(UPDATE 2:39 PM)- The Ottawa 67's have traded Senators first round pick Cody Ceci to the Owen Sound Attack. Good for Ceci to play some meaningful hockey down the stretch.
The National Hockey League hasn’t yet made the new Collective Bargaining Agreement official and already rumours seem to be swirling a little bit around the Ottawa Senators.
While Bryan Murray and his staff cannot currently engage in trade talks, the team has an apparent need for defensive help and people around the league seem to think Murray could be active early on in an attempt to fill a hole or two on team’s blue line.
The need for defensive help would be a little less urgent if not for a couple of key injuries.
Jared Cowen had to undergo surgery on his hip during the lockout and will be lost for the entire season. Mike Lundin, who was signed in the off season to provide the team with some depth on the back end, suffered a finger injury and is likely to miss the first couple weeks of the season. That injury isn’t as severe as some are suggesting but he certainly isn’t expected to be ready for the January 19th start date to the season.
While Andre Benoit, Patrick Wiercioch- and to a lesser extent, Mark Borowiecki- have all played well in Binghamton and are viable options for the organization early on, you have to believe Murray will at least explore his options to see what is available via trade or free agency during the first couple weeks of the season.
There are plenty of names floating around right now but all are nothing more than educated speculation at this point.
Cam Barker, Kurtis Foster and Sean O’Donnell are all currently free agents and have been mentioned as options. Then there’s always the possibility Bryan Murray looks at the trade route, which could mean using the team’s depth at the goaltending position to bring in an experience defender.
Add to that the speculation that the Senators could be considering dealing Sergei Gonchar to the Penguins and it becomes pretty clear that the blue line is going to be an area to focus on early in this shortened season.
- While most seem to agree that January 19th is the most likely start date to the season, nothing has been finalized just yet. It’s is important for Sens fans to note that the schedule listed on the website is not up to date and will be revised once the league comes up with an official schedule. For more on what a compressed schedule might look like, check out this link.
- For those that missed it, Milan Michalek’s agent Allan Walsh shared a great story about Michalek’s reaction to hearing the lockout was over. Apparently the Sens forward was on the team bus of his Czech League team and asked the driver to pull over at a gas station as soon as he heard the news. Michalek quickly said his good-byes, grabbed his equipment and had a friend come get him. Safe to say Michalek is excited to come back to Ottawa.
Slif will amaze.
You have to remember that there are a handful of teams that now have to get below the cap, may be able to grab a guy for cheap.
GO SENS GO!!!!!
(Damn, that felt good to type!!!!)
To bad Andy Sutton's career is over, I'd take him for a year as a stop gap.
Karlsson Methot
Foster Gonchar
Phillips Lundin/ Boro / Weir/ Benoit
Next year we have Cowen back, Weir will be ready for a bigger role potentially and or we can sign / trade for what we need.
I think Ceci is a full year of AHL development away from taking a regular shift, no sense rushing him.
Anyway who cares we can now stop the bashing, and start forming our teams.
Silfv starts in Ottawa, either with Alfie or with Spezza depending on chemistry in training camp.
Latendresse slides the other top 6 spot. Top 6 complete
Bottom 6 many many questions in terms of where do people slot in.
Depends if we want a checking line or a scoring line that can check.
I like plan B
Regin Smith Condra
leaving Neil Obrien Greening and Daug as the odd man out.
of course depening on training camp Greening Regin and Condra can all be moveable
Real questions come in on our D
Karlsson Methot Phlipps Gonchar on our top 4.... OUCH
Gonchar cannot play top 4 D in the current NHL and as much as I love Phillips he no longer can either.
we need a Cam Barker,or Foster or even O'Donnell for some immediate relief.
And please no more Campoli, had is run here, did not impress.
As for staying away... good luck to all of you, if you come here on Chirpstation to get your fix during the lockout you are an NHL addicet, and unless you get some professional help to break you out of your habbit, you are stuck like the rest of us :)
all kidding aside, we all have every right to be pissed at both the NHL and the Players, but we cannot let our love for ou Sens pay that price... IMHO
Welcome back Chirpers... I miss some of those incredulous opinion... REDDEN? Really????
As much as I don't think Phillips and Gonchar are top 4 dmen anymore, they are still far better than any of the names you guys are bringing up.
Lundin will only be out for a week or two once the season starts, and I believe that Benoit, Boro or especially Weircioch are more than capable of holding down a roster spot in the NHL for the time being.
