James to me, peter
show details Jul 30 (4 days ago)

Well it’s a good day for singing a song and a good day for mooooOOOooOOooovin along.

Good morning gents! Why am I so chipper considering I was up till 2 drinking on a weeknight? (note: That Mill Street Lemon Tea beer has caffeine in it J) Well, Pierre Regin is signed and my Xmas in July wishes have been granted. I suppose the obvious question posed by all blogs today is “Und how are ve feeling about yon signing?” and its our job to follow suit…I feel great about it. I just have a great feeling about this guy. He’s the kind of exciting young forward that I think many fans have been wait for to emerge. I think it’s like Conrad said a few weeks back about the Gonchar acquisition that “sometimes you’ve just got to be excited about moves.” I, sirs, am excited. Regin locked up for 2 yrs with a hit of 1M I think were going to get our moneys worth and more. He’s quick, young, has hands AND backchecks. I’d buy that for a dollar. Knowing he will be a regular in the line up gives us someone we can use in our putrid shootout. Remember the shootout? I will admit I was pretty into it at first *dodges trash being pelted at me* but now im getting a little bored of it (because the Senators arent very good at it) but we’re still going to have to deal with it regularly. Ruutu has one amazing deke that every goalie knows he’s going to use. Kovalev has a DVDs worth of dipsy doodles aaand uses the same Ruutu move every time.  Anyway, whatever, bold prediction: Regin to have breakout year and will get more points Milan Michalek.

Anyway, I was on Canuknik’s blog and have to say I got kind of excited about this interesting line combo he came up with that made me feel good about our team’s depth (see below).

#9; #19; #43

#71; #12; #27

#73; #22; #11

#47; #18; #25

Line #1, the speedy scoring line, line #2 gritty with a chance of play making, Line #3 Alfie up against any other teams third line with Ruutu providing space trying to rip off the opposing teams eyebrows? Aaand..i don’t know Kelly…killing off Ruutu’s penalty? Anyway, I like those odds! And Z. Smith, Winchester (who has promised to fight more this year) and Neil round things out on the elbow to the back of the neck line.

Conrad to James, peter
show details Jul 30 (4 days ago)

What I find really funny (not in a haha way, but in a this league is full of beer barons and assholes kind of way) is how during these arbitration periods it will be the player saying “I want $1.3M” and the organization drawing a line in the sand and saying “$1.1M!” Going through a potentially horrible arbitration process to save a couple hundred grand and then, in the off season, overpaying for UFA by millions of dollars. How can Boston fans say $2.2M is too much for Blake Wheeler (“It should have been $1.9M!” what?) and then GM Peter Ciccirellichelliconcarni gives 36 year old Tim Thomas $5M per. Or Michael Ryder more than an apple pie and a kick in the bum? I know the RFA period is typically when you put the screws to these guys, but it’s always weird to see, like, a Sather really hold out on a good young player who he hopes will be an integral part of his future franchise and then confetti cannon money at the first UFA who calls and says “I love New York and don’t really care about winning.”

Case in point, and fresh from the “I guess I just don’t understand economics in hockey” department: Calgary signs Ian White to  a one-year, $2,999,995 million deal. Fucking seriously. $5 short of $3M. Am I missing something? Is this not insane?

So. Anyway. Yes. Regin, potentially a top liner and probably a top six player, for less than half of what Chris Neil makes, is fucking fantastic. Though I think it’s important to temper expectations. He had some leeway last year given the other teams never keyed in on him, Fleury was fucking terrible in that first round loss and may have inflated his stats a mite bit, and he was all over the lineup. I see Regin as another in the long line of Bochenski-Eaves style players who have some hands and can keep up with the top line and bang home some pucks, with the obviously exception that he also has a wicked wrister. I think he could be great next year, but I think his ceiling is 50 points. Which, again, for $1M I’m all over. Considering Mike Fisher gets paid four times that much for similar points and a hatrick of handsomeness, Christianity, and skating bent at the waist at a ninety degree angle.

I like the idea of Alfie playing on the third line, though my prediction is that, like in previous years, he lasts on that line for as long as it takes for the team to go down 2-0, at which point Clouston (Like Hartsie and Paddocky) starts double-shifting him, playing him on every single line and also hiring him mid-intermission to be trainer and mascot.

peter to James, me
show details Jul 30 (4 days ago)

Good deal for the sens, not sure Regin’s quite ready to break out just yet. I need to see him play when teams decide to actually focus on him. If he ends up the best player on his line and still can produce and post nice assist numbers then I may be tempted to pick up his jersey. I don’t see him playing a ton of first line minutes. I’m not against the idea of Alfie playing fewer first line minutes, I just don’t see it happening. I hope I’m wrong tho.

Why are almost arbitration deals one or two year deals? If hockey is such a rough sport why are the terms of settlement structured in a way that forces the process to repeat. If I’m Regin I’m shitting my pants that I’m going to spend the next two years on a line with Chris Kelly and Chris Neil or miss out on valuable powerplay time because Kovalev is looking for that lucrative KHL deal. The length of the deal should be the sticking point not the cash.

Okay at some point before the season we should start a total ice time and points pool between the following players. Shannon, Wick, Butler and Locke. Winchester and Smith don’t count because I don’t want to see those guys playing outside the 4th line. In other words, we’re trying to figure which of the top 9 guys gets hurt first and for the longest. I’m going to go with Shannon since he put 20 points in 35 games two season ago (he sucked last year but it’s a contract year) Followed by Locke (Bingo’s highest paid player) then Conrad’s man crush of Roberto Butler and the only reason we might see Wick is as a potential trade showcase since his deal is up too.

