Bring On The Boyntons
by Arthur from Anaheim Calling on Jul 13, 2010 3:11 AM PDT
in Arthur
26 comments
ARTHUR:
The chart above shows where the Ducks are in terms of salary. I've omitted Nick Bonino, Jake Newton and Ryan Carter, who were all on the end-of-the-year roster and are still with the Ducks, but I have also added Luca Sbisa, who was not on the end-of-the-year roster but we assume will start with the team.
The resulting list has five two-way contracts, all of which become RFA's next year. You can argue about which two-way contracts should or shouldn't be included, but at the end of the day, Anaheim has only nine forwards and three defensemen on one-way deals. Once Ilya Kovalchuk opens the floodgates, there's no reason this team shouldn't be a big player in the trade market. However, if the Ducks aren't one of the first dominoes to fall post-Ilya, if Murray waits to see where the numbers go again, this team's in trouble. Example?
According to Charley Walters of the St. Paul Pioneer Press, if the Wild join the Modano sweepstakes charity raffle, they will do so behind the Detroit Red Wings, San Jose Sharks and Anaheim Ducks. Yikes. I know Murph has to do his due diligence and that there are some legitimate names on his call sheet, but I wouldn't even use my July nights-and-weekend minutes to pursue Mike Modano. Is Nick Boynton not available to play forward?
I loathe bad contracts as much as anyone, but Murray's insistent on taking good contracts on bad players rather than a bad contract on a good player. I know that sounds like a positive quality in a GM, but that's the kind of attitude that will always lock you out of free agency. And honestly, would it be the worst thing in the world if we were stuck with Francois Beauchemin at around 3.5M for another two years instead of taking Wisniewski to arbitration and trading Eminger? Was the latter really a better use of that 4 million dollars?
We're a budget team, so there's only so much he can do, but I would still like to see us help a Cap-strapped team and be on the winning side of the deal in terms of player value, rather than giving up Chris Kunitz and Eric Tangradi to get an attractive backloaded Ryan Whitney contract. Am I suggesting he spend Bobby Ryan's money? Maybe. If you're going to play hardball, play it, and only Murph knows how willing he actually is to spend that money on Ryan this season. Whatever he does, he'll need something big if this team is going to get better or even if this team just wants to get better cosmetically and bring Teemu back. If Murray comes up with the trade-equivalent of these Mike Modano talks, well, he might as well just bring on the Boyntons.
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This is actual salary, and not cap hit correct? I know you say salary, but I figured I’d ask just in case.
Also, is anyone else ready to ask Kovalchuk for his autograph and then forge his signature on a contract? This offseason is getting ridiculous.
Cap hit is completely irrelevant to the team, and no chart where Getzlaf and Perry’s money is uneven is cap hit.
by Arthur from Anaheim Calling on Jul 13, 2010 9:49 AM PDT up reply actions
My sig couldn't agree more with your title.
We have to do something. We can’t just sit around and wait for Ryan to sign. At this point in time, it seems that the only way to avoid a hold out is for someone to sign him to a offer sheet, anyway. As much as I hate to say it, we may need to do what Burke did and spend the money (ex. Mathieu Schneider) instead of leaving it sitting in a safe until our players make up their minds.
I don’t know too much about arbitartion, but isn’t true that either the player or the team can request arbitration? If so, any idea why Murray declined to take Ryan to arbitration?
We need more Boyntons.
Salary arbitration is a little complex in this CBA. I know on the player’s side, they have to have four years in the league to have arbitration as an option. For the team, they can generally take the player to arbitration, but they can only elect to do it once. I can only guess that Murray declined to here because they might award Ryan more than he wants to pay him.
by Arthur from Anaheim Calling on Jul 13, 2010 10:05 AM PDT up reply actions
In a pickle now
Murray can’t spend Ryan’s money on someone(s) else while he waits…that would leave Ryan vulnerable to a buyout we couldn’t match, tons of draft picks aside…only the scouts know who is gonna be top picks next year…and it is way too early to tell, could we find another Getzlaf and Perry duo? Maybe, that is why he makes the big bucks, and spends time on barstools.
He could always match and then move the extra money somewhere else. Just like we had to move Andy McDonald when Selanne and Niedermayer returned.
I’m not suggesting he spend to the hilt or spend to the cap, but he can spend to where we have to move a few million to add a 6M player. Again, when a GM says I have until December 1st to sign a restricted free agent, that’s tagging and cap team talk. That’s not the voice of a man who intends to leave that money sitting once the season starts. If he’s preparing for every eventuality, he should be exploring them as well.
And if he spends the money now and that motivates a team to offer sheet Ryan, then good. He can match it, and he’s got plenty of time to explore deals to get back under the Cap. If he does it when the season starts, well, then he has trouble.
by Arthur from Anaheim Calling on Jul 13, 2010 10:08 AM PDT up reply actions
You are right, and if Selanne is in the cards for him, then singing a top 2 or 4 D man may push Teemu over the hump to come back, no matter what, Teemu will be cheaper for a known entity than a hopeful trade or signing forward from the east…makes me wonder what his plans are for forward (he seems to have some) but nothing is going on at the defensive end (that we know of) that is what makes this hard…..but it gives you guys something to write about every day.
this wasn’t meant so much as a Bobby post, as it was a “when Ilya makes his decision, move your ass” post. I was hoping an Ilya decision would be coming today. Guess not.
