What's Happening On The Fernando Pisani Front?
by Lisaann on Jun 21, 2010 4:22 PM MDT
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With July 1st looming the Oilers Right Winger would like to have a deal on paper, but sadly it has not been the case thus far.
NHL fans and bloggers have been quick to speculate that Pisani's problems with injuries and illness coupled with salary issues have made him unmarketable to any team.
However, according to Robin Brownlee, a writer for OilersNation.com, this is far from the case. In fact, it seems, at least according to Brownlee's observation made in a post on June 14th, that the Oilers have absolutely no plans to re-sign Pisani. However (this is where it gets sticky and very UGLY), Oilers' management are actively preventing Pisani's agent from negotiating or making offers on his behalf.
Until July 1st, Pisani is still in the employ of the Oilers, so of course management is perfectly within their rights to dictate what he does. However, if they have no intention of re-signing him, then what's a few weeks? Is there some advantage the Oilers hope to gain by, in a sense, holding Fernando hostage?
It seems absolutely unfathomable that other players on other teams in similar situations already have deals worked out. A few weeks of stalling on the Oilers' part could mean the difference between Pisani playing the sport that he loves or being forced out of it, since his options are far more limited.
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If that’s true, my god, I hate the Oilers even more than usual.
by Benjamin Massey on Jun 21, 2010 5:48 PM MDT reply actions
His agent isn’t supposed to be openly negotiating until July 1st.
Editor of The Copper & Blue, and leader of The Cult Of Hartikainen.
I know. Don’t care. He’s Fernando Pisani. Show some goddamned courtesy, Tambellini.
by Benjamin Massey on Jun 21, 2010 9:27 PM MDT up reply actions
Concerning What?
I think Benjamin may be referring to Tambelini’s disregard, or should I say un-appreciation of the contribution Fernando made to the team, am I right? And let’s not forget Pisani was a late bloomer (27). At that age most guys would have given up trying to get a spot on an NHL team. Not to mention the fact that he was raised in Edmonton.
It is also worth noting that Fernando has continued to play in spite of his illness. He could have surgery, but elects to use medication instead because an operation would effectively put an end to his career in hockey.
Plus, he’s soft spoken, generous with his time, has a good moral character, and is a family man. You don’t read scandalous things about him in the press, you don’t see him fighting just to be fighting like so many other players in the league, and he won’t speak badly about teammates or even the Oilers management publicly, even in light of the current situation.
If Tambelini wants team loyalty, this is one man who has it. I’ve seen so much negative press and commentary lately about certain members talking about walking in the near future. Keeping Pisani around might help convince those who might be serious about leaving to stick around a little longer.
I know that, in general, Pisani seems to be a good guy but it’s not all roses and sunshine. He didn’t inform the Oilers about his illness prior to signing that nice $10M contract which I don’t blame him for at all (why would you warn someone not to pay you?) but I can see why that might lead them to give Pisani something less than the golden treatment. Further, if Pisani had surgery and retried, it would have let the Oilers out of that contract so while it’s noble in one sense that he fought through it, that certainly didn’t do the team any favors. I sincerely hope they keep Pisani around if he’s willing to sign for under $1M but I don’t blame the Oilers for not letting him explore other options before free agency begins. Not letting him may have a benefit to the team and it’s also just normal practice.
by Scott Reynolds on Jun 22, 2010 10:58 PM MDT up reply actions
Pisani signed his contract in, if memory serves me right, June of 2006. He was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis in the summer of 2007. Ulcerative colitis’s earliest symptoms are crippling abdominal pain and bloody diarrhoea, of gradual onset but not so gradual that you’d happily play an entire hockey season while crapping blood into your jock. I guess what I’m saying is that the reason Fernando probably didn’t tell the team he had ulcerative colitis was that, at the time, he didn’t have ulcerative colitis.
by Benjamin Massey on Jun 23, 2010 12:04 PM MDT up reply actions
My impression had been that he was diagnosed in 2005 and that he intentionally lied about it.