Anyone who has been watching Binghamton this season, knows that Weircioch more than deserves a shot at the big club. Bryan and Tim Murray, along with Luke Richardson have been praising Weircioch's play this season, and they have even said that they believe that Patrick's skillset may be better suited for the NHL.
yes agreed on Weircoch for sure, that gives you 5 D to start the season, then what?
And I certainly disagree on the Gonchar and Phillips as top 4... they cannot/should not be playing top 4 minutes. if they are we are in trouble.
"Phillips is far better?" wow... take off the homer glasses for a minute. Unless he got a youth injection over the summer, as a shut down defenseman he's slow as it gets.
as for Weircioch, you think he's just going to step into the NHL in a top 4 role? good luck with that...
Are the UFA's mentioned above the best fit long term? no... but we're talking about a condensed season where there is very little room for error and the asking price for trades will be higher now than it will be in the future once teams need to unload cap space.
If they can go out and get a legit top 4, I'm all for it but it better be a guy they really want because the options are going to get better not worse by next year.
Miguel, read my post again, I said I don't think that Phillips and Gonchar are top 4 defensemen.
Still don't know what happened with that guy and why he seemed to be the odd man out so often.
I can only assume there was a good reason why we shipped him out but I would have liked to have kept him around to see if he ever matured into a top 4 guy.
No I don't think Weircioch is just going to step into the top 4, but I think he's just as capable as some fucking bum like O'donnel.
If you think Phillips and Gonchar are slow then clearly you haven't seen Barker or O'Donnell skate in a while.
You don't understand what I'm saying, I'm not a very big Phillips or Gonchar fan, but still, Foster, Barker, Campoli and O'Donnell have been surviving around the league as 6th/7th dmen for the last few seasons. These guys simply aren't the answer.
The players you guys mention aren't going to come in here and save our blueline, they all suck. I'm aware that there isn't any room for error in such a condensed season, but if Murray can't make a deal for a legit NHL dman then he's better off giving the minutes to the young guys currently in our system than a lousy free agent that more than likely will never play in the NHL again.
Agreed.
Option 1: Acquire a guy that can play in our top 4 for a few years to come.
Option 2: Get a legit solid veteran guy who "won't hurt you" to eat some minutes.
Option 3: Stand pat and let the guys in our system platoon until someone steps up.
ok still, if they are not top 4 who will you slot in at 3 and 4?
Boys I love this, we are already in game form one day after the lockout :) Hope our Sens are as ready as we are!
Hax are you just trying to get me all riled up again! I was one of the biggest Lee fans and opposed to that trade from day one.
we dumped him for nothing, and I know he could have fit in our top 4 this year... BM make very few mistakes but for whatever reason he would not have Lee on his top 6 and this year we will see what a bad move that was.
I have no idea what Murray will do. That Cowen injury really hurts us. Unless we deal for a a solid top 4 guy then we'll just have to hope Phillips and Gonchar can pick their play up.
In the end it doesn't matter, last season we made the playoffs with Gonchar playing top 4 minutes, with Kuba playing top pairing minutes. We didn't make the playoffs because of our solid defensive play and that likely won't be the deciding factor again this season.
If the we are going to have a shot at the playoffs we're going to need great goaltending from start to finish, and Karlsson, Spezza, Milan, Alfie and Turris are going to have to carry this team offensively.
fair enough... but i think we would all agree we would love Del Zotto!
Del Zotto would be great, but I'm not in favor of offer sheets. Now that all 14 non-playoff teams have a chance at the first overall pick, 1st round draft picks have become a lot more valuable, and I think it's definitely worth holding on to ours just in case.
All the defenceman mentioned are straight up awful. It would be funny for someone to argue that. None of them can play top 4 minutes. They could barely play as the 6th or 7th Dman. Exactly why they've been bouncing around for so long.
First off Gonchar is still a top 4 guy. Not a good one obviously but he's very capable of paying farely big minutes. And in fact, he needs big minutes to be effective because he's a point producer. Without minutes he's really useless.
Phillips on the other hand is no longer a top 4 guy but is still effective in the 5 spot because of his size and gritty play. The good part about him is he he's more than capable of playing a few games with a bigger role. He is miles a head of any other defenceman that is being thrown around as a possible UFA we should sign. He isn't as slow as some people are saying and he can still play some pretty solid D. In fact he along with Methot arethe only real penalty killers we have.
I like Weirchoch and Borowiechi because they are both solid at different areas of the game. Boro can help with the PK and Weir can fill out the back end on the PP.
Lundin will be back farely soon and then we'd have a useless Campoli or some shit sitting around. Might as well give Weirchoch and Borowiechi some games while they're available to see what they've got.
