FIVE QUICK THOUGHTS
-Here’s the thing about the Ottawa Senators- they aren’t very good. Actually, they’re pretty bad. Their defensive zone coverage is a complete mess at the best of times, their top six is peppered with talented yet wildly inconsistent players and their bottom six is where offence goes to die. Their special teams have been stuck on awful all year and the adjustments they have made changed nothing and maybe made things worse. They haven’t shown up for a second period all damn year. Their generational game-changing defenceman is for now anyway, a shadow of his former self and on many nights it looks like his mind is elsewhere. Their goaltending, which has carried them at times and was considered an area of strength coming into the season, might be the worst in the entire NHL. The team’s effort level and attention to detail is a major issue, especially from their best players. And their Head Coach is a stubborn man seemingly incapable of recognizing and acknowledging his own mistakes and his own responsibility for the team’s struggles. Publicly anyway. Meanwhile you have a General Manager that at times seems to be in over his head and who clearly has his hands tied by an Owner that is sucking the life out of the organization and has been for years. The Senators lost 4-1 last night.
-Let me begin by saying I totally understand where the “tank” segment of the fan base is coming from. A top draft pick is an exciting possibility especially this year. And the way the first half of the season has gone, it feels far more likely than a furious push for a playoff spot. Personally, I can’t do it. I’ve watched or listened to every game since I was like ten years old and I just don’t know how to look at the TV and want bad things to happen to the Senators, even if it’s good for them in the long run. I get it but it’s just not me. Now I can certainly cheer for the teams behind Ottawa but that’s as far as I’m willing to go. The nice thing about the tank vs. hope debate is it doesn’t matter a whole lot. Obviously a top pick matters but what we as fans want really has no impact on what is going to happen in these next 39 games and in the Draft Lottery that follows. What matters most is that as an organization, they understand where they’re at with this current roster and they act accordingly.
-After missing 23 games with a concussion, Mark Borowiecki returned to the Ottawa line up and it didn’t take him long to make his presence felt. He landed a big hit on Patrick Berglund on his first shift and was a physical presence on the blueline all night. In the second period, he dropped the gloves with Blues tough guy Chris Thorburn in one of those terrible “fight after a clean hit” scenarios. Considering his recent concussion, Boro is the last guy that should be fighting and he really shouldn’t feel obligated to fight in that situation to begin with but I respect the hell out of him for doing it. This team would probably be in a lot better position if the rest of the group cared as much about the logo on the front of that jersey as Mark Borowiecki does.
-Prior to puck drop, Pierre Dorion met with the media in Ottawa and as is often the case, the Senators General Manager had a lot to say. And as you’d expect, his comments riled up a restless fan base. Suggesting that the team could still make a playoff push obviously angers fans that have already thrown in the towel on the season but it’s not surprising that he would say that to the media. What matters is that he has a plan for when they don’t. And it seems like he does. “One step backwards to take two step forwards” as he put it. Opening the door to a potential Karlsson deal in the media probably isn’t the best communications strategy even if it is a possibility although in Dorion’s defence, he did emphasize that their priority is signing Karlsson and making him a Senator for life. Generally, what I think Dorion was trying to say is that he plans to be patient. Makes sense. For what it’s worth, I thought Bob McKenzie did a pretty good job laying out Ottawa’s ideal approach.
-Darren Dreger was on TSN1200 prior to puck drop and let it be known that based on what he’s hearing, there is legitimate interest in Dion Phaneuf. Bob McKenzie seemed to echo as much in his segment too. Hard to imagine there’s a trade scenario involving Phaneuf that doesn’t involve Ottawa taking back one or more bad contracts back or retaining a portion of his salary. Obviously these are options that the Senators need to take a long look at but there is no Phaneuf trade that makes the Senators better in the short-term. Then again, maybe Dreger and McKenzie are doing Dorion a solid and trying to drum up interest that isn’t really there.
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