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i swear to god people are challenged. They wouldn't even be allowed to call him up in this deal.

It's so true. Any NHL team can sign him while he's I'm bingo. Any one

tim1_2 wrote:Gotta win 7. Of the next 8. We're due for a lengthy hot streak.  

Been due for a couple years.

Yeah, as the Team 1200 likes to tell us, we're all idiots.

Based on reports from practice today there may be some line juggling going on. Notably JG Pageau moving up, Zibanejad and The Stoner down.

MacArthur-Turris-Chiasson
Hoffman-Pageau- Ryan
Condra- Zibanejad-Lazar
Michalek-Legwand-Stone

Marc Methot-Erik Karlsson
Jared Cowen-Cody Ceci
Chris Phillips-Eric Gryba

Can't blame D-Cam for giving the lines the ol' shuffle-roo.

It hurts the eyes to see Chiasson on the top line. He's not that kind of player - yet.

SpezDispensed wrote:It hurts the eyes to see Chiasson on the top line.  He's not that kind of player - yet.

He isn't. IMO, the top line is whatever line Bobby Ryan is on.

We have one 2nd line, one 3rd line, and two 4th lines, plus 4 bottom pairing d-men. Good luck to our Senatores!

tim1_2 wrote:We have one 2nd line,  one 3rd line, and two 4th lines, plus 4 bottom pairing d-men. Good luck to our Senatores!

I think soon enough we'll have a really strong top 9. I agree though, we need another Bobby Ryan, it's gotta happen either soon or the off-season and if you need to use Zibanejad as bait, do it. It's integral.

I don't agree we have 4 bottom pairing D-men though. I think Methot, Karlsson, Cowen, Ceci are excellent top 4 players and Boro is a borderline top 4 D-man. Gryan is also the perfect bottom pairing guy.

I actually like our D - with Methot in it. Without Methot, it's obviously nowhere near as good.

SpezDispensed wrote:

tim1_2 wrote:We have one 2nd line,  one 3rd line, and two 4th lines, plus 4 bottom pairing d-men. Good luck to our Senatores!

I think soon enough we'll have a really strong top 9.  I agree though, we need another Bobby Ryan, it's gotta happen either soon or the off-season and if you need to use Zibanejad as bait, do it.  It's integral.

I don't agree we have 4 bottom pairing D-men though.  I think Methot, Karlsson, Cowen, Ceci are excellent top 4 players and Boro is a borderline top 4 D-man.  Gryan is also the perfect bottom pairing guy.

I actually like our D - with Methot in it.  Without Methot, it's obviously nowhere near as good.

Last night was Exhibit "A".

Our D is kinda sad when we realize we really need Borowiecki back. Not knocking him but he was a very late round pick. Kinda like the Flyers last year, I think, when they were struggling because Meszaros was injured and out of the lineup.

wprager wrote:Our D is kinda sad when we realize we really need Borowiecki back.  Not knocking him but he was a very late round pick.   Kinda like the Flyers last year, I think, when they were struggling because Meszaros was injured and out of the lineup.  

The D isn't sad at all, they have a lot of nice pieces. Karlsson is a Norris winner and captain, he's also coming around and playing the game the right way. Since Cameron has taken over he's really been on.

Gryba, solid, that's it. How can you not love Gryba on that bottom pairing?

Boroweicki, what doesn't he do to help the team in the area's they need help? Toughness, grit, heart, etc. He has also shown the ability to play beside Karlsson and play well, that could be invaluable going forward.

Cowen, yah he has his warts but he's completely turned it around and found a comfort level playing on that 2nd pair with Ceci. He's solid.

Ceci, he's 21 and only going to get better which is scary because he's already a top 4 D man and will be for over a decade short of something tragic happening.

That's 5 of 6 D that are A) playing every night for the most part going forward and B) a group that has a ton of room to grow, there is absolutely nothing sad about that group.

The issue is the #7 guy that comes in (Wiercoich and Phillips) and the consistent partner for Karlsson (Methot). If Methot is all healed up and wants to sign the deal the Sens offered, great, problem solved there. You still need a solid #7 because that guy plays 50-60 games every single year and if they can't handle that or play consistent hockey you are going to have problems and the Sens do.

Nothing is going to be solved this year, it's a year of struggles and filtering out what works and what doesn't. Like I have said before patients is going to be needed by a lot of people and especially the fans, despite the loses I am enjoying this season in a lot of ways because you can see the kids development and the team overall. I've liked the job Cameron has done thus far a lot, I was unsure about things and didn't judge but I am becoming a fan, he seems to be the right coach for this young team.(I get it's been 6 weeks)

At the end of the day it's not the D that struggles as a group, the team struggles with D which is what happens when your best and most efficient happen to be in their early or mid 20's with less than 3 seasons of NHL hockey under their belt. You have Ryan, MacArthur, and Turris that are doing their best to carry the team but the depth that will support and perhaps surpass them need time to figure it out too.

If you really want to get into the Sens biggest issue it's toughness and grit. There's no jam, none. Losing puck battles in the corners, faceoffs, blocking shots, taking the man, strong along the boards, and most important getting to the loose pucks in front of both nets. These are all things that will improve with the players like Stone and Zibanejad who IMO need to be better in these area's (especially #93 simply because he's a center) and a guy like Karlsson who will learn to be a little more assertive as well. Lazar coming in helps as well.

