I have resisted the temptation to join tank nation to this point but even I am willing to admit that a loss against the Bolts tonight wouldn't be the worst thing in the world. Ottawa currently holds the 28th spot in the NHL but are at risk of passing a couple of the teams ahead of them with a win tonight.
I happen to think 3rd overall is almost the same as 2nd (assuming Edmonton or Colorado takes Larsson) but once you get down to 5th you start to run the risk of missing out on a potential star. Couturier wouldn't exactly be a dud but I'm just not convinced he is at the level of the other three forwards (Nugent-Hopkins, Landeskog, Strome)
Other than McElhinney in goal, no line up changes are expected for the Senators. Same forward combinations up front.
Greening-Spezza-Butler/Michalek-Shannon-Condra/Foligno-Winchester-Neil/Svatos-Smith-Lessard
Mentioned this on Twitter and in the comment section earlier but word is the Sens are still the favourites to land NCAA free agent Stephane Da Costa. Minnesota and possibly Florida are also still in the mix.
Thanks to everyone that sent in an entry for today's contest. Will email the winner shortly after the game tonight.
If there is more than one person with the correct answer, I will draw randomly from all winning entries. Winner gets a pair of tickets in the Wiser's Suite on the 100 level. Good luck!
And thanks again to the good folks at Wiser's for hosting this terrific giveaway. Be sure to stop by and "like" their Facebook page for access to some other cool promos and giveaways. Click here to join The Wiserhood!
Decisions have to be made by Sens Management on whether or not to sign McElhinney as the backup to Craig Anderson.
He has won 2 games vs the Bolts, and I believe that this time the Tampa Bay team would like to amend to those 2 losses.
Similar to Craig Anderson, I think Murray wants to have a better idea of his role moving forward. If he isn't going to be the GM beyond this season, he has to be sure that signing Da Costa is something a new GM would want as well.
I thought it was already assumed that Murray would be retained through next year after the Anderson contract...are you hearing otherwise?
No that is still my assumption. But for whatever reason I'm hearing the same thing about Murray wanting to know his position first. Sort of leads me to believe the moves he is making need to be cleared first.
Speculation on my part though.
I want to see what BM does leading up to and including the draft. I just don't want him to get out of control again and waste a bunch of dolla's on some UFA who hasn't earned a cent with our team.
I'd rather watch a 'greening' or 'condra' work his way up through OUR system than to throw 6 million dollars at some guy who earned his price tag playing on another team.
Any way the next contest can be for some Wisers? That way we are guaranteed a good time :)
That is a key feature of the tickets! Beverages and food are included in the Wiser's suite.
http://nhldraftvideo.blogspot.com/2011/03/jonathan-huberdeau-20102011-compilation.html?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter
Seems like a smooth skating feisty guy with a nose for the net and some sweet hands. Wouldn't be too bad if we missed out on Lands or Strome.
Thoughts?
I'm not 100% on board with tank nation either, but I do worry about missing out on Strome. And I'd hate to have to consider actually trading UP when not too long ago we all thought we'd be able to trade down.
I do agree with Johne and others though that are saying wins now based on our young guys playing well is all good. It would be different if we hadn't resigned Anderson yet and he was stealing games, or if we were winning simply by other teams playing like crap against us. If Greening, Condra etc are helping us win now their future looks promising.
The Anderson trade is the best thing to happen to Murray, and that only occurred because Colorado decided it was in their best interest to tank the season.
I really hope Mr. Anderson can stay healthy, or else I'm really going to be bummed out that we missed out on RNH and Landeskog.
Exactly my friend. Regardless of position, Ottawa is getting the best offensive prospect in their system at this draft, so let's just see what happens.
We'll be in the lottery, but we may not have a shot at the #1 pick. Every team that misses the playoffs is in the lottery but you can only move up 4 spots. So if we finish above five other teams we still have a slim shot at winning the lottery and moving up to the #2 overall pick. Only a 6% chance sure, but it's a shot.
Agree on NJ winning(I think) but wouldn't an OT win be better?
