GAME DAY: Ottawa Senators @ Toronto Maple Leafs :: 7:00pm ET :: Sat. Feb. 1st, 2014

Yeah Anderson should save those kind of comments for the dressing room for sure.

Hoags wrote:I'm more worried about how they folded and gave up after the Kadri hit.  Anderson's comments don't help but he may be trying to direct team focus to their own internal problems rather than blame the refs for the loss.  Anderson hasn't been all that good but he has been hung out to dry many times as well so there's probably some frustration in there.

It's been a long time since they beat the Leafs on HNIC so I expected a loss.  I don't think it's a leadership because when Alfie was here we'd Dung the bed against them as well.

Exactly and this was the point of my rant.  Was spezza to blame in game 7 vs the devils?  It's been happening throughout the years and I just don't know what it is.  Right now maybe it's spezza but I just don't see enough of our guys playing for each other....ever in the history of the sens.  Hell that 2007 cup final team didn't show up FOR alfie after he shot the puck at neids, but the ducks showed up for that Donkey clown.  

I guess bottom line is we lack real heart in our leadership core and hate to say it, it isn't just one guy at this point. Coaching, management...they all tie in

NEELY wrote:

Michallica wrote:
And finally....what is it with the ottawa senators franchise and intestinal fortitude?  Why can't these guys ever play 'mad' and with a chip on their shoulder?  We lost the cup finals in large part to the ducks getting pissed off with alfie shooting the puck at neidermeyer.  That game 4 was tied 2-2 at the end of the 2nd period when that play happened.  Why this franchise has never come to play for their team mates is beyond me at this point.  Same Dung in 2003 game 7......couldn't win it for a dying roger neilson yet the devils came back and won the game for a crying joe niewendyk who got injured in the game.  

/rant

Look who is leading the charge right now.  Neil gets it, he's been here for over 10 years and look what he did on Saturday night.  Right now this team is like a guy with a pacemaker, it's heart is fine as long as everything is going according to plan but one little thing goes wrong and it could be a disaster.  Time to get a new heart though and that's getting rid of Spezza.  You need guys that give a damn and show it, Spezza might care but not enough to be considered the leader.  Saturday night, HNIC, Leafs/Sens, both playing to get into the playoffs, that was Spezza's chance to make a statement... he made one and it's couldn't have been worse.

NEELY, piss off with the Spezza thing, OK? The two things Michallica mentioned happened when Alfie was Captain.

Saturday night, Spezza may have been -3 but Turris and MacArthur were -2 and Ryan was -3. Yeah, Turris' line was "better". Karlsson wasn't having a great game, either.

Greening led the team with 4 shots on goal playing on "playmaker" Spezza's line. Nor arguing that Spezza had a good game, but the thing is everyone was pretty bad. Neil wasn't good, just lucky. That first goal should never go in if the goalie is not picking his nose on the play and is actually paying attention. Nice assist on the second one but that was a bad pinch (?) by #51 and a clear 2-on-1, it's not like Neil had to battle through some tough checking. Nice pass, though. Third goal, well, that was a rugby scrum more than anything else.

As nice as it was for Neil to get a three point night, the team lost and what the team needed from him was some kind of pushback after the Kadri hit on Ceci. We don't need Neil to be a scorer, just as we don't need Spezza to be a fighter.

And what was PMac's strategy with Kassian? He could certainly have played more than 1:30. Why dress him if you're not going to use him?

NEELY wrote:Fisher could be moved because he doesn't have the pure talent Spezza does nor the ability to be a #1 center.  Tough move to make from a marketing stand point but easy to make from an on ice and performance stand point.  

Spezza is a different animal and yah, I don't think Murray has the balls.  He's the guy that had to convince Spezza to stay when he asked to be shipped out of town.  

Biggest difference is spezz has an NTC, fisher did not. Could have moved him earlier in the contract but spezza wasn't as broken as he was before. Tough to fault murray.

SeawaySensFan wrote:

NEELY wrote:Anderson is a small problem that could turn into a larger one for sure and IMO he's a guy that will get moved in the off season to the Panthers when Thomas retires and they are left with no one.  Easy resign for them as well and gives them stability.

Spezza, yah until they move on from him be it a trade or simply letting his contract run out the Sens will just flutter around where they are, in a good year they might finish 2nd or 3rd in the division but will lose out to the teams where everyone has bought in.  Does anyone really view him as the captain?  Does anyone really believe any success the Sens have had this season isn't because of Turris and Karlsson?  They need to move on from Spezza, it hasn't worked for 10 years with him at his peak so it's not going to work in the next 5-10 years going forward.  

Murray doesn't have the balls to do it.

Murray had the balls to move the most beloved player in Sens history, "Mighty" Mike "Fishlander" Fisher. You're being silly now.

