First Period:
Not pictured: Karlsson as a winged creature spreading joy, beauty, and fucking great goals
Second Period:
Third Period:
Senators/Lightning Game Summary in Drawing Form
2
James Day Preview: Ottawa Hosts The Tampagain Lightning
“HIYA FOLKS!” – You, coming home to your parents’ house, pretending you’re not high.
What more is there to say about the week that was other than:
Sharing the laughter and loooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooove.
But it wasn’t all hipchecks betwixt dudes that we’re traded for each other since the “Bolts” (cool nickname!) last met the “Sens” (much cooler nickname).
We’ve seen solid goaltending, weak goaltending, Stephane DaCosta with his trademark multi-goal game and Platinum Angel Kyle Turris with his very own DaCosta-like two goal game in a losing effort against the Canes…what else? Jason Spezza is good again, I’m really starting to like Eric Gryba, ummm Bobby Ryan, Jared Cowen and Turris all missed an open net while in the attacking zone (Life Hack: Just pass it to MacArthur). Anyway, a solid road win and an ugsome afternoon loss…basically an encapsulation of the season.
Let’s focus on Tampa. The biggest plus I took from the last game against them was, yes, it was great to see Ottawa battle back 3 times but to me what was important was that they scored on Ben Bishop just in general. I still trip out over the fact that on skates his waist is at the same level as the crossbar. He looked huge all through the beginning of the game and was getting in the way of everything Ottawa was throwing at him. Spezza, Turris, Michalek (back from the dead?), and Spezza combined for 17 shots that game and none of them finished the game with a goal. Despite losing in the shootout, a reminder for tonight: do NOT go up against Bishop in the shootout!, I was very happy to see them make him look human and get a few past him. Especially late in the game. Last thing this team needs is a monster division rival goalie (THANKS Brybama!) who can get in our boys heads.
Honestly, Tampa Bay reminds me a lot of Montreal, a team that is not devoid of good players, in fact some great ones are in the mix, but if that goaltending falters? Not that intimidating. It’s teams like the Lightning (14th in the East last season) that make me confident that if Ottawa could just get some shit [goaltending / defense] to really click on a consistent basis they could do some damage. Come talk shit with me!
I guess no better place to start than…continuing to talk about goalies.
The gap betwixt games has given coach MacLean the opportunity to ride Anderson in net and its worked out pretty well. Ottawa is a surprising 5-2-3 in their last 10 and Anderson has been a huge part of that. I found against the Jackets he was his trademark combination of great positioning, timely acrobatic saves, and straight up good luck. Not even hating with the luck comment. You have to have a bit of that to succeed.
This is all we need from him here on out: Consistency, Consistency, Consistency, Consistency, Consistency, Consistency, Consistency, Consistency, Consistency, Consistency, Consistency, Consistency, Consistency, Consistency, Consistency, Consistency, Consistency.
Anderson is a pretty impressive 6-2-3 against Tampa with 3 of those wins shutouts. I know, when did THAT happen?
After this morning’s skate Paul MacLean announced Robin Lehner has been upgraded to “bread, water and 1 hour of yard time” so…pretty good progress there.
Bishop is a perfect 3-0 against the Sens since being traded to the Lightning so…this brings me to the next item of business:
Hood Pope Cory ChronicHerb
What? It’s his rap alia$. Anyway, I’m not even bringing him up to pick that trade apart. What’s done is done. I can see taking a Calder candidate over the Oilers offer of Ryan Jones (?) for Bishop. I’m aware that he’s not riding shotgun with Stamkos anymore (welcome to your playing with DaCosta on the fourth line years!) but Conacher can you please choose a time to become a “Lighting killer”?
RANT: Maybe it’s that our team is heavily built ‘in-house’ but do we have any “<Insert team> killer” guys on this squad? Sure Anderson plays really well against his former Panthers club but does that REALLY count as an NHL team? You’re telling me I had to watch JOE CORVO score a hatty against Ottawa when he was a Hurricane for NOTHING? I’m not expecting the world from Conacher but he has 6 goals in 63 games here. He is playing with DaCosta tonight who’s gotta be feeling pretty great about himself right now but on the 4th line it’s hard to expect a lot of output. You know what? Just go out there and HAVE FUN……………………………but seriously score some fucking goals.
