Time for another poll!

AB Habman · Guru

Time for another poll!

davidb · Guru

Well getting Souray and Kovy back cannot be controlled by anyone. Markov will be back soon and Komi will be back when his mother is better. After that and the slump continues I would take Theo aside and get to the bottom of why he is so weak. Melanson is in charge of the goal tending. As far as trades I guess BG will make an assesment of what he should do to improve the Defensive corps and see what is needed up front to give us some depth. Most of all the big C Koivu needs to stand up in the locker room and get these guys motivated.

AB Habman · Guru

davidb wrote:

Well getting Souray and Kovy back cannot be controlled by anyone. Markov will be back soon and Komi will be back when his mother is better. After that and the slump continues I would take Theo aside and get to the bottom of why he is so weak. Melanson is in charge of the goal tending. As far as trades I guess BG will make an assesment of what he should do to improve the Defensive corps and see what is needed up front to give us some depth. Most of all the big C Koivu needs to stand up in the locker room and get these guys motivated.

David, are you saying Gainey should keep assessing and not make moves for a long time while being content with this team whether we lose or win? Or #2 change or add personal within the next 20 games?

davidb · Guru

I have been reading the posters and they seem to be saying that here may be some changes needed in the future, but lets wait till everyone is back to see how things are going. You know at this point whan all has been said and done, and all has been said and done. I am just not sure what we should do. I am open to any and all suggestions . I really wonder what Gainey should do. I guess even when everyone was playing earlier in the season, we did know we needed depth on D and in the center position. So if Gainey went out now and added a D man and Centerman, we may still slide till all players are backare back. Is that a fair assessment????

-- Edited by davidb at 19:06, 2005-11-30

Muller93 · Guru

AB, I'm with ya. I think its gonna happen within the next 10-20 games. If he waits too long, Koivu, Bouillion, and Morvov will burn out( It might have already happened). Those three have pretty much done everything for this team. Come on BOB! Are ya patient or just a corpse up there?

davidb · Guru

Who would you consider trading at this point and does it include Theo ???

Nil d · Guru

I say get the injured payers back and nurture the young'uns. You cannot create talent from thin air - i.e. to get talent you have to give up talent, so there's little opportunity to rip off another team and end up on the winning end of a massive trade. Similarly, the ability to sign free agents or waiver guys is limited due to the salary cap. Our team is 14-7, so don't jump off the bandwagon yet. Even our record for the past ten games is 3-4-3 - not as bad as you would think from the doomsday comments heard here lately (including from me, I admit).

I say stick with what we have - for the year.

davidb · Guru

Very strong statements and I bet a bit unpopular MMMMM

AB Habman · Guru

Nil d wrote:

I say get the injured payers back and nurture the young'uns. You cannot create talent from thin air - i.e. to get talent you have to give up talent, so there's little opportunity to rip off another team and end up on the winning end of a massive trade. Similarly, the ability to sign free agents or waiver guys is limited due to the salary cap. Our team is 14-7, so don't jump off the bandwagon yet. Even our record for the past ten games is 3-4-3 - not as bad as you would think from the doomsday comments heard here lately (including from me, I admit). I say stick with what we have - for the year.

Interesting Nil! For you to say stick with what we have for the year, you must think our team is competitive as is. What is your expectations? Is it to just crawl into the playoffs and then try to win a series? I just think we have an average team and too many checkers with not enough offense even with Kovy. Also no defense besides Markov and an over rated average goalie.

I'm with Muller on this one, Gainey needs to react in the near future and fill holes. I reallize it's easier said then done but he needs to do his job and make it happen. If not, it will be a rollercoaster season with key injuries.

brooklynhabfan · Guru

I have to side more toward nil's plan. maybe get a little action going now to shed the waste, but overall there's no differennce in the potential of the sprouts than there was at the beginning of the season. I say aim for a Cup two seasons down the line, with Latendresse nice and prepared and a strong Danis surounded by a defence that's been built solid and deep, not Frankensteined together. Develop some nice trade bait, and keep the momentum going through next season - who knows, we could end up with a long term competitive team with Latendresse, Kovy, Ryder, Markov, Pleks, Perez, Begin, Saku, Dandenault, Zednik and some fresh new guys onboard

Also, why squander away our future for a few knee-jerk trades now. We got an early christmas present, but if you're looking for October to count for jack, you have the wrong sport, and until Ottawa cools down, the finals are going to be a hard fruit to pluck

Nil d · Guru

AB Habman wrote:

Interesting Nil! For you to say stick with what we have for the year, you must think our team is competitive as is. What is your expectations? Is it to just crawl into the playoffs and then try to win a series? I just think we have an average team and too many checkers with not enough offense even with Kovy. Also no defense besides Markov and an over rated average goalie. I'm with Muller on this one, Gainey needs to react in the near future and fill holes. I reallize it's easier said then done but he needs to do his job and make it happen. If not, it will be a rollercoaster season with key injuries.

