As we inch ever closer to the start of training camp (hey, the Senators rookie tournament camp starts today!), Senators brass have been more prevalent in the local media with their radio and television spots with Senators assistant general managers Pierre Dorion and Randy Lee doing most of the talking. Interestingly however, Bryan Murray had a media availability with the local beat guys yesterday and fortunately, CTV News published a video of an exclusive three and a half minute long interview that Terry Marcotte had with the Senators general manager.
The full interview is definitely worth watching and can be viewed here. Murray’s comments are transcribed below.
As always, my thoughts are in bold.
On whether those deals get done
“Well, at some point there’s a strong possibility, depending. We’re negotiating and obviously for me to talk about numbers and that’s not fair and I won’t. In both cases I think they want to be in Ottawa. They certainly want to get paid according to the marketplace in their minds. Our version for Marc is a little different than his, but that’s normal, I guess, when we start negotiating. Bobby Ryan, we’re not going to talk to his people until the year gets underway. I think he wants to see how important of a role he can play in Ottawa and he tells me he likes it and we’ll do a deal. But, he wants to be… he wants to kind of figure out where he’s going as far as his career and his opportunity in Ottawa.”
It was revealed yesterday that Methot is looking for a deal lasting six years worth an average annual value of $5.5 million. It’s a big chunk of change and a considerably long term for a defensive defenceman. There’s no question that he’s well within his right to ask for it, considering he’ll probably be able to net something close to that on the open market next July – however, I also understand Ottawa’s hesitancy to approach those kinds of years and dollars.
After management indicated that fans should not expect any kind of traction on a prospective extension for Bobby Ryan until the forward had arrived in town, it’s somewhat deflating to hear that Ryan would prefer to wait to see how some of the regular season plays out before deciding on what he wants to do.
The shitty part of this process is that there’s absolutely no way of knowing what Ryan’s intentions are. It’s completely plausible that he’s too tempted to test free agency and he’s simply providing the organization and the fans lip service with his comments. It’s also completely possible that he really likes Ottawa and its fans, but simply cannot pass up this unique opportunity to cash in on the open market and hand pick where he wants to play next. Or alternatively, maybe like Dion Phaneuf and Phil Kessel last season with Toronto, he’ll sign a new extension during the course of the regular season. You just don’t know and with Murray indicating that Ryan wants to see where he fits and what kind of opportunity there is for him in Ottawa, the worry is that he may put a lot of stock into the team’s comfort/performance/production/success over such a small sample size of games – unless of course the whole possibility of him staying is just words to the wind.
Obviously the whole uncertainty of whether Bobby Ryan is staying or going is a pretty shitty thing to have hang over the team. It’s not ideal and the Senators were aware of the inherent risks when they acquired him, but we’re still pretty far removed from the point where the Senators’ hand is forced and they have to move him or risk losing him for nothing.
On both players being important people for the organization…
“They’re both important people. I think every player we try to keep this year is an important person and they add to the makeup. Bobby Ryan obviously (adds to) the goal scoring department which in this league today is very hard to come by. He adds a real dimension to our hockey team.”
They’re also very likeable and charismatic people. It’s probably not in Ottawa’s best interests not to write them blank cheques, but it’d be difficult to stomach the thought of seeing them leave too.
On whether the Senators need a captain…
“It’s nice to have a captain. It’s good to have a good leader. I think we have a number of them in the room. We certainly have a couple of alternate captains from the previous year that are very strong and good people. We have, as I say, a couple of other candidates. Do we need a ‘C’ to make them a captain, I’m not sure. I think that’s part of the discussion right now and we’ve had many to this point in time. Who is the captain? Why? What does he bring to the room that we really need? Obviously we have to make the right decision going forward, but we’re not in a hurry to make that happen.”
I posed the question on Twitter, but I’ll put it here as well. If the Senators are this hesitant to name Chris Phillips captain because they fear making him a transitional captain or worry that it’s not in their best interests to name a captain who may become a Randy Cunneyworth-like part-time guy, why were they feel so obligated to bring him back into the fold or worse, give him a two-year deal?
Don’t get me wrong, I like Chris Phillips. He’ll be a legacy player who has engrained himself and become a valuable member of the Ottawa community, but there were probably better ways to allocate his roster spot and salary — ie. freeing up playing and development time for younger players like Jared Cowen, Patrick Wiercioch, Mark Borowiecki, Cody Ceci and Eric Gryba.
On whether the roster is something that’s still being tinkered with…
“I would say (I’m) 99-percent sure this is the team that we’re going to end up evaluating in training camp. We have a number of young players that we think are going to fight very, very strongly for a position. But, there’s an outside chance (of a deal). I’m talking to other managers on a somewhat regular basis and there is a chance that we could make one move before camp ends, I’ll put it that way.”
I’m guessing any prospective trade will involve the Senators shedding young depth — possibly a Greening, Condra, Hoffman, or a Wiercioch — for some future assets and to free up a roster spot for a Curtis Lazar or so they can simply roll with seven NHL defencemen.
On the Bodog line on the Senators’ point total and whether he thinks they’ll be a team that surprises people…
“I believe it will. I think we’re a better team than last year for a number of reasons. I think we’re going to have a better work ethic. I think we’re going to be more consistent. Nobody can be as inconsistent as we were last year. I think we’ll be more prepared to play against the teams that we should have a chance to win against. Last year it seemed like we could beat the top teams and not be ready to play teams in our category. We lost a lot of points as a result. I think our work ethic will be outstanding this year and I really believe our defensive game will be considerably better.”
The Bodog line was set at 78.5 points, I believe. Considering the state of the roster, I’d take the over on that. Barring some disastrous injury to Kyle Turris or Erik Karlsson, I think the Senators simply have too much depth to be that shitty.
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