Karlsson Korner:
The Glamours Child looks to continue is just supreme play (now featuring hard hits!). It’s funny as I feel like EK is pretty consistently heralded as one of the best players in the game yet I still think he is underrated. It’s called being a homer, its probably not in the dictionary LOOK IT UP. Anyway, Karlos the Jackyl had an outstanding game the last time the Sens took on the lightning with a goal and an assist. He has 9 points in his last 7 games and I for one would be in favor of his extending this streak. Its crazy to think that the Senators have 4 forwards currently on pace to score between 20 and 30 goals and Karlsson has at least a 9 point lead on all of them. Hail.
Factoid of the day: Karlsson currently trails Chris Phillips for second in all time scoring among Ottawa Senators defensemen by 70 points. He has only 836 games to catch up though.
We in the club like:
Christopher, Christopher and Associates.
GREAT! You woke up Old Man Phillips.
Hey Lover,
As a creep [See: above line], I’ve been going about my business creeping on message boards and twitter and in my travels I keep coming across something I’d like to discuss with you up in that tree fort over there.
Recent injuries to veteran Christophers Neil and Phillips have seen their newly minted Associate Assistant Captain duties assigned to other deserving players in the line up. We’ve seen the “A” affixed to the uniforms of Marc Methot, Kyle Turris and delightful wood sprite Erik Karlsson over the course of the season. You know what? The letter has looked good on each of them.
Since these fine young lads have taken so well to the letter, I have encountered a number of fans speculating who will take over the role of assistant captain next year. Particularly with regard to Phillips whom many think is on his way out. Your father and I have become very concerned that you’re going to be hurt by this.
I’m afraid you’re setting yourself up to be among the many people who will be disappointed when Chris Phillips is re-signed for maybe two more years after this season. Make no mistake here, I’m definitely not saying that I want that, I wish the team would get real-real with him and say, “Thanks for your years of dedication but the organization has decided to move on.”
I am personally of the opinion that Eric Gryba, who is the lowest paid player on the team by the way…YES he makes less than Matt Kassian, could handily take over Big Rig’s role on the team. It’s not going to happen though. Gryba wouldn’t be included in proposed trades if he was a lock for a future spot on the team.
Let’s look at the cold hard facts: Phillips has 1100+ games / 100+ playoff appearances in an Ottawa uniform, wears an A and owns a goddamn RESTOBAR in town. That’s not even touching the PR mess that was the organization letting their beloved captain walk a little over 6 months ago.
Murray is desperate to buy und Phillips is desperate to sell. They’re the original odd couple! Phillips is so entrenched here, I think he’d even take like $900K to stick around if he has to. HE EVEN HAS A SUPPLEMENTAL INCOME! I’ll be interested to see how that plays out as both sides appear to have leverage.
The other misconception with #4 is that because he LOOKS old that there’s an assumption that he is retiring soon. A lot of people seem to be under the impression that it will be at the end of this season. I’m going to knock your socks off here, dude is but 35 years of age. Perspective: Rap-rocker Joe Corvo is 36! My feeling is that despite Philly’s advancing age and declining play, he is not yet old enough or bad enough that the he wont be kept on in his current mentor role and for a minute.
“But what of the trade deadline,” ye might ask, “on an expiring deal wouldn’t he be the perfect veteran pick up for a contender?”
No! That ship has totally sailed. If Ottawa were going to get a return on Phillips it would have had to have been during Yon Great Fire Sale of 2011. Instead they inked him to an EVEN AT THAT TIME overly long, overly generous 3 year/$3.5MM per year deal.
As for suitors, I can’t really think of a team that would consider themselves a contender who would be looking for a bottom pairing D man who’s been so-so this season for their playoff run. Sure he’s been to a Final but that was 7 years ago now…also on a team that didn’t win. Remember how Murray could barely give away Alex Kovalev? That guy had over 1000 points, numerous all star appearances, 2 Olympic medals and a cup ring! I simply cannot see the team giving away one of their associate assistant captains for a conditional seventh round pick.
