Sens Avoid Hearing, Tambellini Hired
July 31st, 2008 by Jason ChenAntoine Vermette has avoided a potential nasty arbitration with the Sens, agreeing on a two-year deal worth $5.525m, a cap hit of roughly $2.76m/year. Vermette conceded a lot in this one, because 1) he signed a multi-year contract, 2) he got less than what he would’ve gotten at the hearing, and 3) he’s still not protected from potential trades. Bryan Murray wanted to keep Vermette for cheap, and he did just that. Vermette has a lot of potential as a second-line player, after registering 50+ points last year. Along with Mike Fisher and Chris Neil, he’ll provide a lot of much-needed depth to the Sens. However, this doesn’t mean that Vermette isn’t on the move, but I think trading him away would be a mistake considering his relatively low salary. I’m not sure why Vermette didn’t go through with the hearing, I think he would’ve most definitely been awarded at least $3m/year, but I think it does mean that he remains optimistic that he’ll stay a Senator and did not want a potentially ugly hearing change that.
The Canucks have gone through a bunch of front office changes this summer, and out of nowhere the Oilers hired Steve Tambellini, formerly assistant GM of the Canucks, to take over Kevin Lowe, who will be moving even hire up in the ladder. Tambellini worked under both Dave Nonis and Brian Burke, but I hardly think he is from the same mold. Lowe had previously worked with Tambellini, their biggest success coming from the 2002 Canadian Olympic team in Salt Lake, and no, I don’t think this is a shot at Burke or anyone else. Tambellini is very well-respected within hockey circles and it’s a great move for the Oilers moving ahead. Now the Canucks will have to name a new assistant GM, and my guess is that it could be Scott Mellanby, a former client of Mike Gillis, who was hired earlier this summer as a consultant.
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One Response to “Sens Avoid Hearing, Tambellini Hired”
By Gerald Norton on Aug 2, 2008
A truly great signing for Murray, who proves, along with Holland, running a team doesn’t mean having to over-pay. Ottawa will ice a very competitive team, that frankly, over time, will become more value for the dollar as the salary creep continues to infest mid talent players. Simply compare this deal with that received by Hagman, and it’s value is startling.