When it comes time to hand out the awards at the end of the season, it's safe to say a couple Senators will be in the mix.
After notching his 17th and 18th goals on Saturday night, Karlsson continues to force his way into the Norris Trophy conversation. Karlsson's 69 points have him sitting sixth in league scoring and third in assists. Karlsson is an incredible 25 points ahead of the next closest defenceman in scoring.
While guys like Shea Weber and Zdeno Chara are having great seasons, it is impossible to ignore the year Karlsson has put together.
His critics consistently point to a less than impressive defensive game as justification why he shouldn't win the award but in my opinion, that really isn't an issue in his game anymore. He is never going to be a guy that physically dominates attacking forwards but he has learned to use a quick stick and effective body position to make up for a lack of size.
Karlsson, a plus 15, leads all defenceman with 57 takeaways on the year.
While Karlsson appears like a lock to at least be nominated for the Norris Trophy, Sens Head Coach Paul MacLean has made a strong case to be in the discussion for coach of the year.
Considering just about every media outlet predicted the Senators would be in the basement of the Eastern Conference, MacLean deserves a ton of credit for getting all his players on the same page and pulling in the same direction. MacLean has everyone in that locker room, veterans and young guys, buying into his system. The result is a team that is competitive every time they hit the ice.
Ken Hitchcock, John Tortorella, Kevin Dineen and Glen Gulutzan are all going to be in the discussion but I think MacLean certainly deserves a nomination. And considering he sits fourth overall in league scoring, Jason Spezza is going to at least have to be considered in the Hart Trophy conversation but considering the year's guys like Malkin, Stamkos, Giroux and Lundqvist are having, a nomination is a long shot for Spezza.
There is still a ton of hockey left to play and as a team the Ottawa Senators haven't accomplished anything yet, but guys like Karlsson, MacLean and Spezza are forcing their way into consideration for some major hardware at the end of the season.
The Senators have a full day off and are back on the practice ice tomorrow afternoon. Ottawa plays three times this week beginning on Wednesday in Montreal followed by home games against the Canadiens and Maple Leafs.
Playing favorites and not a real award.
His stats speak for themselves and he is not done yet.
I don't know how Karlsson could NOT get the Norris. He's significantly less of a defensive liability than... let's say... Phaneuf.
As for Coach of the year? It's gotta be McLean or Hitchcock. Both took over not-so-great teams and are both doing amazing. Though... Without that goaltending, St Louis would be in the bottom 3 teams. LOL
Go Sens Go! And LOL Leafs lost again.
One is he gets out muscled - this is always going to be the case but he's getting better and stronger and positionally, he is much better than we saw him last year.
The other reason he gets beaten is because he is so confident in his ability to recover from a situation - but sometimes he can't. Guess what, I'm fine with that.
Take away Karlsson's confidence and you;re left with a shell. I hope he never loses that.
http://youtu.be/afUnQ7ywmzg
My guess is Hitch gets the Jack Adams, although I'd think Dan Bylsma gets a nod considering how well of a job he's doing with a Crosby-less roster. That team is pretty stacked though. What have they had, like 3 separate 9 game winning streaks this year lol?
I would really hope PM gets at least consideration for the great job he's done this year.. People were talking about how Todd Yeo would be the clear favourite in November but oh, how far the Wild have fallen LOL
With Fleury, Letang, Malkin, Neal, Kunitz, Dupuis, and a Staal, plus a Crosby wildcard? That team is underachieving if you ask me.
With the way they've been playing, they're probably the likely favourite to take the top seed in the East, as they aren't far behind the Rangers.
Really hope the Bruins keep struggling. Yeah they have a few games in hand, but with the way they're playing, we have a legit shot at taking the second seed. So long as we keep up the intensity and compete level.
Detroit Red wings sports talk about Red Wings could be looking at offer sheeting Karlsson too replace Lidstrom
Murray better stop screwing around and sign the kid
He wins the Norris give him Duncan Keith money and Contract
12 years 72 million cap hit 5.5
Gotta get him signed before the nominations come out or there is no way we get him for that. If he wins it that is the starting price, at least in terms of cap hit.
