I honestly could not find one thing good about last night's effort in Philadelphia. It felt as though we were back in the Craig Hartsburg era as this team just sat back and took everything the Flyers had to give. Maybe this team forgot how to play on the road after so many games at home the last little while but that effort last night was down right awful.
I sat there looking at the TV for two and a half hours and honestly could not pick out anything good in the Senators game.
This defence group is not good enough to sit back like they did last night. Here's hoping they make the necessary adjustments to the game plan in time for Saturday, when they open up a 5 game home stand against the Rangers.
That and Pascal Leclaire has to be better. For the first part of the game Ottawa was able to sit back but a couple of weak ones on Leclaire really took the air out of the team.
Alright, enough of that. On to a couple rumours that have been sent my way in the last 24 hours.
-Obviously there's the report from Eklund that Ottawa is looking at Brent Seabrook in Chicago. Thats all well and good but the asking price is going to extremely high if Ottawa is serious about acquiring Seabrook.
-There is also some talk about 4th liner Chris Kelly. There's at least one team that has shown interest in Kelly to this point but Murray wanted to give him a chance to find his game early in the year. Kelly has been ok up to this point but is certainly expendable with Winchester and Donovan both waiting in the wings.
-Murray has said he would like to add a forward but would need to clear one or two out first. Murray has apparently put a call in about Frolov in Los Angeles but nothing more than a telephone call to report on that front.
-Ottawa continues to keep an eye on the Peter Forsberg situation but is definitely considered a long shot to add the veteran if he does decide to return to the NHL.
89 comments:
(Positive note)I thought the 1st period was great. The Sens really took it to the Flyers. Great turnovers and the Flyers lost their poise with the puck. I only saw the 2 goals scored on us and the Fisher goal was nice too. Hopefully they can rebound for Sat afternoon. If things fall apart at least UFC is on at 3pm.
Open Letter to Coach Clouston:
Can we please end the Ryan Shannon experiment, like yesterday? Can we please have Alexei Kovalev watch a game or 2 from the 400 level?
Time to insert a couple of guys in the lineup, in Chummy and Winchester, who have size and will, if nothing else, play with some jam, edge, energy, whatever.
With the way this bunch is playing recently, don't be surprised if this is the first 0-5 homestand in since the Bowness/Allison eras...
I have been holding off saying anything, as there really is nothing good to say.
Clouston needs to stop changing the damn lines so often and put Donovan in.
Really, no clue what else to say...also Bench leclaire for 2-3 games.
Murray's looking at another underperforming Russian?
This team is not going anywhere fast and I can no longer suffer through watching games. I will not be surprised if the attendance tomorrow is below 16,000.
Melnyk will not put up with this shit-ass lineup much longer. Murray will go before year's end if the losing continues.
Not sure how serious he is about Frolov. Just doing his job by making a call, I think.
Leclaire .890 save %, 2.89 GAA
Gerber (last year w/Ottawa) .899, 2.86
Have a seat Pascale.
the good about we know what kind of team we have now, I am no longer spending money on this team (no more games) Dump Kelly asap. his vaule is dropping every game. we
best we should all stay away from the games then Melnyk would can Murray
painful game to watch last night. Extremely painful to listen to.
FYI Pierre McGuire saw Mike Richards play in the world juniors.
1- we all did
2- that was 5 years ago
Hey SC, do you think the following trade would work:
To Ottawa:
Seabrook
To Chicago:
2010 1st round pick
Wiercioch
Picard/Campoli
I'm interested in your thoughts.
At the risk of piling on...
Record with Chummy in the lineup:
6-3
Record with Shannon in the lineup:
4-7
Just saying...
Typical sens fans.. already giving up after only 15 games.. I agree that some things should be done.. like how about keeping the lines they way they were when we were actually plaing exciting hockey..
Alfie,Fish,kovy
Cheech,Spezz,Michalek
and don't bring the whole thing down on leclair. OUR DEFENCE IS CRAP!!!!! Wait untill volchenkov comes back and sorry to say but GET RID OF PICARD.. the guys is complete crap. I think we should have karlsson up here insted of picard..
but seriously it's only 15 games in.. we gotta relax alittle bit...
Chirp, do you know their record since Murray took over as GM?
I was screaming at the screen for Kelly....also if Fisher could hit the net more often with his shots he would be completely lethal.
Bahh, we were spoiled with the start of the season, this is more along the lines of what should have been expected I think.
Pascale will come around. Gotta believe Kovy will come around too.
The problem is on defence. Alex Picard is awful, simply awful. He's just playing terribly. Not a fan of Lee either. We need to address the D. Acquiring Seabrook would be a very good idea.
Totally agree w DDUB about Shannon. Hate to say it, but I think he's just too small.
But just stop playing Picard. Wow, Picard is really bad.
Shoulda kept Emery
GAA 2.18
SV% .924
Hold up, hold up...let's not misconstrue my comments above as giving up on the team. I am merely stating a shakeup is in order to get back on the W side of the ledger perhaps. All you guys/gals above who say you're not going to anymore games...yeah, that'll help. You're not fans, you are bandwagon jumpers of the highest order.
No panic button just ideas .. but time to look at some trading partners .. Kelly/Neil 2nd S J for Cam Barker Patrick Sharp ... As far as LA is concerned What about
Kovalev and 5th round for Ryan Smyth .. and last but not least Cory Clouston to the ducks for Randy Carlyle
Smyth Speeza Alfredsson
Michalek Fisher sharp
Foligno Regin cheechoo
Ruutu Bass Donavan
Atrain Phillips
Kuba Barker
Carkner Campoli
Yeah the not supporting/watching your team cause there not winning is pretty retarded.
Being upset about poor play and venting is one thing, but not supporting the team all together is pure bandwagon jumping and anyone who said something along those lines should be ashamed of themselves.
Ok Clouston, I've seen enough. LeClair needs to take a back seat for a few games, too many weak goals. Kovalev needs to watch from the press box for a few games as well.
Better let, how be we send his lazy ass back to Montreal in exchange for Cammalleri. Considering that's who he really wants to play for.
TSN mentioned last night that it was Melnyk, not Murray that wanted Kovalev.......
