Sens blow it dealing Hossa

[Madferret]

Sens blow it dealing Hossa
http://slam.canoe.ca/SlamNew02Images/s_simmons166.gif

The Sam Pollock theory of trading -- established long before the days of salary caps points the winner of any trade as the team that comes away with the best player.

By that definition, the Ottawa Senators lost out by dealing Marian Hossa to the Atlanta Thrashers for Dany Heatley.

The Senators came away with cap room, a more flexible and reasonable financial picture, but with a lesser player -- and one who some people think is on the decline, if that's possible, at the age of 24.

Hossa has been probably the best- kept secret in hockey in recent years, despite the drivel coming out of Ottawa that he disappears at playoff time.

Last playoff season, he was the Senators' most dangerous player. He scored three goals. No other Senator scored more than one.

The year before, he led the team with 16 playoff points. His apparent equal, Daniel Alfredsson -- who has nowhere near the talent -- had half the number of playoff points.

Yes, the Senators needed to change their roster after too many playoff disasters, but trading away your best player hardly seems the right answer. Salary cap or not.

Nice to see Simmons firing his 'up-me-own-arse' missles at both teams from Ontario.
:)

[Man.Utd]

The Sens freed up lots of cap space, managed to off-load de Vries' contract on another team as opposed to buying him out, have made it possible to keep core players in the near future (see; the two best Eastern defenders by a good margin), and did it all for only a minor downgrade in the present on the wings. And that downgrade happened to be Dany Heatley; hardly a no-name player. He should actually exceed what Hossa brought to this team by the time his contract is up and Marian is debateably the best player this team has ever had.

No, the Sens didn't blow it. Simmons just couldn't understand it. He couldn't identify one brilliant price of GM'ing by John Mucker because he as too ignorant and blinding by his hate for Ontario based hockey clubs. All he saw was Heatley in place of Hossa on the RW, which granted, was indeed a downgrade. And that's just unfortunate for him. The Sens meanwhile are sitting pretty.

[J.R.]

Nice to see Simmons firing his 'up-me-own-arse' missles at both teams from Ontario.
:):roll:

I was just as surprised to read that part of his column on the last page of my Sunday Sun's sports' section this morning. Maybe some top gun from above told him to be a tad more anti-Sens.

Getting Dany Heatley, who has yet to reach his prime, and freeing up cap space in exchange for someone who hardly wants to play for the team is a win for Ottawa.

[Madferret]

Who does Steve Simmons cheer for anyways?

[Newfie John]

Simmons is an idiot...

[bluemeanie]

Who does Steve Simmons cheer for anyways?

I hear he cheers for both sides.

[grim]

His apparent equal, Daniel Alfredsson -- who has nowhere near the talent -- had half the number of playoff points.


Hmmm. Alfredsson "nowhere near the talent" of Hossa? Are we watching the same team? It is Alfredsson's team. Hard to believe an Ontario hockey writer can be so unknowlegeable about one of two Ontario NHL hockey teams. The wrong Ontario team I guess.

[Newfie John]

Hmmm. Alfredsson "nowhere near the talent" of Hossa? Are we watching the same team? It is Alfredsson's team. Hard to believe an Ontario hockey writer can be so unknowlegeable about one of two Ontario NHL hockey teams. The wrong Ontario team I guess.

Trust me, he's just as bad as with the other Ontario team.

[PDO]

I hear he cheers for both sides.

I heard he bats for both as well.

[charlio lemieux]

Simmons is an idiot. If you've ever seen him on "The Reporters" he's worse.

[J.R.]

Simmons is an idiot. If you've ever seen him on "The Reporters" he's worse. He's the best writer on that panel. :laughing: Cox is more of an idiot and Michael Farber doesn't know anything.

[Amoroq]

Trust me, he's just as bad as with the other Ontario team.Funny how when he writes crud about that 'other' Ontario team, most agree with him ;)

[Amoroq]

I heard he bats for both as well.Not that there's anything wrong with that ;)

[grim]

http://msn.foxsports.com/nhl/story/4820644

Dealing Hossa all about cap room

Spector / Special to FOXSports.com

Toronto Sun columnist Steve Simmons took the Ottawa Senators to task this past Sunday for trading Marian Hossa to the Atlanta Thrashers for Dany Heatley, claiming the Sens "blew it" by dealing away their best player for one who might be on the decline at age 24.