Anyway, as Gryba shows, those bottom pairing type players are guys teams tend to already have kicking around. A buying team would have to be one with serious injury concerns looking to pick Phillips up as depth. Plus I generally think they straight up wont shop him Oh, PLUS+PLUS Phillips has a limited no trade clause. Murray gave him a pretty nutso deal last time around (3rd highest paid D man!) I can totally see him getting TWO more years. It would be a one year deal that would be the surprise for me.
As for Neil, the conversation is a much shorter one: Bro is a fourth liner who makes nearly $2MM until 2016. The Sharks apparently wanted him in 2011, instead Ottawa locked him up until he turns 37. Don’t see Neiler as movable now or at least until the 2016 trade deadline and who knows what his game will look like then.
Anyway, maybe you’re fine with all this. I’ve made peace with it and if you haven’t, well, I’m not trying to bum you out or whatever just trying to brace you for what I think is to come. If it were up to me, this is an area where I wish the organization would pass the torch a little bit. They made a good step with the Spezza captaincy and, yes, my picks would be Karlsson and Turris for the A’s. Maybe one day we will see them in that role but I think we’re going to have to wait a while to see it.
James Day Preview: Ottawa To Play Landmark ‘Actual Important Game’ In ‘Lumbus
Executive Producer: Ken Burns
Hey there, hi there.
Let’s start this off in the Konfession Korner:
I have never previewed an Ottawa-Columbus game of any import before today. I hope I don’t screw this up! What’s that? Hard to screw up when your standard is “Refried Garbage”? Well, looks like we’re BOTH in luck then! Come away with me…
I don’t know how many more times they will be allowed to hit “Continue” by the grace of the Toilet Bowl Conference but the Sens once again get another shot at…well, at this point I’m going to describe it as “taking steps toward” a Wild Card spot. Sure, only three points separate Les Boys and Detroit, but you have to be a bit humble to the fact that Ottawa does have three additional teams separating them from the Wings. Heyyyyyyy including The Columbian Blue Coats. HOLY FREEDOMY BELLS OF FREEDOM THEY ARE PLAYING EACH OTHER TONIGHT! #bellletstalk about it!
One of the main reason’s Ottawa’s even in the hunt still? These chaps:
Platinum Angel Kyle Turris and Clarke “Underrated Flow” MacArthur. These guys! Turris is quickly becoming lauded as the best trade of Bryan Murray’s tenure here in Ottawa. It hurt when the trade went down but Turris is going from “Solid acquisition” to “maybe best bang for the buck player in the NHL”. Is it just me or does he seem to improve with each game? With Jason Spezza having a spotty go at a season with high expectations, how much heat has Turris taken off the captain by seamlessly sliding into the top centre position. Much as I respected him as a player, this is something Mike Fisher could never have done.
If Turris is perhaps Murray’s best trade, is it safe to say that MacArthur is fast becoming his best FA signing? I’ve been saying since the off-season (no reference needed WHAT IS THIS WICKEDPEDIA?) that MacArthur would surprise Sens fans….but ahh…I did not expect 2nd in points on the team at any point in the year. Just outstanding work. MacArthur is right up there with Bobby Ryan on my list of “Operation: Give All the Monies To Re-Sign” players. The unbelievable roll the 16-7-6 line has been on has been keeping Ottawa in some games they don’t even deserve to be in. Thanks fellers!
A big night for Bobby Ryan is on the horizon. I mean it has to be. He’s in a bit of a goal slump yes but he’s still a factor game and game out and he’s actually still been wracking up points. He’s a 30 goal scorer not an 82 scorer. There’s going to be the odd dry spell.
