I thought I would save this rant for the absolute dead of summer.
The Senators have to have one of the most reserved, unenthusiastic blogospheres of any team. This isn’t meant as a dig, and in fact, as the voice of (relative) cynicism for The CCFR, I can appreciate that restraint. This isn’t a fanbase that will take one look at Peter Regin’s quasi-breakout playoffs and think the team is competitive. It’s more likely that we will trip all over ourselves undercutting predictions of 20 goals on the season. This extends to almost all facets of our club’s development: should we sign that big UFA? Nope, save the cap space. Should we trade picks for more developed players? Nope, we should be patient and watch our team develop arduously over years. What does success X mean for season Y? Probably nothing, the team is going to stink for a while. All reasonable positions, I guess.
But after the B-Sens win the Calder, I’ve got to ask why we aren’t getting more excited about what this means for a rebuilding club. I can’t think of a better sign that the team might be okay than their farm team winning it all in the FIRST YEAR of the big club’s rebuild – and led by their goalie of the future, no less. Signings like Butler stepped up big time, role players like Greening and Condra played solid two-way games and did the little things right, and even blue chippers like Cowen stepped in to play top minutes after already playing a full season and playoffs with another team. These are all incredibly positive things. I can’t help put think that if it was, say, the Islanders’ AHL affiliate (The Rancho Relaxos, I believe), that they’d feel great.
So all I’m saying, people, is c’mon: it’s June. It’s okay to get a little crazy. We won the Calder, and that means next year we’re gonna win the Cup.
Welcome To Your Karlsson Years 
I like you.
And THAT is hockey analysis. Sort of. Not really. Go Sens!
Maybe we’re just a conservative bunch because we realize that teams which go for the ‘quick fix’ in the free agent market or by trading away draft picks rarely seem to be the ones which win what we’re all looking to win: The Stanley Cup. The only possible exemption to this is the Anaheim Ducks in 2007, but their shrewd drafting was probably as instrumental as any of their big trades in the championship. For pretty much the last decade or more, it’s bee building through the draft that has built champions, and trying to trade for talent that’s made also-rans.
There’s a time and a place for trading draft picks for players, and now may be that time with the draft table as that place. But hopefully the Senators won’t get too many top-six picks in the next few seasons, so they need to maximize the value they get out of this one. The rest of the picks Ottawa’s stockpiled give plenty for Murray to play with, but he’s at his best when drafting–not so much when trading.
And although the Senate Reform has only been named this year, I’d say the rebuild started with the Dany Heatley trade. It marked a necessary change in the direction of the team, it’s just unfortunate it’s taken the people involved this long to figure it out. And if you think this is the first year of the rebuild, then we might not be in for an arduously long and painful rebuild: The team’s already well on its way.
Also, as for the Calder Cup, look at the list of winners and tell me what the NHL affiliates of those teams have done within the next few seasons of winning in recent history. No Stanley Cups, even if there have been some division championships (mostly the Hershey Bears). Obviously it’s worthwhile being excited about the Calder Cup Championship and what it means for the development of our top prospects, but history hasn’t really shown that AHL success means we’re guaranteed any level of NHL success.
Great post, though. You’re right on the mark, I’m just not sure it’s a bad thing to have a conservative blogosphere.
Oh yeah, I agree with pretty much all of this. Not really meant as a criticism, and I certainly don’t think a conservative blogosphere is a bad thing. Looking at my CCFR posts, most of them are pretty reserved. Mostly just trying to be funny in the middle of deeply unfunny (by hockey standards) June 🙂
Don’t get me wrong, even if it were meant as a criticism, I wouldn’t have been insulted by it–it’s all true, and I know I’m probably too conservative at times to let myself be a fan and get lost in the excitement. But… when there’s real success (i.e. an Eastern Conference Championship), that’s when I really let myself go.
Mark Parisi is right to like you. I like both of you.
No, its not the NHL but it is a team boasting the AHL MVP/AHL regular seson leading scorer, All Star Game MVP, a Playoff MVP goalie who replaced a goalie who as on fire before his injury, and 4 of the top 5 playoff scoring leaders….pretty slammin* team. Binghamton has come along way since I last thought, “Hey, that Spezza kid seems to be turning heads down on whatever our farm team is called! I hope he gets a chance.”
*slang for nifty