The one thing they really need to focus on is getting that Bertuzzi (from 10 years ago) type forward. A healthy and motivated Chris Stewart IMO is the closest you will find but again red flags everywhere. They might have to draft a player like that and bring him along slowly because a good power forward takes 5 or so years to develop. Now, you have seen Chaisson try his very best to be that guy and I think you need to give him 2, 3 more seasons to really figure it out, I don't think the grit or edge is there with him but if he just uses his size to be difficult to handle then he can be an extremely effective player.

The Sens are building a very big team right now and the smaller guys like Lazar and Pageau play big which is always important, spark plugs can turn a team around on any given night or the outlook in general.

Wow, that's quite the rebuttal for my one-line post. We all love Borocop, but you are way over-estimating his abilities. Just like Gryba, he'd be best on the third pairing. His heart is huge and you need guys like that because they make others try harder. But his physical attributes (speed, agility, size, passing, stick handling) are not what you typically want on that top pairing. Everyone plays better paired with Karlsson, especially those who will not try to keep up with him but, instead, let him do his thing. Boro is no different from anyone else in that respect.

All that said -- and let me repeat that I really like Borowiecki and want him in the lineup -- it is a sad situation when your D-corps is so badly affected by him being out of the lineup.

Phillips is a shell of what he used to be. Problem is his mind still thinks he's a former #1 overall pick and winner of two IIHF U20 golds.

Wiercioch not only is playing soft, he's also playing stupid. And his skating has regressed a ton from that time I saw him at his first DC.

Methot has played 4 games since April, one of them in the AHL where he was a -2. Jury is still out but he's had 1 good season with the Sens, one bad one, and then this. And didn't he miss most of a season with an injury in Columbus? Is his health a concern going forward?

Ceci is a gem. Too bad he's not a LHS because I feel he could be a perfect partner for Karlsson. But he's also a 21-year old kid and he's never going to play with an edge (2 PIMs in a half season). That's alright, you don't need every D-man to play rough but we certainly can't have three of them in the lineup against most teams (Kalrsson-Ceci-Wiercioch).

Still question marks on D. Mainly, we're not entirely sure what we're going to get out of Methot and Cowen. Could go either way with both those guys still, although I am quite hopeful for Cowen. I think we could so better than Methot for a #1 LD. On the right side, yeah, we're set.

You say that about Boroweicki but never once did I say he was a top pairing guy. I said he has the ability to move up and down the left side when needed to playing with Karlsson or anyone for that matter. That in itself is invaluable. Yah, all things being equal he is a 3rd pairing guy and that's where 99.9% of people have him slotted in but again he can play with anyone. His skating is fine, he moves the puck well, and he doesn't do anything he simply can't do. Basically he is Marc Methot with more of an edge, just not the games played. He's a valuable piece and I don't know why anyone would consider that sad when he is a very solid NHL player. Look at every cup winner, they have a player like Borowiecki on the back end, a steady D man who can move up and down when needed. The guys around him also play a little bigger when he's on the ice. Boroweicki is simply a player that does whatever he is capable of doing, that's it, that's all.

The sad situation on the blueline is again both Pillips and Wiercoich coming in and not being able to play the game needed to help the Sens. That will correct itself in time. The other issue again is Methot.

Ceci is a perfect player behind Karlsson, thank God he's a RH shot because they need a guy there to play with Cowen who is also a key cog on the bluline at this point. That 2nd pairing is almost as important at ES (maybe even more so) than Karlsson and whoever his partner is today. Hopefully Methot gets his crap together both on and off the ice and can be the player a lot of people believe he can be (not me personally). If that happens then you have a very, very solid group from 1-6 but again that #7 is still an issue. Phillips might be best served playing that role on a full time basis and it looks like that's where he is going to be slotted in going forward. I am curious to see if he can slide into that role, not worry about being the big vet and a guy to be leaned on anymore and just play hockey. Phillips being a dependable #7 guy could be a very important role for a few seasons while a guy like Claeson gets some real heavy minutes in the AHL.

I'll break it down a little further from my perspective and add in I have always liked Chris Wideman and believed he had NHL potential and is close to ready. That's another guy that IMO can come in and be a #7 guy and gradually find a fit for him in the NHL. You never know until you know but he's grown into a great AHL D man and I think he's a Dan Boyle light type guy but it remains to be seen. (for the record that is and always has been my comparable to Chris Wideman).

tim1_2 wrote:Still question marks on D. Mainly, we're not entirely sure what we're going to get out of Methot and Cowen. Could go either way with both those guys still, although I am quite hopeful for Cowen.  I think we could so better than Methot for a #1 LD. On the right side, yeah, we're set.

Cowen/Ceci, I think they found something that works. Both guys who can skate, both guys who have a little offense, both guys who have a little of this, little of that, around the same age, seem to play the game in similar ways but have different assets. If there was ever a positive I was going to take from the blueline this season it's that they have found a 2nd pairing they may have for another decade if things work out.

As for Methot... you can get more bang for your buck if they can snag a guy like Boychuk but then you are gambling when you may not have the ability to. But you are also gambling if you sign him long term. That's the biggest issue no question. They may have to get creative.