As the San Jose Sharks and the Ottawa Senators get set to do battle on a Sunday night in Kanata, it’s safe to say that most Sens fans will still have their minds on “The Trade”.
There were rumours. There was speculation. There was talk. And despite all that, the transaction still sent shock-waves across the National Hockey League. We all knew it was coming and yet, it still felt like we had been blindsided.
In an instant, the future of two franchises was changed forever.
It will takes years before we truly know who got the better of the swap but that won’t stop fans from rehashing the details and wondering if maybe the Senators made a huge mistake letting him get away.
Regardless of where things go from here, I think we can all agree that we wish Jack Rodewald nothing but the best.
But we must move on.
The Senators host the Erik Karlsson and the San Jose Sharks tonight at the Canadian Tire Centre.
It’s safe to say that coming into this season, Sens fans were expecting the worst. This team was pegged for a last place finish from the get-go so we’ve all sort of taken comfort in the fact that we have a high round pick that might make a year of suffering all worthwhile.
What we maybe didn’t expect is that the first round pick that previously belonged to the San Jose Sharks would provide us with another chance at a franchise-changing player this summer.
You see, it’s early, but based on what we’ve seen so far…the San Jose Sharks might suck. Probably not “Top 5 pick” suck but certainly bad enough to miss the playoffs.
They lost some key pieces this summer, some of their important players are getting a little long in the tooth, Martin Jones is well Martin Jones and Erik Karlsson is uhh still trying to find himself in San Jose.
Cheering against your own favourite team just ain’t right. Hoping for the demise of another franchise though? Now that’s living.
Seriously though, I miss Erik tremendously. I miss watching the way he could take over a game basically whenever he wanted. There was just something comforting about going into a game knowing that one of the best player’s in the league was on your side. He was an elite player, a good Captain and one of the best Ottawa Senators of all-time. Not Alfredsson good but right up there.
At the same time, a small part of me is glad I don’t have to listen to the hand-wringing over whether or not he’s actually living up to that contract., which this year pays him a jaw-dropping $14.5 million.
I’m glad Erik got what he was worth though. I’ll let Sharks fans decide if he’s still worth that in eight years.
Welcome back again, Erik. Go easy on us tonight.
Bobby Ryan is a healthy scratch. Filip Chlapik was called up earlier today and takes Ryan’s spot in the line up. Here’s how the Coach had ’em arranged yesterday.
Tkachuk-L.Brown-Duclair
Namestnikov-Tierney-Ennis
Paul-Pageau-C.Brown
Chlapik-Beaudin-Sabourin
Chabot-Zaitsev
Brannstrom-Hainsey
Borowiecki-DeMelo
Craig Anderson gets the start in goal for Ottawa. Puck drop is scheduled for just after 7:00 PM.
The game is available on Sportsnet 360, TVA Sports, TSN1200 and a stream for the game can POSSIBLY be found on an obscure Facebook page somewhere on the internet.
TABLE TIME!
| HEAD2HEAD |  |
 |
|---|---|---|
| Record | 4-6-1 (9 pts) | 2-7-1 (5 pts) |
| Goals For | 2.64 (22nd) | 2.40 (27th) |
| Goals Against | 3.45 (26th) | 3.40 (25th) |
| Power Play | 25.0% (7th) | 6.1% (31st) |
| Penalty Kill | 92.5% (1st) | 81.4% (T-14th) |
| Shots For | 27.6 (30th) | 31.2 (18th) |
| Shots Against | 31.9 (21st) | 34.9 (30th) |
| Leading Scorers | Hertl- 10 pts Burns- 10 pts Kane- 9 pts |
Chabot- 8 pts Brown- 8 pts Namestnikov- 7 pts |
| Staring Goalie | Martin Jones 2-5-1 3.41 GAA, .893 sv% |
Craig Anderson 1-4-1 2.94 GAA, .901 sv% |