Do you know how effing scary they would be if they had Erik? I don't even want to think about it. Would he leave Ottawa? No way.. I hope not. But if it's to any other team, I would not be surprised if it were to Detroit. A team with history, legends, and stability like theirs, many players take a big cut to play there. With their captain bound to retire soon, they need someone to step up.. but I would think they would go after someone more solid defensively like Weber?
To many players get these big long contracts and then disappear for 5-9 seasons. How would you love to have Lacavaliers deal right now? He was suppose to be top 5 scoring for his whole career.
I would love to have Karlson as a rfa going into his next contract rather than huge term deal. Dont get me wrong, he has amazing talent. He has fluid skating, great hockey sense with an amazing ability to land that spectacular pass through defenders. Having an escape claus is just a good business decision.
Money might be off but I know I would consider 3-4 first rounders potentially 17 more years of a player with Karlsson's calibre and practically guaranteed growth.
not trying to troll, and by far not an expert just my opinion
besides from fans that is
Alright so which one of Cowen, Karl, Phillips, Kuba, or Gilroy do you want playing with a rookie D next season? And what makes you think that all 3 of them will even make it next year? It's not fair to the team, and its not fair to the rookie to have them come up so fast.
Those guys need to learn to play D at the NHL from a vet, not another rookie. And to top that off, they need to learn it from a solid vet. As much as I like Karl, his defensive game doesn't exactly scream out. I'd much rather they learn from an experienced D such as Gonchar than say Carkner. I'm sure Gonchar and Kuba have tried to mentor Erik as much as they could, and look where he's at.. Now I don't think it's soley because of those two, but just being around them has probably helped Erik a lot more than we think.
You'd think weber would be nice fit in Detroit but the point they talked about was Kronwall Karlsson combo ..kronwall is locked for anothe 7 years
If Ottawa passes Boston and takes the division -and the rest of the standings stay the same- the two teams would switch places and we'd still have to face them in the playoffs.
crud
[bold]Silvferberg has been nominated for the guldpucken (the hart trophy of SEL), he was the only one to get more than 1 point per game in the whole league.[/bold]
IMO if Bishop stays withe club the rest of the season and gets all the starts until Anderson is back, its a clear sign that Murray is showcasing Bishop, hoping that he can move him in the offseason and get more then what he paid for him.
Chirp: any news on the goalie situation going forward this week? after 3 games each, I would give the edge to Lehner in terms of comparing performance. Bishop has been good, but Lehner was great for the most part. any chance Lehner gets called back up for a few games and Bishop sent down?
Jennifer Tessier, with the Sens orgnisation, has access to tickets at the Bell Center for the Sens game on March 14th, $46.50 for 400-blue level.
If interested please send an email to tessierj
@ The Sens Truth,
Why do people always look at the negative side of a star player??
Karlsson leads in many depts, over and above his defensive liabilities, which are slowly being erased.
His giveaways are wiped out, by his 57 takeaways, he is without a doubt, the leading contender for the best all around defenceman in the NHL, and will get more polished
like a Bobby Orr or Lidstrom in the years ahead .
And he is only 21 !!!!!!!!!
The Sens could be tops in the East and Paul Maclean would not win Jack Adams. Jason Spezza could be leading the league in points and not be nominated for the Hart.
These awards are voted on by writers and other hockey insider types. Small market Canadian teams -- especially the Sens -- just don't rate for these people
@ A Train,
Realize that it's the Sports Writers and about the "Small Market..." but these guys are not blind and your theory will be nixed by Karlsson's excellence !
As much as you and I love watching him play, he just has too much going against him to sway intensely conservative prize voters.
A sidenote of irony: Karlsson's style of play -- speed, passing, takeaways, positional play -- is exactly where most people who run the NHL want to take the sport: Make if faster, cleaner, higher-scoring and less concussiony.
League types should be thrilled by his ascendence, but the writers ETC still don't see an all world D-man unless he's leaving guys unconscious. (Lidstrom would not get the recognition he does if he didn't play in Detroit).
