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Dominic Hasek To Senators?

It's no secret that Hasek wants to leave Detroit, and Ottawa is the place that most of the rumours have him going on July 1st when he becomes a free agent.
As comforting as it would be to have one of the greats in net for the Sens, Hasek's in the twilight of his career, currently recovering from surgery and can't have more than one or two years left in him. If there's no season next year, Hasek may never get a chance to play for whoever signs him.
Is signing Hasek a good idea?

no... only because I hate the Senators.

For the Senators though, I don't see what they have to lose. I can't see Hasek having become much worse after his surgery etc.

Don't the Sens have Lalime already though? And isn't Lalime already awesome? Or am I just out of the loop?

you're not out of the loop

lalime rocks... i don't know what crack the sens are smoking picking up an extrelely aging goalie in hasek... oh well, maybe if they deal lalime the canucks can pick him up and finally have a good goalie

After the seventh game in the first round against the Leafs, I don't think Lalime has too many fans left here in Ottawa. So, it may not be a matter of 'if' Lalime gets traded, but 'when'. And 'when' he does get traded, the Sens are going to need a good goalie to replace him.

Is Hasek that goalie? It's hard to say. He's had a good career up to this point, and I wouldn't knock him just because he's old. I mean, look at Andreychuk. He's, what, 40, and he just lead his team to a Cup. As for the surgery, Hasek is looking to show that his abysmal season last year was due to his injury, so the Sens could be getting a goalie eager to prove himself.

It's fun cheering for the home town team, but as long as my team keeps Theordore, I'll be happy.

Perhaps Dominik can teach Patrick how to win in the playoffs. Seems to be a pretty expensive tutor, though.

I could see a team like the Canucks benefiting from Dom's presence. He's a proven winner and, like Ottawa, could teach the younger goalies something about winning in the playoffs.

I don't know about that. If Hasek plays, he's going to want to be the starting goaltender, not some goaltender coach, which means Lalime will be learning all his lessons from the bench (which I guess in itself wouldn't be a bad thing).

http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/news/story?id=1830313

Quote:

RALEIGH, N.C. -- The Ottawa Senators traded goaltender Patrick Lalime on Sunday to the St. Louis Blues for a conditional fourth-round draft pick in 2005.

Senators GM John Muckler wouldn't address rumors the team has an agreement with goaltender Dominik Hasek. Instead, he noted the mounting pressure on Lalime, who was in goal for each of the Senators' Game 7 playoff losses the last two seasons. However, the move leaves the Senators without a proven No. 1 NHL goaltender.

The deal is believed to be contingent on St. Louis' signing Lalime. The veteran netminder is a restricted free agent and must be qualified before the July 1 deadline for a team to retain his rights.

If the Senators do sign Hasek it will be after July 1, when his contract with the Detroit Red Wings expires and he becomes an unrestricted free agent. If they sign him before that date, the Senators would be required to compensate the Red Wings.

Hasek said earlier this month that he'd like to return to the NHL and pointed to Ottawa as a place he'd like to play. Hasek, a six-time winner of the Vezina Trophy as the NHL's top goalie, played for Muckler when the two were with the Buffalo Sabres in the mid-1990s.

Having retired for a season after backstopping the Detroit Red Wings to the 2002 Stanley Cup, Hasek returned to Hockeytown last season but saw limited action because of a groin injury.

"We owe this to Patrick," Muckler said. "There would have been a lot of pressure on him had we brought him back. A lot of that load should not be on his shoulders."

This spring, Lalime surrendered two soft goals against Ottawa's provincial rival, the Toronto Maple Leafs, in a 4-1 loss in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals. It was the the fourth time the Senators lost to the Leafs in four playoff meetings, and the second time they lost to them in a seven-game series, despite being heavily favored. Last year, Lalime was in net when the Senators lost Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals at home, 3-2, to the New Jersey Devils. The Devils won the Stanley Cup in seven games over the Anaheim Mighty Ducks.

Lalime was 25-23-7 in 57 games last season, with a goals-against average of 2.29. He compiled a 146-110-30 record during his five seasons in Ottawa.

