Get a grip, v2.0

I got my grubby little paws on something very nice today--a complete rundown of how our prospects did in the rookie tourney in Ottawa a few days ago.

Boy, aren't you thrilled.

Andrew Ladd was easily the best player in the tournament, with 4 goals and three assists--the scouting report says:

looked like the most NHL-ready player in the tournament .. quick stick, nice big reach .. extremely active lumber is his finest weapon .. constant energizer along the boards keeps the puck in the opponent's end thanks to his physical might and resilience .. just mows through guys with his body .. fearless character guy without mental complexes .. gets involved in corner battles and doesn't give up until the puck is in the net .. active, mobile penalty killer who hounds defensemen ..exceptional balance .. nifty backhand beat the sprawling Loic Lacasse low glove-side .. a step ahead of every guy on the ice on every single shift.

Which brings me to today's edition of "Get a grip, people":

The contract negotiations with Andrew Ladd's camp are stalled at the moment--which means that, of course, half the Caniac Nation (est. 1997) is freaking out thinking that JimR is going to let the guy go back in the draft and wind up benefitting another team. It's "ZOMG SIGN HIM TO WHATEVER HE WANTS AND PUT HIM ON THE FIRST LINE" kind of freaking out, that's what I'm talking about here.

OK, now--this is the part where I point out that this is much the same thing that happened with Eric Staal. He came to camp so that we could see how he did, and when he made a convincing case for being on the team, THEN we signed him. Ladd's in town. He'll be in training camp. If he makes as convincing a case for being NHL-ready as Eric did in his first training camp, then he'll be signed and on the team--otherwise he'll be returned to Calgary (the Hitmen, not the Flames) and we'll keep negotiating.

SO STOP FREAKING BITCHING ALREADY.