Re: Chara and Peter Chiarelli:
"It was Melnyk, Senators president Roy Mlakar and Muckler who insisted that if Chiarelli was going to go to Boston, he shouldn't be allowed to participate in the free-agent period because he was well aware of Ottawa's plans.
However, when Chiarelli interviewed for the Bruins' job in May, he presented Boston with a detailed proposal, which included a list of the players he wanted to bring back, the free agents he wanted to chase and what his plan would be going into September."
In short, Chiarelli wasn't allowed anywhere near free-agency talks, nor was he allowed to express his opinion on Ottawa players to any mediator.
But you can't tell me that interview couldn't have provided enough time to tell the Boston brass what it would take to get Chara in his "detailed proposal" -- that money was a sticking point, but also that Z likely had sore feelings from the way the sign and trade was handled with fellow Slovak, Marian Hossa (Chara himself requested a no-trade clause in his new deal). He knew what would be necessary to placate and convince the big man that Boston would be an ideal fit. Give Boston the info before the hire, and let them do the legwork that Chiarelli couldn't, due to a conflict of interest.
What a way to make a first impression, right?
Posts
It stinks for Ottawa fans, but what did the Senators think would happen? It was they who insisted on the bizarre terms of Chiarelli's termination. My guess is Melnyk was the office-Nazi behind this crackpot have-your-cake-and-eat-it-too scheme, but we'll never know.
If Chiarelli was so important to the Senators, they should have either refused to allow him to interview with Boston, or cut him loose right after the hire. Everybody knew this deal was playing with fire.
RC, your suggestion to label Chara a turncoat is absurd. He took a higher contract in Boston? Ooh, the outrage. It happens every day. Chara accepted 25% more money (Ottawa reportedly offered Chara $6 million) to play in a comparable organization on the East coast, and is an Original-6 franchise to boot. Don't tell me you'd walk away from the same situation, because you wouldn't. People walk away for raises a lot less astronomical all the time. The window of opportunity for some players to make the big bucks can be small, so they have to take it while they can. Who knows, Chara might pull a Kevin Hatcher and be washed up by the end of his contract.
Also, loyalty goes both ways. The moment Chara had a bad playoff against Buffalo, the fans turned on him. Just like they always do. Just ask Lalime, Alfredsson, and a lineup of other guys who face the boo-birds the SECOND they don't produce.
The only thing bush about all this is your ridiculous idea to pelt Chara, who played some incredible hockey in Ottawa, with pennies when he comes to Ottawa or print some kind of gimmicky Monopoly money. Oh yeah, that's class.
I don't care what Stern would do. After seeing the refereeing fiasco of the NBA playoffs, I have a lot less respect for him.
-A
Wardo
2:29 p.m.
A, just because I didn't acknowledge it doesn't mean that I don't agree with you -- the Sens messed this whole Chiarelli-Boston affair up, big time. But it's important to remember that the NHL didn't stop it from going down -- they only expressed displeasure. Bettman should have wielded what little power he has, and stopped this exchange dead in its tracks, loophole or not. And as for these rules that Chiarelli was supposed to follow, who was monitoring that? No conversations with the new employers? Who's making sure that he didn't talk to them all this time, or does fall under the category of the honour code, preceeded by a pinkie swear?
The Universal Cynic
3:34 p.m.
E - you're right, the NHL did nothing.
It was bizarre all-around, and looks bad from all angles. Well, except Boston. Hockey fans in Beantown must be pretty happy today.
As for the honour code - why do UFA's always sign so quickly right after the deadline passes? There has to be behind-the-scenes talking going on - think most teams violate the pinkie-swear stuff to some degree.
A
Wardo
4:03 p.m.
From Steve Simmons' article today:
"If I'm John Muckler, I'd offer $750,000 US to see if Tie Domi wants to play one final year with Ottawa and try to win a Stanley Cup."
...and that's why Simmons is not a GM.
Wardo
4:14 p.m.
Regardless of whether you were being facetious RC, I wouldn't be questioning Chara's intelligence. He speaks five languages, and is an articulate and well-educated person.
The Universal Cynic
6:55 p.m.
I think you are the best writer ever!
I wish I was half the writer you were.
Sources say you are a great writer.
I have to go now, Pronger wants a piece of my ass and not in a Shawsank way beeeeaaaatch!!!
Love Boo Boo
Anonymous
2:58 a.m.
I was just a kid during the Oilers' dynasty, and my mother, being a wise woman, decided to raise a bandwagon jumper as opposed to a brainwashed lunatic that HNIC likes to breed with their first game of the doubleheader. So that's how I first became an Oilers fan. My friend and I used to play hockey in his basement with those little white plastic souvenir sticks. He was always Mike Vernon, and I was always Grant Fuhr (the first, and only time I've impersonated a black man). To be fair, my mother loved any team that Gretzky played for -- she had a chance run-in with him when he was a child, and described him as being quite the little snot-nosed bastard...but she loved him anyway. She utterly despised the Leafs, so that's where I get it from.
Then, during the early '90's, Thunder Bay switched from being a Duluth, MN television affiliate, to Detroit feed. I went from UMD Bulldogs hockey to learning about Devil's Night. I also got an excess amount of Red Wings hockey, and they became my team of choice. This was during the Bob Probert, Tim Cheveldae, Dino Ciccarelli et al period when they were on the cusp, but couldn't quite pull it off. Needless to say, it gave me a good base preparation for Ottawa's current foibles...until 1997, of course.
The Universal Cynic
6:45 a.m.