It's time ~~~~~!!!!! P-A-N-I-C !!!!!~~~~~~

The Sens have been awful in the 2008 calendar year. Here are the biggest mistakes I've seen in 2008:

1. Moving out ALL of Corvo, Redden, and Meszaros. You need around 150 points from your defence to make it to the playoffs. While all three underperformed, their absence is noticeable this year. As much as people like to bash Redden, I don't think it is much of a coincedence that the team made the playoffs for 11 years, every year that Redden played with Ottawa.
2. Resigning Chris Kelly. Without Kelly, your top 4 centers would be Spezza, Fisher, Vermette, McAmmond. B. Murray should have saved the money on Kelly and put that towards a winger. Chris Kelly is an average NHL player being paid an above-average NHL salary.
3. Bryan Murray not making a trade earlier in this season. It is glaringly obvious that this core group of players is not playing well together. Alfie and Heatley are untouchable, but the core needs to be shaken. Trading Neil for a draft pick might be enough, and I think that would send a strong enough message.
4. Related to point 1, we all knew that only one of Meszaros and Vermette were going to stay. Even though B. Murray got the better of the deal with Tampa, we might have been better to hold on to Meszaros and let Vermette go.

Other points:
- Does anyone remember when this team was fast?
- Has Alex Auld snapped out of it and remembered that he is Alex Auld?

504Heater wrote:

wprager wrote:
You wanna blam *all of that* on Spezza? Get real. It's Emery 2.0. Ray is gone, as are Redden, Meszaros and McGrattan. It made no flipping difference. Maybe it's Spartacat's fault, who knows.

I wish there was another way, but what would you suggest? I love Spezza, but he's the only guy on the entire team with any trade value. What can you say? I'd rather not - in fact, I'm still pretty against it, but what are you gonna do? This team is horrendous. They have been for a calender year - or more - Fisher has a stupid NMC, Heatley is Heatley and he has a NMC, same with Alfie, Phillips has a NTC - which admittedly we can get around if we try. Volchenkov I guess, but other than he and Spezza who is worth a Dung right now trade value wise? Vermette - no. Kelly - no. Every other sad forward plug - no. Kuba - man do I ever want a first for this guy. Picard - pfft whatever. Schubert - hardy har har. Smith - very little value.

You can't trade the whole team - they have no value. Hilarious. I wanna Diddle puke.

So where does that leave you? Right back to Spezza. I hope by some magical bean we can re-build around the three forwards, I want to believe that more than anything, but we have no assets to acquire prospects and picks to acquire a team that has a clue.

Actually I'm no-longer completely against trading Spezza -- he does, as you say, hav trade value and he doesn't, like the other big guns, have a NTC/NMC. All I said was that you can't blame all the ills on one player like we had already done last year. And if you follow that logic then trading away Spezza will not automagically fix this team; but it would send a strong message and it could get us a few parts to rebuild with. Personally, I'd say trad him for picks sp we have ammo for the rebuilding phase and cap room to boot.

That said, I would prefer that we had a coach who would light a fire under his a** and trade the likes of Vermette, Kelly, Schubert, Neil etc. Remember, Spezza has neither been sat out, nor moved off the top line. Why hasn't that been done? Look over at what Carbo has done, with Kostitsyn this yeat anf Kovaleve two years ago (that may have been Gainey). Blake in Toronto -- he may not be Spezza but he is their highest paid forward. Lecavalie probably got benched by Torts a few times early on.

I don't want to blame this on the coach, but there are moves that have not been tried and I'd like to see those before a trade. Hell, move Heatley to centre, Fish to wing, Spezza to the 2nd line (centered by Vermette). Then we can talk about puck possession. POssession is nine-tenths of winning faceoffs, isn't it?

hemlock34 wrote:

jamvan wrote:

hemlock34 wrote:

jamvan wrote:Holy crap, you guys sound like spoiled brats! Not to be rude, but come on; what the F do you expect. Have you seen the crop of so-called talent on this team. I knew it was a rebuilding year from the get go. It's time to take off the rose coloured glasses and start to see the small wins, cause the game wins are going to be far and few between.

