He may not have made the big splash on deadline day but Senators GM Bryan Murray has certainly done his job when it comes to getting this team ready for the NHL playoffs.
About a month ago, fans on this blog identified the Senators need for improved depth on the defence and another top 6 forward. Murray went out and filled those two needs.
While Matt Cullen hasn't gelled in his first three games, there's no doubt he will help the Senators depth up front. Cullen is a solid veteran who can play all three forward positions and has quite a bit of playoff experience.
To get Cullen, Murray gave up one of the team's second round picks and the much-maligned Alex Picard. Not bad if you ask me.
Then Murray went out and picked up the player CBSsports.com calls the NHL's top ranked defensive defenceman. There are few players in the NHL that block shots and deliver hits as often as Andy Sutton. Again, Murray was able to add without subtracting and gave up another second round pick.
The Senators now have a defence that is going to be extremely difficult to play against and has to be considered one of the most physical in the league.
The premier puck mover obviously isn't there but the team is hoping that a combination of Kuba/Karlsson/Campoli/Lee will give the team enough offence from the back end.
I know some of you will complain about giving up those draft picks but the fact is Bryan Murray has made the Senators a better hockey team and given them a chance to win come playoff time. As fans, I think that is exactly what we should expect from the general manager.
If you ask me, Bryan Murray has done his job. Now it's up to the players to perform.
GO SENS GO!
95 comments:
couldnt have said it better myself!!!
Great job once again SC.
Now I can get on with my day.
Will Cullen really be a top 6 guy or stay on the 4th line where SC reports he was at practice today?
Good job SC!
Well Done......
Would have loved to see a goalie... Dame salary cap!!!!
Listening to the reports that Murray was done gonig into today I broke my annual routine of being "sick" and went to work. As tsn alerts trickled in I kept waiting for what I thought would happen next with other teams around the league. A ton of teams did nothing to adress their needs.
Boston needed offense not addressed. Philly would of been a scary team to meet in the playoffs IF they addressed the tending issue ... not done I thought the habs would of made a move for now ... never materilized.
I do think the caps got even better(scary) and Hate that Buffalo got Torres but I still think the Sens continue to pwn them.
I was not overly excited with our aquisitions, they filled our needs to what extent will see but it was clear the prices for legit talent had to of been absurd.
We shall see what happens.
side note canes leafs oil in a row I sure hope that = 6pts
I agree Chirp, we now have great depth on Dee and our forwards....do you think Leclaire will get the start on Thursday? I hope so, I'd like to see him get 4 or 5 in a row, just to see if he's gonna be carrying the mail for us or not.
Any thoughts?
JoeDoggs
should have taken advantage of Vancouver's extreme need for a D-man (Volch) and picked up schneider (great goalie prospect) or Hodgson. I dont care if we had to throw in a 1st round pick with that. Hodgson is a great two way prospect. That being said ... I think if we cant sign Volch, we'll get at least one 2nd rounder back at the draft for him rights so at the end of the day we will have all our picks and have had a good playoff push. Then we can go out an get a D-man to replace him.
SC, Campoli and Lee only factor into the puck-moving equation if they're actually playing. And they won't be, unless Carkner gets benched. But I doubt that's in the plans as it would be a stupid move, because the marginal upgrade that Sutton represents over Carkner isn't worth the difference in salary, much less a 2nd round pick. It's possible that Carkner plays on the fourth line, maybe, but he hasn't all season and with Cullen we've got too many forwards as it is.
So, that gives us:
Phillips - Volchenkov
Kuba - Karlsson
Carkner - Sutton
Which is the slowest, least puck-moving-capable group in the NHL. Karlsson's the only legit offensive guy but he's 19, and Kuba's a pseudo-puck-mover but definitely not the kind of guy you want as your 2nd best offensive defenceman.
It's obvious Murray didn't watch the Olympics, because he'd have noticed that the closest thing the top two teams had to a shut-down defenceman was Tim Gleason, and Sweden only had one defence-only guy in Doug Murray. Meanwhile, four of our six defencemen are clueless outside of our zone. Puck-moving is vital in this NHL and the lack of it absolutely sucked the life out of our season last year. Murray seems to be doing his best to recreate that.
Moves for players like Sutton and signings like Jason Smith reek to me like attempts by Murray to overcome the issues this team had in the SCF against the Ducks. The problem with a strategy like that is, no team has since been as physically effective as that Anaheim squad, and the blue-line that got us there featured Redden, Meszaros, Corvo and Preissing.
I'm extremely happy with the work Murray's done at the draft, but I'm losing faith in him as a trader. Hopefully Sutton proves me wrong, but logic (to me) dictates he won't. Rolling out four shut-down defencemen seems like a strategy that might have worked in the dead puck era, but not now.
I like the additions of Sutton and Cullen, but I think Murray could have acquired them without giving up both 2nd rounders in a deep draft this year. I hope he can find a way to get at least one of them back before the draft.
