It would not be an understatement to say that Doug Wilson may have saved the Ottawa Senators franchise.
Although on September 13th, 2018, when he acquired Erik Karlsson, it really didn’t seem that way. The Ottawa Senators were getting an impressive collection of assets but it still didn’t feel like enough. After all, the Sharks had just acquired one of the best defenceman in the game.
Around the league, experts laughed at Pierre Dorion. Is that all they could get for one of the league’s top players? How could they not just pay Erik Karlsson the $14 million dollars he was worth?
Doug Wilson smiled. All was well with the San Jose Sharks.
That’s the funny thing about time, though. As it passes, things change. Our perspective changes. Losses pile up. Smiles fade. And new winners are declared.
What once looked like an underwhelming collection picks and prospects is now the defining deal in the Ottawa rebuild. They tried to tell us.
Chris Tierney is a reliable and surprisingly productive forward. His 84 points in an Ottawa uniform are one fewer than Erik Karlsson has registered in Sharks’ colours. Dylan DeMelo was a capable top four defenceman in Ottawa and ultimately, became another 3rd round pick in a deep draft. Rudolfs Balcers is one of Ottawa’s top prospects, piling up points in the AHL and now looking ready to transition to the NHL game. Josh Norris has quickly become one of the most exciting prospect’s in Ottawa’s system, scoring goals with ease in Belleville at a pace rarely seen from a player his age. He has a very real chance to be a first line centre in Ottawa for years to come.
And the picks. My god the picks. It was probably an afterthought for Doug Wilson at the time but that unprotected 2020 first round pick has the potential to be a franchise-changing player for the Senators. The funny thing is, the deal still gets done with some form of lottery protection on the pick.
Anyway, thanks Doug. See you at the Draft.
The Ottawa Senators visit the San Jose Sharks.
Looking at the standings and the way things shook down on last night’s out of town scoreboard, this seems like a rare opportunity to engage in conflict-free cheering for the Senators. A regulation win for anyone is good really but with games coming up against the Ducks and Kings, the Senators can afford to win this one tonight and in the process, push the Sharks closer towards the league basement.
Dare I say…GO SENS GO? And because it’s been too damn long…THE BIGGEST GAME OF THE YEAR.
It’s an early start on the West Coast so no game day skate. We know there will be at least one change to the line up as Christian Wolanin makes his regular season debut. The Senators have a very clear one-Christian policy so Christian Jaros was re-assigned to Belleville to make room.
Line up will be a bit of a mystery until a puck drop but here’s a best guess for now.
Tkachuk-Tierney Brown
Balcers-White-Ryan
Duclair-Paul-Hawryluk
Boedker-Peca-Sabourin
Chabot-Hainsey
Reilly-Zaitsev
Wolanin-Englund
No word on a starting goalie yet but safe to assume they go back to Craig Anderson.
Puck drop is scheduled for just after 7:00 PM with the game available on Sportsnet One.
Here’s a closer look at tonight’s match-up.
| HEAD2HEAD |  |
 |
|---|---|---|
| Record | 24-31-12 (60 pts) | 29-34-4 (62 pts) |
| Goals For | 2.71 (24th) | 2.60 (27th) |
| Goals Against | 3.37 (30th) | 3.18 (26th) |
| Power Play | 14.8% (29th) | 16.2% (27th) |
| Penalty Kill | 77.0% (25th) | 86.6% (1st) |
| Shots For | 30.4 (24th) | 30.0 (T-26th) |
| Shots Against | 33.8 (29th) | 30.3 (10th) |
| Leading Scorers | Brown- 42 pts Tkachuk- 41 pts Duclair- 38 pts |
Meier- 44 pts Burns- 44 pts Kane- 43 pts |
| Starting Goalie | Craig Anderson 10-16-2 3.34 GAA, 899 sv% |
Aaron Dell 12-14-2 2.94 GAA, .907 sv% |
