Have your say on the Sens year thus far!

I was thinking of writing a blog based around comments from people on here for CTC. A nice little cross promotion for both sites. For example, what do you think of the Sens season so far. Who are the disappointments, the pleasant surprises. Who doesn't quite fit on the roster, who you would like re-signed.

What you see for the rest of the year. That kind of thing.

Have your say and I'll include most of them in a Heart of Sensland blog.

Even with the ups and downs, I wouldn't even say that there are any disappointments aside from Spezza's production. Let me be clear, not Spezza, just his production. I haven't really seen anything in his game that was unexpected or a sign of eroding skills.

Leclaire? Too soon to tell. Sure, it's been well over half of season. But what kind of season has it been? Injuries and a lack of consistency in terms of starts to rest ratio make it tough to evaluate this player. The quickness of his limbs and flexibility have been impressive, though.

Cheechoo is what we expected and I dare say even a pleasant surprise with his work ethic. I have not seen this guy take ONE shift off.

Kovalev: Frustrating at times, but dominant and dazzling for the most part. He makes everyone around him better just by being on the ice. That's a fact.

Yikes. I could really go on and on here but I better take a breather and see what others have to say...

I think this is a solid team. We don't have the greatest defense or goaltending but I think we're competitive if the team stays confident and sticks with the game plan. We've also got quite a few youngsters on their way up which is exciting for the future of the Sens.

I think Clouston is the MVP of the team behind Alfie, he's taken a team in total disarray and brought us back into the realm of respectability. As a fan he's certainly restored my faith that this team can be a winner again.

I hope we make it into the postseason if only to see how Clouston coaches in the playoffs. If he's successful I hope we sign him longterm and he enjoys a long succesful career here in Ottawa. It'll be interesting to see what he can do with our up and comers in the years to come. Karlsson and Regin's emergence is certainly a good sign.

Philips was on NHL Live a few minutes ago and he was asked about goaltending. I didn't expect him to spit on them, but to me he was pretty convincing when he said the goaltending was not at fault when they were losing. He said they (the defense) were making a lot of dangerous turnovers in their own end. He also said that while a big save on a key time was needed, it should not be expected when you put your goalie in a tough situation for most of the game.

Big disappointments thus far:

Spezza - Hopefully he turns it around in the second half of the season and his GWG the other night is a good start.

Campoli - I was hoping he'd pick up where he left off last season but so far all he's done is improve, somewhat, defensively and look slightly better offensively but so far not much production wise.

Picard - He showed some promise as a 5th D man with some offense and was nicely paired with Carkner until his game started to slide and is now a healthy scratch. Wasn't he a key part of the Meszaros trade?

Mild disappointment

Shannon - He started out so slow but has finally started to kick it into gear. Very disappointing start coupled with an excellent stretch of games puts him in mild disappointment for me.

Cheechoo - I was simply hoping he'd produce so I can only be mildly disappointed that he hasn't come close to what I'd hoped for.

Michalek - The fact that Kelly is out producing him says it for me. Nice start but that's about it offensively anyway. I like what he brings but he needs to produce at a faster rate in the second half.

Big Surprises

Carkner - Can't say enough good things about this guy. He's the perfect 6th D man and he can actually score.

Phillips - Big bounce back year for him defensively and he even has 6 goals!

Fisher - I know he cooled off there a bit but he's still headed for a career year.

Mild Surprises

Alfie - I know I shouldn't be surprised by what he does but it's hard not to be a little surprised when he comes back, from a shoulder injury with a goal and two assists then follows that up with a natural hat trick.

Kovalev - He has really stepped up his game of late and he's finally close to what I expected he'd get points wise. He's also finally helping our PP become dangerous.

Regin - I know some would have him under big surprise but I felt with him being scratched a few times plus only recently putting up numbers that it wouldn't be a fair assessment.

Hoags wrote:I think this is a solid team. We don't have the greatest defense or goaltending but I think we're competitive if the team stays confident and sticks with the game plan. We've also got quite a few youngsters on their way up which is exciting for the future of the Sens.

I think Clouston is the MVP of the team behind Alfie, he's taken a team in total disarray and brought us back into the realm of respectability. As a fan he's certainly restored my faith that this team can be a winner again.

I hope we make it into the postseason if only to see how Clouston coaches in the playoffs. If he's successful I hope we sign him longterm and he enjoys a long succesful career here in Ottawa. It'll be interesting to see what he can do with our up and comers in the years to come. Karlsson and Regin's emergence is certainly a good sign.

Doesn't he have 3 years already?

Nice, I can use all of this. I'll start working on it, but there's plenty of time for people to chime in either for the first time, or to add on to what they already have.

marakh wrote:

Hoags wrote:I think this is a solid team. We don't have the greatest defense or goaltending but I think we're competitive if the team stays confident and sticks with the game plan. We've also got quite a few youngsters on their way up which is exciting for the future of the Sens.

I think Clouston is the MVP of the team behind Alfie, he's taken a team in total disarray and brought us back into the realm of respectability. As a fan he's certainly restored my faith that this team can be a winner again.

I hope we make it into the postseason if only to see how Clouston coaches in the playoffs. If he's successful I hope we sign him longterm and he enjoys a long succesful career here in Ottawa. It'll be interesting to see what he can do with our up and comers in the years to come. Karlsson and Regin's emergence is certainly a good sign.

Doesn't he have 3 years already?

He signed a 2 year extension in April I believe.

I think you should start your blog on the coach.

Brodeur is a huge surprise. Here's a guy that has been around the league, mostly in the AHL, and only played his first NHL game this season, and in 3 games has a G.A.A. of 1, a save % of 0.966 and recorded 1 S.O.