We could still use a bit more grit/toughness up front, having foligno out of the lineup is hurting that.
With the lack of trades I guess that the lack of grit/toughness will come from some depth guys. This gives the opportunity for guys like Zack Smith, Cody Bass, Jeremy Yablonski and Jason Bailey to try and earn themselves some playing time during the playoffs.
The sens will need a few more guys to bruise some bodies and win some puck and board battles if they want to go deep in the playoffs.
Anon 5:45 this is generally regarded as a weak draft, although I hate giving up picks this is not a deep draft by any stretch.
Why would you need a cody bass or a jeremy yablonski? we have neil, carkner and sutton to fill that void..
Yabo is a goon!!!! another mcgrattan!!!! can't skate, only fight.... same goes for bass , can't even fight!!!
Well put Chirp...
I agee 100%
I def. think Mueller and Ryan Whitney should have been targets, but I do suppose the prices paid for them were quite high.
Cullen will get a grasp of the system and will thrive with fast guys esp. Fisher.
I think Michalek has the potential to tear it up in the playoffs... He is a speedy determined player, willing to drive the boards and cycle the puck. Dont lump him in with the San Jose playoff chokers.
Go Sens Go!
Here we come!!!
I'm relatively pleased, just to be honest, don't have very much faith that Kuba/Campoli/Lee will effectively move the puck and/or generate much offence.
I have been critical of Murray in the past but this time he did EXACTLY what was needed. He acquired a top 6 forward with a playoff reputation and a mean, nasty, defensive D-man to shore up the backend.
One can only hope that one of our two goalies answers the call and Karlsson continues his great play. If the stars align, we are definitely a Cup contender.
As for this year's draft, is it considered to be strong or weak? Some reports I've read say it's strong, while others say either weak or average.
Though I do know next year's draft is supposed to be worse.
Draft picks are NEVER a bad price to pay for a trade...provided you don't give up too many for one player. (see: Phil Kessel)
He's added 2 roster players to an already strong team. If you compare this team to the 07 East champs...
1st line (2007 was better)
Spezza, Alfredsson, Heatley VS
Spezza, Alfredsson, Michalek
2nd line (2010 is better)
Fisher, Schaefer, Comrie VS
Fisher, Cullen, Kovalev
3rd line (too close to call)
Vermette, Kelly, Neil VS
Kelly, Neil, Ruutu
4th line (2010 is better)
McAmmond, Saprykin, Eaves VS
Regin, Winchester, Shannon
1st pair (same)
Phillips, Volchenkov
2nd pair (2010 is better)
Redden, Meszaros VS
Kuba, Karlsson
3rd pair (2010 is better)
Corvo, Priessing VS
Carkner, Sutton
2007 goaltending was better
Emery/Gerber VS Leclaire/Elliott
On paper, the team is better than the 2007 team that won the East. Mind you, the competition is better now in the East than it was then. However, Murray has clearly done his job, now it's up to the players to do theirs. If they all do what they are supposed to do, then this team will AT LEAST get to the conference finals, which I think everyone could be proud of.
VERY happy with BM's job this year, he addressed all our needs.
Anyone else think that the SENS seem to only deal with the Islanders and the Hurricanes over the past few years?
GO SENS!!
Anon 5:43
You refer to our D at the Stanley Cup run of Redden Mezaros, Corvo & Preissing.
Redden - Rangers regret signing his 6.5 Mil - bet you he's not with Rangers next year - probably waived.
Mezaros - he's not worth 4M he is getting. Tampa was reported interested in trading him.
Corvo -- good on power play -- but give away machine.
Preissing -- don't think he's even in NHL anymore.
The 'D' the Sens have now are not the so-called puck movers mentioned above -- but are better DEFENSIVELY - which I would sooner have.
Blocking shots with Volchy & Sutton can only help. Karlsson is getting better ever game -- and seems to play good with Kuba. Kuba has more off games than I would like -- but let's hope the stops soon.
Not every team can have all blue-chip D and still really good forwards -- it's called salary cap.
You do what you can with what you have.. and a great system in place with Clouston and better overall team now in all aspects of the game than we have in SC final... but other teams are better as well... who wins Cup this year?? I think it's wide open. Won't be San Jose -- still don't think Nabocov, Thornton, Marleau can raise their game to CARRY the Sharks... Thornton Marleau Heatley were pretty good supporting cast in Olympics... but can they carry a team through the grind of the SC playoffs... don't think so.
Wow! cbssports.com? The epitome of hockey info!!
BTW this years draft is extremely good, the best in years.
Haha touche.
Although they do seem to use a purely statistics based method to make their selection.
