There was some speculation that a Leaf may get the nod but I like the decision to go with Chara. He was a fan favourite during his time here in Ottawa so it will be pretty cool to see him back here, going head to head with Alfredsson.
The draft will take place on January 26th in a televised event being held at Casino Lac-Leamy
Changing the subject a little, the trade deadline is a little over a month away and there has been plenty of speculation about what the Senators might or might not do. In an article written by Ian Mendes, Bryan Murray talked about the plans leading up to the deadline and how they might change if the Sens are still holding down a playoff spot.
Murray confirms what I’ve mentioned before- that it will largely depend on what Melnyk is willing to do. "Eugene is going to be a big part of it because we did have a plan in place," explained Murray.
The plan refers to that internal budget the organization is working with this season. The good news is recent comments by Melnyk and Murray seem to strongly indicate that the club could re-evaluate that budget if they are in a good spot towards the middle of February.
With regards to the trade deadline, James Gordon (@sensreporter) posted a Q to sens fans on his twitter during the Winnipeg game.
The question is if the Sens were to make a move for Bobby Ryan at the deadline, and the asking price was our 1st round pick this year and Mika Zibanejad would you pull the trigger?
What do you guys say?
Cmon now.
Sorry Chirp but I dont like the guy. He played soft for us when it counted. Disappeared in the playoffs
I refuse to believe he played soft for us. He's the captain of a championship team for a reason
Don't make any moves at the deadline that we woulnd't have made if we were in last place (i.e. I don't mind Ryan but the price should be one that we'd have paid regardless of our place in the standings).
Within reason of course, some of the minor deals like keeping Kuba instead of getting a 3rd rounder or grabbing a guy off waivers etc might be different decisions if we're 5th compared to 12th at the deadline.
But please, nothing that has the potential to look bad 2-3 years from now. Nobody over 30 coming our way (unless they're UFA's this season) and nobody under 30 going the other way unless we simply don't have room for him etc.
1 - He simply wanted to be captain *somewhere*
2 - He wanted too much money
3 - Muckler could have had him but chose Redden
4 - Redden (and friends) didn't want him around
5 - whatever other rumors are out there
I like him as the "other" captain. There's plenty of reasons to cheer against him (division rival etc) but he is a guy you can (and should) respect as well - unless 1 or 2 are actually true I guess.
Wishful thinking...
That said, getting a C clearly helped him take his game to the next level.
I find it hard to say anything bad about him.
So Melnyk might approve a waiver pick-up or getting a UFA off someone (assuming it's for a late-round pick).
I don't think anyone is thinking about moving out "rebuild guys" for rentals.
(Please, please)
I don't think so. I just get the feeling Zbad will be a really good fit on this young team going forward.
Murray says we need "a forward" but I don't really see why (other than injury insurance I guess).
If we want to do well in the playoffs we'll need to play better team D and for god's sake get a capable backup.
Mika alone may turn out to be a top line player for his entire career which hasn't even begun. We have his rights for seven years starting next year and Ryan could walk away after three very expensive seasons that Melnyk probably doesn't want to pay for. And a first rounder in a very deep draft is to valuable to give up unless you think your team has a legit chance of winning it all. I don't want to move any pieces that we have identified as part of our future for short term gain. I have no problem with Murray tinkering by moving guys like Lee, Regin, Winnie or Kuba if the return is at least a second round pick. If the offer's for Kuba are garbage then we should just let him walk on July 1 instead of messing with team chemistry.
Thats my wishlist:
A capable Vet (UFA) dman who can log minutes (for injuries and critical situations)
A backup goalie (Auld isn't worth a damn, I mean Anderson has been good, so you keep playing him, but they can't give him a night off without risking a loss) I actually think Lehner can fill this void.
Yeah I think/hope what BM is talking about is getting a top 6 or top 9 guy that essentially pushes someone like Butler or Daugavins to the press box and adds depth for the playoffs. I don't think he's looking to add a building block for the future.