Just waych, it's only a matter of time before the media here starts another goalie controversy. Did anyone really expect Auld to play on his head all season long? Seriously, it's time to go back to Gerber and at least try get our monies worth.

Stop with the F'ing armchair GM'ing, cause there is no blockbuster trades happening this year. There's no 1 trade that can turn a team around, it's up to what's in the room now and there's no belief there, so get used to this kind of outcome.

I like all you guys here, but it's time to face reality. There's no trade conspiracy happening. Murray can't move anythign he has for anythign better, so forget that...we are officially in rebuilding mode.

I don't know who specifically that's directed at, but several of us have known this for awhile. Like pre-season.

It's only directed at those who have false hope for this team right now.

Will I stop cheering for them? F! No! But to think that a trade or a move is going to miraculously save them is naive. That's basically what I meant man!

Agreed. I'm against getting Bouwmeester now, unless we ship a big salary their way and get Horton. Anything else is just a fool's dream into thinking this season is salvagable, which it isn't.

I believe we could get Gretzky himself (in his hayday) and the apathy borg on this team would infect him.... this team just does not give a sh!t everyday for 60 minutes.

Why are people still analyzing this? The team is awful, the players dont care, and managments hands are tied. Rid it out, there isnt a whole lot anyone can do. Its been like this for a calander year, why are people just now getting mad.

jamvan wrote:Holy crap, you guys sound like spoiled brats! Not to be rude, but come on; what the F do you expect. Have you seen the crop of so-called talent on this team. I knew it was a rebuilding year from the get go. It's time to take off the rose coloured glasses and start to see the small wins, cause the game wins are going to be far and few between.

Just waych, it's only a matter of time before the media here starts another goalie controversy. Did anyone really expect Auld to play on his head all season long? Seriously, it's time to go back to Gerber and at least try get our monies worth.

Stop with the F'ing armchair GM'ing, cause there is no blockbuster trades happening this year. There's no 1 trade that can turn a team around, it's up to what's in the room now and there's no belief there, so get used to this kind of outcome.

I like all you guys here, but it's time to face reality. There's no trade conspiracy happening. Murray can't move anythign he has for anythign better, so forget that...we are officially in rebuilding mode.

I don't agree that we are in a rebuilding year. We've sucked since last year 20 games in. Murray blew up part of the team in the off season, but the apathy borg lives on. Last year before we were shut out in Boston (and before Paddock was fired), someone watched the Sens practice and commented that this is the laziest team in the NHL. I didn't believe them then, but now, oh ya, I'm on board.

Since when do you fire coaches in rebuilding years?

This team is sick and no one knows the cure.....

For the person that mentioned that one of the teams mistakes was to get rid of Corvo. Murray had to trade him because Corvo did not want to stay in Canada. His agent had asked Murray a few times to trade Corvo because Corvo could not deal with the pressure from the Canadian media. As for the media bringing this team down, well that is a joke. We have to stop looking at others to blame. The ones to blame are the players....plain and simple. You can have the best coach in the world but if your players don't give a Dung, it just doesn't matter.

Trade pretty much everyone if we lose tonight.

Start with Phillips, move onto Fisher, go to Vermette, and finish up with Spezza.

Trade Neil, McAmmond, Smith, and Kelly on the way too.

Load up on as many draft picks as possible. Bring up some youth, and acquire some in trade, and let those guys play. Let Heatley and Alfredsson do their thing on the offensive end and let's cut some costs.

Can't afford to pay these guys this much money to be lazy.

PKC wrote:Trade pretty much everyone if we lose tonight.

Start with Phillips, move onto Fisher, go to Vermette, and finish up with Spezza.

Trade Neil, McAmmond, Smith, and Kelly on the way too.