Also had the balls to tell Alfie he wasn't bigger than the team and its internal budget.

wprager wrote:

Also had the balls to tell Alfie he wasn't bigger than the team and its internal budget.  

I think that was the owner, Murray didn't even have the balls to call Alfie going by his story.

Yup, exactly prags. Further to my point....I forgot Dean Macammond got concussed by an bunghole like pronger, but according to the ducks the sens were the bad guys because poor neids got a puck shot at him by alfie. You know what? It worked, media bought into it, sens never recovered, let alone came back to play for Dean O'Mac.

Fast forward to 2011....nathan horton gets taken out against the canucks while the bruins trail 2-0 in the series, and we know how that unfolded.

wprager wrote:

NEELY wrote:

Michallica wrote:
And finally....what is it with the ottawa senators franchise and intestinal fortitude?  Why can't these guys ever play 'mad' and with a chip on their shoulder?  We lost the cup finals in large part to the ducks getting pissed off with alfie shooting the puck at neidermeyer.  That game 4 was tied 2-2 at the end of the 2nd period when that play happened.  Why this franchise has never come to play for their team mates is beyond me at this point.  Same Dung in 2003 game 7......couldn't win it for a dying roger neilson yet the devils came back and won the game for a crying joe niewendyk who got injured in the game.  

/rant

Look who is leading the charge right now.  Neil gets it, he's been here for over 10 years and look what he did on Saturday night.  Right now this team is like a guy with a pacemaker, it's heart is fine as long as everything is going according to plan but one little thing goes wrong and it could be a disaster.  Time to get a new heart though and that's getting rid of Spezza.  You need guys that give a damn and show it, Spezza might care but not enough to be considered the leader.  Saturday night, HNIC, Leafs/Sens, both playing to get into the playoffs, that was Spezza's chance to make a statement... he made one and it's couldn't have been worse.

NEELY, piss off with the Spezza thing, OK?  The two things Michallica mentioned happened when Alfie was Captain.  

Saturday night, Spezza may have been -3 but Turris and MacArthur were -2 and Ryan was -3.  Yeah, Turris' line was "better".   Karlsson wasn't having a great game, either.

Greening led the team with 4 shots on goal playing on "playmaker" Spezza's line.  Nor arguing that Spezza had a good game, but the thing is everyone was pretty bad.  Neil wasn't good, just lucky.  That first goal should never go in if the goalie is not picking his nose on the play and is actually paying attention.  Nice assist on the second one but that was a bad pinch (?) by #51 and a clear 2-on-1, it's not like Neil had to battle through some tough checking.  Nice pass, though.  Third goal, well, that was a rugby scrum more than anything else.

As nice as it was for Neil to get a three point night, the team lost and what the team needed from him was some kind of pushback after the Kadri hit on Ceci.  We don't need Neil to be a scorer, just as we don't need Spezza to be a fighter.

And what was PMac's strategy with Kassian?  He could certainly have played more than 1:30.  Why dress him if you're not going to use him?

Turris being -2 is a blip in the radar, one was an empty netter as well. Spezza -22, Turris +18... that's 40 goals, do you realize how big of a difference that is in terms of quality of play 5 on 5?

The biggest issue with the Sens is Spezza and it's pretty damn clear so I won't piss off with current issues regarding the Sens. What's more concerning that your "#1 center", captain, and biggest cap hit being completely detrimental to the 5 on 5 and showing no signs of life or leadership in games where you really need your leaders to step up, play hard, and make a difference? Honestly what is there to rip on from last game?

Anderson crying to the media and having an ok game at best. Gryba give away. Spezza being completely invisible, irrelevant, and awful 5 on 5?

wprager wrote:

SeawaySensFan wrote:

NEELY wrote:Anderson is a small problem that could turn into a larger one for sure and IMO he's a guy that will get moved in the off season to the Panthers when Thomas retires and they are left with no one.  Easy resign for them as well and gives them stability.

Spezza, yah until they move on from him be it a trade or simply letting his contract run out the Sens will just flutter around where they are, in a good year they might finish 2nd or 3rd in the division but will lose out to the teams where everyone has bought in.  Does anyone really view him as the captain?  Does anyone really believe any success the Sens have had this season isn't because of Turris and Karlsson?  They need to move on from Spezza, it hasn't worked for 10 years with him at his peak so it's not going to work in the next 5-10 years going forward.  

Murray doesn't have the balls to do it.

Murray had the balls to move the most beloved player in Sens history, "Mighty" Mike "Fishlander" Fisher. You're being silly now.

Also had the balls to tell Alfie he wasn't bigger than the team and its internal budget.  

Yah that was Melnyk and people thinking otherwise are just naive. Had nothing to do with the coach, GM, or players, that was all Melnyk.

Melnyk or not, still takes balls to say what he said and how he said that (telling Alfie that his demands were not fair to the team).

