Brian Elliott Appreciation Thread

I've got nothing

We need an appreciation thread in appreciation of appreciation threads.....

I always called him Billy Elliott and hoped one day he'd realize his dancing dream......

you had a nice helmet, kudos to using one of my favourite cartoon characters on your lid, Casey Jones rocks. Thanks for getting us in the playoffs last year with your 11 game winning streak, have fun in Colorado.

Thanks for letting soft goals in at the best times. Game 3 against Pittsburgh last year, Poni floats one in from the face-off dot, 2 minutes into the game, killing the crowd - My lasting memory of Brian.

Big Ev wrote:I've got nothing

Haha, kind of figured this would be a short thread

Still one of the best goalie masks I have seen, talent was suspect though.

Well, I appreciate him stepping in and posting a winning record for my team when no one else could or would.

I wish him the best.

SeawaySensFan wrote:Well, I appreciate him stepping in and posting a winning record for my team when no one else could or would.

I wish him the best.

Bah, no sense in reminding anyone that he stepped up at a time when the franchise's goaltending was a mess (Gerber / Auld), carried us into the playoffs last year on the back of a 14-game win streak (a franchise record), played good hockey for the first half of this season (no one seems to recall, but goaltending was NOT a problem in OTT this year until about the first week of December).

Make no mistake, I don't mind this trade. Anderson was the guy I figured we'd be targetting during the UFA period, and I'm happy to see us get a head start on that. But OTT fans can have such god-awful memories & a habit of blaming the wrong people for the team's failures, especially when it comes to goalies. Elliott played 2-3 months of bad hockey for OTT, that's about it. The rest of the time, he gave the team in front of him a confidence that no one -- not Leclaire, Auld, or Gerber -- gave the team. None of this is to say that he's a great goalie, but he's not a piece a Dung like most people here are making out and he deserves a lot more credit & respect than he's getting on this site right now.

Shame on you people with short, bad memories, & shame on you for treating a guy who did as much as he could for this organization, all circumstances considered.

Thank you Brian Elliott.

Thank you for everything you gave to the Ottawa Senators.

You were drafted 291st in the 2003 NHL entry draft – 2nd last overall. Oddly enough, Ottawa is in position to draft 2nd overall in the upcoming draft. I doubt you look at hockey forums on the internet as your life is to awesome for that; but most of the posters on such message boards, would only dream of your life. They sure are quick to criticize though. Christ, these same guys that are making fun of you right now, get all excited when their birthday comes around. Why? They finally get enough money from their parents and grandparents to purchase tickets and watch you play.

You are a proven winner at every level and always showed a desire to get better everyday. A constant professional, I would say. Your teammates loved you and understood the pressure you were under to start as often as you did. Wouldn’t it have been nice to get the proper developmental support from management? A role you could of actually had the best avenue to succeed in.

I wish Ottawa could have helped you in achieving your goals with them. They paid you like a back-up because; no offense, that is what you are right now. You never once thought you were more than that; even though a bigger role was forced upon you on the ice.

As much as fans want to blame you for everything (including their own faults for considering Ottawa as a playoff team this season - divisional winners actually); you tried your best.

You were put into a terrible situation. Again, please remember that Ottawa paid you as a backup, because that is what your experience, age and skill level were at the time of your contract negotiations. Sure, your maturity is beyond your salary limitations, but that is beside the point. Wouldn’t it have been nice if you could have renegotiated your salary once you became the #1 goalie by default? Instead, you just continued to play and be professional.

I am sorry that Ottawa could not find a starting goalie to support you as a backup. A role you were signed to do and one you would have excelled in. I am sorry that you were forced into the playing 75% of Ottawa’s games. That must have been tough at this stage of your development.

I am not sure why I am apologizing so much, you are an NHL hockey player. That is something every kid in Canada dreams of at least once or twice in their childhood.

Enjoy Colorado, best of luck.

CockRoche wrote:Thank you Brian Elliott.

Thank you for everything you gave to the Ottawa Senators.

You were drafted 291st in the 2003 NHL entry draft – 2nd last overall. Oddly enough, Ottawa is in position to draft 2nd overall in the upcoming draft. I doubt you look at hockey forums on the internet as your life is to awesome for that; but most of the posters on such message boards, would only dream of your life. They sure are quick to criticize though. Christ, these same guys that are making fun of you right now, get all excited when their birthday comes around. Why? They finally get enough money from their parents and grandparents to purchase tickets and watch you play.

