As it turns out, the National Hockey League general managers’ trip to Montreal wasn’t much different than a boys weekend on Crescent St.
So much promise, so much invested, yet so little action.
Wonder if they dragged the same hangover home that the boys from Hearst, Ont. do when they make the trip to see a Habs game?
Doug Wilson: Did you even travel to Montreal for draft weekend? When does the "autopsy" end in San Jose, and the re-fit begin?
Brian Lawton: Will you deal Vincent Lecavalier already? The Montreal press can’t take this anymore.
Bryan Murray: It’s time to let you in on a secret. Nobody believes you when you say that if you can’t get the right deal, Dany Heatley will have to come back and play for the Ottawa Senators. So pull the trigger already, will ya?
Bob Gainey: You keep hinting at the overhaul you’re about to perform in Montreal. But is it for next year, or some time in 2013?
Since when was the collective brain trust of the National Hockey League supposed to get together at the annual entry draft simply to pick 18-year-olds? What happened to all the real action we were promised?
Where were the trades?
In the end, the one deal that was absolutely certain came off, when Chris Pronger was moved to Philadelphia just hours after Anaheim GM Bob Murray received the news that Scott Niedermayer was going to return next season. And Calgary traded for the right to negotiate with Jay Bouwmeester, which was also a contract dump when Jordan Leopold was jettisoned off the Flames roster.
But so many other trades rolled to a stop two feet short of the hole. And if you think you’re disappointed that Patrick Marleau is still a Shark, or Heatley still in self-imposed limbo, join the club, pal.
If I have to speculate one more time on whether that dysfunctional group down in Tampa is going to move Lecavalier, I’m going to scream.
You see, we sports media types get blamed for blowing too much air time on the Lecavalier speculation, or Brian Burke’s latest threat/promise to go after a No. 1 overall draft pick.
But what are we going to do when we’re summoned to Mt. Burke, and he begins to blow? Just walk away?
"We'll be involved on July 1st," said Burke, issuing another promise after failing to get any deals done in Montreal. "The door is open for business at noon and that's when we will start to get involved."
What happened in Montreal was a bunch of GMs trying to dump unfavourable contracts on each other, an easy task in the days of the old economy. Back then, we still had the Phoenixs and Nashvilles that couldn’t afford to keep their stars, but we also had teams like Toronto, Detroit, Philadelphia, or Colorado that could go into the $80 million payroll range.
As such, we never had to wait this long to see a guy like Heatley or Marleau get dealt.
Well, those days are gone. These GMs are much smarter and more prudent, simply because if they are not, they’ll soon be out of business.
Burke’s dilemma with 30-year-old defenceman Tomas Kaberle is the perfect example. He had a trade ready to go for dynamic 21-year-old goal scorer Phil Kessel, who had 36 goals last season. It should have been the right deal for a rebuilding team like Toronto.
The deal got scuttled when Boston asked for Toronto’s No. 7 overall draft pick, but all along, what really made Burke nervous was the fact that Kaberle has one of the sweetest contracts in the NHL for a defenceman of his calibre.
Kaberle is a top-flight power play quarterback — a puck-moving defenceman who also defends very well. But the kicker is, he will make $4.25 million for the next two seasons.
Chicago’s Brian Campbell makes $7.14 million, for Pete’s sake, while other comparables — like Dion Phaneuf, Ed Jovanovski and Wade Redden at $6.5 million each — make Kaberle look like a bargain.
As Burke said after the Kessel deal had fallen through, "I'm going to have to be overwhelmed by an offer if I'm going to move him. I've said all along: If I deal (Kaberle), I'm going to spend all summer looking for a puck-moving defenceman to replace him."
And he won’t find one at $4.25 million that is as good as Kaberle.
So in the end, what the cap world has done is ensure that the well-managed organization wins. It’s not simply about spending the most money anymore.
It is what many fans and sportswriters wanted. Unfortunately, it also means that the smart GM must devise almost the perfect trade before pulling the trigger.
And as we all know, the perfect trade is few and far between.
Thank God for the opening of free agency on July 1. On Wednesday, we can promise you that some prominent players will change teams. Really — we’re absolutely sure about it, this time.
We can not, however, say with any certainty that their names will be Heatley, Marleau, Kaberle or Lecavalier. For those guys, you’ll just have stand in line with the sportswriters and wait.