I think this team is slightly above average and has some depth. With everyone healthy and firing on all cylinders we could make the third round. Then build on that by nurturing the young talent, and a big free agent signing in the offseason.

But I'm an unemployed accountant; what do I know?

davidb · Guru

Hey I am an out of work policeman because of an injury ,and I would hope my opinion is just as important as yours. Do not ever sell yourself short. We know when the time is right something will happen maybe now maybe next june who knows

norskipaul · Senior Member

Personally I think BG's gonna stick with what he's got for the time being. When he took over as GM one of the first things he said to the media was that he was planning ahead and judge me in four years, or something like that. The team has been going through a sticky patch of late, but I think that most of you agree that the likes of Plekanec, Perezhogin and Higgins have what it takes to make it in the NHL. Let's not forget that Ryder has only played one full season as well. This is part of the learning process for them, as well as for CJ.It takes time to build a team and switching coaches every other season will only make it take longer. Obviously there's room for improvement, but I don't see any big trades coming up in the near future. To paraphrase Nil, I'm just a singer in a rock'n'roll band, so what do I know?

davidb · Guru

Well, you may be right and if you are we will all have to be patient. I am dedicating myself to be more positive Just ask NilD about the prostects I have posted for Tomorrows game

barry33 · Guru

Nil d wrote:

I say get the injured payers back and nurture the young'uns. You cannot create talent from thin air - i.e. to get talent you have to give up talent, so there's little opportunity to rip off another team and end up on the winning end of a massive trade. Similarly, the ability to sign free agents or waiver guys is limited due to the salary cap. Our team is 14-7, so don't jump off the bandwagon yet. Even our record for the past ten games is 3-4-3 - not as bad as you would think from the doomsday comments heard here lately (including from me, I admit). I say stick with what we have - for the year.

I tend to agree Nil'd. I do NOT want us to get into the Toronto mode where we start panicking and looking for instant cures and trading away our young talent. Having said that, I would not mind mixing things up a bit with "equivalent Trades"..you know a Ribero for something similar etc. Just to see if we can change team chemistry

brooklynhabfan · Guru

barry33 wrote:

I would not mind mixing things up a bit with "equivalent Trades"..you know a Ribero for something similar etc. Just to see if we can change team chemistry

I'm racking my brain to try to think of another underachieving, Portuguese player/diarist that we could trade for

davidb · Guru

Barry who would you like to trade for What position needs the most attention right now ???

barry33 · Guru

davidb wrote:

Barry who would you like to trade for What position needs the most attention right now ???

David- as much as it pains me to say this I would trade Theo because I am just tired of the inconsistency he has shown and perhaps he needs a change of scenery. So I would address the goal situation as well as defence. I feel that even when we have all our guys back (Souray etc) we are really thin back there. Yes we need a number 2 center but I dont see many on the market that can help us at this time.

plouf · Guru

The only change I would recommend at this stage is some depth at defense.

I like that we are giving the young players a chance up front, and trading for a veteran would slow that process. Equally I think we need to give Bonk a chance.

Finally, Ribeiro is worth nothing right now; we need to bank on him getting hot again, then he would be worth something. He is fine as a stopgap, but I would prefer Plekanec to stay as #2 centre.

So I guess I fall in line with Nil D. Some tinkering but no panic. This team is on long-term mode still. And I think we are two years from a cup. The Cup (or at least the finals) in 2008. You heard it here first.

Nil d · Guru

brooklynhabfan wrote:

barry33 wrote: I would not mind mixing things up a bit with "equivalent Trades"..you know a Ribero for something similar etc. Just to see if we can change team chemistry I'm racking my brain to try to think of another underachieving, Portuguese player/diarist that we could trade for

Come on, Brooky! Every team must have a couple of those!