2010 IIHF World Hockey Tournament

Also, it would be great to have a crystal ball to figure out just how good Regin is. Is he legit top line? Is he a 2nd line center? Will he buck the trend and explode in his sophomore year?

A lot depends on that as well I would imagine.

http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/news?slug=teamreports-2010-nhl-ott

More fuel to the fire that Sutton and Volchenkov are gone and Cowen and Wiercioch will replace them for the 2nd half of the season (I don't really know what that means - we'll rent someone for half the season?)

Murray wants Cullen back, but Cullen himself might be the obstacle there.



INSIDE SHOTS


The Senators are expected to have two or three big holes to fill in
the offseason.

It’s unlikely they’ll be able to afford physical defensemen Anton
Volchenkov(notes)
and Andy
Sutton(notes),
both of who are eligible to test the unrestricted free agent market
July 1. Versatile forward Matt
Cullen(notes)
will probably follow the same path out of town, but finding someone to
fill his role should be a little easier.
GM Bryan Murray says he expects prospects Patrick Wiercioch and Jared
Cowen(notes),
a pair of 19-year-olds, to be capable of playing with Ottawa by the
second half of next season. That’s a little ambitious. Either way, he’ll
have to find a couple of blue liners off the free agent heap to bridge
the gap until Wiercioch and Cowen are ready. At least one of them has to
be a bruiser, because without Sutton and Volchenkov the Senators’
defense becomes very soft.

Murray also wants to add an offensive-minded defenseman to the mix.
He already has Erik
Karlsson(notes),
who gave indications as a 19-year-old rookie that he’s going to turn
into a star. But Murray wants another of Karlsson’s ilk.

Meanwhile, the Senators should have a remarkably similar look at the
forward positions when camp opens. Cullen might be re-signed—his
versatility was invaluable, and he tied for the team scoring lead in the
playoffs. But whether he truly wants to return is another matter.

Having available cap space by not signing Volchenkov and Sutton, the
Senators need to pursue a forward who can help their attack. If Alex
Kovalev(notes),
37, doesn’t return from knee surgery, it might not be the worst news.
Minus Kovalev, they’d have $5 million more to work with, plus a job
opening for a more consistent, reliable winger.

Their goaltending will again be in the hands of Pascal
Leclaire(notes)
and Brian
Elliott(notes),
partly because they’d be unable to find a taker for Leclaire’s $4.8
million salary. If he can stay healthy, they’ll be fine at the position.
But staying healthy has been a big problem for Leclaire, and so it is
that the biggest concern heading into camp will be the area between the
two goalposts.

Season Highlight: A 6-1 loss in Atlanta Jan. 12 was the
team’s fifth consecutive setback, and bad turned to worse when No. 1
goalie Pascal Leclaire suffered a concussion when he was hit by a Mike
Fisher(notes)
shot during the morning skate hours before the next game, Jan. 14 at
Madison Square Garden. The Senators, who had enjoyed a team bonding
session in Central Park the previous day, recalled goalie Mike
Brodeur(notes)
from their AHL affiliate in Binghamton to replace Leclaire. Brodeur
arrive in New York shortly before game time and surprisingly was given
his first NHL start, which he turned into a 32-save shutout. The win was
the first of a franchise record 11 in a row, a streak that put them in
position to grab a playoff spot.

Turning Point: The Olympic break was not kind to the
Senators. They headed into the midseason holiday having won 12 of 14
games and challenging for the top spot in the division. After they
returned, they won just eight of 19 games. During the swoon, they lost
two top-six forwards—Milan
Michalek(notes)
and Alex Kovalev—and top-four defenseman Filip
Kuba(notes)
to injuries that kept those players in the playoffs. Pulling goalie
Pascal Leclaire six minutes into his first start in almost two months,
March 2 in Carolina, was a colossal mistake. His confidence shaken,
Leclaire was given only spot starts afterward, until coach Cory Clouston
turned to him with the Senators facing playoff elimination. Leclaire
responded with two strong playoff games, but his arrival on the scene
was too late to save Ottawa.
NOTES, QUOTES


