I would do spezza for Berglund + what ever else ur lucky enough to get. There's no leverage for the sens, berglund could center or play left wing with zibanejad. He brings size and a two way game. I wish pitt could steal him

Agree. A fifty point player with a strong 200' game, especially a physical game would be a perfect fit at the moment. They need to reverse their GA by 35 goals. Replacing Spezza with a strong two way player is a very good start.
- spatso

By replacing that GA, you're hurting the GF. Your plan isn't as perfect as you make it out to be.

By replacing that GA, you're hurting the GF. Your plan isn't as perfect as you make it out to be.
- systemtool

Not my plan. Goal stated by Murray and MacLean.

Berglund has great size and would be a very good second or third line fit. I disagree on the leverage issue. Demand creates leverage. As long as you have a market (more than one buyer) you can always leverage one buyer by taking your business to another buyer.

Worst move ever by Murray was trading Brian Elliott for Anderson. The Senators were well settled in last place on the day the deal was done. They were planning on drafting Landeskog. But, Anderson won a bunch of games and the Sens went from drafting first overall to seventh in last few months of the season.
- spatso

One of the best move the Avs did, Sherman just being a terrible at the time, his moves have all worked out now

Why is everyone talking about forwards?

We need D. Desperately.

If we have this same group next season, it's going to be a long one.

Marvin Gardens, Illinois and Pennsylvania Avenue seems like fair value for Spezza, provided it completes either the Red or Yellow set. Otherwise should hold on to him and focus on scooping up the Railroads and Utilities.

Berglund has great size and would be a very good second or third line fit. I disagree on the leverage issue. Demand creates leverage. As long as you have a market (more than one buyer) you can always leverage one buyer by taking your business to another buyer.
- spatso

Yep a good youngish, with nhl experience 3rd line winger or center with size and physicality along with a 1st.Is probably what we end up with .We need insulation for players like Hoffman,Zbad,lazar and potentially puemple.I dont get why people think we will get the moon and stars for Spezza.Conversely i dont think he will be had for scraps either.It will be a fair deal that makes sense for both teams

Berglund has great size and would be a very good second or third line fit. I disagree on the leverage issue. Demand creates leverage. As long as you have a market (more than one buyer) you can always leverage one buyer by taking your business to another buyer.
- spatso

I've seen this scenario thrown out by you and others:

If Spezza is allowed to talk to other teams about a new contract and goes with one team, how does that help Ottawa get max return for him? Spezza himself holds the power (no trade clause) of where he gets to go. If he picks say St.Louis, the only thing they really have to worry about is giving him the contract he wants. They won't be forced to give up a good package. When a guy with all the power on where he gets to go there is no leverage for sellers.

Wah-Waaaah - Debbie Downer blog#???

So the team is trying be fiscally responsible. That is the reality of many sports teams in all major sports. Not committed to winning like some other clubs? Come on. They are committed to winning, but they have to do it differently than some big market teams. I have no problem with that, nor should anyone. Are you mad or sad that the team can't spend as much as say New York or LA? Get over it, it's been years that this has been going on and Sens fans know the strategy has to be different. Teams also go through cycles, where they build up assets and spend when the time is right. Is the time right for Ottawa? I would'nt say they're ripe at this point. Again, as a fan I get that and I don't really mind because I know they're are people smarter than you and me handling it.

I for one am still excited for the upcoming season, Spezza or not, Hemsky or not. New players will come in and young players will step up. If things go well, who knows, Melnyk may see an opportunity before him and spend a few more bucks.

Wah-Waaaah - Debbie Downer blog#???

So the team is trying be fiscally responsible. That is the reality of many sports teams in all major sports. Not committed to winning like some other clubs? Come on. They are committed to winning, but they have to do it differently than some big market teams. I have no problem with that, nor should anyone. Are you mad or sad that the team can't spend as much as say New York or LA? Get over it, it's been years that this has been going on and Sens fans know the strategy has to be different. Teams also go through cycles, where they build up assets and spend when the time is right. Is the time right for Ottawa? I would'nt say they're ripe at this point. Again, as a fan I get that and I don't really mind because I know they're are people smarter than you and me handling it.

