Yesterday I transcribed a conversation that GM Bryan Murray had with Jason York and Steve Lloyd on Team 1200’s Healthy Scratches program. In this radio appearance, Murray acknowledged that he would like to add one more NHL forward to the roster. Here is part of their discussion:
Q: Have you taken a snapshot of where your team is at right now? Has your mindset changed in terms of helping this team?
Well, I think what we need is…first of all, we need to be healthy. We lost two real important players: Alfie at one level and Peter Regin at another. Peter had started off after an injury at the end of last year that looked like he had the ability to score goals and skate. He has got good wheels and with Alfie out, it leaves a huge hole on our team. With him coming back fairly soon we hope and then Peter not too far down the road, I think our team is fine. Otherwise, I’ve been looking and talking about trying to add one more NHL forward. Now whether we are able to do that or not, I’m not sure but it’s certainly something to look at. I think our team is going to be competitive. I think Paul’s done a real good job at structuring the group as we have and if we can stay in it here over the next week or two then taking a look at something may be necessary.
Taking Murray at his word, if Peter Regin and Daniel Alfreddson return from injury and the team ‘can stay in it’, he may make a trade that can benefit this team now. It remains to be seen what he would have to give up or who he could actually bring in but if the asking price isn’t completely outrageous, why not?
I mean, provided that we can be realistic and honest with ourselves, such an acquisition would still have to have the long-term interests of the organization at heart. I’d hope that no one would want to see a Matt Cullen or Andy Sutton redux in which two veteran impending UFAs were brought in — at the cost of a second round pick each — to augment a fatally flawed team that had no rational reason to assume that it could contend for a Stanley Cup. No, hopefully whomever Bryan Murray has in mind could be consistent with the current rebuild/youth movement and eventually be a part of this team when it is well situated for sustained success.
At the same time, despite whatever modest success the organization may be having now, I’d like to think that the possibility of a playoff berth would not factor into any equation that could see management trade expendable veteran players like Sergei Gonchar or Filip Kuba while their respective trade values are at their highest points.
Speaking of trade rumo(u)rs, if you’re into them and like to read into the number of scouts who are at particular games, per Dave Stubbs (@habsinsideout1) Ottawa had two scouts in attendance for last night’s Oilers vs Habs game.
And Le Droit’s Sylvain St.-Laurent wonders over at his blog why management wouldn’t kick the tires on bringing Antoine Vermette back to town.
A Does of The 6th Sens over at SenatorsExtra.com
Before the start of the 2011-12 season, the Ottawa Citizen’s James Gordon asked a number of Senators bloggers for their favorite Sens moments in team history. You can read mine by clicking on this link.
Thanks again to James for allowing me to contribute.
Ray Bourque Discusses Jarome Iginla’s Situation in Calgary
In an interview with Eric Francis, the bad suit wearing HNIC Hotstove panellist and journalist from the Calgary Sun, Ray Bourque discussed his personal motivations for wanting to move on from Boston to pursue his Stanley Cup dreams.
“It was very hard to leave because I always said that I would never leave Boston,” said Bourque, 50, in Calgary to be inducted Tuesday into Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame.
“The reason I left was because it wasn’t a healthy situation at all. It was time. In some ways, I don’t think it was a fair situation to be in after all those years. I was 38 years old, and I was affected mentally by the situation, and I needed to get into a better situation if I was going to continue playing. I wanted to get back into the playoffs and compete for a Cup, but that wasn’t going to happen in Boston and hadn’t happened for quite awhile.”
In Bourque’s case, the Bruins had won just one playoff series in his previous five seasons and were heading towards another post-season miss. The Flames have escaped the first round just once since 1989 and have missed the playoffs two straight years.
“I can’t speak for anybody else, but when you’re in a situation and you know it’s time or it’s the right thing to do you do it,”
Of course the NHL’s trade deadline feels like it’s a long ways away, but as it approaches, brace yourself for potentially being inundated with Ray Bourque parallels when discusssing Daniel Alfredsson’s future with the Senators.
Speaking of Alfredsson, he returned to practice this morning with Matt Carkner. While Carkner was wearing the grey ‘no contact’ jersey, Alfredsson wore the regular garb to match his teammates.
Senators Road Trip
With tonight’s home game against the Rangers being the team’s last until Carolina comes to Scotiabank Place on Sunday, November 27th, many believed that this lengthy road trip would provide the ideal (only?) timeframe for the Senators to install a new scoreboard before the 2012 All-Star Game.
Despite how hush-hush the organization has been on the matter and some scuttlebutt suggesting that it’s incredibly unlikely for it to be installed, I just hope that in the event that it isn’t brought in, it has nothing to do with any of the financial troubles that were alluded to on The Fan 590 (here) this past September.
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