Shea Weber

[glenngineer]

What is Poile supposed to do? Where was he supposed to get this magical scorer everyone talks about? Brad Richards was going to NY. I've asked this a million times and I'll ask again, since Richards was off the table, who were we supposed to sign in free agency that filled the big scorer that we sorely lack? Let's take it one step further, what forward could we have gotten in a trade this offseason that would've filled the big need up front without mortgaging our future? Jeff Carter? He put up over 80 points once and has lit the lamp for 60 two times. While it's an improvement on what we have, is it all that much of an upgrade to give some of our young talent away? Mike Richards was a bit better than Carter in that he has the same numbers with a 70 point season in there. While he would've been my choice, Philly received Schenn, Simmonds and a pick in return. Who in our system did we have that is like Schenn up front and if we did have that person, they'd be playing in Nashville already.

So many say we need to make moves but what moves could we have made with the talent we have in the farm to land the quality talent we so sorely lack? We get upset when we see trade rumors for our top talent and the return are marginal NHL players. That's what we have to deal with right now since no one is a sure thing and no GM in their right mind is going to trade a Richards or a Carter to us for Wilson, Ellis, etc unless they knew they were sure things.

Poile is also competing against other GM's who basically have no budgets constraints yet keeps us competitive year in and year out. If you want to blame anyone for what's going on, blame the owners for not opening up their wallets and allowing Poile to spend more money to fill out the roster like other teams get to do. Take away $10-12 million in talent from any team out there and tell me if they do as well as we do. I'm all about spending money and making this team better on the ice but I'm not an owner nor am I the GM. If you can't handle the fact the way business is done here fiscally then maybe you should look into rooting for another team that spends to the limit and flames out every year. Is it frustrating, of course but considering we're playing against a stacked deck out there, we do pretty amazing and if Shea is serious about winning here, taking big money for himself only is shooting his chances of winning long term here. He needs to realize he's not bigger than the team and that if he, Suter and Rinne want to be part of the solution here, they can get big, long term paydays without putting the team into financial handcuffs with three contracts and in doing so, would allow Poile to go out and get some talent around them. Look at the Wings and they don't have anyone making more than Lidstrom and it works. He isn't paid much over $6 million a season and he's one of the two best ever to play the blue line. Maybe Shea needs to think about that for a minute and if he wants to be in Nashville and win, he needs to put the team needs in front of his own but as I said earlier, the wallets need to open up for this to happen.

 

[Dave is a killer]

What is Poile supposed to do? Where was he supposed to get this magical scorer everyone talks about? Brad Richards was going to NY. I've asked this a million times and I'll ask again, since Richards was off the table, who were we supposed to sign in free agency that filled the big scorer that we sorely lack? Let's take it one step further, what forward could we have gotten in a trade this offseason that would've filled the big need up front without mortgaging our future? Jeff Carter? He put up over 80 points once and has lit the lamp for 60 two times. While it's an improvement on what we have, is it all that much of an upgrade to give some of our young talent away? Mike Richards was a bit better than Carter in that he has the same numbers with a 70 point season in there. While he would've been my choice, Philly received Schenn, Simmonds and a pick in return. Who in our system did we have that is like Schenn up front and if we did have that person, they'd be playing in Nashville already.

So many say we need to make moves but what moves could we have made with the talent we have in the farm to land the quality talent we so sorely lack? We get upset when we see trade rumors for our top talent and the return are marginal NHL players. That's what we have to deal with right now since no one is a sure thing and no GM in their right mind is going to trade a Richards or a Carter to us for Wilson, Ellis, etc unless they knew they were sure things.

