An Introduction...
Heatley is a dou**e. Leafs blow. Praise Alfie.
Now that we have dealt with the obvious, I wanted to take a few minutes to introduce myself. My name is Tom (@TomSENS on twitter, give me a follow) and I am the newest contributor here at SensChirp.
First off, I want to thank Dave (Chirp himself) for providing his loyal readers an opportunity to put their passion on display. To be afforded an opportunity to have my work read by an extensive audience of passionate and loyal Sens fans is truly a great thing and I can’t express how excited I am at the prospect of continuing to write for this site.
Secondly, I would like to thank each and every person that read my articles and liked them enough to vote for them. When I submitted my first article I didn’t think I had a hope in hell of making the final five, let alone the finals. To be voted your favourite was a big shock and I really do appreciate everyone’s feedback and support. There were a ton of great articles submitted and the discussion generated in the comments section was a great prelude to the upcoming Senators season.
I love the Sens. I truly, truly love them. I love them so much that people sometimes avoid talking to me about them because I’ll go on…and on…and on. I mean, I could talk about potential line combos for days and days. I guess what I’m saying is that this is the best place for me to speculate, converse, and debate about all things Sens with a bunch of maniacs who are just like me.
Basically what I will aim to do is provide the perspective of the everyday fan. I want to talk about day to day issues like why Sergei Gonchar is being used on the wrong side of the Power Play and where Nick Foligno fits on the depth chart. I want to talk about things that the regular fan questions when they watch our team.
When it comes to the Sens, I am an eternal optimist. You won’t catch me bashing our players, or questioning the organizations every move. I take the good with the bad and appreciate the fact that we are one of 30 cities in the world to have an NHL team.
The 2011-2012 season is bound to be an emotional roller coaster for fans in the Nation’s Capital. New players, new system, new coach, new everything. It’s going to be an exciting time to be a Sens fan and I can’t wait to talk hockey with everyone in the SensChirp community!
No. No I am not. lol
No worries, I have a friend (Tom) that is as passionate about you and he makes fun of me for posting, but he reads every post! When can we expect your first article?
Chirp and I are brainstorming topics, but hopefully it will be sometime next week.
i like it
But what are character platers lol :)
Reason I say this is since he was 16 Spezza has always played on superior teams.He was traded several time in the OHL to contending teams.He came into the NHL on our East final team.Since then hes been on a regular season powerhouse Always winning more than losing.The one year he goes down to AHL for a full time roll during lock out he leads league in scoring on a very strong team
Last year you could say was one of the first time Spezza had to go through the adversity of losing and rebuilding and raising his play to raise others.
I feel this is something that has gone unnoticed in it all. Yes we have all acknowledged his leadership roll and growth and maturity,but lets talk about competitive fire, and Spezza having to endure something never felt before.
..and your off!
Also, we need to remember that Foligno seems like a vet on this team, but the kid is only 23! He hasnt even entered his prime yet. This will be a make or break year for him to prove if he is top 6 material or a bottom 6 grinder.
When Foligno turned down his offer to play for USA at the worlds he showed his commitment to becoming a better player and being a team player, a guy that bleeds Red, Black and Gold. That had me sold.
I think Foligno had his wedding this summer too.
Well then who "were" you. Tom doesnt ring a bell...
I also would like to know if we crossed paths....hehe, if not, its never too late!
I've always been TomSENS on twitter, and in the comments section here. I wouldnt say I was ever overly active in posting comments except when something really struck me. Usually I just sit back and watch the debate unfold.
Please don't forget all times he setup up others who were not able to finish though. I remember at least 3 separate occasions Foligno setup Kovalev in front with an empty net and the guy whiffed on it. I doubt Butler, Michalek or Filatov will be playing like an old man ;)
Also remember he was one of the few who could take Spezza's setups and actually make a good attempt with them. Check this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IlhEW1qBq6E ... it's too bad Spezza and Foligno didn't get more opportunities together. I think Spezza-Foligno- Alfie could be an offensive and shutdown line combo. Foligno is the grit you can put on an offensive line.
That's not the only time it happened, just the only one I could find on youtube. There was a better one I remember, where Foligno was above the circles in the middle and took a "blind pass" from Spezza and shot it in. Wish I could find it. I agree though, if they are together the 3rd guy has to be a scorer. I think they complement each others game so well in terms of Foligno being the guy in the corners and banging in front of the net giving Spezza room to operate.
