Ottawa Senators TIDBITS & QUICK HITS!

The Sens are better with Gonchar on the back end and will be better in the future with Ceci learning the pro game in the AHL for a couple of seasons. Not sure Gonchar resigns yet but at this point in his life I can help but to think he would rather stay put.

SpezDispenser wrote:

SeawaySensFan wrote:

SpezDispenser wrote:Meh, I wouldn't be opposed to bringing him back for 2 years at all. Highly conditioned athlete that we had to trot out at top pairing minutes because of all the injuries.

As a 2nd pairing guy, he can be just fine for 2 more years.

My sources tell me that Robidas will be acquired to fill the hole left by Gonchar. Details to follow.

Better the devil you know. Robidas has apparently slowed down to a halt, Gonchar still appears to have something in the tank + Robidas would still cost something to acquire, Gonchar is already here and wants to stay.

I doubt they keep the whole roster intact. Let's say they keep Gonchar, I bet they shake things up at forward. You might see Zibanejad dealt in a package for a proven winger, for instance.

NEELY wrote:The Sens are better with Gonchar on the back end and will be better in the future with Ceci learning the pro game in the AHL for a couple of seasons. Not sure Gonchar resigns yet but at this point in his life I can help but to think he would rather stay put.

He said that this afternoon. He wants to be here, I don't think it's as cut and dried as Ev thinks, I think we sign him personally.

SeawaySensFan wrote:I doubt they keep the whole roster intact. Let's say they keep Gonchar, I bet they shake things up at forward. You might see Zibanejad dealt in a package for a proven winger, for instance.

That's a bad idea. Zibanejad, Silfverberg, Pageau, Greening, Condra, Turris are the youth and the heartbeat of the team IMO. If you want to move someone, move Z.Smith - whose job was taken by Pageau IMO - or Conacher - but even then, I say tread very, very carefully. Think about getting Briere for a 4th, re-signing Gonchar and calling it a day. Then watch as your youth get tremendous amounts of confidence heading into next year after going to war in the playoffs and looking pretty good (for the most part).

Trading Zibanenjad is a mistake, as is trading any of the young guys mentioned.

SpezDispenser wrote:

SeawaySensFan wrote:I doubt they keep the whole roster intact. Let's say they keep Gonchar, I bet they shake things up at forward. You might see Zibanejad dealt in a package for a proven winger, for instance.

That's a bad idea. Zibanejad, Silfverberg, Pageau, Greening, Condra, Turris are the youth and the heartbeat of the team IMO. If you want to move someone, move Z.Smith - whose job was taken by Pageau IMO - or Conacher - but even then, I say tread very, very carefully. Think about getting Briere for a 4th, re-signing Gonchar and calling it a day. Then watch as your youth get tremendous amounts of confidence heading into next year after going to war in the playoffs and looking pretty good (for the most part).

Trading Zibanenjad is a mistake, as is trading any of the young guys mentioned.

Zibanejad sticks out like a sore thumb among the names you listed. More like a flatline than a heartbeat.

Let's say these are your Top 2 lines:

UFA - Spezza - Michalek
______ - Turris - The Alfie

Here's your bottom 2:

Greening - Pageau - Condra
_______ - Smith - Neil

So who's the better option on the wing in the Top 6? Zibanejad or Silfverberg? Which of those 2 drops to line 4 or bumps one of Greening, Pageau or Condra to line 4? What of Conacher? Stone? Hoffman?!?!?

I'm sorry but you don't walk away from a deal for a proven top winger because you want to hang on to Zibanejad.

Briere for a 4th? Not likely.

SeawaySensFan wrote:

SpezDispenser wrote:

SeawaySensFan wrote:I doubt they keep the whole roster intact. Let's say they keep Gonchar, I bet they shake things up at forward. You might see Zibanejad dealt in a package for a proven winger, for instance.

That's a bad idea. Zibanejad, Silfverberg, Pageau, Greening, Condra, Turris are the youth and the heartbeat of the team IMO. If you want to move someone, move Z.Smith - whose job was taken by Pageau IMO - or Conacher - but even then, I say tread very, very carefully. Think about getting Briere for a 4th, re-signing Gonchar and calling it a day. Then watch as your youth get tremendous amounts of confidence heading into next year after going to war in the playoffs and looking pretty good (for the most part).

Trading Zibanenjad is a mistake, as is trading any of the young guys mentioned.

