I've had some time to marinate the everything that went down yesterday. I still don't like the Spezza trade. We definitely did not get full value, however, the return is pretty similar to what we gave up for Ryan. I think Chaisson is the better NHL player, but it would have been nice to snag a 1st rounder for next year. Dallas will really make a step forward next year with Spezza at the helm. Going to be hard to see him light up the score sheet for another team.

The way the Spezza trade went down was all too predictable. Murray had sort of an auction going, but quickly lost suitors because they weren't going to pay the price. In the end Murray dealt Spezza to the last place he could. The posters who were posting about trade negotiations and throwing out economic terms to sound smart should feel a little bit silly. I'm glad the Spezza saga is over, but am bummed to see such a great player leave, again.

Murray needs to make a positive move or two or this summer will be seen as a failure. I get the logic of resigning Michalek, but of all of the "older", "run down guys" to move on from, he would be at the top of my list. Behind Phillips. It's frustrating to see a team with so little money to spend, spending it on subpar players.

The Murray press conference was a joke. He should have skipped it. I am not even going to address what he said. I like the guy as a GM, but sometimes he acts senile.

Regarding the posts that we are "continuing" the rebuild process is comically inaccurate. I don't know how long people think 3 years is, but we are past that point now and were supposed to be starting to compete. This is a new rebuild. Nothing wrong with that I guess, just be willing to admit the initial 3 year rebuild was a bit of a flop.Hard to be a Sens fan right now with what's going on. We are going with a youth movement purely because it's what our owner can afford. We aren't going to get better if we can't spend, not even top dollars, but middle of the pack dollars.

Let's hope the next couple of weeks see some positive moves made.
- Gord_Wilson_2.0

While I agree with most of your post, I don't agree with the bolded.

Think of it this way, if we had the current lineup we do now, and bolstered it with 3-4 elite players (which we could easily do if we spent the 20 mil in cap space we have), do you not think our lineup is competitive?

To put it another way- imagine yesterday we went out and signed Stastny, Moulson, Ehrhoff and Boyle (and understand that I'm just taking the best guys available in FA, in my opinion)- that's a total of 20.5 million.

Our lineup would shake out like this:

Michalek - Stastny - Moulson
MacArthur - Turris - Ryan
Chiasson - Zbad - Lazar
Condra - Smith - Neil

Karlsson - Ehrhoff
Boyle - Cowen
Phillips - Ceci

It's a competitive lineup, and that's only given the FAs that were available. Theoreticaly, we could make trades for far better players and make the lineup significantly better by trading some of the prospects that are NHL ready (which we have tons of).

We have an abundance of young talent to support veteran players, we just don't have any elite players. I'm afraid we're putting too much onus on our young stars and setting them up for failure, which would hurt their development....

The Murray press conference was a joke. He should have skipped it. I am not even going to address what he said. I like the guy as a GM, but sometimes he acts senile.
- Gord_Wilson_2.0

Agreed. This is part of what I was referring to and is simply an extension regarding the manner the trade was conducted. All very poorly done.

I think you should take your own advice, champ. Respectful? You called a number of persons idiot/stupid/dumb and demand others to post with respect? What is wrong with you?

You might want to dial back on the "I am smarter than everyone else" routine - with the substance of your posts it is clearly not the case.
- HoweHatrick

What are you even trying to prove anymore. Clearly you have zero hobbies outside of trolling the internet.

What are you even trying to prove anymore. Clearly you have zero hobbies outside of trolling the internet.
- Jordo

So I can be called stupid/dumb/etc and then told by that same person to act with respect and I am trolling?

We have an abundance of young talent to support veteran players, we just don't have any elite players. I'm afraid we're putting too much onus on our young stars and setting them up for failure, which would hurt their development....
- Jordo

to be fair, we have one of the most elite players in the league......but he's our ONLY elite player.

to be fair, we have one of the most elite players in the league......but he's our ONLY elite player.
- sensarmy_11

Agreed- I was speaking more to our top 6.