• C Jason
Spezza(notes)
continues to be the lightning rod for criticism in Ottawa, where fans
are anxious for the team to return to the Cup final. Spezza re-injured
his back during training camp and had a terrible start to the season,
but after coming back from a knee injury in January he was one of the
Senators’ most consistent players. He finished second on the team in
points despite missing 22 games to injury, then had six points in six
playoff games. He was also guilty of a costly turnover—his biggest
fault—that led to a Sidney
Crosby(notes)
goal in the Senators’ 7-4 loss in Game 4. Spezza still has five years
left on a contact that has an annual cap hit of $7 million, with a
no-movement clause to kick in July 1. He’s aware fans are making him a
scapegoat and admits it’s “definitely trying at times,” but he’s not
currently interested in being traded. “I’ve persevered my whole career,”
Spezza said. “I’ll always continue to do the same.”

• As it turns out, the Senators survived the summer of 2009
and the unenviable position one-time 50-goal scorer Dany
Heatley(notes)
put them in when he demanded a trade. In dealing Heatley to San Jose,
they received in return LW Milan Michalek, LW Jonathan
Cheechoo(notes)
and a second-round pick they wound up using to acquire D Andy Sutton at
the trade deadline. Now, Michalek was injured and missed the playoffs,
and Cheechoo wound up in the minors, but Sutton played on their second
defensive pairing as the Senators gave the Pittsburgh Penguins a scare
in the first round. They didn’t make the playoffs the season before with
Heatley in the lineup. Also, Senators president Cyril Leeder says the
season-ticket renewal has already reached an all-time high of 90 percent
and that, with 10,000 current season-ticket holders, the goal is to
reach 11,000 over the summer.

Quote To Note: “Overall, I think a lot of encouraging things
happened this year. Obviously we’re much better situated going into
next year with the team we have. I’ll be back next year to try to get
into the playoffs and to try to play for the Stanley Cup.”—RW Daniel
Alfredsson(notes)
ROSTER REPORT


Most Valuable Player: Daniel Alfredsson played his 1,000th
career game, all with the Senators, during the last week of the regular
season. In that game, and the 20 or so before it, he was dealing with a
torn abdominal muscle. Nobody knew about the injury until after the last
game of the playoffs. Down the stretch, the Senators captain missed
just one game, and that was because of the flu. The Senators’ oldest
player at 37, Alfredsson remains the team’s best all-round player. He
led the way in scoring with 71 points during the season and finished
tied for the team lead in playoff scoring with eight more.

Most Disappointing Player: Alex Kovalev was playing his best
hockey of the season with three goals and four assists in four games
heading into the Olympic break. But when the games resumed a little more
than two weeks later, he was not the same. In his last 17 games,
Kovalev had one goal and one assist and was a minus-15. He was signed to
give the team some leadership and experience heading into the playoffs,
but his season ended in the second-to-last game when he tore the
anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee.

Biggest Needs: The Senators could use some scoring. Their
minus-13 in goal differential was the worst of the top nine teams in the
Eastern Conference. If they lose two of their better defensive
defensemen to unrestricted free agency, as expected, it figures they’ll
have an even bigger need for offense. GM Bryan Murray said he’d like to
add some offense on the back end to complement that provided by Erik
Karlsson.

Free Agent Focus: Defensemen Anton Volchenkov and Andy
Sutton and forward Matt Cullen are the team’s unrestricted free agents.
Volchenkov balked at the club’s last offer, a $20 million contract over
five years, and he is almost certainly headed for greener pastures.
Whether the Senators will give Sutton the raise or years he desires is
doubtful; team officials believe prospects Patrick Wiercioch and Jared
Cowen could be ready to play in the second half of next season. GM Bryan
Murray liked Cullen’s play and “professionalism” and is interested in
re-signing him, but the versatile American will weigh options that could
include going back to Carolina, where his wife and kids stayed even
after he was traded at the deadline. Donovan, a healthy scratch much of
the season, will likely retire. Restricted free agents include forwards Peter
Regin(notes),
Nick
Foligno(notes)
and Jesse
Winchester(notes)
and defenseman Chris
Campoli(notes).
The Senators want them all back.

