Game Day: Canes Vs. Sens Jan 13, 08

Acrobat wrote:

Neely4Life wrote:He has been my avitar since day 1, so I am the biggest Elliott fan on here. Last year in the game vs Atlanta you could tell exactly how much tallent the guy has. He just keeps showing it.

He is a perfect example of why we need to keep Murray, and some (not all) of the scouting system intact.
Murray will ensure that kids like him - the potential diamonds in the rough - are sorted out and developed properly, even (like now) risking his own position to do so.

Good point. Murray deserves some huge props for not making a stupid knee jerk trade to save his job. Hartsburg can't do much else to save himself unless the on ice product improves, but Murray could make such a move to benefit himself and not necessarily the team. Kudos to him for not doing that.

hemlock wrote:
Good point. Murray deserves some huge props for not making a stupid knee jerk trade to save his job. Hartsburg can't do much else to save himself unless the on ice product improves, but Murray could make such a move to benefit himself and not necessarily the team. Kudos to him for not doing that.

I think Murray had a lot to lose if he didn't promote Elliot personally.

Neely4Life wrote:We will have a top 10 pick FOR SURE. As good as Elliott is there is no way we are making up that kind of ground this year.

Elliott basically isnt challenged int he AHL like he needs to be, he has to be in the NHL to further his development and facing the Heatley and Spezza's of the world everyday.

From a long term point of view, having Elliott develop like this is the best thing for this organization.

If the Sens are that desperate to get a top 3 pick this year, deal Spezza or Heatley, its as simple as that.

Or couple our pick with SJ's pick and get into the top 5.

Either way, the Sens will be drafting in the top 10 this year and will get a good prospect. Personally, if we cant get Hedman we should be going after as much skill up front as possible.

There will be another steal like Karlsson in the 1st round as well, and some wheeling and dealing can be done there.

Elliot's not gonna get tough with his upcoming RFA status I hope?

504Heater wrote:

hemlock wrote:
Not without solving our lack of a puck mover I don't believe. If we aren't adding that, then why bother pretending we are a competitor?

We're not pretending any more, but the Big 3 can dominate games - like they did when they finally 'got' Murray's system. Add into that that Lee is playing like a man and Picard is moving the puck well, same with Bell and Kuba - although sporadically - and we might end up finishing 9th.

Not optimum - unless Elliot and Lee and Picard etc. etc. etc. all start coming into their own.

Finishing 9th. I just threw up in my mouth a little bit. That's the worst case scenario for this team.

Unless we are adding to other areas (PMD), Elliott won't be salvaging this season imo. So in a sense, leaving him up here to wins a few extra games does nothing really. I think a long run in the AHL playoffs would do Elliott some good, but also the rest of the kids we'll be looking to soon enough. I'd like guys like Regin, Z. Smith, etc to have that experience, and simply put, removing Elliott from Bingo all but erases that idea. Glass is garbage. Gerber may not even report if waived. Then where the hell would we be? I don't want to risk a blue chipper AND kill Bingo's chances at a deep run just to give Elliott a sniff on a bad hockey club.

hemlock wrote:

504Heater wrote:

hemlock wrote:
Not without solving our lack of a puck mover I don't believe. If we aren't adding that, then why bother pretending we are a competitor?

We're not pretending any more, but the Big 3 can dominate games - like they did when they finally 'got' Murray's system. Add into that that Lee is playing like a man and Picard is moving the puck well, same with Bell and Kuba - although sporadically - and we might end up finishing 9th.

Not optimum - unless Elliot and Lee and Picard etc. etc. etc. all start coming into their own.

Finishing 9th. I just threw up in my mouth a little bit. That's the worst case scenario for this team.

Unless we are adding to other areas (PMD), Elliott won't be salvaging this season imo. So in a sense, leaving him up here to wins a few extra games does nothing really. I think a long run in the AHL playoffs would do Elliott some good, but also the rest of the kids we'll be looking to soon enough. I'd like guys like Regin, Z. Smith, etc to have that experience, and simply put, removing Elliott from Bingo all but erases that idea. Glass is garbage. Gerber may not even report if waived. Then where the hell would we be? I don't want to risk a blue chipper AND kill Bingo's chances at a deep run just to give Elliott a sniff on a bad hockey club.

Come trade deadline, you can say goodbye to Neil, McAmmond, and Kuba for sure! There will prob be some more turn around at some point as well opening up more room.

Smith will get some time before the end of the year, along with Zubov and probably Shannon again. The Sens season will end and they will head back down for a run for the Calder Cup.

504Heater wrote:Elliot's not gonna get tough with his upcoming RFA status I hope?

Him being an RFA this year is a million times better then him being one next year! Thank god he is a RFA this year, hopefully they can sign him to a 3 year, 3 mil deal or less.

Well...at least I can rest knowing that perhaps - repeat - perhaps the Sens have a homegrown goaltender worth a Dung finally. :D

Nidy Night.

Neely4Life wrote:

504Heater wrote:Elliot's not gonna get tough with his upcoming RFA status I hope?

Him being an RFA this year is a million times better then him being one next year! Thank god he is a RFA this year, hopefully they can sign him to a 3 year, 3 mil deal or less.

True enough. I actually can't see him as that kind of guy either.

504Heater wrote:

Neely4Life wrote:

504Heater wrote:Elliot's not gonna get tough with his upcoming RFA status I hope?

