Kovalev gone

[nokids]

my turn to get in on the action.

[Break68]

without pictures or newsprint, this means nothing!?!?!?

[Break68]

Crap.....
http://tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=355204

[Break68]

.......to the Pittsburgh Penguins for a conditional seventh-round pick.

We got shafted on that one.
Way to go Murray!!!!!!!!!!

[Eagle_Hunter]

Hopefully we are making room for a consistent mature goalie for next year! hopefully

[leftylucas]

I would settle for an immature consistent goalie

[jeffc]

.......to the Pittsburgh Penguins for a conditional seventh-round pick.

We got shafted on that one.
Way to go Murray!!!!!!!!!!

exactly what did you think we'd get for an overpaid, underperforming guy with no heart? Murray just knocked a mil or 2 off the books for the remainder of the year.

[Colby]

exactly what did you think we'd get for an overpaid, underperforming guy with no heart? Murray just knocked a mil or 2 off the books for the remainder of the year.

Exactly and Kovalev was gone at the end of the year for nothing...

[Break68]

I expected more than a 7th round pick.
Of course I expected more of Kovalev this year.

[jeffc]

I expected more than a 7th round pick.
Of course I expected more of Kovalev this year.

not me. A bag of pucks would have done the trick.

[hoolio]

Wonder if all these guys got together to get a discount on a high-end realtor...

[jsttaylor]

Goodbye, so long! About time! I would have given him away free if someone just took his salary. I think it's awesome we got something in return.

[larry]

Kind of surprised Murray couldn't get more out of Pittsburgh. They are desperate for help right now.

[jonf]

I will say this. I am satisfied with the deal - something is better than nothing. That said, I'm surprised Murray wouldn't wait until closer to the deadline - see if he could eek a 5th or 6th rounder out of someone. Teams tend to panic and overpay the closer the deadline gets.

[jeffc]

i don't think the market was very big for him - in fact I'd be surprised that more than 1 or 2 teams were interested. And you need someone with cap space, almost $2M in salary to be paid this year. So you take what you get when you can. The opposite is true also - if you wait, others get traded and your market can disappear.

The goal was to get the $ off the books. Mission accomplished.

[nokids]

Goodbye, so long! About time! I would have given him away free if someone just took his salary. I think it's awesome we got something in return.

This

and why would Pittsburgh want him? Just adding him to the roster makes your team worse. Plus they lose a pick. I say Pittsburgh got shafted on this deal.

[davevandyk]

This

and why would Pittsburgh want him? Just adding him to the roster makes your team worse. Plus they lose a pick. I say Pittsburgh got shafted on this deal.

Kovi was terrible for us, but i suspect this helps Pitts. He can get up for a 30 game season with a near guarantee of playoffs. I think its a win-win

[nokids]

from cbssports:

"In exchange, the Penguins gave up a seventh-round pick in this year's draft. It will turn into a sixth-round pick if Pittsburgh reaches the second round of the playoffs and Kovalev appears in at least 50 percent of the first-round games. "

You can guarantee Kovalev will not show up for 50 percent of the games.... even if he is there on the ice.

[HoganWoods]

I can understand the pressures that are on Murray to unload some salary cap, but seems to me if he waits until the weekend or possibly Monday he may of gotten higher picks for both Kovalev and Ruutu. 7th round pick for Kovalev? Come on..

[nexxo]

this deal had nothing at all to do with getting rid of cap space. He is an UFA at end of year, the only point in this deal as to get some type of asset in return for a UFA.

Now whether or not he could have gotten a better asset? well who knows i guess, i have never thought murray to be a genius with deals, actually quite the opposite, but this one is neither good nor bad, just an easy deal for a non performing player on a team going no where.

[jeffc]

this deal had nothing at all to do with getting rid of cap space. He is an UFA at end of year, the only point in this deal as to get some type of asset in return for a UFA.

Now whether or not he could have gotten a better asset? well who knows i guess, i have never thought murray to be a genius with deals, actually quite the opposite, but this one is neither good nor bad, just an easy deal for a non performing player on a team going no where.

you're kidding right. It had everything to do with getting rid of cap space.

[Shivas Irons]

I'll take this 'bird in the hand' deal we got for Kovalev any day. A 7th rounder isn't great, but better than not being able to deal him at all and have him walk away at the end of the year.

[mberube]

This is a good deal for the Pens. If Sid comes back, and that is a big IF, Kovy has the talent to play to the right of Sid and could score tones of goals. It's a gamble but a 7th round or conditional 6th is not a hard deal to make on both sides. The Sens got rid of expensive dead wood and the Pens did not give anything away. Granted, some great players got drafted in 7th but very low percentile 7th round picks every see NHL ice time.

[nexxo]

he is off the books at the end of the year, unless you think the sens are trying to land a big time player (s) this year for the remainder of this season (for gthat big playoff run!!) there is no cap issue at all. It was simply a matter of getting something, anything, in return for a UFA.

Now melynk is probaly happy to not pay the salary, but this is not a cap issue

you're kidding right. It had everything to do with getting rid of cap space.

[jeffc]

he is off the books at the end of the year, unless you think the sens are trying to land a big time player (s) this year for the remainder of this season (for gthat big playoff run!!) there is no cap issue at all. It was simply a matter of getting something, anything, in return for a UFA.

Now melynk is probaly happy to not pay the salary, but this is not a cap issue

when I said it was a cap issue what I meant is it was about saving $. Why pay a useless player $1.7m for the rest of the year when they are going nowhere. Murray basically gave him away to get rid of the salary. He'd have taken a bucket of pucks if it meant getting rid of Kovalev's contract, which is basically what he did.

[nexxo]

now that is true, dump the salary, and get a return. I wouldn't be surprised if melnyk has said that $$$ is a concern going forward, with spezza, alfredson, michalek and gonchar set to still make the money they make, along with guys like neil getting 2 mil this team carries a lot of salary for non producers. Sens fans better watch hope they don't fall back to a team that is financially in trouble, again

[jeffc]

now that is true, dump the salary, and get a return. I wouldn't be surprised if melnyk has said that $$$ is a concern going forward, with spezza, alfredson, michalek and gonchar set to still make the money they make, along with guys like neil getting 2 mil this team carries a lot of salary for non producers. Sens fans better watch hope they don't fall back to a team that is financially in trouble, again

i don't think financial instability will be an issue. Melnyk has deep pockets and the cap is in place to protect that - if anything, they will underspend the cap as they rebuild and save more $. Revenues will likely drop, since they will have a reduced attendance but as long as the team is heading in the right direction, they will be fine. I think the rebuild could be quicker than people think provided a few pieces fall into place, namely goaltending, a few young guys stepping in an the signing of a few key UFA's.

[nexxo]

i just wonder how much melynk is willing to spend, to me, and this is just my feeling, he is a come and go owner, i would not be surprised to see him want out in a few years, specially with a team that continues to not win.

[3Jack]

i just wonder how much melynk is willing to spend, to me, and this is just my feeling, he is a come and go owner, i would not be surprised to see him want out in a few years, specially with a team that continues to not win.

A come and go owner doesn't also own a junior hockey team (St. Mike's).

I think Melnyk is around for the long haul, though I'm concerned about his influence when it comes to signing UFAs. For example, Kovalev / Gonchar. If he is able to temper his Jerry Jones like tendencies, the Senators will be much better for it.