[QUOTE=Paul4587;46453643]Hardly. There was a quote saying nobody was untouchable and that he would trade a core piece for other core pieces but other than that, nothing. Murray's communication skills with the fans leave a lot to be desired.[/QUOTE]
Murray's grabbing at straws to keep himself afloat. He knows BB has the team's attention, and that he was lucky that Toronto hired RC to aleviate the payroll burden. BM should be fired....ASAP!
Quite possibly the funniest thing I have ever read anywhere
Well that's my personal opinion! Give BB a good team and some assets to work and he will make it a contender - he is great at that and I give him credit for it. For every situation else I'd prefer BM. Just look at Toronto and what BB is doing there.
1. The Kessel trade, well Burke needed a cornerstone player. Kessel is a 1st line winger but not a cornerstone. He put his money on the wrong guy here. Moreover, he helped the Bruins to build for a dynasty.
2. The Phaneuf trade, well Dion was finished at the Flames but White has been the best player of this trade and has outplayed Dion over the time. Aulie was a major part of the trade - he is gone now;
3. Contracts & FA: well, Grabo is a superb 2nd line center but he gets what you pay for a 1st liner. He brought in Lombardi (3,5m) and Connolly (4,75)
4. Drafting: well I've never been a fan of BB pics (Bobby aside) - Gardiner turned out quite well too. But I have to admit, everything that has been in his charge (1st, maybe 2nd rounder) are more or less mediocre overall.
Finally I'd like to emphasize that Burke was the right man at the right time at the right place here in Anaheim. For the postSC time, like I said, I'm glad he is gone. BM has done a fine job, especially in the scouting section he improved the organization. At FA he could do better.
Murray has made the playoffs twice in four seasons after inheriting a team with multiple stars and at least 3 future HOFers. Burke inherited a pile of crap in Toronto and has slowly turned things around to the point where they now have a very promising future at the very least.
In reply to your points
1. Yep, the Kessel trade is bad I have always admitted as such. Right now they have the best player in the deal but that's all they can take from it.
2. They gave up a bunch of overpaid players for at the very least, a good number 2 defenseman. I don't like Phaneuf but he is a much better player than Ian White. Aulie was also moved for a recent first rounder in Carter Ashton.
3. Grabo is overpaid but Burke had no choice as he is the Leafs best centre and somebody would have offered him $6M+ in free agency.
4. He had a reasonable 2005 draft and a pretty good 2008 draft. I think we all know the 06 & 07 drafts suck, although Mitera was progressing well until he tore his ACL. I think too much emphasis is put on the GMs when the scouts are the ones that do most of the work. After bringing in Madden the Ducks drafting looks a lot more promising than it did. Burke, btw was the one who was in charge when we brought in Madden just after the 2008 draft.
And I don't know if Murray having unlimited budget would be a good thing. We haven't signed any big name free agents so I can't see his track record on overpaying guys but of the handful of signings he's made here, he's overpaid Cogliano and Eminger. Who knows if he would be good or bad with money if ownership was letting him go out and pursue the top free agents.
Burke assembled soft team in Toronto, with basically unlimited budget mind you, and also waived Colton Orr (later cried how leaugue doesn't need enforcers any more, puh-lease)... I have zero illusions he would do something better in Ducks.
Like it was said by couple of posters, if there is a change in management, fresh faces please.
The team is to soft and will never reach championship level hockey again as long as Bob Murray keeps constructing soft hockey teams.
Since he's taken over, we've seen an exodus of big bodied, tough players, and an influx of small "skill" players with almost no skill at ALL!
Bob Murray's solution to everything, is trade for cast off former first round picks.
A third line that once featured the games best shutdown line, has become a turnstile for middling players.
On defense we went from having a big tough defense mixed with skill, to a small defense with very little sandpaper, and the toughest one, Brookbank, is small for a "tough" player.
It's time to stop the experiment, go back to what worked, 2 scoring lines, a checking line, and a tough 4th line. The Bruins ripped us off and everyone thinks they are the model franchise, the Ducks need to get back to what made them successful, and NOT the Detroit way
The team is to soft and will never reach championship level hockey again as long as Bob Murray keeps constructing soft hockey teams.
Since he's taken over, we've seen an exodus of big bodied, tough players, and an influx of small "skill" players with almost no skill at ALL!
Bob Murray's solution to everything, is trade for cast off former first round picks.
On defense we went from having a big tough defense mixed with skill, to a small defense with very little sandpaper, and the toughest one, Brookbank, is small for a "tough" player.