Not at all Anon 12:33, we are just sick and tired of following mediocrity for the past 2 and a half years. The product is no longer entertaining and fans will quickly lose interest if the losing trend continues.
The rumor is Spezza for Seabrook.
Defense has been a THE problem for years now and sure in 2-3 years it will be solid (Cowan, Karlsson, Wiercioch, etc) but seeing our D lose every battle in everygame and not helping in point production is killing this team!
Kuba is ok on the PP but he has no shot, he's a passer. Shannon on PP, come on man!
How the hell can Leclair play 60 solid minutes with a bunch of bozo's in front of him. If not for him I think we would still be winless.
Even last night he kept us in the game through the 1st period with constant brain farts by Phillips, Picard, Campoli, Lee. The goals look bad cuz he is the last guy to stop them but its really the defense, Campoli stopped skating and let Betts get it first, WTF??
SM
It has nothing to do with giving up on the team. I've been a diehard fan for over a decade. We're allowed to get frustrated. We're allowed to question management/coaching if we feel like the team is being poorly run.
The goal is to win the cup. Anything else is failing, unfortunately. This is not a cup winning team. I'd love to see a big shakeup-only untouchables are spezza, alfie, volchenkov and michalek. Kovalev should be moved regardless of how his play goes...we're not a cup caliber team, and won't be for the rest of his contract. Same with Leclaire, either he starts putting up, or he should be dealt and go with some pair of Lehner/Brodeur/Elliot for the next 5 years.
Outside of Alfie, we have a young core that we can build on. It's time to shed some salary and add some prospects so that, after next season when cheechoo/kovalev/leclaire come off the books, we'll have talent in the pipeline and money to add some free agents.
Just my take. I want a cup in Ottawa. Whatever it takes to get it, trades/firings etc, I'm fine with.
Serious question for an out of town fan that wants to come take in a few games. Is their any sections or areas to avoid at SBP for terrible views ?
Trade
Brent Seabrook
FOR
Picard
2010 first round pick
kelly
Phillips/Atrain
Kuba/Seabrook
Campoli/Karlsson
Take out Kelly and put in Donovan. Taking out those 2 players and bringing back donovan just made our team a lot more interesting to watch.
Once again Ottawa is choking. When is Clouston going to realize that he as to put Kovalev with Spezza to get him goin. It's not rocket science you know...Kovalev with Fisher doesn't work so put him on the 1st line. As for Leclaire...well let just say that I wish Lalime was still here. Lalime had one bad game not 4 in a row. Ottawa as to get Hartley ehind the bench then they need to trade for a good defencemen, bring back Karlsson and get rid of PICARD and CAMPOLI. As for Lee...let just say that I would not care if he gets hit by a bus. Can't stand that stupid little kid. As for the forwards...Kelly needs to go because he can't put a freakin puck in the back of the net, even if it was wide open and he was three feet away, I bet he would still miss. As for Regin he as not been the same since returning from is injury, send i'm back to bingo along with LEE and get St. Pierre and Keller and even Hamel on the big team. I can't believe we are in for another shitty season with another inexperience coach that is playing trapt hockey when is team is down 2-1. what a joke this guy his. Murray it's time for you to do something before it's too late.
Blow SENS Blow
Spezza for Seabrook? HAHAHAHA!!!!
1) Chicago can't take on his salary.
2) Murray won't give up on Spezza.
Picard & Shannon needs to go to Bingo, bring Karlsson back up & Donovan back in the line up. Slugalev needs to sit or be traded for a bag of pucks... or Frolov.
well a positive to look at was that we did play somewhat solid in the first 40 minutes according to clouston.
leclaire just has been pissing me off lately he needs to step it up if we are going anywhere.
kelly shannon picard all need to be traded gone.... insert dono back we need his heart and grit.
clouston - sit leclaire play elliot for 3 games, sit kovy for 2 games, stop switching the damn lines leave it. teach them accountability discipine to smarten up or we are not going anywhere.
the whole team needs to produce more on a consistent basis
we are generating some chances though we just can't seem to bury them for some reason ...
after 3-1 id started rooting for emery and want him to do well i dont have a grudge against him. he is a good goalie. even though he wasn't hot tonight if we didn't have out letdown we could have scored more on him.
bottom line frustrating loss!
After watching last night's game it has become very clear that we need to stop adding pansies to our lineup (i.e. Frolov) and we need to dump some of the pansies we have in our lineup (kelly, rutuu, shannon, picard, lee, kovalev). We are by far the softest team in the league.
Enough is enough, I want some guy who will throw a check and not just do the fly-by.
Seabrook would be a nice start. I would happily wave goodbye to softer players and picks to get him. They have cap issues, so I doubt anything we give up could entice them, maybe picard or lee and first...
Wow for the first time I'm speachless after a game... Like SC I too was looking for something positive from that game and could not find anything... The game was brutal for them.
As much as I would love to say we have to get Seabrook or Frolov or Foppa... I think it may be better that Murray doesnt do anything. These guys have to learn how to play as a team and you dont learn that by changing players. These guys have to gel and gel fast. Clouston has to also stop changing those lines... how can the players have chemistry with each other if every other day they are with someone else... Anyway just my 2cents while I still shake my head from last night's game...
Ivan
Ok I have seen Spezza and Kovalev on the ice plenty of times together now and guess what? Kovie still coasts, and the Sens still lose, so give up that excuse already people.
I guess the people here didn't get my memo on why BM and Clouston won't be fired.
Well I'll say it again, Muckler was given 4 years expect BM to be here for one more year whether you like it or not. Also Ottawa is still paying $3-4 million to Muckler, Paddock, and Hartsburgh. Firing Murray and Clouston is going to another $1.5-2 million. Add to the fact that hiring new gm and coach adds another $2 million, your looking at $6.5-8 million being shelled out by Melynk.
If anyone thinks that Stevie Y is coming to Ottawa. NO CHANCE IN HELL because with the way our fans spit acid in the face of the hometown guys. Stevie Y would be scared to make a trade or signing without people spiiting acid in face.
As the dumbby who said he wouldn't care if Lee got hit by a bus. I had a similiar comment referring to LeClaire that was erased, you should careful what you say.
