GAME DAY: Preseason - Boston @ Ottawa - 7:00pm ET - Fri. Sep. 25th, 2009--PLUS afterthoughts...

CCgotITcovered wrote:

N4L wrote:

CCgotITcovered wrote:Yeah Kovalev (just like the first line) won't be relied upon solely to win games for us, but he (and they) will have nights when he does---which is obviously great for the team.

Only player's I don't like the look of thusfar are Michalek and Kovalev. Everyone else looks great. Cheechoo looks great only because I was so down on him before watching this

I hate that Carkner or Picard might not make the team. It sucks.

I love how Michalek has looked.

I must be missing something or you must be buying into the hype too much. I dunno. Haven't liked his game yet. We'll see. I think a lot of what I'm seeing has to do with the position he's been put in with all the hype surrounding the trade. I'm thinking he's feeling the pressure too much. After all, those are some pretty big shoes to fill on that LW...and his feet move WAY too fast for those shoes... Hopefully he settles into his game sometime early in the season. So far, I don't see it.

Ya, like I said about 1000 times, I'll wait till game 10 of the reg season. I have liked how Michalek has looked overall though,

CCgotITcovered wrote:

asq2 wrote:

CCgotITcovered wrote:We actually have TWO top-6 centres!! And they're awesome!!

Referring to Regin?

Yes sir the man is a player. Pure and simple.

Poor man's Nick Backstrom.

CCgotITcovered wrote:

N4L wrote:

CCgotITcovered wrote:Yeah Kovalev (just like the first line) won't be relied upon solely to win games for us, but he (and they) will have nights when he does---which is obviously great for the team.

Only player's I don't like the look of thusfar are Michalek and Kovalev. Everyone else looks great. Cheechoo looks great only because I was so down on him before watching this

I hate that Carkner or Picard might not make the team. It sucks.

I love how Michalek has looked.

I must be missing something or you must be buying into the hype too much. I dunno. Haven't liked his game yet. We'll see. I think a lot of what I'm seeing has to do with the position he's been put in with all the hype surrounding the trade. I'm thinking he's feeling the pressure too much. After all, those are some pretty big shoes to fill on that LW...and his feet move WAY too fast for those shoes... Hopefully he settles into his game sometime early in the season. So far, I don't see it.

In my view he has had a few break aways very good on the pk and always seems to be able to egt back and help out defensively

CCgotITcovered wrote:Does Spezza look good this year, or what?!!

Comeback player of the year, 100 points, olympic team.

Too bad Feklund predicted that, so Spezz is officially cursed.

Hockeyhero22000 wrote:

CCgotITcovered wrote:

N4L wrote:

CCgotITcovered wrote:Yeah Kovalev (just like the first line) won't be relied upon solely to win games for us, but he (and they) will have nights when he does---which is obviously great for the team.

Only player's I don't like the look of thusfar are Michalek and Kovalev. Everyone else looks great. Cheechoo looks great only because I was so down on him before watching this

I hate that Carkner or Picard might not make the team. It sucks.

I love how Michalek has looked.

I must be missing something or you must be buying into the hype too much. I dunno. Haven't liked his game yet. We'll see. I think a lot of what I'm seeing has to do with the position he's been put in with all the hype surrounding the trade. I'm thinking he's feeling the pressure too much. After all, those are some pretty big shoes to fill on that LW...and his feet move WAY too fast for those shoes... Hopefully he settles into his game sometime early in the season. So far, I don't see it.

In my view he has had a few break aways very good on the pk and always seems to be able to egt back and help out defensively

Yep but he isn't impressive in the slightest with his offensive game.

New team, new linemates/teammates, new system, new everything---I'm not worried, just stating that he hasn't impressed in a certain arena, yet. I no longer have hopes for a +70 point season from him, but I still believe he should be capable of setting career highs in every offensive category, while remaining in the 60-70 point range. I expect nothing less, honestly.

asq2 wrote:

CCgotITcovered wrote:

asq2 wrote:

CCgotITcovered wrote:We actually have TWO top-6 centres!! And they're awesome!!