Chris Phillips has had a tremendous offensive performance thus far. So far he already has 6 goals, 10 assists (16 points) through 53 games, and is already only 2 goals and 8 assists shy from his NHL career highs. He is on pace to break both of those.

Pascal Leclaire has been a disappointment in respect that we thought he'd get over the injury bug, but has been bitten twice so far.

Peter Regin has been playing very well, bumping Mike Fisher to the 3rd line. Solid play in all aspects.

Mike Fisher and Milan Michalek were both on fire through the first 20 or so games but have drastically cooled off. Were on pace for about 35 goals or so a piece.

I find that Spezza's overall game has improved, which once he finds a balance in the offensive and defensive sides, should be a complete player.

I would also add Clouston to Big Surprise. He will most likely get the shaft as far as Coach of the year despite the "experts" saying we'd be in 10th or 11th by the end of the season. Throw in key injuries and the fact that we blew that prediction out of the water by sitting in 5th in the East and I still think Clouston will get the shaft.

I would love Clouston to win Coach of the Year but it's hard to ignore Joe Sacco's success.

I'll be stunned if CC even gets nominated.

Who doesn't fit? I think everyone is OK for now but I do believe Kelly will be the odd man out. Mostly because of his salary. I also believe that Z. Smith was auditioning for life without Kelly and Winchester is also showing he might be that guy. The persistent rumours about Cogliano, a Kelly-like player IMO, tell me where things are headed as well.

Who do we re-sign? Winchester, Regin and Campoli. I would also add that I would sooner re-sign Picard than have him walk for nothing.

Get a cheaper alternative to (not "replacement for") Volchenkov and add a scoring and/or playmaking LW.

I don't think it's realistic to re-sign Brodeur even though I wish we could.

A+: The very best

Cory Clouston. I was initially gonna put him at the end, but he should be spearheading this with Alfie. He's finally balanced the aggressive play with the defensive play and made every single player better IMO. He's proving he's not slouch at coaching - a beautiful song to Sens fans ears.

Alfredsson. The best of the best of the best on this team. When he's playing, the Sens look like they can weather any storm, when he's out 9 times out of 10 the Sens wither. He controls the play and makes Ds back up, creating space and opportunities for different plays in the offensive zone.

A: Huge staples to the team

Phillips and Volchenkov. Both of these guys have provided amazing defense since the very start of the year. Lapses at times and a couple of injuries have put them at As instead of A+s, but both players willingness to buy into the Clouston system of taking some calculated risks and providing more offense = a renewed sense of belonging and the true anchors on our blue line.

Peter Regin. Damn ya! This kid had some ups and downs at the beginning of the year, but has since taken to making smart, crisp passes in the offensive zone while also having the creative instincts and the courage to make plays on his own from time to time - all wrapped in a neat bow of excellent 2-way play.

Milan Michalek. Had it not been for a slump, he'd be an A+, but even when he's slumping offensively, you can't take his wheels or his determination away. Lovely addition to a Clouston coached team.

Chris Kelly. HUGE props to Kelly for turning a somewhat awkward scenario here in Ottawa into a lovefest. Had everyone wondering why we spent the kind of money we did on him, but now, he's shown that he's a key piece in this team's success.

Sharko Ruutu. Same as Kelly, he's shown exactly what he's worth in terms of a strong defensive game, the willingness to mix it up and surprisingly is having one of his best offensive years as well.

Chris Neil. All year Neil has been the catalyst for physical play, forechecking and intimidating opponents into coughing up the puck. The latest example was against the mighty Blackhawks when he made Seabrook, Keith and Campbell all panic and give up the puck at different times in the game. Two of these resulted in goals.

Matt Carkner. Pretty close to an A+. For what we're paying him, he's delivering big time. He's an anchor back there, he's big, he's nasty, he's aggressive and he's one of the more feared fighters now. One of the feel good stories of the year.

The rest....

Jason Spezza: C+. He's been on again, off again the whole year. Most thing it has to do with injuries, some think he's lost his shine completely. His GWG on Saturday is a nice start to what we can hope will be a great 2nd half.

Alex Kovalev: B. The exact definition of a streaky, average player, but no mistakes, if he continues to play the way he is now (which is unlikely), he'll be a major reason for the Sens success.

Nick Folgino. B-. I've been disappointed in Foligno personally. I thought he might have a chance to be a legitimate 25 goal man this year, but he's struggled with consistency and his battle level at time leaves something to be desired.

Pascal Leclaire. C-. Sometimes good, sometimes not great, always injured. We'll all have to wait until he can play a string of 15-20 games in a row before any final judgments can be made. As of now? A mistake acquisition.

Brian Elliott. C. Inconsistent as the day is long. Was tepid during the month when Leclaire was out, but electric this past 5 games.

Filip Kuba. C. Boy I wish he'd regain his form of last year after we re-signed him. He made us all look silly when he was playing so well and so many of us wanted him traded at the deadline, but now...he's looking like the player we wanted traded.

Ryan Shannon. B-. Has recovered enough to get a B, but his early year struggles cannot be forgotten yet. Needs to continue his fine play in order to get another contract from the Sens.

Hoags wrote:I would love Clouston to win Coach of the Year but it's hard to ignore Joe Sacco's success.

I'll be stunned if CC even gets nominated.

Really name another team (besides maybe Phoenix and Colorado) who are performing at a higher level than everyone thought.

Even the homers (not meant in a bad way really) on this site thought Ottawa would be 10th to 8th. To be 6th at this point and playing quite well, and could have been even better if they were not without their #1 goalie, entire top line and 1/2 of their shut down pairing for more than a month (all at the same time). Is remarkable.

I see him in the running, but I don't see him winning.