Wow, I really love how this organization shoots straight from the hip. (lol maybe thats why this is the Hip Shot Blog… ok … I think I’m funny occasionally anyway) so you know the drill… paraphrasing will run rampant because I take crappy notes and still have no recorder.
So we show up for the chalk talk and get right down to business. Panger’s patter was entertaining and informative as usual. GMDM did talk in his opening about the dismal home record, things they’ve tried to fix it and other odds and ends (very candid and honest about it… damn… I really, really need that recorder)
Fan question: What is the status of Blake Wheeler?
GMDM: right now we are not making much headway towards getting Blake signed but we are talking to his agent. Wheeler is very much a prospect, not someone we see as coming to the big club straight off and making an impact. He’s a very good prospect and we will continue to try to get him signed. If the contract doesn’t get done we have a *5th round* pick coming our way and that is good for the team too. *gotta confirm the exact pick… * probably like 2nd round (31st , or so pick)
Fan question: What is the status of Turris? Will we be seeing him soon?
GMDM: KT wants to be here really bad, its tough to keep him out. Definitely going to try to get him here, possibly for the last few games. It will still depend on his advisor and parents, but we feel he is ready to take some games with the club and is almost definitely a lock to be here in 08.
Fan question: What are our drafting plans/needs?
GMDM: Defensive depth. We have only Summers ready to go. We’re not sure if he will be coming out of school or not but we certainly think he should because he is ready. We have no one in San Antonio who is absolutely ready. The guys who are already up are doing a great job for us and will pretty much stay as they are, but in the next waves we are pretty thin. So we will be looking to draft some defensive depth. We do have Ross (very young and a work in progress) in the pipeline but we need more.
Fan question: What about Vrbata? Are we working on a deal?
GMDM: Yes we are working with Vrbata’s agent but we have not gotten a deal done. Radim has been wonderful for us most of the season, we need him to continue to be that guy. It all really depends on Radim. If he performs well offensively thru the end of the season and we make the playoffs, he’ll get a contract that is closer to his agent’s wishes. If he performs subpar and we don’t make playoffs, the contract will be closer to our offer. We won’t over pay for anyone.
Fan question: What was up with the trade?
GMDM: Frankly Sjostrom was a fan favorite and a good young man but he was not achieving consistantly. It’s probably not fair but he was drafted very high and there were expectations that were not being met. Freddie needed a change of scenery to be quite honest. Hossa was in a very similiar situation, due to injury and NYR’s needs he was basically not getting much time there either. If he can get back into playing shape and find a bit of offensive touch, he will probably be back in 08. If not then he probably won’t be returning. And we will not be going after Marian Hossa at this time.
Montoya gives us flexibility. He gives us the extra depth we will need going into the future. He and Tordjman have very good potential and give the Rampage a chance to build a winning culture and the Coyotes two very good young goalies for the future. Gistedt will most likely be signed but most likely will continue to play in Sweden due to IIF rules.
Me: What about our other unsigned players? Kapi/Wellie & TQ in particular.
GMDM: No contract dealings have been started. We will get them going after the season and have everyone in place in the offseason.
Fan question: What about the Russian we got in the trade for Comrie?
GMDM: Kaigodorov has been looked at. He doesn’t really fit what we’re building anymore. He is rather small and is not setting his league on fire in Russia so it is doubtful that we do anything with him.
And that was it. Some chit chat in between but those are the basics. Teal took some pics.. which we will see after she gets back from her latest trip. The links are from thenhlarena.com Thanks to PopePogoII for the awesome effort at giving us a lil peak.