Player Notes:

• Rookie LW Peter Regin was spending most of his time on the
team’s fourth line before he was called upon to take a shift alongside
Jason Spezza and Daniel Alfredsson, in the spot Milan Michalek worked
before he was injured, during a March 22 game in Montreal. Regin, a good
skater and smart player, scored in the victory and stayed on the first
line the rest of the season, finishing with 13 goals and 16 assists. In
the playoffs, he scored three goals and was one of the Senators’ best
players.

• D Erik Karlsson’s improvement was dramatic. The 19-year-old
rookie was sent to the minors for a month early in the season, and by
the last few weeks he was leading the team in ice time. Karlsson evolved
into the puck-moving power play quarterback the Senators hoped he’d
become, and he did so even before they expected.

• G Pascal Leclaire will be the most closely watched player on
the team when camp starts in September. Fighting injury problems and
then inconsistency during the season, he lost his No. 1 job to Brian
Elliott. But when the Senators were down to one life in the playoffs,
they turned to Leclaire, and he did not disappoint. He made 56 stops in
Ottawa’s triple-overtime victory in Game 5, then another 39 in a losing
effort in Game 6.

Medical Watch:

• LW Milan Michalek (left knee) is expected to be ready for
training camp after offseason surgery to repair a torn anterior cruciate
ligament.

• RW Alex Kovalev (left knee) is expected to be ready for
training camp after offseason surgery to repair a torn anterior cruciate
ligament.

• D Filip Kuba (back) had surgery in April to repair a
herniated disk. He’s expected to be ready for training camp.

• RW Daniel Alfredsson (sports hernia) was anticipating
surgery after the playoffs for an injury he had been dealing with since
before the Olympics. Recovery time is expected to be 4-6 weeks.

• D Chris
Phillips(notes)
(feet) was to have minor surgery to remove bunions that made it
uncomfortable to wear skates. Recovery time is expected to be 3-4 weeks.

Better hope Butler becomes a legit top 6 guy if Cullen doesnt resign. Greening will make a serious push as well.

If they know Cullen isnt going to resign, Foligno might be back.

Cap'n Clutch wrote:

He was talking about Z. not M. Michalek.

My bad.

I guess if they say Cowen and Wiercioch will be in Ottawa for the 2nd half, that would mean Lee will be playing the first half.

Phillips-Karlsson
Kuba-Lee
Campoli-Carkner

That would be my guess. Then if Murray pulls off a trade before the season starts and sends one or more defenceman out for, say Campbell, then that would change it. Or if Murray trades Kuba for example at the deadline.

N4L wrote:

wprager wrote:

SpezDispenser wrote:The main question isn't Cullen or Foligno, it's Cullen or Z.Michalek. That's how I think it's break down.

Matt Cullen or Z.Michalek. Which fits a better need for this team?

Michalek is on a long term deal with a great cap hit (assuming he can do what he did in the first 20-30 games more consistently). Cullen and Foligno are the decisions because neither one is signed for next year.

Frankly, all this gushing for Cullen, while fully deserved, needs to be tempered somewhat. He's had many seasons in this league and this is the first time he's had some playoff success. His career playoff stats aren't fantastic, but you can bet his performance from this year will get him a nice little bump somewhere. Basically, I don't think we can afford him and, frankly, I don't think we need him.

Now, when March rolls around, who knows, but we got to the off-season fine without him, really.

Just that little ring on his finger. The Sens need Cullen, there isnt a player on the team, even Alfi, who is as versitile as Cullen.

Again, stop looking at the stats, you concentrate on them waaaaaaaaay too much. If you're picking a fantasy hockey team, yes, stay away from Cullen. If you are trying to build a deep team that can win a couple rounds and perhaps surprise, then you want Cullen.

