Rumours are flying around the Nation’s Capital, and they have surprisingly little to do with the status of the city’s transit strike, or the prospects of a coalition government at the conclusion of the prorogation of Canada’s federal legislature. Important issues that affect the day to day lives of those who live and work in the town that By built have taken a back seat in the hearts and minds of many Ottawans, giving way to a far more serious crisis: What the heck is wrong with that local hockey team? Will the once vilified Pat Quinn coach the team now that the juniors are over? Will Antoine Vermette and the teenlust he spawns be cast away? And what’s to be done with this Jason Spezza? People here, there, and everywhere (everywhere being TSN) have insinuated for weeks that a deal is imminent, and that event X is the final straw that will prompt BM the GM to go Len Barrie and trade 58.63% of his roster in a full scale maelstrom of panic. Yet nothing materializes.
Could it be that they are just making up rumours to generate interest and pull at the heartstrings? Salacious accusations, I know, but stranger things have happened. Coincidentally, I have noticed the aforementioned provocateurs all enjoy much broader readership than I. Taking these observations into account, I have devised myself a plan that should be the envy of most any man; I shall fabricate a rumour of my very own creation!
Filip Kuba will be traded sometime between now and March 4th, 2009 – count on it. I will tell you that I have no inside man who is in close contact with Bryan Murray on a daily basis, and frankly I am beginning to have serious doubts as to whether any members of the SensPress - both new and traditional – do either. Furthermore, I have not been “hearing a lot of” buzz, talk, conjecture, or what have you from reputable sources. The scenario at hand is just so freaking plausible that your more discerning Golden Retrievers could storyboard it soon after having woken up from a severe frontal lobotomy. Kuba being a piece of trade deadline candy makes sense for so many different reasons. Let us count them:
1) The Team: Ok, so now that we’ve all removed our Alex Auld coloured glasses and done a little mental math, most of us are sold on this being a non-playoff year. Disappointing, but think of it this way: The last time the Sens missed the playoffs, your graduate student author was 2 years away from sprouting secondary body hair. We’ve had it good, but all good things come to an end. The team has two first-round picks in this year’s draft and some money coming off the books; now is as good a time as any to conduct a minor rebuild. If this team isn’t a seller at the deadline, I’ll sacrifice a goat to the hockey gods both in tribute for the miracle they performed and in penance for my blasphemous disbelief.
2) The Contract: Fidel’s in his contract year, and has a $3M cap hit. Since teams bank unspent cap dollars from earlier in the season, and would only have to pay the remaining amount of the diminutive defender’s yearly stipend, Kuba will be very moveable. By the trade deadline, there will be less than $1M left on his deal, and teams will have room to add. As you may be aware, there is a demand for offensive defencemen, meaning an inexpensive plug for a #2 to #4 hole could attract interest and value from other teams. Also, Kuba will likely command more than the Sens are willing to pay for his services, and the likelihood of his 8 month stay having fostered the level of allegiance that would facilitate a hometown discount during a rebuilding process is slim to nil.
3) The Big Picture: We’ve been down this road before. We lost Zdeno Chara for nothing, and despite Murray’s best efforts, we lost Wade Redden too. While Kuba will fetch substantially less than Chara or Redden would have, this team CANNOT afford to lose its “#1” defenceman without getting anything in return for the third time in four years. It’s simply not an option.
4) The Puppet Master: Murray had to trade away one of the club’s recent first round draft picks (Andrej Meszaros) under the threat of an offer sheet courtesy the newly-wacky Tampa Bay Lightning brass. Believing in the playoff potential of his roster, Murray acquired a proven NHL defenceman to compliment his group in the deal. That belief appears to be dying. Anything Kuba can bring back that would help this club build for the future will make that Meszaros deal look better. While I don’t think The Bryan’s job security should be in question, his reactionary billionaire boss might feel differently. If Murray gets something of value for Kuba, he might look like a genius. If he lets him walk, well the Meszaros trade might not look so hot to Mr. Melnyk.
