With brother Mikko already in the fold as the team’s Finnish scout and having once signed Jarkko to a three-year contract, USA Today‘s Kevin Allen believes that Ottawa is looking to complete the natural Ruutu hat-trick by trading for Tuomo Ruutu at this year’s Trade Deadline, stating, “The Senators are looking for offensive help, and Ruutu seems to be their primary target.”
Not to discount the possibility that Bryan Murray called and inquired on what it would take to land such a player, I find it more than convenient that someone or some organization would leak Ottawa’s ‘alleged’ interest to help drive up his worth in trade negotiations with another organization. Especially when this trade interest conflicts directly with the statements that owner Eugene Melnyk made to the Team 1200 during the All-Star Game weekend that dismissed the organization’s intent to foresake the future for a rental player and short-sighted run at the playoffs.
Undoubtedly a player like Ruutu could add something to one of Ottawa’s top two lines, however, as impending UFA whose production (16 goals and 11 assists) a) will not justify the cost; and b) isn’t much better than some of Ottawa’s current alternatives; I can’t envision a situation in which the Senators can afford to match Carolina’s asking price.
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