Reports are circulating that the Ottawa Senators are in hot pursuit of disgruntled Florida defenceman Jay Bouwmeester. However, as history has shown, simply putting together the best package is not enough for Jacques Martin.
In his tireless quest to find the Sens their elusive PMD (puck-moving defenceman), Brian Murray has apparently set his sights on J-Bo, who refuses to sign a contract extension but really just desperately wants out of the hockey purgatory that is Florida.
The package reportedly being offered includes perennial Martin favourite Antoine Vermette, either swingman Christoph Schubert or young defenceman Brian Lee, and possibly the first round pick acquired from the Lightning in the Meszaros deal. (The pick actually belongs to San Jose.)
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But as we have seen in the past, offering up fair compensation in a trade is not good enough to consummate a deal between Ottawa and Florida.
No, it seems that Jacques Martin has an ugly grudge against his old team—the team that gave him his big break in the NHL, the team that stuck with him long after many other organizations would have cut him loose over repeated playoff failures, and the team that helped him win a Jack Adams trophy.
Apparently Martin thinks that he deserved more than nine seasons, six first round playoff losses, and four playoff humiliations at the hands of the Leafs. He feels he was somehow shortchanged.
Over the years the trade rumours between Ottawa and Florida have been frequent. Luongo, Jokinen, Nieuwendyk, and of course Roberts have all at one point been on the radar, but never has a trade been consummated.
Back during the Luongo sweepstakes, it was confirmed that Ottawa GM John Muckler offered up Martin Havlat, Ray Emery, and Chris Phillips in a package, far superior to the bundle accepted from Vancouver of Todd Bertuzzi, Bryan Allen, and Alex Auld, of whom only Allen still remains.
While Martin was not GM at the time, clearly his power play to take over the position had already begun, and his approval was required, as Mike Keenan would resign as GM only three months after completing the deal.
So the question Florida fans have to ask themselves, if there are enough of them out there to care, is this: Is the Panthers GM doing what is best for his team or pursuing his own selfish interests?
At what point does Martin's grudge over his justifiable dismissal from the Sens become a hindrance to his current job? Or has it already?
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about 1 month ago
Martin would be smart to accept a deal for J.Bo wether its from Ottawa or any other team. Bouwmeester is not comming back to Florida. Vermette + Lee is already enough for me. J.Bo hasn't shown dominance so far in his career. Granted he plays for a bad team but still...i don't understand te infatuation over him.
about 1 month ago
Well he's currently 10th in defense scoring and has looked very steady on a not so steady team.
As bad as the Sens look lately they have a lot more upside that Florida, I could see J-Bo fitting in well here.
about 1 month ago
Reports are also circulating that the Leafs were trying to get him moments after dealing for Stempniak. Martin is an idiot. He always hangs on for too much, and therefore his trades end up getting rushed.
He'll both the J-bo deal too.
about 1 month ago
Ya I think he's a horrible GM.
He always tries to play one team off against another to drive up the price but in the end they all get frustrated and walk away leaving him to go with whatever is left (see: the Roberts trade to Pittsburgh a few years back)
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