The Hockey News: Sens to miss playoffs

i think the duo of rask/thomas is a pretty strong one. one of them can stand-up if the other falls.

One of the Hockey News reasons for us missing the playoffs was our goaltending - which is fair, but I HIGHLY doubt Leclaire has a worse season than last year, I think it's uphill, certainly not downhill on a sub .900 season.

Then they wonder who in the top six is going to score goals - can Butler or Wick do it?

What? 1.Alfie 2.Spezza 3.Kovalev 4.Fisher 5.Michalek 6.Regin 7.Foligo

I count 7 before we even get to Butler or Wick. 5 of the 7 are 20+ goal guys, Regin and Foligno (18) are higher on the depth charts than Butler and Wick - which THN should probably know.

So I'm reading the new Hockey News and I get to the page where they list the teams depth and players. I look over Ottawa's and I see the defence like this:

1.Chris Phillips 2.Chris Campoli
3.Sergei Gonchar 4.Matt Carkner
5.Erik Karlsson 6.Brian Lee

Now, besides the way the D is set up there, does anyone else see the somewhat glaring issue there?

SpezDispenser wrote:So I'm reading the new Hockey News and I get to the page where they list the teams depth and players. I look over Ottawa's and I see the defence like this:

1.Chris Phillips 2.Chris Campoli
3.Sergei Gonchar 4.Matt Carkner
5.Erik Karlsson 6.Brian Lee

Now, besides the way the D is set up there, does anyone else see the somewhat glaring issue there?

Maybe we didn't get the memo that Kuba vanished into thin air....

SpezDispenser wrote:So I'm reading the new Hockey News and I get to the page where they list the teams depth and players. I look over Ottawa's and I see the defence like this:

1.Chris Phillips 2.Chris Campoli
3.Sergei Gonchar 4.Matt Carkner
5.Erik Karlsson 6.Brian Lee

Now, besides the way the D is set up there, does anyone else see the somewhat glaring issue there?

Are you implying that Kuba will make the team over Lee??? pfft, khh, huhgh, wha... Please.

But I have THN's Ultimate Hockey Pool Guide, the one where they make all the point predictions. They have the defence like this:
Left Defense Right Defense
1. Chris Phillips Filip Kuba
2. Sergei Gonchar Chris Campoli
3. Erik Karlsson Matt Carkner

And just for fun, they have Karlsson projected for 43 points, Gonchar for 59, Regin for 41, and Alfie at 67 in 72 games.

Yeah, I missed that memo for sure. In that case, can we now acquire Savard?

SpezDispenser wrote:So I'm reading the new Hockey News and I get to the page where they list the teams depth and players. I look over Ottawa's and I see the defence like this:

1.Chris Phillips 2.Chris Campoli
3.Sergei Gonchar 4.Matt Carkner
5.Erik Karlsson 6.Brian Lee

Now, besides the way the D is set up there, does anyone else see the somewhat glaring issue there?

We should definitely try to trade Brian Lee for a second pairing guy like Filip Kuba, I think that'll help round out the d-corps.

You know what's amusing about that PKC? I bet if we didn't have Kuba, we'd all be talking about how nice it would be to acquire that 'veteran presence on the backend'.

i wonder if ottawa will invite any unsigned UFA's to camp this year for a tryout. there are still some decent players available.

svatos
guerin
morrison
williams
comrie
lilja

111519 wrote:i wonder if ottawa will invite any unsigned UFA's to camp this year for a tryout. there are still some decent players available.

svatos
guerin
morrison
williams
comrie
lilja

Svatos and Morrison are interesting, but at the same time, we desperately need to give guys like Regin, Foligno, Wick/Butler etc. the chance to play NHL hockey - and that would take time away from them. I would stay the course and add players when we're closer to being a contender (for the Cup that is).

I always laugh when I look at predictions this year. Every SINGLE prediction I've seen puts Sens 10th in the East.

