Buffalo Sabres GM Tim Murray took a break from the NHL GM Meetings in Boca Raton, Florida on Tuesday to speak with Kevin Weekes and Andi Petrillo about his team and now it is poised moving forward.
Murray reiterated that he has currency at his disposal that he can use to make hockey trades, like the Evander Kane-Zach Bogosian-Tyler Myers-Drew Stafford deal. Murray will have many more valuable draft picks in the next two seasons as well has the prospects that he currently has in the organization that can be parlayed into 23-25 year old young NHL players who are better than the situations that they are presently in on their current teams. Thanks, NHL Live
Murray is very intrigued by young NHLers who have served their NHL apprenticeships and are now looking to take their careers to the next level. Murray is targeting young players who have already ridden the buses in the minors and have already proven themselves at the NHL level. Murray has the three things that young NHL players are seeking:
* Roster spots with team leadership roles * Time on ice (TOI) * Money. Lots and lots and lots of Terry Pegula's money.
Murray has his eagle eye trained on the rosters of the other 29 teams in the NHL. First and foremost he is a scout. He is always looking to add difference makers to his roster in order to build the best roster that he can possibly assemble.
Case in point, Murray has known about Evander Kane since the power forward was a teenager playing for the Vancouver Giants. Murray has always admired Kane's work ethic and unique skill set. When the opportunity to trade for Kane presented itself, Murray wasted zero time closing the deal. His critics would say that Murray gave up far too much in terms of "currency" to land Kane. Murray would tell the haters to go to H-E-Double-Hockey Sticks. Murray identified his target and negotiated what he thought was a fair deal for Kane. He traded Myers, Stafford, prospects Brendan Lemieux and Joel Armia, plus his third rated first round draft choice in the Connor McDavid draft. Murray knows that he can't catch whales using worms on his hook. He is not afraid to fish with meaty, expensive bait. He had done his homework on Lemieux and knew that the kid wouldn't be signing his ELC with the Sabres. So why play games? Murray did the organization a service by adding two young, unproven assets in Lemieux and Armia to his package for Kane and Bogosian. Stafford was a pending UFA that Murray wasn't going to re-sign. the first rounder won't hurt the Sabres because it will affect the low 20s where draft experts say the talent drop off will occur.
Unlike his predecessor Darcy Regier, Murray doesn't over value or fall in love with his young prospects. In Murray's head, a prospect is either an NHL player or he is not. No use waiting around hoping for a prospect to become a difference making pro player. Murray wants to recruit players who first and foremost want to play in Buffalo and who are fed up with the acrimony and strife associated with their current situations.
Case in point:
Colorado Avalanche center Ryan O'Reilly.
O’Reilly signed a two year, $12 million contract moments before he was to walk into an ugly team-elected arbitration hearing in the summer of 2014. To say that there is bad blood and tension between the O'Reilly camp and Avs management is a huge understatement. O'Reilly's problems with Avs management first reared its ugly head when he signed an offer sheet to play for the Calgary Flames in February 2013. The Avs hastily matched the offer sheet and ROR helped the Avs to win the Pacific division title and secure a playoff spot last spring. O'Reilly thrived in 2013-14 when he scored a career high 28 goals. He and his agent were perplexed that the Avs would elect to take him to arbitration after he had played such an integral role in leading his young, talented Avs squad to the playoffs.
O'Reilly is a $6 million annual cap hit and will be a UFA in July 2016. O'Reilly's name has been linked to Tim Murray and the Sabres via trade chatter.
O’Reilly is the type of soldier that General Murray wants to add to his growing army.
ROR is a killer. He's a 200 foot, 2-way center who plays in all situations. And plays them well. Murray is looking for leaders of men to help guide the young trail blazers.
Avs GM Joe Sakic said days before the March 2 NHL trade deadline that he and Patrick Roy want to re-sign O’Reilly to a contract extension this summer.
