News Article: Pierre McGuire: “You’ll be seeing a lot of me

[AchtzehnBaby]

Pierre McGuire: “You’ll be seeing a lot of me

Meanwhile Ottawa’s new Senior Vice President of Player Development, Pierre McGuire was introduced at a press conference at the CAA Arena yesterday (Tues). In an interview with quintenews sports director Jack Miller the longtime TSN and NBC hockey broadcaster says players in Belleville will be seeing a lot of him this season.

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[Answer]

And here I was expecting to see a lot of winning

 

[Stylizer1]

 

[aragorn]

 

[Sens of Anarchy]

Pierre McGuire's Final Hour on Melnick in the Afternoon
interviewed yesterday

 

[thinkwild]

Pierre McGuire's Final Hour on Melnick in the Afternoon
interviewed yesterday

Definitely seems part of McGuire's job will be to rehabilitate Melnyks image in the eyes of the fans. Good luck Pierre. Makes me think of the previous president saying something stupid, then all his aides rush to give an explanation, then he undercuts them by speaking again. But its not impossible to win the fans back. Just show us the sincere attempt to do the best we can to win. If the owner isnt committed to winning, its hard to give unconditional love to the team.

 

[Ice-Tray]

The nice thing about PM is that he has media gigs to walk back into should things go south in Ottawa, so he doesn’t have to come out and say a bunch of stuff that he doesn’t believe in. His position also doesn’t lend him to have to have the buck stop at him so he again is freer to operate.

If EM sold him on his commitment, that’s good. Now EM has to live up to that for PM to stick around.

PD has done a great job mitigating the numerous financial considerations over the years in my opinion, and has grown as a manager, but his role is different. Should he want another GM gig in he NHL it will be based on what he’s able to build under the constraints put on him by he owner. All owners will want to see that to some degree no matter how big your budget.

PM I hope can use his massaging and positive way, keep EM motivated to spend on the team, and perhaps let PM do the excited team pump up stuff to the media.

 

[Tuna99]

The nice thing about PM is that he has media gigs to walk back into should things go south in Ottawa, so he doesn’t have to come out and say a bunch of stuff that he doesn’t believe in. His position also doesn’t lend him to have to have the buck stop at him so he again is freer to operate.

If EM sold him on his commitment, that’s good. Now EM has to live up to that for PM to stick around.

PD has done a great job mitigating the numerous financial considerations over the years in my opinion, and has grown as a manager, but his role is different. Should he want another GM gig in he NHL it will be based on what he’s able to build under the constraints put on him by he owner. All owners will want to see that to some degree no matter how big your budget.

PM I hope can use his massaging and positive way, keep EM motivated to spend on the team, and perhaps let PM do the excited team pump up stuff to the media.

it’s a good idea. But if Melnyck wasn’t motivated to pay Alfie I doubt PM can convince him to spend on any other player - that being said I think PM has a better feel for the Ottawa market and fans then the owner does

 

[Crosside]

The end of the interview was really funny, worth a listen lol

 

[Ice-Tray]

it’s a good idea. But if Melnyck wasn’t motivated to pay Alfie I doubt PM can convince him to spend on any other player - that being said I think PM has a better feel for the Ottawa market and fans then the owner does

You forget that once they realized Alfie was serious about leaving Murray was able to offer the ‘blank cheque’. The damage was already done though.

Murray and EM played hardball and lost.

 

[Tuna99]

You forget that once they realized Alfie was serious about leaving Murray was able to offer the ‘blank cheque’. The damage was already done though.

Murray and EM played hardball and lost.

Alfie never mentioned a blank cheque. Anyways the fact it even got to the point I think says lot about why we are where we are as a franchise

 

[Ice-Tray]

Alfie never mentioned a blank cheque. Anyways the fact it even got to the point I think says lot about why we are where we are as a franchise

It was all over the news, and Alfie has never denied it. The reality is that he’d already decided to move on at that point so it was a moot point to him.

We don’t have to try and change the chain of events, it is what it is. Murray didn’t want to offer him big money because they disagreed on the issue of the last year of his contract, not because EM was cheap and don’t want to fork over the money.

The money was offered too late, and money was spent afterwards on other players without issue.