In 2-3 years if we're headed for the playoffs then he might want to add a big name guy like Pitt did with Neal etc.
Agreed. Lehner is fine as backup for the playoffs I think. Happy to dump Auld (if anyone wants him) and sign some other guy to back up until Bingo's year is over - but I assume we'll end up stuck with Auld unless he strings together a few decent games.
On D - I'd love to shed Kuba for an early pick but then we'd need to sign a guy to fill that void. So again, we might end up stuck with him here. Though if Boroweicki can play well Murray might feel comfortable trading Kuba and leaning on Lee to step up and Boro to be the depth guy.
Still think a depth forward would be nice unless Winchester is 100% healthy (and everyone else) and Hoffman, Petersson etc are showing the ability to step in if needed.
I wouldn't do it for Ryan, but I would do it for Perry or Parise or maybe even Nash.
Congrats to Chara on the nomination, well deserved and I expect he will get a standing ovation when he's announced!
Thats my opinion anyways. Obviously if we could get Parise with the same package that would be favourable, but the bennefit of Ryan is he is a RW. ZBad is a right wing so theres a trade off there, AND Alfie is a RW so Ryan could serve as a replacement should Alfie retire this year or next year.
and the Senators, like fools, prematurely gave up on him. he did pretty well his last playoff run.
Not many people predicted that Chara would still be a force in the new "not touchie" NHL. And not many people predicted that Redden would plummet to Earth like a meteorite.
In hindsight, sure, it's a horrible mistake made by Muckler. But I personally can't be too hard on him as I didn't cry foul at the time.
Ditto, I thought Redden would continue to be a force and Chara would be just another good dman, 1:1 basically.
what if the Sens traded Auld to Dallas for Andrew Raycroft? Despite his rep, he has been a pretty reliable backup for Dallas and Vancouver the last few years. He got roughed up a bit this year but it couldnt hurt. it would be a straight up trade but I don't know why Dallas would bother since Raycroft is in the minors. they really wouldnt gain anything in Auld. (mainly due to them going with their younger guy earlier than expected) worst case, Raycroft sucks and they bring up Lehner to start a few keys games down the stretch and backup in the playoffs. I just dont know if the sens could get any other backup without giving up a pick or something of value which they shouldnt.
Shanny can be insane, but he's not THAT insane.
Anyone can see in reply that Phaneuf tried to jump over the hit - thus "clipping" himself.
Shouldn't have been a penalty, let alone a fine/suspension.
The only people even talking about it are laugh fans.
This was the overwhelming thought in Sens land at the time... I always laugh when people go on about how horrible of a decision it was, when nobody was saying so at the time..
Leafs last pick two years in a row; Phanoops picked last.
that and the fact that apparently Spezza was sitting on reimer's head when the 2nd goal was scored...cry me a river I say...if the roles were reversed, they would have been screaming it was a good goal. fickle/retarded bunch they are those leaf fans.
should the sens slide to sixth spot in the standings to get the nice favourable matchup. runs the risk of running into washington in the playoffs though, but i think the caps are a lesser playoff beast than ottawa, plus their coach is brand spanking new to the league compared to Paul Maclean who already has a ring from detroit.
i am getting the warm and fuzzies about the sens coached by Paul Maclean in the playoffs. fingers crossed!
You might still if Chara wins the toss
I'll be surprised if he signs a deal before July 1. Someone is going to give him 7-8 million on a long term deal as the FA class this year is weak. I'd love to have him but his choice is probably going to depend on geography and calibre of the team as the offers will all be similar.
Will not skate today. Back on the ice tomorrow at 2:30 PM ahead of their game with the Sharks.
But at the end of the day, I always wanted more from Chara when he played here. That series against Buffalo in 06 was some of his worst hockey defensively. He gave up at times.
And it's made matters worse that he's started to play well in the playoffs recently. Where was that for us?
At least we know Lehner will be available to back up Anderson for the playoffs. He's one hell of an upgrade on Auld especially with his AHL Calder Cup experience.