It is next years draft that is very weak this year is average but there will be plenty of good players in the 2nd round that were going to miss out on.
anon 5:43pm
Agreed! Sure, we will be big and tough and good defensively, but no one remembers the problems we were having the past two years moving the puck through the neutral zone and into to offensive end! and if kuba or karlsson get injured for the playoffs, we are going to be dead weight. I like what you were trying to say: our run to the finals-we had 4 puck movers, 2 defensive d-men..........now we have just reversed that and i dont remember the last time someone went that far in the playoffs with a full line-up of stay at home defencemen........i hope they prove me wrong
Anon 6:40, consensus is that this draft is fairly weak especially after the top picks. This is not the best draft in years, not even close.
Well said.
Easy enough to move a player for a 2nd round pick before the draft - if BM decides he wants to.
ALL YOU PEOPLE DO IS WHINE AND COMPLAIN!!
G O S E N S !!!!
I agree with black terror except the goalie part leclaire has the potential to be better then emery if he wasnt made of glass
The sens should have looked into moving either Elliott or leclaire or both. We have a capable guy in Mike Brodeur who could have stepped in and carried the load and likely taken us all the way!
Tysen - Foligno, Fisher, Ruutu and Neil will have to handle the "toughness up front". You don't call up guys from Bingo for the playoffs. Outside of ZSmith, none of those guys were good enough to play in the NHL during the regular season but you think they should play in the playoffs???
A lot of small moves by other teams today.. murray did address the teams needs.. however the big question is goaltending, Leclaire did look good last night but it was a little too late.. we have a good team and a great coach but we'll be in tough against teams like the caps and the pens but we'll see what happens.. at least our back end can pound the shit out of people!
For those maligning this teams ability to "move the puck"...you need to seriously learn the game.
Last season was brutal in this regard, but much of it had to do with the second part of that equation...the receiver. Hartsy had his forwards so deep there was nobody to move the puck to.
Philips, Kuba, Karlsson, and Sutton are all excellent puck movers. This is NOT an issue from the back-end.
Scoring from the blue line, however, is a legitimate concern (btw, this is not the same as puck moving).
Ideally a combination of Kuba, Karlsson, Alfredsson and Cullen will adress this issue, at least on the PP.
5-5 only the Philips-A-Train combo will be lacking a heavy shot from the blue line, but for those that haven't noticed (Anon 5:53 et al.) this team more frequently activates the blueline than it shoots from the blue line.
The Sens are a top of the circles down team, when it comes to offense, not a big shot from the point.
It never ceases to amaze me how little hockey accumen some posters have, expecially when compared to their need to spout off ad nauseum!
Lastly, those saying this upcoming year is a good one...are you stoned? At best a 2nd round has a 15% chance of being an NHL regular...at best. Considering both of those picks will be post 45, those odds worsen. Now add the fact this up coming draft IS NOT DEEP, and you have the makings of a loto 649 chance of landing an NHL'er in the later stages of the second round.
Hey, Murray isn't perfect, but at least use a semi-legitimate argument to support you criticism of his decisions.
GN
Anon 5:43: I like your comments. I also agree that mobility is key for a successful D-corp.
People can talk all they want about Cullen. It's a total crapshoot. Like Cory Stillman was. He was a better player than he performed here in Ottawa (granted the team was on a downward spiral at the time).
Black Terror: How do you figure that Redden|Mezaros of 2007 is worse than unproven Kuba|Karlsson of 2010?? They had a combined 27 pts in 20 games. I doubt our two top PMD will even come close to producing that much in our playoff run this year, especially the way our PP is working these days.
Worse is your statement that Corvo|Preissing is worse than Sutton|Carkner. That's what we call a credibility ruining statement...
Let's be real here: our current D is nowhere near what it was in 2007. Not even close.
This years deadline: I'm glad Murray didn't tinker too much with the chemistry. Teams like Washington and Phoenix added a lot of great players on paper but that many new players is going to fuck with the flow of things. And even worse, the Caps, the Hawks and the Flyers all did nothing to address weak goaltending which means they are no better than they were before the deadline.
Winners are Pittsburgh for adding a solid D and a capable forward and Carolina for getting rid of dead weight and getting tons of picks in return.
Now let's get back to focusing on winning games...
There are probably 5-6 teams in the East that will all be competitive if you include the Flyers and the Capitals are the easy favorite. It's going to be a fun ride but we'll certainly give any of our opponents everything they can handle. Sens could do it, but so could any of the others. Just have to get the team hot at the right time as always. Lets just sit back and enjoy it and hope the team plays well. That's all we can really ask for.
let's just say this year's draft is average to even things out as some people say it's good others insist it's weak
BMurray gets a C+ from me this deadline. He played it very safe. We are definitely better now but I would say only marginally. I liked Cullen but Sutton is big and slow footed. He will be useful but I see him getting eaten up by speedy fwds. As much as I'm pumped up about Karlsson I think expecting him to carry the load into the playoffs is a huge mistake. We needed another veteran PMD. Tryng to pass of Sutton as the Dman we really needed is just plain silly.