“I’d blame player 61 [for my decision to put Greening on Spezza’s wing]” – Paul MacLean
Get Well Get Well Soon We Want You To Get Well Mark Stone! Just when the kid was getting into a little groove eh? Someone on Twitter brought up a terrifying comparison of Stone to Martin Havlat. Obviously crazy early on both the performance and injury fronts but already the poor guy has seemed to suffer a setback as soon as he’s gotten something going. High praise to dole out to a guy who’s got a goal and an assist on the season but it’s as much a shame for Spezza as it is Stone. MacLean looked like he was going to keep the 19-61 combo intact for you know…A COUPLE GAMES. Again Spezza sees his linemates shuffled and Colin Greening is the latest contestant. Luckily the Sens have a line that’s really clicking as Greenzo has but 3 more goals than Stone this season despite playing FORTY-FIVE MORE GAMES THAN HIM. Ugh, I think I’d like Greening more if he wasn’t locked up until the futuristic year 2017. Michalek, who I thought was one of the Senators best players on Saturday, will complete the jazz trio. Oh and one more thing:
Chris Phillips’ Injury Is The New Chris Neil Injury!
Kinda mean? Lil mean. As much of a fan favorite as Neil is, I think it was pretty cool to get a sneak peak at the future when Neil’s injury opened a spot for M. Stone Shyamalan. Despite being only 3 goals behind Dany Heatley IN A CONTRACT YEAR, Neil’s not exactly had his best season. For me, it was welcome to see some young blood injected into the lineup tonight for a good stretch there. With Phillips’ undisclosed injury, we’ll get a glimpse at a youthful backend some of the teams developing rearguards (much better).
One of the duos will be Patrick “Still 2nd in points among defenders despite sitting out 20 games” Wiercioch and local hero Cody Ceci. Ceci, who just got word he’d be spending the rest of this storm tossed season with the Sens *throws confetti* has been paired mostly with the defensively responsible (pointing!) Phillips. It will be interesting to see if MacLean will let these two offense-minded young pups eat ice cream and stay up to watch Saturday Night Live or if he’ll assign them each to Old Man Methot or Nightwatchman Gryba at the sign of the first mistake. Pretty exciting pairing if you ask me……………….ASK ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! … Moving on…
Craig Anderson starts after a pretty unfortunate performance by Robin Lehner on the weekend. Not even down on Lehnny, every goalie has games like that (RIGHT CRAIG ANDERSON) and he’ll bounce back. Now that he’s slowly but surely put together a 16-10-7 record and as a part of 39 of the Senators points, Craig has re-established himself as the team’s starter. Games like Saturday’s show that when Anderson has an off night we can’t necessarily expect Robin Lehner to jump in there and save the day. Truth be told the season’s hanging on a balance to the point that both guys have to rise to the challenge and it’s going to fall on Andy the majority of the time. Let’s hope that he redesigns his mask is up to the task.
Former Senator for 25 minutes, Curtis McElhinney who is luckily not a human being named Sergei Bobrovsky gets the nod for the Blue J’s.
Huge, huge two points tonight…and every other night for the rest of the season so…just go out there and HAVE FUN! …but seriously win this fucking game.
Enjoy the game!
The Shit List is Back
If you haven’t had a chance to see the following video, courtesy of Travis Yost, it’s as good a place as any to start:
Jeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeezus.
Yost ably breaks it down, but it’s about what you’d expect: a greatest hits of Senators duds for the season.
Chris Neil, fresh back in the lineup after a glorious few games off with a lower body injury (in which Ottawa won most of its games – post hoc ergo propter hoc?) is his usual self, which is to say a total disaster. I’ll say it again: for a guy who takes more penalties than he draws, can’t drive possession, and doesn’t put up points, if you’re not setting an example by working hard, then why are you even out there?
Jared Cowen continues to steer like a battleship and, somehow, lose his stick about 45% of the time. Someone needs to develop a metric for amount of time spent playing without a stick. Cowen has to be top ten in the league at this point.
Greening shouldn’t have to show offensive upside to justify his presence on this team. His value should start with plugging and anything extra is gravy. But he continues to demonstrate that in the absence of scoring, these occasional gaffes and lost battles start to weigh the team down; you feel like there’s nothing balancing out the negative side of the ledger.
Lehner, haven not been given a chance to play in weeks, is thrown to the wolves for a midday game, and looked awful. Unlike Anderson, he’ll probably not receive any benefit of the doubt and a start next game. Like most of us, he’s probably just looking ahead to next season.
