Ebbett has flown the Coop
May 17, 2007
A few weeks ago I posted my list of the few guys I would take back from this disastrous season. Number two on my list was Andrew Ebbett, the undrafted rookie that surprised everyone by posting very impressive numbers and outplaying almost all of Ottawa’s ‘prospects’. John Muckler said that Ottawa would worry about picking up the pieces in Binghamton after the NHL club finishes its Stanley Cup run, but apparently Anaheim’s GM felt their prospects were too important to wait. The Ducks signed Ebbett to an entry level contract, apparently the same deal Ottawa put on the table midway through the season.
This is very bad for Binghamton for two reasons. First, we lose one of our best players from last season. Second, and far worse, this proves that Binghamton is not a place where a promising free agent prospect would want to play. I would wager it has less to do about the city and more to do with the organizations. Ebbett played strongly despite having almost no protection from his teammates and no chance for a callup. He is choosing Anaheim not just for future career advancement, but because they are more likely to invest in their AHL team and protect their players.
Maybe I’m starting to sound like a broken record, but the fallout from this season is showing just how bad things got in Binghamton these past two years. Unfortunately, the more Ottawa succeeds this spring the more we will suffer. Muckler will keep his job and will continue to ignore the importance of creating players with a winning attitude in Binghamton. I really hope I’m proven wrong, but the litmus test will be who returns from last years team. Muckler needs to clean house…hell, BURN the house and start from scratch if he is going to create anything positive in Binghamton again.
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