Only other option I'd like is Murray going out and trading for a top 2 guy with some sort of package including Bishop, Zibanejad and other 2nd or 3rd tier prospects
seems to me like Grant is a viable replacement for Zach Smith at some point and we have a surplus of guys to play center so Smith might just prove to be the right peice to move for a great longer term fix.
still leaves us
spezza, Turris, Regin, JOB, Grant, Zibanejad and DaCosta...
something will have to give at some point because they can't all play for the Sens at the same time.
Go sens go
Good to be back reading about the team instead of the business end of thing no doubt. I agree that we are in a real bind with our D situation and depending what decision Murray decides to make and when... this can have really drastic impact on our season. Before you know it *bam* we could be down to talking lottery pick, which I don't think would be a bad thing.
I think Hax summarized our options to the letter and personally I think we should go with door #2 or door #3. We have a few potential NHL ready guys in Bingo waiting for their shot, I'd like to see us ride with the guys we have and see how they've developed. Things go South quickly then I think Murray possibly pulls the trigger on a "wont hurt us" kind of guy.
At the end of the day through Lundin will be back and hopefully be strong on our back end. Really though versus last season we are 'only' missing Cowen, which really sucks but we need to be able to deal with one of the young guys going down for an extended period of time. I just hope he can come back at 100% next season...
So yeah you know are D situation is bad when we wish Lee was still lacing them up for us instead of Tampa, wish we still had him would be a big help at this point!
Ahhh yes, despite the fact that I am boycotting spending any hard $$$ on the NHL whatsoever this year at least there will be SENS on TV to fill the void on those dark, wintry nights. Should be quite the interesting season, very little margin for error in the standings and heck if those arseholes in blue&white get off to a strong start again they may not even have enough runway left to blow it and may actually make the playoffs after all these years, haha!
For us, barring some mega move(s) by Murray I can see us anywhere from squeaking into the last playoff spot all the way down to the bottom 5 in the league.
I was so mad when they traded this guy. Considering how much the org could have had if they had drafted better it was their duty to make sure this could worked out. And he was working out at the end of last year. He would be a perfect 4-5-6 D for us right now. Even bringing in Lundin would have been unnecessary with Lee around
I love Zach also but I'd do that trade straight up. Maybe audition Arnott to fill the void at C for a season if nobuddy else is ready to step up!
We got killed on that trade.
Problem with this is that Zach Smith is the ONLY secondary thoughness on this team. His value is much higher than a plain 4th line centreman.
Plus, everyone loves his crazy hair.
So no trade.
His hair....serious ly? Is this a beauty site?
Carle, Matt
Hedman, Victor
Brewer, Eric
Salo, Sami
Ohlund, Mattias
Lee, Brian
Bergeron, M.
Mikkelson, B.
I see no reason not to give the first crack at 5th/6th to Wiercioch and 1 of Borowiecki or Gryba. I like to think Benoit could offer enough to be worthwhile, but our D is already so soft.
My main hope is some sort of trade for Edler or someone like that. Some of the Gonchar to Pitt rumours could be nice as well.
I missed this place and still checked in from time to time but man I was just to bitter about that shitshow of a lockout lol
I think we are going to finish pretty close to the same position as last year as our offense has actually improved a little IMO. GL will be pretty good (easily replacing foligno's numbers), Regin knows this is probably his last chance to make it/stay in the NHL and if he can stay healthy, the guy has talent. I think Turris will be awesome and Silf will get off to a slow start but will come in to his own nicely.
The loss of Cowen hurts no doubt but think Murray should stay the course and have a couple callups for the guys who have earned them. NO!!! to all the current crop of UFA D-Men. If anything is to be done here, it would need to be through trade.
Provided Anderson can get going and play up to at least last years standards we should be ok and whether we bring up Lehner of Bishop or both lol we are looking good in nets with whatever tandem we end up with out of the 3.
Goals for will be slightly above last year but with our D the way it is looking right now, we will be a little worse in goals against so should even out nicely with us sliding into the playoffs in the 7/8 spot.
Man it feel good to say this
GO SENS GO!!!!!
As Andrews Theory pointed out, we do have an abundance of possible and capable 3rd and 4th line Centers to fill the void if Smith is used in a trade. I love what Smith brings to the table, but if he's the asking price for a top 4 D, you pay it, simple as that.
Our D has a higher need for immediate relief than our forwards as we are overflowing in that Dept at the moment. 3rd or 4th line C's aren't as hard to come by as top 4 D.