I'm really hoping that Murray has packaged some prospects together to get one of either Evander Kane, or Patrick Sharp.

We need at least one more piece in offense to not get blown out of the building night after night.

Patrick Sharp makes no sense with his age and salary.

The price tag on Kane is going to be very high.

While I agree with most of your post, I don't agree with the bolded.

Think of it this way, if we had the current lineup we do now, and bolstered it with 3-4 elite players (which we could easily do if we spent the 20 mil in cap space we have), do you not think our lineup is competitive?

To put it another way- imagine yesterday we went out and signed Stastny, Moulson, Ehrhoff and Boyle (and understand that I'm just taking the best guys available in FA, in my opinion)- that's a total of 20.5 million.

Our lineup would shake out like this:

Michalek - Stastny - Moulson
MacArthur - Turris - Ryan
Chiasson - Zbad - Lazar
Condra - Smith - Neil

Karlsson - Ehrhoff
Boyle - Cowen
Phillips - Ceci

It's a competitive lineup, and that's only given the FAs that were available. Theoreticaly, we could make trades for far better players and make the lineup significantly better by trading some of the prospects that are NHL ready (which we have tons of).

We have an abundance of young talent to support veteran players, we just don't have any elite players. I'm afraid we're putting too much onus on our young stars and setting them up for failure, which would hurt their development....
- Jordo

The rebuild was supposed to be on the uprise by now. Not the other away around. Spezza and Alfie were the guys we were building around. We aren't anymore. That's fine. But we aren't continuing the same rebuild we were once doing. This is a second phase. Probably another 3 year wait until we see results. I'm not advocating signing expensive guys because you can. I'm just trying to make it clear the the first crack of rebuilding, while we got some nice pieces, was overall a flop and we are trying again. But it goes back to what Melnyk wants to do. What happens if he doesn't want to sign Turris and Zibby to big contracts and Karlsson wants out because he is tired of his cheap ass ways? We will just be continuing the same old cycle.

So I can be called stupid/dumb/etc and then told by that same person to act with respect and I am trolling?
- HoweHatrick

I'm a bit on your side here. Spatso usually does everything but call people dumb and stupid on here. Although some stuff he writes is a reach, he is one of the most respectful guys in here. He was off his game last night. Best for everyone to forget and move on.

I've had some time to marinate the everything that went down yesterday. I still don't like the Spezza trade. We definitely did not get full value, however, the return is pretty similar to what we gave up for Ryan. I think Chaisson is the better NHL player, but it would have been nice to snag a 1st rounder for next year. Dallas will really make a step forward next year with Spezza at the helm. Going to be hard to see him light up the score sheet for another team.

The way the Spezza trade went down was all too predictable. Murray had sort of an auction going, but quickly lost suitors because they weren't going to pay the price. In the end Murray dealt Spezza to the last place he could. The posters who were posting about trade negotiations and throwing out economic terms to sound smart should feel a little bit silly. I'm glad the Spezza saga is over, but am bummed to see such a great player leave, again.

Murray needs to make a positive move or two or this summer will be seen as a failure. I get the logic of resigning Michalek, but of all of the "older", "run down guys" to move on from, he would be at the top of my list. Behind Phillips. It's frustrating to see a team with so little money to spend, spending it on subpar players.

The Murray press conference was a joke. He should have skipped it. I am not even going to address what he said. I like the guy as a GM, but sometimes he acts senile.

Regarding the posts that we are "continuing" the rebuild process is comically inaccurate. I don't know how long people think 3 years is, but we are past that point now and were supposed to be starting to compete. This is a new rebuild. Nothing wrong with that I guess, just be willing to admit the initial 3 year rebuild was a bit of a flop.

Hard to be a Sens fan right now with what's going on. We are going with a youth movement purely because it's what our owner can afford. We aren't going to get better if we can't spend, not even top dollars, but middle of the pack dollars.