Whats the chance that BM could ask Jason " I got run out of town" Smith to come back and shore up the backend he was at the game the other night against Edmonton .. LOSE CAMPOLI LOSE PICARD PLEASE ..ASK SMITH NICELY TO COME BACK SMITH IS A LEADER/ WARRIOR AND THATS WHAT WE NEED RIGHT NOW CAUSE ARE DEFENCE GETS SMOKED EVERY NIGHT PHILLY EXPOSED US WITH THE DUMP AND CHASE PUTTING PRESSURE ON ARE DEFENCE TO YOUNG NOT NHL READY DEFENCE .. SEABROOK OR BARKER WOULD BE NICE FITS AS WELL FOCUS ON DMEN BM FOCUS ON THE DMAN ... SIDE NOTE ITS NICE TO SEE SPEEZA RAISE HIS GAME AND GET RID OF THE DROP PASSES... sorry about the caps guys cheers ..
AR24 - There are no bad sections, you can sit anywhere and you will have a great view. All I can usually afford is the upper level and I enjoy it there. Last year I bought front row tickets and it was only there that I couldn't see much of the game....but the parts I could see were awesome!
Enjoy your trip to Ottawa!
GO SENS GO!
AR24...line of sight is pretty awesome anywhere in the building. The only place I would recommend against, and that goes for any hockey arena, is down low in the corners. Expensive seats and you lose a hunk of ice when the play is at the opposite end on the same side of the ice.
I thought Fisher and Spezza both played excellent games. They were skating hard, Fisher was playing physical and got a number of good scoring opportunities.
Can we just buy a couple of powerplays? Somehow the refs keep forgetting to call penalties when they see infractions against us. Seriously, wtf.
Hopefully all these minutes Picard gets to play will entice some GM to trade for him.
engin
the way leclaire is playing right now if he was to throw himself in front of a bus it would go under him
I would like to see Murray make a trade. I would like to see Murray to trade for Cole and Aaron Ward from the Hurricanes!
the effin refs have been fuckin pissin me off like wtf?
we need to complain to league...
Watching last nights game was stressfull. I can't help but get pissed off when I see Alex Kovalev on the ice.
He is a puck hog that loses the puck everytime he tries to do a fancy dangle. If there is a scrum on the ice he always makes his way to the bench. Alex Kovalev is a hockey diva and he is hurting our team. 4 goals , 4 assists for 8 points total this season. Are you kidding me. Trade Kovalev to Montreal where he wants to play and bring a guy like Cammalleri to Ottawa.
Engin
Murray's contract is done this year and this is not the same situation. Cap era was just starting when Muckler left, he had time to mould the time into a winner. I don't see Melnyk handing just a one-year deal. If he were going to extend Murray it would be for another three years.
These days, the window is much smaller. If the team misses the playoffs again then there goes another 100-500 season tickets, less people going to games, etc. Melnyk will have to do something to restore faith and since Murray has an executive VP position anyway...
As for people here 'spitting acid' at Yzerman, ha!
The guy is a WINNER. I will PERSONALLY roll out the red carpet and there won't be a word of complaint out of me about him. If you're a WINNER you can do whatever you want in my book, that goes for SHannon, Kovalev, Yzerman...the last winner we had was Muckler and we had swagger and reached a finals under him. Then we got the befuddled Murray and down the team went!
Anyway, We'll lose to Rangers, beat the LEafs, beat Buffalo, lose to Washington and Pittsburgh.
Hi Guys,
I am French Canadian and I am cheering for the SENS. Can you please spell "Pascal Leclaire" correctly ? I am tired of "Pascale" (the feminin of Pascal) and "LeClair". That being said I agree with most of the comments.
Shannon, Kelly, Picard, Carkner, Lee are AHL caliber. Kovalev was a bad signing.
The future is bright on defence but not so on offence. Alfie is getting old. Our core offence in 2-3 years will be Spezza, Michalek, Fisher, Foligno...after that we don't have much. We need young talent
I would be in favour of a 2-3 years plan where we trade for picks or young prospects. I understand that Ottawa fans want a winning team and that the SENS have a tough time selling tickets this year but let's hope we do not make the same mistake as the Leafs and be a mediocre team year after year (or Montreal this year) by signing old expensive players.
Guillaume
There will be a trade, I believe. It will centre on Kelly on the Sens side plus bits and pieces from the young corps or bottom six forwards (excluding Neil), and maybe a 2nd rounder. It will be for a top-four D. This just makes sense. Why in the world would Murray think he needs a fwd? His comments are a smoke-screen. Once the D is shored-up, both Leclaire and Kovy will look better. Kovy will get to spend more time with the puck, and Leclaire will be let down by his D less. To me this just makes obvious sense. I hope it does to Murray as well
the guy thats disapointed me lately the most has been clouston, what happened to the early season forechecking ottawa was doing so well with. On top of that i think he is the worst coach in the history of the nhl with line combinations. he just keeps lines together even though they seem to have no chemisty, change it up to spark up the team cory!!
Cole only plays well in Carolina...and both Ward and him are definitely on the downside of their careers.
Sharp, and any of the hawk's D would probably be outstanding. or Neids from Anaheim...apparently he wants out. he'd be a great role model for Karlson. Not sure if it woudl be worth eating his contract or not though.
yea Aaron Ward for kelly picard and campoli and shannon. Please and Thank you.
shannon isnt only too small. his speed gain on donovan isnt that great since dono is one of the better skaters on this team. kinda mindnumbing why clouston keeps playing shannon. he is not a fit on any line on this team. didnt anaheim let go of a player similar to him recently? and randy carlyle even said later that the guy has too small a size for today's game. its unfortunate, but its a winning business.
i dont agree with the played well for 40 minutes statement. they played the trap for the first 40 minutes while emery and philly were open for the raping. then in the third philly's brain trust finally got it together and decided its time to break the senators bank. not only that, campoli and phillips all had to commit brain farts on the two first powerplay goals. alongwith Leclaire partly suffering from bad communication and partly letting in a softie. and yea thats all she wrote.
