The injury to Jason Spezza is a major blow to the Ottawa Senators. This team hasn't been 100% at any point this season and will have to wait at least another 4-8 weeks for the return of their #1 centre.
The team is still waiting on the results of today tests...
The injury is particularly tough due to the obvious lack of depth at the centre position.
Hennessey has been called up for now but I really don't even know if he'll play centre. I would think it's going to be up to Mike Fisher, Chris Kelly, Peter Regin and in particular Jesse Winchester to carry the load while Spezza is out.
Losing a #1 centre is tough but from what I've heard so far today, it's unlikely the Senators will make a move to fill the void and will instead look internally. Jesse Winchester will be given a chance to step up and play some valuable minutes, potentially on a line with Michalek and Alfredsson.
Pascal Leclaire remains sidelined with his cheekbone injury and is expected back at some point next week from what I can tell. Potentially next weekend.
Chris Neil is probably the closest to rejoining the line up, with his return expected in the near future (Hopefully this weekend).
The Senators play three more times this week with games against the Sabres, Devils and Wild and then open next week with a Monday match up with the Bruins.
It's gutcheck time for our Ottawa Senators...
52 comments:
Just fantastic...Darn. Heal quickly, Jason!
Kovalev its time ...
im going away for the christmas break, does anyone know if you can stream hockey games in different continents. Would atdhe.net work worldwide?
One way or another, this is going to tell us a lot about the current make up of the team, and Spezza's value to it (which I believe is a ton). As a few people have said, I'd hate to see Murray make a short term deal and sacrifice prospects or picks.
Hopefully we can keep ourselves in the playoff race until he gets back.
This is a massive loss. Spezza was starting to score and produce offense regularly. Thank god for the Olympics otherwise we'd be in real trouble. But Spezza's injury will give Regin a chance. He's the only young guy we have with any potential to be a top six guy. Foligno, Winchester, Shannon aren't anywhere near top six potential.
hey sc, when will mike brodeur be getting the call in net??? 13 straight for elliott, he must be tired by now.
quirky fact:
Josh Hennesy and Patrick Wiercioch are all thats left in the senators organization from the Havlat trade.
Wiercioch was picked with the second rounder Chicago sent to us along with Barinka.
i dont want murray to make any major deals. if he still wants to ship out any of campoli/picard/lee for franson, BY ALL MEANS. or if he wants to ship them for peter mueller. but outside of that, i dont want to see any deals.
I think this team is capable of weathering this storm. we have had spezza injured for small stretches each of the past seasons, and with the exception of the last one, made the playoffs every season still. so they can do it for sure without outside help.
If nothing else this makes for some serious suspense, those days where we would win every game, way too predictable...
If we trade away all our picks we won't have any young prospects to play when the big boys we traded for get injured
Elliot needs to be sat, that goal that Blake scored I think it was, should never go in short side along the ice like that...I wanted to mention the defensive efforts I saw spezza making last night, aside from his coutless turnovers, he was hustling back into his own end to stop odd man rushes, and chipping the puckout of his own zone like he should. We are in big trouble with Spezza's injury, and with his reputation for taking a long time to be game shape again, we can expect to slip out of the playoff picture, and Bryan Murry to pull the trigger on a deal to save the season.
Hey everyone and SC,
Im not sure about you guys, but i personally didnt expect to make a playoff run this year anyway.
On the bright side, with Spezza injured, its a good opportunity for Hennessey to get some major ice time and improve his game. However...im not sure i like the idea of Josh Hennessey centering Alfie and Michalek...then again, im not an NHL coach so im sure Clouston knows what hes doing.
Go Sens Go!
