GDT - Montreal @ Ottawa - Friday, Sep. 23, 7:30PM 456 (Rogers), 22 at 10pm (tape delay)

shabbs wrote:
It was more of a reply to Rundblad needing to make improvements FAST!

I was talking about Kuba actually

Michallica wrote:

rooneypoo wrote:

Michallica wrote:Unless the sens secretly want to tank, he really shouldn't make it out of pre-season. That'll open up a spot for Rundblad too. I don't know, maybe we're being too harsh but he's got to make some improvements FAST!

Just out of curiosity,

a) did you read the rest of my post at all, where I acknowledge that perhaps its a harsh decision to replace Kuba with a rookie?
b) have you actually seen kuba this pre-season?
c) have u compared the play of rundblad versus kuba? cuz as much as rundblad has been sucking noodles, his play is still better than kuba
d) would you like to back up your facepalms and you're 'my brain hurts' comments with some actual commentary? Must be difficult sitting on a higher than usual horse I guess.

I"m well aware of the cap and contract situation and just because I think kuba sucks ass doesn't mean I 100% believe he'll be waived...but that doesn't change the realit¥. Right now a rookie karlsson in his first 9 games is better than a veteran Kuba who has zero confidence in himself.

I've said this point so many times, but here goes:

You DO NOT start a rookie D who plays the right hand side of his ice and slot him into his offside and just hope that everything works out. Ds play one side of the ice or the other. Asking them to play their offside is like asking a forward to play D or a D to play goal. Boro and Wiercioch are more likely candidates to take Kuba's spot, because they play the same side of the ice; Rundblad is not, because he plays the right side.

(For evidence that Rundblad plays the right side of the ice, see [a] every 5-on-5 shift he's taken in the rookie and regular camps so far, and [b] his career in the SEL, where he was paired for quite some time with Tim Erixon, a lefty who played the left side of the ice.)

Michallica wrote:

shabbs wrote:
It was more of a reply to Rundblad needing to make improvements FAST!

I was talking about Kuba actually

HA! Now that's funny...

Michallica wrote:

shabbs wrote:

wprager wrote:

shabbs wrote:

rooneypoo wrote:

Michallica wrote:Unless the sens secretly want to tank, he really shouldn't make it out of pre-season. That'll open up a spot for Rundblad too. I don't know, maybe we're being too harsh but he's got to make some improvements FAST!

I think people need to go back and look at some video of Karlsson's first games in the NHL for a little perspective.

Why, did they try playing Karlsson on the left side and it was a complete disaster? 'Cause that's the point RP was trying to make -- you don't take a 20-year-old defenseman who only plays left-side on the PP, has never played a shift in the NHL (regular season) and stick him on that side full-time.

The point I was making was that people shouldn't expect Rundblad to be awesome right out of the gate. Karlsson struggled a lot when he started too.

WHO GIVES A FLYING Diddle? Rundblad or Karlsson rookie struggling out of the gates is better than what we're seeing from Kuba. It's not even funny anymore. I've been backing up Kuba all off-season, re-iterating how important having another veteran d-man will be considering cowen and rundblad may shuffle between bingo and Ottawa. But if you think Kuba deserves any kind of a shot over these kids so far, you are sadly mistaken. I don't even care if its just preseason, the guy is brutal and lacks whatever confidence he needs.

Kuba's play / spot is a thing entirely independent of and unconnected to the possibility of Rundblad getting a spot. Apples and oranges, left-side D and right-side D. I can see Boro stealing Kuba's spot, either out of camp or before the year is done, but there is simply no room for Rundblad on the right side this year.

Don't worry folks. Rundblad will be on this team by Christmas.

Michallica wrote:Since when can't Rundblad play alongside Gonchar or Cowen? I'm not saying that's what should be done, but it's not impossible either. We've already seen him play with Gonchar this preseason and Cowen in rookie camp.

Gonchar -- lefty who plays right side of ice.
Cowen -- lefty who plays left side of ice.

Rundblad, a right side of the ice kind of guy, could play with Cowen for sure, not sure who's saying otherwise. But a Gonchar/Rundblad pairing is not happened. They tried Gonchar on the right side for a spell last year and he hated it.

Long and the short of the situation for Rundblad is that he needs to outplay Lee, or wait out Gonchar's contract, because the right side of our D corps is rather overloaded at the moment.

Big Ev wrote:Don't worry folks. Rundblad will be on this team by Christmas.

Not if he goes back to Sweden. Which, by the way, was that ever straightened out? Does he still think that's his option?

Big Ev wrote:Don't worry folks. Rundblad will be on this team by Christmas.

We'd need an injury to (or serious case of the suckits for) Karlsson, Gonchar, or Lee, paired with Rundblad in Bingo and not Sweden, for that to happen.

I like Boro's odds of making this team at some point this year more than Rundblad's, actually. More of an opening there for him, what with Kuba still looking rough around the edges and being something of a band aid boy.