All the talk about signing previous players, such as Barker, Foster, O’Donnell or Campoli, why not lure Preissing back while were at it? It's already been said, but these guys are readily available for a reason, they've lost something. Honestly, the only guy (if we HAD to take one) I'd give a shot too is O’Donnell. Simply because his play level decreased only because of age, as he's 41. He didn't just get lazy or continually sidelined or scratched, like the others.
Neither is strong enough in our own end.
So we bring up Wiercoch to play with Philips, and Boro to play with Gonchar? And we see how that plays out for he first few games?
Tough decisions in a shortened season, but Anderson saved our ass many games last year, lets hope he can do more of the same, and even more, with this D.
I know some teams already have ~68M allocated in salary for the year and with players left to sign but... this snippet on the new CBA does not make it very clear WTF teams can do:
The upper limit on the salary cap in the first year is $60 million, but teams can spend up to $70.2 million (all pro-rated). The cap floor will be $44 million.
There has to be a winner regardless. And if we never get a chance to win it again, at least we could claim to one Cup win. Anyhow, Drouin is better.
Latendresse - Turris - Alfredsson
Greening - Regin - Condra (Stone)
Z. Smith - JOB - Neil/Daugavins
Methot - Karlsson
Boroweicki - Gonchar
Phillips - Lundin/Benoit/Wiercioch/Gryba
Anderson - Bishop/Lehner
My guess is that Murray will sign a free agent & since Kurtis Foster is from the Ottawa area he could be at the top of the list, so is O`Donnel but he is older & I think done. Should be interesting too if Murray moves some prospects for another NHL defenceman. Would love to see him get rid of some of the smurfs like Pageau, Da Costa, Caporusso, Petersson & Wideman although I`m not sure they are worth anything.
If Lehner is 100% ready and they want to use him this shortened season, then Bishop (or even Anderson) gets traded. Not complicated really and a good situation to be in.
Please let's not start the "Lehner is getting screwed" talk though.
Last time I checked, the '95 Devils.
I'm down for that. Everyone is scared to admit it but without Cowen or a big trade for a top 3 Dman were not gonna be very good.
Seth jones would completely round out our team. Apart from hopefully acquiring Perry at seasons end
Which was the first of 3 in 9 years for them. Winning is habitual.
wasnt it the NYR? the old ass team that they were
Michalek - Spezza - Silfverberg
Latendresse - Turris - Alfredsson
Greening - Zibanejad - Neil
Regin - O'Brien - Condra
Daugavins
Methot - Karlsson
Hjalmarsson - Gonchar
Phillips - Lundin/AHL guy
Given that we hopefully have a couple of guys that could step in on D next year (when Lundin and Gonchar are gone and Phillips is another year older) that doesn't look half bad.
I totally agree that Smith's grit would be hard to replace but there's still plenty of physical play there - if not really any fighters beyond Neil.
They won the year before the '94 lockout. They were the LA Kings of this lockout.
interesting timing; Jan 10 is the OHL trade deadline I believe. If you are Owen Sound, do you make that trade only to have Sens invite him to camp and possibly give him a try out? They must get some assurances from Murray and Co that he isnt going to camp if that trade goes through next couple days.
(Personally, I dont think Ceci goes to this mini-camp)
Those are some awesome numbers for a 48 game season!
1 - wow they sure all got there fast
2 - I thought the 'lockout' was technically still in place, I'm surprised players are already allowed to use team facilities, although I don't have a problem with it
Not that Garrioch has ever been wrong but you raise a good point. Of course it depends on what's going the other way. Maybe Owen Sound is aware of the risk but only giving up a small asset - similar to when a team trades for a pending free agent or something with no guarantee of signing him.
Yeah, that guarantees we win pretty much every award in the league except for possibly the Vezina! Haha.
topical;
http://www.lfpress.com/2013/01/06/deadline-could-be-delayed
Plenty of players have been skating in their NHL cities throughout the lockout. I think most have had access to the ice etc but some of the other facilities have been locked. I'm guessing they left the doors unlocked in most NHL rinks today and sort of look the other way if NHL players show up (until it's official that is).
Tied for second in the league, the Attack must be making a legitimate push, not just frittering away a couple useless pieces...
“I’m not sure,” Murray said in an interview with the Citizen. “I was hoping I wouldn’t have to, but from the looks of it, with Lundin out for a bit of time, too, we probably will have to do something.”
http://www.senatorsextra.com/main/murray-in-the-market-for-a-d-man
All the more reason to take a gamble if you ask me. Assuming they're giving up picks or something. If they know there's a chance Ceci makes the Sens (which I think is pretty slim anyway) they still might want to send over a 2nd round pick and the 67s might figure they'll get something for him when they can.