I don't think you can say it was obvious they were giving no respect to Foligno there though, Alfie was the guy on his own in front of the net. It's just how that play developed.
You are a Sens fanatic like myself... I'm also an avid hockey fan.. but diehard Sens. I could talk hockey 24-7 365 days a year that's why I'm always on here.
As for Foligno...I'm willing to give him a mulligan until I see him this season. He committed himself to be better by more training... that says a lot to me. He and Regin should be now realizing that their jobs on this team could be in jeopardy with the young talent coming. At least Foligno is doing everything he can to stay.
As for Spezza... sometimes I just sit in awe of him and some of the passes he makes... just incredible. He has a god given talent that not too many have. He's not perfect by any means... but at least he is putting in a big effort to be a leader and a better all around player.. I think this upcoming season could be a real good one for Jason.
Haha. I look forward to your articles, Tom.
I just ask that you and chirp mark who wrote what (signature or something) so I know who to yell at on occasion. :)
i think regin will have a bounce back year since he knows its his make or break season being 25. also, this past season was his sophomore year and i think it was his "sophomore slump", many young guys are able to avoid this so called slump but others have not been so fortunate and i think regin is one of those less fortunate.
If you looks around at most predictions for this year the Sens are almost unanimously at the 13-15 mark in the Eastern Conference standings. While I know were not going to be pushing for the cup does anyone else think were being drastically undersold?
Sure, we sucked last year but we brought in Anderson at the deadline and played much better after we cut the fat (Kovalev, Rutuu, Elliott) and other veterans like Fisher and Kelly. After this point the kids played great and we didn't even have Alfie healthy.
We have a couple players who could drastically impove our club if they play to their celings for this season. Players like Filatov (actually putting up 1st/2nd line numbers beside Spezza), Bobby Butler continuing with his scoring touch, Rundblad/Cowen (playing to their defensive/offen sive strengths respectivley), Possibly Zibenejad, Da costa,etc. The list goes on and on..
Couldn't agree more. It took a plethora of unlucky breaks for us to finish 5th from the bottom last year so I can't see us finishing last in the league.
My expectations for next year are pretty simple: Try to win every game and don't have the vets hog all the minutes. The focus is on development, so hopefully some of our young guns garner some attention. A secondary objective I have is for 1 of our young guys to merit a Calder Trophy nomination (Cowen, Rundblad, Butler, Filatov it don't matter). Finally, I hope that we'll still be in a position to draft high enough to grab a winger who has top line goal-scoring potential. To me, that's the one glaring hole on our team and in our farm right now.
Unfortunately Butler & Filatov have played too many NHL games to qualify for the Calder Trophy.
I really hope Rundblad & Cowen get their chance to play in the Sens lineup.
Also.. a bit off topic... what are you expectations for Binghaton next season. Do they have a shot at repeating?
The team looks different enough, but hopefully the coaching turns out to have been the secret ingredient to last years run.
I'm looking forward to seeing what guys like Borowiecki, O'Brien and Wiercioch do with their increased responsibilitie s next season. Also, Andre Petersson got a shout-out from Karlsson basically saying he has a great head for the game in the offensive zone. And of course, Lehner with the starting job is pretty tantalizing.
Its unwise to go into a season with the expectations being a championship, but I think going to at least the second round is achievable for them.
I was thinking they might give it to O'Brien...
He's more of a checking type of player but the fact that he was a first round pick suggests that there's goal scoring potential deep down and hidden away. I just hope he turns out more like Alex Burrows and less like Patrick Eaves.
Saw this up on couple sites figured id pass it along
http://www.nhltraderumors.net/news/2011-nhl-trade-rumors-–-sergei-gonchar-to-avalanche-gather-com
I agree we have a better team this year, but this year's schedule is tougher IMO. It's not easy to predict where we'll finish this year.
No, I think thats where we will be, maybe even up to 10th if things go very well. We havent gotten much better, we've added Filatov as our only upgrade on offense, not much of an upgrade. When you think about it, Anderson will have to steal alot of games and that just doesnt happen often. Those last 20 or so games last year meant nothing, there are so many factors why we went 15-5 or something like that, stop thinking its because the kids played great...they didnt.
