With the recent signing of UFA Brendan Morrison and Anaheim Ducks at par with the salary cap, something is going to have to give, or rather, someone is going to be shipped out of the "Sunny State".
All speculation leads to their blueline, with over 22 million dollars invested, all eyes are pointing to former all star defenseman Mathieu Schneider. Several teams are in need of a puck moving defenseman who can also quarterback the powerplay. This will lead us to speculation of which team will be enticed to take his 5.6 million dollar contract, while giving up a later round draft pick, which is rumoured to be the asking price for him.
The Ottawa Senators GM, Bryan Murray, has been given heat from local media, for not going after any "big names" on July 1st. After losing Wade Redden to free agency, perhaps Schneider would be a good fit on the defense corps in Ottawa. He is no stranger to a Canadian team, being drafted by the Montreal Canadiens, so he knows all about Canadian hockey already.
Could Mathieu's veteral leadership fill the void that Jason Smith left in Philadelphia after his departure to free agency? Also Buffalo Sabres loss a lot in the backend, when they had to trade expected to be unrestricted free agent Brian Campbell to the Sharks.
With all these teams looking for help n defense, with how scarce puck moving defensemen are becoming in this league, there will be a trade. The question is not who will be giving up more of Schneider, yet who is willing to take on the final year of his hefty contract. You never know, it might be a win for the team that lands him, 39 points in 65 games while maintaining a +22 are no stats to laugh at. This is done on a team with superstar defensemen Chris Pronger and Scott Neidermayer.
With that said, we all know that come October, Mathieu Schneider will not be wearing Duck silks, time will tell where he will end up.
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