It's time to stop the experiment, go back to what worked, 2 scoring lines, a checking line, and a tough 4th line. The Bruins ripped us off and everyone thinks they are the model franchise, the Ducks need to get back to what made them successful, and NOT the Detroit way
Well much of the physical presence the championship team had came from Pahlsson, Moen and PRONGER!
I mean potentially our team is not soft, they play soft. I mean Getzlaf has been much more physical back then. I think the biggest miss is the 3rd line we had. On defense I think the difference is simply Pronger and honestly, I doubt the Ducks will ever have such a presence again as long as they are allowed to spend up to the Cap again.
Overall I think Bob recongized that he made a mistake. Lets see what will happen this offeseason. The drafting has gone in the right directon with skill and grit.
Btw. we are all thrilled with Folwer, Vatanen and Schultz but none of them is gritty. So should we have passed on them?
Till our GM doesnt figure out what exactly he wants from this team, put a strict action plan to the table and really DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT in off-season, we will suck - simple as that.
Sure, the team could use some more size and grit. But I hate it when people suggest that the likes Bodie, Jacques or bringing in scraps from other teams will solve the problem. Pahlsson, Rob, Moen, Kunitz, Pronger... They could actually play hockey too.
Ever since the Ducks traded McDonald and Kunitz, we've been at least a top six forward short. At this point, there's even two holes in the top six. Until the Samuelis opens their wallet, or until our prospects emerges (or someone all of a sudden blooms out late like McDonald and Kunitz did in 05/06), this team is always gonna have holes on paper to begin the season.
Sure, the team could use some more size and grit. But I hate it when people suggest that the likes Bodie, Jacques or bringing in scraps from other teams will solve the problem. Pahlsson, Rob, Moen, Kunitz, Pronger... They could actually play hockey too.
I agree. I'm pro fighting and want to see a tough, physical team out there but they have to be able to play hockey. I want to see guys like Moen, Torres, Laperriere (pre career ending injury of course), Neil, Brouwer, Thornton etc populating our 3rd and 4th lines, not guys like Parros, Bodie or Jacques who are tough but can't play or guys like Cogliano, Hagman and Blake who bring skill but do nothing to wear down opposing defensemen and will never stick up for their teammates.
This team is one of the softest in the league and I want something to be done about it. Look at the way Philly responded to a clean hit on Briere against Pittsburgh yesterday and compare it to how we responded to Robidias boarding Perry.
I feel like this most likely fits into this thread, so I'll post it here.
First of all: I can't understand all that hate towards Getzlaf. Yes, he has had a horrible year, but so did virtually all the other players sans Sbisa and Teemu. It doesn't break his career, nor does it minimizes (or simply lower) his trade value. He is our captain, and like it or not, he deserves it.
One thing that came across my mind, though, bugged me quite a bit. Do you remember how BB (Brian Burke this time) back in the days said publically, that Getzlaf will be the Ducks' next captain once Scotty retires?
Well, Scotty and Teemu both missed the bigger part of the 2007-08 campaign because they were mulling about where or not to retire. This probably might have given Getzlaf the idea that "early season games are not that important". No matter if this was done consciously or not, him as well as Perry and -to an extent- Frankie seem to have grown acustom to that idea, and this is in part responsible for the Ducks' horrible starts into the season in recent years.
To go on with my rant about what is wrong with this franchise, let's turn to that bald man we call our GM.
Unfortunately, I do have this feeling that BM is doing something incredibly stupid with Bobby. IMHO, it's just about time to fire that dumb*, but somehow our owners went AWOL a few years ago already.
Which brings me to another point: I really do miss BB. He would've had the balls to trade Lubo, Lydman, Koivu, Teemu et al. at the deadline and brought in some young, hungry players who already earned themselves a roster spot in the NHL. (And a few months after that, other GMs would have moaned about how BB "fleeced them" and made "unfair deals" yet again.)
Let's face it: we were blessed to have a GM who had the balls and enthusiasm to win for a few years, and it worked out well. But since his departure, we've been stuck with a stubborn, media-unfriendly GM who seems to be trusting a wheel of fortune in almost all of his judgements and who is not willing to accept that HE HIMSELF sunk this ship - and years ago.
We all know how the trade market works: you try to find a solution that appears to be a win-win situation for both teams while you actually pursue a hit-and-run in the trade. In other words: you trade your assets (players, picks, prospects) when their market value is peaking (as would've been the aforementioned players' values just at the deadline after our incredible run) and get back assets, whose values are low right now.