Him being an RFA this year is a million times better then him being one next year! Thank god he is a RFA this year, hopefully they can sign him to a 3 year, 3 mil deal or less.

True enough. I actually can't see him as that kind of guy either.

Most guys that come from the NCAA are usually a lot smarter and grounded then guys who played junior. Especially ones that play there for an extended period of time.

504Heater wrote:
Now what the diddle do we do? Seriously too...

I understand what they're saying Neely. He might be ready to go, but...can he learn anything else from the AHL? No need to rush him in here now, let him get a 15 game taste and send him back.

I will say that I would gladly give up a top 5 pick for a 12th overall if Elliot begins a long period of stability in net.

Our pick, coupled with SJ's pick - couple with whatever we get for the guys we're shipping out - could land us back in the top 5 anyway. I don't know how else to look at it.

NO - give him a small taste, let him prove he can be the starter, then cut it off.

Give him nine or ten games, then send him down to lead the Baby Sens to the Calder Cup. This will give the all the kids down there a taste of winning too. Then when they come up as a bunch next season, they can bring that attitude up here with them.

Meantime, let the season slide, take the bottom five pick, trade up for #2 if we have to, and target Hedman (or accept Cowen if you want). Send out a few assets on deadline day and draft day to see if we can get another top 10, and see about MSP, Schenn, or Kadri (it'd be cool to have a Lebanese guy playing in Ottawa - think the Garlic King or "Really Lebanese" Restaurant would sponsor the team?)

This give us a 1-2 punch on D (Hedman/Karlsson) with Big Rig/A-train to teach (let's hope that they are back to peak form). Kuba and Schubert are likely gone, but Lee and Picard, Smith, M. Karlsson or B. Bell as your #6. Or we get J-Bo, and juggle at will.

Let the drafted forwards percolate for a year, while the ones in Bingo come up (Zubov, O'Brien, etc.) to fill in what's gone.

2009-2010: we end up in 6th to 8th. (with a little luck)
2010-2011: 1st or 4th in conference.

Add: the goal here is to build a team similar to Pittsburgh (i.e. very talented youth, supporting veterans), but to do so in a way that won't create cap issues.

Yeah, what would be ideal is if we could address both the need for a #1 d-man (although Karlsson easily could be, but I prefer him as a #2 or a guy anchoring the second unit) and lack of offensive centremen behind Spezza.

If we could walk out of that draft with Hedman or Cowen and one of Tavares (no chance), Duchene (probably no chance either), Evander Kane, Brayden Schenn or Nazem Kadri, I'm as happy as a pig in mud.

Which pains me to say, considering my favourite players in the draft are MSP and Schroeder. But I feel that centres are more important than wingers.

Acrobat wrote:Add: the goal here is to build a team similar to Pittsburgh (i.e. very talented youth, supporting veterans), but to do so in a way that won't create cap issues.

If we get Hedman, he'll probably be a $7 millioner, but my hope is that with Karlsson (if he pans out) we sign him to a long deal after his rookie contract at around $4.5 million.

asq2 wrote:Yeah, what would be ideal is if we could address both the need for a #1 d-man (although Karlsson easily could be, but I prefer him as a #2 or a guy anchoring the second unit) and lack of offensive centremen behind Spezza.

If we could walk out of that draft with Hedman or Cowen and one of Tavares (no chance), Duchene (probably no chance either), Evander Kane, Brayden Schenn or Nazem Kadri, I'm as happy as a pig in mud.

Which pains me to say, considering my favourite players in the draft are MSP and Schroeder. But I feel that centres are more important than wingers.

Here's Kadri pulling a Spezza-on-Souray move.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dufa-_a6LlQ&feature=related

:D

hemlock wrote:

cash wrote:

asq2 wrote:

hemlock wrote:

Snuh wrote:Wow! What a difference a goalie who makes timely saves and gives up virtually no rebounds can make. Great game!

At the risk of sounding negative after a win, this isn't what we need. A faint glimpse of hope. It's nice to see Elliott getting his shot and playing well, but goaltending isn't the biggest problem on this team. We still don't have that elusive d-man we've been after.

Personally, I will be much less impressed if Elliott continues to shine and it costs us a seeding or two. It could be the difference between getting a blue chipper and not. This season is a write off. I want to see them treat it that way.

Agreed. The thought of going on a run right now is terrifying. Hopefully it was a one-game abberation.

I agree and its obvious that against a better team, many of the individual plays that looked so great wouldn't have worked out as they did tonight.
But I disagree that goaltending hasn't been the absolute biggest issue with this team. It feeds confidence throughout the D-corps and the forwards and promotes a more free-flowing transition game.

Perhaps, but your defencemen need to have a certain level of skill and confidence to help the transition game. We just don't have anywhere close to the level we had during the cup run after losing 4 of our 6 D-men. Losing Mez, Redden, Preissing and Corvo has really hurt this team badly.

I'd say our goaltending is fine right now. We are going through a transitional period anyway, so I don't expect lights out every night. I agree that Elliot should get his look now, but I am secretly hoping it's 1-0 against the Sens every night lol.

Too many times this season, we've all had moments where we've said "Hmm, could this be where they turn it around?" Time and time again that we've seen then this team's inability to move the puck up ice, and their perceived lack of desire or effort rear it's ugly head.

A few good games from Elliot is encouraging....for next year lol.

Keeping them would have crippled this team.

Although I agree keeping those guys would not have been the right move but replacing them with Picard, Kuba, Lee, Schubert/Bell wasn't the smart move either.