It's too early to sign big ticket UFAs. Summer of 2013 maybe, more likely summer of 2014.
Of course, if a young UFA is looking for a reasonable 5-year deal then fine.
What a great way to end my B-day,
Sens beat the Laffs, in a statement game, to keep them out of the playoffs!
I will be very happy to admit that I was very wrong about the Turris trade.
I did not know much about him, but he is very much a 200ft player, ala Red Wing type, like a Zetterberg.
Even if Rundblad pans out as I am sure he will, we did not need what he brought, as we have Karlsson already in the fold.
But what a very pleasant surprise Turris has been for me, and as someone already noted, it is very easy to forget he is our youngest forward on the team... WoW to think of what his peak might be!!!
But have to say we really need to give some better support to Anderson...he is exaclty what I expected him to be, and if we had him 8 years ago we would probably have a couple of cups by now.
I know that there are some Philips die hards on this forum, and he really is more than a reputable character, and great person, but the reality is, so is Chirp, but he is not making 3 mil, to play lousy Defense.
Philips best days are 3 years removed, he is getting worse every year, and unfortunatley does not have the mobility to keep up to todays speedy forwards, he is a liability now, so please pass the stick on to Brian Lee, who is younger, faster and better the Philips right now. IMHO of course
I think both teams "won" the Turris trade. I'm certainly happy with it right now and expect to always be (though I was pissed when I first heard we let Rundblad go). But I still think Rundblad will be a stud in a few years.
In regards to Phillips - I really don't get where people are getting this "liability" BS. He's not always perfect but he plays in situations other guys don't and is expected to do more on his own etc. He's the one D-man to have mutliple partners this year and I think he's still a guy I want on the ice when we're killing a penalty or proecting a late lead.
I believe in that Buffalo series Chara was playing with a broken hand.
The only good move Muckler made was re-signing Phillips & Volchy to decent contracts..
He blindsided Hossa in that trade for (fu.... all-star) and Hossa was the better overall player..
The players that were key to Ottawa's SCF run... we all here prior to Muckler arriving... so he really did not bring in anyone..
oh I forgot -- Corvo, Gerber & Hasek..
Just want the Sens to start playing 3 periods of hockey.. not 1... sooner or later their luck will run out playing that way.
Great win last night... if they go .500 on this road trip.. that would be great. It's gonna be a tough one.
Ya, you're probably right but he's still pretty young at 26. Trade deadline and free agency will be fun.
Well put and could not agree more.
We're actually not quite as good as our record indicates (too many points where we had to pull of miracle comebacks). BUT we've got the potential to be much better than our record if we could play 60 minutes at the same level.
Not strange for a young team to be like that - hopefully we gradually learn to just play hard from the start instead of only "getting going" when we're down a goal or two.
A good player that Murray should look at is Ryan Smyth.
Another option Murray should at is maybe trading for a RFA next summer maybe somthing like this for example Brian Lee for Eric Fehr. Some other rfa's Murray should look at but they might cost too much to get are Chris Stewart or TJ Galiardi.
My only knock on Suter is that he's going to be too expensive. I'd rather build our future team around Spezza, Karlsson etc in terms of top dollar guys. Then once that's all settled we can spend whatever cap room we have left on one or two finishing pieces.
Ryan Smyth is available for a fifth round pick?
Why? What did he do other than be an unreal defenseman for us for 4 years?
Just want to pass on a very touching article regarding Daron Richardson and how the team rallied and supported each other throughout the year and how great they all have been in supporting the fight for Youth Mental Health.
http://ca.sports.yahoo.com/top/news?slug=ottcit-ca-6011299
Great to see the true colors of the people of Ottawa.
As always, a huge Sens fan from Nova Scotia. Love this site and the great input from all the readers.
Thanks for passing that story along. Great to see that team getting recognition for their incredible strength in the face of unimaginable tragedy.
we are complete agreement on the Turris trade, both will be winners.
But I will have to disagree on the Philips assessment.
If he was in any other city, he would most likely be winding down his career and not signing for 10 Mil 3 more years.