Referring to Regin?

Yes sir the man is a player. Pure and simple.

Poor man's Nick Backstrom.

Yeah I see the comparison, although I'm not sure that he's all that much like either of them. He's just Peter Regin Imo. He has his own distinct style. I can't really place it among active players...its just his

I'm already worried that he gets caught in our cap crunch, though

marakh wrote:

CCgotITcovered wrote:Does Spezza look good this year, or what?!!

Comeback player of the year, 100 points, olympic team.

Too bad Feklund predicted that, so Spezz is officially cursed.

Eklund gets a lot more right than he's given credit for

Either way, I don't think Eklund's predictions are the determining factor

Spez has obviously worked very hard on his pick-up/acceleration. He still lumbers around the ice and still floats a little more than I'd like, but he's moving his feet more consistently and has really picked up a lot of jump. I was saying all second-half of last year that he'd better spend his summer doing what David Booth did (train like a sprinter, not a hockey player) and it looks like he may have done just that.

It all bodes very well for our franchise.

eklund is right about 3% of the time a website has actually calculated his percent(dont remember which

Final thoughts before I

-Brian Lee doesn't have a shot in hell of being a regular this season.
-Carkner will get cut by November---still looks great. Nice surprise...
-Karlsson is better than I even imagined.
-Not sold on Leclaire. Still looking forward to the Lehner era...
-Phillips looks in mid-season form---Volchenkov, not so much.
-Definitely not sold on Campoli.
-Shannon (love him) will be replaced on the 1st unit by E.K. within weeks.
-Kovalev better pick it up.
-Cheechoo is good for 40 this year. Book it.
-Foligno too.
-Neil still has to prove he can play. He's part of the glue, but thats a lot of money to pay a 4th liner that can't PK. Keep in mind: Detroit doesn't have one...
-Schubert...well...good luck to him wherever he goes.
-Kelly looks like the odd-man out. We'll see how that works when Winchester is back. Dollar savings makes sense...
-Spezza still has to prove he can do it for a full year (hopefully a few...)

-Alfie is back!

Hockeyhero22000 wrote:eklund is right about 3% of the time a website has actually calculated his percent(dont remember which

Thats only because he says so much Either way, I'll take the general concensus of the GM's here above his any day of the week. If he happens to match us, then lucky him.

CCgotITcovered wrote:Final thoughts before I

-Brian Lee doesn't have a shot in hell of being a regular this season.
-Carkner will get cut by November---still looks great. Nice surprise...
-Karlsson is better than I even imagined.
-Not sold on Leclaire. Still looking forward to the Lehner era...
-Phillips looks in mid-season form---Volchenkov, not so much.
-Definitely not sold on Campoli.
-Shannon (love him) will be replaced on the 1st unit by E.K. within weeks.
-Kovalev better pick it up.
-Cheechoo is good for 40 this year. Book it.
-Foligno too.
-Neil still has to prove he can play. He's part of the glue, but thats a lot of money to pay a 4th liner that can't PK. Keep in mind: Detroit doesn't have one...
-Schubert...well...good luck to him wherever he goes.
-Kelly looks like the odd-man out. We'll see how that works when Winchester is back. Dollar savings makes sense...
-Spezza still has to prove he can do it for a full year (hopefully a few...)

-Alfie is back!

40 points for Cheechoo?

I thought Lee was OK. He had to cover for Karlsson, who wanders around the ice a lot. As he gets more accustomed to NHL systems, hopefully Erik will make it easier on his defensive partner.