-Carlos
Kovalev...please make your name worth 10 million. The most dissapointing player on the senators, but its time for you to REALLY step up.
we are screwed. Even though spezza was struggling this team's forwards resemble an ahl team apart from kovalev, alffy, michalek , fisher.
henessey = 3rd-4th line in the ahl (crap)
winchester= ahl player, 4th line at best in the nhl
kelly= 4th line playing too many minutes
ruutu=4th line playing too many minutes
shannon= ahl player
regin= ahl player
foligno= 3rd line player, playing as a top 6
cheechoo= ahl player calibre.
this is due to bryan murray, absolutly no depth or offensive prospects. Get a GM that can come in and give this team a fresh outlook. What happens when alffy retires, we are absolutly screwed since we only have 4 prospects and none of them are forwards (lehner, cowen, karlsson, wierchioch)
AfanwhohatesBM,
are you being serious right now,
how do you want Murray to have depth in the AHL when we never had draft picks under Muckler. Murray has done 2 draft year with this team and guys like Smith, Cowick, Hoffman, Silfverberg, they might not be the top 6 players but murray has drafted what we needed in the time and that was a #1 goalie in Lehner and 3 top 4 D-men in Karlsson, Wiercioch and Cowen. Im sure we will see lots of fowards in next years draft.
I think Murray has done a great job and not doing bonehead trades (except Carolina trade)and im sure Melnyk gives Murray the green light.
To AfanwhohatesBM - I love your name and I also hate BM.
I personally hope they fire his sorry ass ASAP before he makes any more blunders with the roster.
I also hope we tank and finish last or in the bottom 4, win the lottery and pick up Taylor Hall top prospect.
come on guys. sure spezza is the most important player on this team. but have some faith in the roster here. sure they commit the most abominable gaffe's sometimes, but there are teams with much lesser calibre players on their roster and they still win a lot of games.
im sure this is where clouston is going to whip these boys into harder work and push them to be even better than they have been. it will show the team's true character for sure.
Adversity! We loath you when you come but when you leave we are stronger, better and more resilient.
The AHL website has Hennessy listed as a LW so I wouldn't be surprised if he plays on the wing.
Besides, if they wanted to call up a center I'm pretty sure they would have brought up Martin St. Pierre, who is kicking ass in Bingo and tied for 2nd overall in scoring.
Hennessy, for the record, is still top 20 (tied 16th) in league scoring so it's not a bad call-up.
Devon I have no idea what you're talking about.
The Olympics have put us in even more trouble than we would otherwise be. Normally we'd play about 12-13 games a month. We have 16-17 games in each of December and January.
Leclaire and Spezza have gotten hurt at the worst possible time during the most condensed part of our schedule.
If Spezza's injury goes the full 8 weeks he'll be back just in time to sit around and do nothing for two freaking weeks when the Olympic break starts. Oh yeah that really helps!
SensChirp, With the injuries this season, does Ottawa not have a lot of cap room to play with now? You would think at this point they would be able to take on a player that was in the 4 mil range or so?
A little faith guys... Go Sens Go!!!
Why is Winchester on the first line. It should be Kelly. He's proven that he can do the job, in the past.
Jesse's a good checker. We are wasting time putting him in an offensive role. He could not score with Spezza and Heatley last year. More importantly, he could not score at the college level.
Kelly would be a safer pick. He's clicked with Alfie in the past. He's a smart player. He's also making $2M. Let's give him an opportunity to earn it. I would hope that's why we gave him that much in the first place.
I certainly don't think that we gave him $2M to play 12 minutes a night a the third or fourth line.
I can't believe there are people seriously suggesting we tank the season less than 35 games in.
People who want the team to tank aren't real fans. End of.
Before everyone starts calling for Murray's head, I just wanted to point something out.
Andrej Meszaros
32 Games.
7 points.
-9.
He's on pace for 18 points and -23 over 82 games.
4 million dollar cap hit until 2014.
I think Murray did pretty well there, even if it was just to get out from under that contract. As bad as Kuba played last night, I'd still rather have him than Meszaros.
Just my opinion. Happy Holidays.
On the plus side, Spezza seems to be constantly playing with something hurting. IF we can make it through this and remain in playoff contention - big if - then we're that much better for it going down the stretch run and into the playoffs with a 100% healthy, and hopefully dominant Spezza. That's something we definitely would not have had otherwise.
The other possible benefit is LTIR means cap-space which means the door's open for a big deadline pickup if we stay in contention. Although that might just be a lost prospect given how our deadline pickups usually go.
Anyway...unintuitively, bad for our playoff hopes but good for our cup hopes.