We are right in the mix of teams fighting for 10th to 15th, every team has major issues, Islanders=goali e, Florida=goalie, Ottawa=forwards , Atlanta=defense , NJ=defense.
So possibly Toronto taking their spot in the bottom 5.
11. Ottawa
12. Toronto
13. Winnipeg
14. Florida
15. Islanders
We just missed being in 15th by 4pts last year, despite going 15-5 at the end of the season. Anyone of those 5 teams can finish last in the East, alot of IF's an MAYBE's surround each team. I put Ottawa in 11th if everything goes well. (Filatov 40+pts, Butler 50+pts, Spezza 80+pts, Alfie 70+, Michalek 50+)...like I said alot of IF's.
Good point Jabs... I too admit losing faith in Foligno, but I forget he is only 23, and really played spot duty on our weak second line. It is not like he spent very much time with our best players.
How about we were way better than what we finished last season and the benchmark has been set really low.
We played leaps and bounds better than any bottom 5 team and with a real goalie in Anderson, we were competitive in pretty much every game.
Raise your standards FFS.
Question:
This really baffles me, if everyone in the universe knows that Gonchar was playing on the wrong side on the powerplay
why on Gods earth would Clouston continue playing him on the wrong side? Why not at least try to put him on the other side? It really did not make any sense.
Any ideas?
Because Karlsson was on the right point.
I'm just glad that Clouston didn't try to move Karlsson to the left point.
Remember when Butler was first called up and was forced to play LW and didn't produce at all? I think it is important that MacL puts the youth in their natural positions as much as possible.
From what I've seen in the games I've watched him he needs to harness his energy a bit more. He basically skate a million miles an hour everywhere and he might be better served picking his spots.
I still think he'll eventually play for the Sens as our thrid line checking center if only for a few years.
with that said, i think he makes an excellent candidate for the captain in bingo this year.
even if we had Anderson, we had no Spezza, no Alfie, a diminished Milan, a crappy old phillips, an uncaring kovalev and a broken fisher.
we may have squeeqed into that number 8 spot but we had 0 fire power all season. saying we under performed last year is really irrelevant because half the roster has changed this year to younger more inexperienced guys...
Yes if everything goes right, we could have a much better year but the chances of everything going right is alot less likely than a couple big things going wrong. Organizational depth is coming but for the most part, it's certainly not NHL ready.
Either way, with lowered expectations by most reasonable fans, this should make for a very entertaining season.
If you look at last year's squad, there wasn't much difference from the previous season where we finished 5th in the east. While I don't think last year's team was playoff worthy, I thought it was a gift that we were in the hunt for a lotto pick, we were way better than a lottery team and if it wasn't for goaltending and an inept offense we would of fared far better. It's not like we had players that couldn't produce, they just weren't producing. A new coach, a different attitude in the locker room, and a youth moment in full effect should result in a far better year than last season.
Clouston did try Karlsson on the Left point. The whole reason Gonchar ended up there is because Karlsson sucked so bad on his off side. Kept pinching at the wrong times and got beat over and over. This left point/right point argument against Clouston is not valid imo, because they're still talking about having these two on the 1st PP unit so no matter what 1 of them is on their wrong side and some fan will complain about it. The alternative is Karlsson on the 2nd PP unit ... ya doesn't sound right to me either!
thats why MacL has to split up his power play d-studs.
While we all gripe and gripe about Kuba, he still proved to be effective on the PP last season and plays the left point just fine.
Kuba/Karlsson
Rundblad/Gonchar
Don't forget Caporusso... I think he will become a fan favourite in Bingo.
I had seen this rumor, didn't seem to have much credit behind it. But rumors are rumors, we know a certain someone who posts them all day long and they never happen. If Ottawa was working out a deal to shop Gonchar to the Aves we could get a solid return for him. You would think BM would be after Landeskog after all the hyped Ottawa had him 1st on the radar, but I don't see it happening. But if the right package was put together, with a few other options... could you imagine.
Do you think he would waive his NTC to go there?
"Those last 20 or so games last year meant nothing, there are so many factors why we went 15-5 or something like that, stop thinking its because the kids played great...they didnt."
I get really pissed when seeing that run they went on last season with Anderson in net meant nothing. No pressure. Bullshit (excuse the language).
