Friday, February 20, 2004
The cost for Kolzig
Much has been made in Ottawa about Patrick Lalime's struggles this season. Fans question if he is the weak link that could cost the Sens the Stanley Cup this year. Backup Martin Prusek has outplayed Lalime so far this year but he's unproven in the NHL postseason. With Olaf Kolzig's recent play, he's probably the only available goalie that could upgrade the Sens in net.
The pros with getting Kolzig would be that he's taken a team to the Cup finals before, he's a good leader, he's put up pretty good numbers in the playoffs on teams that were never considered Cup contenders and he's not that old by goalie standards.
The cons would be that he's got another year left on his contract after this year at over $6M, his playoff numbers aren't as good as Lalime's, and there's no guarantee for any goalie that they'll be better then the guy they replace since goalies can be so streaky.
As far as what it would take to get Kolzig, any package the Sens send the Caps would have to include Lalime. There is no point in keeping him in Ottawa if someone is brought in to replace him. Either the Caps go with him until they feel Maxime Ouellet is ready or, if they feel Ouellet is ready, they could move him along to the Rangers. The best thing for the Sens is that, with the Burke deal to Philly, there aren't a lot of teams going into the playoffs looking for a starting goalie. St Louis would be the other team that comes to mind but they could be might be leery of adding a big contract next year for a team that might need to be rebuilt in the offseason. Colorado would probably only be interested in Kolzig as a backup. Because there isn't a lot of demand out there, Ottawa might be able to get him for a pick/prospect/depth blueliner along with Lalime. Probably something similiar to the Tugnutt & Laukkanen for Barrasso trade the Senators made several years ago.
So what about Kolzig's contract? Well, the Sens have too much invested to risk making an unexpected exit because of poor goaltending. They'll only be on the hook for less then a quarter of Kolzig's contract this year. As for next year, if the Sens were to win the Cup with Lalime he'd be due a raise that wouldn't be too far off what Kolzig would make anyways. Kolzig could stay in Ottawa for a season and pass the torch to Prusek and Sens uber goalie prospect Ray Emery the next year. (0) comments
The pros with getting Kolzig would be that he's taken a team to the Cup finals before, he's a good leader, he's put up pretty good numbers in the playoffs on teams that were never considered Cup contenders and he's not that old by goalie standards.
The cons would be that he's got another year left on his contract after this year at over $6M, his playoff numbers aren't as good as Lalime's, and there's no guarantee for any goalie that they'll be better then the guy they replace since goalies can be so streaky.
As far as what it would take to get Kolzig, any package the Sens send the Caps would have to include Lalime. There is no point in keeping him in Ottawa if someone is brought in to replace him. Either the Caps go with him until they feel Maxime Ouellet is ready or, if they feel Ouellet is ready, they could move him along to the Rangers. The best thing for the Sens is that, with the Burke deal to Philly, there aren't a lot of teams going into the playoffs looking for a starting goalie. St Louis would be the other team that comes to mind but they could be might be leery of adding a big contract next year for a team that might need to be rebuilt in the offseason. Colorado would probably only be interested in Kolzig as a backup. Because there isn't a lot of demand out there, Ottawa might be able to get him for a pick/prospect/depth blueliner along with Lalime. Probably something similiar to the Tugnutt & Laukkanen for Barrasso trade the Senators made several years ago.
So what about Kolzig's contract? Well, the Sens have too much invested to risk making an unexpected exit because of poor goaltending. They'll only be on the hook for less then a quarter of Kolzig's contract this year. As for next year, if the Sens were to win the Cup with Lalime he'd be due a raise that wouldn't be too far off what Kolzig would make anyways. Kolzig could stay in Ottawa for a season and pass the torch to Prusek and Sens uber goalie prospect Ray Emery the next year. (0) comments
Noticable north of the border
Petr Bondra was the face of the Washington Capitals for well over a decade. There was tons of emotional responses from Capital fans after he was traded to Ottawa.
But in moving to Ottawa, he appeared to get noticed more in day then all the years in Washington according to stories in the Ottawa media including this article in Slam Sports:
Bondra was amazed at how many people wished him luck yesterday when he made a pre-game trip to the grocery store for some water. "In Washington, people didn't even know who I was," he said.
I don't know if that's a reflection of the NHL's appeal in Washington or in Ottawa. Probably a bit of both.
Addition:
This quote from an article in the Globe and Mail is even better:
Bondra, emotional and more than a little disappointed on Wednesday over the news of being traded from his only NHL home, was considerably more upbeat about things yesterday.
"Since I arrived [Wednesday] night, the people say 'Welcome to Ottawa,' and this feels like one big family," he said. "Wherever you go, people say nice things and they recognize you. In Washington, I never experienced that. People don't know you and they're not going to say hi. This is different. (0) comments
But in moving to Ottawa, he appeared to get noticed more in day then all the years in Washington according to stories in the Ottawa media including this article in Slam Sports:
Bondra was amazed at how many people wished him luck yesterday when he made a pre-game trip to the grocery store for some water. "In Washington, people didn't even know who I was," he said.
