Another day without Ottawa Senators hockey is upon us.
These extended breaks have sort of become the norm the last little while. Four days off at Christmas. Then five days off for the bye week. And now another three day break just for fun. All those rest days mean that the next couple weeks are going to be pretty hectic. Starting tomorrow, the Senators will play 8 games in 15 days. The Boston Bruins currently sit three points clear of Ottawa for second place but they’ve played five more games. Ottawa has a two point edge over the Leafs with the same number of games played.
Safe to say that the rest of the month of January will give us a pretty good idea of where this team stands heading into the home stretch.
In particular, you get the sense that the next 8 games could really define Ottawa’s season. Pittsburgh, Toronto, @ St. Louis, @ Columbus, @ Toronto, Columbus, Washington. That’s pretty much as tough a stretch as you’ll find anywhere on Ottawa’s schedule. According to the Stanley Cup Final Statistics, a couple of those teams could be serious contenders come playoff time. Should be a great test for the Ottawa Senators.
In the meantime, a quick round-up of some Sens-related news and notes.
-It shouldn’t come as a huge surprise to anyone but yesterday, the best defenceman in the National Hockey League, was named to the All Star team for the fourth time in his career. Captain Erik Karlsson was the lone representative from the Ottawa Senators on this year’s team and while you could probably make a pretty strong case for Mark Stone it was clearly a priority that each team have at least one representative. The Skills Competition is scheduled for January 28th and the All Star Game in January 29th. Having the game in Los Angeles should mean a little better attendance than past years. You can see the full roster here.
-The local media has been talking a lot about Dorion’s search for depth lately but yesterday it seemed like they let a pretty decent option slide through the waiver wire. Andrej Nestrasil certainly wasn’t a difference-maker in Carolina but he could have provided Guy Boucher’s team with some much needed depth in the bottom six and at the very least, allowed Ottawa to carry a 13th forward on a regular basis. The Senators apparently put a claim on Matt Nieto so it’s interesting that Nestrasil wasn’t also of interest. Similar players on similar salaries.
-If you’re a regular on Sens Twitter, you’ll know there’s been a lot of talk about jerseys the last couple days. With the news that the switch to Adidas means no more alternate jerseys, fans are freaking out over the idea of losing those beautiful Heritage jerseys that the Senators wear from time to time. It’s not often that you find an issue where the entire fan base agrees but on jerseys, we seem to all be on the same page. Not everyone thinks that the heritage black and white should be the full time jersey necessarily but I think we all agree that the current home and away uniforms are just…not good. Whether it’s the O or a re-do of the 2D logo, everyone agrees that it might be time for a change. Well, everyone but the organization. So far, anyway.
-Plenty of talk about the Colorado Avalanche as potential trade partners in the last few days. And with pieces like Gabriel Landeskog and Matt Duchene it’s easy to see why. Honestly though, I’m not sure those are the type of deals Dorion is referring to when he says ‘adding depth’. With the rumoured asking price set at a young top four defenceman and a 1st round pick, not sure there’s a fit. Really don’t think Cody Ceci is the type of top four they have in mind. I do wonder if the Senators may end up being one of the teams asking about Jarome Iginla a little closer to the deadline though.
-Elliotte Friedman included a note on the Bobby Ryan situation in his latest 30 Thoughts column, speculating that perhaps one of the reasons Guy Boucher wasn’t saying much is because it’s a “NHL/NHLPA issue”. Not sure if this is informed speculation from Friedman but whatever it is, it’s a little bit reckless. If this thought is based on information he has about the situation then this isn’t the right way to leak the news. If it’s just speculation, then it’s pretty irresponsible. Either way, not the best way to approach the issue. To think, all this speculation could have been avoided if Boucher just said he had the flu.