--Butters
Anyone have the lisve stream for tonights WJC game ?
I know we don't have depth at centre but I remember hearing that Nick Foligno is originally a centre...any truth to this? if so, why not give him a chance at centre at some point?
Bryan Murray has drafted very well. Trying to rebuild the Bingo players after John Muckler traded away most of the good ones. Muckler DID NOT draft well, and any prospects we had from his predecessor GM's he traded away.
BM has drafted a lot of good prospects that are in Sweden, US college and some OHL guys that will start in AHL/NHL in the next year or two. The future looks pretty good from that.
I for one would be very upset if Murray started trading any of them away.
Spezza's injury sucks.. and I agree that it should be Kelly that replaces him. He did it before when all of Vermette, Spezza & Fisher were hurt at the same time and did a good job.
Winchester should go to Kelly's spot on the 3rd line.
Goaltending has to be better.. Sens lost that game last night with bad goals.
Hockey Canada normaly streams all the WJC selection camp games.
I can't believe the morons calling for Kelly to 'replace' Spezza. Have you watched a Sens game? Like ever? The guy can't contribute offense if his life depended on it. He may have done it before 7:16, but like you said, ALL other centers were out. Hell, I'd rather see a winger try center before Kelly.
are all you forgetting we LOST to the Leafs they are a MUCH better team now, why is Murray so great again?
Maybe we could trade Lee, Kelly, and Cheechoo for Getzlaf or someone of that ilk.
has anyone thought of maybe giving Washington a call and see if they would put Nylander on Re-entry waivers. 2.5mil a year is not that much for a potential point a game player, and now with Spezza out this would be a good replacement.
what are your thoughts on this chirp.
I think this is gut check time for all the team, especially our young coach. Let's see if he has what it takes to handle the countless injuires. Is he willing to deal with the cards he's been dealt or will he keep to his stubborn ways. Like don't you think it's time Elliot was sat for a night. He's not only ruining Elliot, what is he doing to Brouder saying he doesn't even think he is good enough for one game in the Show. Now that's going to help build a goalies confidence. For a coach that talks all about builing cofidence he sure likes to knock players down at time.
Lol Anon 8:05pm
One loss to the Leafs and I guess they are the new All-Star team?
Oh right...I forgot they are the center of the hockey universe. Oops.
Get a grip!
:)
another key point that won't be good for ottawa if they ask washington for nylander: ottawa will be asking from a position of weakness. alot of posters here are suggesting to pick up nylander and that he will only be 2.5 mil/yr. but the catch is that the other half of his salary will go on washington's books if he comes up on reentry. and I dont think that with washington on a semi-make or break year here with the roster they have will want to take on that amount of salary on their cap. so, there will have to be something done on the side....maybe a trade to compensate for washington taking on that extra 2.5 mil which im sure they would love to save to sign guys like semin long term or get someone like Pronger in their back end which they are known to be searching for. or even a goalie for them, because theodore is not reliable and varlamov is still a rookie.
honestly, people need to take a step back and evaluate the impact here. the objective this year was to make the playoffs. ofcourse noone can predict injuries. the objective is not to win the cup. and with spezza out for 8 weeks, i still think ottawa can make the playoffs. the key will be the current roster really pushing from tomorrow's game against buffalo to achieve their expected potentials. guys like regin, foligno and hennesey are getting a big time opportunity here to show up big time. ofcourse the leaders on the team in alfie and fisher will boost up too and carry the load, but the supporting cast has to run with the opportunity here. guys like Kelly have to dig in and find that extra gear. if anything this should give kovalev more ice time to finally get into a more consistent and produce more.
i think hennesey will play as a winger probably to start with. he will probably give the top centreman job to either winchester or kelly. although if i were clouston, i would go with kelly. winchester is still a rookie and he is gaining a good rep, but you dont want to mess with his head by putting him up there just yet. kelly on the other hand has slowly found his way down to the fourth line on the depth chart over the past two seasons. there was a stretch in the cup-final season that he played between alfie and heatley and really proved he could get the job done. i think clouston should make a bold decision and let kelly start with it. regin can be the third centreman and winchester the fourth. if he cant make it work with kelly, then he has three other centremen other than fisher to juggle with and make it work. honestly, the senators have alright options at the centre positions and this stretch should not be as bad as some people are predicting if clouston really has a say. which he does indeed.
it true we are a team that can no longer beat the leafs,
we also should of went though a rebuild, I keep seeing every posting trade chechoo kelly picard campoli spezza, NO ONE WOULD TAKE THEM to rebuild and pick up some draft picks we would have to give up our best.