Easier said than done. O'Reilly is is going to command between $6.75 and $7 million per season on the UFA market next summer. O'Reilly, 24, will be looking for a 6-7 year term. He won't be cutting the Avs any home town discounts especially after the way that the team has tarred and feathered in the court of public opinion him the past couple of seasons.
The Avs will have to make judicious decisions with their salary cap moving forward. The Avs are so deficient on their back end and so top heavy on skilled forwards. Something's got to give.
They will have to re-up Nathan MacKinnon to a monster-sized contract extension in the near future.
Sakic and Roy will have to negotiate MacKinnon's next long term contract in the max-out 8 year, $64 million range. Matt Duchene is a $6 million cap hit through 2018-19. Gabe Landeskog is a $4.5 million cap hit until the end of the 2018-19 season.
Enter Tim Murray who would trade former first rounder and Russian D monster Nikita Zadorov (6'5 and 235 lbs.), center Mikhail Grigorenko (first rounder) and perhaps the second ranked 2015 first round picks in exchange for O'Reilly and Colorado's first rounder this season or next.
Murray is a creative deal maker/problem solver. He isn't afraid to trade some of his prospects and picks in order to land a great white shark like O'Reilly.
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I've been telling you for months to keep an eye on Uncle Bryan. Tim Murray has yet to do a trade with his mentor, however, there may be a goaltender deal percolating right now.
You've no doubt heard about the amzing success story of 27 year old goalie Andrew Hammond. "The Hamburglar" went undrafted by NHL teams and is now one of the hottest stars in the NHL. Albeit based on a small sample size. Hammond is 11-0-1 with a .956 save percentage and 1.35 GAA during his legendary win streak. Were it not for "The Hamburglar" the Sens would not be only 4 points behind the Boston Bruins right now in the wild card race.
Tim Murray's scouting eyes are responsible for "The Hamburglar" playing in Ottawa. Tim Murray identified the kid when he was playing at Bowling Green University from 2009-2013.
Murray signed the kid to his first pro contract and is responsible for the kid's entree into the best hockey league in the world.
The final year of Hammond's NHL entry level deal expires in July. He will be a hot name on the UFA market. It just so happens that old Tim Murray is searching high and low for a staring goalie right now. He has his eyes set on "The Hamburglar".
TSN's Pierre LeBrun spoke about Murray and Hammond on TSN 1200 on Wednesday afternoon.
“I was going to say, I would start with Buffalo because Bryan Murray will tell you this, that Tim Murray was instrumental in signing Andrew Hammond. And it just so happens the Sabres need goaltending. So I wouldn’t be far-fetched to suggest that Tim Murray would probably have an eye there. Although Anders Lindback is certainly trying to signal his case right now with the Buffalo Sabres, playing well of late.
“But yeah, all the obvious teams. I think Edmonton, San Jose, Dallas – those are all teams that need goaltending.
“Now again, I have no idea whether they’d have interest in Andrew Hammond per say, but I do know they’re looking for goaltending in the off-season. All of those teams I just mentioned, among others.
“I just don’t think it’s going to get to July 1 guys, unless the contract demands are out of whack , which would surprise me.
“I think that the only play here for Ottawa is to sign him after the year and then worry about the three-headed goalie monster after that because at the end of the day, it’s asset management. You don’t lose an asset for nothing, if you don’t have to. Sign the asset and then worry about how you’re managing the extra asset and get something in return.
Pierre Lebrun joins the Drive to talk about the Sens, Andrew Hammond and other NHL news @TSN1200 #Sens #Hamburglar
— Stephen Bunda (@TSN1200Bunda) March 18, 2015
The Sens would be wise to lock up Hammond before he gets burgled by Tim Murray. In which case Murray could ake a trade with Uncle Bryan for Robin Lehner, whom Tim won a Calder Cup with in Binghampton hot that long ago. Lehner would become the odd man out if Hammond is re-signed to a long term deal to remain in Ottawa. Craig Anderson has two more years remaining on his deal at $3.5M AAV. Murray loves his big, aggressive goalies. Lehner fits that bill to a tee. Lehner is 6'5 and 225 lbs. and is very athletic. He will turn 24 in July.