All I have to say is Jacques Martin (1998–99). If it's deserved they will get it!
No, if it's deserved and there are no coaching storylines featuring teams like the Rangers or second chance stories with known quantity types like Ken Hitchcock, then he will get it.
Of course other coaches are allowed to be deserving of the award too, and the ones mentioned all deserve it. Not sure how you think that supports your claim of it being because we're in a small market.
Detroit would be giving up low first round picks, that will never amount to anything of the Karlsson level. Karlsson being young is not really rooted in the city yet, but with an 8+ term deal, can easily get rooted anywhere he wants.
Detroit wins, we can only match the offer.
My concern as with almost all long term deals, is that in most of these contracts the players get too complacent, and seem to drop off in perfrmance.
So we are caught in a catch 22, we either try to match some ridiculous offer for 10 years, the potentially watch Karlsson level drop off, ( if he gains wieght and loses speed we are in trouble ) or we let him go, and really get low first rounders which may never amount to much.
Tough spot to be in for sure! IMO of course
IMO, Karlsson is way too cocky to become complacent. I'm sure this kid wants to be best in the NHL for a long time. And don't forget the Alfie's mentorship. Murray will make sure he stays around by offering him a job in the coaching staff after he retires. There will be many swedish players to mentor in the future.
Murray will sign King Erik before July 1rst. By the way, Karlsson's agent will be on Team 1200 at 3:25 today.
If you insist on honesty well...honestly you clearly know nothing because tendering an rfa is insanely rare. Especially with a player with a big contract. Since the Penner ordeal it has become really quite frowned upon.
There's a reason why the best goal scorer in the league didn't get a tendering offer last off season. That same reason will apply to the best offensive defenceman in the league. Guaranteed!!
No need to worry about signing him. I just think it would be worth a few dollars to get it done before award nominations get handed out.
Great points, which I do hope you are correct, but do we match a ridiculous offer from another team?
I am sure someone like Burke could stir the pot, and make Laff fans happy by making a foolish offer that we would have to match, worse case a team like TO could pick him up.
This is one time that the picks coming back may not be worth the loss of Karlsson... we should try to sign him very soon!
We will also see a NMC or NTC
Melnyk know it is going to cost him and almost welcomes it.
He nigh in and night out controls the play more than anyone else on the ice. Watch any of the other big three and sure you'll see great plays on both offensive and defensive side of the play but the play itself doesn't seem to revolve around them. When Karlsson is on the ice the offense almost always goes through him and almost always ends up in a great offensive opportunity. If ever he gets in trouble(aka giveaway) he gets on his horse and makes a beautiful steel while also following that up with an offensive chance which again is a display of his unbelievable speed and skill.
What I love the most is when the oh so many ex NHL player's now turned tv color commentator's are simply in awe at his abilities. They seem to marvel every single night about how good the kid is. Almost every nationaly telivised game has people talking about his and the norris. That to me says a lot. I've seen a lot of Detroit, nashville, and or Boston games all year and the talk of their guys winning the Norris is so far and few between. Probably because they are good but not flashy good but still.
I truly believe Karlsson should win the Norris and at this point I believe the voters seem to think so as well, however keep trying to make excuses to themselves as to why the more household name should take the prize.
I think if you asked all the fowwards around the league the would say Karlsson is just as hard to play against simply because of his speed and stick checking abilities. So I just don't buy the whole thing about him being challenged defensively. To me he just uses a different skill set to get the job done. At plus 15 he clearly gets the job done at just about the same rate as a guy like Webber
Kalrsson for the James Norris award!!
I seen Calgary called up sven bartschi to help them make the playoffs.
Stamkos, Parise, Weber, and Doughty were all RFA's last summer and none of these guys were extended offer sheets. I'm not sure if Parise and Weber were protected from an offer sheet by going to arbitration, but Stamkos and Doughty were both unprotected.
Anyone that's worrying about Burkie signing Karlsson should chill out. Remember how outraged Burke was when Lowe signed Penner to that ridiculous offer sheet? That's just not something Burke would do.
Signing an RFA to an offer sheet is considered a gutless move around the NHL. It's allowed, but not really accepted.