The result: the Carolina Hurricanes – the 20th best team in the league and 23rd in the league in team possession – make the Ottawa Senators look like an OHL team. This was a painful game to watch.
Ultimately, I’m fine with players having down seasons. It happens. The key is to recognize the underlying value of the player, adapt their ice time and zone starts to account for their tough go, not overreact and give away the farm in an attempt to salvage the season, and just work away at it. The very good teams have the depth to plug those holes. Ottawa doesn’t. But it can limit exposure to, at least, those players who continuously demonstrate themselves to be possession black holes and defensive liabilities. When, week after week, month after month, the same players are sent over the boards to make the same mistakes…the seasons starts to become a bit of a grind. When Bobby Ryan gets 16 minutes of ice time and Milan Michalek gets 17, or Chris Neil is a “core” player, well, you start to wonder.
I don’t mind MacLean giving Anderson and Spezza the time they need to recover, because they have a ceiling the other players don’t. On a poor team without a lot of depth, you have to get these guys going if you’re going to compete. But there doesn’t seem to be much excuse for using Jared Cowen as a first pairing defensemen at this point in the season, even if his numbers have recovered somewhat. There doesn’t seem to be much excuse to bury Methot on the depth chart, or scratch Wiercioch so much.
And there really, really isn’t any excuse at all to be playing Chris Neil, a complete boat anchor in terms of everything except, we’re told, intangibles.
At this point in the season, the number of players who you have to think Ottawa would be glad to get any return for is growing. My own personal Shit List, in descending order of least favorite players, and keeping their contract cost in mind, is: Neil, Michalek, Greening, Phillips, Cowen, Spezza, Concacher. For those first three, at the deadline I’d be happy to see Ottawa get anything back, from replacement level NHL players to picks to longshot prospects.
Commemorating Christoph Neil’s 100th Tally
A Steven original!
You’ve come a long way, guy who looks like a giant baby!
James Day Preview: The Capital Gains Klassique
Hi everyone,
Should we talk about how we are living in a Frozen Crystal Daymare or just skip tha–
HOCKEY!!!
Great choix.
Man, They (?) weren’t kidding going into the season when They (??) said it would be tougher than ever to nab a playoff spot with the new divisions and the Olympic break, huh? Eastern Conference: The Relentless Stare at the Standings Continues!
After failing to GIT-R-DONE (Trademark, WTYKY) against both Montreal and New York the Eastern Conference AGAIN has #blessed our boys in Red, White, Black, Some Sparkly Gold Trim and occasionally Off White with an opportunity to not just advance in the fight over the playoff Wild Card but potentially into a legit (and tenuous!) playoff spot. Goddamn! This season is like a video game with unlimited continues!
With some of our closest competitors ‘Lumbus (vs. LA), New Jersey (vs.St. Lou), Toronto due for a loss (Side note: TO currently riding their first 5 game winning streak IN SEVEN YEARS…god no wonder their fans are so miserable) against some tough competition, tonight could prove to be a profitable one for the Sens…that is of course if they caaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaare.
What? Not an unreasonable concern after Saturday’s rotten egg against the Rangers. Woof, Methot (Heyyyyyyy who I just found out is hurt)’s goal early on only made things worse. After watching them go up 1-0 less than four minutes in, I sat up straight all, “HERE we go. Ottawa’s finally going to bring it during one of these afternoon games WHERE THEY ARE ACTUALLY SUPPOSED TO BE AT AN ADVANTAGE!!!” My bad. Whatever these things happen, after all, Pittsburgh lost 5-1 to Florida last night, so, circle of life?
Anyway, there’s stuff to talk about…tonight’s game for instance!
Please Welcome Stephane DaCostco Who’s Been Called Up To Address Ottawa’s Needs At Centre!