I do understand that Sens probably were higher last year than they should have been. And I get that teams like Philly, Boston are likely to have improved this next year. But to drop 5 places and miss the playoffs when really, offensively we should have improved and our neutral zone play/power play as well should improve (which was lacking last year). I don't get it.

I will say this, if our goaltending falls, then we will probably have an issue. Our defense need to learn to play a little more defensive game (because we have mainly offensive forwards at this point), and if LeClaire can continue what he finished like last season, we will be set!

Things that will help us.

Spezza has worked extrememly hard this summer, and is apparently in the best shape of his life, even putting on a little more muscle mass. If he continues the way he finished for the entire year, wow!

Kovalev: He's got skill, but is coming off of an injury. If he heals well, and fights for a new contract, he could be great, especially with Gonchar there

LeClaire: If he avoids injury, and continues how he's been playing. Things will be good. He is also in a contract year, so should pick it up a bit, and back with his old goalie coach.

So on the whole, I feel like we will end up anywhere from 6-8th.

*Side note* All my friends (leafs fans) feel like Leafs will be 5-6th next year, and Sens 10-11th. I just don't get it!

I find it hard to think the Sens will finish 6-8, actually. If Boston has even a hiccup they Sens will seriously challenge them for 1st in the NE. For the Sens to get 6th they have to be worse than the other two 2nd place teams in each division. They may not necessarily be *better* than the 2nd place finishers, but they 'd still finish higher.

SensGal wrote:

*Side note* All my friends (leafs fans) feel like Leafs will be 5-6th next year, and Sens 10-11th. I just don't get it!

I don't understand why we're being so underrated? Last year we had a defective starting goalie, a young back-up thrust into the spotlight, Kuba and Campoli were injured the whole year, Spezza was a mess until 40 games left, Michalek went stone cold, Kovalev sucked, Fisher hit the perennial brick wall after 60 games, Foligno had an off year, at one point we had the most immobile backend in history (BK, before Karlsson).

Why are we so underrated? It's almost funny. We still made the playoffs through all of that and people have us finishing out of the playoffs. Okay...we'll see who laughs last.

SpezDispenser wrote:

SensGal wrote:

*Side note* All my friends (leafs fans) feel like Leafs will be 5-6th next year, and Sens 10-11th. I just don't get it!

I don't understand why we're being so underrated? Last year we had a defective starting goalie, a young back-up thrust into the spotlight, Kuba and Campoli were injured the whole year, Spezza was a mess until 40 games left, Michalek went stone cold, Kovalev sucked, Fisher hit the perennial brick wall after 60 games, Foligno had an off year, at one point we had the most immobile backend in history (BK, before Karlsson).

Why are we so underrated? It's almost funny. We still made the playoffs through all of that and people have us finishing out of the playoffs. Okay...we'll see who laughs last.

Honestly I don't get it either. We may have lost some defensive power in Volchenkov (and I'm not including Sutton because he wasn't even there for our big win streak), but we have also gained better neutral zone control and better puck moving and power plays (so we shouldn't necessarily need as much blocking/defensive power). Then like you said, if Kovalev gets better (it is a contract year, so he should fight for it, but may start off slow due to injury), Spezza should be better (he's in tip top shape, and ready to prove it), LeClaire should be decent (contract year, coming off of some of his best games). I don't really see how Sens are getting worse.

I could see them dropping in the standings simply because other teams may have better improvements, but I don't see them below the Leafs (especially not 5-6 spots below them). But usually I keep my mouth shut, and just laugh when the season is done and sens prove they are underrated yet again!

Who within *our* Division has gotten better? I seriously doubt that Seguin will make a difference in Boston in his first year -- their success rests on Rask *not* suffering a sophomore slump and their forwards staying out of injury troubles. Buffalo didn't get better and even with our slew of injuries we were battling them for the lead almost to the end. Sure, some of their players had sub-standard years and will probably do better this year but -- hello? -- so did every team in the league, including the Sens. Montreal squeaked into the playoffs and then traded their MVP. P.K. Subban will find it awfully tough to replace Markov the first month or two. They will be in tough to make the playoffs, IMO. Toronto got a little better since it's pretty difficult to get worse. But did they get *enough* better to pass the Sens? I'm not part of the Toronto Media Elite so I don't have to say "yes".