Muckler insisted he wasn't placing blame for Ottawa's failures on Lalime. Instead, he said, throwing the goalie back into such a pressure-packed situation would have been unfair to him as well as the team.

"I think this is the best thing that could happen for both parties," Muckler said. "Patrick will be in a situation where he can make a mistake now and not be criticized for it."

The trade is the latest move in a major shakeup of the Senators. Muckler fired veteran head coach Jacques Martin in April, only two days after losing to the Leafs, and replaced him with Ducks GM Bryan Murray. On Saturday, they traded center Radek Bonk to the Los Angeles Kings for a third-round pick in this year's draft. The Kings then traded him and goaltender Christobal Huet to one of Ottawa's division rivals, the Montreal Canadiens, for goalie Mathieu Garon and the Canadiens' third-round pick.

"In the two years I've been here, we've been a contender but we didn't get the deal done," Muckler said. "We felt we had to try and change things. We've made some major changes no question.

"The market is not an easy place to make deals right now," Muckler added. "I thought we did pretty well by moving two contracts we couldn't afford to keep. These were guys we probably wouldn't have qualified and after July 1 we wouldn't have got anything."

Well I'll be damned. I haven't been paying attention to hockey news for the past few days, but still, I'm almost surprised that Muckler finally had the balls to get rid of Lalime and Radek Bonk. I wonder if he's going to do the same with Wade Redden?

I also really like what happened to Radek Bonk from the Senators. He got traded to LA, who promptly sent him to Montreal. It's almost as if the conversation went something like:

Ottawa: "We don't want him. You have him."
LA: "Nuts to that. You take him."
Ottawa: "You can't give him back. We just gave him to you."
LA: "Well then...you take him."
Montreal: "Sacre Blue!"

So much for the Lalime learning from Hasek. Lalime with the Blues...hmmmmm. I don't really see him doing anything there with a lesser team. Of course, I said the same thing about Khabibulin when the 'Yotes sent him to Tampa.

I'm not sure the Bonk deal was the best case scenario for the Sens with him heading to the Habs. That deal could really come back to bite the Sens in the ass.

Muckler is really gonna be screwed if Hasek doesn't sign now. WE shall see.

A 4th round pick? That seems really low for a starting goaltender of Lalime's calibre. He's not in the top tier, but he is on that second level.

O_O

Well, good for the blues I guess. They picked up Marek Schwarz in the draft and now Lalime, that's some good depth.

I think thats a HUUUUUGE gamble for the Senators though, because despite how good Hasek can be, he's a big question mark.

Eh, I dont really care. Good for the Rangers if the Sens do bad, and I dont like Muckler anyway. Worst fucking coach ever.

Maybe Martin Prusek will lead the Sens to the promised land.

They better sign someone, and Hasek isn't the best choice he brings problems, just ask Ted Nolan.

I didn't think any team would really really wanted him, but after the trade of Lalime, that clears the way for the Sens to sign him. He's older, wiser, but I think his talent is waning a lot.

I don't think this was the right decision for the Sens either.
Oh well.. we'll see how it goes.

I'm kinda mad now though.. Lalime in the Western Conference...grr...

Quote:

Originally posted by highthief
A 4th round pick? That seems really low for a starting goaltender of Lalime's calibre. He's not in the top tier, but he is on that second level.

Sort of like a kick in the teeth.

I think Lalime's contract was up anyway. The Sens weren't going to re-sign him, so they wanted to get something for him. It was the same idea with Bonk. The main idea was to free up some cash for Hasek.

Hasek isn't going to take them to the promised land, they should trade for some heart that will help.

Quote:

Originally posted by silent_jay
Hasek isn't going to take them to the promised land, they should trade for some heart that will help.

I agree. That's exactly what's holding the Sens back. They have too many finess players, and not enough grit. Finesse will get you through the regular season, but grit will get you through the Playoffs (I toss the Calgary Flames on the table as proof of that).

Quote:

Ottawa signs 39-year-old goaltender Hasek

July 6, 2004
OTTAWA (AP) -- Dominik Hasek signed with the Ottawa Senators, who hope the 39-year-old goaltender can return to the form that made him one of the NHL's greats.

