Hemsky went for a 3rd and a 5th and we were offering a 2nd and a prospect, so we were offering a descent price for him. Better than a 3rd and a 5th anyways...
- wthunder1

Probably came down to the fact that Phoenix wouldn't eat as much of his salary as Ottawa did.

Probably came down to the fact that Phoenix wouldn't eat as much of his salary as Ottawa did.
- James_Tanner

Very true. Dumbass GMDM did say it was about the cash not the salary cap hit...

Hey man, thanks for normally agreeing with me! We'll have to agree to see differently on this one though! I hate both of these trades passionately. It angers me that the team can't either go for a proper rebuild or do something aggressive and interesting. These moves indicate to me that they are in a non-competitive no-man's land. They still have no first line players.

As far as Turis, I don't care how it gets spun, if you draft a guy third overall and end up with nothing but a couple of seconds, that isn't any good. I know they partially used the move to get Vermette, but one or two good years from a decent third liner doesn't make up for totally blowing that high of a pick, in my opinion.

And as far as Erat, its the 4.5 million cap hit next year that bugs me. A team has no right to any good will if they won't spend to the cap, and adding Erat basically just negates the increase in cap between this year and next. Its a cheapo move too because he gets paid much less than his cap hit.

Overall, if I seem to be being too harsh, I apologize, it's not like these are total unforgivable disasters, but I also think its important to be critical of a team that has like maybe two or three total beat reporters who act like franchise stooges. Reading the news last night I woulda thought Erat was a 23 year old potential star, instead of a 30+ year old one goal scorer.

Either way, those are just my opinions, and maybe its the nature of blogging that it seems like I am stating them as facts, but I am always open to alternate opinions and suggestions. So thanks not just for reading, but commenting too.
- James_Tanner

Hey mannnn, Maloney did not draft Turris, the Great One did.

Maloney should be commended for not giving away the store, seems you like to stir the poop?

James, I know you're harping on the fact Erat has one goal. I say give it some time. Maybe being put on the Czech line is going to benefit both Vrbata and Erat.

What you have to remember is GMDM's criteria for acquisitions: How is the player going to fit in Tippett's system? In Erat's case, probably well, because he played a similiar system in Nashville.

Now did they give up to much for him? I think so, but time will tell. The only thing I fault Maloney for is letting Boyd Gordon go, and bringing in Ribeiro for 2 million more than Gordon got from the Oilers.