Poile is also competing against other GM's who basically have no budgets constraints yet keeps us competitive year in and year out. If you want to blame anyone for what's going on, blame the owners for not opening up their wallets and allowing Poile to spend more money to fill out the roster like other teams get to do. Take away $10-12 million in talent from any team out there and tell me if they do as well as we do. I'm all about spending money and making this team better on the ice but I'm not an owner nor am I the GM. If you can't handle the fact the way business is done here fiscally then maybe you should look into rooting for another team that spends to the limit and flames out every year. Is it frustrating, of course but considering we're playing against a stacked deck out there, we do pretty amazing and if Shea is serious about winning here, taking big money for himself only is shooting his chances of winning long term here. He needs to realize he's not bigger than the team and that if he, Suter and Rinne want to be part of the solution here, they can get big, long term paydays without putting the team into financial handcuffs with three contracts and in doing so, would allow Poile to go out and get some talent around them. Look at the Wings and they don't have anyone making more than Lidstrom and it works. He isn't paid much over $6 million a season and he's one of the two best ever to play the blue line. Maybe Shea needs to think about that for a minute and if he wants to be in Nashville and win, he needs to put the team needs in front of his own but as I said earlier, the wallets need to open up for this to happen.

him or Mike Richards, doesn't matter to me who it was, but to be paying Mike ****ing Fisher as much as we will be paying him for the next couple of years, we could've held off & went for Carter OR Richards this past offseason (via trade - yes we have the assets)

 

[glenngineer]

him or Mike Richards, doesn't matter to me who it was, but to be paying Mike ****ing Fisher as much as we will be paying him for the next couple of years, we could've held off & went for Carter OR Richards this past offseason (via trade - yes we have the assets)

Really? We have the assets? Schenn is the top rated prospect in the NHL. We had no first round pick. Tell me who the assets were to acquire either of them.

 

[RaiderDoug]

I don't know if Carter or Richards were the only moves to be made. If you don't get Carter, or Richards - then move on to the next target. Don't throw up your hands and say "well, Nick Spaling is a top 6 forward".

I mean, we've got the dough to spend. Again - someone like Gagne, Cole, Fleishmann might have fit well for us. I know there's no guarantees - i'm not saying that any one of those guys in particular were the missing piece.

But with 4.5 sitting in the bank, I have a hard time believing that DP has done everything he possibly could to make this a better team this offseason.

Maybe he honestly things Bergfors and a bunch of scrappy kids are the answer. I don't know if I believe him. And it's apparent that Shea Weber doesn't either.

 

[glenngineer]

I don't know if Carter or Richards were the only moves to be made. If you don't get Carter, or Richards - then move on to the next target. Don't throw up your hands and say "well, Nick Spaling is a top 6 forward".

I mean, we've got the dough to spend. Again - someone like Gagne, Cole, Fleishmann might have fit well for us. I know there's no guarantees - i'm not saying that any one of those guys in particular were the missing piece.

But with 4.5 sitting in the bank, I have a hard time believing that DP has done everything he possibly could to make this a better team this offseason.

Maybe he honestly things Bergfors and a bunch of scrappy kids are the answer. I don't know if I believe him. And it's apparent that Shea Weber doesn't either.

The Nick Spaling top 6 forward quote gets thrown around incorrectly. DP said he has top 6 potential but he didn't mean he's going to be a top 6 this year.

Gagne is injury prone and plays better when surrounded with better players. Cole is useless outside of Carolina and is exactly what we already have, a good two way forward with 40-50 point production. Fleishmann would've been nice but his injury this past season probably scared Poile off and I believe he was restricted anyway. Poile has had his share of player injuries with Lombardi, Bouillon and Sullivan recently, no way he was going to pay that money to a guy that was a risk.

Outside of Richards there wasn't a player that could fill our need. It's that cut and dry. Throwing the three names around that you did is making a move just to make a move rather than filling a need.

As far as DP doing all he can do, that is up for debate since you or I don't sit in his office on a day to day basis so who knows what's going on. Maybe he sees the potential in all our kids and feels comfortable with that. Maybe he told Shea, let me and Trotz see if these kids are what we think they are and if they're not, we'll go out and do what we need to do. I really have no idea what to think at this point but I feel like the kids will produce. Remember, these were the same kids that got us into the playoffs in a tough race and then helped us to the second round which we lost only because Kesler was a beast and we had no answer for him. We also had no PP which still needs to be addressed.