Zibanejad sticks out like a sore thumb among the names you listed. More like a flatline than a heartbeat.

Let's say these are your Top 2 lines:

UFA - Spezza - Michalek
______ - Turris - The Alfie

Here's your bottom 2:

Greening - Pageau - Condra
_______ - Smith - Neil

So who's the better option on the wing in the Top 6? Zibanejad or Silfverberg? Which of those 2 drops to line 4 or bumps one of Greening, Pageau or Condra to line 4? What of Conacher? Stone? Hoffman?!?!?

I'm sorry but you don't walk away from a deal for a proven top winger because you want to hang on to Zibanejad.

Briere for a 4th? Not likely.

The way I'm thinking right now, this is Alfie's final season here obviously, so you have to work that into the equation. I'd say Silfverberg is the better option on wing in the top 6 right now, but after next season it's up in the air. No problem having two young, scoring players on your team - especially going into their second contracts.

I think it'll have to break down like this:

Briere - Spezza - Michalek
Silfverberg - Turris - Alfie
Zibanejad - Pageau - Condra
Greening - Smith - Neil
extra: Conacher

Stone goes back to AHL, as does Hoffman and they become our first call-ups along with Prince. Conacher gets the short end of the stick, but there are always injuries.

EDIT: As for Briere - Philly can either trade him to a team he'll agree to go to, or they can buy him out which costs money. Which would you rather do if you were them? Take a 4th, or buy him out and spend money for nothing?

SpezDispenser wrote:

SeawaySensFan wrote:

SpezDispenser wrote:

SeawaySensFan wrote:I doubt they keep the whole roster intact. Let's say they keep Gonchar, I bet they shake things up at forward. You might see Zibanejad dealt in a package for a proven winger, for instance.

That's a bad idea. Zibanejad, Silfverberg, Pageau, Greening, Condra, Turris are the youth and the heartbeat of the team IMO. If you want to move someone, move Z.Smith - whose job was taken by Pageau IMO - or Conacher - but even then, I say tread very, very carefully. Think about getting Briere for a 4th, re-signing Gonchar and calling it a day. Then watch as your youth get tremendous amounts of confidence heading into next year after going to war in the playoffs and looking pretty good (for the most part).

Trading Zibanenjad is a mistake, as is trading any of the young guys mentioned.

Zibanejad sticks out like a sore thumb among the names you listed. More like a flatline than a heartbeat.

Let's say these are your Top 2 lines:

UFA - Spezza - Michalek
______ - Turris - The Alfie

Here's your bottom 2:

Greening - Pageau - Condra
_______ - Smith - Neil

So who's the better option on the wing in the Top 6? Zibanejad or Silfverberg? Which of those 2 drops to line 4 or bumps one of Greening, Pageau or Condra to line 4? What of Conacher? Stone? Hoffman?!?!?

I'm sorry but you don't walk away from a deal for a proven top winger because you want to hang on to Zibanejad.

Briere for a 4th? Not likely.

The way I'm thinking right now, this is Alfie's final season here obviously, so you have to work that into the equation. I'd say Silfverberg is the better option on wing in the top 6 right now, but after next season it's up in the air. No problem having two young, scoring players on your team - especially going into their second contracts.

I think it'll have to break down like this:

Briere - Spezza - Michalek
Silfverberg - Turris - Alfie
Zibanejad - Pageau - Condra
Greening - Smith - Neil
extra: Conacher

Stone goes back to AHL, as does Hoffman and they become our first call-ups along with Prince. Conacher gets the short end of the stick, but there are always injuries.

EDIT: As for Briere - Philly can either trade him to a team he'll agree to go to, or they can buy him out which costs money. Which would you rather do if you were them? Take a 4th, or buy him out and spend money for nothing?

And on the other hand you have Ottawa that won't spend the money. I don't see a deal there, unfortunately.

SeawaySensFan wrote:

SpezDispenser wrote:

SeawaySensFan wrote:

SpezDispenser wrote:

SeawaySensFan wrote:I doubt they keep the whole roster intact. Let's say they keep Gonchar, I bet they shake things up at forward. You might see Zibanejad dealt in a package for a proven winger, for instance.