by Scott Reynolds on Jun 23, 2010 12:40 PM MDT up reply actions
Fernando was shitting blood for two years before he suddenly had to miss almost an entire season for treatment, was he? I remember reading that at the time and it just doesn’t pass the common sense test. It just doesn’t.
by Benjamin Massey on Jun 23, 2010 1:03 PM MDT up reply actions
I actually have a friend with UC and you’d never know if he didn’t tell you. Totally normal life, sports are no problem etc. etc. It seems very reasonable to me that for Pisani it was under control after he was diagnosed and then once the symptoms became more serious he had to fess up. But the biggest reason I don’t understand your disbelief here is that the quote is from Pisani (Tyler’s quoting this article). Why the hell would he lie to nhl.com about when he was diagnosed? I can’t think of a single reason.
by Scott Reynolds on Jun 23, 2010 1:28 PM MDT up reply actions
Possibly he was wrong. “I ate some bad sushi, and then a year later I got the UC, and I was told it was gradually developing so hell!” Possibly he had things confused in his mind. There are a lot of perfectly innocent explanations.
I’m pretty sure you don’t subject your friend to rigorous physical examinations to ensure he’s in top condition, or spend a lot of time naked with him in the locker room as rivulets of brown-smeared blood run down thighs.
by Benjamin Massey on Jun 23, 2010 1:41 PM MDT up reply actions
I sure don’t do any exams on my friend, I just meant that it’s something that one can manage and carry on a normal life. It’s not like it’s always completely debilitating.
With the information we have it seems like the most reasonable explanation by far is that he was less than truthful at first with the Oilers if you take him at his word in the nhl.com article. When he says, “I kept telling the team trainers and everyone else it was just a flu or basically I was just sick, but sooner or later everyone could see this was serious and I finally told them what was wrong,” it seems like the common sense reading of that is “I knew I had colitis but I lied about it for a while.” How else can you read it?
Also, where are you getting this 2007 diagnosis from?
by Scott Reynolds on Jun 23, 2010 2:01 PM MDT up reply actions
Tambelini’s disregard, or should I say un-appreciation of the contribution Fernando made to the team
$10,000,000 is a LOT of un-appreciation.
Writer for The Copper & Blue and primary shareholder of Zorg Industries
"Never be ashamed of who you are" -- Jean-Baptiste Emanuel Zorg
by Bruce McCurdy on Jul 1, 2010 11:21 PM MDT up reply actions
Don't hate the players, hate the game...
Or in this case the rules of the game and how NHL teams are managed.
Sigh, the lockout changed alot of things didn’t it?
It’s not just the Oilers management that sucks. I hear from Canadiens fans that things over in Montreal aren’t so great either.
I’m still furious about Koivu.
Don’t give a shit about Halak, or even Kovalev. Koivu? That fucking infuriated me.
SNN Sports - A theoretical Oilers blog (i.e. theoretically, I write stuff there). Link now 100% less broken.
“Oilers’ management are actively preventing Pisani’s agent from negotiating or making offers on his behalf”
I am pretty sure that it would be illegal (according to the CBA) to bargain with or tamper with a UFA until July 1st.
“It seems absolutely unfathomable that other players on other teams in similar situations already have deals worked out.”
I don’t know of a single player that has gotten a deal done while under contract. In fact, it has become the norm to trade for a UFA’s rights (see Boumeister, Jay ) in order to gain an advantage in negotiation before July 1st.
Not letting Pisani negotiate early is completely normal and doesn’t reflect poorly on the Oilers at all. They may well be waiting until after the draft to see what the team looks like before making a decision on kind of contract, if any, to offer. Why would they want him negotiating with other teams if they haven’t yet made a decision on whether or not to bring him back?
Negotiate?