A lot of those young guys WERE playing with pressure. For most of them it was their first NHL experience. The teams they played against for the most part DID have something to play for.
Sens did not roll over & stop playing because the games meant nothing. They played exciting hockey, at least that's what I saw. Anderson was very good in net. Considering what was on the blueline with Campoli gone & Gonchar out. They had 2 inexperienced D in the lineup. No Alfie either.
I'm not saying that translates into success this season as it doesn't.
RANT OVER
The Sens should get more wins this year with Anderson in net than they had under Elliott.
At least if they get to a shootout they have a chance to get some extra points when before we all knew they would lose as Elliott could not stop a puck in the shootout.
Bottom Line: You can't say a strong performance over a stretch of meaningless games means different things for different teams.
I do have some hope that Gonchar will bounce back under MacLean, but please for the love of God, waive Kuba, and let him rot.
I cannot stomach his play over the likes of Lee, Rundblad, Cowen, or even Carkner.
Lee should have played over him last year if it was only based on play!
I do hope I am wrong though.
I could imagine ..Wonder what kind of package it would take to get the Avs to offer Landeskog for a package from us that includes Gonchar ...?
Honestly I dont know , with all talk regarding moving gonchar or a kuba you have to think murray knows that answer
And yes bad goaltending did lead to worse defense, they continually panicked in their own end. There is a reason good goaltending leads to wins, it builds confidence, and less fear to take a chance and make a great play, instead they all played with fear of making a mistake.
Again I go on record as saying we will be better, but hard pressed to make the playoffs
Sorry -- Clouston did not play in goal. Sens got off to a bad start and could never recover. Injuries hurt as well... Clouston can't be blamed for that either...
I'm not defending him... he made some really questionable decisions.. but he was still learning to coach in the NHL as well.
It wasn't all his fault.
I think when a team is struggling, ie the slow start. It is fully on Clouston's shoulders to fix it. Yea the injuries stung a bit, but I really think that a good coach can produce with any roster.
Johne I usually agree with most of your comments...afte r all you and I are basically the only Condra fans on this blog... but Clouston did get a lot out of the Sens roster after the trade deadline... main reason was the confidence in the team on who was between the posts.
Even though they won't admit it Elliott was a lot of the problems at the beginning of the season. To be fair, he is not a #1 goaltender and was put in a situation and with a lot of pressure that he could not handle.
That's hard to say. The Avs are a mixed up bunch. They started as a young rebuilding team, then ended up moving players like Stewart and Shattenkirk for Johnson and McClement and a higher draft pick. Then they move Anderson for Elliot, so it's almost a given they were looking to falter. Most fans would have considered them already in a rebuild, so why move out young guys in the first place? I have a feeling Landeskog was the main reason they did it.
If Ottawa was to package something up with Gonchar, the Avs would most likely want Ottawa's first pick next season and a another piece. If Ottawa does as bad as some say they could, it would be a good 1st pick to have with the likes of Yakupov available.
I think it wasn't so much as to Clouston not being able to coach the product on the ice as it was Clouston in the locker room as many reports have suggested.
Regardless, I think Clouston is/was a good coach and I'm sure he will find his way back to the NHL again some day, but for me he was clearly part of the problem.
Mini-Media Crew: Development Camp - Sens TV's Mini-Media Crew visited Development Camp in July, where they talked with Senators prospects and staff about a variety of entertaining topics.
Makes you wonder about that rebuild when they gave up the 1st and 2nd pick 2012 ( 1st could lottery pick top 5 ) and 2nd 2013 during a rebuild to the Caps ..And if ottawa isnt dead last is 2nd 3rd or 4th player better then the Landeskog ..so does trade make sense ?
Gonchar and Butler 1st
for
Landeskog
You think thats an over payment ? Just for conversation not saying this is something id consider doing ..no haters plz
The only team we played and beat that had something on the line was NJ, the rest were either in the playoffs already and took nights off or basement dwellers vying for lottery picks.