All pure speculation, but I don't think a Garrioch trade rumor can be considered an indication that Murray has already decided not to even look at Ceci.
Methot - Karlsson
Phillips - Lundin
Wiercioch - Engelland
Not in love with that 2nd pairing but it looks better when Cowen is back next season.
Man, it's good to have hockey back!
I agree with a lot of what you said, but you cannot say that Ottawa's goals for will be better this year than last with a goals against being worse and that we'll still land in 7th or 8th spot for the playoffs.
Ottawa finished WAY above expectations last year in Goals for. In fact, we were 4th overall with 243 total, which is 2.96% per game, more than anyone every expected. The only teams above the Sens were Pittsburgh, Philly and Boston. We were ahead of Vancouver, if that's saying anything. Add on the fact that we won many of those last minute 3rd period games, which we had no business winning, which is what landed us a playoff spot in the first place.
Also, if you take into account, as amazing as some of the games Andy played were, we were 24th overall in goals against with 236. Normally in this situation you're on the outside looking in come playoffs, but we still squeezed out the last playoff spot, against some pretty good teams.
I'm a Sens fan, but do you seriously expect us to do that again? I think most of us agreed last year, before it started, we were finishing in the bottom somewhere, and would do so for about 2 years, 3 was even possible. We've lost players and we've added players who haven't even played a game in a Sens jersey and we are already expecting a playoff birth. I just don't want to see fans flip a lid if the Sens don't do as hot as many are expecting.
As I said before, I'm all Sens through and through and I'm super pumped about this short season we're going to be treated too. But we should all be somewhat prepared in-case things don't go as planned.
They are going to be scary good this year but they'll have to dump some guys next year without a question.
No way can they hang on to Heatley w his price tag and there a few guys with expiring contracts including Cullen (love this guy) and P Bouchard. with the Wilds stable of young talent they can likely fill from within somewhat but if they have to dump these three players were talking about an inevitable step backwards.
Any word on the full list of forwards and D?
I'm guessing Silfverberg has to be one of the 3 extra forwards (over and above the 12 on NHL contracts).
Wiercioch, Borowiecki and Benoit are likely among the D but that leaves one more by my count.
Hoffman likely gets an invite too. Then the third spot likely goes to Stone, or Zibanejad if he's healthy. Da Costa has looked good. Derek Grant an outside shot.
Gryba or Eckford realistically...
as for forwards, there are going to be injuries and call ups faster than we'd all like to admit - you know that Regin and/or Latendresse are not playing the full season
I'd like to see them keep Stone down in bingo along with Zibby with call up duty to continue rounding out there game.
Not sure how much more Hoffman or Grant will progress down there at this point which is why I'd like to see them given the nod for training camp.
silf, hoffman, grant
HOLY CRAP ITS HARD TO WORK...
And if the Sens have any hope of going for the fast start route this season, I hope Lehner at least gets the job while Anderson warms into form.
Saw that. Interesting.
Likely players ahead of him that deserve the shot but it's important to keep him hungry. Really wonder where Da Costa fits moving forward.
I'd think Da Costa is stuck in AHL until Turris or Spezza get injured. He needs more minutes than 4th line give, and he doesn't have the size/grit for 3rd line. Long term he could fit nicely on someone's 2nd line, but keeping him as an injury callup until then is a good plan imo.
Beat me to it! If Karlson has a 70 pt season, my first born child will be named "Erik Karlson" (first name), regardless of gender.
They have to be selective since Bingo keeps playing during the camp (I assume). Plenty of guys that would have been invited to a pre-season camp will have to miss this so Bingo can ice a team.
You have to think that the sens know what da costa is able to do and that he can jump right into a spot if there is an injury up the middle. I like that they are having a look at stone. Maybe it lights a fire under his ass to make the big club.
Poor kid! I'll forgive you if your daughter's first name is "Erika Karlsson" though!
If he hits 1.5 pts per game she better damn well be honoured to wear the name!
NO.
WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!
Man, feels good to be wasting time on senschirp at work again!!!
ALFIE! ALFIE! ALFIE!!!!
Sens GM Bryan Murray just told @TEAM1200Ottawa that the newest Owen Sound Attack Cody Ceci will attend Senators camp when it breaks #67s
Stone makes sense because BM and the training staff have been high on him to begin with. Him and Silfverberg actually. They felt good enough to bring both of them in during the playoffs, they obviously feel both of them have what it takes to start the season or at least be competitive in an NHL jersey.
I'd love to see Hoffman get his shot, he's been a beast behind Silfverberg in production this year. And Grant is the other guy I think Ottawa will be happy to introduce soon, but it may be a year in the making.