I just dont get a few things from yesterdays game. and lets get this right guys. this is not at all a knock on this team's players' skills and abilities. that is just secondary. THE BIG QUESTIONS ARE:
1) why in the world was this team playing a trap when it fired Hartsburg just for that fucking reason. not only that, they played the trap right until the fucking final buzzer. they seemed to have no pride even in themselves even in their losing state.
2) after going repeatedly high glove side on emery. and missing and embarassing themselves routinely in front of the whole arena. you would think they would smarten up, try to create traffice and go for emery's always famous atrocious rebounds. but no, they didnt even do that. so much for having the book on emery.
im not knocking clouston down right now just yet. but i think the honeymoon period is over. the 15 games into the season crap is B.S. this experiment started last season when Clouston came in because thats when the plug got pulled. so 50 games is a long time. and the characters havent really changed alot. the defense is EXACTLY the same as last year. except for Kovalev, Cheechoo and Michalek, we have basically the same guys. infact, except for Heatley and Jason Smith, noone left.
i dont know. i think there are signs that Clouston might not be the best strategy coach. and he also might be lacking or unable to execute his systems either. because clearly we have all seen this team play both the trap this year and an uptempo forecheck style.
this team CANNOT play the trap. why? because it doesnt have Brodeur in net, and it doesnt have a stacked stellar defense. the only way this team gives itself a chance to win is by attacking, attacking, attacking. Clouston knows this and it boggles me why he played the trap last night even then.
call it bandwagoning or whatever. when you see cracks in the coaching system, its just a bad bad omen. because then the problem has clearly gone deeper.
trade
ottawa
Kelly
Neil
O'brien
2nd S J
Chicago
Cam Barker
Patrick Sharp
You have to laugh a little at the people who expected Kovalev to become the exact opposite of what he's always been. I'm not saying don't complain about him, I just find it funny that people are surprised he's playing how he's playing. He's always played that way, he always will. The difference now is at his age the points aren't coming as easy.
Leclaire has been extremely frustrating to watch lately, too many dropped pucks or just lazy plays where he's not closing up the pads. I don't see a fundamental flaw in his game, he's going through a but of a slump which is to be expected from time to time. I think he could use some more rest, maybe the flu is still affecting him apparently he lost 10 pounds. Anyway the defense isn't doing him any favours either (we need to Volchenkov wrapped up as soon as possible as a side note).
People need to look beyond what the team is now and what Murray has done. Realistically what a GM does isn't felt until years later, a lot of the problems we have now were inherited from Muckler and Murray has been trying to fix them. I think he's done a decent job considering what he had to work with.
Them blame IMO has been squarely on the defense, since Volch has been out, the team has struggled.
But, that said, Clouston has to realize that this isn't the AHL anymore, playing guys like Shannon, Regin etc have done nothing. He has such a boner for these guys its sick...
A few adjustments, a trade, something like that would be huge.
Adding a top 4 D-man would be fantastic...Seabrooke would make sense in terms of cap relief, but it would take a lot to get him.
You would have to give up at least Lee, 1st rounder, Picard and SJ 2nd rounder - at least! And to be honest I would do it and more for that guy....I would even be enticed to give up a good prospect like Weircoch or Karlsson (not both) without even thinking twice about it. With guys coming, the D core will be set...
Could you imagine two years from now:
Cowen, Volch, Wiercoch/Karlsson, Seabrook, etc etc
Anyways, Clouston has to man up and make some changes.
I have 4 extra tickets to get rid of for Tuesdays Sens/Leafs game 307 row D, $100 per ticket (at cost).
R
613-266-7423
Don't know if this type of posting is allowed! hopefully...
GO SENS GO
Anon 2:14
Yes Sens went to cup final with Muckler as GM. However, Muckler traded Havlat for nothing... let Chara walk.. and traded Hossa for Heatley -- which turned out not too well in the end. Who knew what his character really was like.
Muckler also traded away all the good prospects and draft picks, so after the Cup final run when players left there was nothing in Bingo to bring up to replace. Mucklar did NOT draft well, the good prospects we had were from prior Ottawa GM's -- I believe though he did draft Foligno.. who I really like as a player... other than that... nothing. Gone was Gleason, Laich and several picks that we could have used to stock the cupboards, so to speak. Murray has drafted well... but he's only had 3 years to replace what was extremely lacking in Bingo. A lot of these prospects are still in US colleges, so hopefully they will graduate soon. These picks will take a few years to reach NHL -- but they will be good.
As for another note, I wanted Ryan Smyth in Ottawa from Colorado for Heatley -- but unfortunately Heatley never would have gone there either. I really like Ryan Smyth's style of play and his heart and passion, he would have fit nicely under Clouston's system.
A lot of the comments here seem to be way off base. Ottawa has for the most part played very well this season. The last 3 games have been lousy and I'd be willing to guess the Flu has been running through our guys. Along with some coaching errors that I've fiercely complained about already over the past few games.
A-Train is a huge loss. It cannot be understated. The team has been too timid as of late. Nowhere near aggressive enough or near the style they need to play to be successful. However we do have depth. Our top six are pretty damn good and our bottom six rival any bottom 6 in the league other than the ridiculous Philly team this year. Leclaire will stand tall and prove all you naysayers wrong before it's all said and done. He is easily the most talented goaltender we have had in Ottawa since Hasek. He will prove to be far superior to the likes of Emery, Gerber, and Lalime.
Everyone bashing Kovalev really needs to get a clue. We paid 5M for a guy to put up points and dramatically improve the power-play and 5 on 3. He has done just that. If we had even a middle of the road number of power-plays this year I bet he'd be a point a game. He doesn't skate unless he is in posession of the puck, we already knew that if you know his game. He plays the game inside his head and with his skill. He intercepts passes and strips people of the puck by putting himself in the right place at the right time. Whether you like him or hate him, he is what he is and he's always been this way. As long as he puts up 25-30 goals and 65-70 points I'm happy with him. That's his only job. He'd have 4-5 more points already this year if the people he passed to could finish the play, and don't forget he's hit at least 3-4 posts already. He isn't the grind all over the ice type of player, he relies on his skill and he gets better as the season goes on. It's better to encourage him than to hate on him. The more he cares about the fans and the encouragement they give him the harder he is going to want to work for us.