You are a proven winner at every level and always showed a desire to get better everyday. A constant professional, I would say. Your teammates loved you and understood the pressure you were under to start as often as you did. Wouldn’t it have been nice to get the proper developmental support from management? A role you could of actually had the best avenue to succeed in.

I wish Ottawa could have helped you in achieving your goals with them. They paid you like a back-up because; no offense, that is what you are right now. You never once thought you were more than that; even though a bigger role was forced upon you on the ice.

As much as fans want to blame you for everything (including their own faults for considering Ottawa as a playoff team this season - divisional winners actually); you tried your best.

You were put into a terrible situation. Again, please remember that Ottawa paid you as a backup, because that is what your experience, age and skill level were at the time of your contract negotiations. Sure, your maturity is beyond your salary limitations, but that is beside the point. Wouldn’t it have been nice if you could have renegotiated your salary once you became the #1 goalie by default? Instead, you just continued to play and be professional.

I am sorry that Ottawa could not find a starting goalie to support you as a backup. A role you were signed to do and one you would have excelled in. I am sorry that you were forced into the playing 75% of Ottawa’s games. That must have been tough at this stage of your development.

I am not sure why I am apologizing so much, you are an NHL hockey player. That is something every kid in Canada dreams of at least once or twice in their childhood.

Enjoy Colorado, best of luck.

I like the trade, but the way Elliott was destroyed here falls into the lap of one Bryan Murray - who absolutely should have acquired a real goalie the minute Leclaire went down for the 900th time.

Elliott can get back - hopefully - and he's damn lucky to be out of this environment.

SDH89 wrote:Thanks for letting soft goals in at the best times. Game 3 against Pittsburgh last year, Poni floats one in from the face-off dot, 2 minutes into the game, killing the crowd - My lasting memory of Brian.

That is frickin' brutal

SpezDispenser wrote:I like the trade, but the way Elliott was destroyed here falls into the lap of one Bryan Murray - who absolutely should have acquired a real goalie the minute Leclaire went down for the 900th time.

Elliott can get back - hopefully - and he's damn lucky to be out of this environment.

I think he'll be just fine in Colorado. He needed to get out of this hell hole and get his career back on track.

I wish him the best there and I am very happy for him that he gets that opportunity.

CockRoche wrote:Thank you Brian Elliott.

Thank you for everything you gave to the Ottawa Senators.

You were drafted 291st in the 2003 NHL entry draft – 2nd last overall. Oddly enough, Ottawa is in position to draft 2nd overall in the upcoming draft. I doubt you look at hockey forums on the internet as your life is to awesome for that; but most of the posters on such message boards, would only dream of your life. They sure are quick to criticize though. Christ, these same guys that are making fun of you right now, get all excited when their birthday comes around. Why? They finally get enough money from their parents and grandparents to purchase tickets and watch you play.

You are a proven winner at every level and always showed a desire to get better everyday. A constant professional, I would say. Your teammates loved you and understood the pressure you were under to start as often as you did. Wouldn’t it have been nice to get the proper developmental support from management? A role you could of actually had the best avenue to succeed in.

I wish Ottawa could have helped you in achieving your goals with them. They paid you like a back-up because; no offense, that is what you are right now. You never once thought you were more than that; even though a bigger role was forced upon you on the ice.

As much as fans want to blame you for everything (including their own faults for considering Ottawa as a playoff team this season - divisional winners actually); you tried your best.

You were put into a terrible situation. Again, please remember that Ottawa paid you as a backup, because that is what your experience, age and skill level were at the time of your contract negotiations. Sure, your maturity is beyond your salary limitations, but that is beside the point. Wouldn’t it have been nice if you could have renegotiated your salary once you became the #1 goalie by default? Instead, you just continued to play and be professional.

I am sorry that Ottawa could not find a starting goalie to support you as a backup. A role you were signed to do and one you would have excelled in. I am sorry that you were forced into the playing 75% of Ottawa’s games. That must have been tough at this stage of your development.

I am not sure why I am apologizing so much, you are an NHL hockey player. That is something every kid in Canada dreams of at least once or twice in their childhood.

Enjoy Colorado, best of luck.

+1

My only issue is that he is going into Colorado as the clear cut #1 guy as well, where he needs to be in a platoon (at the very least) to be successful long term. Love Elliott though, he's one of my all-time favourite Sens goalies, so I obviously wish him all the success in Colorado.