Norris' contract only expires in 2029. Also, trading him now would be selling low IMO.Rantannen and Necas get moved and people on this board want to call Norris a "core" player. God, I hope Staios and Andlauer aren't of that mind. This team is primed to compete and win if only the guys running the show have the intestinal fortitude to do what needs to be done!
Bring McTavish home
Norris' contract only expires in 2029. Also, trading him now would be selling low IMO.
We're kinda stuck with what we have. No picks or assets to trade, no room under the cap. The best we can hope for right now is sneak into the playoffs this year and the next, and THEN yeah I'm with you, start trading guys from the core and replenish the farm for an actual proper rebuild.
Rantannen and Necas get moved and people on this board want to call Norris a "core" player. God, I hope Staios and Andlauer aren't of that mind. This team is primed to compete and win if only the guys running the show have the intestinal fortitude to do what needs to be done!
The biggest issue I have with this is that you consider Norris a member of the core group.
So obvious that he is an anchor.
Vancouver says noBuffalo: Petersson, Amadio
Ottawa: Peterka + Samuelsson
Vancouver: Norris + 1st from Buffalo
St. Louis: Batherson and Tkachuk
Ottawa: Kyrou and Thomas
Philly: Chabot + Forsberg
Ottawa: Tippett + 2nd
Kyrou-Stutzle-Peterka
Tippett-Thomas-Giroux
Greig-Pinto-Cousins
Highmore-Ostap-McEwan
Sanderson-Zub
Samuelsson-Jensen
Kleven- Matinpalo
Ullmark
Merilainen
Listen if we can trade Norris for a similar quality player I'm sure we would have.Rantannen and Necas get moved and people on this board want to call Norris a "core" player. God, I hope Staios and Andlauer aren't of that mind. This team is primed to compete and win if only the guys running the show have the intestinal fortitude to do what needs to be done!
Samuelsson is atrocious. That would make our forward group stronger yes, but our defense would be so much worse. We'd be hemmed in our zone constantly if the top pairing isn't on ice, and Samuelsson is barely better than Chabot in actually defending the zone either. Also I doubt Blues do it at all, and Sabres most likely won't trade a 1st.Buffalo: Petersson, Amadio
Ottawa: Peterka + Samuelsson
Vancouver: Norris + 1st from Buffalo
St. Louis: Batherson and Tkachuk
Ottawa: Kyrou and Thomas
Philly: Chabot + Forsberg
Ottawa: Tippett + 2nd
Kyrou-Stutzle-Peterka
Tippett-Thomas-Giroux
Greig-Pinto-Cousins
Highmore-Ostap-McEwan
Sanderson-Zub
Samuelsson-Jensen
Kleven- Matinpalo
Ullmark
Merilainen
This is the most unhinged thread we have.
Removing Chabot would have a bigger negative effect on our offensive and transition game than any other player on our team besides maybe Stutzle, and even that is pretty close.I think Brady, Stutzle, Sanderson, and Ullmark are the unmovables. They make up a great core that you can build around. Anyone else should be looked at. I like the resurgence in Chabot's game but I think this team would be better off with an 8M scoring winger than defenseman at this point.
Norris isn't going to bring back a Rantanen level player. He won't return a Necas level player. I'm not suggesting that. I'm saying that if teams like CAR and COL can move pieces like those to improve their teams, then OTT can sure as hell move Norris to improve theirs. But people tell me he's a core player, and great on faceoffs, and good defensively, and Brady's his friend, and "chemistry"! f*** all that. The Sens are a f***ing country club and despite some improvement this year under Green, there is still no internal accountability. I don't want to sit patiently through a rebuild. There are good pieces on this team, but some of them need to go for different good pieces. Norris is a good piece, Chabot is a good piece.Listen if we can trade Norris for a similar quality player I'm sure we would have.
The Canes had to move significant assets to acquire Rantanen: Necas, roster player (Drury), 2nd & 4th.Rantannen and Necas get moved and people on this board want to call Norris a "core" player. God, I hope Staios and Andlauer aren't of that mind. This team is primed to compete and win if only the guys running the show have the intestinal fortitude to do what needs to be done!
Not what I'm suggesting at all.The Canes had to move significant assets to acquire Rantanen: Necas, roster player (Drury), 2nd & 4th.
Norris alone wouldn’t have landed Rantanen. What would you have added to Norris?
This article says an “optimized” salary for a 2nd line center would be $6.5 m. If it's “optimized”, then $6.5 m is best case scenario (the lowest).I agree, he is good. Just not good enough to warrant the contract and that is what makes him an anchor. At $6M/yr I'd be happy to keep him (on the wing, getting kicked out of 40% of faceoffs and winning half those he stays in for). But guys like Norris, with contracts like his are what will prevent this team from going to the next level.
I don't think he is coming back. I haven't heard of him being involved with any other management group since leaving here.
Just because Norris is worth less than he was x amount of seasons ago doesn't mean we're selling low. We could very well be selling high.
OK. Well, I haven’t seen anyone suggesting that he is a “core” player. I think some posters are worried that might be selling low on Norris if it was an in-season trade. I’ve seen other posters saying Norris is (somewhat) overpaid, but not a bad player to the point where it's a high priority to get rid of him.Not what I'm suggesting at all.
I'm simply saying it's ridiculous to suggest Norris is a "core" player and shouldn't be moved to improve the team.
OK. Well, I haven’t seen anyone suggesting that he is a “core” player. I think some posters are worried that might be selling low on Norris if it was an in-season trade. I’ve seen other posters saying Norris is (somewhat) overpaid, but not a bad player to the point where it's a high priority to get rid of him.
Carolina are also in a different position than the Senators which is another large factor in that deal. The Canes are all-in for the Cup this year, whereas we are still struggling to try to make it in to the playoffs.I think a big reason why Carolina made the deal was because they think they have a reasonable chance to keep Rantanen. I don't think it hurts them that much if he walks, but a lot of teams would not be in a position to give up the package they did. Imagine if we gave up Batherson, Ostapchuk, a 2nd, and a 4th for Hall and Rantanen, didn't make the playoffs, and Rantanen walked. It would be a repeat of what Dorion did multiple times that crippled this team with Duchene, Debrincat, and Chychrun.
Look at how those three acquisitions worked out, and you can see why GMs are reticent to give up major assets for pending UFAs, or players with limited term.
We don't have a deep pool of assets, and we are not a top FA destination. So losing that kind of package would be very difficult. Most teams are in a much closer position to where we are than where Carolina is. I don't think many teams would be in a position to give up the package Carolina did and be as comfortable about it as they should be.
I assume it's Norris that you are talking about when you say “albatross contract”?Managing to get rid of that albatross of a contract would be Staios' greatest achievement so far.