Bantering Points: Marian Gaborik Feels Good, Shane Doan And Other Musings
- Let's start off with some great news, Marian Gaborik is doing well. Gaborik recently met up with Jim Cerny and said that he was "happy" with the progress he was making. So long as things are moving the way they should be, there's no reason to assume Gaborik won't be back when he's supposed to be. It's a big deal that his rehab is going well and that he's been able to work his shoulder as hard as he has been. Hopefully he gets back before schedule.
- Speaking of Gaborik, you have to kind of assume his return is going to be a fantastic thing for Rick Nash. Not just in the "oh there will be two legitimately lethal sniper on the New York Rangers" way but in the "OK, we can stop focusing on Nash and re-focus on the return of Gaborik" kind of way. Nash will get some more privacy once Gaborik comes back into the picture.
Join me after the jump for more.
- Shane Doan is still on the market. Are you surprised? I'm not. At this point it's one of three things with Doan. Let's go through them:
Theory One: Doan is legitimately remarkably loyal to the Phoenix Coyotes. He's more than willing to wait as long as it takes, something that can actually cost him a lot of money. Think about it: if Doan doesn't sign a deal by the time a new CBA is agreed on then he might be costing himself a ton of money. A deal signed right now, while the current CBA is in tact would guarantee him a hefty pile of money via the signing bonus. That's a guaranteed sack of bills that the lockout or a new CBA can't touch. But if he's willing to wait, then he's obviously willing to take a discount for the Coyotes.
Theory Two: Doan is using this whole Coyotes thing as leverage for a bigger deal. There's already a rumored four-year, $30-million contract on the table for him. He's already priced himself out of Detroit -- realize how big of a deal this is. Detroit wanted to make a big splash badly, and when they missed out on Ryan Suter and Zach Parise they went after Doan and he was STILL too expensive for them -- and he reportedly wants this contract to be the last one he ever signs. Maybe he's using the Coyotes ownership issue to get another team to try and hang way more money his way to make him leave Phoenix. Think about it, it would be a brilliant plan.
Theory Three: Doan is actually waiting for the Coyotes, but he's getting to the point where he wants a new deal and isn't willing to wait much longer. Some of this might have to do with him not knowing what he wants, and some of it has to do with how much patience he has.
The truth is probably somewhere between two of those. I doubt he's using the Coyotes as leverage for more money, but you never know. Anyway, I still don't see him on Broadway.
- Then again, I'm not thrilled that the Pittsburgh Penguins are apparently in the mix as well. That doesn't mean Glen Sather should overpay for him, still I don't want to see him on the Penguins.
- I think Michael Del Zotto's contract will get done sooner rather than later. Remember that these things tend to take some time, and the two sides are just negotiating at this point. I wouldn't worry about it.
Thoughts?