We have a good team when they show up and work their asses off. We have good scoring balance and can put away 3+ goals a game. Leclaire and the D will round into shape as things go on and probably allow 2.5 or less goals per game. I expect us to finish 6th-9th. We are not going to kill the best teams in the league by any means, but we will give them a run for their money. In the meantime guys like Wiercoch, Lee, Karlsson, and Cowen are all going to make us a much better team 3-4 years from now. The only thing thats rough about this is Alfie won't likely get to win a cup unless we can go on a miracle run or he plays until he's 40.
PS if we trade for anyone - Scotty Neidermayer. If he becomes available. Almost anything would be worth it.
Bejamin1
There are a lot of stupid people posting here. Everyone wants to sell the farm for Seabrook. I'm sure glad you're not in charge of the Sens.
The only thing wrong with Kelly is that he is overpaid - he's a great bottow line C - I'm really not sure why people hate him so much. Same goes with Lee. He's had maybe one or two bad giveaways since he's been up, which is on par with everyone named Phillips and Kuba & far below the amount of gaffs from Picard and Campoli.
Ideally next year both Picard and Campoli will be gone and the D will look like this:
Phillips Volchenkov
Kuba Lee
Cowen Karlsson
Clouston has to step up and hold players accountable or its going to be another short ride.
If we have a chance to clear kelly and his 2.2, see ya, he can be replaced with winchester for now.
We need another top 2 d-man to play with Kuba-I dont care what PICKS/prospects we have to give up other than karlsson or Cowen.
To Chicago
2010 1st
Lee/Wiercoch
To Ottawa
Barker
Then we have:
Barker Kuba
Phillips Volch
Campoli Karlsson/Cowen
maybe murray is dangling volchenkov/phillips for seabrook?
im just speculating. and i don't know if i will agree with that kind of move. it would be interesting however.
on another note. at some point this season, the signing of kovalev is either going to haunt him out of his job, or is going to make him look like a genius. you heard it here first.
I went out to shoot an interview with Murray at Scotiabank Place for work today and he was rightly upset at the effort the boys put in last night. I won't get into details, but he wasn't a happy camper. Luckily, he's a pro and did a good interview with us (TVCOGECO) regardless of how he felt. If you're a Cogeco or Rogers subscriber, you'll be able to see the interview on CJHL Snapshots in one of the upcoming episodes in the next few weeks. It's a revealing look at Murray that most interviewers never get and it'll be worth tuning into.
Anon @ 2:14
Just because Stevie Y won 3 cups with a STACKED NHL roster doesn't translate to success as a coach or a GM. Let's see what Stevie Y does with team Canada before crowning him a winner in the business part of hockey.
Wow . . our fans get so down after losing! Come on guys, we haven't even played half the season! Have hope Sens fans, don't be so negative. :)
Last night Spezza and Fisher played with heart, i'm glad they stepped up. Fisher is on a roll!
What the hell is wrong with some of you people, you should chill out everyones freakin out already after 15 games omg take it easy! " im not watching anymmore games, fire bryan murray, sit pascal leclaire, sit kovalev!" alright that was a piss poor game but we owned the first period by far. then we shit the bed, every team does that once in a while. yes we do need to make a few moves like getting rid of that bum chris kelly and getting somebody on defense and another forward wouldnt hurt either.
My god i just about smashed my tv into pieces last night listening to pierre mcGuire. he went on for about 2 periods on how maxim lapierre is such a great player. i heard about 2 good things come out of his mouth about ottawa and yes i know they played crappy but i am seriously gonna watch the next sens game thats on tsn on mute
Any season ticket holders not going to the games anymore? AKA bandwagon fans, I'll be in town next weekend and seeing as you don't want to waste your time cheering for a team that needs a jump I'd be glad to take your Ottawa vs. Buffalo tickets off of your hands.
In all seriousness though, I have to agree that all of these morons saying they are going to stop buying tickets and stop going to games are ridiculous. How can you refer to yourselves as fans? "Ottawa's losing, why would I want to spend money to see them play?" Because they are your team, losing sucks, but not standing by your team when they are at a low point, which they are far from, is utterly insane. I can't believe I'm saying this but I wish we treated our team like soccer fans treat their teams, and no I don't mean we need hockey hooligans. The passion they show towards their teams leaves me in awe, a passion which I saw during the conference and cup finals a few years ago, which has long since disappeared. Why? Because you are nothing but bandwagon fans who take the easy route and cheer on the winning team. Ottawa can be a winner, they have a competitive lineup, but do you really think that not cheering them on is going to help them win?
Home ice is supposed to be a safe haven for a team, a place where they can rely on the fans to cheer them on no matter what. All of you people complaining about Picard or Campoli giving away the puck should take a look in the mirror. You are essentially doing the same thing, you are giving away the home ice advantage by not going to games and allowing other teams fans to fill the rink. You can't have your cake and eat it too; nothing works that way. How motivating do you think it is for our players when there are question marks as to if our "fans" will even be cheering at the games? Or if they'll even show up?
When I'm walking around Toronto, which is where I live, wearing my Sens jersey on game day, I feel totally alone, which is to be expected, I'm on enemy soil what do you expect? But to feel the same way when walking around Scotiabank Place makes me sick. Our fan base is a joke, I remember being at the Pittsburgh game, Ottawa was down, half of the "fans" left during the second intermission. Another quarter had left during the 3rd and the Pittsburgh fans almost outnumbered the remaining Ottawa fans with 10 minutes left. On top of that I had an Ottawa "fan" get mad at me for sitting on the edge of my seat when there was a scramble in front of the Penguins net. This experience made me come to the conclusion that Ottawa fans, for the most part are nothing more than spectators. You don't love the team, you just show up to watch, and just like with TV, if you don't like what you are watching, you switch it off.