Karlsson will be a Senator for a very long time.
However, he is really making a huge impression on the NHL, at 21 he is way ahead of all D-men in points, and will only get better.
As much as we think that the NHL frowns upon these signing, the NHL is more about winning, and GM's around the league will be very tempted at scooping this kid, and may take a shot at him.
Yeah, I went to the Capitals game as well with my gf, a buddy and his gf. My buddy had on Toronto Maple Leaf's gear and got heckled the whole game lmao. I was also at this game here and their was two Leaf fans by my seats in section 101 right behind the net which got the crowd going.
When will Ben Bishop have his new helmet and gear? I can't find any info on it.
The worst situation will be that a team will prepare an offer sheet to the maximum allowed against the current Cap and the Sens will match and live with it. Knowing Murray, he will not put himself and the Sens in that situation.
Hope to see it vs the Habs on Wednesday night in Montreal.
Has had enough time to have it painted, since he first had his Blues helmet, in his first game as a Senator.
It was mentionned in the last broadcast I think that his new mask was being done in Sweden. I don't understand why it was not done here with all the renowned mask painting artists we have in Canada.
I'd say aim for 3-4 years. However many will keep him an RFA at the end of his 2nd contract. Give him a significant pay increase and make him prove over the next 3-4+ years that he can produce like this consistently. As fans we really can't expect he'll be a 20 goal 80 point player every season. Nor can we guarantee he won't get injured over the course of a long contract and see his production drop off. Nobody expected Redden to drop off the way he did either.
Heatley, Gomez, Nash, Lecavalier, Ovechkin, Redden, etc
The list goes on and on of guys who were given big money and term. Most of them have lived up to it in some seasons but not at all in others. Shorter contracts are better because it gives teams the opportunity to renegotiate and say hey you didn't play that well the last 3 years why should we give you 8M per? etc
Looks like 6 wins will be enough for the playoffs and I think we have a real shot at the NE division
Only 2 points behind (I know Boston has 2 games in hand ) but they are struggling and even if they win those games in hand 6 points isn't too much of a gap
I think Detroit will go hard after Suter if he hits UFA status.. that is... do they also have the cap room for Parise? I doubt both.
I hope the Sens go to 2nd or finish 6 or 7th... They can't fall to 8th.. I have a feeling with the way they are playing.. Pitts catches the Rangers for 1st in the East... There is no way I want to see the Penguins in a first round series with Ottawa AGAIN.. for the 4th time in a row...
As for Coach of the Year.. McLean has to be considered. Hitchcock has been around the NHL for such a long time and he has done a good job with a team picked to make the playoffs anyway.
Paul McLean, a rookie Head Coach, took a rebuilding team that was supposed to finish dead last in the East to a playoff spot..
**his blog is on a Team Canada 2014 projected roster
Goalie
1- Marc-Andre Fleury
2- Cam Ward
3- Brian Elliott
I'm speechless..... ...Really hahaha over price?
I say, bring on the Bruins. If there is one team who will not be intimidated by them, it's the SENS. The Bruins are a tired teams now and seems affected by last season cup run. Also, there are no indications Horton could be back anytime soon. We are tough enough in front with the likes of Smith, Greening, O'Brien, Klinhammer etc.
There is nothing better than going in the playoffs with the UNDERDOG stamped all over us.
Go SENS Go
Quoting No65*:
And that's what I worry about, that Kuba is weaseling his way into an extension. If we do give him another contract I hope it's a year at a time cause he's the ultimate contract year player!
Wow, that is a sad sad list. How did he forget Mike Smith, Corey Crawford and Devan Dubnyk?
I think Price, Ward and Fleury have to be the favorites. Luongo is a possibility if he's still decent, as well as Bernier and long shots to Hackett, Peters and a few other recently drafted prospects.
I really do not think we line up well with the Bruins, Thomas has our number.
But if we can face the Rangers, Wash/Fla/Winnip eg, it will be very interesting.
Also I do not want to see the Penguins in the first round.