There you go folks. I don’t know where he is going, or who/what is coming back, but I’ll bet you a nice, crisp $20 bill than when the Senators clean out their lockers this April, Filip Kuba will be property of a different organization.
So there you have it. Now go forth my pretties, and propagate!
Could it be that they are just making up rumours to generate interest and pull at the heartstrings? Salacious accusations, I know, but stranger things have happened. Coincidentally, I have noticed the aforementioned provocateurs all enjoy much broader readership than I. Taking these observations into account, I have devised myself a plan that should be the envy of most any man; I shall fabricate a rumour of my very own creation!
Filip Kuba will be traded sometime between now and March 4th, 2009 – count on it. I will tell you that I have no inside man who is in close contact with Bryan Murray on a daily basis, and frankly I am beginning to have serious doubts as to whether any members of the SensPress - both new and traditional – do either. Furthermore, I have not been “hearing a lot of” buzz, talk, conjecture, or what have you from reputable sources. The scenario at hand is just so freaking plausible that your more discerning Golden Retrievers could storyboard it soon after having woken up from a severe frontal lobotomy. Kuba being a piece of trade deadline candy makes sense for so many different reasons. Let us count them:
1) The Team: Ok, so now that we’ve all removed our Alex Auld coloured glasses and done a little mental math, most of us are sold on this being a non-playoff year. Disappointing, but think of it this way: The last time the Sens missed the playoffs, your graduate student author was 2 years away from sprouting secondary body hair. We’ve had it good, but all good things come to an end. The team has two first-round picks in this year’s draft and some money coming off the books; now is as good a time as any to conduct a minor rebuild. If this team isn’t a seller at the deadline, I’ll sacrifice a goat to the hockey gods both in tribute for the miracle they performed and in penance for my blasphemous disbelief.
2) The Contract: Fidel’s in his contract year, and has a $3M cap hit. Since teams bank unspent cap dollars from earlier in the season, and would only have to pay the remaining amount of the diminutive defender’s yearly stipend, Kuba will be very moveable. By the trade deadline, there will be less than $1M left on his deal, and teams will have room to add. As you may be aware, there is a demand for offensive defencemen, meaning an inexpensive plug for a #2 to #4 hole could attract interest and value from other teams. Also, Kuba will likely command more than the Sens are willing to pay for his services, and the likelihood of his 8 month stay having fostered the level of allegiance that would facilitate a hometown discount during a rebuilding process is slim to nil.
3) The Big Picture: We’ve been down this road before. We lost Zdeno Chara for nothing, and despite Murray’s best efforts, we lost Wade Redden too. While Kuba will fetch substantially less than Chara or Redden would have, this team CANNOT afford to lose its “#1” defenceman without getting anything in return for the third time in four years. It’s simply not an option.
4) The Puppet Master: Murray had to trade away one of the club’s recent first round draft picks (Andrej Meszaros) under the threat of an offer sheet courtesy the newly-wacky Tampa Bay Lightning brass. Believing in the playoff potential of his roster, Murray acquired a proven NHL defenceman to compliment his group in the deal. That belief appears to be dying. Anything Kuba can bring back that would help this club build for the future will make that Meszaros deal look better. While I don’t think The Bryan’s job security should be in question, his reactionary billionaire boss might feel differently. If Murray gets something of value for Kuba, he might look like a genius. If he lets him walk, well the Meszaros trade might not look so hot to Mr. Melnyk.
There you go folks. I don’t know where he is going, or who/what is coming back, but I’ll bet you a nice, crisp $20 bill than when the Senators clean out their lockers this April, Filip Kuba will be property of a different organization.
So there you have it. Now go forth my pretties, and propagate!
3 comments:
Dude. I think Sens Buzz stole your story.
http://sensbuzz.blogspot.com/2009/01/news-flash-montreal-interested-in-filip.html
Blast, I wrote this a few days ago but didn't publish until today. I guess I should do some drills to work on my trigger finger.
It's a dog eat dog world out there in the Sens bloggasphere, I guess. :P
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