CCgotITcovered wrote:Final thoughts before I

-Brian Lee doesn't have a shot in hell of being a regular this season.
-Carkner will get cut by November---still looks great. Nice surprise...
-Karlsson is better than I even imagined.
-Not sold on Leclaire. Still looking forward to the Lehner era...
-Phillips looks in mid-season form---Volchenkov, not so much.
-Definitely not sold on Campoli.
-Shannon (love him) will be replaced on the 1st unit by E.K. within weeks.
-Kovalev better pick it up.
-Cheechoo is good for 40 this year. Book it.
-Foligno too.
-Neil still has to prove he can play. He's part of the glue, but thats a lot of money to pay a 4th liner that can't PK. Keep in mind: Detroit doesn't have one...
-Schubert...well...good luck to him wherever he goes.
-Kelly looks like the odd-man out. We'll see how that works when Winchester is back. Dollar savings makes sense...
-Spezza still has to prove he can do it for a full year (hopefully a few...)

-Alfie is back!

Lee - agreed. He has done nothing to actually deserve a spot on this team and I'm not sure he will ever be a regular in Ottawa. He has Pheonix written all over him

Carkner - maybe... Im not sure he makes the team and if he does I'm not sure Clouston would cut a guy like him...

Karlsson - exactly what I thought he would be and that's phenominal

Leclaire - I'm sold on him but I'm not sure he will stay healthy... Hope he does though, he has it all.

Phillips and A train - agreed. A Train like I have said before may very well be a piece that gets dealt at some point this year.

Campoli - meh, no real opinion on him right now, still gotta see more.

Shannon - I like the guy but I think people give the guy too much credit. He's solid, probably a top 6 guy, but the Alfi comparissons? More like a McDonald to me.

Kovalev - he is what he is

Cheechoo and Foligno - I think Foligno gets closer to 50, maybe 60.

Neil - playing is role he will show his worth, even if it isnt 2 mil worth

Schubert - How has he not been waived yet?

Kelly - Love him but he def isnt needed in Ottawa at this point.

Spezza - Keep it up. I want results before I give the guy the kind of praise he is looking for.

Alfi - I dont know... I hope he hasnt lost a step but Alfi is Alfi and he will once again be the best player in Ottawa.

Kovalev has 2 goals and an assist in 4 games. He's shooting at 50% and you say he'd better step it up? I guess with that shooting percentage, yeah, pile on the shots, man.

Alfie has 8 shots and nothing else in 3 games, and you say he's back.

I don't want to make this sound like an anti-Alfie rant, but of those two I'd say it's #11 that has to step it up, which I fully believe he will do.

CCgotITcovered wrote:Final thoughts before I

-Brian Lee doesn't have a shot in hell of being a regular this season.
-Carkner will get cut by November---still looks great. Nice surprise...
-Karlsson is better than I even imagined.
-Not sold on Leclaire. Still looking forward to the Lehner era...
-Phillips looks in mid-season form---Volchenkov, not so much.
-Definitely not sold on Campoli.
-Shannon (love him) will be replaced on the 1st unit by E.K. within weeks.
-Kovalev better pick it up.
-Cheechoo is good for 40 this year. Book it.
-Foligno too.
-Neil still has to prove he can play. He's part of the glue, but thats a lot of money to pay a 4th liner that can't PK. Keep in mind: Detroit doesn't have one...
-Schubert...well...good luck to him wherever he goes.
-Kelly looks like the odd-man out. We'll see how that works when Winchester is back. Dollar savings makes sense...
-Spezza still has to prove he can do it for a full year (hopefully a few...)

-Alfie is back!

Ya, again, you look at the stats column far too much.

wprager wrote:Kovalev has 2 goals and an assist in 4 games. He's shooting at 50% and you say he'd better step it up? I guess with that shooting percentage, yeah, pile on the shots, man.

Alfie has 8 shots and nothing else in 3 games, and you say he's back.

I don't want to make this sound like an anti-Alfie rant, but of those two I'd say it's #11 that has to step it up, which I fully believe he will do.