Sorry Hax, I should have clarified. I meant a better chance at #1.
Cheers!
2. Landeskog
3. Strome
4. Huberdeau
5. Couturier
I'm willing to go along with the assumption that Huberdeau's offensive ceilling is higher than Couturier's.
If Ottawa goes 6-0 to finish the season, they'll finish with 80 points.
Not concerning ourselves with COL and EDM, who are completely out of it, here is what the teams who don't have 81 points yet would have to do to finish the season.
FLA: 6-0
NYI: 5-0-1
NJD: 4-3
ATL: 2-4-1
TOR: 1-4-1
CBJ: 2-5
STL: 2-5
MIN: 1-5-1
Now remember that Ottawa has to run the table for this to happen. For every loss the Senators take, subtract one win from each team.
They have a realistic shot at passing FLA and NYI, but NJ is a REAL longshot, and the others teams are too far out of reach.
Jumping FLA and NYI puts the Senators in the 5 slot for the draft, which will net one of Larsson, Landeskog, RNH, Strome, or Couturier.
Things are not as bad as they seem.
If Melnyk is making hockey decisions, then God help this franchise.
And add Huberdeau to the list if a sens lottery ball doesn't get chosen in the top 5. You never no... I know I have no luck at all and if my name was in there with 100 others, I can guarantee I'd be the last chosen.
Literally nothing has gone right....Maybe finding Anderson could be a seen as a positive, but then it goes right into the fact that he is essentially playing us right out of a quality draft pick(yeah yeah I know whoever we get will be good....but not likely top 3 good).
Soooo bloody annoyed.
As far as mistakes made for this franchise... the biggest ones are losing Hossa & Chara -- without a doubt.
Let's hope Da Costa makes the correct decision (Ottawa).
I gotta say, This past month or so has been so refreshing as a sens fan. It's fun when we win because it springs hope for the future and I can still smile when we lose knowing that it betters our chance at a top prospect. It's a win win situation in my mind and I haven't often felt this way in years past.
UMMM... You forgot the true #1 pick.... Adam Larsson, And I think that Couturier will be picked 2-3 because it's much harder to find a good center man than it is to find a good winger.
@Sandy The crappiest thing to happen to the franchise was the blindsiding of Hossa.....The Chara thing was 100% a residual affect of this stupid move
Things are not as bad as they seem.
Adam Larsson WILL go 1st overall... Edmonton needs D-men
Nope didn't forget in the slightest, I was just listing the forwards. Huberdeau is a natural centreman too, he can also play the wing.
For some reason the talk in Edmonton lately has been taking RNH first. Not sure what that's all about...clearly they need a franchise d-man.
I think RNH will go first overall. It's much harder to find a #1 center late in round 1 or in the 2nd round, than it is to find a bluechip dman. The Oilers could opt to go with RNH, and then draft a player (or two, if their 2nd round pick is considered) like Jamie Oleksiak or Scott Mayfield with the pick acquire from the Kings. Although, the Oilers have centers like Horcoff, Cogliano, Gagner, and prospects like Pitlick and Lander. None of those guys are true #1's. RNH and Hall would be deadly, and the Oilers have historically gone with offense over defence.
But hey, it's obviously possible they could take Adam Larsson instead.
Also, it's a friggin' lottery people, best chances don't always equal best results!
We aren't allowed to talk about the draft? Where we might finish in the standings? Where we 'hope' we finish in the standings? What player we would like to see as a Senator? People aren't allowed to be of the opinion that the team would be better served with a better draft pick?
Man... you're no fun...
Nothing we say, or do, has any effect on the standings. Lighten up.
Yea I won't cheer for a loss either. Just said that a loss wouldn't be the worst thing. I also find that before the game it's easier for me to think about how a loss wouldn't be terrible and then the puck drops.
Can't help but cheer for a team that is playing the way this group is.
RNH 3GP 3G-4A-7pts
Landeskog 3GP 3G-1A-4pts
Strome 2GP 1G-0A-1pts
Huberdeau 2GP 3G-5A-8pts (4A in game one, 3G 1A in game two)
Courturier 2GP 1G-2A-3pts
Very small sample size, but these stats will be very important when final draft rankings are made.
