Meszaros traded to Tampa

[Donovan]

The last couple days there was a rumour that Tampa had signed holdout 22 year old defenceman Andrej Meszaros to a 5 million + offer sheet in the same way Lowe did last year with Penner and Vanek. The rumour proved to be false but that instead Tampa had threatened to make an offer sheet if Ottawa didnt trade him to them. And the ploy worked for Tampa, Ottawa dealt him today for Kuba, Picard and a 1st round pick.

Meszaros signed a 6 year, 4 mil per year contract with Tampa. The kid is a great young player, scoring 39, 35 and 36 points his last 3 seasons in the league and at such a young age.

http://tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=247902&l...=topStory_main

[bad_philanthropy]

I say it's a good trade for Tampa, 22 year old with a bunch of experience already under his belt, should be a top pairing defenseman for ten years or so, plus the salary going back to Ottawa. Good pickup to help Tampa win now.

[Donovan]

I think its great for Tampa too, they only have up Kuba - a good 3-4th dman who albeit is underrated, a young but average prospect in Picard at D as well, and a 1st round pick from San Jose, so it will be 25th-30th in the 1st round. Great deal. Ottawa is crazy for not getting Meszaros locked up to the exact same deal, since they offered 3.5 and wouldnt go the extra 500k per yr.

[bad_philanthropy]

Quote: Originally Posted by Donovan

I think its great for Tampa too, they only have up Kuba - a good 3-4th dman who albeit is underrated, a young but average prospect in Picard at D as well, and a 1st round pick from San Jose, so it will be 25th-30th in the 1st round. Great deal. Ottawa is crazy for not getting Meszaros locked up to the exact same deal, since they offered 3.5 and wouldnt go the extra 500k per yr.

I agree, he was a solid piece to re-build the blueline around. Phillips is flaming out, and Volchenkov is bound to start breaking down one of these days, and neither of those two really have a dynamic extra dimension to their game. Like you said about Picard, he's an average prospect, he will never be more than a 5th or 6th defenseman.

Didn't the guy lead the league in plus/minus in his rookie year? Can move the puck, has a boatload of playoff experience. The more I think about it the more it seems like a steal for Tampa.

[SPTO]

If Tampa gets some good goaltending they're going to make some serious noise or at the very least be a damn entertaining team to watch on the ice.

[Donovan]

I think Tampa might be good enough to sneak into 7-8th in a weak east after the top 4-5 strong teams, but as Sportsman said its dependant on goaltending; Kolzig might have one more decent year in him but he's getting old. And Smith, although decent with Dallas he doesnt really strike me as a quality starter.

[slickdtc]

I was wondering what the situation with Meszaros was, I was wondering if the Flyers would take a run at him. Obviously, not so anymore. Good pickup by Tampa Bay, for sure.

They certainly are loading up down there in Tampa. They seem like how the Penguins were a few years ago, right when they drafted Crosby.