Break up the band?

Iqaluit, NU (IFPW)

Free agents have made their demands to their clubs, and the March 10th deadline looms for clubs to meet them. Under new league rules signing bonuses for met demands have decreased, but at the same time a cap of two players per team was established to limit those cheaper signings. And when looking at the Rovers, you can’t help but think that that cap is gonna result in a lot of talent going to free agency and a significantly different team in RHL17.

Up front.. where to begin? The two leading scorers in the history of the team (Demitra and Murray), the franchise leader in games played (Legwand), and the team’s best defensive forward and faceoff leader (Draper) are all potentially out. And that’s without mentioning top 6 guy Cory Stillman and deadline acquisitions Walz and Roberts. On defense Keith Carney, Danny Markov, and Rhett Warrener could all walk. All this is to say that we could be looking at a drastically different Rovers team next season.

But should we be? The team has competed at the highest level for the past four seasons and has produced one champion with this year’s run left to come. Surely the fans of this team deserve to see it remain intact. Yet you look at the youth in the system and you can see that soon they will take center stage. This writer, however, doesn’t believe that should mean the exodus of all those who made the Rovers the constant threat they now are. There are whispers that the team won’t spend to their revenues next season… this team should be doing that every year. There is no excuse for it to do otherwise.

Ownership should be taking care of those that brought them to where they are… and that starts with Pavol Demitra and Glen Murray. These two guys are Rover icons and, along with Olli Jokinen, represent the progression from struggling expansion club to perennial contender. They both deserve new deals in this writers mind. From there every effort should be put forth to sign the remaining pieces to new deals. We’ll see come next week how determined management is to keep this team together.

For Iqaluit Frozen Puck Weekly, I’m I.C. Stair

Richardson, Lundmark cap casualties of Roberts trade

Iqaluit, NU (CP)

It looks like Gary Roberts will remain a Rover after all, but at a cost to the team’s overall depth.  The acquisition of Roberts put the Rovers some $930,000 over the $35m salary cap.  So Roberts was immediately suspended until a resolution was reached.  What was agreed upon was the release of forward Jamie Lundmark and defenseman Luke Richardson, whose combined salaries of just over one million dollars once again put the Rovers in compliance with the salary cap.

“We would have preferred to keep Luke and Jamie, but there was no other way”, GM Stringer said of the move.  “The commissioner’s office did not want to reverse the trade since it might not be what the Thundercats would want (and frankly not what we would want either since we did want to keep Gary), so they said we needed to cut players to comply.  This does cut down our depth significantly, but we had no choice”.

The team’s regular press-box contingent is now reduced to one forward, one defenseman and one goaltender.  Defenseman Kim Johnsson is expected to return for the next game in San Diego, leaving only winger Nathan Horton on the injured list.  He is believed to be a week away.

The end result is that Roberts will again be in uniform for the Rovers when they face the Aviators, though the group of non-playing Rovers watching their teammates will be smaller.  And the moral of the story?  “Pay attention to the cap, dumbass”, Stringer said of his move.

Resolution pending to Roberts controversy

Suspended winger Gary Roberts will learn his fate this afternoon, Rover Report has learned.  Commissioner Paul Myers and GM Steve Stringer are apparently working out a resolution to the matter and an announcement is expected today.  Stay tuned.

Rovers get Roberts, ready for run

Iqaluit, NU (CP)

They say that good things and celebrity deaths always come in threes, and the acquisition of Gary Roberts certainly falls under the first category. The Rovers have made their third trade in a week, getting the physical sniper from the Thundercats along with cash considerations for winger Adam Hall and prospect Eric Perrin. Roberts sat third on the Thundercats in points with 33 in 44 games, including a team-leading 19 goals. He stands sixth in the entire league in hits with 134 and brings a great blend of skill and toughness to the Igloo. “We’re ready to go now”, Stringer declared of his recent rash of moves. “We wanted a defenseman and another scoring option… and we did that and more getting Warrener and then both Walz and Roberts. Now we’ve got 19 games to gel and come together for what promises to be a very tough playoff”.

The trade caps a busy week as mentioned. Friday past the Rovers acquired defenseman Rhett Warrener from the Capones and followed that move up with a Sunday pickup of Walz from the Aviators. Then the long-discussed trade of Roberts was triggered last night and made official this morning. “We have been after Gary for a month or maybe two now”, Stringer admitted. “He’d had been at the top of our list for a scoring winger, and we’re really glad to get him”.

Going to Waterloo is winger/center Adam Hall, a second round pick of the Rovers in RHL11 and the first Rover draft pick to ever play for the club when he broke in as a rookie in RHL13. This season Hall had played in 46 games and scored 5 goals and 7 assists for 12 points. Over four seasons with the big club, Hall saw action in 133 games, tallying 14 goals and 19 assists for 33 points. Perrin is enjoying a strong season in the minor leagues, and is expected to be ready for action in RHL18. “Adam is a quality person, but you have to give to get”, Stringer said of the departing players. “We wish both he and Eric nothing but the best in Waterloo”.

Thoughts now turn to how to best utilize Roberts’s talents, and most see him lining up alongside Thornton and Murray to give Joe a top-level finisher and create a line of three very physical forces. “We’ll have a lot of fun as a coaching staff for sure”, Stringer said of the happy dilemma. “We’ve got a few days of practice before going to Chicago, so we’ll see where people feel comfortable”.

Rovers step up the pressure, swamp Crystals

Iqaluit, NU (CP)

In a calculated move to increase scoring, the Rovers have begun to experiment with a slightly more aggressive forechecking scheme.  Against the Calder-leading Crystals, the approach produced a mammoth 55 shot output and a 4-2 win.  Juggled lines meshed as Alexander Frolov, Olli Jokinen, Nathan Horton and newcomer Wes Walz, who was playing his first game with the team, all found the net.  Curtis Joseph was heroic in net for the Crystals, making 51 saves and keeping the game from getting ugly.  Martin Gerber faced 20 shots and stopped 18 for the win.  “We’ve played tight to the vest all season and have been very successful”, Stringer said of the approach, “but we want to see if we can increase our output without sacrificing our commitment to defense.  I like how we played this game; it was in their end with relentless pressure for 60 minutes.  With the new players we’ve brought in recently, I think we have the offensive weapons to do some real damage and it’s just a matter of maybe giving them a slightly longer leash to create”.

Winger Nathan Horton crashed heavily into the end boards minutes after scoring his third period goal and had to be helped from the ice.  Horton, who has had shoulder problems in the past, looked to be in considerable pain as he clutched his left shoulder while walking down the tunnel.  “Horton will miss some time”, Stringer said of his winger.  “It doesn’t look like surgery will be required, but I’d classify him as week-to-week.  I think he’ll be back before the start of the playoffs”.

- Chris Mason, who missed the game due to a lower-body injury, will be available to the team for their next game in Chicago against the Capones.

Third trade in week pending…

Yet another player is coming to Baffin Island according to sources within the team.  Rover Report has learned that Gary Roberts has been acquired from the Waterloo Thundercats.  Details forthcoming.