I've said it before and I'll say it again:
Huberdeau!
...Hubeardeau's linemate zach phillips (ranked 12th in this years draft) also has 8pts in 2 games (they're tied for 1st in CHL playoff scoring).. like to see Murray break the bank to get both of them.
Saint John is an absolutely stacked team and are the #1 seed in the the weakest league in the CHL. They are playing the #16 seed right now, Cape Breton, who have a record of 18-45-1-4.
Comparatively, RNH is playing Edmonton who are 31-34-2-5. Couturier is playing Chicoutimi (27-29-5-7). Landeskog is playing Plymouth (36-26-2-4). Strome is playing Brampton (29-32-1-6).
I do like Huberdeau though, but it's a bit unfair to just straight up compare point totals.
Agree 100% @JAB
I also resent the high and mighty attitude of some posters who continually berate those still cheering for the team. Cheering for the Sens to win does not mean I am stupid, ignorant or not a true Sens fan. Quite the opposite, in fact.
I would *much* rather have Anderson and the 4th or 5th pick than Elliot and the 2nd or 3rd pick.
To be fair, we were getting a different goalie next season regardless or whether we traded Elliot or not. It could have very easily have been Mr. Anderson too.
That being said, you're more than welcome to have your opinions. Just afford those that disagree the same courtesy.
It is so refreshing now to see this team play now when at the beginning it was as frustrating as it has ever been.
As for the draft, I don't think the Sens fall lower than 5th. I can't see them winning all 6 games,they could go 1 - 5 with that one win against the Leafs this Saturday to put the 'final nail in the coffin' of their supposedly playoff run.
Say Sens stay 3rd in the draft RNH & Landeskog are gone and the Sens have the choice to draft Larsson and they take him.
Imagine:
Karlsson - Cowen
Rundblad - Larsson
Phillips - Gonchar
Weircoch & Gryba continue to develop in Bingo and slide into the lineup as Gonchar & Phillips leave.
Kuba & Lee are gone.. with Carkner as 7th D..
I know Sens need a really good young forward but you could not turn down Larsson.
That's a young D - but it is a re-build with youth,so let them play.
Lighten up? It's not like I'm freaking out here bud, I think you're missing my point. It's frustrating to always read that crap. I'm totally fine with discussing just about anything, but reading post after post complaining about wins or which goalie should be played so we can lose ... that type of shit is not appreciated.
Of course I'd love to get the 1st pick and take the best player in the draft, and yes I think that's RNH or Larsson, but we're not going to get that unless the lottery goes in our favor, no point condemning a winning team for it.
Anything other than Larsson, RNH or Landeskog will prove to me that the front office have no clue what they are doing!
I never said you were freaking out. I also think you're taking comments made by the vast minority and making it sound like the sentiment is far more predominant than it is... bud.
Would you have been happy if we had kept Elliott and rode out the season with him starting? Colorado clearly decided to tank with no attempt to roster a competitive team the rest of the way.
Fans who want the sens to have tanked are basically saying they wanted them to use the strategy Colorado has. Would you really want to watch that crap for the entire year?
A GM is supposed to give his team the best shot at winning and their GM has given them none. At least BM gave this team a chance for the 2nd half. It would be so depressing around here if our GM had done the same thing as in Colorado, especially since the rookies would be getting more and more frustrated with each loss, instead of gaining confidence in their game at the NHL level.
All that is worth a pick a few spots lower in my mind. Draft positioning isn't everything.
We read the same comment section, it's a lot more pro-tanking then I ever imagined it could be, let alone without more people calling out against it.
Yes, 100% correct. I just hope that people are able to turn their attitudes around by next training camp, because dealing with another season of people talking about what Ottawa needs to do to lose games is both irritating and pointless.
What makes you think any of those three guys will be 'franchise' players?
If any one of them actually WAS a franchise player, then I'd venture a guess that we'd have a consensus #1 this year, rather than it being between 3-4 different players.
