Like it as well, not too expensive. Looks like he found his game in the 2nd half of the season and in the playoffs.
Can someone else replace his points, sure.... But it's his play away from the puck that I liked. Things that don't show up on a score sheet, but are an important part of the game.
Perfect example was the PK shot he blocked, and his rebuttal comment to PK's was he can shoot as hard as he wants, I'm not moving out of the way. That's the kind of guy you want on your team in the playoffs. Guys who will step it up when it matters. That kind of spirit makes others step up their game as well.
Just catching up here. We will most likely lose Wideman, but he's also very small. Plus having a lanky Weircioch and a rarely physical EK (although I loved the sternum breaking hit) we need a bit of size up there. This year, we have 8 NHL contracts. Next year, Phillips won't be back and Gryba will most likely be left to walk away, so we're at 6 & Claesson comes in as 7.
Murray mentioned moving a D today. I'd be willing to give up Wiercioch in the goalie deal IF ONLY we get a great top 6 forward. Assuming that you somehow move Lehner, Legwand, Wiercioch and Dallas's 2nd, that's $7.5 million off, take $5M back for the player, drop Condra and allocate the savings at get Oduya for $5M if you can. It would be closer to even money, you improve your top 6, Hoffman goes on third line so that we roll 3 offensive lines and dramatically improve our defence. In the east, and in the Other Guy's division, I'd say we can challenge for the finals.
Pierre Maguire made a comment either yesterday or today that we will likely see a lot more trades leading up to the draft / July 1st as the pickings in the UFA market are slimmer than some years and GMs want to be seen to be "DOING SOMETHING" rather than just standing pat with a team that didn't win the Cup (or, in 14 cases, didn't make the playoffs at all).
I'm not happy with the prospect of losing him, but there's a log jam on the blueline and unless some changes happen there's just no room for him.
Methot - EK65 (this is set in granite)
Ceci - ???? (Could be Wiercioch, could be Cowen, could be someone else)
Gryba - Borowiecki (I want to keep Boro, but Gryba is a standard 3rd pairing D we could replace)
Phillips (could be unable to play anymore depending on how the surgery goes. LTIR to clear cap/roster space??)
That's eight. After that it's Claesson or Wideman, so neither one is guaranteed of much this coming season so if Wideman could find a one-way deal with an NHL team he'd be a fool to not take it.
*IF* a blueliner or two could me moved or declared LTIR, it might make room for a Bingo grad or two. Gryba/Wiercioch would be the most likely candidates......but I've been saying that since the beginning of last season.
UP FRONT
With forwards, it's much the same. Legwand? Greening? The team is looking to move one or both, with some talk being a package deal with one of them + a goalie. ZSmith? Dunno. Condra? I'd like to keep him, but it might mean no Prince, Puempel or _______ who excels during the pre-season.
Keep JGP as 3rd C and move Lazar to 4th C or leave him as 3rd RW? We'll see, I guess.
We haven't lost him........yet. He's a UFA so he's probably gone July 1st. He deserves a shot at the NHL after the season he had last year, and it won't likely be in Ottawa so I'd be surprised to see him sign here unless it's a multi-year deal where the years after the 1st year are one-way.
I'm not sure I agree entirely with that writer (whoever they are), as I think Boro is a key to this team long term, his money is very good against the cap, and he plays a role the team needs. I'm surprised that Gryba and Wiercioch are still here, although PW did have a very good last third of the season after he got to play regularly under Cameron rather than being a scratch under the Paularus.
I still think a trade or trades are in the offing, and if one or more forwards/defencemen are traded along with a goalie, it could free up space on the roster for players like Prince/Puempel/Claesson/Wideman to come up.
"What is frustrating about the Wideman situation is that Ottawa’s management team is completely to blame. After his strong performance in 2013-14, Brian Murray and company should have known that Wideman would be challenging for an NHL job in the near future, but still chose to extend Borowiecki’s and Gryba’s contracts. Not only did they block Wideman’s path but also threw into question the future progression of Binghamton’s Fredrik Claesson. However, the pattern of giving bad contract extensions to gritty homegrown players is not limited to defense. On forward both Colin Greening and Zack Smith are grossly overpaid for what they bring to the team, and combined with Murray’s unwillingness to deal Chris Neal, could result in Ottawa losing at least one of Eric Condra, Mike Hoffman or J.G. Pageau this off-season.
Being a budget team in a league where the majority of clubs spend to the cap is hard. Crippling your ability to develop prospects and re-sign key young players only makes your job harder. Ottawa losing Wideman is a result of poor roster management, it is that simple."
This is from a writer about Ottawa Senators. He's not happy about Wideman leaving because of money and space on Ottawa's roster. What do u guys think about this and the bad contracts given to these middling players like he mentions above. It will be a real shame if they have to cut loose guys who are productive to keep guys who aren't just because they have bad contracts that are unmovable. I know some of you didn't like most of these contracts in the first place now I know why. At the time of each one I thought they are under the cap so who cares but if Hoffman or JG or even Condra have to go then I guess I shoulda cared to begin with.
