"No" on Meszaros

Craig Custance of Sportingnews.com has a confirmed "no" from the Jackets on signing Andrej Meszaros to an offer sheet.

Like James Mirtle, I started with a few teams that I thought had the cap room and might be interested in adding a young defensemen. And then struck out. I've got a confirmed "no" on a signed offer sheet from the GM's of three teams I thought might be possibilities: Atlanta, Phoenix and Columbus.

No suprise there.

He's also questioning if there is even an offer sheet made:

Here's the other thing to consider - when the St. Louis and Vancouver offer sheets were made, that became public knowledge with releases from the PR staffs. Bryan Murray is denying that there is an offer sheet. That's interesting to me. I'm not saying there isn't one, because I was told that an offer sheet was a serious possibility in this case but why would Murray deny it if it's done?

As I stated in the comments of another post why would this be top secret? Doesn't make a whole lot of sense.

EJ Hradek takes a look at the "Best Ever" from the Central division. Here's the Jackets:

COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS
Best forward: Rick Nash. He's the only legit All-Star in the club's short history. Someday, he'll have a playmaking center to get him the puck.

Best defenseman: Rostislav Klesla. He gets it by default. In his defense, he was prematurely rushed to the NHL.

Best goaltender: Pascal Leclaire. Sorry, I just couldn't bring myself to pick either Marc Denis or Ron Tugnutt. I'll take Leclaire based on what I saw last year. He does need a better haircut, though.

Nothing shocking there. I pretty much agree with all of those picks although in Columbus' case there isn't a whole lot to choose from....yet.

There were some reports that both McCain and Palin were presented with Jackets jerseys at today's events at the Nutter Center which is located my at alma mater (yes I'm a Wright State Alum) -- hey its not that often that we Raiders find something to brag about!

Anyhow those were actually Dayton Bomber jerseys that were presented and here were some comments from Bombers owner Costa Papista:

“The idea of possibly having a hockey mom in the White House just blows my mind.”

More comments from the story:

"Because it was such a secret, we didn't have time to customize one," said Papista, who played in the OHL and has owned the team for five years. "But she was really excited to get the jersey. I'm passionate about the sport and I imagine (NHL Commissioner) Gary Bettman has got to be pleased today."

Republican, Demorcat, Republicrat, whatever --- having a little hockey flavor in this year's race is pretty cool!!

Update: According to TSN (and a poster here) the Ottawa Senators have dealt Andrej Meszaros to the Tampa Bay Lightning for Alex Picard, Filip Kuba and San Jose's 1st round pick. Whew that seems like a quite a haul for Ottawa but you know what they say in that the team that gets the best player usually wins these deals and Meszaros is the best player here.

I'm still not sure what Tampa's defense is going to consist of. They have Paul Ranger, Shane O'Brien, Andrej Meszaros and Carle. Some good offensive guys but how good is that group defensively?

Bottom line Tampa is going to have win a lot of game 6-5, 5-4, etc....

-LTL

Don't get hopes up for Meszaros

According The Hockey News's Adam Porteau Ottawa defensemen and restricted free agent Andrej Meszaros has agreed to an offer sheet worth 5 million a year from another NHL club. The team has yet to be confirmed.

Meszaros, a 22 year old 6'2" 220lb defensemen out of the Czech Reuplic, notched 9g 27a for 36p and finished a +5 for the Sens last season. Here is sportsnet.ca's take:

Assets
Plays a very heady game and is mature beyond his years. Owns sound hockey sense and the ability to lead the rush in transition.

Flaws
Is not big, nor a very physical blueliner, so he must rely heavily on sound positioning and hockey smarts to get by at the pro level.

Career potential
Power play quarterback.

Sounds like something the Jackets could use right?

Don't count it and here's why:

The Jackets already have a payroll in the 48 to 50 million dollar range and even though they have the cap space I can't see ownership green lighting another 5 mil at this stage. That's not to say ownership would be unwilling to spend more come the deadline to put the Jackets over the top.

I think the Jackets want to sit tight and see what they've got with their current defense. Meszaros, while bigger in stature, plays a very similar game to Kris Russell and I think the Jackets want to give Russell the chance to continue his development and he comes with a much cheaper price tag.