I for one am still excited for the upcoming season, Spezza or not, Hemsky or not. New players will come in and young players will step up. If things go well, who knows, Melnyk may see an opportunity before him and spend a few more bucks.
- AlfieFever

People gotta realize the East is anyones game. This time last year things in Montreal didn't seem to great after loosing to the Sens in 5 then this year they come within a goal of going to the Final. Any team in the East can make a jump next year. We aren't a rebuild away, we are just pieces away. If we were in the West, it would be entirely different story.

I've seen this scenario thrown out by you and others:

If Spezza is allowed to talk to other teams about a new contract and goes with one team, how does that help Ottawa get max return for him? Spezza himself holds the power (no trade clause) of where he gets to go. If he picks say St.Louis, the only thing they really have to worry about is giving him the contract he wants. They won't be forced to give up a good package. When a guy with all the power on where he gets to go there is no leverage for sellers.
- Gord_Wilson_2.0

It is really a lot less complicated. Ottawa talks to St. Louis they work out a package. Everybody talks to Spezza's agent and they try and get it done. The person who has the greatest individual interest in getting the right long term deal, in the right place, right now is Spezza. Spezza does not have an exclusive "no movement" contract. He can designate 10 teams where he does not want to.

But, the reality is he wants to go to a possible contender in a low profile media market for hockey. So we are talking about 6 teams, all of them in the West.

Cart........................................................................Horse

People gotta realize the East is anyones game. This time last year things in Montreal didn't seem to great after loosing to the Sens in 5 then this year they come within a goal of going to the Final. Any team in the East can make a jump next year. We aren't a rebuild away, we are just pieces away. If we were in the West, it would be entirely different story.
- Gord_Wilson_2.0

I agree. Colorado went from lottery jack pot to great regular season and playoffs in one year. In a rebuild you come to a point where the young guys have to be allowed to take over. The Alfie-Spezza era is over. The leaders on the team are now all the young guys.

I have my fingers crossed that Murray will get his top 6 "hard" power forward. When he opens the box I hope it is Evander Kane. I also hope he finds the perfect defensive partner for Karlsson. Once Spezza is gone Murray is going to have to add a minimum of $10m in salary to make cap.

This will be a hard team to play against.

can't we do this (in a world where we win a powerball drawing):


- Travis Yost

Excellent looking fwd lineup. Should probably shift some of that focus to D like you've said... many times.

There's not much more to say about Spezza that hasn't been said already. Lots of options, let's just hope BMurr lands a decent return. If it's not, keep him until trade deadline.

Hemsky though... If he's asking $5.5... Give it to him and run away laughing.

"@BobRbrts: Look at Ales Hemsky this year... he pulled a 44% possession EDM team up closer to 50 and a 51% OTT team up towards 60". He is also a career 11.1 SH%. Dude is the real deal.

I like that roster you put together Yost. Except for Spezza, switch him out for some T4-T2 Dman. I think the team should offer Hemsky all the money on a shorter term while the team matures into a contender. They can't afford to lose the offence of both Spezza and Hemsky IMHO. I also expect that guys like 65 and 6 would like to see a little more commitment to winning at the slight expense of financial prudence.

There would be nothing better than watching that third line eat their competition, especially the Leafs.

Was listening to Tim and Sid earlier with Gord Stellick, Mike Brophy and some other guy. The topic of Drew Doughty came up and segwayed into the best defencemen in the league. They mentioned Subban and Webber in Doughty's company and pretty much argued between Doughty and Subban. You've gotta be a bit of lamen to talk about the best defencemen in the game and leave out the guy who who led all his peers in pts by a healthy margin and led all his peers in take aways (T1 with Buff).

