The SBP Archives - Your less than frequent dose of SBP!

Pick up the paper. Take a look online. Check out the NHL standings. There's the Senators, sitting well in 4th place. Imagine the playoffs are today, guess what? They're playing the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Penguins who just acquired Gary Roberts and George Laraque.

I don't know how Muckler screwed this up, especially in light of what the Pens gave up to get Roberts: a prospect named Noah Welch who was drafted in 2001.

Do you think Pittsburgh has "mortaged" their future? I don't. And considering the Sens are still one the youngest teams in the league, very much like the Penguins in some respects, I have to wonder how many more draft picks Muckler thinks he needs to hold onto. Does he think sending a 1st round pick this year will somehow make the Sens hit rock botton? Was there no way Muckler could have topped this trade? To me, it seems the Pittsburgh gave up very little to get a heck of a lot.

Guess what Mucks? Now that you felt you cannot "add without subtracting", you've put the Senators in the worst position possible: instead of Roberts who WANTED to play alongside the likes of Alfredsson and Heatley, now he's suiting up with Sydney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. Does this increase or decrease your chances of a Stanley Cup run this year?

Your answer is Oleg Saprykin. He's a 26 year-old kid, with no leadership abilities, no veteran experience, and managed only 6 points in 25 or so games with Calgary during the cup run just before the lockout. Does this kid sound like a game-breaker to you? Not likely.

Hey, I think some teams have gone too far, like I wrote yesterday that Tkachuk trade was ridiculous. Some risks though, DO get rewarded. Risks are what allow for success. If you're not willing to roll the dice a little, how succesful can you be?

I think Muckler has blown it again, and if the Sens have an early exit again this year, I beg and PLEAD with Eugene Melnyk to get the ball rolling and fire this guy. I hear Bryan Murray used to be a GM.

Other thoughts: To all you Oiler fans out there, I feel bad for you. I cannot believe management could not find a way to re-sign Ryan Smyth. And that sends a message, in my view, that they have no hope of the Oilers making the post-season. The ultimate screw-job for Oiler fans.