Our players had litteraly nothing to play for other than the sake of playing, most were making the team in 2012 anyways, they knew they would have a spot. (Butler, Greening, Condra)
Gonchar, Butler and a 1st is an over payment I think, but you have to weigh the entire deal. We'd lose a top 6 in Butler, but gain one in Landeskog so that's good. We'd clear up a spot on D that we all know eventually needs to be cleared (but everyone would rather see Kuba gone). Moving the 1st is a gamble because nobody knows who will really get picked. The biggest issue here is Ottawa trying to stay above the cap floor, we'd have to take something back regardless
While yes, I'd take Landeskog for Butler in a 1:1 trade in a heartbeat, I still think we have untapped potential in the guy.
you will be shocked but I completely disagree with you
Firstly most team that they beat were either fighting for playoff spot or positioning, and none wanted to lose to a non playoff team!
secondly, doesn't matter what profession you are in as a new person trying to earn there keep, they must justify their existance every minute. Those kids were playing for more than any established, NHL players, and were playing for their first NHL contracts, if they do not prove their keep, we would all be saying that they may be life AHLers. And that we should give others a real shot, ie O'Brien, etc other then them.
In fact they had more on the line than most of the other established players on the team.
Agreed.. I think he took the fall for last years dismal season.. when it was not all his fault. But they could not keep him due to the communication issues he had with the players which was a biggy.
Those playoff teams were fighting for positioning & some were not guaranteed a playoff spot. By looking at the lineups they should have blown the Sens out of the water but they didn't. Teams have pride & that's something to play for.
Those young guys were fighting to prove they belonged in the NHL. It wasn't just going to be handed to them.
I agree, I think Butler has a load of talent waiting to be seen but I'd take Landeskog for Butler any day. For me I tend to look at what we had to give up to get players in our roster. Butler was a lucky find, a low risk/high reward signing. Gonchar was a free agent, so neither player cost us anything in that regard so moving them doesn't hurt so bad
Landeskog has proven nothing yet. He was a big body in playing against his peers.. but how will that translate into the NHL.
At the present time, I would not give up a potential sniper that can play in the NHL to get one that never has.
Although he was a great junior player.. he's proven nothing in the NHL yet. He may be great... he may not..
As for Couture signing... Murray had better get Karlsson under contract early next season.
Your both acting like you have no clue about the situation the Sens were in at that point, Butler, Condra, Greening WERE making the team even if they had played poorly, we didnt have anyone else to in the system that were better than them and we couldnt fill the recently departed with a bunch of free agents. Come on folks, its not rocket science.
Those 3 had a contract in place probably while they were playing out the last 20 games, fans dont get to know whats happening behind the curtain but contracts dont just happen in 1 day "Hey, man you played well, here's a contract" doesnt happen that way, its long deliberations between the GM and the agent that can take weeks or months.
Just cause they signed at the end of the year doesnt mean they werent working on one while the season was ongoing.
the same can be said to you. they could of been playing for a spot, you're not behind the curtains either.
I think they were playing hard to continue to play in the NHL, thats every kids' dream, to play in the NHL. Kids don't dream of NHL contracts.
As for teams fighting for a spot that we beat, only NJ was pushing for one, all others, MTL, BOS, PHI, TB, WSH, NYR, etc...were all in, unless a miracle happened (NJ)...So dont go and tell me those teams played hard trying to get in, thats BS.
Use your head man, the Sens were desperate for players, it was a terrible year, a rebuild had begun...they were our only young players...put 1, 2, 3 together and you have your answer.
The smart people on here even posted about how Butler, Greening and Condra would be playing next year FOR SURE. It was basically 99% chance those 3 would be playing next year for the Sens...
Who else would the Sens have gotten to replace Kelly, Fisher, Ruutu, Butler, Greening, Condra...
Dont be stupid. Its common sense.
Even though the UFA pool was thin, a lot of us thought we would go after Leino or Upshall and others to fill the voids.
Sandy I often agree with your comments and I do agree with Butler being able to score. But Landeskog has proved as much as he was able too in the O that he can play and everyone knows he has the tools to do it. He was listed as one of the most NHL ready players in the draft. I mean, people are already putting stock into Zibanejad possibly making 2nd line C.
Really Genius, if they played shit they would all still be in the NHL with new contracts, what freakin world do you live in who is the stupid one?
That means Alfredsson, the team captain who has been a part of the organization since 1994, needs to bounce back from an injury-plagued season that barely saw him break the 30-point plateau. It also means Spezza needs to stay on the ice and return to the form he exhibited from 2005-09, when he gave opponents fits on a nightly basis and tallied 87 points or more in three of those four seasons.