I like the Sutton move. A big bruiser is nice to have ... thanks for the CBS Sports stat SC. As for Cullen, verdict is still out (kind of like when we got Stillman - sounded good but he didn't do much). 2-2s are a lot for Cullen and Sutton but that's where the market is at these days - either 2s or late picks. No 1s moved at the deadline, I think. Also with the tight salary cap there's not much we could have done - no big splash. Although I have to admit that I liked the idea expressed by another contributor to this blog - top prospects from Vancouver for A-Train sounded good to me. Don't forget everyone ... next year we add Cowen, maybe Wiercoch, throw in Karlsson (who is doing well), Phillips, A-Train ... we've got a pretty good D. In fairness, I'm not a big Lee fan but I thought he did reasonably well last night.
If we lose A-Train for nothing then it's time to lose BM. I know some of the other guys we have lost were not BM's fault but I am sick of losing guys for nothing. If we are not going to sign a-train he should have been traded. Let's just hope we don't over pay him a la Chris Neil
the only thing that makes you wonder is if we could have pryed whitney from anahiem for kuba and get younger...lets get volchie done for 3 and im happy, 4 and im worried tho...when is foligno back chirp?
I would much rather see Campoli in the lineup than Kuba when everone's healthy. I know it owuld never happen, but Campoli has stepped up considerably since being a healthy scratch, and Kuba just doesn't seem to care anymore. I don't know. At least Campoli TRIES to hit, and will dive to block a pass.
Right on Gerald!
So who is going to sit when foligno gets healthy?
Unfortunately, Cullen will be a bust... he is not a top 6 forward (please everyone, stop saying this!!). He is an older version of Chris Kelly, that's what we got.
In looking at some of the other forwards who were traded today for relatively the same price, I would have preferred Raffi Torres.
TM
I think everyone is jumping the gun on Volchenkov. His contract isn't up until July 1st so that gives us plenty of time to work out the contract bug. Im sure they will both come to an agreement and Volchenkov will remain a Senator. I think trading him would be a silly thing to do. BM knows what an asset he is to the team and Im sure will do anything and almost everything to keep him.
I dunno if you can get Volchie done for 3 :(
Great post, and yes there are a lot of people complaining about giving up the picks but frankly I like what Murray has done here. IF nothing else the team stands a chance to make some decent money in the playoffs.
Okay - reality check here.
IF (big IF at this point) Volchenkov wants too much money for his next contract then BM's options were as follows:
1) Trade him and try to get value
or
2) Treat him like a rental
If we can agree (and not everyone will) that we need him for our playoff run (or someone like him), what's to say treating him as a rental isn't the best option available?
Do people really think that BM could have traded Volchenkov to another team for a guy just as good signed to a long, cheap deal??? Especially when the other team will ask "Why couldn't you resign him? How much does he want?"
If A-train walks July 1st I don't agree that it's a BM "failure". If BM had traded him for some spare parts and then traded some spare parts for a rental - would that have been any different? Other than the fact that the rental would need time to gel?
In a cap world, letting a guy walk "for nothing" isn't the same as pre-cap. If a guy wants $5M per year, and he walks, you sort of "gain" that $5M in cap space.
For those of you who are worried that were gonna lose Atrain for nothing, you're wrong! And no were not trading him or his rights at the deadline! People forget that Kuba's no trade is only for one season and so he could be traded anywhere come draft time! That's where were gonna get our second rounder back and we'll have the money to sign Atrain and Sutton and either Cowen, wiercoch or Lee will take the last spot on D! Kelly will also leave at the draft I believe!
Mat, I doubt very much that I've ruined my credibility with my comments regarding the defense in the 2007 playoffs. You've obviously got a short memory. Let me refresh you on how awesome our 2007 defense was.
Meszaros went from a +34 to a -15 in ONE SEASON. That was 2007.
Redden went from a +35 to a +1 in ONE SEASON, also 2007.
During the Stanley Cup Finals, both Meszaros and Redden had their ice time dropped to an average that was below 15 minutes per game.
Corvo and Preissing didn't even play 10 minutes a game.
Are you so short-sighted that you think Kuba and Karlsson will play less than 15 minutes a night?
Do you think that Sutton and Carkner will play under 10 each?
The reason Murray states when he's asked why the ice time was reduced for these players: "I couldn't play them, they were getting run over by Anaheim's forwards."
Their 27 points are real nice, but pretty useless when you consider that their first job as defensemen is to...wait for it...PLAY DEFENSE.
While we're on the subject of credibility ruining statements, Pittsburgh added solid D and capable forwards? Who? Leopold? Ponikarovsky? What makes you think that either of these guys are better and/or more useful than Cullen/Sutton? Poni has fewer points than Cullen, AND he's never won anything. Leopold has only 6 more points than Sutton, a worse +/-, oh and look at that, he's already a -1 on his new team. Son, you gotta buy the player, not the name. Leopold is done, Poni's never done anything, Murray's moves were so much better than what Pittsburgh did. Not even close.
