GAME 4 - 2010 Stanley Cup GAME DAY: Ottawa Senators (1) @ Pittsburgh Penguins (2), Tuesday Apr. 20, 2010 - 7:00PM EST.

Flo The Action wrote:

N4L wrote:The Pitts team is better, but you shoudl be able to notice (positivly) your "best player" and your highest paid player. Spezza isnt the scap goat here but he is the guy this team is going forward with and if what we are seeing is the best you can get out of him, start over because that isnt close to good enough, Pitts being the better team or not.

agreed.
players we need more from: spezza, alfie, volchie, sutton, fisher, cullen, foligno and cheechoo if he's in.

How bout the plug in your avatar?

Urkie wrote:
For what it's worth. I think Fisher and Cullen have actually been much much worse then Spezza has. I know they aren't supposed to be the go to guys but they have generated nothing in this series 5 on 5. Absolutely nothing.

Losing Michalek and Kovalev means there is far more focus and expectations on Fisher and Cullen than there should be.

Regin has stepped up but we're also counting on Foligno (who's been disappointing most of the year). Spezza and Alfie haven't scored. Kelly's line pretty much won Game 1 and our 4th line has done nothing as well.

None of our forwards have been consistent finishers all year. It's all been done by committee and it's been hit or miss as to which forward would contribute on any given day.

Hoags wrote:

Urkie wrote:
For what it's worth. I think Fisher and Cullen have actually been much much worse then Spezza has. I know they aren't supposed to be the go to guys but they have generated nothing in this series 5 on 5. Absolutely nothing.

Losing Michalek and Kovalev means there is far more focus and expectations on Fisher and Cullen than there should be.

Regin has stepped up but we're also counting on Foligno (who's been disappointing most of the year). Spezza and Alfie haven't scored. Kelly's line pretty much won Game 1 and our 4th line has done nothing as well.

None of our forwards have been consistent finishers all year. It's all been done by committee and it's been hit or miss as to which forward would contribute on any given day.

Not really, neither has really been elevated out of their expected roles. Fisher is still the 2nd line Center and he's still wearing the A. Cullen is also in a role that suits him, outside of having to play the wing.

The 4th line is pretty much there to give the other lines a rest and not get scored on while their out there. They are, at least, doing their job.

Urkie wrote:
I do think Spezza cares and maybe too much. For years Alfie tried to do too much and tried to be the one man show but in the end it ended up hurting the team more then helping. Spezza is doing the same thing Alfie did earlier in his career but it's backfiring on him. That's how I see it anyway.

For what it's worth. I think Fisher and Cullen have actually been much much worse then Spezza has. I know they aren't supposed to be the go to guys but they have generated nothing in this series 5 on 5. Absolutely nothing.

Diddle Urkie, that's an incredible point you make. The onus is on Spezza, Clouston and everyone else to point this out to him and see if it can change.

Good point.

SpezDispenser wrote:Diddle Urkie, that's an incredible point you make. The onus is on Spezza, Clouston and everyone else to point this out to him and see if it can change.

Good point.

I know you guys have suggested Spezza may have to be traded as well but I don't think you trade Spezza.

Fisher is the guy I'm looking at with Regin proving how good he really is. He'd be more then capable of taking the number 2 centre position and maybe even overtaking Spezza at some point as the #1. I'm not comfortable with Fisher as our #1 centre and I doubt anyone else is. He's just way too inconsistent and he has never really stepped up in the playoffs. Spezza at least has in the past and he still could in this series if he gets his Dung together.

Big Ev wrote:

Flo The Action wrote:

N4L wrote:The Pitts team is better, but you shoudl be able to notice (positivly) your "best player" and your highest paid player. Spezza isnt the scap goat here but he is the guy this team is going forward with and if what we are seeing is the best you can get out of him, start over because that isnt close to good enough, Pitts being the better team or not.

agreed.
players we need more from: spezza, alfie, volchie, sutton, fisher, cullen, foligno and cheechoo if he's in.

How bout the plug in your avatar?

oh but i don't expect him to do much. he's a 6th D. as long as he stays out of the minus and doesn't take any bad penalties(he's actualy done a good job at that in comparison to the regular season.) sure everyone should pitch in a bit more. i wouldn't expect him to be part of the big problem with the losses.

