Is there enough money for Methot?
– Following the recent signing of Booby Ryan to a seven year 50.75 million dollar deal, many close sources to the Ottawa Senators think that management paid too much to keep Ryan in Ottawa and were afraid to see him go one year from now. Now with the contract signed seal and delivered, what does that leave for defenceman Marc Methot. According to Bob Mackenzie in his TSN Insider Trading segment on Thursday he stated that the cash stringent Senators may not have all the money to sign Methot to a long tern deal as he requested through his agent.
Mckenzie mentioned that Methot is looking for a five year deal worth 25 million dollars, while the Senators are ready to offer a four-year deal at $4.625 million annually. It will be interesting to see if the Senators can meet Methot’s demands. If they can’t, they may have to put Methot on the trading block. Ottawa has a decent depth chart on defence but Methot still is top-four defenceman. Last year Marc Methot recorded 6 goals and 23 points in 75 games played. he was an even 0 on the plus/minus and had the most hits amongst the defenceman with the Senators at 181.
Editor’s Note: To the Senators and Bryan Murray, Methot is an important part of their defence corps and the gap is not that wide. Although Mckenzie is well respected amongst the Insiders in the NHL, I strongly believed the Senators who are well under the salary cap will find money to pay Methot. The reasons are simple. Chris Phillips doesn’t have tht many years left and the next one may be his last. Also the rest of the defenceman in Ottawa are promising but young. At 29, and with a 6’3, 230lbs frame, the Senators can’t afford Methot to go.
Are the Flyers thinking of dealing a defenceman?
Continuing on the reports from Bob Mckenzie of TSN NHL Insider’s, he also revealed the Flyers may be thinking of swinging a deal to make room for prospect defenceman and giant Sam Morin. Ron Hextall, general manager for the Philadelphia Flyers denied the rumors that he was seeking to trade one of his defenceman in order to make room for his prospect. “I’m not going to talk about trades,” Hextall said Thursday. “But I will give you one other piece of advice. Don’t believe everything you read”, Hextall said when asked about the rumors.
Defenceman mentioned by McKenzie were Braydon Coburn, Luke Schenn and Nick Grossman. The latest news as of Friday have Hextall sending Morin back to his junior team in Rimouski of the QMJHL. Hextall felt that Morin still needs some heavy ice time and still needs to tweak some execution skills before making a permanent member of his defence team. Although he admitted Morin’s agility and speed amazed the Flyers management, he is willing to take the time to work on Morin’s development.
“Typically, when you have a young kid his size, you don’t have that much control of your body,” he said. “He’s a developed young man.” “I believe in what I believe in and my philosophy won’t change in rushing a young player,” Hextall said. “We are not going to keep a kid who is going to play 15 years — and I’m not talking Sam — we’re not going to keep a kid who is going to play 15 years because, ‘Wow, it’s nice to have a young kid in the lineup.”
“Any decision we make on young players will be for what is best for the player, because in turn, that’s what is best for the franchise.”
Hextall is adamant to bring Morin when the situation will be the right one.
Editor’s Note: Look for Hextall to go through the season and have an evaluation period on Coburn, Schenn and Grossman. They may be in the running for Johnny Boychuk in Boston. Apparently three teams from the Eastern Conference are interested in Boston’s defenceman surplus.