And yes, the 2010 Senators could beat the 2007 Senators in a 7 game series.
Anon 543 is right on the money. This is no slower d corps in the league.
I agree that BM has made this team better TODAY. But has made it much worse for years to come.
With the cap, giving away high picks is a sure-fire way of handicapping your team in the future. Drafting well is in fact the ONLY way to win the cup. Look at ALL the successful teams in the league and you'll see they have this in common.
Next year, hopefully someone can unplug BMs phone for the 3 weeks preceding the draft, cause his trades have flat out sucked.
pg
Black Terror - you're wrong. I just played the 2007 Sens vs the 2010 Sens on my XBox and the 2007 Sens won. So there.
LOL Just kidding.
I tend to agree that this team is better suited on paper for a cup run. The 2007 team over-acheived from what they had on paper (I think). Emery was unproven (and hasn't done anything since) and your stats point out a lot as well.
I don't think it's a huge gap, but I'd rather the 2010 team than the 2007 team.
People need to remember that if you ran the 2007 playoffs 10 times, Ottawa maybe makes the finals 2 or 3 times tops.
Worse for years to come? Cmon now. You can almost guarantee Murray will make a move for a second rounder at the draft anyway. (if there is a player they like)
I guess this means we have another year of the Andrew Ladd guy.
3 - 1 Washington over Buffalo.
Only two games in hand now.
Go SENS Go!!!!
-INurHome
To all those questions about this years draft.
This years draft originally in the summer was believed to be weak.
However, now it is considered very deep. Deep being the key word. I think you'll see picks 15-60 all over the map. Any players in the first two rounds could go anywhere, but also could be great pickups with late picks.
In response to Anon. 5:54 pm
Having watched a decent number of B sens games this year, I believe that I can make a fair assessment of Jeremy Yablonski.
His skills/abilities might not translate over into the nhl, but we won't know that until he plays a few games for the sens.
He is primarily an enforcer (and a very entertaining fighter at that) but he is also a good energy guy. He is buzzing with energy when he is on the ice, which is good for a 4th liner in the nhl.
He has good acceleration and if fairly fast in a straight line. I would say that he is just as fast as Zack Smith, if not faster. However Zack Smith is a much more fluent skater.
Yablonski cycles the puck well and makes good decisions on the cycle.
He is a very physical player, he reminds on Neil in the fact that he makes many hits a game and a few big ones.
He is a good agitator and is constantly shoving people around and getting in their faces.
He isn't good at shooting the puck because of poor accuracy but he has decent power.
He is a much better player than the assesment you gave him. He is a much more valuable player than most enforcers in the league because he can skate and makes lots of hits. He is similar to Cam Janssen in that his main skill set is hitting and fighting.
His two biggest problems since he came to the sens organization has been his positioning and his discipline. He has substantially improved in both areas over the past two seasons.
The sens could use a few more hitters, even in the playoffs.
ZS and who exactly confirms this? Every year I read random comments about half saying the draft is really deep the other half saying it's weak including the TSN analysts. I've come to the conclusion that generally speaking nobody has a bloody clue what they are talking about. They are just making stuff up or repeating they heard someone else write about in a blog somewhere.
Where is the factual information that actually states this is a weak or strong draft year? Show me proof. Show me the central scouting divisions brief or at least some sort of source. There is so much false information out there. At least back up a statement like that if you're going to say it.
Anon at 6:18:
Don't think that I'm bemoaning the fact that Redden, Meszaros, Corvo and Preissing no longer grace our blue-line. I'm suggesting that the New NHL calls for a puck-moving game that our current defence corps cannot execute.
It is true that there is a trade-off between offence and defence when substituting Corvo and Preissing with Sutton and Carkner, but what you're not mentioning is that a defence-first defenceman, while good defensively, also must play defence far more often as the puck remains in his team's zone. A blocked shot is nice; a successful transition that establishes offensive puck possession is better because it not only eliminates the immediate opportunity for a goal against but also opens opportunities to score.
When ranking our d-men on defensive characteristics (such as, say, shot-blocking and hitting), Karlsson will probably come last on each list, but this issue is rarely exposed because he moves the puck efficiently enough (when he's on) that it's never in our zone for a long time. A good offensive defenceman can transition the puck and establish a cycle, prolong a cycle with offensive acumen at the blue-line, or even put the cycle to good use by scoring when it gets fed back to the point. And, of course, when the puck's in their zone, it isn't in ours.
I have nothing against Sutton but I think he's largely redundant and his presence in the line-up comes at the expense of other, important facets of the game. Thanks to Clouston's system it won't be as bad as it was under Hartsburg, but it's ludicrous to suggest that our defence isn't slow and relatively poor in regards to the transition outside of (the teenaged) Karlsson. I can't help but feel that we've upset a balance on a blue-line that was already too defensive.