Hell, Murray may end up dismissing Ted Nolan at season's end. He would then turn to his trusted confidante Luke Richardson to serve as Buffalo bench boss. Thats another story for another day.
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The Ontario Hockey League today announced the results of the Eastern and Western Conference Coaches Polls for the 2014-15 OHL regular season.
The OHL Coaches Poll provides each member club coaches with the opportunity to recognize the top three players in 20 different skill categories within their own conference.
In the Eastern Conference, the first place Oshawa Generals lead the way with representation in 13 of the 20 different categories highlighted by New York Islanders prospect Michael Dal Colle who was named Most Dangerous in the Goal Area and Best Shot, while Vancouver Canucks prospect Cole Cassels finished second in voting in five different categories including Smartest Player, Hardest Worker, Best Playmaker, Best on Face-Offs, and Best Defensive Forward. The Kingston Frontenacs finished second in team voting with seven different players appearing across 10 categories including goaltender Lucas Peressini in three categories notably finishing first as Best Shootout Goalie, while Calgary Flames prospect Sam Bennett was listed in two categories winning the Best Skater vote for the second straight year.
North Bay Battalion defenceman Marcus McIvor was the top individual winner finishing first in three different categories including Most Underrated Player, Best Penalty Killer, and Best Defensive Defenceman, while also finishing second in the Best Shot Blocker category. Other multiple category winners in the Eastern Conference include Ottawa Senators prospect and Battalion forward Nick Paul named Best on Face-offs and Best Defensive Forward, while Canucks prospect Jordan Subban of the Belleville Bulls finished first in the Best Shootout Shooter category and was also named Best Offensive Defenceman after finishing second and third place in voting the last two years respectively.
In the Western Conference, the Midwest Division winning Erie Otters lead the way with nine different players represented in 15 of the 20 different categories including a league-high seven first place votes.
2015 NHL Draft prospect Connor McDavid is the Conference’s top individual winner leading the way in three different areas including Best Playmaker for the second straight year, Best Skater for the second straight year, and Best Stickhandler for the third straight year. The first place Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds also have nine different players represented in the poll spread across 11 different categories with four first place votes. Among them are blueliners Tampa Bay Lightning prospect Anthony DeAngelo who was named Best Offensive Defenceman for the second straight year, and Edmonton Oilers prospect Darnell Nurse who was named Best Defensive Defenceman.
Here are your individual category winners:
Most Underrated Player:
Eastern Conference: 1. Marcus McIvor, North Bay Battalion (21) 2. Dante Salituro, Ottawa 67’s (18) 3. Chris Carlisle, Oshawa Generals (17)
Western Conference: 1. Pius Suter, Guelph Storm (25) 2. Damir Sharipzyanov, Owen Sound Attack tied Kyle Pettit, Erie Otters (14)
Most Improved Player:
Eastern Conference: 1. Kevin Labanc, Barrie Colts (31) 2. Lucas Peressini, Kingston Frontenacs (29) 3. Jordan Maletta, Niagara IceDogs tied Matt Schmalz, Sudbury Wolves (8)
