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http://www.crashthecrease.com/2010/02/24/who-are-the-sens-after/
As much as I like to watch Olympic Hockey, I’m still 100% a fan of
the Ottawa Senators and watching the NHL, so with that, the next week
will become extremely interesting. Not just because the super-powers of
the world will be playing in Vancouver for Gold, but also because when
the NHL resumes, there will be a mere 72 hours until the trade deadline
is done. 72 hours…that means without a shadow of a doubt that there are
deals already done in the NHL right now, guys may not know about it
yet, but there have been trades made. No GM wants to go into the heart
of the deadline without at least trying to plug some holes during this
roster freeze.
So, to the Ottawa Senators. When you look at the Eastern Conference,
it’s pretty tight, both at the bottom of the 8 teams allowed into the
post-season and also up in the top 5 teams. Buffalo could usurp Ottawa
for 3rd at any second, Ottawa could take New Jersey out of 2nd,
Pittsburgh could in turn take Jersey out of 2nd, Jersey would fall to
4th. So much could happen because so many teams are so close. The only
thing that appears to be set in stone is that the Washington Capitals
should take the 1st seed.
Here are the questions that are on the minds of the GM s of the
aforementioned teams: 1.Is Washington a slam dunk to win the East? No,
there is no slam dunk to do anything this year. The closest in my
opinion would be a slam dunk for the Blackhawks to make the Cup Finals –
and hey, let’s face it, it’s no really not etched in stone, not with
San Jose, Vancouver to name but two having a say in it. 2.Can we alter
what will happen in the playoffs with a trade at the deadline? Of
course you can, if one thing happens and one thing changes the outcome
of one game, who knows how much else that one action will be responsible
for. For example, last year, the Carolina Hurricanes won several games
in cardiac fashion – in the dying seconds or minutes. And the main guy
doing the damage? Waiver pickup Jussi Jokinen. That’s right, he got
snatched up on waivers and he made a destructive impact on the New
Jersey Devils and their hopes to make it far into the post-season.
So, who is on the Senators radar? Having already picked up wily
veteran Matt Cullen – who still has the knack to score as evidenced by
his 40 points – which ranks fourth on the Ottawa Senators, the Senators
must now shift their attention to a D-man. How prolific a D-men remains
to be seen. Perhaps Bryan Murray goes off the radar and picks up
someone like a Shane O’Brien from Vancouver, but the expectation appears
to be that this might be a little bit of a bigger move than that.
So, who’s in the mix for the Sens? Not many people can say that to
any real degree of certainty, but talk to bloggers like SensChirp, look
around rumour boards and use common sense – and these are the names that
come up the most:
1.Dan Hamhuis: for as long as I can recall – dating back to last
summer or before – Hamhuis has been linked to the Sens. He’s a sturdy,
smaller version of Chris Phillips who is very responsible in his own end
(although, talking to Nashville fans, they’ve been less than enthused
about his play this year). Hamhuis wont come cheap though, he’s though
to be a perfect target for teams that need a top 4 D-man to bolster
their run.
2.Marek Zidlicky: this guy is on everyone’s radar, but the Sens have
long lamented not having a PP QB and a puck-mover with style. While
they may have gotten an early Christmas present in Erik Karlsson,
assuming he’s your number one puck mover going into the playoffs is
risky business.
3.Denis Seidenberg: this is picking up major steam in Ottawa, with
local radio guy JR from the Team 1200 even going as far as to say ‘a
little birdie told him’ that Seidenberg would be a Sen by March 2nd.
Sens fans should be saying: yes please! He’s a rugged, tough D-man
who’s underrated in both zones, but especially in the offensive zone
where he can shoot the puck with aplomb. The price HAS to have gone up
though based on his performance in the Olympics.
4.Keith Ballard: the dream of most Sens fans, but don’t be too
quick. Ballard was the centerpiece of the Olli Jokinen trade and is
woefully underrated. Acquiring him would cost the Sens Nick Foligno + –
a price that they probably shouldn’t be willing to pay right now.
5.Andy Sutton: yeah, this sounds like the perfect fit to go with Matt
Carkner. A solid, crease-clearing guy, Andy Sutton’s value is
undoubtedly pretty high though. Having Sutton as a number 5 guy is
intriguing to say the least. WARNING: Sutton is not the fastest guy…to
say the least.
6.Pavel Kubina: I don’t like the sound of this at all. I like Kubina
as a player – a lot – but Atlanta is in the playoff race, so what the
heck would they want? Nick Foligno? Not for a rental thanks. A 2nd
rounder? A 1st even? Plus Kubina makes 5 million dollars, so the Sens
would also have to clear about one million to be safe. Not sure where
this rumour came up, but I think it’s HIGHLY unlikely.
7.Stephane Robidas: the biggest wildcard and also the guy who has
most been linked to the Sens recently. He just signed a new contract
that will see him be paid 3.5 million for the next 4 years, but Dallas
is having money problems and they need to start to rebuild a bit. Could
this happen? Absolutely. The Sens have Nick Foligno and Brian Lee or
Chris Campoli + a 2nd rounder to offer. That’s a solid deal and let me
tell you: Robidas is a solid player. He has the warrior instincts that
Volchenkov has, blocks shots, plays a sound defense, but he also has a
highly underrated offensive game. For my money, this is the guy to
target to complete an already decent solid D core. Of course, Dallas
might have something to say about that, seeing as how this is just a
rumor.
So there are a few guys who have been on the Sens list for a while
now. Will it propel them to the Cup? Probably not, but how to heck
will we know if we don’t give it the old college try?
March 4th is the deadline – prepare for a nutty couple of days after
the Olympics! And watch for one of these 7 to call Ottawa home for a
while.
