Bobby FING Ryan to Ottawa!!

tim1_2 wrote:
Alfie will be paid $5.5M next season.

$3.5M is his guaranteed salary.

$2M is in bonuses.

http://www.wingingitinmotown.com/2013/7/8/4502504/nhl-free-agency-2013-daniel-alfredsson-and-the-over-35-bonus-cushion

Explanation of the performance bonus workings. Alfie's bonuses aren't public knowledge yet, but you can be sure that they will be easy enough to achieve.

tim1_2 wrote:

LeKing wrote:

tim1_2 wrote:

NEELY wrote:I think you are laying too little blame on Alfie here big guy.

I am surprised that Alfie was so quick to leave, uprooting his entire family from Ottawa.  

This is a guy that has spent most of 17 years being a good soldier for Ottawa, and he felt like the franchise owed him...or at least owed him market value (for once).  I agree with him.  

That said, if it were me, I'd like to think that I would swallow my pride and accept 1 year $4M.  

Perhaps Alfie had already planned to move back to Sweden after his career here, which made the choice to leave Ottawa for Detroit easier.

Regardless, I feel that more blame needs to be placed at the feet of Melnyk and his 'budget' as opposed to Alfie.

The guy has been around for 17 years, he knows how negotiations work.
So yeah, lowball or not, how about he thinks of the fans? the city? his teammates?
To me it's simple. it means his ego is more important to him than the love an entire city has given him.
I'm not gonna feel sorry for someone like that. We don't owe him anything, if being paid millions and adored is not enough, I don't know what is.

However, thinking about the "probably not" comments, him taking the puck at the end of the playoffs etc.
I think we need to accept he just wants a cup and doesn't believe in this team.

He does know how negotiations work.  He proposed a value, and it was rejected...then we said "what will it take", without providing a counter offer.  Apparently, the Senators don't know how negotiations work.  We tried to take advantage of his connection to the city, again.

It thought JPBarry offered 6, Murray countered and then no answer. At least that's what Murray said in his presser.

I don't think anyone is 100% positive if Alfie's $6M offer came first of our $4M offer came first.

Can you imagine if he asked for $6M, and then we countered with $4M?????? I'd be out of here too.

tim1_2 wrote:I don't think anyone is 100% positive if Alfie's $6M offer came first of our $4M offer came first.

Can you imagine if he asked for $6M, and then we countered with $4M??????  I'd be out of here too.

Why? That's how negotiations work. Remember what the NHL offered the players?

tim1_2 wrote:I don't think anyone is 100% positive if Alfie's $6M offer came first of our $4M offer came first.

Can you imagine if he asked for $6M, and then we countered with $4M??????  I'd be out of here too.

Why? They could have countered with 5.5 and then Murray says, ok let's settle for 5. Which should be good enough.

Ev wrote:

tim1_2 wrote:I don't think anyone is 100% positive if Alfie's $6M offer came first of our $4M offer came first.

Can you imagine if he asked for $6M, and then we countered with $4M??????  I'd be out of here too.

Why? That's how negotiations work. Remember what the NHL offered the players?

LOL.

Negotiating with a big name free agent you want to sign is a little different than Bettman trying to impose his will on a Union.

Anyway, I'm getting tired of trying to stick up for Alfie on here. Never thought the day would come where I would have to defend him to Sens fans.

LeKing wrote:

tim1_2 wrote:I don't think anyone is 100% positive if Alfie's $6M offer came first of our $4M offer came first.

Can you imagine if he asked for $6M, and then we countered with $4M??????  I'd be out of here too.

Why? They could have countered with 5.5 and then Murray says, ok let's settle for 5. Which should be good enough.

An offer of $4M is insulting after taking years of hometown discounts while watching other guys rake in, in some cases, twice as much as you.

tim1_2 wrote:I don't think anyone is 100% positive if Alfie's $6M offer came first of our $4M offer came first.

Can you imagine if he asked for $6M, and then we countered with $4M??????  I'd be out of here too.

Oh, come on man. You're way out of line IMO. Alfie's been great to us, financially and as a community leader - the whole 9, but the fact that he didn't even bother getting back to Murray and saying that he'd like a 5 million dollar package - if not 5.5, is pathetic. You can agree, I'm sure you can, maybe you need to let some more time pass, but there's not one organization in the world who wouldn't have at least tried to negotiate.

It's complete Donkey that he walked out of a team who loved him unconditionally with fans that revered him just because he didn't feel like negotiating. Get real, it makes me want to puke.

The team couldn't afford to pay him what he wanted and improve the roster in such a way as to excite him to come back.
He asked Murray how is the team going to get better for next year before he left.  I guess he didn't get much of a reply beyond "rebuild" and "budget".  He was not very high on the team after losing to Pittsburgh.
Not very exciting to a 40-year old who badly wants to win a Cup before he retires.  He said to Jim Rome that trying to win a Cup is the only reason he is still playing, he didn't say it was loyalty to Ottawa so fans can see #11 on the ice one more year.
The Sens thought he'd be loyal to a fault right until the end. They underestimated how badly he wants to win and he didn't see ownership with the same kind of passion unlike in Detroit or Boston.