With Binghamton’s only winger Mark Stone suffering an injury in practice yesterday, the Senators have recalled one of their dozens of centres to fill his spot. Not saying I am mad at the recall of DaCosta, bro has been tearing up the A (really, really sorry) of late and an injury call up to reward him is not unreasonable. What’s that? He’ll be pivot to Greening and Neil on the fourth line? Okay, what is unreasonable is to expect points from him. The impression that I get is that a lot of people are extremely low on SDC as the memory of his uneventful early season shot is apparently still fresh. I am definitely realistic to the fact that there likely isn’t room for him in the lineup going forward but I don’t think I’m ready to give up on the guy entirely. Actually, looking back at his numbers, I’m pretty impressed that he finished with a +1 considering how brutally bad the Sens were out of the gate. Anyway, he went back down and kept a point per game pace with the B-Sens. Good on him, hope he does well and if it’s a showcase for a trade well…let’s hope he helps the Sens and himself.
Turns out Paul MacLean is a man of principles but even he has his limits.
What am I talking about? Well, if a player from the team YOU coach was having sex with YOUR wife would you let them play? This is clearly what’s been going behind the scenes. What else could explain signing a player to 3 year contract only to play him in 6 more games than Matt Kassian? Either way, an injury to Marc Methot in practice yesterday has forced Coach to put the philanderer back into the lineup. He’ll play on the 3rd pairing with Eric Gryba. So we’re all caught up on our defensive 3rd pairing news.
What’s next? Let’s see here, Ah, *puts on tiny reading glasses* “Talk About the Third Line”… *Takes off tiny reading glasses, shuffles through papers, puts tiny reading glasses back on* Oh, okay, Smith-Spezza-Condra…….mmhmm…yeah that sounds like something that would happen.
Is that maybe the weirdest line in a season of weird lines? A defensive minded, physical centre, a point per game play making first line centre and a penalty killer. Okay, Smith and Condra may not be a couple of Johnny Muplighters but they are pretty competent linemates. Also, they are at home on third line. My focus is on this question: Is there any excuse for Jason Spezza to not fucking shred his competition tonight? Presuming he faces the 3rd pairing at some points he’ll be deking his way past John Erskine and Connor Carrick (Side note: Congrats on your 11th NHL career game tonight, Brometheus!). I don’t know, some sources are reporting this is the second line (Ed note: Perhaps even weirder to have that as your 2nd line?) but I’m thinking MacLean rolls his lines and this Spezza combo is a 2B. Is it too much to expect that if he even gets a sniff of that bottom pairing of Erskine-Carrick that he should make it look like a powerplay? No some disrespect to the Caps but this is a guy, a team captain, whom I’ve seen get assigned Sidney Crosby in multiple playoff series (with less than sexy results but I digress!). It’s easy to say here that the mighty have fallen but with the emergence of Turris and the steady play of Zibanejad the idea of Spezza playing in the bottom six presents him an opportunity to skate circles (OR WHO KNOWS WHAT SHAPE(s)!) around lesser players. The price tag for such an opportunity however…is…let’s talk about something else!
Please See National Geographic Photo Above Before Reading
After what I feel, frankly, were two turds against Montreal and New York, Craig Anderson gets the start again tonight for some reason. I don’t know who MacLean is trying to get in the head of more here, Andy or Lehner. Look, I’m not going to pretend that I’ve already forgotten the Anderson just helped Ottawa through its strongest stretch of the season but has anyone else felt like he’s had that shaky look to him the past couple of games? I really hope Paul MacLean’s apparent policy of “right the good ship Anderson at all costs” pays off tonight. And hey if all these Anderson starts contribute to Lehner playing angry down the line. I am INTO it.
Enjoy the game!
Who should Ottawa target at the deadline?
Ottawa is in a fairly unique situation among NHL teams, in that they’re (occasionally) competitive, with loads of cap room, and the prospects to upgrade. Really, the only other team in this situation is Colorado, maybe the Rangers. But I see on various blogs (and not just the Ottawa-centric ones) how Ottawa is a team that could make some noise if they went out and got that extra piece at the deadline. They’re having their occasionally dominates stretches of possession. Their goaltending, though still all over the place some nights, can lock it down and frustrate opponents, seemingly out of nowhere. It’s all hearsay and speculation, but when fans of other teams start really paying attention to Ottawa, I think it’s mildly indicative. It’s at least exciting.