Wake up and get into the game, love your team through think and thin. If you want to see passion for your team, you should come to Toronto. I have friends here who are Leafs fans. I don't let them forget how badly their team is doing, and they rub in Sens loses. But every Leafs fan I've talked to says "Yeah, I know the Leafs suck, but that doesn't mean I'm going to stop cheering for them." Talk to an Ottawa "fan" after a lose and they'll say "Murray has screwed us over, we should have fired him and kept Heatley." Or something equally as stupid. Don't get me wrong, I hate Leafs fans, they are loud, obnoxious and wear their jerseys to Ottawa vs. Pittsburgh games, but at least they know how to cheer on their team.
I am a Sens fan, I will always be a Sens fan, I'm not blind, I know when our team needs improving, that doesn't mean I won't go to games and that certainly doesn't mean that I will stop cheering for them. I hesitate to say I'm part of the Sens Army, because, as far as I'm concerned the Sens Army only exists when the team is winning. I hope this is the last time that I have to post a fan rant, but I'm a realist who knows this post will probably change nothing. Here's to hope.
Dave
Sens 18 pts in 16 games, in 9th tied with Boston
Lafs 11 pts in 16 games
MTL 18 pts in 19 games
No one predicted the Sens would finish first. We are in middle, (above or) where we were expected to be, better than our neighbors.
No need to stop going to games/jump off the bandwagon.
PL
From what I understand about the signing of Kovalev, what was reported, and what Murray had said at the time. It was Murray that spoke to Melnyk stating there was an opportunity for the Sens to sign Kovalev. But was concerned about the salary cap and the Heatley situation being unresolved. Melnyk said to Murray, if you have the chance to add that caliber of player do it and we'll deal with the cap later.
Please guys I'm a sens fan too but you armchair GMs need to stop with the ridiculous proposals. Leclaire is awesome, and its going to work out well because his contract is up at the end of this year, and if he spends most of the year shaking rust off before he gets good, his value will be lower and we can get a well priced starting goalie. Shutup about leclaire. Kovalev is skill for now, and will be gone at the same time we really start seeing the fruits of Murrays drafting labor, which also goes for cheech. Cheer up, this isnt our year, but we're fixing Mucklers royal puck-ups and competing at the same time. Yes Muckler, whatever misinformed person was promoting him above should CLEARLY do some research.
Lastly, please stop proposing ridiculous homer trades, I dont want our fanbase to sink to that leaf-esque level - i.e. Patrick sharp and barker for Lee Kelly and a 2nd or whatever the heck it was. Get real, whassamatta wit chu? hanh?
I'm with Dave.
Leclaire needs to sit. Give Elliott a couple games, let Leclaire recharge the batteries. His soft goals are seriously costing us games, and I for one am sick of it already. Benching Kovalev won't do anything, he's been playing the same way for his entire career, he won't change just because he's getting a seat in the press box, Melnyk knew what he was getting when he had Murray go after him (and yes it was Melnyk's decision, not Murray's). Clouston seriously needs to stop with all these random in-game line combination changes, set a line, use the line, give the line a few games before changing it. Send Picard down when Volchenkov returns, give Donovan his spot in the line, sit Shannon and Winchester since they're all but useless this year. I would also try Kovalev with Spezza on a line. We've seen what they can do on the PP why not give them a shot as a regular line?
Lines would like something like:
Michalek - Spezza - Kovalev
Cheechoo - Fisher - Alfredsson
Foligno - Regin - Donovan
Ruutu - Kelly - Neil
Phillips - Volchenkov
Kuba - Campoli
Lee - Carkner
No harm in trying right?
Yea Dave!!!!!!
I have not posted often lately as I have been avoiding the site, full of all the crap many of you whiners constantly puke out, with accompanying foul language.
I am first and foremost a Sens fan (admittedly an ex Habs fan but moved to Ottawa a decade ago and got hooked by the likes of Alfie and Volch). No matter how they play I am a fan and will buy my season tickets and go to the games. Yes we like to highlight problems and discuss solutions/ options but constructively please.
PS SensCirp when will you get rid of Anon submissions????????
Quite the lively comment section yesterday/today - glad to see Sens fans making use of this terrific resource (thanks for your diligence in updating this site, SC).
Here's what I see:
1) Volchenkov's absence has really destablized the defence; it's forced Clouston to give huge minutes to the unholy trinity of Campoli, Picard, and Lee, and consequently, Leclaire has had to deal with a disproportionately high number of scoring chances. Anyone who suggests/intimates/alludes that Leclaire is in the same class as Gerber is doing a tremendous disservice to Leclaire and demonstrates without a shadow of the doubt that they haven't watched the games. Leclaire has made a number of spectacular saves in the majority of the games he's played. He's head and shoulders above Gerber.
2) Not sure what's with the sudden hate on for Shannon? He's a role player with a bit of skill who can make some plays when called upon; ideally, he slots in somewhere in the #6-9 range amongst the forward ranks; nothing more, nothing less...
3) Kelly absolutely has to go: yes, he's a good soldier, yes he is solid defensively, yes he kills penalties effectively, but the sheer economics of the cap era dictate that you cannot afford to pay someone on a 4th line role that much money - especially when Neil is a regular linemate with a similar paycheque. Winchester proved down the stretch last year he can handle this role for a fraction of the cost. Dump him for a mid-round pick or lesser prospect and call it a day.
4) Kovalev has definitely suffered from a lack of PP opportunities thus far, but it's fair to say he's played largely uninspired; I can't help but wonder if his heart is still in Montreal. You get the sense that if the Sens continue to spin their wheels that this could be a very underwhelming season statistically for AK27.
5) Spezza has elevated his game considerably this year; when was the last time someone bitched about one his patented no-look-right-on-the-stick-of-the-opposition passes? He's definitely out to prove to the Team Canada brass that he can be a responsible player.
Dave im with ya all the way buddy
Since GM1 yours truly has been saying it...OUR DEFENCE IS CRAP!
4 AHLers
Lee
Campoli
Carkner
Picard
What did you really expect Sens fans?? our D cannot setup a play properly or break out cleanly and are as soft as my grandmas ass!
Kuba is SO horribly slow, worse than Redden....
