Hello,
My name is SensChirp. And this is a website about the Ottawa Senators.
But as you may have noticed, the Ottawa Senators haven’t been around much lately. The season wrapped up last week and with the year-end interviews out of the way, we have officially entered a five-month void without the Sens.
Not entirely, of course. For example, Thomas Chabot was just nominated for the King Clancy Award.
That’s something!
We also have a couple more Belleville games coming up. Connor Brown, Nick Paul and Jacob Bernard-Docker are headed to the World Championships. Draft Lottery. Free Agency. Expansion Draft. Entry Draft. There’s lots to look forward to.
But if we’re going to keep this thing rolling, I may be forced to do something I haven’t done in months. And that is acknowledge the existence of non-Sens related hockey. Desperate times call for desperate measures, as the old saying goes.
So on every uhh Tuesday (I chose this day because today is Tuesday- at least I think it’s Tuesday), we’ll do a quick round-up of what’s going on in the NHL playoffs.
I don’t know what this is but the good news is I will almost certainly forget about it next Tuesday.
-Maybe it’s because I spent the last five months primarily watching the North Division but my biggest takeaway from the first three nights of the NHL postseason is the speed and intensity of the games. That and the jarring visual of actual humans in the stands, of course. With all due respect to the Toronto Maple Leafs (that is zero due respect, by the way) they just aren’t on the same level as teams like Colorado, Carolina and Tampa Bay. Same thing with the Oilers. Not even close. You kind of get the sense whoever comes out of this North Division is going to run into a bit of a buzzsaw in the semifinals. It’s going to be great. So as you look on with jealously when the other Canadian teams start the post-season later this week, you should take some comfort in the fact that an embarrassing ending awaits them in the final four.
-The other thing that comes to mind after watching most of the first seven games of playoff hockey is that for all the progress the Senators made down the stretch, they still have a little ways to go. As good as Ottawa looked over the last couple months of the season, the games they were playing in were not on the level that’s on display here in the post-season. Obviously someone like Brady Tkachuk would thrive on this stage but there are other players on the current roster that would have to hit a whole other level of intensity to keep up in games like this. It doesn’t mean they aren’t capable of it of course but for so many of Ottawa’s young players, they just haven’t been in games played at this level yet. All part of the learning curve.
-It was kind of interesting to see hockey twitter raving about Game 1 of the Lightning/Panthers series. First of all, there was a scrum after almost every whistle, many of which featured moments like those “horrifying acts of violence” we saw a couple weeks ago. And at the same time, the officials clearly identified that this was a physical series and decided to let the teams play, rather than call every single infraction. They still called penalties but I thought they did a good job of taking both guys when the situation allowed for it rather than handing out too many power plays. Effective “game management”, if you will. Obviously there is incredible speed and skill on display in that series and that’s what fans were drawn to but I thought that game was a great example of what hockey can look like when the referees get the hell out of the way. That was playoff hockey at its finest. Can’t wait to see what they do for an encore in Game 2.
-Speaking of the Tampa Bay Lightning, that is some world-class cap circumvention they have going on there. I mean, good on them for making the rules work in their favour but it’s certainly not in the spirit or intention of the salary cap rule. Obviously they aren’t the only team doing it but going $17 million over the cap on day one of the post-season seems a little excessive. It will be interesting to see if the league does anything to address the LTIR abuse we’ve seen over the last few years because it’s pretty clear teams have found an easily exploitable loophole.
-The whole “cheering for ex-Ottawa Senators” thing never appealed to me. It’s not personal. Okay maybe it’s a little personal. But it’s mostly that I just don’t have enough hockey fan energy left over to give a hoot about guys after they leave Ottawa. I cheer for the Senators and that’s the only thing I really cheer for. Now with that said, I must admit that the sight of Craig Anderson getting a playoff win just days away from his 40th birthday had my attention. Amazing to see Andy playing at that level at this stage of his career. And it also had me reflecting on the unfortunate way things ended for Anderson here in Ottawa. I don’t blame Ottawa for moving on and I certainly don’t blame Anderson for jumping at an opportunity to keep playing but it’s just…Craig Anderson was one of those guys that deserved a send-off of some kind. Ring of honour, jersey retirement, Craig Anderson appreciation night. Whatever it ends up being, Andy deserves some recognition and appreciation from the organization and from Sens fans. Best goalie in franchise history.
-Lastly, with the season wrapped up, Bruce Garrioch has offered (er demanded) to appear on another episode of The Chirp and Garrioch Show. We are hoping to record some time this week so if you have questions you’d like me to pass along, leave them in the comment section below!
