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Ah….off-season in Ottawa….bare-with me as this is going to be a little unorganized…
A time of year where Melnyk is blasted by Sens bloggers everywhere, regardless if it’s factual or even relevant.
The basis for all these blogs?
Alfie leaving town.
While no one knows for sure the exact reasons , along with what events transpired, that are actually relevant to Alfie leaving, the general rule of thumb among Sens bloggers is it’s Melnyk’s fault.
Sidenote: I challenge Sens bloggers to go the entire off-season with attacking Melnyk unless he does something completely insane. Write about the actual organization not the idiot owner.
Ignored was everything else. Alfie’s attitude at the end of the playoffs, he’s response after he signed in Detroit , he’s undecided outlook on his own future…so on and so forth.
All that matters is the Sens refused to pay what Alfie asked for…
Not to delve too deep into this whole situation, but it wasn’t completely unreasonable for the Sens to not pay a 40 year old player upwards of 7 million a year. (His rumored initial asking price.)
Now we’re almost a full year later and we’re on to a Spezza trade request.
I’ve yet to read any Sens blog that brings it up, mind you I don't read too many anymore because I’m tired of hearing about Melnyk’s financial situation, Jason has been the whipping boy in Ottawa since ’07. No one should be shocked he wants out, what player wouldn’t, and regardless it’s clear management wants to change directions.
Now the latest turn in this saga, is Brad May coming out and saying Spezza didn’t out-right ask for a trade, he in fact just wanted a financial commitment from the organization to better the team.
I call bull-Dung on that. First off, anything that comes from Sportsnet should be taken with a grain of salt. Second…Spezza has been Dung on, unmercilessly, fans and media alike.
Hemsky reportedly said he’d be interested in signing with Ottawa provided Jason Spezza was part of the picture. Spezza’s not, so Hemsky didn’t want to stay. That’s the cut and dry of that situation.
Spezza hasn’t been part of the long-term plans for this team since early to mid last season, atleast. Short of the Sens making the playoffs and going deep he was going to be trade.
Less than 30 people showed up to a save Spezza rally; I’m pretty sure Clarke Macarthur rally would have brought more fans out. (Not a shot at Spezza, just an observation on his true popularity vs. the perception of his popularity.)
The pro and anti Spezza groups will aim at their usual points – his point production as a positive and his +/- along with injury history as a negative.
The truth is somewhere in the middle – when healthy he is a very capable, talented #1 Center on atleast 60% of teams in league.
Personally I think he isn’t an elite center – Toews, Crosby, Malkin, Stamkos, Datsyuk, Tavares, Giroux…
He very much fits somewhere in the group of – Bergeron, Getzlaf, Backstrom, Kopitar, Backes, Thornton…
And for those questioning why Murray publicly declared Spezza asked for a trade, while it could hamper his return, all Murray was trying to do was get more people calling…and based on Calgary calling, I’d say its worked.
Sidenote: Not overly hating the offer from the Flames, Backlund has proven to be a reliable 2nd/3rd line tweener, Hudler is a decent 2nd line option, Wideman would be a moveable asset, or aid in the Sens moving other D-men, and a 2nd round pick is a 2nd round pick….Sens would be better off for a 1st in 2015 than a 2nd in a shallow draft, but that wouldn’t come from Calgary.
If Sens fans hate the Calgary offer, they may want to temper expectations – we may not win this trade, but the goal is to not lose it.
Still think Berglund, prospect, Pick is going to be the best return.
Going to do my usual Draft preview sometime this week for the people that enjoy it.
A time of year where Melnyk is blasted by Sens bloggers everywhere, regardless if it’s factual or even relevant.
The basis for all these blogs?
Alfie leaving town.
While no one knows for sure the exact reasons , along with what events transpired, that are actually relevant to Alfie leaving, the general rule of thumb among Sens bloggers is it’s Melnyk’s fault.
Sidenote: I challenge Sens bloggers to go the entire off-season with attacking Melnyk unless he does something completely insane. Write about the actual organization not the idiot owner.
Ignored was everything else. Alfie’s attitude at the end of the playoffs, he’s response after he signed in Detroit , he’s undecided outlook on his own future…so on and so forth.
All that matters is the Sens refused to pay what Alfie asked for…
Not to delve too deep into this whole situation, but it wasn’t completely unreasonable for the Sens to not pay a 40 year old player upwards of 7 million a year. (His rumored initial asking price.)
Now we’re almost a full year later and we’re on to a Spezza trade request.
I’ve yet to read any Sens blog that brings it up, mind you I don't read too many anymore because I’m tired of hearing about Melnyk’s financial situation, Jason has been the whipping boy in Ottawa since ’07. No one should be shocked he wants out, what player wouldn’t, and regardless it’s clear management wants to change directions.
Now the latest turn in this saga, is Brad May coming out and saying Spezza didn’t out-right ask for a trade, he in fact just wanted a financial commitment from the organization to better the team.
I call bull-Dung on that. First off, anything that comes from Sportsnet should be taken with a grain of salt. Second…Spezza has been Dung on, unmercilessly, fans and media alike.
Hemsky reportedly said he’d be interested in signing with Ottawa provided Jason Spezza was part of the picture. Spezza’s not, so Hemsky didn’t want to stay. That’s the cut and dry of that situation.
Spezza hasn’t been part of the long-term plans for this team since early to mid last season, atleast. Short of the Sens making the playoffs and going deep he was going to be trade.
Less than 30 people showed up to a save Spezza rally; I’m pretty sure Clarke Macarthur rally would have brought more fans out. (Not a shot at Spezza, just an observation on his true popularity vs. the perception of his popularity.)
The pro and anti Spezza groups will aim at their usual points – his point production as a positive and his +/- along with injury history as a negative.
The truth is somewhere in the middle – when healthy he is a very capable, talented #1 Center on atleast 60% of teams in league.
Personally I think he isn’t an elite center – Toews, Crosby, Malkin, Stamkos, Datsyuk, Tavares, Giroux…
He very much fits somewhere in the group of – Bergeron, Getzlaf, Backstrom, Kopitar, Backes, Thornton…
And for those questioning why Murray publicly declared Spezza asked for a trade, while it could hamper his return, all Murray was trying to do was get more people calling…and based on Calgary calling, I’d say its worked.
Sidenote: Not overly hating the offer from the Flames, Backlund has proven to be a reliable 2nd/3rd line tweener, Hudler is a decent 2nd line option, Wideman would be a moveable asset, or aid in the Sens moving other D-men, and a 2nd round pick is a 2nd round pick….Sens would be better off for a 1st in 2015 than a 2nd in a shallow draft, but that wouldn’t come from Calgary.
If Sens fans hate the Calgary offer, they may want to temper expectations – we may not win this trade, but the goal is to not lose it.
Still think Berglund, prospect, Pick is going to be the best return.
Going to do my usual Draft preview sometime this week for the people that enjoy it.