But the fact that we are talking playoffs is again a wonderful option, and win or lose I am very proud of this team, that will only grow from the experiece
Yeah I know that the bruins are now in a slump and banged up (happy that they are) but still the bruins and pitsburgh are the 2 teams that I don't want to face in the first round cause yes, they are better then us.
I'm very happy with what they done this year and I enjoy the ride just as much as all of you sens fans.
The other teams I feel there's a better chance that we can go through them cause we have grit and work ethic. I believe that we're a winger or 2 away from a very dangerous team in the playoff. Heck! I'm sure that there's not a team at the moment that wants to face the "cenderella" team in the first round this year. Add a suter and a parisé to our lineup for next year and this team will be dynomite ! (Wishfull thinking of course lol )
I'm new to this board but I'm very happy to find a place to discuss with fellow senator fans. I read alot and don't post quite often.
Welcome Johnmarc
Remember that the first round is always the toughest one to win for top teams. Boston had to beat the Habs in overtime of the 7th game last year and I personnaly think the Sens are a tougher oponent this year.
Also, 2 years ago, we lost in 5 games against Pittsburg with all of their top players when some of our top players were injured (Michalek, Kovalev etc) and all the games could have gone either way.
I believe in my SENS.
Hopefully this translates into guys like Karlsson following Alfies lead to take a home town discount to keep a good team together for a long time.
SWEDES PLAYING OR COMING:
ALFIE
KARLSSON
LEHNER
SILFVERBERG
ZIBINEJAD
CLAESON
PETTERSSON
I don't get this thought that people actually think Kuba's going to be around next year. I hope I'm right in thinking that the ONLY reason he'd be back is if NONE of our D prospects are ready to make the jump - which seems unlikely.
Has Kuba helped Karlsson? Undoubtedly, but the kid can still improve without Kuba as his partner.
That would equate to just about 30% of the active roster.
No wonder we are so far ahead of the Leafs in the "rebuild mode" !!
Da costa? And I really think we should get a defnceman with our 1st this year
That's someone I really want the Sens to get... but if he is ranked high... what are the chances of getting him?
Agree to that... It's almost like a father/son scenario.. sort of... What comes to mind when Alfie scored his 400th goal how excited Karlsson was jumping up and down and shaking him... There is a lot of caring and respect between the two of them... it's nice to see.
One more sleep until the Heritage Train to Mtl... getting excited to say the least...
As per our playoff match up, I'd like to see Boston in the first round. If you're going to run the table, you should go through the Champs. But realistically, I'm just happy Playoff hockey is back!
6/8 are already eliminated from the playoffs. Only Ben Blood (North Dakota) & Chris Wideman (Miami) are still in the playoffs picture.
Here is a link for NCAA free agents!
http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=621766
No apology is ever needed, SC !
Quality over quantity is why we hang out here.
Konopka - scored on Dec 16th (27 games without a goal)
Carkner - scored on Dec 31st (15 games without a goal)
Kuba - scored on Feb 15th (10 games without a goal)
Daugavins - scored on Feb 15th (10 games without a goal)
Da Costa - scored November 1st (9 games without a goal)
*Filatov - 0 goals (in 9 games played)
*Zibanejad - 0 goals (in 9 games played)
Phillips - scored on Feb 22nd (8 games without a goal)
Butler - scored on Feb 15th (7 games without a goal)
Alfredsson - scored on Feb 25th (7 games without a goal)
O'Brien - scored on Feb 26th (6 games without a goal)
*Gilroy - 0 goals (in 6 games played)
Winchseter - scored December 8th (5 games without a goal)
*Klinkhammer - 0 goals (in 4 games played)
Regin - scored Dec 13th (3 games without a goal)
Neil - scored March 4th (3 games without a goal)
Cowen - scored March 4th (3 games without a goal)
Gonchar - scored March 6th (2 games without a goal)
Michalek - scored March 6th (2 games without a goal)
Greening - scored March 6th (2 games without a goal)
*Borowiecki - 0 goals (in 2 games played)
*Petersson - 0 goals (in 1 game played)
*Hoffman - 0 goals (in 1 game played)
Foligno - scored March 8th (1 game without a goal)
Spezza - scored March 8th (1 game without a goal)
Smith - scored March 8th (1 game without a goal)
Turris - scored March 8th (1 game without a goal)
Condra - scored March 10th (0 games without a goal)
Karlsson - scored March 10th (0 games without a goal)
* no goals as a Senator this year
games listed doesn't count scratched games (see Winchester for example)
Yeah because +/- is the most credible stat in sports.