And in thinking back to the Gagne, Cole and Fleishmann discussion, these are mid level guys. We need elite talent up front, not more of the same.

I hope that Wilson breaks out this year. I hope that Erat continues to show what he's worth and if healthy should put up some great numbers. I hope that Hornqvist gets mad and gets back to where he was the season before last. I hope Fisher is healthy and contributes like we know he can. I think SK takes a huge leap in production since he'll be healthy coming into the season and he knows what Trotz expects of him. I hope Bergfors is this years SK. I hope Spaling and Halischuk continue their growth as players and give us some secondary scoring. I hope that Tootoo continues to recover and play like he did when he came back. I hope Smithson continues to win faceoffs and plays well on the PP. I hope Stortini doesn't get beat up too much if he fights for us. I hope the young guys on the blue line are all they're advertised to be.

That's a lot of hope but not out of the question. If these guys continue their growth, I think they replace guys like Sully, Dumont, Ward and Goc in the lineup without a problem. I hope I'm not wrong. If I am, DP will have his work cut out for him.

I totally agree with you that the money sitting there not going for salary for someone sucks. I'd like to see that money spent but I want it to be the right move as opposed to just making a move for the sake of it being a move.

 

[hatedandproud]

Maybe he should of taken the Carter deal. An opportunity like that does not happen often. And he was approached by the Flyers. He probably would of had to give up Wilson or Ellis which he probably didnt want to do.

WAIT...What....!!! Philly proposed a deal to poile for carter????

 

[AdmiralsFan24]

I totally agree with you that the money sitting there not going for salary for someone sucks. I'd like to see that money spent but I want it to be the right move as opposed to just making a move for the sake of it being a move.

Maybe he's saving some of that money to try to get Rinne, Weber and Suter locked up. It's kind of a difficult situation. Those three want to see what moves Poile makes to improve the team but Poile doesn't want to spend a bunch of money this offseason because then he might not have enough to offer Rinne and Suter as UFA's and then SK, Wilson and Weber as RFA's.

So maybe he is just hoping for some improvement by some of the young guys like Wilson, SK, Halischuk etc. and then if something presents itself at the trade deadline he'll make a move then.

 

[token grinder]

"I'm a premature ejaculator!"?

only two things to do in the cold......

 

[token grinder]

WAIT...What....!!! Philly proposed a deal to poile for carter????

speculation

 

[roseyc]

The Nick Spaling top 6 forward quote gets thrown around incorrectly. DP said he has top 6 potential but he didn't mean he's going to be a top 6 this year.

Gagne is injury prone and plays better when surrounded with better players. Cole is useless outside of Carolina and is exactly what we already have, a good two way forward with 40-50 point production. Fleishmann would've been nice but his injury this past season probably scared Poile off and I believe he was restricted anyway. Poile has had his share of player injuries with Lombardi, Bouillon and Sullivan recently, no way he was going to pay that money to a guy that was a risk.

Outside of Richards there wasn't a player that could fill our need. It's that cut and dry. Throwing the three names around that you did is making a move just to make a move rather than filling a need.

As far as DP doing all he can do, that is up for debate since you or I don't sit in his office on a day to day basis so who knows what's going on. Maybe he sees the potential in all our kids and feels comfortable with that. Maybe he told Shea, let me and Trotz see if these kids are what we think they are and if they're not, we'll go out and do what we need to do. I really have no idea what to think at this point but I feel like the kids will produce. Remember, these were the same kids that got us into the playoffs in a tough race and then helped us to the second round which we lost only because Kesler was a beast and we had no answer for him. We also had no PP which still needs to be addressed.

And in thinking back to the Gagne, Cole and Fleishmann discussion, these are mid level guys. We need elite talent up front, not more of the same.