If you pick up a player on re-entry, are you on the hook for half his salary for the current year or is it for the rest of his contract? Regardless, I think Nylander at a pro-rated 2.5 mil this season MIGHT be digestible, but not for next season. Too many holes to fill next season to make a gamble that is that expensive.
I also think Bejamin is right. This is the worst time for our best players to go down. A lot of games on the sched and every loss matters a lot. There have been too many of those "its just one game, we'll turn it around next game" losses. The team plays hard but the standings are just too tight to let points slip away.
And anon 7:30 - nobody would suggest Kelly "replace" Spezza, he just has to fill in for a while - moron. Why? because he's done it before and he did it well. He doesn't have to finish plays, he'll have two good players to do that. All he has to do is skate and make decent passes, which he can do.
Devastating loss. Hopefully the time off will give him a chance to heal all his injuries. Looks like we're about to see the other teams top pairings playing against Fish all night.
The Sens record so far is better than this team is, IMO. I wouldn't be surprised if by the time Spez comes back the only thing we're in contention for is a lottery pick. Which would actually be far better than making the playoffs long-term. Can you imagine Seguin or Hall cruising around SBP? Now THAT would sell some season tickets and put a few more arses in the seats.
Lol Cassie 9:09, sad thing is it's true. People think that cause they're "tearing up the league" against the struggling teams (exception of caps) they're now Stanley cup contenders. Get a grip moron leafs fans, leafs miss playoffs- end of story.
Spezza out for sure leaves a huge hole in center.. I really hope players will be able to step it up - getting the two points every game is the most important thing.
Sorry to the last few of you that made comments that aren't listed above. Had a small technical issue.
If you make them again I'll make sure they get posted.
9 53: I hate your pessimism,
I'm pretty sure 3/4 of the league would take Spezza.
We are not in rebuild, we are in tinkering mode.
Come 1.5 seasons from now, we will have cap space to burn with Kovalev, Cheechoo, Phillips (likely to take a pay cut to stay), Picard and Campoli's contracts all up by then.
At that same time, we will likely have Karlsson, Cowen, Lehner and maybe Weirchioch all on our D at entry level contracts.
Meaning the Sens will likely have 10-12 (depending on what players get for raises and which are pushed out by prospects) million to shop with in the 12/13 season.
Actually Andre, the last poster did say replace moron! My point was Kelly is a poor choice to place into top line minutes as his game lies too far on the defensive side. Someone playing top 6 minutes, needs to be capable of actually having the ability to score every now and and then. By your assertion, if all he needs to do is skate and make good passes, then a winger with more offensive skill is more suited to fit the void.
I agree with the person talking about Nylander for a temporary replacement for Spezza, I think he still has potentional in the NHL he had another 3 point night last night and has 9 points in 6 games in the AHL. He never got play time in Wash because of Boudreau and deserve a chance. If we put Spezza on LTIR that would clear the space to sign Nylander and would only have to worry about cap issues once Jason was healthy again.
"henessey = 3rd-4th line in the ahl (crap)
winchester= ahl player, 4th line at best in the nhl
kelly= 4th line playing too many minutes
ruutu=4th line playing too many minutes
shannon= ahl player
regin= ahl player
foligno= 3rd line player, playing as a top 6
cheechoo= ahl player calibre"
Bryan Murray hater...your hate has extended into lies. Most of these players have nothing to do with Murray, and everything to do with Muckler. Furthermore, you criticize players who are actually playing well.
Winchester, Ruutu and Chechoo are Murray acquisitions. Everyone else is Muckler obtained by draft or trade.
