Trade Bonanza 2012! Speculation, Rumours, the Works!

If you can argue that the lefty-righty combo of phillips-Carkner(Lee) works better than a combo of phillips-Gill/Gleason, then I'll lay off this argument. I'm not disputing that its better to have lefty-righty combos but seriously in our situation on the 3rd pairing, its kind of a moot point with our current options.

how in the world did we ever play Boro without taking out one of Cowen, Phillips, or Kuba....

Michallica wrote:If you can argue that the lefty-righty combo of phillips-Carkner(Lee) works better than a combo of phillips-Gill/Gleason, then I'll lay off this argument. I'm not disputing that its better to have lefty-righty combos but seriously in our situation on the 3rd pairing, its kind of a moot point with our current options.

how in the world did we ever play Boro without taking out one of Cowen, Phillips, or Kuba....

Mostly because this left-right nonsense is a load of crap.

Michallica wrote:If you can argue that the lefty-righty combo of phillips-Carkner(Lee) works better than a combo of phillips-Gill/Gleason, then I'll lay off this argument. I'm not disputing that its better to have lefty-righty combos but seriously in our situation on the 3rd pairing, its kind of a moot point with our current options.

how in the world did we ever play Boro without taking out one of Cowen, Phillips, or Kuba....

Depends on how adept they would be at playing their off side. It can be a big mistake. How long until Carkner is in game form is the next question?

Michallica wrote:

wprager wrote:

KidKarlsson wrote:what do you guys think about bringing Sutton back? I always liked the toughness he brought when we had him a couple seasons ago

He fell apart in the playoffs. And, repeating someone else's question, who sits in order to get him in: Cowen, Kuba or Cowen? Cowen brings the same toughness with better speed. He lacks experience in the playoffs, but he certainly did better in the Calder Cup finals than Mt. Sutton did in the playoffs with the Sens.

Oh my god....why are we only targeting these three??? (assuming u meant to add phillips). I get the left-handed argument but seriously people, both Volchenkov and Phillips were lefties and they seemed all right as the top shutdown pair no? So what is the deal with everyone's obsession of having this righty-lefty matchup on the 3rd pairing???

A-Train played the right side as a lefty though - like Gonchar.

KidKarlsson wrote:what do you guys think about bringing Sutton back? I always liked the toughness he brought when we had him a couple seasons ago

Yes, I want him back.

SpezDispenser wrote:

Michallica wrote:

wprager wrote:

KidKarlsson wrote:what do you guys think about bringing Sutton back? I always liked the toughness he brought when we had him a couple seasons ago

He fell apart in the playoffs. And, repeating someone else's question, who sits in order to get him in: Cowen, Kuba or Cowen? Cowen brings the same toughness with better speed. He lacks experience in the playoffs, but he certainly did better in the Calder Cup finals than Mt. Sutton did in the playoffs with the Sens.

Oh my god....why are we only targeting these three??? (assuming u meant to add phillips). I get the left-handed argument but seriously people, both Volchenkov and Phillips were lefties and they seemed all right as the top shutdown pair no? So what is the deal with everyone's obsession of having this righty-lefty matchup on the 3rd pairing???

A-Train played the right side as a lefty though - like Gonchar.

Who's to say that person we trade for can't adjust?

Michallica wrote:If you can argue that the lefty-righty combo of phillips-Carkner(Lee) works better than a combo of phillips-Gill/Gleason, then I'll lay off this argument. I'm not disputing that its better to have lefty-righty combos but seriously in our situation on the 3rd pairing, its kind of a moot point with our current options.

how in the world did we ever play Boro without taking out one of Cowen, Phillips, or Kuba....

How about I try it like this:

Let's assume Gill plays his *normal* left side. Does he replace Kuba (who is *really* making Karlsson much better) or Cowen? If neither one of those, then he replaces Phillips on the third pairing, which means we've got Gill playing 3rd pairing minutes.

And if he plays his *off* side on the right, I think it's pretty obvious he doesn't replace either Karlsson or Gonchar, which leaves, yet again, the third pairing, where is now playing his wrong side.