Conrad to peter, James
show details 2:58 PM (23 hours ago)

Breaking news: Todd White traded to the Rangers.

I kind of love Todd White.

Conrad to peter, James
show details 1:15 PM (1 hour ago)

Potential discussion topic: why have we never bought season’s tickets? Is it the arena location? The on-ice product? Does the direction of this team justify them?

peter to me, James
show details 1:54 PM (59 minutes ago)

Honestly, that shit’s expensive, I’d love to split on a pack but you’ve pretty much guaranteed your social sked is booked accordingly through that fall and winter. Miss a game and you’ve wasted money. Plus hockey games are terrible places to get laid. Could be a guest column where we pick viller’s brain. (about once owning sens season tix, not the whole post office feel of a sens game — nuthin but male and packages)

As you probably guessed that last tweet was from me.

James to peter, me
show details 2:22 PM (30 minutes ago)

OOoooOOOoooOO I like this topic. Probably because I actually have a solid answer where I don’t have to make up salaries and cap hits of contracts I can’t remember the specifics of. Oddly enough I was just looking at 10 game ticket packages on the weekend.
Anyway, the 09-10 season marked the first time in James History (look it up) that semi-regular attendance at NHL games was even remotely affordable. Before I was more of (and still remain) a 67’s game go-er to-er. Seriously, it seems like you upsize your drink at Arby’s and you get a row of free 67’s tickets. Previous to this era, I pretty much depended on people giving me their discarded Sens tickets fo’ free.

Even in this roaring age of game going I still cant find the dough for anything closer than the mid to high 300s (which is fine I like it up there…Conrad remember when we sat in those insane seats in that morgue called the 100 section w/ my friend’s season tickets? …The Sens won like 6-2 that game and people wouldn’t cheer down there).

When I go to a game I like to have what paleontologists call “a couple uh beerz” and maybe a soft pretzel if the moon is in the seventh house. Basically, with the bus fare (that’s right gentle reader, the CCFR does NOT condone drinking and driving so bus-ckle up!!!) the ticket, the beerz for me and a couple for my lady, maybe a snack…easily over a 100 dollar affair. Thanks to that dark era of dynamic pricing *LAZER SOUNDS!* I got to see a bunch of Florida Panthersesque dumpo-fests as too many “good” games can be heavy on the pocket book – god I sound cheap in this post. Cut me some slack what am I a hundredaire?

Where was I? Right, nowhere. So, yeah, even now that its affordable its still on a 1 to 2 games a month level. Also, people are kind of a bunch of dumb dicks and you run into that a lot more when youre in a big crowd so…there’s that.

Lastly, if you have an even remotely active social life (according to facebook I just reached Remotely Active status!) it’s a lot of time to commit to. If only there was a way to shave off commuting time…too bad stadiums are allergic to downtowns AAAACHOO! I have band practice on Tuesdays and Thursdays every week and that alone made me balk on the ten game packages…that and leafs fans.

Conrad to James, peter
show details 2:48 PM (5 minutes ago)

Funny, I was looking at those packages today, and though they give you a lot of flexibility (select the games you want, with alternates, swap tickets for a comparable game if you’re going to miss it, etc.), it still seems marginally worth it. FIRST: all of those 10-20-40 game packs don’t let you reserve at center ice. Seriously. You can only sit on the ends which is, y’know, what the fuck? I think for guys like us a 20-40 game Flex pak (not ‘pack’) is totally within reach (about $800ish), but they reserve the good tickets for…the nonexistent walk up crowd? The Kanata Ford owner? Are there seriously enough people willing to drop $5k on seasons tickets at the ass end of the 2nd level center deck to make those tickets unavailable to people willing and able to drop a grand on some hockey? There’s lots of evidence of the chintz going on. I.e. FREE PARKING! (**for thosen who have renewed their seasons tickets for four seasons or some shit **)

I mostly think that the costs fall in line with most pro sports in cities where people give a shit. I’d expect to pay the same to see, say, the Blazers, who aren’t great but people care. Or any NFL game. It only seems expensive in comparison to the good 45% of the league that needs to give people a Toyota Tercel just to think about sitting through a period of this weird Japanese luging. Like $50 to sit on the glass to see the Islanders. Or $50 to actually own one of the Florida Panthers.

Also, I think that my knowledge of the economics of the Sens is just nil. This team needs to make it to the second round to break even, which sounds like a fucking terrible business model to me. (You need to consistently be in the top eight in the league before you think about making a buck? Is that just an outright lie? Even with Bon Jovi concerts bringing in at least another two, three hundred dollars?) There is literally ZERO possibility that someone will just happen to be walking by the SBP and be like, “Hey, there’s a game on in an hour, let’s go check it out” and drop an impulse $50 on a 3rd level ticket. You need to rent a fucking school bus and buy a burger at Local Heroes just to get to the games.

Which is to say: you’re right. Go 67s. (Pete, remember when we walked into a playoff game ten minutes before it started and bought tickets three back from the glass for $25?)

James to me, peter
show details 2:54 PM (6 minutes ago)

That was me you did that with and i think that the game had started even….

peter to me, James
show details 2:59 PM (3 minutes ago)

In which we realize Conrad is a two-timing bastard who can’t keep his illicit hockey rendez-vous in sordid 8000 seat arenas straight.

Ours wasn’t a playoff game and we bought off a a scalper….(runs away crying)

Conrad to peter, James
show details 3:02 PM (1 minute ago)

Also, it was a Blazers game.
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