I think Michalica *may have* been thinking of playing Gonchar on the left-side. This was tried last year by Clouston and it was an unmitigated disaster. Some guys just play better on their off-side. A-Train being the most recent example here.

Sure, I suppose we could do that -- replace Kuba with Gonchar, in essense. Personally, though, I would like our $5.5M defenseman to play closer to his cap hit.

There is zero chance he goes back to Sweden. Skelleftea's GM said not to bother even speculating.

Injury will happen, or a trade, but even if they don't and he's playing well in Bingo, they won't want to keep him down there if he appears ready to take the next step.

I just don't think he will be in Binghamton too long. He'll get comfortable soon, and they'll make room.

Big Ev wrote:There is zero chance he goes back to Sweden. Skelleftea's GM said not to bother even speculating.

Injury will happen, or a trade, but even if they don't and he's playing well in Bingo, they won't want to keep him down there if he appears ready to take the next step.

I just don't think he will be in Binghamton too long. He'll get comfortable soon, and they'll make room.

Barring a major injury to one of Karlsson, Gonchar, or Lee, I just don't see it in the cards this year for Rundblad. Best case scenario for OTT is that Gonchar rebounds and we can move him in February. That way, Rundblad plays 4-5 months in Bingo, gets some time with the club in the final 2 months, and then has a spot for him next year.

We've waited this long on Lee for him to become serviceable, and it finally looks like he has. Moreover, we have a legitimate need for a defensive, stay-at-home guy on the right, so I don't see him going anywhere. Adding Rundblad to Gonchar and Karlsson makes for a wicked looking D on paper, but probably one that's not as defensively sound as it actually needs to be.

This is, of course, why I've been so mystified with all the 'Rundblad in the NHL this year' talk. I don't see much opportunity for him for that to happen. Not yet, anyway.

I don't wanna move Gonchar anymore. F-ing weird how much better he looks. We need that. Rundblad a full year in the A - or until an injury happens on the right side - I actually agree with that.

However, I don't believe Rundblad has digressed, I think he's looked better and better personally.

All I know is they're not going to keep a guy down if he is ready. They will remove hurdles for him since he is part of the future core. Whether he plays 2 months or 4 months, he'll be an Ottawa Senator at the end of the year, definitely. This is a guy who won't need a full year in the AHL I think.

He can even be used as solely a PP specialist early on. Doesn't need to factor into the right-side left-side debate. They can take their time with him up here as well.

If they do get fed up with Kuba, you insert Carkner into the Top 6 and Rundblad becomes the 7th D.

Big Ev wrote:All I know is they're not going to keep a guy down if he is ready. They will remove hurdles for him since he is part of the future core. Whether he plays 2 months or 4 months, he'll be an Ottawa Senator at the end of the year, definitely. This is a guy who won't need a full year in the AHL I think.

He can even be used as solely a PP specialist early on. Doesn't need to factor into the right-side left-side debate. They can take their time with him up here as well.

If they do get fed up with Kuba, you insert Carkner into the Top 6 and Rundblad becomes the 7th D.

I don't trust Carkner to play a different position than he's used to. As someone said, I'd rather Boro if we're gonna bury Kuba (which we won't).

20 games in the A, then bring him up as a PP specialist/10 minutes of even strength time taking small minutes away from Gonchar/Lee. That's probably a pretty good idea Big Ev.

Oh sorry I thought Carkner played the left

I think Boroweicki will see time here. He's clearly ready, he doesn't play a high risk game that needs years of coaching, he's tough, he's rugged, he's smart.

The only thing is ill-timed hits that leave him out of position - and even then, that's only happened twice that I've noticed. If you can move Kuba to make room for someone, I think it's him.

With Rundblad, he needs his mental game brought up. His confidence is what's lacking combined with some of the decision making on the smaller ice. He's not far away, we all know skill when we see it - and he's got all-world skill.

SpezDispenser wrote:I don't wanna move Gonchar anymore. F-ing weird how much better he looks. We need that. Rundblad a full year in the A - or until an injury happens on the right side - I actually agree with that.

However, I don't believe Rundblad has digressed, I think he's looked better and better personally.

If Rundblad is going to play a regular shift, something's going to have to give on the right side -- i.e., between Gonchar and Lee, because Karlsson is entrenched. Lee has come along nicely and, if he can be that steady defensive guy on the right side that we need, it doesn't make sense to move him. Especially when the alternative is to move Gonchar, who will have 1 year left on his D and no place in the long-term future of this team.

Gonchar is who is standing in the way of Rundblad at this point. I don't see Rundblad with a permanent spot on this team until he (or Lee) is gone. To me, that means that this has to happen in the next year or so, because Ev is probably right -- Rundblad is not far off, and will probably be a quick study in the AHL (as long as he's smart enough to go that route).