It's interesting that you mention San Jose because Sharks fans I've talked to feel that the most key issue is a lack of puck-movement outside of Boyle. I think we're in the same predicament, the difference being Karlsson's not currently the PMD that Boyle is.
But, nothing would make me happier than being forced to eat my words.
(Anon at 5:43)
I wish Murray had taken a chance on Schneider, I believe Phoenix only gave up a 6th rounder. I hope I'm wrong but I see shades of Jason Smith in the Sutton pickup. This team seems to work best with a relentless forecheck with the D fighting to keep the puck in the offensive zone, I hope Sutton can keep up. 4 out of 7 D-men are defensive specialist, maybe Murray is tring to insulate the goaltenders. Thus far I have to agree I don't think Leclair or Elliot have stolen a game for us.
My lines
Mich Spezza Alfredsson
Regin/Shannon.. Fisher Kovalev
Folingo Cullen Cheechoo
Ruutu Kelly Neil
Atrain Philly
Kuba Karlsson
Sutton Campoli ...they have islander ties
Leclaire /Elliot
Solid PLAYOFF TEAM
a huge LOL @ Anon 6:13... Carkner/Sutton <<<<< Corvo/Pressing
give me a break..Preissing was a +40 for god's sake...give your head a shake
There is definetly guys capable of going in the first that will end up being 2nd round picks there is also some pretty decent guys ranked in the 3rd rnd aswell this draft is not amazing but it is not a "very weak draft"
It's not that bad, having no second. Don't you remember? We had 2 second rounders last year. In the big picture, it all evens out.
I'm pissed at Melnyk for re-upping Murray to begin with....We needed a puck moving Dman bigtime and once again we got the Commodore and Stillman show.
F*ck you Bmurr!
People the pairings barring injuries for the playoffs will be ;
Phillips-Volch
Kuba-Karlsson
Campoli-Sutton
Carkner will be the 7th guy for sure.
Now that looks a lot better. Not as slow as you all think.
I still think Campoli is a better defenseman than he's looked this year. When he was first aquired last year, and was trying to prove himself here, I saw some flashes of a pretty good player. I'm not sure what's happened to him this year, maybe some of the motivational tactics aren't working with his personality - he looks tight and is making mistakes because of it. If Phillips is out any length of time, I'd love to see Campoli get a shot to play with Volch, and hope playing with a solid linemate will settle him down.
Also not a fan of the Sutton-Carkner proposed pairing. Sutton is more mobile than he looks, and I'd love to see him as an anchor to let Karlsson roam a little more...I also hear he's got a cannon for a shot, so it would keep the other team's forwards from staying too high for Karlsson's shot.
the Mike Brodeur guy kills me!
Keep it up!
love the make up of this team. As far as I'm concerned, we're the only ones who made their team better. Washington brought in Corvo, and gave up Pothier! Corvo??? the guy who didn't see ice time in the finals? HA! Philly still doesnt have a starting goalie, Buffalo improved, but not enough, and the others did nothing. Jersey will have a hard time, as Brodeur will continue his playoff failures.
GO SENS!
Criticize Murray as much as you want, but at least he didn't pick up Andrew Ladd or Colby Armstrong.
The whole Volchenkov situation seems very similiar to the Chris Neil sitch last year, but in this case I hope Volchenkov doesn't get to test the market.
Chirp there was talk that Murray was really pushing to get a deal done with Volchy before the deadline, are those talks done now or will he continue to try and get a deal done before the playoffs?
If he absolutely won't sign Murray must try and trade him at the draft and hopefully get at very least a 2nd back.
There are actually alot of good pics in the second round IMO, I watch alot of OHL games and there are a few guys I think would be a great fit that are projected to go in the 2nd round.
Great post Senschirp. Bryan Murray did his job. Now, it is up to Clouston and the players do their jobs. You never know, Andy Sutton could decide to resign with the Sens on July 1st, if he likes his time in Ottawa. Does anybody know, who will get the start tonight in Carolina? Keep up the great work Senschirp. Thank you
I agree with Black Terror's posts... The sens have been playing great and im glad he didn't make any crazy moves at the deadline. Solid pick up in Cullen, give him time people.
Sutton is another nasty defencemen. Carkner, Sutton , Volchenkov, Phillips. Thats gonna be rough for other teams. Leave Karlsson and Kuba has the offensive d-men. People are complaining about lack of puck moving on the back end but have you noticed how well our d are playing within CC's system? I havent seen that many long stretch passes with the exception of Karlsson.
At the beginning of the year, we were having trouble getting out of our zone. That is no longer a problem. I have found, especially during the winning streak, that our breakouts were hugely successful.
Time for all the armchair GMs to relax and enjoy the ride.