 

[aragorn]

It was time to let Alfredsson go, he didn't last long afterwards & still never won a cup. It was also time to let EK walk as well & he's done nothing either since leaving so what would have been the point of hanging on to them or paying them a great deal of money if they were both in decline? I think they did the right thing to move on both of them. Stone still had some good yrs left, but the team sucked & they were planning on rebuilding through the draft & so moved on from him as well.

I'm not a fan of this management team, but it's hard to argue against moving on from those players in hindsight given how things have turned out. They decided to rebuild through the draft & clear house & so far that seems to be working in their favour given how well some of their prospects & guys they drafted are doing. The future looks bright now & most of us can see that this team has a great deal of potential in future yrs. It's not about spending money now although they will need to sign & retain as many of their good young players as possible. It's more about spending when the time is right & bring in the right players to take the next step & not only be a playoff team, but one that can challenge for a SC.

 

[L'Aveuglette]

It was time to let Alfredsson go, he didn't last long afterwards & still never won a cup. It was also time to let EK walk as well & he's done nothing either since leaving so what would have been the point of hanging on to them or paying them a great deal of money if they were both in decline? I think they did the right thing to move on both of them. Stone still had some good yrs left, but the team sucked & they were planning on rebuilding through the draft & so moved on from him as well.

I'm not a fan of this management team, but it's hard to argue against moving on from those players in hindsight given how things have turned out. They decided to rebuild through the draft & clear house & so far that seems to be working in their favour given how well some of their prospects & guys they drafted are doing. The future looks bright now & most of us can see that this team has a great deal of potential in future yrs. It's not about spending money now although they will need to sign & retain as many of their good young players as possible. It's more about spending when the time is right & bring in the right players to take the next step & not only be a playoff team, but one that can challenge for a SC.

Dude are you f-ing kidding me?

We should never have let Alfie go.

 

[aragorn]

Dude are you f-ing kidding me?

We should never have let Alfie go.

He was almost done, why not? It would have been nice for him to retire a Sen, but it didn't happen & he went to Detroit to try & win a cup on a better team. Unfortunately for him that didn't happen either. C'est la vie.

 

[Ice-Tray]

Dude are you f-ing kidding me?

We should never have let Alfie go.

It has always seemed as though to Murray it was a 5 year deal that had all the money paid out in the first 4 years in case Alfie retired. Murray doing the favour.

To Alfie it seemed like a 4 year deal paid fairly with a 5th year tacked on at 1 million as a favour to the team because he planned on retiring. Alfie doing the favour.

The disagreed on who was doing the favour as it mattered when Alfie thought he deserved compensation for that last year on his next deal, and Murray believed that he had already been fairly compensated, he just took the money earlier.

Alfie got pissed and decided to leave, EM offered the blank cheque too late to matter. The disagreement was between Murray and Alfie, and I don’t think we’ll ever know who was ‘right’ or if it was just a misunderstanding now that Murray has passed.

Seems like a really petty way to end what could and should have been Alfie ending his career as a Sen, but people do silly things when tempers flare.

It truly was a painful way to end a legacy, and perhaps we can at least move on from trying to assign blame and understand that sometimes shit happens in a moment, and that it can have lasting consequences.

 

[Micklebot]

He was almost done, why not? It would have been nice for him to retire a Sen, but it didn't happen & he went to Detroit to try & win a cup on a better team. Unfortunately for him that didn't happen either. C'est la vie.

Detroit wasn't really a better team though, and he was still a 50-60 ish point player and led Det in pts, so the idea that it was time to let him go is a touch revisionist. Purely on the merits of the player you could make a case we should have traded him, but just not re-sign him? If he wanted to play for a better team to chase the cup, Detroit wasn't exactly a cup favourite. He went there because it was a comfortable fit, he left here because he felt the team mistreated him. We didn't make a hockey decision to move on, we mismanaged expectations.

 

[Ice-Tray]

Detroit wasn't really a better team though, and he was still a 50-60 ish point player and led Det in pts, so the idea that it was time to let him go is a touch revisionist. Purely on the merits of the player you could make a case we should have traded him, but just not re-sign him? If he wanted to play for a better team to chase the cup, Detroit wasn't exactly a cup favourite. He went there because it was a comfortable fit, he left here because he felt the team mistreated him. We didn't make a hockey decision to move on, we mismanaged expectations.

