"Serious sport has nothing to do with fair play. It is bound up with hatred, jealousy, boastfulness, disregard of all rules and sadistic pleasure in witnessing violence. In other words, it is war minus the shooting." (George Orwell)
We are a mere 6 days from TD-day... trading deadline. Over the next 6 days GM's around the league will use their best (and for some, their worst) negotiation skills in the game of "trade wars." The air is thick with rumor, hyperbole, assumptions, guesses, prognostications, and outright lies. Imagine what it's like for the players -- going to work everyday and not knowing if it's your last day there. Oh that's right - most Americans can relate to that fear in this day-and-age.... except we're not lucky enough to get traded and get a paycheck from someone else. Lot's of us just get laid off. So let's put these next 6 days in perspective... yes, guys will get traded, tears will be shed, but at the end of the day, they all still get paid.
That being said - I am going to crawl out on a very thin limb here, take a chance with my reputation (to the extent I have one outside my own delusions of my place in the world) and say... yes, I will dare to say.... that the most likely guys to get traded from the Isles are: Witt, Guerin, and Weight. I know... you think me crazy. I am probably the only one putting these guys out there.
OK - reality time. Who hasn't predicted that these guys are trade bait. Maybe some jackass in a turban hiding in a cave in the Pakistani mountains plotting his next act of terror --- but beyond him, any hockey fan that has a pulse (including a hockey-loving monkey) knows these guys are available. So, I am going to spin off on a tangent here and suggest 4 guys that SHOULD be made available & traded instead of the big three. Here they are:
Andy Hilbert: yeah, maybe you get a mid to low round draft pick for him - say 3rd or 4th rounder. But I just think I've spent enough money in the past several years watching him either underachieve or listening to the Isles overstate his abilities. The league is filled with 3rd & 4th line wingers... so he is easily replaceable -- get rid of him.
Radek Martinek: maybe a glass company will take his body (particularly his legs!!) - he's just plain fragile. I think he has more value on the trade market than Hilbert because he's a big D-man capable of moving the puck, is fairly cheap in salary, and I cant' stand to see him out there anymore. I think he's worth a 3rd or 4th rounder.
Jon Sim: please... somebody take him. I'll take a bag of pucks at this point -- although I think a lower middle rounder is all you'll get back. He has just been a major disappointment in his 2 yrs here. Granted, he gets a pass for last year since he missed pretty much the entire season to injury. But since his return - 8 goals (OK, not awful, but certainly not what you expect from a 2nd line winger) and a MEASLY 2 assists. You gotta be kidding me. There are goalies with more helpers than him!!!
Jeff Tambellini: we'd have a better chance of finding Sasquatch or the Loch Ness monster than he has of finding his groove on the NHL level. On RARE occasions he shows a flash of promise -- like that wrister in the shoot out last week. But he spends the majority of his time skating in circles with pretty much nothing to show for it (2 goals and 4 assists in 43 games). I think you could get another struggling prospect back who needs a change of scenery or at best a 4th rounder.
So - for my money... I get the "rebuild" concept - and I support the philosophy - but, the team cannot be made up of all rookies and teenagers. They should keep Witt and Guerin -- they are excellent role models ON & OFF the ice and their mere presence would be a great influence on the younger guys this year and next. These other guys, we can collect a few more mid-round picks and maybe a prosepct or 2. It fits with the plan.
6 more days.... and then we'll all know how this ends.
Next Up: Live blog during Isles v. Leafs.
MLD
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