Silver Nuggets: The Turris trade aftermath

The newest addition to the Ottawa Senators, Kyle Turris, will wear the #7 previously worn by David Rundblad. Not sure why he would pick that exact number, but sure why not? Is he also going to be Magic Number Seven? No. Since many Ottawa fans wish we could undo this trade, the great Ryan Classic has nicknamed him Ctrl-Z. Harsh? Probably. Funny? Certainly.

I think the trade is a mistake (even if Turris works out) because of gross overpayment. But, Turris is here now and sadly there is no Ctrl-Z on this trade. It is done and we all love the Ottawa Senators first and foremost. At some point, all of us will try to rationalise the trade and move on. My personal hope is that while we gave up far too much to acquire him, the Senators are patient with Turris. Let's not write him off or dump him to the fourth line if he doesn't score by Thursday. It is not his fault what Ottawa paid for him, so let's just remember he is a 22-year old player trying to get his career back on track.

Ottawa fans will get their first look at Turris tomorrow night when Ottawa host the Buffalo Sabres. On Thursday night, in front of many Silver Seven loyalists, the Senators will host the Florida Panthers. They will close out the week with a road game against the Hurricanes in Carolina on Friday.

After a pretty tough schedule last week, this one appears certainly easier. They would have to be favourites at home to Buffalo and in Carolina. Florida is doing well, but at home the Senators certainly have a chance. On paper, this should be at least a four point week, but on paper the Senators shouldn't have been near four points last week.

Rundblad/Turris trade reaction

  • Harrison Mooney sees the trade as a clear win for Phoenix, but leaves room for Ottawa salvaging the trade. (Yahoo!)
  • Scott Cullen says neither player has met expectations so far. I will point out though, that Rundblad has had far less time to meet expectations so far in the NHL. (TSN)
  • Corey Pronman also sees it as a win for Phoenix, pointing out that the risk/reward from Ottawa's point of view isn't justifiable. He mentions Rundblad's struggles being in a much smaller sample size than Turris' struggles. There is also the contract side. Phoenix has 6.5 seasons of Rundblad before he becomes a UFA while Turris only has 4.5 seasons left and none at an entry level. Again, Pronman leaves room for Ottawa conceivably coming out on top. (Hockey Prospectus)
  • Darren Pang is one person who likes this deal from Ottawa's point of view, seeing Turris as a great fit. Pang thinks Phoenix made a mistake by prematurely taking Turris out of college. According to Pang, what makes Turris distinct from other centres is that he isn't afraid to shoot the puck instead of always looking for the pass. (Ottawa Sun)
  • Jared Crozier is also against the trade, saying it is a big mistake. (SenShot)
  • Graeme Nichols was the Sens blogger that has wanted to acquire Kyle Turris more so than any other. He had previously stated he was only interesting if the price was right. He agrees that the Senators paid a lot to get Turris, but he is still pretty happy about the trade. He lists the defencemen available in the 2012 draft, the emergence of Jared Cowen as some reasons for letting Rundblad go. He also feels the lost second round pick is softened by the extra picks from last season. (The 6th Sens)
  • Nichols also talked to Rick Komarow, the agent of David Rundblad. I don't know what was said, but you are welcome to describe it for me. (The 6th Sens)

Do we still have players on the rest of the team? Yes we do. Here are some other links.


Today's practise
  • Kyle Turris' first practise was on a line with Nick Foligno and Erik Condra. The full lines: 1) Greening-Spezza-Alfredsson, 2) Foligno-Turris-Condra, 3) Smith-Regin-Neil, 4) Daugavins-Konopka-Winchester. (Sylvain St-Laurent)
  • Sergei Gonchar and Filip Kuba are both back. Brian Lee is the seventh defenceman so...I guess it was Matt Carkner who made David Rundblad expendable? Ha! 1) Cowen-Karlsson, 2) Kuba-Gonchar, 3) Phillips-Carkner. (Sylvain St-Laurent)
  • Having seen Filip Kuba skate on the top line in practise last week, today we saw Bobby Butler be on a defensive pairing with Brian Lee. (Sylvain St-Laurent)
General Sens News
  • Jason Spezza thinks Jared Cowen should win the Calder Trophy. It's nice of Spezza to say that for a teammate, but that's crazy talk. Cowen has played on the top pairing for about two weeks, he was playing against the third lines for most of the season. If Cowen stays with Karlsson all year you could make a case for Cowen being a finalist. But Ryan Nugent-Hopkins is having almost an Ovechkin/Crosby type of rookie season. Run away winner for me. (Ottawa Sun)
  • In recent weeks, Nick Foligno has been hit in the head by Sidney Crosby and kneed by both Adam McQuaid and Simon Despres. Foligno's been lucky to not get seriously hurt in either of the three cases but hopes the pattern of dangerous hits on him ends. (Ottawa Sun)
  • Nikita Filatov hasn't been able to sign a contract with CSKA Moscow because the club is having financial difficulties due to sponsorship problems. Filatov's agent says if CSKA doesn't sign or trade him soon, Filatov will return to Ottawa (and then presumably Binghamton). Got to feel for the guy. (Dmitry Chesnokov)
  • Jason Spezza with eight points in three games, was named the first star of the week by the NHL. (Bruce Garrioch)

Do you like the trading of David Rundblad and a second round pick for Kyle Turris?

Yes301
No263

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