I absolutely cannot see Howson willing to not only pay Meszaros 5 mil a year but give up the picks in the process. Here is the offer sheet compensation chart:

Amount
Compensation Due

$863,156 or less
None

$863,156 - $1,307,812
3rd round pick

$1,307,812 - $2,615,625
2nd round pick

$2,615,623 - $3,923,437
1st and 3rd round pick

$3,923,437 - $5,231,249
1st, 2nd, and 3rd round pick

$5,231,249 - $6,539,062
Two 1st's, one 2nd, one 3rd round pick

$6,539,062 or more
Four 1st round picks

So at 5 mil Howson would have to be willing to give up a 1st, 2nd and 3rd round pick. Ain't happening.

Really the only way I could see this going down is if Howson has a deal in place to move salary out to make room for Meszaros. For instance maybe a guy like Backman and his 3.5 million along with maybe a guy like Novonty and his .800k would clear enough room. Problem is who is going to take our left overs -- nobody. Even then Howson would have to be willing to part with the picks which I don't think he's at all prepared to do at this point.

So if not the Jacket then who made this offer sheet? My money is on Montreal. They are going for it in their bicentennial season and rumor has it that if Sundin falls through -- which it looks like it will -- then they are going to go hard after an offensive d-man. Mathew Schneider's name has popped up but I think Mezsaros makes a lot of sense for them as well. There system is also well stocked so they may be prepared to part with the picks. Right now according to NHLSCAP.com they've got the 6+ mil in cap space to make this move.

Stay tuned.

Also a good nugget from Bob Hunter today in his rumblings. According to him Jakub Voracek has gained 23lbs while both Brassard and Russell have added 12.

Using hockeydb.com as a guide that would put Voracek in the 213 poung range, Brassard at 192 and Russell at 189.

Keep in mind that these kids aren't putting on this muscle to be bangers -- they just need their bodies to be able to withstand the daily grind of being in the NHL. Receiving the hits, grinding it out in corners, winning the lose puck battles, a little more jump on back2backs, etc.

Hunter also had this to say about the roles amongst the coaching staff being shaken up:

Some duties have been shifted on the NHL club's coaching staff. Claude Noel will take over the power play this year from Gary Agnew, who will now be in charge of postgame analysis. Gord Murphy will still work with the penalty killers and defensemen.

Considering the Jackets had the 26th ranked PP last year this news can only be taken one way -- good!

I'm not one to get into political debates -- and I certainly don't intend to do that here -- but I did want to point out that John McCain has just announced his running mate. Her name is a Sarah Palin and she is Alaska's governor. From USAToday.com:

Palin, 44, is a self-styled hockey mom and political reformer who has been governor of her state less than two years.

There you have it!

-LTL

Blue biscuits

Found some interesting stuff on hockeybuzz.com. Turning our attention away from Malone-gate for a while (thank gawd!) Kevin Lee, a sportswriter out of Ottawa, had this to say about a couple of potential juicy trade targets out of Ottawa:

The last two restricted free-agents for the Senators, being Antoine Vermette and Andrej Meszaros, are tough to get a handle on. Both could find themselves playing elsewhere this coming season if they price themselves out of the pay structure here in Ottawa. Meszaros has already turned down one contract offer by Murray and is seeking a minimum of 3 million per year. People close to the Meszaros situation have stated that he wants to remain in Ottawa but his agent strongly believes he should get what other players in the league have received with similar stats. There is no way Murray is going to give Meszaros the same kind of money that Anton Volchenkov and Chris Phillips are receiving. That is why it's becoming more and more clear that Meszaros could find himself playing in another city next season. If that is the case, then Murray needs to get a player in return that can step in immediately to fill one of the holes that will be left by the many UFA's on this team. As for Vermette, he is one player that the Sens need to hold onto with the likely departures of Stillman and Kelly. Murray needs a proven forward that knows the system, can contribute offensively and have the strong ability to play on the PK. Vermette's name has been mentioned in recent trade discussions, only because Murray needs to explore what possibilities are out there in case talks on a new contract go south and he is unable to re-sign him before July 1st. At that time if Vermette is still unsigned, there are few teams that would tender him an offer. If that was to occur, Murray would most likely not be able to match Vermette's offer due to the cap situation.

Putting my armchair GM hat back on (is it ever off?) those are two names that should greatly interest the Jackets.

Everyone who has read this blog regularly knows I'm a big Vermette fan and I think he could help us tremendously. He's 25, a center who can play wing, had 53 points last year -- is fast, kills penalties, can play make.. had done all of that behind Jason Spezza and Mike Fisher. Now were talkin.