Hard to say about Da Costa. He's naturally a play maker and fits the role of Center in the A. But all to often it does come down to size in the NHL and he just may not be able to handle the physical edge that a 2nd line C would endure. And if he's not playing 2nd line C or able to transition to a wing position, he's basically being under utilized. With Smith, O'Brien, Regin already available for the 3rd and 4th line C, it basically looks like a long shot he'll see NHL ice with Ottawa. It's almost unfair, but in the end I think Ottawa moves him for extra depth at different positions if they intend on him remaining as a C.
doubtful but deserving with a point per game avg this year
Great to hear Noesen might get an invite too! Really big on this kid long term.
Get past 1st round in playoffs: Yes
Leading Scorer: Jason Spezza
Most surprising player: Guillame Latendresse
Comeback player: Z. Smith/Phillips
Slow starter: Methot
Fast starter: Milan Michalek
Doghouse candidate: Jason Spezza(as always for some reason)
Rookie defenseman to crack roster first: P. Wierococh
Trade for a defenseman early or wait and see: wait
Trade bait: Ben Bishop
Division team Ottawa will have most trouble with: Montreal
Division team Ottawa will dominate: Buffalo/Toronto
Is this Alfie’s last season: No, he will play again next season.
Stanley cup winner: Philadelphia Flyers
Stanley cup finalist: St louis Blues
got this from black aces, thought itd be fun!
I want to have a good feeling, but I'll admit it's mixed emotions right now. He has the skill-set to impress when he's motivated, he's shown that. I just hope all the talk about him being hyped up, working out, etc, are still in affect now that the lockout is over.
Drouin better than Seth Jones? Not a chance. Who ever gets Seth Jones will be getting a future Hall of Famer.
I seen Wiercoch pracitising this summer with Turris, and he looked massive.
Was always tall, but he also beefed up, and not only is he one of our top scoring D in the A, but he is also at a plus 9. He deserves the shot and will be fine.
http://www.hockeyprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=1419
I agree Miguel. Even on the few highlights I have seen he looks alot bigger. He seems to be ready to make the jump, although Benoit will also get a long look.
I'm amazed, however, that Ceci is being invited...
With that being said, even if you pull teams like Florida and Jersey out of the equation from last year, there are still too many teams to include Ottawa in that top 8 list.
I hope the Sens prove me wrong and come out guns blazing and rip it up from start to finish, but we are in serious need of some magical efforts on the ice as well as some major blunders from other teams, like last year, if we are going to make it.
Every year there is a team or two who do the unthinkable, Ottawa and Florida were those teams last year. Would love to see the Sens do it again, but I'm expecting the Islanders could be that team this year in the East.
As for the West, I think most agree it's time, the Oilers will give many teams trouble this year and will make the playoffs, in a similar high goals for and bad goals against season that Ottawa had last year. Minnesota will be the other team to watch.
Not much they can do really. It does make me wonder if the 67's did know in advance and had no problem moving him for that reason, cause they may have lost him to the Sens anyway.
It's been rumored for a long time he'd get traded this year, no matter what happened in the NHL. The 67s are getting ready to rebuild and he was one of their few tradeable assets.
A lot of people forget that Wiercioch is 6'4, 210 lbs. I think he's actually closer to 6'5 like Cowen, so he's not a small man on the ice. In fact, he gets a lot of praise for using his long stick defensively in the same way Chara did. His offense is great this year, but he still has the same problem Cowen has, doesn't use his size to play a physical game. And when he's called up to Ottawa, he won't be depended on for points, it's the defensive game they'll want from him. The points he does get will just be a bonus!
Locks - Rangers, Penguins, Flyers, Bruins, Capitals
Bubble - Hurricane, Sens, Sabres, Panthers, Lightning,
Out - Devils, Leafs, Habs, Jets, Islanders
Carolina should make it, but their D is still a bit suspect and with injuries their depth up front after the top 3 is becoming a concern.
Benoit-Gonchar
Phillips-Ceci
Borocop/UFA defenseman
The Sens D does scare me this season. The loss of Cowen will hurt. It should be pretty easy to replace the 30 games that Carkner played last season.
Sens lose the fighters in Carkner & Konopka.. but not every team has those type of players. They will need Zach Smith to help Neil in the toughness department.
http://www.senatorsextra.com/main/murray-in-the-market-for-a-d-man
Apparently Murray has had calls from several free agents.. Really.. free agents calling Ottawa? Is that the power of the 'Stache.. Remember him?
Apparently the injury to Lundin is his thumb.