Let's hope the next couple of weeks see some positive moves made.
- Gord_Wilson_2.0

Good perspective on your thinking.

You have to try and get emotionally on the other side of the Melnyk problem. It simply is what it is. But, once you factor Melnyk's financial problems into the mess, it is apparent that Murray has done a great job in rebuilding the team. Melnyk is going through some type of financial reorganization. Spezza was just one more brood mare sold at auction. But, these kind of financial corrections end in some form of recapitalization (sale or refinancing). Ottawa is very close to being in very good shape. The lean period of Melnyk's ruin will actually prove beneficial.

I'm a bit on your side here. Spatso usually does everything but call people dumb and stupid on here. Although some stuff he writes is a reach, he is one of the most respectful guys in here. He was off his game last night. Best for everyone to forget and move on.
- Gord_Wilson_2.0

I have no problem with that but he posted more of the same today. If he wants respect he has to provide the same.

Good perspective on your thinking.

You have to try and get emotionally on the other side of the Melnyk problem. It simply is what it is. But, once you factor Melnyk's financial problems into the mess, it is apparent that Murray has done a great job in rebuilding the team. Melnyk is going through some type of financial reorganization. Spezza was just one more brood mare sold at auction. But, these kind of financial corrections end in some form of recapitalization (sale or refinancing). Ottawa is very close to being in very good shape. The lean period of Melnyk's ruin will actually prove beneficial.
- spatso

This is simply wishful thinking outside of the sale of the club. No amount of restructuring, refinancing or reorganization will improve the club with the current ownership in place.

For me now its about resigning Ryan and hopefully Mac ,a move like this should have happened yesterday ,it would have made that presser go alot smoother .And would have calmed the waters a bit in sens land .Its gotta be priority number 1 ,before anything else at the moment .Fans like myself and iam sure others here want to see.A commitment from EM that we are going to keep our players just as he said

I think someone else posted it here, but I can't find it going back, but it's worth a read for sure:

http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=456252

Mendes proving why he is one of the best in the business.

Good perspective on your thinking.

You have to try and get emotionally on the other side of the Melnyk problem. It simply is what it is. But, once you factor Melnyk's financial problems into the mess, it is apparent that Murray has done a great job in rebuilding the team. Melnyk is going through some type of financial reorganization. Spezza was just one more brood mare sold at auction. But, these kind of financial corrections end in some form of recapitalization (sale or refinancing). Ottawa is very close to being in very good shape. The lean period of Melnyk's ruin will actually prove beneficial.
- spatso

I get what you're saying. But this isn't horse racing. It's NHL hockey. There is a small window where you're allowed to be cheap. Melnyk is using it right now. People keep falling for the "rebuilding" line. It won't last much longer. The NHL really needs to look into this situation. Hopefully issues are sorted out soon.

I get what you're saying. But this isn't horse racing. It's NHL hockey. There is a small window where you're allowed to be cheap. Melnyk is using it right now. People keep falling for the "rebuilding" line. It won't last much longer. The NHL really needs to look into this situation. Hopefully issues are sorted out soon.
- Gord_Wilson_2.0

Truthfully though, if there's one season to pick and choose when to have a bad one- this is probably it. 2015 draft class looks pretty nice. Anybody in the top 10 will probably be a franchise type player.

I think you should take your own advice, champ. Respectful? You called a number of persons idiot/stupid/dumb and demand others to post with respect? What is wrong with you? systemtool quoted you being disrespectful with half a page of quotes.

You might want to dial back on the "I am smarter than everyone else" routine - with the substance of your posts it is clearly not the case.
- HoweHatrick

Can you two just ignore each other, please? For the sake of the thread?

Thanks.

Truthfully though, if there's one season to pick and choose when to have a bad one- this is probably it. 2015 draft class looks pretty nice. Anybody in the top 10 will probably be a franchise type player.
- Jordo

Silverlinning.

