Jay Bouwmeester in Sens' Sights: Will Jacques Martin Give Up the Grudge?

Reports are circulating that the Ottawa Senators are in hot pursuit of disgruntled Florida defenceman Jay Bouwmeester. However, as history has shown, simply putting together the best package is not enough for Jacques Martin.

In his tireless quest to find the Sens their elusive PMD (puck-moving defenceman), Brian Murray has apparently set his sights on J-Bo, who refuses to sign a contract extension but really just desperately wants out of the hockey purgatory that is Florida.

The package reportedly being offered includes perennial Martin favourite Antoine Vermette, either swingman Christoph Schubert or young defenceman Brian Lee, and possibly the first round pick acquired from the Lightning in the Meszaros deal. (The pick actually belongs to San Jose.)

But as we have seen in the past, offering up fair compensation in a trade is not good enough to consummate a deal between Ottawa and Florida.

No, it seems that Jacques Martin has an ugly grudge against his old team—the team that gave him his big break in the NHL, the team that stuck with him long after many other organizations would have cut him loose over repeated playoff failures, and the team that helped him win a Jack Adams trophy.

Apparently Martin thinks that he deserved more than nine seasons, six first round playoff losses, and four playoff humiliations at the hands of the Leafs. He feels he was somehow shortchanged.

Over the years the trade rumours between Ottawa and Florida have been frequent. Luongo, Jokinen, Nieuwendyk, and of course Roberts have all at one point been on the radar, but never has a trade been consummated.

Back during the Luongo sweepstakes, it was confirmed that Ottawa GM John Muckler offered up Martin Havlat, Ray Emery, and Chris Phillips in a package, far superior to the bundle accepted from Vancouver of Todd Bertuzzi, Bryan Allen, and Alex Auld, of whom only Allen still remains.

While Martin was not GM at the time, clearly his power play to take over the position had already begun, and his approval was required, as Mike Keenan would resign as GM only three months after completing the deal.

So the question Florida fans have to ask themselves, if there are enough of them out there to care, is this: Is the Panthers GM doing what is best for his team or pursuing his own selfish interests?

At what point does Martin's grudge over his justifiable dismissal from the Sens become a hindrance to his current job? Or has it already?

The Future Is Never for Antoine Vermette in Ottawa

For years now, Ottawa Senators fans have been waiting for the potential in Antoine Vermette to show itself.

The speed, the hands, the vision with the puck, it has all been seen at various times, but never all at once and certainly never for very long.

Vermette has had the label of "rising star" attached to him for several years, fans and hockey observers alike were just waiting for the time when Vermette would become the next great francophone star in the NHL.

Two things are now clear about the potential of Antoine Vermette:

1. It has yet to show itself
2. It never will in Ottawa

During contract negotiations in the summer, it was made clear by the Vermette camp that he wanted a long term deal to stay in Ottawa and recognize his potential.

Sens general manager Brian Murray balked at both the dollars and the term being put forward by Vermette and his agent—it was rumoured Vermette was seeking a four or five year deal in the $3.5 million range—and eventually the two sides settled on a two-year, $5.525 million deal.

Vermette made no secret of the fact that he was disappointed in the lack of faith the Sens had shown him by not agreeing to a longer term deal and vowed to prove Murray wrong with his play.

Suffice it to say Murray's uncertainty about Vermette's long term potential is proving to have been a wise stance.

Vermette is currently seventh in team scoring with a measly two goals and two assists, looking up at such offensive powerhouses as Jarko Ruutu and Shean Donovan.

But perhaps most importantly, the guy has absolutely no finish whatsoever.

In the past two games Vermette has missed no less than a half dozen absolute glorious scoring chances, some of which would go in the "yawning cage" category, and has flubbed two shootout opportunities where he not only didn't even get a shot on goal, but appeared to deke himself out in a fit of leg kicks and stick fakes.

For a player who is supposed to be the key to Ottawa's secondary scoring, Vermette is a huge disappointment and at -6 is not even keeping up his previously strong defensive play.

All this to say, time has run out on the Antione Vermette experiment in Ottawa.

He seems like a nice guy, the fans really like him, he is an important Francophone voice for a team that is trying to engage the large French population of Ottawa-Gatineau, but time has run out.

Any effort Vermette vowed to put into proving Murray was wrong in not trusting him with a long term deal is going nowhere.

I still think Vermette may have the potential to break out and become a steady secondary scoring threat in the NHL, but unfortunately Ottawa no longer has the time to wait to see it happen.

Along with Christoph Schubert, the German swingman who has found himself on the outside looking in both on defence and at forward, and the first round pick the Sens acquired in the Meszaros trade with Tampa (the pick is actually San Jose's), Antoine Vermette currently find himself as part of a package deal Murray is shopping around the league to help shake up the slumping Sens and address a few of their weaknesses.

While I have always held out hope Vermette would turn into a strong contributer for the Ottawa Senators, the end appears near for his time in Ottawa and the future, whatever it holds for Vermette, will not be played out as a Senator.