I have read that it is Silfverberg, Stone & Hoffman coming up for the forwards.
Can't find where I read it to see who the defensemen were that are coming up - I can't remember.
It's 15F, 8D & 3G..
If they start on Saturday.. I wonder if it will be opened up to the fans...
The more I think about hockey back.. the more excited I'm getting..
I was thinking the same thing about Carolina.. especially with the Jordan Staal acquisition. How will Semin perform? Will he be a more motivated player now that he is not with Ovechkin?
Carolina has decent D as well.. and their goaltender is excellent.. (Cam Ward).
Heard the other night leaving the 67's game.. that Puempel re-injured his shoulder. Don't know how severe... but that can't be good.
There's actually room for both right now, but I do agree Weircioch appears like the front runner.
I was referring to this
Methot-Karlsson
Benoit-Gonchar
Phillips-Ceci
Borocop/UFA defensema
To me Boro/Weir address our needs more, Ceci has been invited to show him what's up but they want him in the OHL playing with a winner
D-men (except guys picked in the top 5) rarely if ever play NHL the season after they're drafted. I can't see Ceci playing with the Senators this season (outside of a couple of games before he gets sent back to Owen Sound).
Wiercioch has a good shot I think. He's seemed "nearly" ready for some time and (by the sounds of things) has finally started to fill out his big frame a bit more. Plus he and Turris have (again, apparently) been busting their asses this off season.
Now, the best thing for him would be to play half the games as the 6/7 guy so that still basically means we need another guy beyond Lundin.
I have less of a problem with people getting Wiercioch wrong than people who couldn't spell Elliott or other lame misspellings like:
Alfy
Neal
Smyth
Regan
etc
Chirp - can you "add words to dictionary" on this site? Only the OCD among us really care of course.
Anderson was doing some on ice training from time to time and did some traveling to the Northwest Territories for some charity games or something. So he hasn't been completely off the ice. I'd think the training camp should be enough to get him going. He won't be the only semi-rusty player out there.
The talk about the Goalies makes for a tough decision by the Ottawa staff and not because of who to keep in Ottawa to start the season. They are bringing all 3 up because it's only fair to do so, but because of 1 way contracts the starter and backup in Ottawa will be Anderson and Bishop. It's unfortunate for Lehner, but he knows this, he signed the two way contract. Having that contact means he's the odd man out and will be sent back to hold what little of a fort is left in Bingo this season, even if he does deserve his shot.
However, if BM feels he can make a worthwhile trade that moves either Anderson or Bishop, that's the only way Lehner will get a call up and stay up. And is it worth having your future #1 sitting as a backup on the bench behind Anderson? I feel it would have to be a trade moving Anderson leaving the Lehner and Bishop as your 1a/1b type of deal, if a trade is done.
I would like him to average 2 goals per game against the Habs. Ole, Ole....
I hope it's not that set in stone right now.
Anderson is historically a slow starter in a normal season and Lehner's been playing pretty lights out in the AHL. It would be hard to trust a thing the Sens say if Lehner is the best goalie for a 3rd camp in a row and gets sent down again.
I know the contracts line up as you said, but I sure hope if Lehner is the best goalie they just suck it up and trade Anderson.
I was never really a vote for Montreal last year, but they didn't get worse this year, they actually added some size and grit, even though they are 3rd and 4th liners. And I wouldn't put Buffalo as a bubble team, they have too much going for them. I don't disagree with Ottawa and the Panthers being in similar situations though, as I think both overachieved last year.
Ewe guise our weigh two anel reetentive.... haw haw....
Ottawa roster broken down by TSN. not the best analysis but the left of players that are available is nice
I'm often tempted to make the misspellings banned words on the site that auto correct to the appropriate spelling.
to me it's a respect thing.
If I'm going to cheer for these players I should at least learn to spell their names.
This article is hilarious http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/feature/?id=79368
Really Silfverberg is behind Neil, Condra, and Zibanejad(someo ne who won't likely even be invited to camp) in the depth chart, way to shoot anything of merit the article had right in the foot.
The only change to the forwards will be Latendresse & Silfverberg in and Foligno & Winchester out. The Sens had the 4th or 5th best in goals in the NHL last season. I'm not worried about the forwards.. it is the D.
Ottawa is not yet ready to contend for a Cup.. like the teams you mentioned.
Also last season, Ottawa was fortunate to not have key long term injuries. Unfortunately this year they start with one in Cowen... let's hope that's it...
Fired up!!!!!!!!
I can agree with that. Buffalo is looking fierce for the short and long term.