Most players who know they are on the UFA market and know they are most likely not going to be resigned at least have a general idea of what offers are on the table, at this point, I didn’t mean to imply agents are doing anything shady or illegal, however, thus far with Pisani there have been alot of rumors but nothing solid about where he could go lest the Oilers not resign him. And as it stands right now, the Oilers management swear up and down that they won’t resign him (That is if you believe the rumor mill).
One interesting possability for Pisani might be the Flyers. Supposedly they have about $9 million they can safely toy around with. The question is do they want him badly enough (Meaning can they overlook his illness and injuries over the course of the past season), is there a place on the team for him, will his personality fit on the team (I have my doubts he’s too soft spoken), how much do they feel comfortable paying in the short term (I think anywhere between $750,000-somewhere just past the $1 million mark would be fair over 1-2 years, but I’m sure to catch flack for this!), and would Fernando go(He’d be a fool not to!)?
Here’s a question to consider though: Could Shawn Horcoff’s expanded team leadership role next season help Fernando’s case in the event the Oilers management is on the fence about resigning. As teammates, they are very close and IMHO they complement each other on the ice, and not to be shallow, they bring an attractiveness factor to the team which draws fans.
I simply think that as long as he’s willing to sign low-risk deals (i.e. 1 yr, $750K range), he’s an obvious pick-up for the Oilers. Even if he only plays half the schedule, he’s still a decent option to take on tough minutes and it’s incredibly good PR for a team that needs some. One of the last Heroes of Aught-Six, the greatest of all the Heroes? You gotta keep him if you can.
(If I hadn’t realized I was out of discretionary spending for the summer, that’s the other jersey lettering I’d have done, PISANI 34 on my ’06 run jersey.)
SNN Sports - A theoretical Oilers blog (i.e. theoretically, I write stuff there). Link now 100% less broken.
Lisaann, just so you know, SB Nation is filled with very, very careful lawyers who get very, very paranoid about using random photos off the Internet on this site. We removed the picture you put up with this FanPost and replaced it with the greatest YouTube video of all time; just wanted to give you an explanation.
by Benjamin Massey on Jun 22, 2010 11:09 AM MDT reply actions
Thanks for understanding, and thanks for not asking why a picture is bad but a YouTube video is fine.
by Benjamin Massey on Jun 23, 2010 12:02 PM MDT up reply actions
Because copyright violations are for YouTube to handle, not us.
SNN Sports - A theoretical Oilers blog (i.e. theoretically, I write stuff there). Link now 100% less broken.
Rumors...
I posted this question on Facebook:
“Any truth to rumors I’ve been reading that Fernando Pisani could be headed to either San Jose or The Rangers?
I think the Rangers idea is laughable. I was reading Rangers fan blogs yesterday and it has been hinted that if Pisani even looks in their direction there’s going to be fan hostility. As one blogger rudely put it, “Our players have asthma not colitis.” Well IMHO, if that’s how the fans feel, then it’s just as well that if an offer is made by The Rangers, that Pisani turn it down. Who needs hostility even as a 3rd line player? As for SJ, this is the 2nd time I’ve heard this rumor and I’m not sure what to think. On one hand you have to go where there’s an offer and let’s face it, Fernando is going to have fewer options. But I just can’t shake the feeling that if they were to make him an offer and he were to take it, that somewhere down the line things would sour. I hope for his sake Pisani’s agent is prepared to explore all options rather than just settling for the first thing that comes along. It’s becoming increasingly clear to me that for this man, it’s not about the money, what he wants most is to play. I just hope someone will give him a chance."
Tambo not resigning UFA's?
I just read that even with Sheldon Souray’s cap space, Tambo has no intention of resigning Pisani or Mike Comrie. Comments?
I haven’t read that, but it doesn’t surprise me. Steve Tambellini thinks the Oilers need more useless big men and kids with zero NHL experience and fewer talented veterans who can actually get results.
by Benjamin Massey on Jul 4, 2010 6:28 PM MDT up reply actions
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