Waking up this morning and glancing at the upcoming schedule, there was this odd sense of relief.
While it’s disappointing that there won’t be playoff hockey in Ottawa this spring, it’s nice to be done with one of the worst regular seasons in the history of the franchise. The last two months have been a grind and watching the games was becoming a bit of a chore.
Now that the season is done, the focus can shift to what should be an extremely interesting summer around these parts. Pierre Dorion and his staff will have to make a handful of franchise altering decisions and it’s safe to assume the flow of news will be pretty steady around these parts.
It started today with player exit meetings and season-ending interviews. Tomorrow, the organization will host the first of three town halls which should be jam-packed with quotes we can freak out about.
With all that in mind, our first off-season edition of Monday news and notes.
-Guy Boucher met with the media in Ottawa this morning and as you’d expect, addressed a wide range of topics. What was clear in the comments from the Head Coach is that he isn’t overly confident in his own status heading into next season. He talked a lot about wanting to focus on wrapping up this year but seemed to hesitate when pressed a little bit on his own role although he did mention that he has a contract for next year. The way he was talking, it sounds to me like he really hasn’t talked to Pierre Dorion about his future, one way or the other. And he definitely doesn’t know what’s going to happen with the rest of his staff. The General Manager is expected to address the media on Thursday.
-Erik Karlsson also met with the media as part of locker clean-out day and has been the case since his little “get what I’m worth” slip up earlier in the season, Karlsson continues to say all the right things about his future. Listening to his comments certainly gives the impression that he legitimately wants to stay in Ottawa. He continues to give the impression that ultimately, the final decision is out of his hands. If they put a fair offer in front of him on July 1st, he sounds interested. It will be really interesting to hear how the organization and the Owner handles similar questions during the Town Hall sessions.
-All eyes and ears were on Karlsson today but the interviews given by both Mark Stone and Matt Duchene leave a lot of reason for optimism heading into next season. In the case of Mark Stone, he said quite directly that he likes the core of this team and the direction they are headed and he wants to be a part of it long term. Duchene seemed to echo that sentiment, stressing that he believes in where this franchise is headed. In a disappointing year, it’s encouraging to hear core players on the team speaking optimistically about the future of the organization. You can listen to the Duchene interview here and Mark Stone speaking with the media here.
-While the season is over for the Ottawa Senators, a handful of guys are making plans to represent their countries at the World Championships. We heard yesterday that Thomas Chabot will play for Team Canada and today his teammate Jean Gabriel Pageau confirmed he’s also going to Denmark later this month. Colin White also has an invite from Team USA but hasn’t committed yet. Ryan Dzingel (Team USA), Matt Duchene (Team Canada), Mark Stone (Team Canada) and Erik Karlsson (Team Sweden) have all confirmed that they turned down invitations.
-Rasmus Dahlin is done playing hockey for the season but two of the players behind him in the projected draft order continue to put on a show. Andrei Svechnikov and his Barrie Colts have a 2-1 lead over the Kingston Frontenacs and Svechnikov is a big reason why. He has 5 goals and 9 points through 5 playoff games including a highlight reel goal on Sunday. Filip Zadina has been just as impressive, putting up 11 points in 7 games. His Halifax Mooseheads are in a 2-0 hole against Charlottetown.