Don't give me that BS. Everyone here was going ape-**** because he led the team in scoring in the playoffs. Thing is, this year was an anomaly. I like how he can win face offs, but unless he takes them over Spezza or FIsher, I'm not going to get overly excited if he's taking third-line faceoffs over from Kelly. Take that away, and he's a .5ppg playoff performer who had a good year and is going to cash in.

I don't mind if he does, just not here. We can pick up another Cullen-esque player next March.

Dash wrote:I guess if they say Cowen and Wiercioch will be in Ottawa for the 2nd half, that would mean Lee will be playing the first half.

Phillips-Karlsson
Kuba-Lee
Campoli-Carkner

That would be my guess. Then if Murray pulls off a trade before the season starts and sends one or more defenceman out for, say Campbell, then that would change it. Or if Murray trades Kuba for example at the deadline.

Yikes, I wonder if we could survive with that D? People thought we were dead last year and that was incorrect, with a hopefully healthy Kuba, that adds a lot, like making a trade, you let Lee and Gryba fight it out in pre-season and hope for the best.

I advise against it, but with a good system, I guess it's possible.

Dash wrote:I guess if they say Cowen and Wiercioch will be in Ottawa for the 2nd half, that would mean Lee will be playing the first half.

Phillips-Karlsson
Kuba-Lee
Campoli-Carkner

That would be my guess. Then if Murray pulls off a trade before the season starts and sends one or more defenceman out for, say Campbell, then that would change it. Or if Murray trades Kuba for example at the deadline.

No, he wont be. Cowen will start the year in Ottawa and they will make a choice on him after the 9 games, keep him or send him back to jr. They are not going to take him out of jr 1/2 way through the year with Gryba and Weircoich down in Bingo.

Wiercoich will probably get a look past the 1/2 way mark of the season so a year of UFA eligabilty wont kick in.

Lee is gone, there is actually no place for him, hell there might not be a place for him in Bingo.

wprager wrote:

N4L wrote:

wprager wrote:

SpezDispenser wrote:The main question isn't Cullen or Foligno, it's Cullen or Z.Michalek. That's how I think it's break down.

Matt Cullen or Z.Michalek. Which fits a better need for this team?

Michalek is on a long term deal with a great cap hit (assuming he can do what he did in the first 20-30 games more consistently). Cullen and Foligno are the decisions because neither one is signed for next year.

Frankly, all this gushing for Cullen, while fully deserved, needs to be tempered somewhat. He's had many seasons in this league and this is the first time he's had some playoff success. His career playoff stats aren't fantastic, but you can bet his performance from this year will get him a nice little bump somewhere. Basically, I don't think we can afford him and, frankly, I don't think we need him.

Now, when March rolls around, who knows, but we got to the off-season fine without him, really.

Just that little ring on his finger. The Sens need Cullen, there isnt a player on the team, even Alfi, who is as versitile as Cullen.

Again, stop looking at the stats, you concentrate on them waaaaaaaaay too much. If you're picking a fantasy hockey team, yes, stay away from Cullen. If you are trying to build a deep team that can win a couple rounds and perhaps surprise, then you want Cullen.

Don't give me that BS. Everyone here was going ape-**** because he led the team in scoring in the playoffs. Thing is, this year was an anomaly. I like how he can win face offs, but unless he takes them over Spezza or FIsher, I'm not going to get overly excited if he's taking third-line faceoffs over from Kelly. Take that away, and he's a .5ppg playoff performer who had a good year and is going to cash in.

I don't mind if he does, just not here. We can pick up another Cullen-esque player next March.

Haha, BS eh... yup, contributing to winning teams and winning a cup is BS. I would be shocked if you saw 5 games over the last 5 years where the Hurricanes played anyone but The Sens - would I be right?

wprager wrote:
Don't give me that BS. Everyone here was going ape-**** because he led the team in scoring in the playoffs. Thing is, this year was an anomaly. I like how he can win face offs, but unless he takes them over Spezza or FIsher, I'm not going to get overly excited if he's taking third-line faceoffs over from Kelly. Take that away, and he's a .5ppg playoff performer who had a good year and is going to cash in.

