Posted 5:25 PM ET | Comments 12

Filed Under:   Ducks   Schneider   Brian Burke  

September 16, 2008 9:18 PM ET | Delete
Ha Ha sorry man , but I nearly burst a lung laughing when I heard this . bc I thought the exact same thing you did . He coughed up Bryz who is a key piece in the coyotes resurgence and now schneid who will improve someone's blueline signifigantly.

September 17, 2008 2:11 AM ET | Delete
There is a key difference between the 2 players. And that is age. Bryzgalov was waived because he was promised a starting job on another team. Schneider is a cast off in his last year of his contract. You have to think of it like this: Burke gave away nothing to get Schneider, signed him to a rather large contract, and now is giving him away costing the Ducks potentially nothing this season. Had he signed Schneider to a 1-year deal, then we would be in the exact same place we are now. The move by Burke with Bryz was a bad deal. He ended up in the same division. Instantly made the other team better, and the Ducks will be bitten by this deal for at least 4 more years. With Schneider it is safe to say that it won't bite the Ducks for nearly that long. Bertuzzi was a far worse deal compared to Schneider. Overpaid, and he's on the books for 1/3 of his salary in each of the next 2 seasons. At least Schneider contributed and actually earned his salary. The unfortunate thing that all this points out is that Burke has been blackballed. The other GMs have called his bluff, and he is unarmed.

September 17, 2008 7:20 AM ET | Delete
The Bryzgalov was definitely a very very big shock. In either case, i was/would-be extremely shocked that either player wasn't able to yield a 2nd round draft pick, or even a mid level prospect.To simply waive and lose players that are in demand in this league, appears to be sheer impatience, from my view. That being said, hard to say what's going on behind the scenes. As much as burke's hated/loved, the guy's won a cup, so gotta give him some credit....

September 17, 2008 9:48 AM ET | Delete
Correction, Burke won a cup by adding Pronger and Selanne to Bryan Murray's team, so not much credit is due to probably the most over-rated GM out there

September 17, 2008 10:11 AM ET | Delete
That is a possible argument, but No other GM added pronger and selane, (or any other two) to win the cup that year, hence, he added whatever was needed to whatever he was handed down, to make it the best team in the league.

September 17, 2008 10:23 AM ET | Delete
Wow!!! With moves like this, no wonder the Leafs want him as their GM :D

September 17, 2008 10:39 AM ET | Delete
Schneider is old and is the final year of his contract. Anyone expecting to get a 2nd or 3rd round pick especially from a team like LA is dreaming. If you consider the teams that Burke was trying to deal with they A.) Had the cap space to allow them to take the full hit without sending a player back to take up cap space. B.)Are younger teams or non playoff teams like LA,NYI, CBJ that have been out of the playoffs also. With the exception of CBJ who may make a push at the playoffs but still want to grow the franchise.So when you look at that, and consider the fact the Burke wants to get rid of his contract and not get any in return its not that bad. Those teams are not going to want to move a pick for a guy they will keep for one year and then walk.

September 17, 2008 12:34 PM ET | Delete
As much as this move leaves a bad taste in my mouth, it probably boils down to the fact that to trade salary you have to take salary. Waiving Schneider's salary means the ducks clear the cap AND have some wiggle room for Selanne to fit in. The ONLY thing the Burkie could have traded for was picks and minor AHL/ECHL players. My big fear is that Schneider could clear waivers--then the ducks are in serious trouble. This should be near impossible, however, because with the supposed interest in him and the new found price tag, teams will SHOULD take him out of fear that he won't make it all the way back on re-entry waivers. Sad how Gillis' GONGSHOW contract offer to Sundin has held up the ENTIRE market this summer and forced teams into making sub par moves to work around the Sundin dilemma. Gillis basically put a pricetag on Sundin's ring. Get paid a mil to win a cup or get paid 20 mil to play with a pathetic team for two years? Thats a tough decision for anyone.~r

September 17, 2008 3:01 PM ET | Delete
The problem ANA is going to have is if Schneider isn't picked up on re-entry waives, beacuse of his age and the multi year deal he signed the money doesn't come off ANA's book just because they demote him to the minors. Even with re-entry waiver it probably won't free up enough money for them to sign Selanne.

September 17, 2008 3:38 PM ET | Delete
See, now we know why the Leafs want to hire him, it'll continue the run of ineptitude.

September 17, 2008 4:25 PM ET | Delete
Good point J! I mean, hell, I like the guy but I couldn't see what all of the coveting was about? what he did last year was try to field a competitive team without Neidermayer. Scott coming back really put them over a barrel and every GM knew it. I kinda like that he's not willing to throw high round draft picks away just to dump Schneider, which leads me to believe he MIGHT not bolt to Toronto after this year is over.

September 17, 2008 10:27 PM ET | Delete
I don't know if he'll bolt or not. I think that Samueli's issues might induce him to go, but Burkie is a loyal guy.