Jab we unofficially did what Colorado did for the majority of the season...Would I have been happy to keep Elliott, Yep and then pursue a goalie(Anderson as per everyone) in the off season.
Which of course are completely meaningless games, that do nothing but ruin our draft standing.
People were calling for changes all season (some people longer), and they didn't occur. Then once the season was lost, they occurred. If you can't understand why people might be a little disappointed with that, then I dunno what else to say.
I highly doubt that Greening & Condra will ever become legit top 6 players. With the signing of Anderson and showing that he can steal us some games, I could see this team pushing for a playoff spot as early as next year. But we need to land Larsson or Landeskog or even RNH (rdy in 2 years)
Oour 1st half of this season is comparable to Colorado's 2nd half in your mind in terms of what the team is trying to accomplish? You'd have signed Anderson to that contract without trying him out 1st and having watched him do worse in Colorado the rest of the year? Am I missing something here
Now its like watching a dream come true fade away, I know you cant tell players to lose, and would not want them to lose like that, but I mean there are other ways, play McBackup the rest of the way, put Alfie on the shelf and Michalek too. Play more Kuba and Gonchar and Phillips!
The 'experts' have been saying there is no clear #1 in this draft but the top 5 will all be good players. So any spot in 1 - 5 you will get a decent prospect.
The key is what will they do with the Nashville pick to move up -- as Nashville, it appears, will make the playoffs. So now we cheer for them to win once the playoffs start.
Ok fine, you were calling for it.
So, do you think that Colorado would have traded Anderson straight up for Brian Elliott in November?
Or do you think that Nashville would have traded for Fisher in October?
Doesn't work that way. You need TWO teams to complete a trade. You can call for it all you want, but unless you have TWO interested parties, then nothing is happening.
It's not that there was no effort to make changes earlier, they just didn't work out for one reason or another. The team was never as bad, skill wise, as the record showed with all those injured players playing and Spezza out for so long.
I want good hockey at all times of the year and right now I'm more concerned with the development and assessment of our players and scouting of later picks then I am with which of the 5 possible top picks we should lose to get. I'll take the best available at whichever pick we get.
So when fans warmed up to our sucking this year, they left no room for the team returning to playing to their abilities, or improving with a better goalie, before the season was up?
Im starting to come around on RNH, he is starting to pull away from the pack, you just have a feeling about the kid that he will be something special!
Landeskog is somewhat in the same boat, where RNH has more potential offensively, Landeskog has it in leadership and pure heart. We cannot afford to miss out on both of them, that would be a disaster.
For me personally, I would prefer the young players brought into this lineup, experiencing winning with a good goalie.. than constantly losing behind a bad one. That would not do much for their morale...going into next season.
How do we know that Anderson would have picked Ottawa in FA -- especially if Philly was after him.
But your disappointment is based on something that couldn't be changed. If the other teams won't make the trade, then what can you do? There's no point in being disappointed about something that you can't change, so accept it and move on.
Exactly BlackTerror, the deals made were not available back when it could have changed our fate this season.
Also anyone who expected us to get the 1st pick was just as sorely mistaken as those of us who thought we'd be in the playoffs.
Sure, maybe they're pulling away, but I still don't think you can call them 'franchise' prospects.
Good prospects, yes. Great prospects, yes. But 'franchise'?
Crosby, Stamkos, they were franchise prospects. These guys are good, but I'm not convinced there will be a huge dropoff if Ottawa gets Strome or Huberdeau instead of Landeskog or RNH.
I don't think management would have truly thought, at the deadline, that they'd be going on this little run right about now.
Couple that with with Edmonton's injuries, and Colorado and Florida evil tanking ways, and you have what we have now.
It's not a completely black and white issue to be sure.
Everyteam has a Franchise player or 2, Crosby, Ovie and Stamkos are not Franchise players they are more than that, they are the face of the League!
Im not saying Landeskog, RNH or Larsson will be faces of the League but they will become Franchise players for their respective teams, they others like Huberdeau and Couturier in my opinion will be busts. I go watch the QMJHL pretty regularly and when faced off with the best teams those 2 guys are nowhere to be found.