PPPPPPFFFFFFFFFFFFFFTTTTTT
Ian Mendes @ian_mendes
MacLean said there is no timetable for Anderson to return to practice. But he said that Anderson is showing progress. Good sign.
And earlier this morning:
Ian Mendes @ian_mendes
Craig Anderson on the ice before Sens practice today and looking very sharp. Taking shots, handling his stick, etc with no issue.
didnt tom preissing almost lead the league in +/- with a +40 (i think) as a senator one year, i believe 06-07?
Yup.
Plus-Minus isn't completely useless but it's definitely something that only means something in context. Tommy P rarely saw ice time against the other team's top lines but got regular time in the offensive zone (i.e. when we had a faceoff in their end after an icing etc).
It's all about the situations the coaches put the player in. You can't get a high plus-minus without doing some things right of course, but it's hardly a complete view of the player.
and in an interview with Calle today:
@steffeG
Linemate Calle Järnkrok on Jakob Silfverberg's NHL chances for next year: "I think he'll go in there and dominate." #Sens
only knock on calle's game is he is barely 6foot and about 175lbs. but he is only 20. and jarnkrok translated is iron hook, pretty awesome name id say.
do you know who else is barely 6 foot and about 175 lbs? I'll give you a hint...
he plays defense for the Ottawa Senators and is leading all defenseman in goals, assists, and points at the moment. Oh and he is also Swedish.
Can you hum a few bars?
If you follow the sens DJ on twitter you could ask him. Hes the guy that plays all the music at the games.
theres a huge difference between a small forward and a Dman. plenty of small forwards make it just fine in this league ex(170-180lbs): giroux, briere, st.louis, RNH.
Dmen (180-185lbs+): karlsson, entrom, goligoski, liles.
thats a pretty small list if you ask me, compared to heavier players.
Well you just proved my point that him being that small isn't really a "knock" on him like you said.
not really? i just showed you that only such a fine small list of players actually have a career in the NHL when being that small size. im not saying he wont be a good palyer.. if i was saying that, i wouldnt have originally stated "red wings own calle jarnkrok and i would do almost anything to get him. "
Thanks, I didn't know he had Twitter, I'll give it a shot!
He's Alex Marchand (@SenatorsDJ)
That is very accurate I would say, as I checked the League
Standings ealier today :
Senators are 12th out of 30 teams
Leafs are 23rd out of 30 teams.
Lol I'm sorry but no way Elliott keeps this play up past this year
P.S. how weird is it seeing a Team Canada's goalie depth chart that DOESN'T have Marty Brodeur on it.. let alone not being #1
1. Pitt 114 points
2. SENS 97 points
3. Flo 94 points
4. NYR 110 points
5. PHI 105 points
6. NJD 99 points
7. Bos 96 points
8. Wash 93 points
Leafs finish second last with 73, Habs last with 72.
This doesn't take into account which teams play each other (i.e. strength of scheudle).
Atlantic division is pretty stacked by the looks of things - might be most points for that division in some time. At least for their top 4 teams.
Lidstrom had like 60 points and still ended up in the minus. Which meant he was a liability to his team at even strength.
Sorry, but being a minus player (while getting like 60 points) should DQ a player from the Norris
im sorry did you just call lidstrom a liabilty to his team?
officially ignoring all your comments on here again.
You do realize that Lidstrom plays HEAVY minutes against the other team's best players right? Not to mention a fair portion of those points (39 of the 62 in fact) came on the power play which (in case you're not aware) doesn't help his plus-minus.
Now there are guys with better plus-minus who also play against the top lines (Weber, Chara etc) but to me that just makes those guys MORE impressive but it doesn't take away from Lidstrom.