-Despite his reputation as a temperamental guy, Robin Lehner has learned to answer media questions when it comes to his future. “I’m trying to prepare myself as good as I can now, to get a spot. You never know. You go for it and see what happens. I’m feeling good. I’m looking forward to (camp) and I’m excited. They’re doing the best they think, for me. They’re not trying to go against me. They’re trying to develop me as good as they want. I’m an asset to them. They want me to do as good as possible. You’ve got to trust them, too. They’ve got a lot of hockey experience in this organization. I’m 20, going on 21. I don’t know that much. I’m just eager to play, eager to show myself. When I’m in Sweden during the summer, of course you’re trying to see what happens. But I’m confident, I’m not too nervous. I really like this organization. I don’t want to leave this organization. Whatever it takes. I don’t think it’s going to happen. That’s my gut feeling. I don’t see it happening. If it would, it would. I’m an asset and they’re going to use me as best they can.”
–James Gordon floats the idea of signing Jordan Tootoo. It’s not a preposterous idea, but I don’t see the Sens signing any FA other than a defenceman.
–ISS (Ross MacLean) looks at the best draft picks by round and gives the Sens the nod for the third round, saying “The third round had several great picks, but Ottawa made my two favorite selections of the entire draft with goaltender Chris Driedger at 76 and Jarrod Maidens at 82. Driedger has great potential and brings a tremendous attitude and never-quit passion to the crease, while Maidens would have been a first-rounder if he hadn’t missed most of the OHL season due to injury. While Maidens’ long-term health status remains in the air, his upside is tremendous.”
–Ken Warren doesn’t like the fact that Justin Schultz is getting to pick the team he plays on. Warren’s argument is that because the Ducks picked him and invested in him as an asset, he owes it to Anaheim to play for them. He suggests that this kind of behaviour violates the spirit of the draft. It’s an absurd argument. Any team that drafted Schultz would have put the same effort into developing him–all drafted players are assets that teams develop. The Ducks could have tried to salvage something from losing him by trading his rights, but declined to do so. Warren is right that the draft is designed to add balance to the league, but here I’d say the fault is Anaheim’s for not making their organisation appealing enough to Schultz. Finally, Schultz is fully within his rights to do exactly what he is doing. If the Ducks don’t like it, they can blame the league and try to negotiate a way to prevent it in the next CBA, but I doubt anything will change. Almost all the power within the league is with the teams and I have no issue with a player using a loophole available to him.
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