Bobby B

Assuming that Murray waived Lee to make room for a callup, it stands to reason that Butler will come up. Do you think he'll make an impact? Will they give him time to make an impact? Who sits to make room (or do they just let one of the seemingly many injured forwards finally take some time off)?

I know the AHL is a very different animal that the bigs, but what do you think?

Lee cleared waivers but is still with the club. From what's bee reported, Murray is still trying to work a trade -- hoping someone would take Lee for nothing, finding out it ain't so, then going back to trying to make a trade -- all those do not make me feel very encouraged. If nobody wanted him for free, then the only trade would be for spoiled assets coming back, so no cap clearance.

However, supposing the cap is somehow cleared, I think Butler could put up Foligno/Regin numbers playing 25 games, but the expectation is that Foligno/Regin should be putting up 40+ points. Each. Unless Butler comes in and produces at that clip, I doubt he gets more than a half-dozen games -- enough to give each of the under-achievers a couple of games off.

More and more I'm thinking the obvious move is to convert one or two of our 8 roster D-men (Lee still counts against the cap) into a forward for a few games, giving Clouston the opportunity to sit some of the "regular" forwards out.

spader wrote:Assuming that Murray waived Lee to make room for a callup, it stands to reason that Butler will come up. Do you think he'll make an impact? Will they give him time to make an impact? Who sits to make room (or do they just let one of the seemingly many injured forwards finally take some time off)?

I know the AHL is a very different animal that the bigs, but what do you think?

This is exactly right in some of its points. If Butler is to come up to Ottawa, they need to make sure they give him time to make an impact. I've said before in one of the threads that you can't call him up here, plop him on the 4th line for 7 minutes a game and try to assess him like that, this is a kid that was leading the entire AHL in goals (he's now 2nd to Andrew Gordon, a guy that's spent 3 years in the AHL and is in his 4th full pro year). A rookie a goal away from a 4 year pro is something that is absolutely amazing. Previous to Luke Adam being called up to the Sabres, they were neck and neck in goals, Adam would score, Butler would score and on and on until finally Butler wrestled that away from him. The difference is that Adam in a 2nd round pick, 44th overall, Butler was a free agent signing).

Butler needs to come up and take Alfredsson's spot next to Spezza on the right side. Alfredsson needs to filter down to wing on Fisher's line and Kovalev needs to replace Regin on the top line until such a time that Regin gets going. And that's nothing against Regin, he's been very solid, but he's not scoring, so he needs to center the 4th line with Foligno and Winchester/Shannon IMO. 15+ minutes a night, top line duties, top line PP, let's see if this kid can score at the NHL level like he did in the NCAA and like he's doing in the AHL.

The only thing I'm nervous about is that he's not even 190 pounds yet - and he might get knocked around a lot. I think that's what the Sens organization is waiting for, for him to bulk up to ~195 so he doesn't get destroyed out there, but we've seen how fast he is - even in traffic - and how filthy good a shot he has.

I look forward to a callup for Bobby Butler - and I truly think this guy is going to be a 20 goal man in the NHL minimum, but there's something to be said for allowing him to have the entire year in the AHL, bulking up and preparing for Kovalev's departure next year.

Well said SpezzD, we can't put Butler on the 3rd or 4th line. This guy will thrive with top 6 minutes. Injuries are a hell of a thing though, and clearly either of Alfie, Fisher, Michalek, or Kovalev are about to go on the shelf....reaaaal soon. Butler will have to be called up then to fill in for the injured, and that will most likely be a good enough indication of whether he can hang around the big boys for the rest of the season.

also, Z. Smith is needed back up. No doubt him and Butler will be the callups once the aforementioned take some time off.

I agree with both of you. If he's gonna play on the 4th line, leave him in the AHL. There's no point bringing him up if we don't at least try him out playing in a top-flight scoring role.

Also, Michallica, I too would love to see Smith come back up. I don't understand why so many are playing through injuries at this point. Why we're risking so much to hang on to 9th or 10th is beyond me. Call up some replacements and lets see what they can do.

spader wrote:I agree with both of you. If he's gonna play on the 4th line, leave him in the AHL. There's no point bringing him up if we don't at least try him out playing in a top-flight scoring role.

Also, Michallica, I too would love to see Smith come back up. I don't understand why so many are playing through injuries at this point. Why we're risking so much to hang on to 9th or 10th is beyond me. Call up some replacements and lets see what they can do.

Especially since it's not helping the team score or win.

That's what I mean. Fisher, with the exception of the Toronto game, has looked awful. Alfie and Michalek certainly don't seem to be playing at 100%. Isn't the little bit of cap space that we have to account for injuries? It's like holding on to a timeout for some future "just in case" even though the team clearly is about to finish blowing a 3 goal lead.

Why wait, when waiting will make it unnecessary for all the wrong reasons?

Scores again tonight. His fifteenth of the year.

Sick. Leave him in Bingo though. Better he play a starring role there and give Bingo a chance to seriously compete rather than languish in Ottawa in a bad situation playing < 7 minutes a night.

hemlock wrote:Sick. Leave him in Bingo though. Better he play a starring role there and give Bingo a chance to seriously compete rather than languish in Ottawa in a bad situation playing < 7 minutes a night.

That's the thing, if the Sens are gonna give him a quick look/taste of the big league, then they need to play him with Spezza at all times except PK. He should be logging 15-18 minutes a night, anything less is a complete waste of time and I'd rather see him stay there.

SpezDispenser wrote:

hemlock wrote:Sick. Leave him in Bingo though. Better he play a starring role there and give Bingo a chance to seriously compete rather than languish in Ottawa in a bad situation playing < 7 minutes a night.

That's the thing, if the Sens are gonna give him a quick look/taste of the big league, then they need to play him with Spezza at all times except PK. He should be logging 15-18 minutes a night, anything less is a complete waste of time and I'd rather see him stay there.

Exactly. Injury call ups are fine, but if Murray calls him up to give him a shot, do just that. Put him in a position to succeed.

Predictions? Anyone think BB will have a noteworthy game?

spader wrote:Predictions? Anyone think BB will have a noteworthy game?

I'd say he's a non-factor after playing 2 games in 2 nights, but he's got the skill to do it.

Well, he looked great in the first. Unfortunately, I couldn't watch much of the rest of the game. How'd he look?

Didn't really notice him after the first TBH.