Is Gill (or Sutton) playing his off-side an upgrade over Carkner or Lee? Can't tell until you see him play. Is Phillips playing the right side an upgrade over Carkner/Lee? Not sure. I think I still prefer Lee. And is Gill/Sutton an upgrade over Phillips on the left? Again, not sure, but I prefer Phillips' experience.

And at the end of the day, you still have Gill (Sutton) playing 3rd pairing minutes, which would be a waste.

Let's face it, the only upgrade option we have (without mortgaging the future) is on the 3rd pairing. I think Borowiecki/Gryba are the correct solution to that problem. We are not competing for the Cup this year, and any experience these two get in playoff games will serve them well when they are playing as the 5/6 role instead of 7th/depth.

Michallica wrote:

SpezDispenser wrote:

Michallica wrote:

wprager wrote:

KidKarlsson wrote:what do you guys think about bringing Sutton back? I always liked the toughness he brought when we had him a couple seasons ago

He fell apart in the playoffs. And, repeating someone else's question, who sits in order to get him in: Cowen, Kuba or Cowen? Cowen brings the same toughness with better speed. He lacks experience in the playoffs, but he certainly did better in the Calder Cup finals than Mt. Sutton did in the playoffs with the Sens.

Oh my god....why are we only targeting these three??? (assuming u meant to add phillips). I get the left-handed argument but seriously people, both Volchenkov and Phillips were lefties and they seemed all right as the top shutdown pair no? So what is the deal with everyone's obsession of having this righty-lefty matchup on the 3rd pairing???

A-Train played the right side as a lefty though - like Gonchar.

Who's to say that person we trade for can't adjust?

That was my initial point a couple of posts ago. That is not optimum at all, having a player you acquire come in who's probably a little nervous to begin with, asking him to adapt to a system - even if it's a player friendly system like MacLean's, then asking him to do something he's likely never done in his life - or hasn't done at a pro level, switch his defensive side. Could an NHLer do it? I imagine he could, but is it worth doing? Likely not - the player you've acquired won't be as effective IMO.

The way to upgrade the Ottawa Senators on D is to upgrade the 3rd pairing, right side position of the ice. So, it'll likely be a right hander or one of those fairly rare lefties that play the right.

SeawaySensFan wrote:

Michallica wrote:If you can argue that the lefty-righty combo of phillips-Carkner(Lee) works better than a combo of phillips-Gill/Gleason, then I'll lay off this argument. I'm not disputing that its better to have lefty-righty combos but seriously in our situation on the 3rd pairing, its kind of a moot point with our current options.

how in the world did we ever play Boro without taking out one of Cowen, Phillips, or Kuba....

Mostly because this left-right nonsense is a load of crap.

No, we played Boro for *one* game and moved Phillips over to the right side. Tonight, for all we know, they might flip them around, since KK *has* played him on the right side in Bingo. It's called one step at a time -- let him get his feet wet on his usual side in his first NHL game before trying him out on his off-side.

SpezDispenser wrote:

Michallica wrote:If you can argue that the lefty-righty combo of phillips-Carkner(Lee) works better than a combo of phillips-Gill/Gleason, then I'll lay off this argument. I'm not disputing that its better to have lefty-righty combos but seriously in our situation on the 3rd pairing, its kind of a moot point with our current options.

how in the world did we ever play Boro without taking out one of Cowen, Phillips, or Kuba....

Depends on how adept they would be at playing their off side. It can be a big mistake. How long until Carkner is in game form is the next question?

I'm >this< close to giving up on him for this year. Remember Kuba last year -- he *never* got back into it.

SpezDispenser wrote:

KidKarlsson wrote:what do you guys think about bringing Sutton back? I always liked the toughness he brought when we had him a couple seasons ago

Yes, I want him back.