Silverlinning.
- Gord_Wilson_2.0

imagine ottawa got mcdavid......our centers would be (in no particular order)

turris
zibby
mcdavid
lazar

The rebuild was supposed to be on the uprise by now. Not the other away around. Spezza and Alfie were the guys we were building around. We aren't anymore. That's fine. But we aren't continuing the same rebuild we were once doing. This is a second phase. Probably another 3 year wait until we see results. I'm not advocating signing expensive guys because you can. I'm just trying to make it clear the the first crack of rebuilding, while we got some nice pieces, was overall a flop and we are trying again. But it goes back to what Melnyk wants to do. What happens if he doesn't want to sign Turris and Zibby to big contracts and Karlsson wants out because he is tired of his cheap ass ways? We will just be continuing the same old cycle.
- Gord_Wilson_2.0

Exactly.

Murray tried to build a contender around Spezza and Alfie, and failed to do it fast enough.

Now we had to move on from our entire core from that '07 team, (Phillips and Neil should have been included in that, but I won't even get started on that) and we have to start with a new core.

If Turris, Zibanejad, Lazar, Stone, Karlsson, Ceci, Weircioch, Cowen, Lehner can all continue to develop like they can, we can still have a great core there.

But Ryan, Smith, and MacArthur can't be the only capable veterans on the team to support them. We need a solid vet on D, and a solid vet at either second line wing or third line center.

So I can be called stupid/dumb/etc and then told by that same person to act with respect and I am trolling?
- HoweHatrick

Spatso has been a great contributor for a long time. You, on the other hand, look like a complete troll. Quit kicking and screaming and maybe people will stop calling you out.

Exactly.

Murray tried to build a contender around Spezza and Alfie, and failed to do it fast enough.

Now we had to move on from our entire core from that '07 team, (Phillips and Neil should have been included in that, but I won't even get started on that) and we have to start with a new core.

If Turris, Zibanejad, Lazar, Stone, Karlsson, Ceci, Weircioch, Cowen, Lehner can all continue to develop like they can, we can still have a great core there.

But Ryan, Smith, and MacArthur can't be the only capable veterans on the team to support them. We need a solid vet on D, and a solid vet at either second line wing or third line center.
- TommyDeVito

Yep this is where i stand as well .I like the look of the kids overall but they need help

Exactly.

Murray tried to build a contender around Spezza and Alfie, and failed to do it fast enough.

Now we had to move on from our entire core from that '07 team, (Phillips and Neil should have been included in that, but I won't even get started on that) and we have to start with a new core.

If Turris, Zibanejad, Lazar, Stone, Karlsson, Ceci, Weircioch, Cowen, Lehner can all continue to develop like they can, we can still have a great core there.

But Ryan, Smith, and MacArthur can't be the only capable veterans on the team to support them. We need a solid vet on D, and a solid vet at either second line wing or third line center.
- TommyDeVito

I was quietly hoping that the Sens would have nabbed Boyle yesterday and made him the captain. Apparently the guy works incredibly hard, and would likely have been a fantastic example for a young group like ours...

Spatso has been a great contributor for a long time. You, on the other hand, look like a complete troll. Quit kicking and screaming and maybe people will stop calling you out.
- sensfan1984

Yeah - that's it. Get called stupid/dumb and you are trolling.

Pouliotte was judged worst signing if the day..
- spatso

a couple of other interesting signings, for different reasons .....

Orpik in Washington ..... ouch 5 years??

Matt Niskanen signed a 7 year deal!!! wow that's a long term for a guy that had one good season

I was surprised that Statsny only signed for 4 years and Hemsky for 3 ......

not to beat a dead horse, but Ottawa could have signed Hemsky and Michalek for 3 years and extended Spezza for three - which was seen as impossible on these threads. Most assumed that it would hav to be long term deal for Spezza/Hemsky