I agree with most of this. I think the disagreement was straight up between Murray and Alfie. Murray had some pretty clear words about how the contract went down.

We forget that Murray also had a temper! Lol, miss that man, he would have been great as a POHO here.

 

[aragorn]

Detroit wasn't really a better team though, and he was still a 50-60 ish point player and led Det in pts, so the idea that it was time to let him go is a touch revisionist. Purely on the merits of the player you could make a case we should have traded him, but just not re-sign him? If he wanted to play for a better team to chase the cup, Detroit wasn't exactly a cup favourite. He went there because it was a comfortable fit, he left here because he felt the team mistreated him. We didn't make a hockey decision to move on, we mismanaged expectations.

You're right, there was a difference of opinion regarding what was owed or not. I wondered too about why he picked Detroit, but I think it was his friend Zetterberg who convinced him to go there. He had 26 pts his last yr here, 59 pts the yr before & 31 pts the yr before that & he had 49 pts with Detroit after leaving Ottawa & retired after that yr. He played only one yr after leaving Ottawa, the relationship may have been mismanaged, but moving on from him IMO was the right decision at the time. I guess they tried to reconcile their differences when they brought him back, but that didn't last long & the owner probably deserves some blame there.

 

[Zorf]

Detroit wasn't really a better team though, and he was still a 50-60 ish point player and led Det in pts, so the idea that it was time to let him go is a touch revisionist. Purely on the merits of the player you could make a case we should have traded him, but just not re-sign him? If he wanted to play for a better team to chase the cup, Detroit wasn't exactly a cup favourite. He went there because it was a comfortable fit, he left here because he felt the team mistreated him. We didn't make a hockey decision to move on, we mismanaged expectations.

My friend's dad grew up with the Murray family. Is friends with all of them.

Direct from Bryan, the story was that the Sens offered what they thought was a market value offer. Something in the $4.5M range for 1 year.

Alfredsson figured he was owed for the last year he had played at $1M, and wanted/was expecting 1yr at $7M or 2 years at $5.5M per

When the Sens came with the $4.5, he ghosted them. Bryan said he couldn't get an answer from Alfie or his agent. Neither would answer calls or return messages.


During that period of silence, Alfredsson spoke with Zetterberg and Babcock, and they convinced him to come to Detroit.

When Alfredsson agreed, it was still in that negotiation only phase in the days before July 1st, but he agreed to the 1yr $5.5M deal.

By the time Melnyk gave Murray the ok to pay Alfie what he wanted, Alfredsson had already agreed with Detroit. Alfie only called Murray after he had made the deal with the Red Wings.


Really poorly handled by all parties.

 

[Sens of Anarchy]

Is Pierre McGuire connected to straightening out the mess with Alfredsson?

 

[TheDebater]

So who is "President" if McGuire is Vice President?

 

[Sens of Anarchy]

So who is "President" if McGuire is Vice President?

He'll be promoted to POHO and maintain the responsibilities under his current title. He is still evaluating the organization top to bottom and reporting back to Melnyk. DJ got the stamp of approval and was extended already. He speaks highly of the Mann bros. I am sure we will see a new Trent Mann contract soon; but they could be waiting on Dorion's eval to determine where Mann ends up. I made all this up but I think this is at least somewhat what is going on even though Dorion made a point of saying he was the GM and PM works for him..

 

[Micklebot]

Really poorly handled by all parties

No doubt. The story seems to go back further though, as Alfie mentioned discusing making him whole for the 1 mil earlier with an extension, before his last season as a Sen but talks went nowhere. Then after the season he mulled over the possibility of retirement before having his agent confirm he was going to play one more year, which seems to be where your story picks up.

Either he lied or his expectations were not well set.

Anyways, ancient history at this point, only the parties involved know the whole truth.

 

[Cosmix]

He'll be promoted to POHO and maintain the responsibilities under his current title. He is still evaluating the organization top to bottom and reporting back to Melnyk. DJ got the stamp of approval and was extended already. He speaks highly of the Mann bros. I am sure we will see a new Trent Mann contract soon; but they could be waiting on Dorion's eval to determine where Mann ends up. I made all this up but I think this is at least somewhat what is going on even though Dorion made a point of saying he was the GM and PM works for him..

Dorion said he was GM and he was told (presumably by Melnyk) that Maguire reports to him.