Winchester has been playing his heart out and has been solid. Ruutu plays the role of pest and kills penalties and plays fourth line minutes and does his job right. Are you expecting Ovechkin or something? If that's what you're expecting you're probably disappointed with 95% of the players in the league.
Cheechoo was a thrown in for Heatley, a way to make cap room for the Sharks to get Heatley off the Sens hands. Murray did the best he can under the circumstances. I've been pleased with the play of Michalek and that's Murray's doing.
Futhermore, Murray landed Karlsson, Lehnner, Wiercioch and Cowen in the draft. Much better draft record than Muckler can say. If you're going to say Murray is a bad GM, back it up with facts, not fiction.
"And with the second overall pick in the 2010 entry draft, the Ottawa Senators select Plymouth Whalers forward Tyler Seguin".
Hopefully. Of course, an american team will draft 1st overall.
Hopefully those comments you're mentioning chirp were all from that one moron leaf fan who keeps reposting once an hour on here...what sort of life must you have? anyways, i have a beef with BM haters and this particular one's ignorance must be addressed. First, here is a repost of his comment:
AfanwhohatesBM says:
we are screwed. Even though spezza was struggling this team's forwards resemble an ahl team apart from kovalev, alffy, michalek , fisher.
henessey = 3rd-4th line in the ahl (crap)
winchester= ahl player, 4th line at best in the nhl
kelly= 4th line playing too many minutes
ruutu=4th line playing too many minutes
shannon= ahl player
regin= ahl player
foligno= 3rd line player, playing as a top 6
cheechoo= ahl player calibre.
this is due to bryan murray, absolutly no depth or offensive prospects.Get a GM that can come in and give this team a fresh outlook. What happens when alffy retires, we are absolutly screwed since we only have 4 prospects and none of them are forwards (lehner, cowen, karlsson, wierchioch)
end quote.
Now, where to begin...
so you are saying spezza, kovalev, alffy, michalek, fisher are quality forwards. Thats 5 of 6 legit top 6's. You also say Kelly and ruutu are fourth liners playing too many minutes. they ARE playing fourth line type minutes. you undervalue winchester, who is a 10 out of 10 for a grinder. And you say foligno is a 3rd liner playing 2nd line minutes, which is true.
Summary of your forward breakdown:
we have 5 legit top 6's, a good third liner, and (for your info), the best fourth line in hockey. So we're ruined because we dont have one second liner and two good third liners?? wtf?
Also, he didnt want cheechoo, but took him to get michalek, who is awesome and contributes as much as heatley ever did to the team as a whole.
Now, as for your complaint of depth - that is John Mucklers fault, you are simply ignorant. in two drafts Bryan Murray has replenished our terrible defensive crop, since that was more pressing, and will now move on to forwards no doubt. Alffy retires TWO YEARS FROM NOW at the earliest, so we have two drafts to pick fwds. Secondly, we free up Kovalev's 5 mill and Cheechoo's 3 at the same time, so there's 8 mill for free agents. Being able to find four apparent blue chip prospects in two years is highly unusual, and there is plenty more dark horse potential in Silvferberg and Hoffman up front.
Your ignorance and short-sightedness would likely make you an even worse GM than Mike Milbury, you wannabe GM twit. Do some research next time,
Your whole post was an epic fail.
As a sidenote for those who rag on the campoli trade, look at it this way: BM basically traded mezaros for Kuba, Campoli, Picard, and a half season of Comrie. Sounds like a good deal to me, even if campoli and picard dont turn out, they're both better than mezsaros for way less, and so is Kuba @ 0.3 million less himself. Overall, helluva deal.
Not sure what hurts more losing spezza or loseing to the Leafs, they looked so good. See what you can do with a good GM, Burke know's how to put a team together and it's taking him how long 1/2 season ? we need a Burke, and ya real nice work Murray is this the best you can ice? need more time?
10:46,
you are incredibly short-sighted
Burke is the most over-rated GM in the league. The only reason why he won a Cup with the Ducks is that MURRAY laid the foundation for the team, Pronger wanted out of Edmonton and Niedermayer wanted to play with his brother. Burke got lucky, plain and simple.
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