I don't mind if he does, just not here. We can pick up another Cullen-esque player next March.

The knock on Cullen was that he takes a while to get chemistry going. In the case of the Rangers, it never even came. But once he gets familiar with the players and the system, he can be used at any 3 of the forward positions, kills penalties, can slide from the point to down low on the PP, works hard, doesn't give up on plays, backchecks (although, he's pretty slow when he's caught on the PP) and he's won it all before - and been a pretty big part of it.

To me, that yells "Bring him back!", I won't agree with people that say our season depends on it, it doesn't exactly depend on it, but having him in there with an all-rookie D like we might have could be massively important. If we can sign him for 4 years @ 3 million per year, then I would imagine we'd do it and let the NTC expire after 2 years.

Otherwise we have to spend another high pick to acquire someone who may or may not even end up being as good or useful as Cullen.

Here's where I officially stand:

If you can put pen to paper on Cullen for 3.3 and Z.Michalek at 3.8, then you do it and you clean everything up salary cap wise afterwards. Even if it requires some painful decisions.

Michalek is a great defender who's really young and Cullen is PERFECT to help Alfie and Phillips guide this somewhat young team.

That's my opinion. I don't care at all about Sutton (though I would be pleased if we re-signed him) and while I love A-Train, there are tons of other options.

It could very well be Gryba in that spot, but Lee was re-signed and he is making $875K, $200K more than Gryba, and is also one a one-way deal. So unless he is traded, he would have to clear waivers to go to Bingo wouldn't he? And then you'd lose him for nothing.

But to bring in a defenceman via trade or even free agency, you have to make room, and that would mean trading Kuba, Carkner or Campoli (or letting him go by not tendering an offer, which is stupid). And you aren't going trade Phillips or Karlsson. So Sens have one two spots open right now, with Volchenkov, Sutton and Campoli as the only free agent defenceman, and Campoli's the only one likely to remain.

SpezDispenser wrote:Here's where I officially stand:

If you can put pen to paper on Cullen for 3.3 and Z.Michalek at 3.8, then you do it and you clean everything up salary cap wise afterwards. Even if it requires some painful decisions.

Michalek is a great defender who's really young and Cullen is PERFECT to help Alfie and Phillips guide this somewhat young team.

That's my opinion. I don't care at all about Sutton (though I would be pleased if we re-signed him) and while I love A-Train, there are tons of other options.

28 is not *really* young lol.

Is Lee good enough to be a 2nd pairing D-man on this team though? That makes me soooooooooooo scared.

Let's say Lee makes 900K and Michalek makes 3.9 million, can you somehow find 3 million bucks in the budget to upgrade? Because you'll LOVE that upgrade.

SpezDispenser wrote:Is Lee good enough to be a 2nd pairing D-man on this team though? That makes me soooooooooooo scared.

Let's say Lee makes 900K and Michalek makes 3.9 million, can you somehow find 3 million bucks in the budget to upgrade? Because you'll LOVE that upgrade.

I want Brian Lee nowhere near this team.

N4L wrote:[

Haha, BS eh... yup, contributing to winning teams and winning a cup is BS. I would be shocked if you saw 5 games over the last 5 years where the Hurricanes played anyone but The Sens - would I be right?

The BS I was calling was you saying how stats don't matter. Yet every one here was quite impressed with Cullen leading the Sens in playoff scoring. You rely on stats all the time if it suits you to "prove" a point, yet you turn around and discount them so fast you must have worn out a hole in your carpet by now.

Yes, Cullen is a versatile player who can play top-six or 3rd line, wing or center, and even the point on the powerplay. And, yes, he's got a Cup ring. And I'll even agree that we need a player like him to help us get over that 1st round hump. But we can't afford what he is likely going to get.

I'd rather re-sign Sutton at this point, even though he played poorly in the playoffs.

SDH89 wrote:

I want Brian Lee nowhere near this team.

Me neither to be honest, but we might have little choice.

Lee could rebound easily - you want to talk about young, well he's young, if someone can grow it's him.