CCgotITcovered wrote:Final thoughts before I

-Brian Lee doesn't have a shot in hell of being a regular this season.
-Carkner will get cut by November---still looks great. Nice surprise...
-Karlsson is better than I even imagined.
-Not sold on Leclaire. Still looking forward to the Lehner era...
-Phillips looks in mid-season form---Volchenkov, not so much.
-Definitely not sold on Campoli.
-Shannon (love him) will be replaced on the 1st unit by E.K. within weeks.
-Kovalev better pick it up.
-Cheechoo is good for 40 this year. Book it.
-Foligno too.
-Neil still has to prove he can play. He's part of the glue, but thats a lot of money to pay a 4th liner that can't PK. Keep in mind: Detroit doesn't have one...
-Schubert...well...good luck to him wherever he goes.
-Kelly looks like the odd-man out. We'll see how that works when Winchester is back. Dollar savings makes sense...
-Spezza still has to prove he can do it for a full year (hopefully a few...)

-Alfie is back!

Did you actually watch the games? He wasn't exactly focused...
Alfie played way better than Kovalev man. Stats won't change anything about that.

asq2 wrote:

40 points for Cheechoo?

I thought Lee was OK. He had to cover for Karlsson, who wanders around the ice a lot. As he gets more accustomed to NHL systems, hopefully Erik will make it easier on his defensive partner.

I would agree with you. I really like Karlsson but he does wander a lot and his confidence is on the verge of cocky. He is often down in the faceoff circle. Not that it is bad, in fact it is refreshing but it is never good for the defense partner, who turns out to be the bridesmaid. Lee wasn't bad at all so far. He needs to be more physical but he has been pretty good positionally and isn't making mistakes.

MurderOnIce wrote:

asq2 wrote:

40 points for Cheechoo?

I thought Lee was OK. He had to cover for Karlsson, who wanders around the ice a lot. As he gets more accustomed to NHL systems, hopefully Erik will make it easier on his defensive partner.

I would agree with you. I really like Karlsson but he does wander a lot and his confidence is on the verge of cocky. He is often down in the faceoff circle. Not that it is bad, in fact it is refreshing but it is never good for the defense partner, who turns out to be the bridesmaid. Lee wasn't bad at all so far. He needs to be more physical but he has been pretty good positionally and isn't making mistakes.

Not bad and good are totally different. Lee had to do something to get noticed, he hasnt, he has just been meh. Karlsson has shown what he can do and with the assets he has it's better to develope him then someone they dont think can even be a top 6 in The NHL at this point.

N4L wrote:

Lee - agreed. He has done nothing to actually deserve a spot on this team and I'm not sure he will ever be a regular in Ottawa. He has Pheonix written all over him

Carkner - maybe... Im not sure he makes the team and if he does I'm not sure Clouston would cut a guy like him...

Karlsson - exactly what I thought he would be and that's phenominal

Leclaire - I'm sold on him but I'm not sure he will stay healthy... Hope he does though, he has it all.

Phillips and A train - agreed. A Train like I have said before may very well be a piece that gets dealt at some point this year.

Campoli - meh, no real opinion on him right now, still gotta see more.

Shannon - I like the guy but I think people give the guy too much credit. He's solid, probably a top 6 guy, but the Alfi comparissons? More like a McDonald to me.

Kovalev - he is what he is

Cheechoo and Foligno - I think Foligno gets closer to 50, maybe 60.

Neil - playing is role he will show his worth, even if it isnt 2 mil worth

Schubert - How has he not been waived yet?

Kelly - Love him but he def isnt needed in Ottawa at this point.

Spezza - Keep it up. I want results before I give the guy the kind of praise he is looking for.

Alfi - I dont know... I hope he hasnt lost a step but Alfi is Alfi and he will once again be the best player in Ottawa.

I know you aren't a Lee lover but he hasn't been bad IMO so far. He hasn't been spectacular but I would certainly take him over Schubert. He is what he is, Tom Preissing with bleach blonde hair.