I've seen this scenario thrown out by you and others:

If Spezza is allowed to talk to other teams about a new contract and goes with one team, how does that help Ottawa get max return for him? Spezza himself holds the power (no trade clause) of where he gets to go. If he picks say St.Louis, the only thing they really have to worry about is giving him the contract he wants. They won't be forced to give up a good package. When a guy with all the power on where he gets to go there is no leverage for sellers.
- Gord_Wilson_2.0

i'm not sure where you think spezza controls where he goes. he doesn't have a full NTC. he can choose 10 teams he doesn't want to go to ( a list which he had to submit like 2 years ago) but murray can send him to any of the other 20 teams he chooses. the way you're talking is almost as if you think this is the same as the heatley situation, where murray could ONLY send him where he chose to go........

ottawa still holds all the leverage in a trade they make this offseason. they have 20 teams they can freely negotiate with, and if the offers suck, then they move him at the deadline.

spezza has ZERO say in which of the 20 teams murray deals him to, he has no power once that list is submitted.

i'm not sure where you think spezza controls where he goes. he doesn't have a full NTC. he can choose 10 teams he doesn't want to go to ( a list which he had to submit like 2 years ago) but murray can send him to any of the other 20 teams he chooses. the way you're talking is almost as if you think this is the same as the heatley situation, where murray could ONLY send him where he chose to go........

ottawa still holds all the leverage in a trade they make this offseason. they have 20 teams they can freely negotiate with, and if the offers suck, then they move him at the deadline.

spezza has ZERO say in which of the 20 teams murray deals him to, he has no power once that list is submitted.
- sensarmy_11

What I was saying is based on if Spezza is allowed to discuss contracts with other teams prior to being dealt:

I don't think many teams will be lining up with nice offers if news comes out Spezza only wants to sign in one place. Let's be fair, this day in age, that news will leak. Best to let negotiations happen after he is traded in my opinion. Let bidding begin to try and acquire him and then discuss an extension with Spezza ahead of July 1. The no trade isn't like Heatley's, but it's still there.

Be careful not to forget Bryan Murray does have a history of trading players to markets they would be more comfortable in. Corvo was sent to a less hyped hockey market (still don't know why he came back ), Kelly was sent to a contender despite saying he really didn't want to be traded, and Fisher was dealt to Nashville where his fun bags lived despite leaving better offers on the table. Something to keep an eye on.

Personally, I think Nashville and St. Louis are more likely destinations than Anaheim - with Berglund being the centrepiece of the Blues' deal, and Del Zotto being a focal point of a deal with the Predators (who Murray had been openly trying to acquire for most of the first half of last season). The fact that Nashville also has the #11 pick to dangle (just one off of where Ottawa's pick would have been), combined with their complete lack of any player of Spezza's offensive calibre, and their clear desire to make major changes on the team after trading their captain and firing their coach of over a decade, actually makes them the team to watch in all of this.

Personally, I think Nashville and St. Louis are more likely destinations than Anaheim - with Berglund being the centrepiece of the Blues' deal, and Del Zotto being a focal point of a deal with the Predators (who Murray had been openly trying to acquire for most of the first half of last season). The fact that Nashville also has the #11 pick to dangle (just one off of where Ottawa's pick would have been), combined with their complete lack of any player of Spezza's offensive calibre, and their clear desire to make major changes on the team after trading their captain and firing their coach of over a decade, actually makes them the team to watch in all of this.
- khawk

Del zotto won't be the main piece of that deal......not even close. When Murray asked about him from New York, he apparently didn't even want to give up mark stone for him, so you really think he'll give up spezza for him?

If the deal is with Nashville, the main piece will either be josi or forsberg....if del sot to is part of the deal, he's a secondary piece.....especially considering he's an rfa

I agree. Colorado went from lottery jack pot to great regular season and playoffs in one year. In a rebuild you come to a point where the young guys have to be allowed to take over. The Alfie-Spezza era is over. The leaders on the team are now all the young guys.

I have my fingers crossed that Murray will get his top 6 "hard" power forward. When he opens the box I hope it is Evander Kane. I also hope he finds the perfect defensive partner for Karlsson. Once Spezza is gone Murray is going to have to add a minimum of $10m in salary to make cap.

This will be a hard team to play against.
- spatso

To be fair, they had 3 top 3 picks in 5 years

I like that roster you put together Yost. Except for Spezza, switch him out for some T4-T2 Dman. I think the team should offer Hemsky all the money on a shorter term while the team matures into a contender. They can't afford to lose the offence of both Spezza and Hemsky IMHO. I also expect that guys like 65 and 6 would like to see a little more commitment to winning at the slight expense of financial prudence.