That would likely mean Cowen sits. Still want him?

wprager wrote:

SeawaySensFan wrote:

Michallica wrote:If you can argue that the lefty-righty combo of phillips-Carkner(Lee) works better than a combo of phillips-Gill/Gleason, then I'll lay off this argument. I'm not disputing that its better to have lefty-righty combos but seriously in our situation on the 3rd pairing, its kind of a moot point with our current options.

how in the world did we ever play Boro without taking out one of Cowen, Phillips, or Kuba....

Mostly because this left-right nonsense is a load of crap.

No, we played Boro for *one* game and moved Phillips over to the right side. Tonight, for all we know, they might flip them around, since KK *has* played him on the right side in Bingo. It's called one step at a time -- let him get his feet wet on his usual side in his first NHL game before trying him out on his off-side.

We're blessed to have guys that can get moved around then since only an elite few are able to do so.

Michallica wrote:

SpezDispenser wrote:

Michallica wrote:

wprager wrote:

KidKarlsson wrote:what do you guys think about bringing Sutton back? I always liked the toughness he brought when we had him a couple seasons ago

He fell apart in the playoffs. And, repeating someone else's question, who sits in order to get him in: Cowen, Kuba or Cowen? Cowen brings the same toughness with better speed. He lacks experience in the playoffs, but he certainly did better in the Calder Cup finals than Mt. Sutton did in the playoffs with the Sens.

Oh my god....why are we only targeting these three??? (assuming u meant to add phillips). I get the left-handed argument but seriously people, both Volchenkov and Phillips were lefties and they seemed all right as the top shutdown pair no? So what is the deal with everyone's obsession of having this righty-lefty matchup on the 3rd pairing???

A-Train played the right side as a lefty though - like Gonchar.

Who's to say that person we trade for can't adjust?

Point is, *WHY*? We're fine in the top-four, could use a bit of an upgrade on the 3rd pairing, primarily on the right side. We have Gryba chomping at the bit.

wprager wrote:

SpezDispenser wrote:

KidKarlsson wrote:what do you guys think about bringing Sutton back? I always liked the toughness he brought when we had him a couple seasons ago

Yes, I want him back.

That would likely mean Cowen sits. Still want him?

That's the problem.

SeawaySensFan wrote:

wprager wrote:

SeawaySensFan wrote:

Michallica wrote:If you can argue that the lefty-righty combo of phillips-Carkner(Lee) works better than a combo of phillips-Gill/Gleason, then I'll lay off this argument. I'm not disputing that its better to have lefty-righty combos but seriously in our situation on the 3rd pairing, its kind of a moot point with our current options.

how in the world did we ever play Boro without taking out one of Cowen, Phillips, or Kuba....

Mostly because this left-right nonsense is a load of crap.

No, we played Boro for *one* game and moved Phillips over to the right side. Tonight, for all we know, they might flip them around, since KK *has* played him on the right side in Bingo. It's called one step at a time -- let him get his feet wet on his usual side in his first NHL game before trying him out on his off-side.

We're blessed to have guys that can get moved around then since only an elite few are able to do so.

Let's hold off on calling him elite until he shows he can play at all-star level on the wrong side for a few games.

As for Phillips playing his off-side, well, he *is* a 1st overall pick, is he not?

SeawaySensFan wrote:
We're blessed to have guys that can get moved around then since only an elite few are able to do so.

We're not at all blessed with guys who can move around. Have you ever seen Gonchar play the left side? Not great. these guys can't move around and be as effective, period.

SpezDispenser wrote:

SeawaySensFan wrote:
We're blessed to have guys that can get moved around then since only an elite few are able to do so.

We're not at all blessed with guys who can move around. Have you ever seen Gonchar play the left side? Not great. these guys can't move around and be as effective, period.

That sucks. I thought we had something magical happening here.

SeawaySensFan wrote:

SpezDispenser wrote:

SeawaySensFan wrote:
We're blessed to have guys that can get moved around then since only an elite few are able to do so.

We're not at all blessed with guys who can move around. Have you ever seen Gonchar play the left side? Not great. these guys can't move around and be as effective, period.

That sucks. I thought we had something magical happening here.

We might have something special, but D-men playing both sides is not one of them.