I hope that Wilson breaks out this year. I hope that Erat continues to show what he's worth and if healthy should put up some great numbers. I hope that Hornqvist gets mad and gets back to where he was the season before last. I hope Fisher is healthy and contributes like we know he can. I think SK takes a huge leap in production since he'll be healthy coming into the season and he knows what Trotz expects of him. I hope Bergfors is this years SK. I hope Spaling and Halischuk continue their growth as players and give us some secondary scoring. I hope that Tootoo continues to recover and play like he did when he came back. I hope Smithson continues to win faceoffs and plays well on the PP. I hope Stortini doesn't get beat up too much if he fights for us. I hope the young guys on the blue line are all they're advertised to be.

That's a lot of hope but not out of the question. If these guys continue their growth, I think they replace guys like Sully, Dumont, Ward and Goc in the lineup without a problem. I hope I'm not wrong. If I am, DP will have his work cut out for him.

I totally agree with you that the money sitting there not going for salary for someone sucks. I'd like to see that money spent but I want it to be the right move as opposed to just making a move for the sake of it being a move.

Your talking about FA's period right and everybody comes with risk. Look at us Poile figured on Lombardi and it seemed like the perfect fit and look what happened and everybody you mentioned are they going to fail. Then there are trades which we don't know what is being tossed around and we have to look at people like Eklund to hear trade rumors which are 9 out 10 false. But look at the Heatly trade and don't specifically want him but who knew that he was available but the Wild took the risk and they took him and Devin Setoguchi. Your not going to get players on top of their game unless they are FA's or deadline deals. You have to take risk or you take risk with your own talent. The risk/reward deal is that your young prospects may overacheive but with limited reward but if the reward with an underachiever with great talent the reward is much greater

On your hopes and that is a lot hopes and any of those hopes go sour then where are we. Wilson is real young and can breakout....Now with Erat he is soft player and soft players get hurt often and we've been waiting on him for a long time to be worth his money and Sk and he has fallen into that soft category and now that SOB is gone who is going to take his place to protect these soft player you can't expect Weber to do the dirty work that a lower level D does. Ward and Dumont and Sully left but they combined for 30 goals and with some of the leadership is gone with them. They should be gone but who is going to makeup for them goals when we have low scoring anyways last year. Is Bergfors going to score at least 10 goals or O'Reilly or Spaling. What happens if the injuries occur and they always do then what. Another factor that hasn't been mentioned is the schedule. The last two years we have had the advantage of a lot of home games down the stretch which helped us get on a roll and make the playoffs but that's not there this year. We have more road games at the end of the year than home games

 

[roseyc]

Did anyone hear the Brent Petersen interview on the Thom Abraham show

http://www.ontheforecheck.com/2011/8/17/2368050/nashville-predators-brent-peterson-interview

He was asked about the Weber situation and he said that we had to sign Weber and Suter and Rinne long term and no if ands or buts. He said and listen to it but he said the kids are good and they might and could be good but he said the big 3 has to be signed long term. He said Weber would be given what he wants from the Preds unless he didn't want to be here. But he wants to be here and he said his agent has a lot to do with his thinking.

 

[101st_fan]

It's always "move on to the next target" or "should have taken the (speculated) deal" ... never with anything concrete as to who the next target should be or any evidence of what the speculated deal was. The Flyers traded off their guys in return for a top forward prospect, the #8 overall pick, and a couple of established mid-teen goal scoring NHL forwards that still have upside. So Wilson plus a forward prospect we don't have or Wilson plus a pick we didn't have. Beyond those guys the WHO question looms.

The Rick Nash comparison did make me chuckle. How long has Nash been the cornerstone of a team that misses the post season year after year? Columbus went with the flashy player route and has yet to find success. Nashville built a team and won more playoff games in 2003-04 than the Jackets have in their franchise history.

 

[kypredsfan]

him or Mike Richards, doesn't matter to me who it was, but to be paying Mike ****ing Fisher as much as we will be paying him for the next couple of years, we could've held off & went for Carter OR Richards this past offseason (via trade - yes we have the assets)

Without Mike ****ing Fisher, we wouldn't have made the playoffs this past season and built all of the excitement. I think Fisher was a great move.