Dave we are all fans I would think, it hurts when we lose we all seen what was coming down the pipes I guess now we have that sick feeling we were right, I do not buy tickets anymore i guess its the only way I can express my dissapointment in this team this is not Toronto the sens lose it hurts at the gates my guess is they will only end up with 16,000 for tommrows game.
i think we are going to have a good tough losing streak on our hands by the end of next week. the defense on this team is just atrocious to say the least. and its not like the philly game was an eye opener. it was more like a consolidation of our favorite team's weaknesses. and guys like campoli and picard havent changed over last year, they are not going to change in night. the woes will continue.
i know this is going to attract the ire of the more so-called die hard fans on this board. but i digress. criticism of the team by fans should not be confused with bandwagon jumping. i just think BM has made dubious moves and picked the wrong places to improve on this team. plain and simple.
i just want to ask everyone over here who says that criticizing this team is wrong and should not be done right now and calling for BM job is wrong: the weakness to start last season was identified as lack of faster more skilled defense. Murray publicized part of the solution as Karlsson. and then on the deadline he got campoli. the jury is still out on kuba, but we have seen how good picard is. so going into this offseason. you would have expected Murray to bolster the back end. through trade, through free agency through whatever. why then was he not able to squeeze out a respectable d-man out of SJ for Heatley. why after the blunder of trading for Comrie and Campoli? sure the heatley saga is a fair excuse, but it can always be argued.
i dont know guys. i just think murray holds on to some players too long. he is a passive GM. who is amazing at drafting, but lacks the big move savvy. and unfortunately there are much more aggressive GMs in this league. i think every other GM is more aggressive than Murray.
maybe im completely wrong. but i think everyone over here agrees that it would have been common sense over the offseason to ship guys like kelly, picard, campoli out for whatever the price. sometimes you just need to get rid of players on your team for whatever the return just to clear up salary space.
tired of being apologetic for this team.
agree anon 6 16 on all fronts
one tweak though switch neil and dono
@ anon 10:17
With all due respect, I would say that you have just proved my point. I was talking about people who masquerade as fans, who decide they are going to stop attending games when the team hits a bump in the road to show their disappointment. People who call themselves fans but don't stick around when the team needs their support most. Win or lose you should be supportive, turning your back on your team is not what a fan does.
You pointed out that it was unfair to compare our fanbase to the Leafs', granted Ottawa only has a potential fan base which amounts to about a sixth (and that's being very generous) of Toronto's, yet we still have sufficient fans to fill the arena, as shown in the playoffs and throughout our winning seasons. Something's wrong here.
I must admit that I have no idea what you mean by: "we all seen what was coming down the pipes I guess now we have that sick feeling we were right", what I read from this is that because the farm and team look weak, you believe that you and the other band wagoners have a legitimate excuse to stop cheering; you are afraid of losing and looking foolish for cheering for a team that may not be a contender. So what? By my estimation, and yes I'm starting to sound like a broken record, fans cheer on their teams no matter what, it's only foolish if you are cheering for something you don't believe in, and if you don't believe in the Sens, then you probably aren't a fan. I'm not trying to be overly optimistic and saying the Sens are always contenders, but as far as I'm concerned, we have a team, meaning we have a shot, the probability of winning decreases as the quality of play decreases, but a shot is a shot. No fans equates to no team, it's that simple.
If all of the Ottawa fans jumped ship because we started losing, chances are we wouldn't have a team much longer, it would likely be moved (assuming there are no more Phoenix type experiments) to a city who still carries a fan base, even after decades of no NHL hockey, like Winnipeg, who would sellout every night because they realize how lucky they are to have a team playing in the most highly regarded hockey league in the world. They wouldn't stop going because their team was losing, because that's not the point. The point is having a team is something which they didn't and wouldn't take for granted, if it happened again. There in lies the root of what I have been saying all along. As fans it is our responsibility to cheer on the team when they are winning, and doubly when they are losing. If they lose, so what? Be supportive, pick them back up again. Cheer louder at the next game, send them the message: "We believe you guys can win." That's one hell of a motivation if you ask me, much better motivation than: you guys are losing? I'll be back when the wins start rolling in again. Which would you prefer?
Dave
Personally I'm tired of watching this crap. When I say 'crap', I'm not referring to the team, or the players, but this ridiculously one-sided reffing.
I've said it before... I don't care about the penalties Ottawa is taking, they're probably warranted, but how can any team go 3 games with hardly a sniff at a power play? Gimme a break.
These guys can't get anything going, because they're always on the PK - the refs make sure of it. I can't watch this anymore!
I can't believe how increasingly band wagon sens fans are in general.
-Dreaming up outlandish trades (eg. barker and sharp for kelly, neil, o'brien, and a draft pick between 55-60). Criticizing everyone from murray down.
What were you all thinking before the season started? That we were a contender? That we had a shot at the cup? Please. We're playing like what we are: a team that will probably finish between 10-20 in the league. We may see playoff hockey. But I doubt we'll be hoisting the cup for a long time. Things are going to get worse before they get better. Suck it up boys, evryone goes through it. That's how you become a contender in the cap era: sucking for a while and NOT trading draft picks.
They're still the sens win or lose, and as a sens fan, I'm going to cheer either way. I'm going to continue going to games either way. I think a lot of people forget that before we started kicking ass for ten years we were one of the worst teams in history.
pg
i dont get why, if you are really disapointed and frustrated with your team that you were so looking forward to rebound after missing the playoffs is called being a bandwagon fan. That is a ridiculous comment, WE ARE IN CANADA not in florida, if our team is doing bad theyll hear about it. That said, we need to fix up our D, I love foligno but trading him to chicago for a guy like cam barker or packaging him with someone for seabrook could help out our team right now and in the future. We need help on D, or we arent going anywhere this year, or the next couple of years.
Well Dave not all sens fans can sit back and take it on the chin year after year the ones that live in ottawa with media coverage reminding us time after time and watching game after game with the same issues with no one stepping in to fix it . The past couple years aka since muk's time as GM there were bad decisions made that crippled this franchise!!! As a fan of this team expressing my view or dislikes and weakness does not make me a bandwagon jumper or disloyal makes me a realist its hard for me to understand your point of view to sit back and cheer loaded when your team is getting pounded or the effort level isn't there or the sens issues off the ice talked about more then there play-on the ice that over shadows and hides the issues of the product on the ice ..I am a huge sens fan ill support them anyway shape or forum but as a fan I also can see the weakness and as fan if I can see those weakness or holes in your game what do you think the other team see...
