Scrambling Senators
July 14th, 2008 by Jason ChenAfter being spurned by Jason Williams, who signed with Atlanta for $2.2m/year, the Sens have appeared to re-focus on signing Andrej Meszaros and Antoine Vermette. However, with the recent difficulties in contract negotiations with the pair, which appear to have hit a snag, there are rumours that Bryan Murray could be dealing both away in a package for a defenseman and forward. The biggest name to pop-up in the rumour mill are Brent Seabrook and Cam Barker of the Blackhawks. The two youngsters were also teammates on the North Dakota WJHC Canada squad and are expected to be staples on the Blackhawks blueline along with Duncan Keith. The apparent stumbling block is Nikolai Khabibulin and his $6.75m/year contract. The Hawks want the Sens to take his contract, despite claims from Dale Tallon that he will be starting October with two starters in net (the other being Cristobal Huet). Should the Sens take on Khabibulin’s contract, who becomes a UFA after the upcoming season, it is also being reported that the Sens want the Hawks to take Martin Gerber’s contract, whose $3.7m/year contract also expires after the upcoming season - however, Tallon is reportedly refusing to take on more expensive contracts in net after shedding Khabibulin’s, even though the move could potentially save him some money (depending on what Meszaros and Vermette sign for, as well as the players going the other way).
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2 Responses to “Scrambling Senators”
By Troy on Jul 15, 2008
Doesn’t Tallon realize he has to shave off Khabby’s contract because Chicago’s over the cap? Let’s play a little game here, if I may
Chicago is 415,999 over the cap
Khabby 6.75 mil vs. Gerber 3.7 mil (both expiring)
Huet was brought in to (presumably) be the starter, and Gerber is a backup at best. Chicago saves 2.95 mil
Seabrook 3.5 mil/Barker 2.78 mil vs. Vermette/Meszaros (both RFA’s)
Chicago was said to have very good depth along the blueline to make a deal to bolster forward depth. Getting a forward and still a solid D-man could make a fair deal… but Seabrook and Barker both have a ton of potential.
Ottawa has now taken on 13.03 million on three contracts… Chicago has 3.75 and two RFA’s that can be had for probably about 2-3 million each.
Chicago has to take that deal, in my mind. Take Gerber and give up Khabby… both would fulfill the same role as Huet’s backup
Now feel free to disagree with me or call me a moron… I feel something’s wrong with my post, but I don’t know what
By Jason C on Jul 15, 2008
I honestly don’t know what Tallon’s thinking. I laughed when I heard the news about his plans of carrying both Bulin and Huet into October. It’s ridiculous - he’s way over the salary cap and the only move that makes sense is trading Bulin.
I think it’s a good trade for the Sens. The Hawks are 3 million over the cap, and even with just a pure Bulin-Gerber swap it still wouldn’t be enough for the Hawks. Should they include Seabrook and Barker in a package for Vermette and Meszaros, it could prove more costly for them because both players are expected to get Seabrook money or more. The end result is, the Hawks don’t end up shaving as much cap space as they’d like to, and end up losing a future all-star blueliner in Seabrook, who along with Toews and Kane, I consider the future core of the Hawks.
The Sens would lose yet another forward, but a trade is possible with Tampa should they wish to deal (they will).