As much as I like to watch Olympic Hockey, I’m still 100% a fan of
the Ottawa Senators and watching the NHL, so with that, the next week
will become extremely interesting. Not just because the super-powers of
the world will be playing in Vancouver for Gold, but also because when
the NHL resumes, there will be a mere 72 hours until the trade deadline
is done. 72 hours…that means without a shadow of a doubt that there are
deals already done in the NHL right now, guys may not know about it
yet, but there have been trades made. No GM wants to go into the heart
of the deadline without at least trying to plug some holes during this
roster freeze.
So, to the Ottawa Senators. When you look at the Eastern Conference,
it’s pretty tight, both at the bottom of the 8 teams allowed into the
post-season and also up in the top 5 teams. Buffalo could usurp Ottawa
for 3rd at any second, Ottawa could take New Jersey out of 2nd,
Pittsburgh could in turn take Jersey out of 2nd, Jersey would fall to
4th. So much could happen because so many teams are so close. The only
thing that appears to be set in stone is that the Washington Capitals
should take the 1st seed.
Here are the questions that are on the minds of the GM s of the
aforementioned teams: 1.Is Washington a slam dunk to win the East? No,
there is no slam dunk to do anything this year. The closest in my
opinion would be a slam dunk for the Blackhawks to make the Cup Finals –
and hey, let’s face it, it’s no really not etched in stone, not with
San Jose, Vancouver to name but two having a say in it. 2.Can we alter
what will happen in the playoffs with a trade at the deadline? Of
course you can, if one thing happens and one thing changes the outcome
of one game, who knows how much else that one action will be responsible
for. For example, last year, the Carolina Hurricanes won several games
in cardiac fashion – in the dying seconds or minutes. And the main guy
doing the damage? Waiver pickup Jussi Jokinen. That’s right, he got
snatched up on waivers and he made a destructive impact on the New
Jersey Devils and their hopes to make it far into the post-season.
So, who is on the Senators radar? Having already picked up wily
veteran Matt Cullen – who still has the knack to score as evidenced by
his 40 points – which ranks fourth on the Ottawa Senators, the Senators
must now shift their attention to a D-man. How prolific a D-men remains
to be seen. Perhaps Bryan Murray goes off the radar and picks up
someone like a Shane O’Brien from Vancouver, but the expectation appears
to be that this might be a little bit of a bigger move than that.
So, who’s in the mix for the Sens? Not many people can say that to
any real degree of certainty, but talk to bloggers like SensChirp, look
around rumour boards and use common sense – and these are the names that
come up the most:
1.Dan Hamhuis: for as long as I can recall – dating back to last
summer or before – Hamhuis has been linked to the Sens. He’s a sturdy,
smaller version of Chris Phillips who is very responsible in his own end
(although, talking to Nashville fans, they’ve been less than enthused
about his play this year). Hamhuis wont come cheap though, he’s though
to be a perfect target for teams that need a top 4 D-man to bolster
their run.
2.Marek Zidlicky: this guy is on everyone’s radar, but the Sens have
long lamented not having a PP QB and a puck-mover with style. While
they may have gotten an early Christmas present in Erik Karlsson,
assuming he’s your number one puck mover going into the playoffs is
risky business.
3.Denis Seidenberg: this is picking up major steam in Ottawa, with
local radio guy JR from the Team 1200 even going as far as to say ‘a
little birdie told him’ that Seidenberg would be a Sen by March 2nd.
Sens fans should be saying: yes please! He’s a rugged, tough D-man
who’s underrated in both zones, but especially in the offensive zone
where he can shoot the puck with aplomb. The price HAS to have gone up
though based on his performance in the Olympics.
4.Keith Ballard: the dream of most Sens fans, but don’t be too
quick. Ballard was the centerpiece of the Olli Jokinen trade and is
woefully underrated. Acquiring him would cost the Sens Nick Foligno + –
a price that they probably shouldn’t be willing to pay right now.
5.Andy Sutton: yeah, this sounds like the perfect fit to go with Matt
Carkner. A solid, crease-clearing guy, Andy Sutton’s value is
undoubtedly pretty high though. Having Sutton as a number 5 guy is
intriguing to say the least. WARNING: Sutton is not the fastest guy…to
say the least.
6.Pavel Kubina: I don’t like the sound of this at all. I like Kubina
as a player – a lot – but Atlanta is in the playoff race, so what the
heck would they want? Nick Foligno? Not for a rental thanks. A 2nd
rounder? A 1st even? Plus Kubina makes 5 million dollars, so the Sens
would also have to clear about one million to be safe. Not sure where
this rumour came up, but I think it’s HIGHLY unlikely.
7.Stephane Robidas: the biggest wildcard and also the guy who has
most been linked to the Sens recently. He just signed a new contract
that will see him be paid 3.5 million for the next 4 years, but Dallas
is having money problems and they need to start to rebuild a bit. Could
this happen? Absolutely. The Sens have Nick Foligno and Brian Lee or
Chris Campoli + a 2nd rounder to offer. That’s a solid deal and let me
tell you: Robidas is a solid player. He has the warrior instincts that
Volchenkov has, blocks shots, plays a sound defense, but he also has a
highly underrated offensive game. For my money, this is the guy to
target to complete an already decent solid D core. Of course, Dallas
might have something to say about that, seeing as how this is just a
rumor.
So there are a few guys who have been on the Sens list for a while
now. Will it propel them to the Cup? Probably not, but how to heck
will we know if we don’t give it the old college try?
March 4th is the deadline – prepare for a nutty couple of days after
the Olympics! And watch for one of these 7 to call Ottawa home for a
while.