His numbers the past two years have been atrocious, and right now he seems to be one of our worst D-men, in our own end. Do you think it is possible that they are trying to find anyone that can play with him?
Lets face it, he was never fleet of foot, and has now even slowed down, when the game pace has increased. He is constantly turning the puck over, and is alwasy backing way up giving opposing forwards the blue line, b/c if he tries to stand them up, they will easily skate around him.
I am sorry, but as much as he is a "great guy" he is our version of Komiserik,
I really feel we would be better off with Lee in the lineup...again this is only my opinion, and clearly not everyones
Hey McBartz,
excellent of you to bring this up, truly is a great Canadian Hockey story with inspiration,
well done!
Congrats to all those outstanding 14 year olds
I think we could improve for the playoffs with the addition of an experienced 2nd or 3rd line winger. Maybe even as precaution in case of injuries.
My top picks for UFA pick ups at the deadline:
P.A. Parenteau (assuming NYI does not see him as part of future plans)
Ray Whitney or Damon Langkow (IF Phoenix is not in the running)
Tuomo Ruutu
Travis Moen
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-16383129
The internal budget and cash flow is definitely an issue. But like you said, if convinced, Melnyk may be willing to give his GM a little flexibility.
I'm sorry, are you retarded?
Cowen is useless and not ready for the NHL?
Try these two steps:
1. Watch the games
2. The next time you have a thought...just let it go.
You can't judge Phillips by "numbers". He's not here to score goals and his +/- will never tell the whole story either.
Next time you're at a game, count how many times they have Phillips or his partner of the day hold the puck while the forwards change (for example). Or watch how the other team changes the way they enter the zone based on which pairing we have out.
You can believe he's lost it and that's your opinion, but I think you're looking at the wrong things.
And while he's not as solid as he was, and he's not the top shutdown guy in the league or anything, I think he's a big part of our team. I don't pay his salary so I don't care if he should make less money.
I do think that we need a guy like him if only to help the younger guys understand how to play the game right. I know people LOVE to crap all over that notion, that it's the coach's job etc. But there's no substitute for watching a veteran teammate day-in, day-out when you're a young player.
That's why Phillips, Neil and of course Alfie are as important to the rebuild as Spezza - even though those three will be gone before we win our cup while Spezza will get to lift it first.
This is just a suggestion but it would be nice if we could post photos in the comment section. (no bigger than an x number of kb of course) I'm just sayin' !!
Agreed - I had to read the original post five times because I just KNEW the poster was trying to be sarcastic. Sadly, I was wrong.
Cowen is still green sometimes but he's a stud.
It will boil down to Murray going to Melnyk and saying "If I can go $x over budget, I think we can have y playoff home games."
Melnyk is still a fan and if it's an extra 500k or $1M but he sees value (in either extra gate attendance or just in amusement for himself) he'll do it. But he's going to make Murray talk him into as he should.
Really, we should be glad that we have an owner that's got plenty of "fan" in him but not completely nutso where he's going to try and talk Murray INTO spending money when we shouldn't.
On that Slovak point: We put Heatley before Hossa and Redden before Chara; not cool, but blame hindsight & not management... or both... ya, let's blame both.
Personally, at the time, I only disagreed with the decision to let Chara walk… BUT I’m still a Hossa fan (REMEMBER THE SONG WHEN HE SCORED: HO-SSA HO-SSA – amazing!)
And for all you that say, 'oh well, he can resign with the Oil in the off-season' - SURE, and what about the guy's wife and kids? I'm sure he won’t mind moving away from them in a heartbeat to land the Oil a 2nd-round pick... STUPID!
Speaking of Stupid - Travis Yost has picked up on my trade prediction regarding Prospal... I few weeks back I suggested grabbing Prospal or Hagman: no one seemed to like my Hagman pitch, but whatever. All I meant by my post was that both are wingers, are (supposedly) scorers, are UFAs come season’s end, and both play on lottery-destine d teams (CBJ and ANA, respectively).
