Ottawa Senators TIDBITS & QUICK HITS!

I still think there's a chance he re-signs here if he is traded. I think he still wants to be here but he knows that he will help the Sens and increase his value if he gets traded and helps another team in a Cup run.

Phillips: "I took my time geting unchanged. That could be my last game here."

Big Ev wrote:Phillips: "I took my time geting unchanged. That could be my last game here."

Come on nice package in return.

Any trades?

SpezDispenser wrote:

Big Ev wrote:Phillips: "I took my time geting unchanged. That could be my last game here."

Come on nice package in return.

Don't hold your breath.

SeawaySensFan wrote:Any trades?

Dean Brown for Jim Hughson (I WISH)

Oglethorpe wrote:

SpezDispenser wrote:

Big Ev wrote:Phillips: "I took my time geting unchanged. That could be my last game here."

Come on nice package in return.

Don't hold your breath.

Maybe I will.

rooneypoo wrote:

wprager wrote:

Big Ev wrote:

wprager wrote:If we had Anderson in goal in place of Leclaire early on, and if Spezza did not get injured, we'd be sitting in a playoff spot right now, and that's not a lie. Things snowballed, to say the least, but look at the team now -- they are missing 8 regulars out of the lineup and are still fairly competitive.

It'll be interesting how they fare against the Flyers, though. Could be a barn burner.

No but it's not a fact. I doubt Anderson or Spezza not getting injured vaults us into the playoffs.

Before Spezza went down we were a moderate winning streak away from being in 8th. Anderson playing instead of Leclaire surely means we win a few more games in October/November. Don't forget that we won *one* game in January. Before that we were still within shouting distance.

I don't want to debate hypotheticals, but goaltending was categorically not the problem with this team in October and November. Both goalies played well during that stretch.

Leclaire: http://ca.sports.yahoo.com/nhl/players/2844/gamelog;_ylt=Ah2rnlNLoOZ7NaaJ4eKj8WrCfgM6

Elliott: http://ca.sports.yahoo.com/nhl/players/4136/gamelog;_ylt=Ah2rnlNLoOZ7NaaJ4eKj8WrCfgM6

If this team was anywhere near close to being a playoff contender, I don't think you would have seen BM blow it up the way he is doing it now. You don't blow up teams that underperform based on one positional weakness and one injury; you blow it up when the whole thing is beyond repair.

It was not a problem, I agree, but in my opinion you better have a top 6 team in the league if you want to survive with average goaltending, which we were getting.
Look at all the bubble teams in the league:
4 - Pittsburgh = Fleury playing awesome
6 - Montreal = Price, no comment
7 - Rangers = Lundqvist no comment
8 - Hurricanes = Ward no comment
9 - Sabres = Miller no comment
then you have teams like Atlanta with Pavelec playing over his head from October to December.
Who has average goaltending in the East? Washington, PHiladelphia and Tampa before Roloson...i.e teams with elite talent or great depth.
I think it's fair to say that an average team without a goalie that can't steal games is doomed to be a lottery team.
Ottawa had average goaltending, good on some nights but that's not enough, no elite talent and no depth...guess we are where we should be.

we are experiencing the same upswing the leafs have every season. the pressure is off and the kids are hungry. this team stinks and will stink next season. anderson is good but cant change that

rooneypoo wrote:

wprager wrote:

Big Ev wrote:

wprager wrote:If we had Anderson in goal in place of Leclaire early on, and if Spezza did not get injured, we'd be sitting in a playoff spot right now, and that's not a lie. Things snowballed, to say the least, but look at the team now -- they are missing 8 regulars out of the lineup and are still fairly competitive.

It'll be interesting how they fare against the Flyers, though. Could be a barn burner.

No but it's not a fact. I doubt Anderson or Spezza not getting injured vaults us into the playoffs.

Before Spezza went down we were a moderate winning streak away from being in 8th. Anderson playing instead of Leclaire surely means we win a few more games in October/November. Don't forget that we won *one* game in January. Before that we were still within shouting distance.

I don't want to debate hypotheticals, but goaltending was categorically not the problem with this team in October and November. Both goalies played well during that stretch.

Leclaire: http://ca.sports.yahoo.com/nhl/players/2844/gamelog;_ylt=Ah2rnlNLoOZ7NaaJ4eKj8WrCfgM6

Elliott: http://ca.sports.yahoo.com/nhl/players/4136/gamelog;_ylt=Ah2rnlNLoOZ7NaaJ4eKj8WrCfgM6

If this team was anywhere near close to being a playoff contender, I don't think you would have seen BM blow it up the way he is doing it now. You don't blow up teams that underperform based on one positional weakness and one injury; you blow it up when the whole thing is beyond repair.

Look at those numbers, though. Leclaire with a .908 SV% overall, only one game did he get close to that average. Hugely inconsistent. First, I want a goalie with better than .910 and, second, I want that to not only be his average, but the median (+/1 .01) as well.

I know you said you didn't want to debate hypotheticals, but are you saying that Anderson (the way he's played his first four games here) would not have won a few more games for us in December?

Don't know if this has been mentioned already, but Garrioch tweeted that the plan is still to send Lehner back to Bingo, once Leclaire is good to go, as long as he clears Monday. Which still doesn't explain why he had to be placed on waivers, unless it's automatic once his conditioning stint time expires.

Leclaire played last night. Made 30 saves on 32 shots but lost in the shootout.

He stopped the first four shooters in the shootout, but Bingo just couldn't put one in.

Spezza -- 12 points in 10 games since coming back from injury.

wprager wrote:Don't know if this has been mentioned already, but Garrioch tweeted that the plan is still to send Lehner back to Bingo, once Leclaire is good to go, as long as he clears Monday. Which still doesn't explain why he had to be placed on waivers, unless it's automatic once his conditioning stint time expires.

I read a tweet somewhere that said that Murray wanted to give Leclaire a chance to play in the playoffs, if a team were to claim him. And I read another one that said in order to play in the AHL playoffs, he would have to clear waivers before the deadline to be eligible. In case Brust goes down or something I'm guessing.

wprager wrote:Leclaire played last night. Made 30 saves on 32 shots but lost in the shootout.

And read another tweet that expected him to get the start for today's game as well.

strachattack wrote:

Dash wrote:Leaving on a high note, eh? Taking a page from George Costanza perhaps?

Co... stanza! Instead of dumping Phillips perhaps Murray will call him on Monday and against all good judgment offer him what he wants.

No thanks in that case. giving Phillips what he wants means we are probably overpaying him. That last game here comment seems pretty cryptic, almost as if he is saying, I am going to be traded if a deal cannot be reached by tomorrow.

Strach is just saying what a lot of people are likely thinking. Remember we all thought Neil and Kuba were goners a few seasons ago, then Murray re-signed them at last minute. Fans wanted Kuba gone badly - he was playing very well and his value was high... a few years later his value and play is very low.