Meszaros is a 22 year old d-men who has put up 36, 35 and 39 points the past 3 season. That 36 last year was just one behind our leader in Hainsey who is 27. This guy gets it done at 22 what Hainsey just did last season. Talk about upside.

Both of these players would need signed but we would own there rights and we have the money to lock them down for a long time. If we move the 6th then how about:

6th + Fritsche or Tollefsen for Vermette and Meszaros

Don't forget the draft is in Ottawa and you know they its has been reported that they want to move up into the top 10.

Keep you eye on Ottawa.

Also in that same article is says that the Senators have held discussions with Zenon Konopka:

Lastly, the Senators have held discussions with former Ottawa 67's captain Zenon Konopka. He is a UFA and at the age of 27 he would be a very capable fourth liner on this Sens team. Konopka brings an edge and scoring touch while not being afraid to drop the gloves with anyone regardless of his own size.

..and in even more Jacket related news the Sens signed Greg Mauldin to a two way deal.

Now onto the draft.

This is a great read about what the Islanders could do at pick #5. This artcile explores everything including trading up, trading down, standing pat and "the crazy factor". It also talks about LA and Filatov.

This acticle from TSN specluates on who the Leafs and Canucks may take while this one speculates on if the Habs or Sens may make a draft day deal.

Don't forget to check out Gare Joyce's mock draft over on ESPN.com. Here is who he has the Jackets taking at 6 and 19:

6th overall:
Luke Schenn, D, Kelowna (WHL)
Safest bet on draft day is that Columbus will take the best available defenseman with its first pick. The team likely will look hard at doing the same with its second first-rounder (from Colorado in the Adam Foote trade). Tyler Myers would be an interesting (i.e., daring) pick here, but Schenn should be ready for the NHL sooner. The Blue Jackets brought in Schenn for independent testing after the combine.

19th overall:
Colby Robak, D, Brandon (WHL)
Blue Jackets would love to see Colten Teubert or Robak on the board here. If both are gone, the best available defenseman is still the first option with this pick acquired from the Avalanche for Foote. Would the Blue Jackets move this pick for immediate help on the blue line? It's up to other teams to make a case.

Here are Red Line's selections in their mock draft over on USAToday.com:

6th overall:
Luke Schenn. They traded away Adam Foote, the premier shutdown defenseman of his generation at the deadline. Now they pick up the next great shutdown defender to replace him.

19th overall:
Brandon Burlon. Call this one a hunch. They're really looking for a forward in this spot after nabbing Schenn earlier, but they can't pass on this talented two-way defender, and they'll be happy they didnt.

Finally here is SI's mock draft:

6th overall:
Alex Pietrangelo, defense, Niagara IceDogs (OHL)

Central Scouting says: "He might have the best top-end [potential]...in the entire 2008 draft. He has Pronger-like size and vision. A lot of scouts say that he might be playing better now than Pronger played in his last year of junior."

Our take: With so many premium forward prospects already in the fold, the Jackets will be thrilled to add Pietrangelo at this spot. His offensive game already suggests a Brian Leetch-like ability to read the play and make things happen with his feet, his shot or his passing skills. Despite all that, there are concerns about his capacity to apply the same passion and intensity to his defensive zone work, and that's why he's likely to fall out of the top five.

19th overall: Michael Del Zotto, defense, Oshawa Generals (OHL)

Central Scouting says: "He is the new breed offensive defenseman who jumps up into the rush effectively. He either follows up a rush to add a second dimension or is capable of leading the rush himself."

Our take: There's great value in this pick. Del Zotto's stock has dropped slightly over the course of the year, but more as a result of other defenders making greater gains than his game actually suffering. He's always had great offensive tools and a sturdy frame. The only question is, can he become more reliable defensively, or will he become a David Tanabe?

Kelly Hrudey had this to say about the Kings:

The bottom line is this: I have a very strong feeling -- based on a combination of talking to people and my own instinct -- that SOMETHING will happen between now and about 4:15 p.m. Pacific time Friday, and given the names and situations involved here, it's likely to be a fairly large ``something.'' Of course, that sounds completely vague and unhelpful. I understand that, but there's absolutely no way to predict what will happen.

Finally I will leave you with this thought.

Derick Brassard, Jakub Voracek and Derek Dorsett are all scheduled to be at the NHL Draft party at Easton on Friday night. Is it safe to assume neither of these players will be dealt?

...and if they are wouldn't that be something for them to find out then?

-LTL