“Normally I don’t give a rat’s ass about what other GM’s think about how we run our organization, but I take exception to any comments about us being in cahoots or somehow circumventing league rules. Recently there have been some comments made about our acquisition via trade of Rod Brind A’mour and Jason Pominville. Let me set that record straight.
It is no secret that there was going to be a big shake up in Portland after we got flushed in the Toilet Bowl last year. We hit the RFA market hard but in the pre-season, it was evident that we were still unable to generate enough offense to win games. That being the case I was watching the wire as we say.
I received an overture from Mr. Dumont that while not acceptable to us, did include Rod Brind A’mour as the centerpiece of a trade request. My initial reaction was that Mr. Dumont was now reconsidering his eggnog-induced contract offer to Mr. Brind A’mour and I was very reluctant to take the contract off his hands. However, I felt that Rod brings the real deal to Portland and so I was able to counter offer for a package that made sense to our organization. As much as I feel Rod is receiving higher than market value, I don’t begrudge him his contract. He has paid his dues. In Jason Pominville we a get a guy that is just finding his way in the league and is probably underpaid at this point but he’ll catch up when he’s an RFA. I feel we got full value in the package. We gave up a lot in Samuel Pahlsson, Jason Williams and Alex Tanguay, but we increased our scoring potential without giving up anything defensively.
My concerns are entirely about bringing a contender to Portland. I will consider any trade that makes the Winter Hawks a better team, period. It is not my concern about how long a player has been in an organization or how they came to be there. I am only looking at the financial implications to the Winter Hawks and the on ice product. For Mr. Wendling to suggest we somehow colluded with Mr. Dumont so that he would overpay Mr. Brind A’mour so we could trade for him later makes absolutely no sense to me. With all due respect to him and his organization, maybe he should look in the mirror when he talks about driving up salaries. How can a guy who is paying Brian McCabe $6.3 million a year think that Brind A’mour is overpaid?”
It is no secret that there was going to be a big shake up in Portland after we got flushed in the Toilet Bowl last year. We hit the RFA market hard but in the pre-season, it was evident that we were still unable to generate enough offense to win games. That being the case I was watching the wire as we say.
I received an overture from Mr. Dumont that while not acceptable to us, did include Rod Brind A’mour as the centerpiece of a trade request. My initial reaction was that Mr. Dumont was now reconsidering his eggnog-induced contract offer to Mr. Brind A’mour and I was very reluctant to take the contract off his hands. However, I felt that Rod brings the real deal to Portland and so I was able to counter offer for a package that made sense to our organization. As much as I feel Rod is receiving higher than market value, I don’t begrudge him his contract. He has paid his dues. In Jason Pominville we a get a guy that is just finding his way in the league and is probably underpaid at this point but he’ll catch up when he’s an RFA. I feel we got full value in the package. We gave up a lot in Samuel Pahlsson, Jason Williams and Alex Tanguay, but we increased our scoring potential without giving up anything defensively.
My concerns are entirely about bringing a contender to Portland. I will consider any trade that makes the Winter Hawks a better team, period. It is not my concern about how long a player has been in an organization or how they came to be there. I am only looking at the financial implications to the Winter Hawks and the on ice product. For Mr. Wendling to suggest we somehow colluded with Mr. Dumont so that he would overpay Mr. Brind A’mour so we could trade for him later makes absolutely no sense to me. With all due respect to him and his organization, maybe he should look in the mirror when he talks about driving up salaries. How can a guy who is paying Brian McCabe $6.3 million a year think that Brind A’mour is overpaid?”
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