Tuesday, May 15, 2007

Tampering?

1) As everyone knows players still under contract can NOT be contacted by another team until their contract officially expires. For impending free agents that would mean they or their representatives can not be contacted until July 1. However our sources tells FAUXRUMORS 2 that the Islanders are miffed at the Edmonton Oilers and their back door attempts to contact current Islander property, Ryan Smyth.
2) Evidently the Oilers have been making subtle overtures to try to lure back their wayward son. They are doing it with a less than direct approach to try to mend/patch things up in advance of the free agency period. How are they doing/getting away with it? Simple, by using current Oiler players they can circumvent the illegality of it. Ostensibly the players are friends/former mates of Smyth so there isn't anything the league or Islanders can do about it.
3) Our sources in the league office tells FAUXRUMORS2 that: "Unless or until there is direct evidence of a team official(other than a player) making contact with a player under contract with another team there is nothing the NHL can or will do". So as annoyed as the Islanders are they can do nothing. They also don't want to alienate Smyth by making this a huge issue. Since the season ended for the Isles the team has made/is making an all out effort to try to lure and land the coveted leader/forward.
4) The team has used its current players as well as former players such as Hall of Famers Bryan Trottier and Michael Bossy to sell Long Island to the Western Canadian boy. Snow has had several conversations with Smyth's representative/agent, Don Meehan. Team owner Charles Wang, always the activist/involved leader will have Ryan and Don over to his L.I. estate later this month to try to make a final push to get their man signed long before the free agency period commences.
5) The folks who know Ryan best tell FAUXRUMORS 2 that they can NOT see Ryan staying on LI or with any Eastern team for that matter. Ryan has spent his entire career in the West in Edmonton, and if he doesn't return to 'The Oil' another Western Conference team would seem to be the logical destination. Money also will NOT be a huge factor here. Smyth will get a very lucrative long term deal regardless of his choice. Wang, known for his record breaking (head scratching) long term deals will probably try to throw an offer that will be difficult to turn down. A 7 year 50 million deal with assurances of No Yashin and 'The C' for Ryan's sweater.
6) Will that be enough? Unlikely, and if Smyth isn't signed before the draft on June 22nd do NOT expect him to stay on LI. Therefore the Isles window is closing, and the window re-opening for Edmonton? Another question that must be asked: Is Smyth worth it? Yes he is a heralded leader, but are his offensive stats worth 1st line money for a 30+ year old? The answer for many GM's looking to add his intangibles certainly will be ye$!

7 comments:

Shuck-A-Luck said...

The conspiracy is alive and well at Fauxrumors I see!

Players calling players and trying to lure them or recruit them to play in their city is nothing new. It also does not mean an NHL team is tampering. Sometimes players can do things like this completely on their own. Based on the popularity of Smyth among his teammates I could see his former mates trying to do just that.

I hardly doubt this is limited to the Oiler players and Smyth. This sort of thing goes on year after year from various teams and players, if not all teams!

Cincy said...

Is Smyth worth $50 million for 7 years? No. He's not worth that to any team. But to a few teams he's worth almost that much. The Islanders are in desperate need to re-establish themselves with their fan base after the Yashin nightmare. They have a new Adams-worthy coach who's style fits Smyth to a tee, and who's vision for the team would be immeasurably helped by Smyth's presence in the lineup. It was reported that Edmonton offered him 5 years and $28 million, so that's a good benchmark from which the Isles should start. Seven years and $42 million would be a fair figure. If Ryan won't bite, so be it. It would be a loss, but Smyth isn't exactly the next hockey-messiah and the UFA pool offers some other worthwhile targets.

The only total disaster scenario for the Islanders would be to loss both Smyth and Blake AND fail to buyout Yashin's contract.

FAUX RUMORS said...

1) You are dead-on Sauce. After talking/hearing from Islander fans the NY fan base will NOT be happy with your worst case scenario.
2) If Wang wants an empty arene next fall the best way would be to retain Yashin(C or no C) and NOT get Smyth
3) In te new Capped NHL teams can only offer so much. We feel Smyths decision will NOT come down to $$, but where he feels most comfortable. From what we've been told, that looks like a western Conference team. Most likely in Alberta

Stacy Schnall said...

We've gots to get smith to stay. He wuz our best player since snow got him. wang shuld give him what he wants. save money by trading yashin to sumone. also we need to keep blake. he's fast and good

VLAD THE IMPALER said...

I really dont care where smyth goes. I think he's very over rated as a hockey player. Would i want him on my team? Ofcourse, but not for 6 million!

Lyle said...

Shuck is right. Players have been used for that purpose for years. Its nothing new. I'm sure teams won't approach a player under contract until its allowed. The fines for getting caught are severe!

Cincy said...

Hey 'dlyjoe5726'...

I'm gonna go out on a limb and venture a wild guess here. I bet you were never an English Lit major.

 
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