Bryan Murray Vs Dany Heatley: Who Blinks First?

I'm kind of of the belief that Murray will wait until he's had a chance to see the progression of these guys before he trades anyone.

Schubert, Picard, Lee, Donovan, Bass, Smith, arguably Regin - these guys all have their immediate futures up in the air. They all have something to prove and they're all liable to have their spot stolen by somebody else.

I think Murray likes having his options open right now. Best case scenario is that Schubert, Picard, and Donovan all step up and show great progress over the summer - just enough to force the 2-ways down to Bingo.

I like our youth, but I think this lineup (playing well) gives us the best chance to win, with obviously the greatest call-up depth:

Heatley-Spezza-Alfredsson
Winchester-Kelly-Kovalev
Shannon-Fisher-Foligno
Ruutu-Donovan-Neil
(Schubert)

Kuba-Campoli
Phillips-Volchenkov
Picard-Karlsson
(Schubert)

cas wrote:I'm kind of of the belief that Murray will wait until he's had a chance to see the progression of these guys before he trades anyone.

Schubert, Picard, Lee, Donovan, Bass, Smith, arguably Regin - these guys all have their immediate futures up in the air. They all have something to prove and they're all liable to have their spot stolen by somebody else.

I think Murray likes having his options open right now. Best case scenario is that Schubert, Picard, and Donovan all step up and show great progress over the summer - just enough to force the 2-ways down to Bingo.

I like our youth, but I think this lineup (playing well) gives us the best chance to win, with obviously the greatest call-up depth:

Heatley-Spezza-Alfredsson
Winchester-Kelly-Kovalev
Shannon-Fisher-Foligno
Ruutu-Donovan-Neil
(Schubert)

Kuba-Campoli
Phillips-Volchenkov
Picard-Karlsson
(Schubert)

you are probably one of the few that I would see putting Winchester on any line but line 4, he hasn't panned out offensively (yet), but is one hell of a forechecker.

I think it will look pretty similar to that as well. Sucks for Lee.

SensFan71 wrote:

cas wrote:I'm kind of of the belief that Murray will wait until he's had a chance to see the progression of these guys before he trades anyone.

Schubert, Picard, Lee, Donovan, Bass, Smith, arguably Regin - these guys all have their immediate futures up in the air. They all have something to prove and they're all liable to have their spot stolen by somebody else.

I think Murray likes having his options open right now. Best case scenario is that Schubert, Picard, and Donovan all step up and show great progress over the summer - just enough to force the 2-ways down to Bingo.

I like our youth, but I think this lineup (playing well) gives us the best chance to win, with obviously the greatest call-up depth:

Heatley-Spezza-Alfredsson
Winchester-Kelly-Kovalev
Shannon-Fisher-Foligno
Ruutu-Donovan-Neil
(Schubert)

Kuba-Campoli
Phillips-Volchenkov
Picard-Karlsson
(Schubert)

you are probably one of the few that I would see putting Winchester on any line but line 4, he hasn't panned out offensively (yet), but is one hell of a forechecker.

I've always believed in Winchester's offensive potential. I watched him very closely last year. There's a reason they were willing to start the season with him on Spezza's wing.... He has upside greater than just being a forechecking PKer...

He may not be a top-6 forward yet and he'll likely centre Ruutu and Neil/Schubert.
And Fisher will likely centre Kovalev and Foligno.
And Kelly will likely centre Shannon and Donovan/Neil/Smith/Regin.

But thats the way I would like to see them start the season, just to try it out.

cas wrote:I'm kind of of the belief that Murray will wait until he's had a chance to see the progression of these guys before he trades anyone.

Schubert, Picard, Lee, Donovan, Bass, Smith, arguably Regin - these guys all have their immediate futures up in the air. They all have something to prove and they're all liable to have their spot stolen by somebody else.

I think Murray likes having his options open right now. Best case scenario is that Schubert, Picard, and Donovan all step up and show great progress over the summer - just enough to force the 2-ways down to Bingo.

I like our youth, but I think this lineup (playing well) gives us the best chance to win, with obviously the greatest call-up depth:

Heatley-Spezza-Alfredsson
Winchester-Kelly-Kovalev
Shannon-Fisher-Foligno
Ruutu-Donovan-Neil
(Schubert)

Kuba-Campoli
Phillips-Volchenkov
Picard-Karlsson
(Schubert)

just repeating what I heard last year....

you have to have Karlsson playing at least 3-4 as the 5-6 pairing will end up playing against other team's 3rd and 4th lines which means the big 6'6 bruisers will be taking runs at him all year...if he makes the team, he's taking campoli's top 4 spot.

