With Eugene Melnyk as an owner, you could never be sure that the organization could resist the temptation to become players on the open market.
It was six minutes past noon on July 1st when our worst fears could be put to rest and fans could breathe a collective sigh of relief. There would be no Gonchar-like surprise signing this year. Nor would any short-term solutions be brought in for that matter to augment an inherently flawed core that ownership and management had grown loyal to.
Often when I look back in retrospect as to what has transpired over the past few seasons, I can’t help but wonder what could have happened had the Euge bought the Ottawa Senators when the team wasn’t considered a perennial Stanley Cup contender. Would he have been as inclined to keep the team together or push management to augment this core by making forays into deadline deals or the NHL free agency period?
I’m of a mind to believe that he wouldn’t have. Mind you, it looks as though the Euge has finally learned an invaluable lesson – one that Terry Pegula, the new billionaire owner of the Buffalo Sabres, will eventually come to learn. There is no sense spending frivolously to the cap threshold to demonstrate to your fan base that you care or that things will different under new ownership.
It’s counterintuitive and short-sighted. Why would an organization choose to make a splash into this year’s UFA class when it’s weaker than the effort Alexei Kovalev exudes in his backchecks?
Within two years, they’ll be kicking themselves.
Surely there must have been better ways than to hamstring a cap situation that to throw money and term at Christian Ehrhoff (10 years, $40 million) and the greatest 28 year old Finn to never score 20 goals in a NHL season (Ville Leino – 6 years, $27 million)?
But like many of his contemporaries, Darcy Regier just couldn’t help himself from partaking in the fiscal insanity that characterized the opening of the 2011 NHL Free Agent period.
And insanity it was…
How else could you describe Glen Sather’s decision to repeat his past mistakes over and over again and expecting different results? Ignoring his previous FA signings like Chris Drury, Scott Gomez, Wade Redden and Bobby Holik, the Rangers general manager just couldn’t fight the urge to Brad Richards, another center, to a $60 million, 9 year pact.
And where else could:
– Tomas Fleischmann, a player who has missed significant time over the past season because of a pulmonary embolism, ink a new deal worth $4.5 million per season for 4 years?
– Joel Ward, a CIS hockey product whose career high in goals (17) came two seasons ago parlay an exceptional playoff performance with Nashville (7 G, 6A in 12 GP) into a 4 year deal worth $3 million per season?
– Sean Bergenheim, a player whose career high in points is 29 use a strong playoff performance with Tampa Bay to fetch 4 years and $2.75 million per annum?
– The Colorado Avalanche trade a first and second round pick for the Washington Capitals’ third string goaltender?
Of course this is a small sample of what actually transpired on the weekend, but like many of you who were celebrating Canada Day, it appears as though many of the league’s general managers had a little too much to drink. Or maybe they indulged in whatever it was that inspired this Don Brennan article advocating that the Senators sign Steven Stamkos to an offer sheet?
I digress.
To their credit, Senators management held true to their word and shied away from the market. Sure, they did eventually make some moves – there was an Alex Auld signing here and a Francis Lessard two-way contract there – but in the small picture, neither of these signings will do much to inspire the casual fan. (Note: The Lessard signing will make for more fantastic podcast fodder though.)
In the greater scheme of things however, this weekend put my mind to ease and reassured fans who want to see this organization continue to build from within. After Binghamton’s Calder Cup success and the infrequent contributions of a few past-their-prime FA signings, fans no longer want to see the young talent be boxed in by veteran fodder.
As you can tell by the attendance at Sens Development Camp, fans seem to be reinvigorated by this youth movement and as the 2011 NHL Entry Draft showed, you can’t buy the optimism that an influx of draft picks and inexpensive young talent can bring in.
Keep it up Ottawa, I’m enjoying this new philosophy.
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