No mistakes, we couldn't have gotten Rick Nash in return. But for Christ's sake, we could have gotten multiple 1st and 2nd round picks in return back then, or some all-but-ready prospects, or some young guns who just weren't fitting into their systems at all or...
I call out BM for sitting on his thumbs ever since he took over. His only noticable trades were Whitney <-> Lubo, which eventually worked out well for both teams, and Lupul+Gardiner <-> Beauchemin. And, looking back, we could've had all three of the involved players on our roster this whole season if BM had actually offered Frankie a contract when it expired back in 2008. So, essentially, BM has done zilch for the franchise so far and has been quiet at best. The only "major" deals he made where okay, but nothing spectacular. His only FA acquisitions were pretty much the same.
A team that features RPG, a first-ballot HOFer like Teemu, Fowler, Lubo, Beauch, Sbisa and Hiller should NEVER have gotten in the situation we are in right now. BM has a great core to work with, and we had one of the best prospect pools in the league prior to this season.
His only actions should have been implementing some of the youth into our lineup and getting GOOD players for our roster depth. Instead, he went with DAMAGED GOODS for our bottom six yet again and then BM publically threatens to trade away one of the most electrifying players in the league just because he feels like "he has to do something".
This man is not only no good GM. He's barely a GM at all. How often do you hear him speaking to the media? Addressing the Ducks' woes and making the right assumptions and building a strategy from there? Going out and making bold moves to improve the franchise without giving up some of the pieces we already have, for example via free agency?
Exactly, never.
And this is why the Ducks are in the position we are in right now. Get rid of this clown and hire someone who is actually willing to spend top dollars on clutch players.
Burke is a more audacious GM than most. But he's also exceptional at marketing himself as a genius, and it's pretty easy to fall prey to that.
I don't have much confidence in Murray as a real problem-solver, but he's been handcuffed by both ownership AND on-ice personnel in a way Burke never was.
I feel like this most likely fits into this thread, so I'll post it here.
I think this is the place for it, given that the Getzlaf notion is the far smallest part of it. On second thought though, the other place wasn't a bad fit, either - I'll put your quote on that into that topic.
Quote:
Originally Posted by GermanRocket7
Unfortunately, I do have this feeling that BM is doing something incredibly stupid with Bobby.
He could already have. I think the window for that has closed. Don't see it coming up unless it's a great offer or the contract situations with Getzlaf and Perry are cleared.
Quote:
Originally Posted by GermanRocket7
Which brings me to another point: I really do miss BB. He would've had the balls to trade Lubo, Lydman, Koivu, Teemu et al. at the deadline and brought in some young, hungry players who already earned themselves a roster spot in the NHL.
There's balls in that, but that's about it. The team played itself into contention for the playoffs and had earned its chance. Let's also look at what Burke has done in a not entirely different situation in Toronto this deadline, which isn't really supporting the idea that he would have been any more likely to do anything, other than maybe get a guy for a pick.
Quote:
Originally Posted by GermanRocket7
Let's face it: we were blessed to have a GM who had the balls and enthusiasm to win for a few years, and it worked out well. But since his departure, we've been stuck with a stubborn, media-unfriendly GM who seems to be trusting a wheel of fortune in almost all of his judgements and who is not willing to accept that HE HIMSELF sunk this ship - and years ago.
He didn't. He cleaned up a lot of the mess Burke had left. Burke did good, he helped win the cup so it was well worth it, but let's not buy into the illusion that we could just have kept being successful with Burke. That's ignoring a lot of the situation.
Quote:
Originally Posted by GermanRocket7
No mistakes, we couldn't have gotten Rick Nash in return. But for Christ's sake, we could have gotten multiple 1st and 2nd round picks in return back then, or some all-but-ready prospects, or some young guns who just weren't fitting into their systems at all or...
Who knows what we could have gotten. The fact remains that we don't play the game to be near the playoffs and then sell that chance for a few picks and prospects. You can be sure as hell that Burke's the last guy that would have gone for that in our situation at the edaline. The team played good enough to get itself into contention for the playoffs. Dismantling the team after the run would have been a giant slap in their faces and sent a terrible message.
Quote:
Originally Posted by GermanRocket7
I call out BM for sitting on his thumbs ever since he took over.
Which isn't really true when you look at the workload in terms of trades for most GMs over that timeframe.
Quote:
Originally Posted by GermanRocket7
His only noticable trades were Whitney <-> Lubo, which eventually worked out well for both teams, and Lupul+Gardiner <-> Beauchemin. And, looking back, we could've had all three of the involved players on our roster this whole season if BM had actually offered Frankie a contract when it expired back in 2008.