The bottom line is that this is a team in transition. In order for the Senators to return to the playoffs, they're likely going to have to overachieve. It's a safe bet that MacLean will do everything he can to change the culture and bring a winning attitude. But does he have the horses to tally victories consistently? Time will tell.
here is some common sense for you, the NHL does not throw out contracts just because they have to. If those kids proved they could not play UNDER PRESSURE of the NHL, they would be back in Bingo, and others like Daugovins, O'Brien, Wick, or UFA's would fill the void, they had to prove that they could perform, or back to the AHL you go, just look at Wick, or better example is Zubov, or even Cheechoo for that matter, did not perform and no longer in the NHL. And you are trying to tell all the intellegent people here that there is NO pressure to make it in the NHL...WAKE UP!!!
Quoting Johne:
The people that thought Murray was leaving were the same people that blamed him for the eatley trade...ignorant.
Of course he was coming back, he's one of the best guys to have for a rebuild, he never said he wasnt coming back and Melnyk never mentioned anything of Murray retiring.
As for Leino and Upshall that would have been great but wasnt a popssibility due to the long in house rebuild mode we adopted.
Tookie = Captain Hindsight
Everyone else = idiots
Read again my little friend, I mentioned they were our best young players of the lot, why the hell would the Sens give contracts to Wick and O-Brien and crap like that, Condra, Greening, Butler we already better then those others.
With the lack of talent & players on the Sens, spots were almost given to some players just to fill the roster. Why not, they're cheap.
Dont be mad at me cuz I wasnt in the Murray aint coming back boat.
Why would the Sens get rid of Murray when they were going to start a rebuild...??
He's the guy for it.
Wick and O'Brien were givin opportunities and did not handle the pressure well, hence back to the AHL. Also Cheechoo could no longer play, bye bye NHL contract. Condra Greening Butler came in played well we won, earned yourself an NHL Contract
Dude you are contradicting yourself
Thanks for proving me right
Yes miguel, they didnt have a choice, there are rules in the NHL that you must have a roster in place and a cap floor to uphold.
Im not going to start explaining to you, NHL Economics.
with all due respect, there really is nothing you could possibley teach me, I can appreciate some of you posts, and choose to disagee with others, but truly if you think they give out half million dollar contracts to kids who can't play you are in lala land my friend.
Like I said the pressure to play in a mens league tournament hockey game alone has its pressures, these kids have to prove that they can make it in the show, and you think thats "nothing to play for"
like to see how you would handle that kind of pressure
Far from it, Wick and O'Brien are not NHL caliber players, Condra, Butler & Greening are and that is why they were given contracts, it had nothing to do with their play. They would have gotten contracts anyway due to the situation the Sens were in.
Oh and in case you didn know, Anderson had the biggest part in us winning games, and Spezza.
Here are some undeniable FACTS for you to choke on!
Spezza had 26pts in the last 20 games
Butler had 13pts in 20
Greening had 11pts in 20
Condra had 7pts in 20
Spezza has almost more pts than the 3 put TOGETHER!!!
He's shown on the international stage that he has skills and played pretty good in Bingo, but he never had a chance to do anything playing on a line with Lessard lol.
I don't think he's NHL material, maybe never will be. but in all fairness he hasn't had much of an audition.
Obvioulsy your not understanding what Im saying...they are obvioulsy better than you and me, no question about that, but on any other team, that is not bottom 5, they DONT make it. They made the NHL because they play for the Senators...
Men's league pressure, LOL, come on man, there is no such thing. Or your a very fragile person...
Bottom line, they were losing, they traded "good players" and auditioned new players. The all played well we started winning. Now most people know that they had to prove themselves and they did, to management and to the fans, and now they have contracts.
But you say that they had nothing to play for and that their contracts were "guarenteed"
Wrong, just admit it for once
Funny, and you still claim that there was "no pressure on them" and that they had "nothing to play for"
if I am fragile you are delusional amigo
good chatting with you,
you actully were able to keep me from my Friday after work beers,
have a good weekend
They were getting a tryout Tookie to see if they were NHL capable... they proved they were.
Tookie,
The Rangers were in by 2 POINTS, Mtl by 5 the others yes were guaranteed spots but don't you think that Philly was trying to get 1st overall from Wash? Same for Tampa & Pitts.