Leaving aside where Ottawa would actually get the cash from, let’s look at some of the expiring contracts for 2014 and 2015, which could represent trade targets. I’ve only taken wingers because 1) that’s what Murray is rumoured to be looking for, and 2) when you take a look at the pending UFA defencemen, you’ll see it’s not even worth writing about. Unless you think Henrik Tallinder is an upgrade on Chris Phillips.
Oh, and I’ve only looked at teams who could be sellers. Sure, Thornton and Marleau are pending UFAs, but I don’t see San Jose packing it in this season.
Here’s what we’ve got.
| Gaborik, Marian » |
R |
CLB |
31 |
$7,500,000 |
| Vanek, Thomas » |
L |
NYI |
29 |
$7,142,857 |
| Alfredsson, Daniel » |
R |
DET |
41 |
$5,500,000 |
| Hemsky, Ales » |
R |
EDM |
30 |
$5,000,000 |
| Whitney, Ray » |
L |
DAL |
41 |
$4,500,000 |
| Callahan, Ryan » |
R |
NYR |
28 |
$4,275,000 |
| Jagr, Jaromir » |
R |
NJD |
41 |
$4,000,000 |
| Moulson, Matt » |
L |
BUF |
30 |
$3,133,333 |
| Samuelsson, Mikael » |
R |
DET |
37 |
$3,000,000 |
| Vrbata, Radim » |
R |
PHX |
32 |
$3,000,000 |
| Jokinen, Jussi » |
L |
PIT |
30 |
$3,000,000 |
| Bouchard, Pierre-Marc » |
R |
NYI |
29 |
$2,000,000 |
| Havlat, Martin » |
R |
SJS |
32 |
$5,000,000 |
| Dubinsky, Brandon » |
L |
CLB |
27 |
$4,200,000 |
| Stafford, Drew » |
R |
BUF |
28 |
$4,000,000 |
Some interesting options in there, but let’s start with what would easily be the most intriguing: Daniel Alfredsson.
I’m going to go out on a limb and say he’s got some comfort with the market. There’s probably not a lot to worry about when it comes to chemistry. Would it be awkward? For a minute or two, then we’d all dig our Alfredsson jerseys out from the bottom of the trunk where we buried them, and get ready to chant his name at 11:11. He thought Detroit would give him a better chance to win. Well, maybe they still do. But as of right now Detroit is not in a playoff spot.
Now, if Daniel Alfredsson is going to be traded at the deadline, it would likely be to an honest-to-goodness contender. San Jose or Los Angeles or something. (Imagine, for a moment, if Alfredsson was traded to the league-leading Ducks – the franchise that beat his Senators in the Final in 2007, and now including former Senator Jakob Silfverberg. Would you cheer for them in the playoffs? Talk about being conflicted.) But if it’s a comfort thing – somewhere where his family will be familiar and somewhere where he will be appreciated – well, I can think of no better destination.
I put both Callahan and Dubinsky on the list, even though New York and Columbus are both pretty close to a playoff spot and probably won’t be sellers, but those are the type of guys who you know managers salivate over adding to a playoff-bound team. They produce points, their possession stats are respectable, and they have all of those delicious intangible bullshitty things like handshakedness and stick-to-it-iveness that coaches and GMs love.
I don’t see Jagr being traded, and if he is I don’t see him being traded to Ottawa. But how amazing would it be if Jaromir Fucking Jagr played for Ottawa, even if only for a couple of months.
For basically any of these guys I think Ottawa would have to trade one of their better prospects – a Puempal, maybe even a Lazar (though we hear he’s untouchable). Mark Stone seems pretty entrenched where he is, but I imagine he’s got a few GMs’ attention at this point. And then there are several second tier prospects who are performing well in the AHL, but who may never be NHL players – your Shane Princes and Mike Hoffmans. All of them, along with a second round pick, would surely be up for grabs for the players on this list.
Sound off in the comments: should Ottawa be looking to buy? If so, who should they target?
Weekend Grab Bag: The Hockiest Hockey to Ever Hockey
So, this is a thing I found on the internet.
