Silver Nuggets: Senators "covet" holdout Kyle Turris

Pretty much everyone in the league had given up on Filatov, including Columbus. Maloney himself has not even given up on Turris, and there are many teams lining up because they want his services. Turris is not near as much of a project as Filatov is.

Phoenix doesn’t really need defensemen, as they’ve got a pretty solid top 7, though 3 of them have contracts up at year end and will be UFA’s; they do have some pretty good developing talent on D.

I’m thinking Turris would cost something like 2 of Regin/DaCosta/Butler & probably a draft pick (either a 2nd or 3rd rounder).

$ in this deal shouldn’t be an issue because I think that whatever Turris signs for would be the same ball park of what 2 of the 3 of those guys make.

The big question is whether Turris is worth that. Turris has a higher ceiling than any of the above, but can it be realized?

… is that the seller has to agree to sell low. Phoenix isn’t interested in that, and it won’t be a problem, because there are six suitors for Turris.

Kyle Turris is a good player, maybe even a very good player. I’m open to acquiring him for just about whatever it takes, even after the bidding war, within reason.

They don’t need Kuba and if they did, we’d have to take salary back.

Comparing him to Spezza is a bit suspect. Spezza owned the AHL because he had developed to the point he already was an NHL contributor. He scored 55 points in the NHL the year before, so you’re not really doing an apple to apples comparison there.

To be fair, I’ve heard that Phoenix has really dicked him around and that their treatment of him has stunted his development so far. I wouldn’t chalk up the entirety of the hold out to an attitude problem if that’s the case.

If Regin recovers and Da Costa stabilizes at or near the level I saw around the preseason and the first couple of games from him, I wouldn’t be in a rush to get Turris even if the price was fairly low. But with a handful of other teams interested, the price isn’t going to be low.

Since when does logic apply to GM’s who are doing their damndest to get one up on their GM counterparts?

Because then Phoenix would just match and he’d stay there.

I get that you were just comparing for value purposes, I just wanted to point that out.

Every year some idiot does it and every year there’s fallout in the media. Last year, it was a student at the University of Guelph.

It’s especially stupid this time considering that whole “We’re a culture, not a costume” campaign that was aimed at making people realize that racial stereotypes are not a halloween costume. I don’t see how this is any different than going as Jackie Chan and then tugging at the sides of your eyes in all your pictures so you look squinty. Maybe it won’t offend everyone, but you’re a total moron if you fail to realize that some people will be offended by it.

But the key issue with blackface was that it was used to degrade a whole segment of humanity to a sub-human level. Historically, that is what it was used for. As a result, it is no longer an appropriate costume to put on. Now, had he kept everything else the same and just not painted himself? Sure. No issues there. But the problem with blackface is not what it is, it is what it used to represent. And that’s why it is not okay.

This blog covers the issue better than I can: http://freethoughtblogs.com/crommunist/2011/10/26/a-halloween-public-service-announcement/

It’s also about a potential Spezza replacement if Turris can hit projections and become a 1st line centre.

Because in that case I’d say it’s amazing.

Edmonton could use some grit, we could use a better scorer.

Plus Omark and Rundblad in the shootout? BE-YOU-TI-FUL!

… the eventual cost might come down. Rumours of Turris, Omark, and Gagner are a good indication that there might be a good deal to be had.

It also might be a symptom of the fairly recent decisions teams have made of bringing in young players earlier because of their cap-friendly contracts (and pushing out veterans sooner), thereby stunting their development as professional hockey players. That idea probably warrants consideration.

Which is odd, because I was far from sold on Da Costa before the season began. I assumed he’d be spending most of it in the AHL, if not all of it down there. Now, though, I’ve glimpsed the vision this kid’s got, and I’m very impressed.

They didn’t want it out there that Turris had asked for a trade because it weakens their barganing position with the other GM’s. Similar to Heatley putting Murray over the barrell.

But I don’t buy it. There’s been too much rumbling on blogs for me to think it’s that kind of tactic, at least when it comes to our interest. But I don’t know whether they might have leaked the fact that there are a handful of teams interested in order to make us worry that we’ll end up in a bidding war and therefore up our initial offer.

I seem to remember reading about how it’s not so easy to trade someone as a rental and then re-sign them. There’s a reason it didn’t happen with Phillips.

The problem with Alfie’s contract is that if he wants to come back next year we’ll have to tear up his contract and give him something new. There is no way we let Alfie come back and play for a mil. Even an older Alfie is worth $2-3 mil a season, at least as far as I’m concerned. I’d love to see another season or 2 of Alfie around. I have no idea what his desire is, but I could easily see him playing to 40.

But the NHLPA wouldn’t be very happy about that as it would set a precedent. These players are usually pretty involved with the players association, so I am not sure they would do something like that.

Now if Spezza is playing terrible by the end of his contract, then of course he has to take a pay cut. Unless he’s Wade Redden I guess.

But the players didn’t take a salary cut, they deferred some of their salaries. I believe Alfredsson and perhaps a couple others deferred salary in the mid-2000s, before Melnyk came on board, because team ownership was having cash-flow problems and the players wanted management to be able to afford bringing on Peter Bondra and Greg de Vries for a playoff run.

Of course, these players still got their money; they just got it later than they would otherwise have received it.

As for, say, Spezza telling the team to keep nearly a quarter of his salary one year, there’s no way it would happen—and I don’t think it could. For one thing, the NHLPA would lose their shit if a player was giving money back to a team. For another, it would be akin to renegotiation of an existing contract, which isn’t allowed under the CBA.

If you’re talking about negotiating a new contract for a player that doesn’t have one, it’s possible—it happens regularly, it’s often referred to as a ‘home-town discount.’ But the NHLPA doesn’t like that, either, because the NHLPA wants salaries to continue escalating.

Finally, Eugene Melnyk has no shortage of money, and this team has ample cap room. If I’m Spezza or some other well-paid player, I’m not really interested in discounting my salary so that team management can improve their bottom line.

He signed the deal so I’m sure he would. I think it’s more that Alfie’s worth a higher salary so the team should find a way to pay him more if he plays.