Originally, I suggested trading Butler for one of them because I was frustrated with Mr. Butler’s play; however, I should be so hard on the guy. Last night, when Butler almost redirected a Foligno seeing-eye pass above Rainman, I mean Reimer, I was really impressed that Butler was able to keep on his feet and make contact with the puck; next time, that might go in. Still, while I don’t think Butler will turn into a great scorer, I think he’ll improve a lot in a short while and will bring back a larger return once he proves he can score on a consistent basis. I guess I’ve changed my mind to: trade him next deadline…
And @Mat: We should definitely be looking at Parenteau if the price isn't too high... What's a guy like that worth, anyway?
Hey Hax,
although you make many valid points we will have to agree to disagree, I firmly believe that we have a better D with Lee in the lineup and Philips out,
Sorry bud, but thats how I feel about it.
jealousy will get you nowhere
Last of the D-men will be fine then I guess. The point is he'll know he's last.
Quoting senskarlsson57:
Cue the Elliott slump starting ..... NOW!
I like the guy and actually wish him well, but he's streaky. It just so happens that this particular hot streak was at the start of the season and lasted longer than most. I bet Blues fans will lament that deal long before it's over (and then love it again, then hate it etc, etc).
Cue the Halak to Toronto rumours as well. St. Louis can't afford $6 million for two goalies.
His weakness was and don't know if still is...any shot from the faceoff circle... Saw him beat the other night on that... He is having a great year. Is it him or more the team in front of him? or both?
Agree to disagree is fine. I'm not saying that you can't make a case for Phillips having lost some of his value. I just say that it does go beyond his stats.
And the difference between Lee and Phillips is nowhere where it used to be. Lee can be better than Phillips on any given night even today - but Lee doesn't have the leadership and experience that Phillips does.
If we were making our cup run now, I'd probably want to replace Phillips with someone else (especially for that cap space) but when we're still hoping our young guys will learn as they play I think having Phillips on the ice and in the locker room is valuable.
Ask Cowen in 2-3 years how important Phillips was in his development - I bet it's significant.
Murray made #5 on the mid-season gm of the year award.
That just adds drama to the coin flip - I would not be surprised to see Z take EK65 if he gets the first pick. Or does Z sorta have to pick Thomas first?
I wonder what Spezza thinks of Alfie announcing he'd take Karlsson first though?
Pretty sure Alfie's mentioned before that his kids would crucify him if he didn't pick EK. He's pretty much their big brother. Also, from what I've seen of Spezza's personality over the years he'd be the last to take this kind of thing seriously, assuming anyone does.
i would think we would dump Gonchar and his big ass contract before either Kuba or Philips especially if a team wants to pay up for him. I can't believe i am going to write this, but I would even contemplate re-signing Kuba if the money is right.
Dont trade anyone !! Bring Silfverberg and Zibanjed over from Sweden and bring up Lehner to back up Andy ..leave Borcop here !!!
Silfverberg Spezza Zibby
Milo Turris Alfie
Folingo Smith Greening
Condra Kono Neil
I beat you to that thought in post #76. The trade scenarios are going to come fast & furious. Leafs fans will inevitably think Komisarek, Brown & Rosehill with Ass Reamer for Halak, Oshie & Perrin.
Good interview with Sens GM Bryan Murray. >
I fully endorse the idea of adding a "substantial piece" if the Sens do indeed make the playoffs and in a good position.
The team has proven it can compete. What we need however, is that one other top line guy. I've been a fan of the Green Monster in his short NHL career so far, but let's be honest, is he really a top line guy? Not sure how much Murray is willing to part with to get a guy, but if we could have someone complete this ______-Spezza-M ichalek that would improve our team a lot heading in.
I'd also like to see Foligno somewhere in the top 6 he deserves it.
If the size of his feet and hands are any indication, if you were to attempt your suggestion, you will likely come out of the experience stretched, torn and blodied. Not something that you would want to do unless you are a child molester than enjoyed your time in prison...
