Mr. Rutherford,
Let me first start by saying thank you for helping hockey flourish in the south. You have provided me with one of my life’s greatest loves. You are a true pioneer of the sport and a visionary who will forever be etched into the annals of NHL lore. Now, if I could kindly make a few suggestions on how to run your team. It seems like you kind of missed an opportunity there with the whole free agency thing. I know Zach Parise and Ryan Suter may have been asking a little too much, especially if we are to stay in the bottom five for salary spending. But you see, that’s the only time we can really improve the team without losing any assets. Trading for a player, as I’m sure you’re aware, requires some sort of return for the other team. Sometimes these traded assets are more valuable than money and can even sometimes set the organization back more than just a financial hit. I know, you did sign some depth players. Your PR Team made sure to let me know whenever this “Breaking News” occurred. Good job. However, I don’t think us fans are buying the fact that these signings really made any significant improvement and to be perfectly candid, you’ve lost a little credibility when it comes to evaluating how signings will impact our team. But, we can’t dwell on the past, we’ve all but missed our window on this year’s free agency. Let’s talk about what we can do to fix this dilemma going forward. I think it’s a foregone conclusion that our defense is going to be porous (again) this year. So be it. There are too many problems to fix and the ship that could fix it, has already sailed. It seems like your plan going forward is to run and gun and outscore our opposition, defense be damned. But, in order for this to work, we WILL need another scoring forward. What if we could package Joni Pikanen, Anthony Stewart/Chad LaRose, Zach Boychuk and a pick in 2013 to Anaheim for Bobby Ryan? We’re strapped with puck moving defensmen; it would balance our forward lines with scoring options on the first 3 lines; it gives the Checkers another year to mature; and would free up that salary to help pay for Ryan. Anaheim, on the other hand, is rebuilding their aging defense; Joni has some familiarity with Bryan Allen; and they’re light at the offensive defensmen position. Even if we decide to give Ryan a raise and extension, we’d still be around $15MM under the cap. Wouldn’t it make sense to get this deal done and at least have a chance at winning rather than cross your fingers and hope again like last year? Look, I’ve been open and honest with you. If we’re destined to be a budget team, constantly hoping to just make the playoffs only to come up short time and again, let us know. We’re tired of waiting to see if you think the team looks as bad as it does from this side or if you’re willing to tolerate mediocrity for another long season. Honesty, that’s all we want. Well, that and Carlo Colaiacovo……….and this ash tray and the paddle ball game, that’s all we need……………..and this lamp. I sincerely thank you for your time Mr. Rutherford. Please don’t take my comments as disparaging in any way, just think of me as the angel on your shoulder steering you toward the right path. Enjoy the rest of your off season Mr Rutherford, because the regular season may get ugly.
Kind Regards,
Uncle Foxy