That looked very familiar.
Out of a combination of morbid curiosity and general love for the sport I guess, the TV found itself on Game 1 of the Carolina/Philadelphia series last night. And what played out looked a whole lot like our own experience just a couple weeks ago. The Hurricanes smothered the Flyers for sixty minutes, that lil Stankoven fella kept scoring at a ridiculous rate and it became clear that Philadelphia will be lucky to win a game.
For what it’s worth (absolutely nothing, by the way), I thought the Senators looked a whole lot better than the Flyers did in their attempt to keep up with the top team in the East. It will be interesting to see if Philadelphia can make any kind of adjustments to breakdown the Hurricanes a little bit in Game 2 or whether they really are as good as they look.
In the meantime, there are a few things bouncing around in my head on this sunny Sunday morning and this is as good a place as any to share them. Welcome to a long overdue version of Monday News and Notes and this time, fashionably early! Both “News” and “Notes” are a stretch but “Sunday Thoughts and Meanderings” just doesn’t have the same ring to it.
-On paper, there aren’t a lot of “big” decisions facing the Senators this off-season. Obviously they need to find a way to get better but in terms of contracts, most of the team is locked in for another season. How they handle the UFAs on the roster will be interesting to watch though. At the top of that list is veteran forward Claude Giroux. Giroux was pretty cagey about his future during the season-ending media availabilities but seemed to suggest strongly that if he does come back, he wants it to be with the Ottawa Senators. Giroux had 49 points last season and while at times maybe looked a step slower, was still a useful player in a variety of situations. In an ideal world, Giroux sits somewhere in the bottom six on the depth chart and can help out in the top six or on the power play. When you add in his faceoff ability and veteran leadership, he is a must-sign this summer. Ideally, it would be a little less dramatic and drawn out than last year too. As soon as G decides on his future, the Senators should have his next contract ready to go.
-It doesn’t get talked about at all since the last extensive search led to Steve Staios hiring himself for the role but I do wonder if the Senators might revisit the need for a General Manager at some point this off-season. And this isn’t out of any kind if informed speculation but rather just a hope that the Senators might consider bringing in another voice into the team’s Front Office. For what it’s worth, I think Staios has done a fine job in the role but I do like the idea of someone other than Staios and I guess Dave Poulin being around to support those day-to-day decisions upstairs. At the very least, it would be interesting to hear Staios speak to how it’s going with the current structure and whether there has been any thought given to another “search”. In the past, Owner Michael Andlauer has talked about liking the “two-headed monster” style of management.
-Just a quick one here but as a general rule, David Pagnotta really doesn’t know anything about what the Ottawa Senators are up to. As an organization, the Senators have become a lot tighter with information generally and you can be damn sure things aren’t leaking to Pagnotta and the Fourth Period. Just something to keep in mind this summer.
-While I personally won’t be engaging in any kind of mock draft activity and I refuse to even look at a list of available prospects this year, the Ottawa Senators DO have a first round pick in the upcoming Entry Draft. Gary did ’em a solid back in March and reduced the penalty for the Dadonov blunder and as a result, the Senators are set to pick 32nd overall in scenic Buffalo, New York on June 26th. Because I know we’ve all thought about – as part of the league’s ruling there was a stipulation that the Senators are “not permitted to trade or transfer its right to the 32nd overall selection”. Not sure if there was any fine print on that one but it seems to me that would be a pretty easy thing to wiggle around, especially if they made a handshake agreement with another team to draft a particular player at the end of the first round. Maybe something to keep an eye on. It’s not that I’m against the idea of uh having a prospect but the Senators should definitely be exploring every possible avenue to bolster the current roster this summer. So in theory, the Senators could draft uh Simas Ignatavicus at the end of the first round and then trade him over night.
-Lastly, a reminder that there is still playoff hockey happening in our city. The Ottawa Charge came up with gutsy performance on the road last night in Boston and in the process, evened up their best-of-five first round series against the Boston Fleet. As is often the case, Gwyneth Phillips was a wall for the Charge, turning aside 30 of 31 shots. Game 3 and Game 4 are both back here in Ottawa and at the Canadian Tire Centre. It would be awesome to see that barn rocking again next weekend. Game 3 is Friday night and Game 4 goes Sunday at 3:00 PM. Tickets available here.