First round matchups could be make or break & getting home ice advantage means a lot. They were playing for something just because they were in they did not take the foot off the gas so to speak.
But you are negative against the Sens so nothing we can say will change your mind.
The young guys, from the games I saw as a season ticket holder, played well. I can't understand why you say they didn't.
Zack Smith, Condra & Greening all saw time on the PK I believe and they did very well.
Spezza got all of those points in the 20 games playing with Butler & Greening.. 2 basically raw rookies. Sure they are older coming from college.. but they were playing on the FIRST line and handling themselves very well. But according to you they did not play well.
Murray took a gamble that the players coming in after the deadline could get the job done. The gamble worked. But if they could not have done it.. he would have had to go another route. He is not going to put players in the lineup that can't play NHL hockey. No GM would do that, would they?
But I do agree to the point that Anderson was a big factor. Can you see those young guys playing with Elliott in net? No confidence at all. That would have been a nightmare.
I'd trade our first and Butler for 1st overall in 2012, Yakupov is the real deal, even if he is Russian...
Sens top line should be decent enough if Spezza - Alfie and one of Butler/Filatov.
Bottom 6 forwards should be able to compete with most teams... (maybe not the elite teams)
The big question mark on this team will be the 2nd line. The wingers one of Michalek and Butler/Filatov should be okay.. that 2nd line centre position is the big question mark.
Also the defense is a big issue... how will they play.
I'm not too worried about goaltending... unless Anderson gets a serious injury... then Lehner, baby....
Other opinions?
GOD cant wait till stupid fans see that butler condra etc are bench warmers lol
Chirp.. get this moronic Leaf fan off this site..
I remember Johne when you made those projections that the Sens would go after Leino and Upshall. I also remember when you called me an idiot for saying that they wouldn't because we would be sticking with a youth movement.
Quoting Johne:
Tookie is a person that more people should actually read. His comments are sometimes off the wall but overall he has more hockey knowledge than most people on this site. I have had my arguments with him but I do like his contributions.
Petersson is also a guy everyone is underestimating.
we get some injuries and he will show he is NHL caliber and a sniper.
First not a leaf fan second are you the same Sandy from the ottawa sun comment section ? So I wont say anything harsh I see some of those comments towards you and there pretty rough ... So you shouldnt start calling people leaf fans or morons
What happens when .. (1st overall pick this year) Yakupov Silfverberg Stone Puempel Noesen petersson..are ready ??
Doesn't it make sense that Butler and Condra's deal are 2 year deals ? Thats about time for the new blood too be ready no ?
If Butler doesnt play with Spezza which I dont think he will thats Alfie's spot till he retires so Butler Max 10 goals to 15 goals face it dont overvalue some of the benchwarmers we have ..
So this year I hope you play attention !!
Nikita Filatov - Jason Spezza - Daniel Alfredsson
Colin Greening - Stephane Da Costa - Bobby Butler
Nick Foligno - Mika Zibanejad - Milan Michalek
Zach Smith - Zenon Konopka - Chris Neil
Chris Phillips - Sergei Gonchar
David Rundblad - Erik Karlsson
Brian Lee - Jared Cowen
Craig Anderson
Alex Auld
You come off as a Leaf fan the wording of your article is just the type of crap they write. Especially calling Sens fans stupid not exactly something another Sens fan would do.I apologize then - I just hate Leaf fans.
No I'm not the Sandy on the Sun.
I can't believe after 30 games in the NHL that you automatically think Condra & Butler are benchwarmers. How do you know Stone, Puempel, Noeson will do better than Butler & Condra? You don't.
I'm a season ticket holder & do watch the games - many of them. I have been watching hockey since the 1960's (and yes I'm that old). I consider myself a fairly knowledgable hockey fan.
You don't know what happens this season - who plays with whom.
Last I looked Butler & Condra were young blood. I guess you did not see them play last year. They played pretty well for being new to the NHL.
Let's wait until this season plays itself out. It's about developing these young players -- ALL OF THEM.
Why is Cowen playing the right side and Lee playing the left?....and what happened to Regin,Wincheste r,Condra,Kuba,a nd Carkner......re gardless of whether were rebuilding or not, it's never wise to have 8 players in your lineup that have yet to even play a full season in the NHL.
Hey Chirp,
Will there be a new update/blog coming up soon?