Michallica wrote:Yup, exactly prags.  Further to my point....I forgot Dean Macammond got concussed by an bunghole like pronger, but according to the ducks the sens were the bad guys because poor neids got a puck shot at him by alfie.  You know what?  It worked, media bought into it, sens never recovered, let alone came back to play for Dean O'Mac.

Fast forward to 2011....nathan horton gets taken out against the canucks while the bruins trail 2-0 in the series, and we know how that unfolded.  

I'm not interested in what happened 1/2 a decade or more ago. It's what's wrong right now and you think with the Sens having been established for over 20 years now, a very loyal fan base, and history that the current captain and team understands what it is to play the Leafs on HNIC on Saturday night. Neil sure seemed to get it... where's the other guy that's been around for the battles? Where was he? That's the whole point.

Spezza can go off and score against the Blue Jackets, the Lightning, the Yotes, who ever else. Yah, these games count for as many points as the Leafs but they are not statement games or overly important to the grand scheme of things throughout the season like the Leaf and Hab games are. Going gets tough, Spezza is no where to be found and it's been like that since he was 16. It hasn't changed.

All I'm saying is I don't give a Dung anymore who gets traded, but I'm sick and tired of the sens folding like a bunch of Front Bums and not playing for their team mates and/or playing mad. Play like you got something to prove damn it. That third period was Cussing pathetic and everything wrong with the sens ORGANIZATION. See past history.

Hate to do this, but maybe we've been too 'european' and that mentality still lingers.

Either way, Alfie isn't in Ottawa, will never be a Sen again on the ice, and it's something most people have moved on from.

What's important is the now, how they get better, and what moves need to be made for that to happen and for the Sens to be fighting for the Cup every year. Yah there is history that's hard to shake and it shouldn't be ignored but you need people who actually care about it. You need additional character in Ottawa right now because there is a lot lacking.

Spezza wanted the "C", he got it. This comes with it. True or false, Spezza is or isn't the current leader of the Sens?

Michallica wrote:All I'm saying is I don't give a Dung anymore who gets traded, but I'm sick and tired of the sens folding like a bunch of Front Bums and not playing for their team mates and/or playing mad.  Play like you got something to prove damn it.  That third period was Cussing pathetic and everything wrong with the sens ORGANIZATION.  See past history.

Hate to do this, but maybe we've been too 'european' and that mentality still lingers.

Or maybe that was the wrong line of thinking back when they were playing the Leafs in the playoffs? See Chara and Hossa, both whom have cups and been to multiple finals. That European thing is complete BS and fact is Ottawa has 4 Euro's on the team now and that's including Lehner and the Norris Trophy winner.

Spezza is softer than any European the Sens have ever had.

I wonder what Karlsson would fetch us in a trade. Dare to dream

NEELY wrote:Anderson is a small problem that could turn into a larger one for sure and IMO he's a guy that will get moved in the off season to the Panthers when Thomas retires and they are left with no one. Easy resign for them as well and gives them stability.

Spezza, yah until they move on from him be it a trade or simply letting his contract run out the Sens will just flutter around where they are, in a good year they might finish 2nd or 3rd in the division but will lose out to the teams where everyone has bought in. Does anyone really view him as the captain? Does anyone really believe any success the Sens have had this season isn't because of Turris and Karlsson? They need to move on from Spezza, it hasn't worked for 10 years with him at his peak so it's not going to work in the next 5-10 years going forward.

Murray doesn't have the balls to do it.

Anderson is not "a small problem". He is an impediment to our goalie of the future.

NEELY wrote:Either way, Alfie isn't in Ottawa, will never be a Sen again on the ice, and it's something most people have moved on from.  

What's important is the now, how they get better, and what moves need to be made for that to happen and for the Sens to be fighting for the Cup every year.  Yah there is history that's hard to shake and it shouldn't be ignored but you need people who actually care about it.  You need additional character in Ottawa right now because there is a lot lacking.

Spezza wanted the "C", he got it.  This comes with it.  True or false, Spezza is or isn't the current leader of the Sens?

Oh I agree. Spezza has gotta be more assertive and I don't know...show up to statement games and he doesn't. We all know he ain't leading by example. I'm remarking this has been a constant issue for the sens. Not saying spezza isn't the problem right now, but he also isn't the only problem.

I don't know, that 'fight' he had with the preds player was also pretty stupid and looked to me like a pathetic attempt at proving his 'leadership skills'. But I guess it was something. i wish he was the one yelling from the bench, I wish he was the one arguing with the refs, firing back at phaneuf. no emotion, and it's pretty sickening. I just don't think it'll be solved by getting rid of spezza but it might be a start.

Ev wrote:I wonder what Karlsson would fetch us in a trade. Dare to dream

Letang ++++++