Load up on as many draft picks as possible. Bring up some youth, and acquire some in trade, and let those guys play. Let Heatley and Alfredsson do their thing on the offensive end and let's cut some costs.

Can't afford to pay these guys this much money to be lazy.

Sounds about right.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=td4VEGiIQmk

I'm sure losing Volchenkov halfway through the game hurt, but does anyone really think that affected the outcome?

The Sens have always been great when the opposition is not at its best. We saw this recently when Atlanta and the NYR came into town. When the opposition works hard, despite the talent level, the opposition usually wins (see Florida Monday night).

It was time to panic six weeks ago when this team clearly couldn't put a full game together. Back then, the blame went to Gerber, but the problems are clearly much deeper than Gerber.

I will be stunned if Chris Neil lasts the year in Ottawa. 1.1 million for that? Seeya.

504Heater wrote:No one's safe this weekend with the exception of Heatley and Alfie. Everyone's for sale. This can't go on anymore - and most of you will admit, I've been pretty patient.

I would hesitate trading Spezza while his value is disgustingly low though, I would try to wait it out until draft day. But...since no one else on this crappy little team is worth anything, he might have to go.

Sad time to be a Sens fan. It really is...I can't recall feeling this badly about the team in a long, long time.

Making trades right now is the absolute wrong way to go about things, Heater. I'm not saying we shouldn't make changes (and I believe changes are coming), but it's hockey 101 -- don't sell off in a panic state, and don't sell guys when they're value is at its lowest.

Neely4Life wrote:Should be interesting to see what happens going forward. Tomorrow it will be the same team on the ice, after that, who knows.

Its not going to be trading a guy like Neil or Vermette that is going to be a major change, Im against trading Spezza at this point in time, but that could very well be coming. He looks like he doesnt even want to be here..

I'm largely with you on this one, N4L. I can't comment on what Spezza's feelings are, as you do, but I agree moving him now would be a mistake -- which is not to say that we might not have to move him later. With Spezza, it might unfortunately come down to simple economics and the team's needs.

504Heater wrote:Sad time to be a Sens fan. It really is...I can't recall feeling this badly about the team in a long, long time.

See, this comment right here is interesting to me. I know it was an ugly result and things obviously didn't go as one would hope, but I saw a lot of positives last night. Maybe for the first time all calendar year, I saw glimpses of the team I used to know and love.
They were moving their feet, they were creating chances, and they cared...each and every one of them wanted to win that game - I honestly believe that. Whats sad is that I don't know if I can say that for any other game they've played this season. Thats probably an overstatement, but not by much....
None of them quit. They kept trying to come back right up until it just wasn't feasible. The first player to give up was predictable and I don't even need to say his name. But the others kept battling until that last penalty was called and even then they didn't let them score.
Games don't always go the way you want them to, but last night they played the right way. They lost playing the right way, but they nonetheless played exactly how they needed to; without getting any bounces going their way.

This may be misplaced, but I have never been more confident in this teams potential for success. As they say: It's always darkest before the dawn.
Daylight is coming :D
(Assuming they don't get blown up after tonights game )

cash wrote:

504Heater wrote:Sad time to be a Sens fan. It really is...I can't recall feeling this badly about the team in a long, long time.

See, this comment right here is interesting to me. I know it was an ugly result and things obviously didn't go as one would hope, but I saw a lot of positives last night. Maybe for the first time all calendar year, I saw glimpses of the team I used to know and love.
They were moving their feet, they were creating chances, and they cared...each and every one of them wanted to win that game - I honestly believe that. Whats sad is that I don't know if I can say that for any other game they've played this season. Thats probably an overstatement, but not by much....
None of them quit. They kept trying to come back right up until it just wasn't feasible. The first player to give up was predictable and I don't even need to say his name. But the others kept battling until that last penalty was called and even then they didn't let them score.
Games don't always go the way you want them to, but last night they played the right way. They lost playing the right way, but they nonetheless played exactly how they needed to; without getting any bounces going their way.