I don't think anyone is calling anyone a bandwagon fan for venting there frustrations about the teams performance.
Its the people that are saying there are going to stop attending games or stop watching them all together are the people I consider bandwagon fans.
I'm a die hard Sens fan, and when the team is playing poorly some-one is going to hear about it, but there's no way in hell I'm gonna stop attending/watching/cheering games just cause the team isn't playing to my expectations.
Hope that clears things up...
Anon 10:30 and Dave:
Let's face it guys, we were spoiled for 10 years with a dominant franchise and now none of us knows how to act with a so-so team.
People need to start seeing the potential of this team from a realistic point of view. Playoffs are not out of the question for us this year but constant criticizm will not help the Sens get there that's for sure.
Haven't you guys learned anything from Montreal and their fans?
@ Anon 10:30
This is the last comment I will make on my point of view.
The fact of the matter is, when the Sens are doing poorly do you not think they know? The media hounds them and they are forced to what video of all of the mistakes they made in the previous game. On top of that, the coaching staff blasts them, or displays their disappointment in other ways; so yes the team knows when they are playing poorly. They don't need their fans reminding them as well.
When we have fans showing up to games expecting them to lose and therefor spectating; and the only noises we hear are a fake cheer for the goalie if he's been letting in softies, or perhaps boo's raining down from our own fans when a defenseman gets caught flat footed, or a forward fans on a shot. Can you not see that this is a terrible way to show support for your team? Coming to home ice only to be treated like the visiting team. I wouldn't want to be associated with that group of so called fans.
I'd rather be associated with the "real fans", do you know who they are? They are the little kids who try to start chants, usually shut down by their parents who think they look foolish, or by no one else joining in for the same reason. But these children are doing what we should all be doing, cheering on the troops, regardless of what the score on the board says, a little positive reinforcement never hurt anyone, especially when you are getting negative reinforcement from everywhere else. If anything, an arena full of loud fans cheering "Go Sens Go" in the middle of a losing streak a la Hurricanes, would make me want to get going.
That is all,
Dave
Well said Anon 10:30, well said!
NHL hockey is a consumer product. I love the fact that we have that in Ottawa, but I will not sit back and try to appreciate a bad product and right now it's bad. Teams like Toronto do not need to worry about the quality of the product because their fan base is huge and there will always be fans. Ottawa is NOT Toronto. The product needs to be good perennially or else fans lose interest and even more-so when the team itself does not seem to care on the ice, showing up for one period a game, taking bad penalties, careless sloppy play. If fans would always take anything being put out on the ice then the Senators organization would never have to worry about the product being good. I think it is very healthy for the organization that fans express their discontent with the product by not supporting it. There can be no clearer message.
Unconditional support for this team will get them nowhere, again look at Toronto.
Nothing much to add to this pile of complaining except that the problems on D were predictable (and predicted) but the Leclaire issues are surprising.
As for the Kuba hate, maybe many aren't aware that he's playing with major alignment issues. He would normally be out, but he's taking one for the team because of the D-Corps being thinner than Brian Lee's peach fuzz. Watch footage of Kuba skating before and then since he's been back from injury. You'll see a huge difference and know what I'm talking about. He's a reliable #3-4 D-Man, even though he's not much of a bodychecker, even when healthy. In Philly, he couldn't even catch up to average skaters to angle them off...this isn't normal for Kubie.
This whole thing of sending guys down, waiving guys and trading guys for bags of pucks...it's just too unrealistic to even be worth reading. The Sens play in the real world and pay their players real money. Roster moves of any kind are complicated these days. You can't just package up a bunch of guys and think some team will give up what you need in return.
This team we have as of now, is a play-off team, but will not finish any higher than 6th in the Eastern Conference. Changes must be made to get us there, as our current defensive core is horrible. We need to add a puck-moving defenceman, and maybe a D-man with a good shot on the Powerplay. I don't feel this will be done well as long as Bryan Murray is our GM. A significant change needs to be made. Picard and Lee are awful. Kovalev won't score more than 25 goals this year. Leclaire has been bad, but a lot of that can be blamed on the D. Cheechoo will never be worth the money he is making. Chris Kelly needs to go, and Donovan has to be in the line-up every single game. It's going to be a rough year this year and next, whilst Kovalev's contract runs out. After that, him and Cheechoo will be gone, and prospects like Cowen, Wiercoch and Lehner will be coming up. We will have cap room to make a big free agent splash, which hopefully isn't thrown away on a Dummy like Kovalev again.
first off onew thing straight i will NEVER give up on my team......that being said , i think offensively we are set , forsberg is a bad move on ottawas part, for when the playoffs come around, a younger team will pick us apart limb from limb....why cant murray see that its D that we are lacking big time????? murray should seriously give his head a shake and stop going after veterans, nobody absolutly NOBODY will be as good as alfy at his age or older!!!!!im sorry but murray has to drop that thaught quickly, and open his frickin eyes here...i hate to bash but just look at all the wacky trades and crazyness hes done to this team so far, if murray moves more players for more offence i will deffinately start loosing faith here, and no firing clouston is not the answer this year!!!
every line is fire so far and can produce awesomely, leave it alone and look for a dman that can shut ppl down , ive hads it with these "offensive" defencemen, if you wanna score goals be a forward , to be a dman u need to be defensive!!!!!thats the bottom line , i dunno if its because i used to play D thaty i watch games and ppl like picard get right under my skin, but im sick of it
instead of trading picks we shoulda tried to nab erhoff in the heatley trade , but whjats done is done and i love michalek and cheechoo!!!! time for a shut down d thats right not a big puck movin offensive dman but a big nasty shut down guy .....if your gonna pull anyone out of retirement give stevens a call lol (ya right i wish)
at the end of the day tho , this is my team and i cheer loudly win or loose, but this whole forsberg idea, really murray needs to give his head a shake on that one!!!
Could not find a suitable section so I written here, how to become a moderator for your forum, that need for this?
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