As for forward lines, CC will continue juggling, and he has done a great job thus far. I think the goto lines should be:
Alfie- Spezza - Michalek
Shannon - Regin - Kovalev
Fisher - Cullen - Foligno/Winnie
Ruutu - Kelly - Neil
Hax, I don't agree with your assessment of the 2007 Sens. They easily plowed through the three top conference teams to get to the final - losing a total of three games in the process. I say they get there 7 or 8 times out of 10.
I'll still take this year's team ahead of that team though. Problem is the top conference teams are way better this year so it'll be tougher to make the final.
Hey Chirp, free Preview of NHL Gamecenter Live for those who want to watch the game tonight but are outside the Ottawa area.
It,s all dune for as far as the dealing goes so lets sit back and see how this season / playoffs all plays out. You just never know, the ranters will rant all the time and not just on this site with every day life you are not happy people and most likely will never be happy people, go smoke a fatty......
Agree 100% with the lines and d-pairings suggested by anon 11:59pm. Murray clearly said Cheechoo will be back for the playoffs once he has found confidence in Bingo (good satrt with 3 goals in games), and that he is exactly the type of player who can score big goals in the playoffs. And his banging style and work ethic are ideal for tight checking playoff games. And Campoli will be 6th d, not likely Carkner unless injuries dictate such. You need the balance of PMD and shutdown D, which the suggested pairings provide.
you guys need to start cheering a different team then cuz ALL YOU DO IS WHINE!!!!! are you ready to puke yet chirp?? cuz i sure am , everyone thrashing sutton and he hasnt even played a game..... karlsson and kuba are all we need in the OFD department .... anyone that watches hockey religiously knows that the mike greens are inferior in our own zone....these comments from the bashers and nay sayers are getting ridiculous , part of me hopes we loose every game to get rid of these ppl once and for all....if we loose tonight i garantee at least 20 comments saying "i told you so" wtf???? go cheer a defferent team , and get over yourselves!!!!!how many times we freak out over bonehead plays from kuba, campoli and picard??? so now murray addresses the issue and you all talk shit LOL man i love my team and my hometown city , but each day that gopes by i start hating our fans more and more
bottom line =GROW THE FUCK UP!!!
on another note ppl arent seeing as they bash murray left right and centre, this team had serious issues with drugs and emery doing it freely in every night club , yes some of his moves have been questionable but hes done nothing but clean this team up!!!! get off his ass
Exactly Chirp..
Players need to perform... the GM and coach can't perform on the ice, they have done their job very well to this point. Now on to the players to play. We won 13 out of 14 or something like that, thats 3 playoff rounds in a row. No excuses to not win with this team... let's go boys!
anon 9:31
Thanks
Nizzy
There should be a sorta/kinda option for your poll Chirp...hehe
I think Murray needs to be applauded and recognized for making the smart move and making his trades "PRE" deadline.
I like Sutton, I have wanted to see him in a Sens uni for a long time. So I am happy about the trade...BUT, I was really hoping for a Offensive Dman to help on the powerplay. Conversely Sutton, will absolutely improve our PK. Whoever thinks he is a minor upgrade over Carkner is kidding themselves. If anything, Sutton is a bigger, meaner version of Volchenkov.
I really hope if A-train is demading a penny over 3 he's sent packing. He should have been yesterday, with the addition of Sutton he's no longer needed. I mean, you can only have so many slow, offensively challenged defencemen. Maybe someone should tell BM this. He's no better than MUckler for trading picks.
You know the funny thing about this team - it has 5 legitimate top six fwds, 0 legitimate 4th liners, and 11 quality 3rd liners. Is that good? It might be good.
Tim
Anon 931: how about if we lose in the first or second round of the playoffs? Will it have been worth our picks for that, seeing as that's where we would have ended up anyway? Well? In a very deep draft, 2 second round picks. For what?
The only way those trades are worth it is if we win the cup. If we do, I'll attend the parade naked to eat my words. But don't hold your breath.
great moves by BM...my only question mark (seems to be the same one year after year) is the goaltending. Elliott played great lately, but still, never played in the playoffs.
To Anon @ 10:56: That's a big statement to make. Why don't you put your name on that statement so we know who the naked guy is running down Elgin if (hopefully when!) the Sens win the Cup! No point in making such a statement if you won't sign your name.
And folks, let's remember. There are 30 teams and only 1 can win the Cup. Even if we don't make the finals I think BM did a great job. If he had done nothing then people would have complained about that.
J
okay enough deadline stuff... its over... he did it the day before what difference does it make? Two 2nd round picks for Matt Cullen and Andy Sutton.
Who is starting in Goal? Is Kuba seriously hurt? Murray will be fine, don't make any judgments until the draft when he will most likely get the picks back via trades. We have a ton of UFA/RFA's so... he has alot to work with. Relax you damn people.