Awaome video! Thanks chirp! Gotta love his comments about last nights game about knowing we were gonna win and the foligno hit ! Your the fckn man Murray
Your Sixth Defenceman will be Borocop!
The FORWARD is Petersson if he can play Left Wing with Turris & Alfie. Speed...speed and the know how to cut 'em loose!
Or Brad Boyce @ the $million left on his contract for a third rounder, he's from Eugene's home town and we need a goal scorer.
The Sharks will be a good test for #20 and #74!
I don't think it is Brad Boyce.
I hope it is Chris Stewart!
What if it is Rick Nash that Murray is talking about I think that Nash is Eugene's home town!?
I really like Paul Mclean he reminds me of Murray same type of coaching styles and the way he speaks to media.
Sorry. Couldn't pass that one up.
Go Sens go,
Spendzza
HMMMMMMM.....
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOO!!!
I meant is Rick Nash from Eugene's home town!?
Ryan Smith a possible if he would come east?
Prospal no.
Boyce was just an example. We have to dig up some guys for Eugene to think about!
Note: Bryan says he's still got three weeks...maybe Burke will do something stupid and crack open a Pandora's Box of multiple trades.
Greening Spezza Milo
JVR Turris Alfie
not worth it because it would end up making a conference-riva l much stronger than us in the end. look at it this way: philly right now has giroux,schenn and couturier down the middle already, we give them one more 1st rounder which might turn into a stud centerman. philly has hoarded a lot of picks and prospects over the past couple of years through some pretty aggressive trading. not a good trade partner for the sens long term. sens need to keep their picks this year because a restocking is needed actually. and they need to start getting centremen who can play in the NHL down the road to keep a formidable lineup down the middle.
You can say that about any trade when trading picks ..put to compare centres we still have Spezza 28 Turris 21 Smith 23 and Mika 18 ...too Briere 33 Giroux 23 Schenn 20 Couturier 18
All im saying if there willing to part with a former 2nd overall 1 pick ahead of Turris in 07 draft ..If we arent mortaging the future why not ...
Indeed you did. The issues I was talking about were more than just the internal budget and had to do with cash flow. Like I said before, not something that is solved with a 30 second phone call. Trust me.
Did you really need to go into all that to get your point across that you disagree with Shawn's 2-word rant?
We don't need to see that shit written on here, it's juvenile and offensive.
Have we heard yet if Petes and Boro will draw into line-up tonight? I figured it they got a game in (despite no injuries in line-up) that it would be next week when we play our back to back against LA and Phx. My wife works with Boro's sister, she mentioned how excited the family is to see him get his first game in....eventuall y.
You folks talking about Brad Boyes? 3 goals for Buffalo in 33 games this year. Am I missing something here...
Actually this is one of the smarter things I've heard on getting a backup goalie. He'd likely play for cheap to get back in the NHL and showcase his (remaining) skills in the playoffs, and we'd give up nothing to get him. The only downside is the message it sends Anderson: "thanks for dragging us into the playoffs, now take a seat while we go look for someone better"
Of course if Turco came exclusively as a backup, the story could be different, but I can't see him taking a contract without at least a shot at the #1 job. I have to also think that he dug in his heels on the minimum he'd play for, or he never would have left for Europe in the first place
nope, never intended to suggest his hiring as a starter, purely as a backup to rest anderson before the playoffs. and really the way anderson is playing without a break, we just need a spot filler who can keep the winning going on. and as per wikipedia, he is not playing right now, just a FA.
there are a few options out there that are better than Alex Auld which I think the sens should look at. But again, Bingo's season seems to be down past the drain already and I think Lehner can be called up much earlier because of that and a replacement goalie put in Bingo for the balance of the AHL season.
A big reason for the recent win streak is Anderson's play, infact most games the sens have won is because of him holding the fort strong, very few games have been outright blowouts of the opposition won solely on the backs of the offense and defense. don't want to burn him now to make the playoffs not worth it. I think the sens current roster with anderson in net stands a very very strong chance in the playoffs, even dare I say against the bruins.