Boston *should* be better than they were last year, but so should the Sens. Which team will show more of a rebound *may* determine the NE champs. Yes, Buffalo is a dark horse -- they always are with Miller between the pipes -- but I think they're in trouble even with him.

I guess we'll begin to see who is (more) right in about 4 weeks

wprager wrote:Who within *our* Division has gotten better? I seriously doubt that Seguin will make a difference in Boston in his first year -- their success rests on Rask *not* suffering a sophomore slump and their forwards staying out of injury troubles. Buffalo didn't get better and even with our slew of injuries we were battling them for the lead almost to the end. Sure, some of their players had sub-standard years and will probably do better this year but -- hello? -- so did every team in the league, including the Sens. Montreal squeaked into the playoffs and then traded their MVP. P.K. Subban will find it awfully tough to replace Markov the first month or two. They will be in tough to make the playoffs, IMO. Toronto got a little better since it's pretty difficult to get worse. But did they get *enough* better to pass the Sens? I'm not part of the Toronto Media Elite so I don't have to say "yes".

Boston *should* be better than they were last year, but so should the Sens. Which team will show more of a rebound *may* determine the NE champs. Yes, Buffalo is a dark horse -- they always are with Miller between the pipes -- but I think they're in trouble even with him.

I guess we'll begin to see who is (more) right in about 4 weeks

Honestly, I do think the Sens will do well this year. But I don't want to overrate them too much (which is why I think 6-8th place). If all goes well, and players bring it, I can easily say we will end up top of the division. In our division, the problem is is that both buffalo and boston have potential. If Miller plays like he did last year, Buffalo is good. If not, Buffalo stinks. And Boston could have a pretty decent offensive system and if Rask plays well, another decent team. If not, well the team falls a bit.

IMO Buffalo, Boston, and Ottawa could all be top, depending on which team utilizes what they have. I do have faith in the Sens though, and they should be better than last year. I love the fact that all players are in it to work hard and work as a team. It will make the team WAY better!

Either way, I think this year will be awesome to watch, and think the Sens will really bring it! The team has trained hard, and everyone seems TOTALLY gung ho! So I'm sooo excited.

But Miller *did* play lights out last year, and we still battled them for first, despite missing our #1 goalies and out top-minutes D-man, plus other significant injuries (Spezza, Michalek, A-Train, Alfie playing with a hernia, Campoli battling something, flu -- probably missing something as well).

SensGal wrote:I always laugh when I look at predictions this year. Every SINGLE prediction I've seen puts Sens 10th in the East.

I do understand that Sens probably were higher last year than they should have been. And I get that teams like Philly, Boston are likely to have improved this next year. But to drop 5 places and miss the playoffs when really, offensively we should have improved and our neutral zone play/power play as well should improve (which was lacking last year). I don't get it.

I will say this, if our goaltending falls, then we will probably have an issue. Our defense need to learn to play a little more defensive game (because we have mainly offensive forwards at this point), and if LeClaire can continue what he finished like last season, we will be set!

Things that will help us.

Spezza has worked extrememly hard this summer, and is apparently in the best shape of his life, even putting on a little more muscle mass. If he continues the way he finished for the entire year, wow!

Kovalev: He's got skill, but is coming off of an injury. If he heals well, and fights for a new contract, he could be great, especially with Gonchar there

LeClaire: If he avoids injury, and continues how he's been playing. Things will be good. He is also in a contract year, so should pick it up a bit, and back with his old goalie coach.

So on the whole, I feel like we will end up anywhere from 6-8th.

*Side note* All my friends (leafs fans) feel like Leafs will be 5-6th next year, and Sens 10-11th. I just don't get it!

Hey, welcome back. Do you go into hockey hibernation in the summer lol?