That's a bad idea. Zibanejad, Silfverberg, Pageau, Greening, Condra, Turris are the youth and the heartbeat of the team IMO. If you want to move someone, move Z.Smith - whose job was taken by Pageau IMO - or Conacher - but even then, I say tread very, very carefully. Think about getting Briere for a 4th, re-signing Gonchar and calling it a day. Then watch as your youth get tremendous amounts of confidence heading into next year after going to war in the playoffs and looking pretty good (for the most part).

Trading Zibanenjad is a mistake, as is trading any of the young guys mentioned.

Zibanejad sticks out like a sore thumb among the names you listed. More like a flatline than a heartbeat.

Let's say these are your Top 2 lines:

UFA - Spezza - Michalek
______ - Turris - The Alfie

Here's your bottom 2:

Greening - Pageau - Condra
_______ - Smith - Neil

So who's the better option on the wing in the Top 6? Zibanejad or Silfverberg? Which of those 2 drops to line 4 or bumps one of Greening, Pageau or Condra to line 4? What of Conacher? Stone? Hoffman?!?!?

I'm sorry but you don't walk away from a deal for a proven top winger because you want to hang on to Zibanejad.

Briere for a 4th? Not likely.

The way I'm thinking right now, this is Alfie's final season here obviously, so you have to work that into the equation. I'd say Silfverberg is the better option on wing in the top 6 right now, but after next season it's up in the air. No problem having two young, scoring players on your team - especially going into their second contracts.

I think it'll have to break down like this:

Briere - Spezza - Michalek
Silfverberg - Turris - Alfie
Zibanejad - Pageau - Condra
Greening - Smith - Neil
extra: Conacher

Stone goes back to AHL, as does Hoffman and they become our first call-ups along with Prince. Conacher gets the short end of the stick, but there are always injuries.

EDIT: As for Briere - Philly can either trade him to a team he'll agree to go to, or they can buy him out which costs money. Which would you rather do if you were them? Take a 4th, or buy him out and spend money for nothing?

And on the other hand you have Ottawa that won't spend the money. I don't see a deal there, unfortunately.

What? It's not 13 million dollars like his cap hit suggests, it's 5 million in total. That's hardly spending money, you would spend more than that on a guy like Latendresse - that's a bargain IMO, even if Briere is getting old.

Plus, it artificially raises our cap numbers so we're not in any danger of hitting the cap floor in the next 2 years.

SpezDispenser wrote:

SeawaySensFan wrote:

SpezDispenser wrote:

SeawaySensFan wrote:

SpezDispenser wrote:

SeawaySensFan wrote:I doubt they keep the whole roster intact. Let's say they keep Gonchar, I bet they shake things up at forward. You might see Zibanejad dealt in a package for a proven winger, for instance.

That's a bad idea. Zibanejad, Silfverberg, Pageau, Greening, Condra, Turris are the youth and the heartbeat of the team IMO. If you want to move someone, move Z.Smith - whose job was taken by Pageau IMO - or Conacher - but even then, I say tread very, very carefully. Think about getting Briere for a 4th, re-signing Gonchar and calling it a day. Then watch as your youth get tremendous amounts of confidence heading into next year after going to war in the playoffs and looking pretty good (for the most part).

Trading Zibanenjad is a mistake, as is trading any of the young guys mentioned.

Zibanejad sticks out like a sore thumb among the names you listed. More like a flatline than a heartbeat.

Let's say these are your Top 2 lines:

UFA - Spezza - Michalek
______ - Turris - The Alfie

Here's your bottom 2:

Greening - Pageau - Condra
_______ - Smith - Neil

So who's the better option on the wing in the Top 6? Zibanejad or Silfverberg? Which of those 2 drops to line 4 or bumps one of Greening, Pageau or Condra to line 4? What of Conacher? Stone? Hoffman?!?!?

I'm sorry but you don't walk away from a deal for a proven top winger because you want to hang on to Zibanejad.

Briere for a 4th? Not likely.

The way I'm thinking right now, this is Alfie's final season here obviously, so you have to work that into the equation. I'd say Silfverberg is the better option on wing in the top 6 right now, but after next season it's up in the air. No problem having two young, scoring players on your team - especially going into their second contracts.

I think it'll have to break down like this:

Briere - Spezza - Michalek
Silfverberg - Turris - Alfie
Zibanejad - Pageau - Condra
Greening - Smith - Neil
extra: Conacher

Stone goes back to AHL, as does Hoffman and they become our first call-ups along with Prince. Conacher gets the short end of the stick, but there are always injuries.