Don't quite see how Whitney has worked out well for Edmonton, seeing how they are picking 1st overall, yet again. The Beauchemin situation has been discussed to death. We weren't really in a great situation to re-sign him back then. With hindsight, sure, it would have been better, but that a lot of factors played into that. He had lost his spot to Wisniewski, and the unforeseeable departure of the latter played a role in how we ended up needing and being able to afford Beauchemin again in the end. After all, sure, it's still something that doesn't look great on him.
Quote:
Originally Posted by GermanRocket7
So, essentially, BM has done zilch for the franchise so far and has been quiet at best.
He started off with a bottom-5 prospect pool in the league and turned it into a safe top-10 one, to say the least (which you lateron stated yourself). You have to realize when you are in a position to sell assets for short term additions, and when you are not. When Burke was here, we were. When Murray started, we were a long way away from that. Now we are actually finally coming close to that again.
Quote:
Originally Posted by GermanRocket7
His only FA acquisitions were pretty much the same.
Which is what one should expect from a budget team in a non-hockey market.
Quote:
Originally Posted by GermanRocket7
His only actions should have been implementing some of the youth into our lineup and getting GOOD players for our roster depth. Instead, he went with DAMAGED GOODS for our bottom six yet again and then BM publically threatens to trade away one of the most electrifying players in the league just because he feels like "he has to do something".
You don't feel he had to so something the way the team and said player was playing? Change a bottom-sixer and just rake in the great rewards of such a move?
Quote:
Originally Posted by GermanRocket7
How often do you hear him speaking to the media?
He isn't the GM in Toronto. He speaks to the media when the media wants to speak to him, which isn't very often. Haven't heard complaints from the journalists around the Ducks about a lack of Murray's availabilty.
Quote:
Originally Posted by GermanRocket7
Going out and making bold moves to improve the franchise without giving up some of the pieces we already have, for example via free agency? (...)
And this is why the Ducks are in the position we are in right now. Get rid of this clown and hire someone who is actually willing to spend top dollars on clutch players.
Ah, now I see your issue. You don't want a new GM, you want a new owner. Murray doesn't have the money to spend. That money he gets is mainly tied up in some of the players mentioned before, especially the ones that you (and most others, including myself) do not want to trade.
There are some people here who owe BB an apology for misrepresenting him IMO.
Quote:
CBCSports.ca: Some players and coaches have responded to all this fuss by simply stating that this is what playoff hockey is? Do you agree or it is a disturbing trend?
Boudreau: I don’t think of it as a disturbing trend, I think of it as hockey. To me in sport, is this not want the fans want? It’s exciting, it is so competitive. You want as a team, as an athlete of where you grew up to be competitive. It’s a rough sport. Twenty-five years ago, people would be saying boo about this but everyone is so politically correct now that everybody is worried about everything. I think it’s like [Flyers coach] Peter Laviolette said the other day. The two best players in the world [Pittsburgh’s Sidney Crosby and Philadelphia’s Claude Giroux] are going at it. That shows how competitive it is. When [Calgary captain] Jerome Iginla fought [Tampa Bay’s] Vincent Lacavalier [in the 2004 Stanley Cup Final] it went on for years on how great that was because you had the two best players. Now all of the sudden you sit and think, ‘oh, it is wrong?’ It’s not wrong. It’s what you want. You want everybody on your team to be competitive.
When [Calgary captain] Jerome Iginla fought [Tampa Bay’s] Vincent Lacavalier [in the 2004 Stanley Cup Final] it went on for years on how great that was because you had the two best players.
agreed x 10.
Anyways, I REALLY hope that Henry Samueli is watching the Kings right now. Seeing that Lombardi made a lot of moves and they are 5 games away from going to the Stanley Cup and probably have the easiest route to the cup in recent NHL history. And I really hope this is pissing off Henry as a sports fan and a businessmen. The Kings are literally taking money out of Henry's pocket by attracting future free agents, fans, tv revenue and other details that all lead to more $ for the Kings.
I hope this means Henry will open up his check book for this season and make socal hockey a place to be both in OC and LA.
And the people you would be mad at are the scouts, not Murray.
Stupid political bull crap if you ask me... It's the "Russian factor" and some of his off ice comments... If Bob Murray wanted us to draft Grigorenko we could have had him... It's not like he doesn't consult with the scouts. We needed a center and the best player available was a center... Still dont see why we didn't take dumba at least
Apparently Bob Murray has hasn't signed more than one Free Agent to a One Way Contract in 18 months lol That guy being Fasth. 