I'm sure he and his agent expected to negotiate. I'm not sure he expected to be lowballed again, assuming he would take a home team discount.

If you're a free agent, and you ask for $6M and a team counters with $4M...guess what, you're moving on to the next team.

We counted on Alfie's attachment to the city and it burned us big time.

tim1_2 wrote:I'm sure he and his agent expected to negotiate.  I'm not sure he expected to be lowballed again, assuming he would take a home team discount.

If you're a free agent, and you ask for $6M and a team counters with $4M...guess what, you're moving on to the next team.

We counted on Alfie's attachment to the city and it burned us big time.

Again, negotiate. If you don't like it tell them that you won't settle for a penny less than 5.5 million, then leave. But at least give negotiations a quick chance. He doesn't owe the organization anything, but what a Cussing cowardly, crappy way to Dung on your legacy. Barf! Looks bad, Alfie. Looks bad.

Hoags wrote:The team couldn't afford to pay him what he wanted and improve the roster in such a way as to excite him to come back.
He asked Murray how is the team going to get better for next year before he left.  I guess he didn't get much of a reply beyond "rebuild" and "budget".  He was not very high on the team after losing to Pittsburgh.
Not very exciting to a 40-year old who badly wants to win a Cup before he retires.  He said to Jim Rome that trying to win a Cup is the only reason he is still playing, he didn't say it was loyalty to Ottawa so fans can see #11 on the ice one more year.
The Sens thought he'd be loyal to a fault right until the end. They underestimated how badly he wants to win and he didn't see ownership with the same kind of passion unlike in Detroit or Boston.

I'm not sure why this is so difficult for people to understand, but you nailed it.

Yah, I don't think it's as cut and dry and you are making it out to be. I think Alfie got crappy advice from his agent, I think the Sens counted on Alfie basically making the deal himself, I think he had the Swedes in his ear back in Sweden, I think he wasn't sold on staying in Ottawa after his career was over.

All those lead to a poor decision on Aflie's part (yet to be seen) but I can safely say it wasn't well thought out on Aflie's end. It was an emotional decision and those are always the worst.

SpezDispenser wrote:

tim1_2 wrote:I'm sure he and his agent expected to negotiate.  I'm not sure he expected to be lowballed again, assuming he would take a home team discount.

If you're a free agent, and you ask for $6M and a team counters with $4M...guess what, you're moving on to the next team.

We counted on Alfie's attachment to the city and it burned us big time.

Again, negotiate. If you don't like it tell them that you won't settle for a penny less than 5.5 million, then leave. But at least give negotiations a quick chance. He doesn't owe the organization anything, but what a Cussing cowardly, crappy way to Dung on your legacy. Barf! Looks bad, Alfie. Looks bad.

As others have written, Alfie didn't want to give the Sens an ultimatum like that. He didn't want to force them to pay him, knowing that then they wouldn't be getting anyone else of value.

The fact of the matter is that if we didn't have a "budget", we'd have Alfie, Ryan, MacArthur and who knows who else. Alfie knew we were hindered by the low budget, and went somewhere where money is no object.

tim1_2 wrote:

SpezDispenser wrote:

tim1_2 wrote:I'm sure he and his agent expected to negotiate.  I'm not sure he expected to be lowballed again, assuming he would take a home team discount.

If you're a free agent, and you ask for $6M and a team counters with $4M...guess what, you're moving on to the next team.

We counted on Alfie's attachment to the city and it burned us big time.

Again, negotiate.  If you don't like it tell them that you won't settle for a penny less than 5.5 million, then leave.  But at least give negotiations a quick chance.  He doesn't owe the organization anything, but what a Cussing cowardly, crappy way to Dung on your legacy.  Barf!  Looks bad, Alfie.  Looks bad.

As others have written, Alfie didn't want to give the Sens an ultimatum like that.  He didn't want to force them to pay him, knowing that then they wouldn't be getting anyone else of value.  

The fact of the matter is that if we didn't have a "budget", we'd have Alfie, Ryan, MacArthur and who knows who else.  Alfie knew we were hindered by the low budget, and went somewhere where money is no object.  

That's an assumption at best.

NEELY wrote:Yah, I don't think it's as cut and dry and you are making it out to be. I think Alfie got crappy advice from his agent, I think the Sens counted on Alfie basically making the deal himself, I think he had the Swedes in his ear back in Sweden, I think he wasn't sold on staying in Ottawa after his career was over.

All those lead to a poor decision on Aflie's part (yet to be seen) but I can safely say it wasn't well thought out on Aflie's end. It was an emotional decision and those are always the worst.

You are right when you say it was likely an emotional decision. He felt insulted, and it should have never come to that. If we aren't a cheap arsed budget team, he isn't insulted, and he doesn't leave.

So that's an excuse for making a bad decision? People murder because of emotion but there is always a reason behind it, doesn't make it right. You understand it but it doesn't make it any less of a mistake. Obviously an extreme example but quickest one I thought of. Anyways, he's always had trouble controlling that kind of thing and IMO it probably cost him a legacy and you know what? With Alfie is Ottawa it may have cost him a cup. We'll see about that though.