In the summer I'd have said Condra could be on the bubble to lose out to a Hoffman or Stone, but the fact he's been playing and doing well at that will definitely help his cause. Has a good 2way game as well. I still wouldn't discount the possibility though, we're still short on proven offense and will need all lines to be able to contribute on a regular basis.
I think he will be an effective 3rd line player that can relatively effectively swap into the 2nd in a pinch.
As for teams that make it...tsn likes the Sens chances based on what they were saying today but I think it really depends on whether Murray swings a trade for a top 4 D otherwise I think we end up falling short.
I think the Lightning are going to be much better this year with a fresh D core and goalie and I think people underestimate NJ as usual. Sabres are too good to miss again, Carolina upgraded significantly and I'd be surprised to see them fall short
In;
Rangers, Penguins, Flyers, Bruins, Capitals, Sabres, Hurricanes
Bubble - Sens, Panthers, Lightning, Devils
Out - Leafs, Habs, Jets, Islanders
I know that the Senators need a defencemen more!
I just would like to see Corey Perry in a Ottawa Senators uniform!
up coming draft!
I wouldn't count out the Islanders. Loads of young talent is coming of age. If the schedule is nearly balanced within the conference, they could sneak in. If it's division-heavy, then too many close losses against Pittsburgh, Rangers, Flyers will keep them out.
I'd like to be more optimistic, but Ottawa is still thin everywhere. Any injury to a key player will leave a giant hole, and the compressed schedule will not do us any favours in that regard.
It's almost starting to feel real that hockey might be back :)
I would play it like this to start
Michalek-Spezza-Latendresse
Alfie-TUrris-Silfverberg
Greening-Regin-Stone
Condra-O'Brien-Neil
Karlsson-Methot
d-trade-WIorcioch
D-trade-Phillips
(Boro or Benoit)
No question they have a boat load of young talent and Tavaras is a monster but they haven't supplemented them with enough skilled veterans, you need a mix.
Granted, they added Visnovksy and Streit but if you think our top 4 D looks thin...eesh..
They continue to rely on guys to play a role that they aren't ready for and they have two goalies with huge question marks.
Toronto fans don't need to be reminded again about playoff success, but they might want to remember that the team is one of only three NHL clubs to have finished in the bottom third of the league in each of the last five seasons (the Islanders and Thrashers/Jets being the others).
Indeed - and I'd have bet you my next paycheque that spezzafan19 would be the source.
Uhhhh that's some craziness up above, pretty sure death threats are frowned upon on the site and pretty much everywhere else...
On another note, apparently Visnovsky is not reporting to NYI and will remain in Russia.
Ouch.
Nahhhh - "the Grammar Police" posts are great.
There's way too much gibberish posted here
Chirp has a great site for us where we can discuss hockey and he doesn't want this garbage on here
I saw that, and officially take back my comment about NYI surprising people this year. lol
All posts get an automatic A unless it's pointed out that they don't.
Well considering he is a "free" bird I would assume that he has traveled the sky a fair bit. If one assumes that he is a native Canadian bird then surely it is likely that he has seen "hockey" while soaring above the landscape and therefore surely he knows about hockey. Did you ever stop to consider that perhaps this "free bird" does not post anything about hockey because it is hard to type with a beak?
Tazin' by Noesen
Ohh Ahh Silfverberg, say ohh ahh Silfverberg
Let's repeat the 2011 draft and have numerous 1st rounders
Alfie is King
Ranger has been great for the Marlies. He's a vet who still young (28 yrs) and he could step in immediately.
Also, since he's been playing regularly there are no questions as to his fitness level as there would be with some other ufa's.
I am just reading all this, this morning and missed a bunch of the garbage... but it seems that some people take this stuff a bit too serious... We are all on here because we love hockey and the Sens... let's chat hockey and not personal.
This would not be a good idea for Ottawa. Martin has 2 years left at $5M per. Gonchar is off the books this year. Ottawa has positioned themselves nicely for next summer, no need to destroy our cap room by taking on someone else's problems. We should look for picks back for Gonchar more than players. Let the kids in Bingo have a chance. Or trade for a better D-man than Martin.
Welcome back!
I think it's too risky of a season to make a trade that will cost us the future. But part of me would give the entire future to give Alfie a cup even if it has an asterisk next to it.
I's going to be a wild and crazy season, I say stick to what we have on the farm.
Wow I never really thought about it that way.... I should probably cut the freebird a break lol
FREEQuoting Canucnik:
F
Have you seen this guy play? Wierciochis not even an AHL dman defensively. He is nothing short of terrible! Gryba and Boro are much closer to Cowen with Gryba outplaying Boro this year.