While acknowledging the Senators needed to shake up their roster after too many early postseason exits, Simmons doesn't believe the salary cap is the right reason for trading away their best player.

With all due respect to Simmons, I think he's forgotten why this deal went down in the first place.

To refresh his memory, Hossa was demanding a long-term contract worth $6 million-plus per season. At one point he actually had the audacity to compare himself to Calgary's Jarome Iginla, before Tampa Bay's subsequent re-signing Vincent Lecavalier to a whopping $6.6 million per made for an easier comparison.

Senators general manager John Muckler did eventually meet Hossa's demands and narrowly avoided arbitration, but if Muckler had retained the talented Slovak he risked running out of cap space to retain defensemen Wade Redden and Zdeno Chara prior to their eligibility for UFA status next summer.

There's no guarantee that Muckler will get one or both under long-term deals by next summer, but dealing away Hossa and blueliner Greg de Vries for Heatley certainly improves the odds.

Let's not forget that retaining Hossa would've also seriously restricted Muckler's cap space for this season, especially if the need arises to sign replacement players if any of his regulars get sidelined for a lengthy period.

There are some questions about Heatley's mental and physical condition, but if he does shake off those woes as expected, he'll not only become the Senators' best player ? possibly as good as Hossa ? but will also have a more affordable contract for the next three years.

Despite Simmons's blithe dismissal, the salary cap was the factor that forced Muckler into making this move. The Senators GM should be commended, not castigated, for making a move that works for both his roster and his payroll.

Could Bryan Smolinski be on the move? (Jeff Vinnick / Associated Press)

# Speaking of the Senators general manager, the Ottawa Sun recently reported Muckler may be shopping veteran forward Bryan Smolinski and his $2.25 million salary, apparently to seek additional depth at center.

The Sun claimed the Nashville Predators might be interested, but it's unlikely they can help the Sens. The Predators are also thin at the center position, particularly with Denis Arkhipov's recent decision to remain in Russia for the coming season.

# Another Russian forward who's decided not to return to the NHL this season is winger Alexander Korolyuk, who passed on attending a salary arbitration hearing with the San Jose Sharks. GM Doug Wilson told the San Jose Mercury News he didn't rule out the possibility of a trade to fill the gap, but would prefer to give more ice time to Sharks like Marco Sturm, Milan Michalek and Niko Dimitrakos.

# The Edmonton Oilers continue to hold contract talks with veteran winger Ryan Smyth, but the length of time it's taken to get a deal in place is stirring up the rumor mill.

There's speculation around Edmonton that GM Kevin Lowe may not be finished making moves, potentially to land a first line center, using Smyth as trade bait.

It's believed Lowe may be watching the New Jersey Devils' salary cap problems with interest. The Devils' payroll presently sits at just over $43 million, which is $4 million above the league-mandated cap, meaning GM Lou Lamoriello will likely be swinging a trade or two to get back under the limit.

Among the Devils believed to be on the block are forwards Jeff Friesen and Viktor Kozlov and blueliner Colin White.

# Finally, New York Post columnist Larry Brooks suggests the Rangers should make a league maximum $7.8 million per season offer sheet to Atlanta Thrashers forward Ilya Kovalchuk, a restricted free agent.

Brooks argues that the potential price tag ? four first-round draft picks to the Thrashers as compensation ? would be well worth it as it's unlikely none of those picks could turn into the kind of star that Kovalchuk is. Even if the Thrashers match the offer, Brooks believes such a move would tie up their payroll and keep the Thrashers out of the free agent market for the next two seasons.

An interesting suggestion by Brooks, similar to the one he proposed three years ago when Calgary's Jarome Iginla was a restricted free agent. While Rangers GM Glen Sather is working under a new collective bargaining agreement compared to 2002, if he wasn't going to make offer sheets to Iginla back then, it's unlikely he'll do the same for Kovalchuk now.