 

[RaiderDoug]

It's always "move on to the next target" or "should have taken the (speculated) deal" ... never with anything concrete as to who the next target should be or any evidence of what the speculated deal was. The Flyers traded off their guys in return for a top forward prospect, the #8 overall pick, and a couple of established mid-teen goal scoring NHL forwards that still have upside. So Wilson plus a forward prospect we don't have or Wilson plus a pick we didn't have. Beyond those guys the WHO question looms.

The Rick Nash comparison did make me chuckle. How long has Nash been the cornerstone of a team that misses the post season year after year? Columbus went with the flashy player route and has yet to find success. Nashville built a team and won more playoff games in 2003-04 than the Jackets have in their franchise history.

It's not our job to suggest moves to DP. It's his job to make the team better. Like a previous poster said, we never know who's out there. Who knew Setoguchi or Heatley were available? Who's to say there's not a forward upgrade out there available right now? A good GM goes and finds the pieces he needs.

Again, when we don't do well, it's because we can't score goals. It's been this way year after year. So, what do we do? We sign Niclas Bergfors and then stick 4 million in our pocket. It's not a stretch to say that the need hasn't been addressed.

This isn't just some uninformed fan's opinion. I think we can safely assume that this is the Captain's opinion too.

 

[glenngineer]

It's not our job to suggest moves to DP. It's his job to make the team better. Like a previous poster said, we never know who's out there. Who knew Setoguchi or Heatley were available? Who's to say there's not a forward upgrade out there available right now? A good GM goes and finds the pieces he needs.

Again, when we don't do well, it's because we can't score goals. It's been this way year after year. So, what do we do? We sign Niclas Bergfors and then stick 4 million in our pocket. It's not a stretch to say that the need hasn't been addressed.

This isn't just some uninformed fan's opinion. I think we can safely assume that this is the Captain's opinion too.

I see what you're saying but what about this, what if Trotz told Poile, hey, I'm happy with the way the kids are coming along, I think we'll be in good shape because of their growth. Sometimes not doing anything and giving the kids time that they need on the ice may be the best answer. We made it with a bunch of them in the lineup last year. Why shouldn't they get better. I certainly didn't think Geoffrion had a shot at being on this team any time before this season but he proved me wrong. Halischuk proved to be clutch. Spaling upped his scoring in the playoffs. Having Blum for a full season on the blue line only helps us. Now we have two pairings that can at least move the puck as opposed to just the one. Depending on if Ellis and Josi make it we'll have three pairings that can move the puck. The more we have the puck, the more offense we should generate correct?

You see the moves DP didn't make but I see a roster cleared of guys that weren't really getting it done in the first place and replaced with younger guys who have a chance at doing more and growing as a team. They have been given an opportunity, now it's their time to seize it and produce.

 

[lstcyr]

Radulov doesn't belong in this discussion except as a joke......and that is what lstcyr was trying to say.

well, actually , that's how I took it.....I assume that is what he was trying to say, lol..

Actually, I was being serious. And I did leave out retain on purpose because I don't know for sure that Poile was the reason Radulov left. I was trying to point out that Poile did indeed draft a very good forward who, all would agree, probably be the offensive star of the team if he were still here.

OTOH, imagine what we'd be discussing about the cap amounts with Radulov and the three up for contracts. My, my, my. This forum would be going crazy.

 

[PredsV82]

Let's fire Poile and bring in Sather, Lowe, Burke, Snow, or the guy who seems to most want the job ... Shea.

There are a few aspects of the team that need improvement like the 5on4 scoring; some that it would be nice if they got a boost but overall aren't bad like the 5on5 scoring and PK; and things that it would be great if we could simply sustain like a 99 point season with significant injuries starting in game two, disciplined play resulting in the team ranking as one of the best at staying out of the box, and a dominant back end with a top 3 goalie and one of the top defensive pairings in the league.

I read an article earlier today that mentioned that only four teams have won 40 or more games every season since the lockout ... the Preds being one. This is a team that made the post season in six of the past seven seasons. Tweaks are needed, not an overhaul.