The Senators announced the signing Tuesday, ending weeks of speculation. They received permission from Detroit to speak with Hasek even before the Czech star became an unrestricted free agent last Thursday.

``Ottawa was my first choice and I was very excited when my agent called back and said they were very interested in me,'' Hasek said at a news conference. ``And today I'm here.''

The contract is for one year with an option for a second and will pay Hasek a base salary of $2 million with a bonus of $4 million if the Senators win the Stanley Cup, according to The Canadian Press.

``I wanted to play for a team that I believe can win the Cup,'' Hasek said. ``And I believe that with my help, all together, we can do it.''

It's no surprise that Hasek liked the situation in Ottawa, given the Senators' talented roster and his relationship with general manager John Muckler, who was the GM for five seasons in Buffalo when Hasek was at the peak of his career.

The Senators welcomed Hasek by having Jason Spezza give up his No. 39 to the goalie. Spezza will now wear No. 19.

It became clear the Senators were very interested in Hasek when they traded goalie Patrick Lalime to the St. Louis Blues during the NHL entry draft on June 27.

Hasek is a two-time league MVP and won six Vezina Trophies, given to the league's best goaltender, in nine years with the Sabres. He also led the Czech Republic to the gold medal in the 1998 Nagano Olympics.

He joined the Red Wings in July 2001, winning his first Stanley Cup 11 months later and then retiring.

He ended his one year-retirement last season, but he played in just 14 games -- going 8-3-2 with a 2.21 goals against average and a .907 save percentage -- with Detroit before a chronic groin injury ended his year. He had groin surgery this spring to fix the problem.

``It was disappointing last year but at the same time, I know I can still play,'' Hasek said. ``I know I'll be coming back and be in better shape than I was last year.''

The Red Wings told Hasek they weren't interested in having him back, deciding to stick with Curtis Joseph and Manny Legace.

Meanwhile, Muckler needed to make a change in goal after Lalime played poorly in Ottawa's first-round playoff loss to rival Toronto this spring.

Muckler met with Hasek over a month ago to discuss the possibility of the goalie signing with Ottawa.

``The excitement on his face, it convinced me that this was the right way to go,'' Muckler said.

So, it's official now. I really, really hope this turns out well. It's interesting that he'd get a $4 million bonus on top of his $2 million salary if the Sens win the Stanley Cup. That's a huge incentive.

No cup for the Sens this year, why oh why sign Hasek? The man is a troublemaker.

I don't quite see signing Hasek as necessarily a bad thing. The price is cheap for what Hasek has commanded in the past (although, it's still more than they would have paid had they resigned Lalime), and if something does happen to Hasek this year, he'd make a great goaltender coach for Prusek, who plays in a similar style as Hasek, and is a Czech too.

The only downside would be if he turns prima dona like he did in Buffalo, and to a lesser extent in Detroit. But, if he manages to bring the Cup home to a Canadian team, I'm sure that will go a long way to making people forget what he can be like.

[edit:] I say cheap, but that only takes into consideration his base salary of $2 million. Of course, if he can prove himself, then he gets all sorts of bonuses, but that's better than paying everything up front, and ending up with nothing.

I think Hasek has something to prove because of the mess he created last year with Cutis Joseph and then getting injured. I saw the announcement today on TV and he looks better than he has in years. If he stays healthy, he could really help the Sens. I've alway liked the Senators and hope they do well with him.

Bottom line for me though is that they negotiate a new collective bargining agreement and the season stays alive.

In case anyone is interested in the semantics of Hasek's contract with the Senators

=================

- 2004-05: $2-million (all terms US) base salary. Bonuses: First-round: $250,000 per win to a maximum of $500,000. Second-round: $250,000 per win to a maximum of $500,000. Third round: $250,000 per win to a maximum of $500,000. Stanley Cup final: $1 million per win to a maximum of $2 million. Total: $5.5 million if Ottawa wins the Stanley Cup.

- 2005-06 (club option): $2 million if there's no season and the option is picked up. $3 million if there is a season. He will also have any bonus money earned in 2004-05 added to his base salary in 2005-06. His salary will not exceed $6.1 million in the second year.