If you’ve ever wanted to know what it might feel like to be in a production of Waiting For Godot, or really any Beckett play, this is it. Waiting around, staring at familiar scenery, left only to talk to people you’re bored of talking to about stuff you’re bored of talking about. That’s where we are.
Why? I wish I knew. I mean I think I know, but I can’t prove it. We don’t have inside sources, or pretend to like that Hockey Insider guy who clearly has daddy issues. Anyway, just a theory, but I think Stan is waiting for the bottom to drop out of the market. It’s not the worst ploy. That is to say, a lot of teams didn’t get what they wanted out of free agency, with it being such a shallow pool this summer. The Wings, the Penguins, the Flyers, the Rangers, the Jackets, the Leafs, we can go on and on here, but over half the league is looking to do something.
So right now, trade proposals and other free agents are starting bidding wars between teams and such. We’re all waiting for a domino to fall. Once the first one goes, it could get to be a Royal Rumble. But somewhere, in the middle of that, the wave will break and crest back. And teams holding pieces that they’d like to move, or free agents who’d like a job, might start to panic that they won’t get anything. And then they might take less than they would have. They have to make some sort of deal. And I think that’s where Stan’s waiting to pounce. He’s got a lot of assets to move, but doesn’t want to have to load them all into one deal. He’d like to use them for a couple, I get the feeling.
Of course there’s a danger. You could be the one left without a chair. When the sellers panic, they might not have any wares you want. But I think we’ll be waiting a while longer. Just how it’s going to be.
-Other news. Marian Hossa, for some reason, will jaunt back from Slovakia to sit around and sign autographs at the Convention next week, and I assume get drunk with teammates after. The words are all positive out of Camp Dizzy Hossa, but why wouldn’t they be. Not like anyone’s going to fly over there to check themselves and the message is controlled by the Hawks. If training camp starts on time, and if Hossa doesn’t, watch the linguistic gymnastics that start then. That’s the first time we’ll know anything for sure, and even that will take some decoding.
-Prospects started scrimmaging today. Apparently Teravainen looked shifty. I’m headed down to take a look tomorrow. I’ll post my thoughts after.