If being a GM were easy any of us could do it. For the most part, message board members tend to make their draft decisions somewhere about five years after the pics are made when hindsight makes it easy. We complain that we didn't make a trade that another team did ... or that we didn't sign free agent X ... usually without much consideration for the details. We don't have to worry about the budget, or how to structure a contract so it fits, but we're quick to admonish GMs for not doing what we see as so simple from our little vacuum.

If Shea truly wanted a short term contract for big money, he became a hindrance to the very end state he's claiming to want.

the bolded sentence is my main point and why I am very disappointed in Shea.

If he cant figure out that by signing for one year and simultaneously squeezing maximum money out of the team for that one year he has made it significantly harder for the team to do what he says he wants, then he isnt vey bright or at least not very mature.

What we all REALLY need to know to understand this situation is exactly what Shea means when he wants to "see how things go"

If all he wanted to do was make sure Suter and Rinne werent about to bolt, I can understand that. Or if he recognizes that we realy arent that far from where he wants to be, and he will be satisfied if we make a tweak or two, then thats OK, too.

But if the condition for Shea remaining is that Poile must produce a 40 goal scorer or two, then he's got a screw loose. Not saying it couldnt happen, but those dont grow on trees and teams that have them are typically very reluctant to part with them.

 

[predfan98]

the bolded sentence is my main point and why I am very disappointed in Shea.

If he cant figure out that by signing for one year and simultaneously squeezing maximum money out of the team for that one year he has made it significantly harder for the team to do what he says he wants, then he isnt vey bright or at least not very mature.

What we all REALLY need to know to understand this situation is exactly what Shea means when he wants to "see how things go"

If all he wanted to do was make sure Suter and Rinne werent about to bolt, I can understand that. Or if he recognizes that we realy arent that far from where he wants to be, and he will be satisfied if we make a tweak or two, then thats OK, too.

But if the condition for Shea remaining is that Poile must produce a 40 goal scorer or two, then he's got a screw loose. Not saying it couldnt happen, but those dont grow on trees and teams that have them are typically very reluctant to part with them.

yes,.......this is where I am also.

and if he's got that loose screw, I don't want him loaning one to Rinne or Suter.

from all reports it sounded as if the Preds were blindsided by this also.......wake up in there, DP....

 

[PredsV82]

yes,.......this is where I am also.

and if he's got that loose screw, I don't want him loaning one to Rinne or Suter.

from all reports it sounded as if the Preds were blindsided by this also.......wake up in there, DP....

hard to fault someone for being blindsided, if in fact all of this "Im gonna see how things go" talk is a recent development

from everything we heard heading into last season, both sides were pretty much on the same page and it seemed like a long term extension was a given

what we dont know but is nonethelsss crucial if we want to play the blame game (and thats what summer is for, right??) is when Shea changed his tune, when he let Poile in on this little nugget, and if he was specific about what his requirements for a long term deal were.

If Shea told Poile last january, then shame on Poile.

If he told him in May(ie end of the season sit down time), well, maybe you can fault Poile for not being more aggressive between then and August, maybe not.

If he really didnt make this clear to poile until after the draft, then shame on Shea.

 

[Shea Weber]

I had a dream last night where I was at some house, prob 20 people were there, including Shea....I was talking to him about the contract, etc. He asked what people out there were saying, I said that people are scared he's not going to stay. He kinda hung his head and turned his back. He felt bad.

 

[predfan98]

hard to fault someone for being blindsided, if in fact all of this "Im gonna see how things go" talk is a recent development

from everything we heard heading into last season, both sides were pretty much on the same page and it seemed like a long term extension was a given

what we dont know but is nonethelsss crucial if we want to play the blame game (and thats what summer is for, right??) is when Shea changed his tune, when he let Poile in on this little nugget, and if he was specific about what his requirements for a long term deal were.

If Shea told Poile last january, then shame on Poile.

If he told him in May(ie end of the season sit down time), well, maybe you can fault Poile for not being more aggressive between then and August, maybe not.