There would be nothing better than watching that third line eat their competition, especially the Leafs.

Was listening to Tim and Sid earlier with Gord Stellick, Mike Brophy and some other guy. The topic of Drew Doughty came up and segwayed into the best defencemen in the league. They mentioned Subban and Webber in Doughty's company and pretty much argued between Doughty and Subban. You've gotta be a bit of lamen to talk about the best defencemen in the game and leave out the guy who who led all his peers in pts by a healthy margin and led all his peers in take aways (T1 with Buff).
- Mikelly_18

I think Grabbo is a footballer now though, so you'd probably have to scratch him out.

What I was saying is based on if Spezza is allowed to discuss contracts with other teams prior to being dealt:

I don't think many teams will be lining up with nice offers if news comes out Spezza only wants to sign in one place. Let's be fair, this day in age, that news will leak. Best to let negotiations happen after he is traded in my opinion. Let bidding begin to try and acquire him and then discuss an extension with Spezza ahead of July 1. The no trade isn't like Heatley's, but it's still there.

Be careful not to forget Bryan Murray does have a history of trading players to markets they would be more comfortable in. Corvo was sent to a less hyped hockey market (still don't know why he came back ), Kelly was sent to a contender despite saying he really didn't want to be traded, and Fisher was dealt to Nashville where his fun bags lived despite leaving better offers on the table. Something to keep an eye on.
- Gord_Wilson_2.0

I agree that if spezza comes out and says he'll only extend with one team, then ottawa will get way less for him, but that would be a major Richard move, can't see him publicly saying that.

As for moving players to where they wanted to go......when dealing with players of that calibre (mostly 3rd line or bottom pairing guys.....even fisher is prob only fringe top six on a good team), the return won't differ much regardless of where you send them. I don't think a spezza trade will be in any way determined by where he wants to go. If he wants Anaheim, for example, but the best deal is from the blues.....I'd bet good money that he goes to st louis

It's a Yashin type return or bust guys (high 1st, decent dman with huge potential upside that will make us regret not resigning him in 7 years, and a spare part forward equivalent to Condra). Something like Fowler, Palmieri and our first from the Ducks.

Championships will follow...

Enthusiasm and hope... it's necessary...we are getting way too negative about the team and its plan, which none of us know details about. Look into next offseason after this one and there are some kick ass names to target (Kane, Toews, Kreijci, Dubinsky, Foligno, Fleischmann, Justin Williams, Fisher, Marc Staal, Vermette, Boedeker, Brad Stuart) and we'll be one of the few teams with cap and cash to really play with.

One other thing worth noting. Every time we make predictions here, we are wrong. 99% of the time the Sun and its lapdog toadies are wrong too. No one predicted the Turris trade, no one knew what SJ would give back for Heatley, no one knew what Bishop would be traded for and no one knew what we would get in the Yashin fiasco.

Just be like Socrates, admit you know nothing and can predict nothing and you just may be pleasantly surprised at how right you are.

It's a Yashin type return or bust guys (high 1st, decent dman with huge potential upside that will make us regret not resigning him in 7 years, and a spare part forward equivalent to Condra). Something like Fowler, Palmieri and our first from the Ducks.

Championships will follow...

Enthusiasm and hope... it's necessary...we are getting way too negative about the team and its plan, which none of us know details about. Look into next offseason after this one and there are some kick ass names to target (Kane, Toews, Kreijci, Dubinsky, Foligno, Fleischmann, Justin Williams, Fisher, Marc Staal, Vermette, Boedeker, Brad Stuart) and we'll be one of the few teams with cap and cash to really play with.

One other thing worth noting. Every time we make predictions here, we are wrong. 99% of the time the Sun and its lapdog toadies are wrong too. No one predicted the Turris trade, no one knew what SJ would give back for Heatley, no one knew what Bishop would be traded for and no one knew what we would get in the Yashin fiasco.

Just be like Socrates, admit you know nothing and can predict nothing and you just may be pleasantly surprised at how right you are.
- ahjnkn

Ho-Lee-(frank). I'll have one of what you're having.