Both Florida & NYI have a lot tougher schedule than Ottawa over the last 6 games.
Ottawa does play Philly, Boston & Mtl which could be (should be losses) -- but they also play TB, FLo & Leafs.. so maybe a chance to go 3 and 3 over last 6.
No way Florida and NYI will do that with their remaining games.
but we can easily trade up.
so cheer for wins!
I will absolutely cheer for a loss when it benefits the team over the long haul. The idea that a bunch of meaningless wins at garbage time is somehow going to carry over into next season is laughable. It's a fresh slate every season. Getting Anderson may be a long-term plus for the Senators franchise. He's already signed. We don't have to start him the rest of the way. Mike Brodeur should be in the net as far as I'm concerned or as GM you're not doing your job. Secure the draft pick. There is nothing else to play for and that's been true since the day he signed the extension.
Oh and a big fat I told you so when I said weeks ago that Ottawa needed to be careful or we'd end up finishing 5th. A bunch of blind fools said it wasn't even close to happening and Ottawa was a lock for the top four. Well it you idiots were wrong and The Tryant as usual was right again. We need to lose and badly. Possibly the most important game of this season will be Thursday against the Panthers. Lose that game at all costs.
You can't properly assess the talent of our prospects if we're trying to throw the games and get losses. I know you know that you know everything, but your tank theory has negative effects as well as not being close to guaranteed.
LETS GO BOLTS
As much as I dreamed of the 1st pick a few weeks ago I am not upset with the current situation. There are no guarrentees with the current consensus top 3. Is not Skinner the Calder leader and he was the 7th pick. There are no Crosbys in this group.
Not only is tanking not in the nature of the players or management but also the league would take a very dim view of teams obviously fielding teams solely to lose. There is an integrity issue especially as teams (we are playing) are still fighting for playoff spots.
FINISH HIM
It's the old -- give them an offer they can't refuse.
Isn't that what Colorado is doing? fielding a team to lose?
I love it!!!! Back to back posts calling people idiots!
Do you really need this validation in your life........you MAY be right in hockey but so wrong in life ;)
It's only human nature for people to want to be around winners.
Anderson signed in O-town for three reasons. The term of his contract; the location of team/ citizenship of his child to be; & the potential he saw with this franchise.
For a long time you could wear a Senators jersey any where in NHL land and the Red & Black commanded respect.
People hated having us in their stands, but they respected us because our team was exciting, fast and lights out dangerously good.
Winning is what sport is about. Winning is not a facet that you can just turn. It's something you have to learn how to do as a group.
Do you really think DeCosta wants to go to a team that doesn't know how to win?
Let the kids play. Things will work out.
http://www.justin.tv/damien4166#/w/1021869040
THANK YOU, kind sir.
Thank you!!!! You are a saint!
Old news, but yeah, he's one of the absolute worst. That says a lot considering how few quality announcers there are in general (say, 4?)
Oh and many thanks for the stream thread. Enjoying how we can pool our searching efforts and always find the stream in SensChirp comments, provided there is one, of course.
let him rest. hopefully he, and the rest of the team, will bounce back next season. i'm a firm believer that alfie can still contribute. obviously not his old [no pun intended] self, but he's still got it.
can't wait to see this team next season! can't wait for the draft!
my goodness
I don't think it will get to 5-3 like I predicted though..tough sledding in their tonight.
Where did you see the rumours? Haven't heard anything new since earlier today.
Think I saw a few people with 4-2. Could come down to the game winner.
so far i have the game winner too ;)
As for the contest, i beleive I have no chance...
As of now my score is busted, and I guess the GWG is for St. Louis if it ends as is...
2nd place team and they have only played 1 game at home so far.. and that was in another rink (SBP).
It's going to be hard for them to come back.
I was hoping for a long playoff run and some games to go to.
Ain't going to happen.
but was pretty close...
thank you sens for a great game, made it interesting.
hopefully that will work