EDIT: As for Briere - Philly can either trade him to a team he'll agree to go to, or they can buy him out which costs money. Which would you rather do if you were them? Take a 4th, or buy him out and spend money for nothing?

And on the other hand you have Ottawa that won't spend the money. I don't see a deal there, unfortunately.

What? It's not 13 million dollars like his cap hit suggests, it's 5 million in total. That's hardly spending money, you would spend more than that on a guy like Latendresse - that's a bargain IMO, even if Briere is getting old.

Plus, it artificially raises our cap numbers so we're not in any danger of hitting the cap floor in the next 2 years.

Tell that to Melnyk. Also, it would be kind of sad for an artificial boost to get to the floor is a selling point. If that's what this team is looking for then we'll be having the same discussion at this time or earlier next season.

SeawaySensFan wrote:
Tell that to Melnyk. Also, it would be kind of sad for an artificial boost to get to the floor is a selling point. If that's what this team is looking for then we'll be having the same discussion at this time or earlier next season.

He'll spend money when the time is right. It might be right now actually, we'll see.

Think half, if not all, the reason philly will buy out Briere is because he's not willing to waive his no trade, even down to the end to maybe stick it to the management.

Michallica wrote:Think half, if not all, the reason philly will buy out Briere is because he's not willing to waive his no trade, even down to the end to maybe stick it to the management.

Yeah, if he plays hardball and refuses to waive, he'll be bought out, but I really can't see him doing that - and I really see Ottawa as a destination for all UFAs now that we have a great coaching staff, particularly a hometown boy like Briere.

SeawaySensFan wrote:

SpezDispenser wrote:

SeawaySensFan wrote:I doubt they keep the whole roster intact. Let's say they keep Gonchar, I bet they shake things up at forward. You might see Zibanejad dealt in a package for a proven winger, for instance.

That's a bad idea. Zibanejad, Silfverberg, Pageau, Greening, Condra, Turris are the youth and the heartbeat of the team IMO. If you want to move someone, move Z.Smith - whose job was taken by Pageau IMO - or Conacher - but even then, I say tread very, very carefully. Think about getting Briere for a 4th, re-signing Gonchar and calling it a day. Then watch as your youth get tremendous amounts of confidence heading into next year after going to war in the playoffs and looking pretty good (for the most part).

Trading Zibanenjad is a mistake, as is trading any of the young guys mentioned.

Zibanejad sticks out like a sore thumb among the names you listed. More like a flatline than a heartbeat.

Let's say these are your Top 2 lines:

UFA - Spezza - Michalek
______ - Turris - The Alfie

Here's your bottom 2:

Greening - Pageau - Condra
_______ - Smith - Neil

So who's the better option on the wing in the Top 6? Zibanejad or Silfverberg? Which of those 2 drops to line 4 or bumps one of Greening, Pageau or Condra to line 4? What of Conacher? Stone? Hoffman?!?!?

I'm sorry but you don't walk away from a deal for a proven top winger because you want to hang on to Zibanejad.

Briere for a 4th? Not likely.

Bullsh!t. Zibanejad and Silf are the core, not Michalek.

It would be nice if all 3 of those forwards could be considered core, but I'll wait until Michalek finds some health.

Michalek is here because you can't move him in this condition. He had an injury free year (knee-wise, at least) last year and I'd bet Murray is kicking himself for not trading him. He will never have that kind of value. Too much history with knee problems -- he will *always* have that.

So, yes, in that way, he is not part of the core like Zibanejad and Silfverberg are projected to be. But that's the operative word: projected. They haven't gotten there. Comparisons of their stats with Perry/Getzlaf's rookie seasons are meaningless at this point. Show me their progress at the end of their ELC.

There'll be progress next year with Silfverberg and Zibanejad.

SpezDispenser wrote:There'll be progress next year with Silfverberg and Zibanejad.

All the progress with Pageau, Zibanejad, Silfverberg, Karlsson, and Conacher will come off the ice. They all need to get stronger.

NEELY wrote:

SpezDispenser wrote:There'll be progress next year with Silfverberg and Zibanejad.

All the progress with Pageau, Zibanejad, Silfverberg, Karlsson, and Conacher will come off the ice. They all need to get stronger.

That's a big part of it, yeah, but it's also huge for them to have gone through the trials and tribulations of the playoffs and be able to feed off that going into the next season.