th if The Sens didn't have that draft pick. There is literally very little difference.

If there is someone The Sens absolutely need to take in round 4 or 5, they have the option of actually trading 2 or 3 picks to get him.

whoa where did this guy come from? What's up man? When did you sign back on here?

On Topic, does it not bother anyone that Melnyk hasn't authorized taking back sh*t contracts to recoup more valuable assets? I understand we've missed the playoffs in two of the last three seasons, but wouldn't something like Svatos, 1st, and a 2011 3rd be a trade Murray could have worked out for Fisher? And why not package a 7th with Kovalev to recoup a conditional 4th (i.e. 5th that becomes a 4th if they win one round and he plays 50% of the games).

I understand what you're saying about the value of a 7th vs. a 6th vs. a 5th etc., but there's obviously more that could be done to get proper compensation. His trades just look desperate, incomplete, and hasty.

The only trade that was impressive was the Elliott trade and even that could turn out to suck in the long run. None of the other trades brought in anything resembling fair value; all of them were made well in advance of the deadline; and all of them were individual assets being traded. Is it that inconceivable that a team might have wanted more than one of our tradeable assets? Is it that impossible to add a pick or mid-level prospect to a tradeable roster player to recoup something more significant? We're just giving assets away to save a billionaire some pocket change.

He should take some of that money and get some lessons from other owners on how to own a franchise.

I definitely feel like Murray is getting his house in order. Fisher goes where he is close to his wife. Kelly goes to a contender. Elliott gets a fresh start (way to screw it up). Kovalev comes back to where he had a lot of his early success.

All these trades have a tinge of "nice" about them -- for the player, not the club.

It can't be that -- well, except maybe for the Fisher trade, but I get that feeling. What it must be is Melnyk simply wanting to shed salary as quickly as possible. Watch him break even.

if melnyk wants to break even and invest money in some FA's next summer then go for it. i'm happy kovalev is gone, if we got a 7th coming back who knows what it turns into.
i wish i was watching games cuz Bobby B seams to be on fire!
i guess he'll be in the top 6 come start of the season.

wprager wrote:
It can't be that -- well, except maybe for the Fisher trade, but I get that feeling. What it must be is Melnyk simply wanting to shed salary as quickly as possible. Watch him break even.

Definately.

We have no playoff revenue coming in so it makes perfect sense to cut losses.

Hoags wrote:

wprager wrote:
It can't be that -- well, except maybe for the Fisher trade, but I get that feeling. What it must be is Melnyk simply wanting to shed salary as quickly as possible. Watch him break even.

Definately.

We have no playoff revenue coming in so it makes perfect sense to cut losses.

Kelly is more than cutting losses though imo. What does he really save by moving Kelly?

hemlock wrote:

Hoags wrote:

wprager wrote:
It can't be that -- well, except maybe for the Fisher trade, but I get that feeling. What it must be is Melnyk simply wanting to shed salary as quickly as possible. Watch him break even.

Definately.

We have no playoff revenue coming in so it makes perfect sense to cut losses.

Kelly is more than cutting losses though imo. What does he really save by moving Kelly?

About 2 million bucks, which I'm sure played into it.

hemlock wrote:
Kelly is more than cutting losses though imo. What does he really save by moving Kelly?

I imagine Kelly was one of the more tradeable assets.

We save a hundred thousand this year and a $2M cap hit for next year, every bit helps in cutting the losses.

Kelly is more valuable to a playoff team and cup contender. We will not be in that position for some time. He is also 30, and we are trying to get younger.

I also believe they are trying to change the culture in the room which means shipping out some of the team "leaders" and letting some new leadership emerge (say Foligno). I think it'd be hard to make serious changes to the team if it's the same leadership core in the room calling the shots.

Hoags wrote:

hemlock wrote:
Kelly is more than cutting losses though imo. What does he really save by moving Kelly?

I imagine Kelly was one of the more tradeable assets.

We save a hundred thousand this year and a $2M cap hit for next year, every bit helps in cutting the losses.

Kelly is more valuable to a playoff team and cup contender. We will not be in that position for some time. He is also 30, and we are trying to get younger.

I also believe they are trying to change the culture in the room which means shipping out some of the team "leaders" and letting some new leadership emerge (say Foligno). I think it'd be hard to make serious changes to the team if it's the same leadership core in the room calling the shots.

This. A guy like Kelly will not turn a team around. He is a good complimentary player to an already-successful team. Take a guess as to what Ottawa needs.

hemlock wrote:Kelly is more than cutting losses though imo. What does he really save by moving Kelly?

In Ottawa's position, then can either sign a guy like John Madden for one year @ 1 million, or simply let one of Condra or Greening earn Kelly's ice time. This team is going nowhere next year (barring several huge trades and a miracle), so why not let Kelly play with a contender, take the 2nd round pick, replenish the cupboards and re-assess after next year?

After seeing what is essentially Sopel for a 4th and Stillman for a 5th we're still good with getting a 7th for Kovalev, right?