der kleine Doktor
07-26-2004, 04:58 AM
http://images.tsn.ca/images/stories/20040117/STL_mellanby_84219.jpgTSN.ca Staff
7/25/2004
The Atlanta Thrashers continue to build a team that can compete for a playoff berth as the club reached an agreement with free agent forward Scott Mellanby, reports the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
"We have reached a tentative deal," General Manager Don Waddell told the newspaper. "We will get documents out to sign the beginning of the week. To add this type of player to our roster is another big step for us in reaching our goal, and that's reaching the playoffs."
Waddell said the contract was for two years but wouldn't specify dollars until the deal was completed.
Mellanby, 38, played 68 games with the St. Louis Blues last season, putting up 14 goals and 17 assists.
"He's a little bit older, but he's an experienced guy," Waddell said. "If you look at our right side, this is a huge upgrade for us."
Mellanby had earlier been pursued by the Florida Panthers, where he played eight seasons, according to the newspaper. Mellanby said he asked the Panthers for a contract worth $1.5 million a season and General Manager Mike Keenan countered with a one-year, $1 million deal with a front-office position for three years after he retired worth $300,000.
Mellanby said he was in the midst of accepting when Keenan called back and pulled the offer off the table.
"It was a disappointing experience," Mellanby told the newspaper. "I don't know how to describe it. It was not handled with a lot of class, in my opinion. They basically reneged on a deal. It will be fun to play against them. It was not professionally handled at all. You can't do business the way they did business with me."
Keenan, reached by phone by the Sun Sentinel, said Mellanby never accepted the Panthers' last offer.
"First of all, it wasn't reneged because he didn't accept it," Keenan told the newspaper. "His agent had asked for more, and it never got to a point where they called me back and accepted. I thought that we offered him a good opportunity to play in Florida and an opportunity to work with us in the future.
http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/news_story.asp?ID=92378&hubName=nhl
7/25/2004
The Atlanta Thrashers continue to build a team that can compete for a playoff berth as the club reached an agreement with free agent forward Scott Mellanby, reports the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
"We have reached a tentative deal," General Manager Don Waddell told the newspaper. "We will get documents out to sign the beginning of the week. To add this type of player to our roster is another big step for us in reaching our goal, and that's reaching the playoffs."
Waddell said the contract was for two years but wouldn't specify dollars until the deal was completed.
Mellanby, 38, played 68 games with the St. Louis Blues last season, putting up 14 goals and 17 assists.
"He's a little bit older, but he's an experienced guy," Waddell said. "If you look at our right side, this is a huge upgrade for us."
Mellanby had earlier been pursued by the Florida Panthers, where he played eight seasons, according to the newspaper. Mellanby said he asked the Panthers for a contract worth $1.5 million a season and General Manager Mike Keenan countered with a one-year, $1 million deal with a front-office position for three years after he retired worth $300,000.
Mellanby said he was in the midst of accepting when Keenan called back and pulled the offer off the table.
"It was a disappointing experience," Mellanby told the newspaper. "I don't know how to describe it. It was not handled with a lot of class, in my opinion. They basically reneged on a deal. It will be fun to play against them. It was not professionally handled at all. You can't do business the way they did business with me."
Keenan, reached by phone by the Sun Sentinel, said Mellanby never accepted the Panthers' last offer.
"First of all, it wasn't reneged because he didn't accept it," Keenan told the newspaper. "His agent had asked for more, and it never got to a point where they called me back and accepted. I thought that we offered him a good opportunity to play in Florida and an opportunity to work with us in the future.
http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/news_story.asp?ID=92378&hubName=nhl