I don’t know if Bob has plans, but I hope his plans for Bobby are to take one more crack and move on. it’s one thing for Bobby to withhold his services; it’s quite another for him to doom us to a season of Boyntons.
by Arthur from Anaheim Calling on Jul 13, 2010 1:30 PM PDT up reply actions
Ilya is in LA…. Maybe we should do a lock in at the Ymca until Lombardi and his bitch ass come to an agreement. This offseason is starting to piss me off more than usual and I blame it on him. I want to see something legit instead of the signing of Greene…
DAMNIT IM BORED
haha. sorry mudhippy. I feel I forced you into that one. Ilya has bored the crap out of all of us. I’ve never hated a free agent more. We should hold an anti-Russian rally or put Yakov Smirnoff on the Tonight Show every night Ilya’s here to force him over to NJ>
by Arthur from Anaheim Calling on Jul 13, 2010 1:32 PM PDT up reply actions
If there’s possiblity that Marc Staal is on the market, Murray should look into definatley worth first rounds, prospects and possibly Ryan. At age 23, we could get plenty of good years from him.
Marc Staal’s coming along, and I know some people will object to something being “worth Ryan,” but at this point, we’re probably just looking to make sure we get four good years out of whatever we get. The prospect that Ryan is a long term Duck or even cheap in his four remaining restricted years is feeling pretty slim as this drags on. I don’t know if we should give up MORE than Ryan in a trade, but we should certainly be happy to get four years of a good player. But with Murray reiterating he won’t trade Ryan, I think he’ll have to make one more public offer of four years at 5.3M before he can go back on that.
by Arthur from Anaheim Calling on Jul 13, 2010 1:35 PM PDT up reply actions
Aaron Ward question
I have heard mention from multiple unconfirmed sources that Aaron Ward is done with us, and not on our team radar anymore, but I have never read it in print, nor heard the interview where this was made known, can one of you help me out with this?
I know he is 37, and is not a goal scorer, but he have been harping for weeks for a D-man, at least he has cup experience and is stay at home, but I like how he played for us without a lot of love shown to him. Is this even an option? He would be less expensive, and lives here already, and blocks shots, etc….am I out of touch on this…? Did I miss the retirement press clip?
He went back home to Raleigh in April without ever relocating to Anaheim, so I doubt he actually lives here. He also played limited time for us because he was managing a nagging knee injury. Not sure if the trainers red flagged that or something, but with a player that old, a knee injury that limited his time has got to make him less attractive than an Andy Sutton or even acquiring a younger but smaller shot blocker like Greg Zanon via trade.
Also, I doubt he’s enthused to play for us. He doesn’t sound it in this article written by J.P. Hoornstra, which covers a lot of the things I noted above. Sounds very much like a kind ‘you guys are nice and all…’ brush off. Which is totally fine to get from a guy who was willing to play his time injured for us.
by Arthur from Anaheim Calling on Jul 13, 2010 3:31 PM PDT up reply actions
I got the impression that he was a loaner player that everyone said hi to , but didn’t really hang out with off the ice. I also read somewhere that he had bought a place here, and was sticking around a while, (wife and kids) etc. That may have been BS, I was just curious because everyone dismissed him out of hand. If that is how he contributes with a bum knee, I would ask him back to see how it has progressed over the summer. He is an experienced winner, and after adjusting to the system it seemed like he enjoyed it. I liked him back there, especially with Lubo, the backing up the other team had to do compensated for the lack of speed of Ward. I also would like Sutton, or Morrison, but Ward on the bottom pair is not a bad place to have a new guy learning the ropes from a cup winner, and shot blocker with great timing and positioning. and he would be less money than a UFA or trade
he would be less money than a UFA or trade
I think that comes out as a pretty big assumption for Ward. He’s not going to find what he made last year, but he can find a strong salary on an East team in an area with lower housing prices. Maybe even playing for a competitor. Murray would never outbid those opportunities. And like I said, up until April and this article, his family was living in Raleigh in their home there, and his opinions about coming back were ‘you never know,’ which is the sports platitude equivalent of ‘not a chance.’ If you’re looking to lowball someone into playing third pairing minutes, it’s usually best to go with a rookie. You lowball a veteran, you may get what you paid for, and veterans usually only submit to that price if they know they’re running on empty— Chelios took 750K in his last Wings season.
by Arthur from Anaheim Calling on Jul 14, 2010 10:56 AM PDT up reply actions
I’m not saying he would be free, but he has to know he’s not getting 4 mil anymore…right?
I guess the compromise of $6 or 800,000 each for Festerling, MIkkelson, Fowler rotating in-out-eventually to the minors if they don"t kill it in three weeks, reminds me of last years plan, then we’re left signing him (or someone else) for full pop because we are desperate for D?? I hope camp proves the young gun(s) are ready for the big time.
Fowler is ineligible for the minors over the next two years. He can play NHL or CHL, from which he cannot be recalled until the conclusion of the CHL season if he is sent down. And if the Ducks play him in a dozen or more NHL games, one year will toll off of his RFA years, regardless of whether he plays the rest of the season with the team or in the CHL.
by Arthur from Anaheim Calling on Jul 14, 2010 1:29 PM PDT up reply actions
I thought that might be the case, as he was not old enough, just as well, unless he is awesome?
I just think we need two real D-men, Sutton and Mitchell, (headaches not withstanding), or Morrison and Sutton, trade one of our zillion forwards for another d-man to go with one of those guys…
at least we are not in the Modano lottery….
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