I don't know if that's a reflection of the NHL's appeal in Washington or in Ottawa. Probably a bit of both.
Addition:
This quote from an article in the Globe and Mail is even better:
Bondra, emotional and more than a little disappointed on Wednesday over the news of being traded from his only NHL home, was considerably more upbeat about things yesterday.
"Since I arrived [Wednesday] night, the people say 'Welcome to Ottawa,' and this feels like one big family," he said. "Wherever you go, people say nice things and they recognize you. In Washington, I never experienced that. People don't know you and they're not going to say hi. This is different. (0) comments
Wednesday, February 18, 2004
From one national capital to another
The Sens have acquired Peter Bondra from Washington for prospect Brooks Laich and a second round pick in 2005. While I like Laich and think he's got a good future ahead of him in the NHL, if he's what it takes to improve the Sens chances at winning the Cup this year then so be it.
The Sens are stacked with young forwards: Hossa, Havlat, Spezza, Fisher, Schaefer, Vermette, Langfeld, Neil, etc while Smolinski and (hopefully) Alfredsson are locked into their lineup for the next few years. They also have some other good foward prospects in Bochenski, Eaves, Mirnov and Kaigorodov in the system. Basically, the Sens are stacked and you can only have 13 or 14 forwards on your roster when everyone is healthy.
As for Bondra, since he was playing the Sens last night I noticed how he's still damn fast. He caught up to Alfredsson on a breakaway during last night's game. He'll just add more speed to possibly the fastest group of wingers in the league. He'll also help playing the point on the powerplay. The Sens can now send out Redden with Alfredsson and Chara with Bondra on the points for their two powerplay lineups to go along with Hossa, Havlat, Bonk, Spezza, Smolinski, etc up front.
Another question is, when everyone's healthy, who does Bondra push out of the Sens lineup? Probably Josh Langfeld who has looked really good since he got recalled from Binghamton with 13 points in his last 16 games. But then again, when does a team have everyone healthy in the NHL these days? (0) comments
The Sens are stacked with young forwards: Hossa, Havlat, Spezza, Fisher, Schaefer, Vermette, Langfeld, Neil, etc while Smolinski and (hopefully) Alfredsson are locked into their lineup for the next few years. They also have some other good foward prospects in Bochenski, Eaves, Mirnov and Kaigorodov in the system. Basically, the Sens are stacked and you can only have 13 or 14 forwards on your roster when everyone is healthy.
As for Bondra, since he was playing the Sens last night I noticed how he's still damn fast. He caught up to Alfredsson on a breakaway during last night's game. He'll just add more speed to possibly the fastest group of wingers in the league. He'll also help playing the point on the powerplay. The Sens can now send out Redden with Alfredsson and Chara with Bondra on the points for their two powerplay lineups to go along with Hossa, Havlat, Bonk, Spezza, Smolinski, etc up front.
Another question is, when everyone's healthy, who does Bondra push out of the Sens lineup? Probably Josh Langfeld who has looked really good since he got recalled from Binghamton with 13 points in his last 16 games. But then again, when does a team have everyone healthy in the NHL these days? (0) comments
What's the deal with Rachunek?
Senators defenceman Karel Rachunek has been scratched from the lineup for the past two Senators games. Considering he's one of the Sens' top four defenceman, it's surprising. For the first scratch the Ottawa media speculated that it was the result of indifferent play and that Jacques Martin was looking to motivate him like a healthy scratch did earlier this year.
But for two straight games in a row doesn't sound like a motivational ploy? For back to back games? It doesn't sound right to me.
I think Rachunek is nursing an injury, possibly even a serious one. If it is serious, you can bet that Muckler would be looking for a top 4 defender before he has to release the information about Rachunek on Friday. All NHL teams have to submit medical reports league wide on Fridays according to Tom Benjamin in the comments of this post.
As everyone knows, if the rest of the league knows you're desperate for something the price will go up. There aren't a lot of top 4 blueliners on the trade market right now while Leschyshyn, Pothier, Simpson and Hnidy are a major step down from Rachunek. (0) comments
But for two straight games in a row doesn't sound like a motivational ploy? For back to back games? It doesn't sound right to me.
I think Rachunek is nursing an injury, possibly even a serious one. If it is serious, you can bet that Muckler would be looking for a top 4 defender before he has to release the information about Rachunek on Friday. All NHL teams have to submit medical reports league wide on Fridays according to Tom Benjamin in the comments of this post.
As everyone knows, if the rest of the league knows you're desperate for something the price will go up. There aren't a lot of top 4 blueliners on the trade market right now while Leschyshyn, Pothier, Simpson and Hnidy are a major step down from Rachunek. (0) comments