This may be misplaced, but I have never been more confident in this teams potential for success. As they say: It's always darkest before the dawn.
Daylight is coming :D
(Assuming they don't get blown up after tonights game )

Well I guess you cant really quit when you never start, at least for some of the guys.

rooneypoo wrote:

Neely4Life wrote:Should be interesting to see what happens going forward. Tomorrow it will be the same team on the ice, after that, who knows.

Its not going to be trading a guy like Neil or Vermette that is going to be a major change, Im against trading Spezza at this point in time, but that could very well be coming. He looks like he doesnt even want to be here..

I'm largely with you on this one, N4L. I can't comment on what Spezza's feelings are, as you do, but I agree moving him now would be a mistake -- which is not to say that we might not have to move him later. With Spezza, it might unfortunately come down to simple economics and the team's needs.

I think I'm with most Sens fans here. I don't want to liquidate. I want each and every player to put 100% effort 100% of the time. Severe disciplinary action is in order to turn this around for NEXT season. This one is done.

dennycrane wrote:- Has Alex Auld snapped out of it and remembered that he is Alex Auld?

Yes! He has...I told people that the goaltending situation wasn't as "solved" as they thought it was and I got lambasted with "He's been great"'s and "he's in the top-5 in ..."'s etc...
Once this team wakes up offensively (and its coming) and they remember who they are, they're going to realize who they really are: A team with a desperate need to overcompensate for poor goaltending.
Talk all you want about PMC's and secondary scoring, this problem originates in the crease.

Neely4Life wrote:

cash wrote:

504Heater wrote:Sad time to be a Sens fan. It really is...I can't recall feeling this badly about the team in a long, long time.

See, this comment right here is interesting to me. I know it was an ugly result and things obviously didn't go as one would hope, but I saw a lot of positives last night. Maybe for the first time all calendar year, I saw glimpses of the team I used to know and love.
They were moving their feet, they were creating chances, and they cared...each and every one of them wanted to win that game - I honestly believe that. Whats sad is that I don't know if I can say that for any other game they've played this season. Thats probably an overstatement, but not by much....
None of them quit. They kept trying to come back right up until it just wasn't feasible. The first player to give up was predictable and I don't even need to say his name. But the others kept battling until that last penalty was called and even then they didn't let them score.
Games don't always go the way you want them to, but last night they played the right way. They lost playing the right way, but they nonetheless played exactly how they needed to; without getting any bounces going their way.

This may be misplaced, but I have never been more confident in this teams potential for success. As they say: It's always darkest before the dawn.
Daylight is coming :D
(Assuming they don't get blown up after tonights game )

Well I guess you cant really quit when you never start, at least for some of the guys.

Like who?

cash wrote:

Neely4Life wrote:

cash wrote:

504Heater wrote:Sad time to be a Sens fan. It really is...I can't recall feeling this badly about the team in a long, long time.

See, this comment right here is interesting to me. I know it was an ugly result and things obviously didn't go as one would hope, but I saw a lot of positives last night. Maybe for the first time all calendar year, I saw glimpses of the team I used to know and love.
They were moving their feet, they were creating chances, and they cared...each and every one of them wanted to win that game - I honestly believe that. Whats sad is that I don't know if I can say that for any other game they've played this season. Thats probably an overstatement, but not by much....
None of them quit. They kept trying to come back right up until it just wasn't feasible. The first player to give up was predictable and I don't even need to say his name. But the others kept battling until that last penalty was called and even then they didn't let them score.
Games don't always go the way you want them to, but last night they played the right way. They lost playing the right way, but they nonetheless played exactly how they needed to; without getting any bounces going their way.

This may be misplaced, but I have never been more confident in this teams potential for success. As they say: It's always darkest before the dawn.
Daylight is coming :D
(Assuming they don't get blown up after tonights game )

Well I guess you cant really quit when you never start, at least for some of the guys.

Like who?

Maybe the guy that had his ice time cut form 23 mins to under 17 and was redcued to the 3rd line.