You’d like to think that, on some level, the sport of hockey is moving inexorably towards self-awareness. There’s a gradual acceptance of not just advanced stats, but of basic critical analysis and dedication to evidence. The league has pushed for more and more parity, and so to such a level of competition that teams must find any edge they can – even if that means using logic and predictive analysis. But this week was a reminder that most of what you can see in the aggregate is easily washed away, at least for a few minutes, by the emotion of the moment.
First there was that roller-coaster of a game against the Habs. The team gives up three goals on 11 shots, including a shorthanded goal. The team then absolutely dominates in terms of shots and possession, scoring four unanswered to take the lead. The team then scores on its own net. The team then loses in overtime on a weak shot from the far side of two defensemen. I mean, it just didn’t make any sense from start to finish. It was chaos out there.
And sometimes all you can say is that that’s hockey at its most maddening, its most arbitrary. That Subban then celebrated as he did (which I’m fine with) only served to rub in a loss that, if we’re being realistic about it, we shouldn’t really feel all that bad about. If you outshoot your opponent 2-1 on most nights, then most nights you’re going to win. I’ll take that kind of performance, minus Anderson’s creakiness, any night of the week. Andy makes one more save and this whole thing ends differently.
Also something that was So Very Hockey about that game: I love that Ottawa finally gets to be the team to Montreal that Toronto was to Ottawa all those years. We’re the plucky, blue-collar group (relatively speaking). Montreal is the far more skilled team that wilts under pressure. It’s clear these two teams hate each other. And yet, when they get together, Ottawa plays Montreal so well and Montreal seems thoroughly intimidated. I don’t watch enough Habs games to know if they play this small against other clubs, but they look very easy to outmuscle against Ottawa. It’s refreshing to be on the other side of that, and it has nothing to do with advanced stats.
Other things that happened this week that were Just So Fucking Hockey: a team traded a league average goaltender for an expensive role player and then traded a pick for a league average goaltender. Now: try to figure out if they’re better.
I’m trying to put this in a perspective that we can all appreciate. Some of us work in offices. Very few of us get to see reports updated daily on the statistical effectiveness of our coworkers. Rather, we codify each other’s effectiveness in terms of one’s ability to be articulate, professional, friendly, and occasionally deliver a product on time and on budget. This doesn’t always lend itself to the aggregate.
And so while sports, being so statistically quantifiable, does lend itself so, it’s maybe difficult for us to remember that hockey franchises also have “the office,” with all of its intangibles. You’ve heard this all before, usually from commentators who have been in the game for years. It’s the reason why I’ll never understand Chris Neil and why the franchise extends him time and time again. It has to be intangibles. Either that or total incompetence on the part of management, but I think the former much more likely.
Perhaps it’s our instinct, as fans, to try and tear down those things we don’t have access to. To destabilize the exclusivity that is very natural in a world where millionaires sit in a locked room and prepare while the rest of us take the bus out to Kanata. Murray said as much in all of those recent interviews after he was extended: one change when he took over was drafting “quality people.” It’s so ephemeral, so unsatisfying for those of us who never gain access to that side of the game. But we got another reminder this week that to those who make the decisions in this game, hockey is a collection of personalities more than it is of statistical signifiers.
On Tim Murray’s new life in Buffalo: just a quick thought here. There was a bit written about how Murray would prefer Buffalo because of Pegula’s fortune, but I also have to think that that’s a pretty enticing roster. There’s a number of good prospects in Grigorenko, Ristolainen, Zadarov, and (to a lesser degree) Armia; there’s a number of expiring contracts after the year, giving Murray the chance to put his stamp on the team, and an opportunity to make trades for more picks; there’re only a couple of stinky contracts, including Myers, Ehrhoff, and Leino, who aren’t entirely ineffective players. And then, sure, there’s Pegula’s money.
If you had the opportunity to rebuild any team in the league, you could do a lot worse than Buffalo. Certainly given the choice between Buffalo and Calgary right now, I know who I’d pick.
Senators/Canadiens Game Summary in Drawing Form
First Period:
Sens down 3
*******Karlsson magic******
Second Period:
Third Period:
Overtime:
Zip it, P.K.
Welcome To Your Karlsson Years 