Western Conference: 1. Pius Suter, Guelph Storm (23) 2. Nick Betz, Erie Otters (17) 3. Christian Dvorak, London Knights (15)
Smartest Player:
Eastern Conference: 1. Sam Bennett, Kingston Frontenacs (26) – finished first in voting in 2013-14 2. Cole Cassels, Oshawa Generals (18) 3. Carter Verhaeghe, Niagara IceDogs (17) – finished third in voting in 2013-14
Western Conference: 1. Mitchell Marner, London Knights (28) 2. Chris Bigras, Owen Sound Attack (23) 3. Dylan Strome, Erie Otters (18) Hardest Worker:
Eastern Conference: 1. Lawson Crouse, Kingston Frontenacs (34) 2. Cole Cassels, Oshawa Generals (17) 3. Michael McLeod, Mississauga Steelheads (10)
Western Conference: 1. Remi Elie, Erie Otters (25) 2. Phil Baltisberger, Guelph Storm (15) 3. Keigan Goetz, Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (12)
Best Playmaker:
Eastern Conference: 1. Joseph Blandisi, Barrie Colts (30) 2. Cole Cassels, Oshawa Generals (20) 3. Josh Ho-Sang, Niagara IceDogs (18)
Western Conference: 1. Connor McDavid, Erie Otters (43) – finished first in voting in 2013-14 2. Mitchell Marner, London Knights (27) 3. Anthony DeAngelo, Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (14)
Most Dangerous in Goal Area:
Eastern Conference: 1. Michael Dal Colle, Oshawa Generals (27) 2. Brendan Perlini, Niagara IceDogs (18) 3. Spencer Watson, Kingston Frontenacs (14)
Western Conference: 1. Alex DeBrincat, Erie Otters (29) 2. Tyler Bertuzzi, Guelph Storm (22) 3. Dylan Sadowy, Saginaw Spirit (17) Best Skater: Eastern Conference: 1. Travis Konecny, Ottawa 67’s (27) 2. Sean Day, Mississauga Steelheads (25) – finished second in voting in 2013-14 3. Joseph Blandisi, Barrie Colts (17) Western Conference: 1. Connor McDavid, Erie Otters (45) – finished first in voting in 2013-14 and third in 2012-13 2. Max Domi, London Knights (15) – finished second in voting in 2013-14 3. Zachary Senyshyn, Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (10)
Best Shot:
Eastern Conference: 1. Michael Dal Colle, Oshawa Generals (30) 2. Brendan Perlini, Niagara IceDogs (22) 3. Joseph Blandisi, Barrie Colts (10) Western Conference: 1. Max Domi, London Knights (20) 2. Nikita Korostelev, Sarnia Sting (16) 3. Nick Baptiste, Erie Otters (14)
Hardest Shot: Eastern Conference: 1. Brandon Devlin, Mississauga Steelheads (35) 2. Kyle Wood, North Bay Battalion (27) 3. Jordan Subban, Belleville Bulls (15) Western Conference: 1. Max Iafrate, Kitchener Rangers (28) – finished second in voting in 2013-14 2. Jakob Chychrun, Sarnia Sting (16) 3. Gianluca Curcuruto, Plymouth Whalers tied Trevor Murphy, Windsor Spitfires (12) Best Stickhandler:
Eastern Conference: 1. Josh Ho-Sang, Niagara IceDogs (27) 2. Travis Konecny, Ottawa 67’s (22) – finished third in voting in 2013-14 3. Sam Bennett, Kingston Frontenacs (20) – finished first in voting in 2013-14 Western Conference: 1. Connor McDavid, Erie Otters (41) – finished first in voting in 2013-14 and 2012-13 2. Sergey Tolchinsky, Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (19) – finished second in voting in 2013-14 3. Mitchell Marner, London Knights (16)
Best on Face-Offs:
Eastern Conference: 1. Nick Paul, North Bay Battalion (22) – finished third in voting in 2013-14 2. Cole Cassels, Oshawa Generals (21) 3. Carter Verhaeghe, Niagara IceDogs (16)
Western Conference: 1. Kyle Pettit, Erie Otters (21) 2. Holden Cook, Owen Sound Attack (19) 3. Daniel Nikandrov, Sarnia Sting (16) Best Body Checker:
Eastern Conference: 1. Hunter Smith, Oshawa Generals (30) 2. Cameron Lizotte, Peterborough Petes (29) 3. Conor McGlynn, Kingston Frontenacs (12) Western Conference: 1. Kurtis MacDermid, Erie Otters (31) – finished third in voting in 2013-14 2. Nick Ritchie, Sault Ste, Marie Greyhounds (22) – finished first in Eastern Conference voting in 2013-14 3. Liam Maaskant, Kitchener Rangers (13) Best Shot Blocker: Eastern Conference: 1. Josh Brown, Oshawa Generals (30) – finished first in voting in 2013-14 2. Marcus McIvor, North Bay Battalion (27) 3. Cameron Lizotte, Peterborough Petes (11)
Western Conference: 1. Zach Nastasiuk, Owen Sound Attack (18) – finished second in voting in 2013-14 2. Cory Genovese, Erie Otters (16) 3. Phil Baltisberger, Guelph Storm (13) Best Defensive Forward:
Eastern Conference: 1. Nick Paul, North Bay Battalion (31) 2. Cole Cassels, Oshawa Generals (16) 3. Juho Lammikko, Kingston Frontenacs (13)
Western Conference: 1. Jason Dickinson, Guelph Storm (29) 2. Jean Dupuy, Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (27) 3. Kyle Pettit, Erie Otters (11) Best Penalty Killer: Eastern Conference: 1. Marcus McIvor, North Bay Battalion (25) 2. Josh Brown, Oshawa Generals (18) 3. Joseph Blandisi, Barrie Colts (14)
Western Conferenc: 1. Jean Dupuy, Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (22) 2. Dylan Sadowy, Saginaw Spirit (19) 3. Remi Elie, Erie Otters (14) Best Offensive Defenseman:
Eastern Conference: 1. Jordan Subban, Belleville Bulls (28) 2. Mitchell Vande Sompel, Oshawa Generals (20) 3. Rasmus Andersson, Barrie Colts (16)
Western Conference: 1. Anthony DeAngelo, Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (40) – finished first in voting in 2013-14 and third in 2012-13 2. Chris Bigras, Owen Sound Attack tied Trevor Murphy, Windsor Spitfires (15)
Best Defensive Defenseman: Eastern Conference: 1. Marcus McIvor, North Bay Battalion (37) – finished third in voting in 2013-14 2. Josh Brown, Oshawa Generals (29) 3. Roland McKeown, Kingston Frontenacs (8)
Western Conference: 1. Darnell Nurse, Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (34) 2. Chris Bigras, Owen Sound Attack (26) – finished first in voting in 2013-14 3. Kurtis MacDermid, Erie Otters (14) Best Puck-Handling Goalie: Eastern Conference: 1. Spencer Martin, Mississauga Steelheads (33) – finished first in voting in 2013-14 2. Jake Smith, North Bay Battalion (19) – finished second in voting in 2013-14 3. Lucas Peressini, Kingston Frontenacs (13) Western Conference: 1. Brandon Halverson, Soo Greyhounds – finished first in 2013-14 tied Jake Paterson, Kitchener Rangers (27) – finished third in 2013-14 and 2012-13 3. Alex Nedeljkovic, Plymouth Whalers (21)
Best Shootout Shooter: Eastern Conference: 1. Jordan Subban, Belleville Bulls (29) 2. Sam Babintsev, Mississauga Steelheads (16) 3. Andrew Mangiapane, Barrie Colts (15)
Western Conference: 1. Max Domi, London Knights (25) 2. Tyler Bertuzzi, Guelph Storm (15) 3. Justin Bailey, Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (12) Best Shootout Goalie: Eastern Conference: 1. Lucas Peressini, Kingston Frontenacs (30) 2. Spencer Martin, Mississauga Steelheads (22) – finished second in voting in 2013-14 3. Mackenzie Blackwood, Barrie Colts (11)
Western Conference: 1. Jake Paterson, Kitchener Rangers (33) – finished third in voting in 2013-14 and second in 2012-13 2. Alex Nedeljkovic, Plymouth Whalers (27) – finished second in voting in 2013-14 3. Justin Nichols, Guelph Storm (14)
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