Meh, it's all relative to who the coach matches up against.

Whats he going to do when Milan Lucic or Alex Ovechkin comes chasing him down? He has to learn to play the game from all angles.

Believe me: He can handle the bruisers. What he may not be able to handle is the top tier talent.

I like Winchester as well, yu could really see his game coming along last year whether he was on the 2nd, 3rd, or 4th line. He was getting his chances, getting more confident, and getting more involved form all angles.

There wasnt a more imporved player on The Sens last year then Winchester.

N4L wrote:I like Winchester as well, yu could really see his game coming along last year whether he was on the 2nd, 3rd, or 4th line. He was getting his chances, getting more confident, and getting more involved form all angles.

There wasnt a more imporved player on The Sens last year then Winchester.

He definitely has a lot more upside than I originally gave him credit for, I figured he was going to be another Bochenski, but kudos to Winchester for proving me wrong and keep on plugging away.

N4L wrote:I like Winchester as well, yu could really see his game coming along last year whether he was on the 2nd, 3rd, or 4th line. He was getting his chances, getting more confident, and getting more involved form all angles.

There wasnt a more imporved player on The Sens last year then Winchester.

:___:

Specially in the last (what ?) 15 games. Big hits, PK time, smart simple plays and he even giftwrapped some goals along the way for guys who just couldn't finish.

As I said, it looked like Clouston was going to let him sweat a little, probably because the coach felt Winchester hadn't earned an NHL job yet. By the end of the year he just couldn't resist putting him out there in many different situations.

cas wrote:Whats he going to do when Milan Lucic or Alex Ovechkin comes chasing him down? He has to learn to play the game from all angles.

Believe me: He can handle the bruisers. What he may not be able to handle is the top tier talent.

I think we'll try to avoid matching him up against Ovechkin.

N4L wrote:I like Winchester as well, yu could really see his game coming along last year whether he was on the 2nd, 3rd, or 4th line. He was getting his chances, getting more confident, and getting more involved form all angles.

There wasnt a more imporved player on The Sens last year then Winchester.

His vision is really impressive. He found the likes of Kelly, Ruutu, Donovan, Neil, Schubert, et al in prime scoring opportunities. If he was playing with someone who could put the puck in the net, he'd have had an extra 5-10 points in just the last month and a half of the season.

As being the most improved, I would agree, but I would argue (and I know you would argue the contrary) that Lee was also one of the most improved players last season. Once he came back from Bingo, he took this Jason Smith style of defense and started to punish incoming forwards a whole lot more.

asq2 wrote:

cas wrote:Whats he going to do when Milan Lucic or Alex Ovechkin comes chasing him down? He has to learn to play the game from all angles.

Believe me: He can handle the bruisers. What he may not be able to handle is the top tier talent.

I think we'll try to avoid matching him up against Ovechkin.

What?? Why He's the savior!! He should be out there against the Pens 1st PP when we're down 5-on-3.

cas wrote:

N4L wrote:I like Winchester as well, yu could really see his game coming along last year whether he was on the 2nd, 3rd, or 4th line. He was getting his chances, getting more confident, and getting more involved form all angles.

There wasnt a more imporved player on The Sens last year then Winchester.

His vision is really impressive. He found the likes of Kelly, Ruutu, Donovan, Neil, Schubert, et al in prime scoring opportunities. If he was playing with someone who could put the puck in the net, he'd have had an extra 5-10 points in just the last month and a half of the season.

As being the most improved, I would agree, but I would argue (and I know you would argue the contrary) that Lee was also one of the most improved players last season. Once he came back from Bingo, he took this Jason Smith style of defense and started to punish incoming forwards a whole lot more.

You saw glimpses from Lee as opposed to Winchester, where you saw his game improve overall.

Lee absolutly must become a more physical defenseman, that is the only way he will become a a fixture on any NHL team. He doesnt have the vision or shot to be a legit offensive threat, but he most certainly has the size and skating ability to be a solid defender. His mind set has to change along with his game, hopefully he does it.

Yeah I agree with that take.

Has anyone blinked yet?

SeawaySensFan wrote:Has anyone blinked yet?

no but I farted.

I agree with the take on Lee as well - although, I'm of the opinion that he'll surprise us all.