I always get a kick out of people analyzing the defense. It isn't tough enough, it's too slow, it's too small, there's no puck mover, we need someone for an outlet pass... Opinions on what the defense should look like change every year depending on who beats us and who wins the Cup. In 2006 Buffalo beat us with a mobile defense and Carolina won the Cup using a quick, mobile defense and everyone says that's what we need! So we get it in 2007 and then Anaheim's forwards run over the defense and we lose the Finals and everyone says we need tougher defense! So Murray gets it and now people are saying we need to go back to the small offensive defense.
People will never be satisfied, whatever our defense is now people will want the opposite, if it's tough and big people will say it's too slow and there's not enough offense and everyone's forwards will dance around them. If it's small, fast and offensive people will say it's too small and won't be able to handle the other teams' bigger forwards. If it's in the middle people will accuse it of being too neutral and lacking identity. No matter what the defense is it will be wrong.
People need to stop treating 2nd rounders like they are gold. Chances are pretty slim you'll get a decent NHLer out of it, and even slimmer that you'll get a legitimate star. If you take a look at people Ottawa's drafted in the 30-60 spot roughly we get only 3 players in Sens history that have made much of an impact, Fisher, Vermette and Neckar. In 16 years that isn't much (I left out 2008 and 2009 since it's too early to tell). Quality drops off sharply once you get out of the first round.
To ANON at 11:52
What if we had chicago's defense???
"The premier puck mover obviously isn't there but the team is hoping that a combination of Kuba/Karlsson/Campoli/Lee will give the team enough offence from the back end."
Come on guys, you seriously think we can get passed the 2nd round with that D corp.
Were still missing that top 4 D and a top 6 FW. Murray dissapointed in this years trade deadline...
Anon 11:42:
It's a matter of having a good balance of toughness and mobility, grit and speed, offensive and defensive skill. 2007 was too much on the mobile, speed and offense while 2010 might be at the other extremity.
Most people are claiming that they prefer this 2010 version of our D (which correlates inversely to the amount of BM bashing that goes on oddly enough), but until we see results, this is only wishful thinking and those that claim that we are better than the defense core that went to the Stanley Cup playoff are smoking crack.
Black Terror:
Don't go twisting stats to favour your argument. We are comparing the 06-07 D to the 09-10 D. Not the 05-06 D to the 06-07 D...
06-07:
Corvo +8
Preissing +40
09-10:
Sutton - 3
Carkner +1
hmmmmm.....
06-07:
Redden +1
Mesaroz - 15
09-10:
Kuba -4
Karlsson -5
Oh we're so much better now...
But this is my favorite:
"Their 27 points are real nice, but pretty useless when you consider that their first job as defensemen is to...wait for it...PLAY DEFENSE"
How about these stats then:
2006-07 Ottawa Senators (82 games)
GF 288
GA 222
+ 66
2009-10 Ottawa Senators (64 games)
GF 179 (projected 229)
GA 183 (projected 234)
- 4 (projected -5)
Well sunshine, could it be that our super tight defense is...wait for it... not that "DEFENSIVE"?? (Guess what: defensemen that produce are kind of important. It's why they generally get paid more...)
But I'm sure you'll have an answer for that too.
I glad Murray didn't shake up the team too much.
I also think that the additions of Sutton and Cullen won't make much of a difference. When the playoffs start, Clouston will be forced to play the players who work best together.
That'll force Cullen to the fourth line, and Sutton to the third pair.
Bottom line, the trade deadline is just one marker. Murray's real test is how the team performs in the playoffs. Can this group of guys perform greater than the sum of their parts?
For me, that's what decides whether or not Murray has done a good job.
Agreed Anon 2:01pm but I think that what you are depicting decides also whether or not Clouston does a good job.
In the past, Sens coaches have had difficulty integrating most deadline add-ons. Look at Sillinger, Bondra, Barasso, DeVries, Arnason, Commodore Stillman. All good acquisitions that never truly panned out.
I have faith in Clouston. He's a methodical coach. He has taken this team back to the basic. Hopefully he will get Cullen and Sutton to buy in.
At least with Volchy, too a degree Phillips, Sutton & Carkner hammering those opposing forwards -- will have those forwards looking around to see whose coming. That is an important part of the game too --hitting -- especially in the playoffs. we are tougher on the back-end with these 4.
They are not the best in the league in total overall.. but they are not that bad.
Sutton has yet to play a game. It will take a few games for him to fit in. The same for Cullen -- he's played 3 games.. you don't come into a new team and a new system and have immediate chemistry with your team... it takes time.
You'll know it's me, cause I'll be the naked guy getting thrown in the back of a police cruiser. What difference does it make if I leave some stupid fake name?
nude dude
so nude dude , your pretty much saying every trade is a bust for all the 29 teams that didnt win the cup??
GET YOUR HEAD OUTTA YOUR ASS!!!
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