Urkie wrote:

SpezDispenser wrote:Diddle Urkie, that's an incredible point you make. The onus is on Spezza, Clouston and everyone else to point this out to him and see if it can change.

Good point.

I know you guys have suggested Spezza may have to be traded as well but I don't think you trade Spezza.

Fisher is the guy I'm looking at with Regin proving how good he really is. He'd be more then capable of taking the number 2 centre position and maybe even overtaking Spezza at some point as the #1. I'm not comfortable with Fisher as our #1 centre and I doubt anyone else is. He's just way too inconsistent and he has never really stepped up in the playoffs. Spezza at least has in the past and he still could in this series if he gets his Dung together.

agreed. i love the combativeness of fisher but if you wanna talk about a player taking up cap space... that's a brutal 4.2. deal fish and somehow kovalev(or maybe leclaire) and try to land kovalchuk... ok i'm getting to far ahead.

9 posts.... till i finaly reach 1000

You can't deal Fisher, he makes a truckload of money, no one will take him.

EDIT: Not to mention that he has a NMC and is incredible popular.

SpezDispenser wrote:You can't deal Fisher, he makes a truckload of money, no one will take him.

EDIT: Not to mention that he has a NMC and is incredible popular.

It's a business. And like any other businessman, Murray can't let sentiment get in the way of what needs to be done. There's going to be a natural evolution for every NHL team, some are accelerated by circumstance, others by time.

If Ottawa hopes to win a Stanley Cup in the time frame they've set themselves, the proverbial "window of opportunity", then the team needs to evaluate all its transactions with objectivity.

SpezDispenser wrote:You can't deal Fisher, he makes a truckload of money, no one will take him.

EDIT: Not to mention that he has a NMC and is incredible popular.

Reminds me of a certain defenceman we once had.

Wade something or other.

But I think Fisher's game has gone downhill ever since he got engaged.

Hoags wrote:

SpezDispenser wrote:You can't deal Fisher, he makes a truckload of money, no one will take him.

EDIT: Not to mention that he has a NMC and is incredible popular.

Reminds me of a certain defenceman we once had.

Wade something or other.

But I think Fisher's game has gone downhill ever since he got engaged.

Right. And as popular as The Wayner was, Murray still practically ran him out of town.

Tough to read, though, because he did give Del Shannon another deal...

SpezDispenser wrote:You can't deal Fisher, he makes a truckload of money, no one will take him.

EDIT: Not to mention that he has a NMC and is incredible popular.

I think you can. A deal with the Preds can be done IMHO. The likes of Mike and Carrie being the toast of the town would be too much for Nashville to resist. It's a publicists' wet dream.

Tootoo would *have* to be part of the deal. Having the Ruutu-Cheechoo-Tootoo line would be hard for *us* to resist

Number Twenty Nine wrote:

SpezDispenser wrote:You can't deal Fisher, he makes a truckload of money, no one will take him.

EDIT: Not to mention that he has a NMC and is incredible popular.

I think you can. A deal with the Preds can be done IMHO. The likes of Mike and Carrie being the toast of the town would be too much for Nashville to resist. It's a publicists' wet dream.

fish does make alot of money, but it all depends on needs. everyone knows that if you're missing grit, someone that will give it 110% all of the time, lead by example with the ability to score 20-25(being hopeful) to complement(and i say complement is the big word here) an already good team. then i'd say fish is the dish of the day! especialy if it's with a team that isn't tight on the cap. or is making room. he'd be perfect for the style of NJ,(if they don't resign kovalchuk...cuz we have!hehe) a good fit in nashville? maybe LA? Tampa?(hint hint st-louis?)
not to mention that the grass is always greener on the other side. another GM might see a 30 goal scorer in the making? the kind that saw right to give vermette a hell of a raise?
just food for thought.

the trades for Heatley and Vermette look pretty darn bad now, don't they? Almost career limiting.

One of the big problems, at least in the last 2 games, seems to be that the D is afraid of pinching and jumping in to the rush like they do when the team is rolling. It's understandable with Crosby, Malkin, etc.. but that is how this team needs to play if they want to score some goals. Right now the Sens are playing a little scared of the firepower on the other side, and if that doesn't change the series is over in 5.

Number Twenty Nine wrote:the trades for Heatley and Vermette look pretty darn bad now, don't they? Almost career limiting.

I would do both deals again without blinking.