If he really didnt make this clear to poile until after the draft, then shame on Shea.

agreed.

guess what i was thinking was that if things have changed internally on the team and too much power has shifted to the players...(all this... we're going to talk to each other, the big 3) in a weird momentum shift.....hope poile sees the shift and acts...

 

[PredsV82]

agreed.

guess what i was thinking was that if things have changed internally on the team and too much power has shifted to the players...(all this... we're going to talk to each other, the big 3) in a weird momentum shift.....hope poile sees the shift and acts...

It will be a good thing as long as they arent unreasonable.

I firmly believe Poile intends to add scoring help. The question is when he can do it and whether its one big-time scorer(30+ type) or just a couple of 20+ guys who can in turn bump some of our sub-20 guys currently in the top 6 down a line

 

[Viqsi]

A lot of speculation happened after the definite "he was approached by the Flyers". While I think he was probably in on the Carter deal, too, I've gone over this before. We couldn't match what Columbus was offering without giving up too much from a position of weakness. Their first was much higher than ours, and gave them a very real chance at getting the guy they wanted and eventually got. Hell, we didn't even have a first. Vorachek is already better than Wilson at this level, and Ellis isn't even proven in the AHL. Besides, Philly isn't in need of defensive prospects so Ellis, Josi, Blum, and Ekholm might have gotten it done, but there is no indication of that being the case.

Therein lies the rub, really.

Brad Richards spent the last few years playing for Dallas rather than up here in Columbus because Feaster had made up his mind that he was going to get himself a starting goaltender. And at the time all we had was Leclaire (who was having his to-date only full year - and consequently a career year) and some kid in juniors named Mason. They wouldn't take our backup, as our backup (Norrena) had last played for them.

Consequently, we missed out on an opportunity because while we could have theoretically overpaid to try to wow the guy, there was another team that had exactly what he was going for that was just as ready and willing to deal. No fuss, no muss.

The Rick Nash comparison did make me chuckle. How long has Nash been the cornerstone of a team that misses the post season year after year? Columbus went with the flashy player route and has yet to find success. Nashville built a team and won more playoff games in 2003-04 than the Jackets have in their franchise history.

To be fair, for the longest time Nash has been the only star-capable player on the entire team. The only other time we had sufficient star power and depth to possibly make a playoff run, a certain defenseman abruptly decided at the deadline that he really missed life back in Denver.

(Then again, the two picks we got out of that trade turned into RJ Umberger and David Savard. So the story has a happy ending. )

 

[101st_fan]

It's not our job to suggest moves to DP. It's his job to make the team better. Like a previous poster said, we never know who's out there. Who knew Setoguchi or Heatley were available? Who's to say there's not a forward upgrade out there available right now? A good GM goes and finds the pieces he needs.

Again, when we don't do well, it's because we can't score goals. It's been this way year after year. So, what do we do? We sign Niclas Bergfors and then stick 4 million in our pocket. It's not a stretch to say that the need hasn't been addressed.

This isn't just some uninformed fan's opinion. I think we can safely assume that this is the Captain's opinion too.

Nobody is saying that you should suggest a thing to Poile, but, it appears that nobody here can even intelligently discuss such options here after the fact. A lot of whining, nothing to say that their player X looks like a good fit and our players Y and Z look like they match the needs of the other team. It's always "why didn't we get so and so?" while many times ignoring the fact that the team that traded players we want received pieces back that we couldn't offer.

The question remains WHO is out there that might be available through a trade that is realistic? Ovie for Halischuk isn't happening.

It's similar to the complaints that we can't score. The team needs to FIX scoring in one situation and could use some improvement in others, but they aren't necessarily broken, just not optimal.

 

[Enoch]

I disagree 101. The fact of the matter is, we have a top 3 set of prospects. We had one of the youngest teams, and at times THE youngest team, in the league last season. We have a full array of draft picks. We are absolutely able to acquire anyone we want in this league that is put on the block. We can put a comparable offer on the table to match any team. To say that we are not capable of doing so is silly.