GDT: Sens @ Wild - Tuesday, Mar 3rd, 8pm, TSN5, RDS

Anderson is too soft

Ev wrote:Anderson is too soft

I couldn't get to sleep last night and I was thinking this exact thing. Not that he's too soft, but we're Cussed if he's our starter and we don't have a quality backup. The guy can't stay healthy.

I'm perfectly happy is Anderson is honest with the coaching staff and tells them he's "not comfortable". Goalies are crazy to start with, and a lot of the elite guys over the years have needed to feel 100% comfortable/healthy to want to play...whatever.

he is comfortable...he just wants Hammond to play

or he can't get over a hand bruise that happened a month ago.

I still think the team "injured" Anderson on purpose in order to see how Lehner did with consecutive starts

Ev wrote:or he can't get over a hand bruise that happened a month ago.

I still think the team "injured" Anderson on purpose in order to see how Lehner did with consecutive starts

Ohhhh juicy....

NEELY wrote:

Cap'n Clutch wrote:

NEELY wrote:Lehner may be trade bait at this point.  If they think Hammond can be a backup Lehner has his work cut out for him.

That would be a mistake IMHO.  Just imagine if the Habs had stuck with Huet way back when and then later stuck with Halak instead as well.  I think Andy, regardless of how Hammond plays, should be the one traded.  Greater trade value right now and if you're still building then you don't hang onto a guy that may not even be here when it's time to compete for a cup over a guy that should be a starter in short order and for many years to come.

Maybe... maybe not.  Depends what the plan is going forward but Methot sent a shot across the bow when he said that the team liked playing in front of Hammond because you don't hear a lot from him and he just does his job.

I'm the biggest Lehner fan out there but 1) he's no good as a backup and 2) he may have really rubbed teammates the wrong way and if that's the case and there is friction, that's the guy you move in a deal IMO.  Team is everything, I don't care who the player is, there is no one bigger than the team.

Maybe Methot was referring to Anderson never taking blame for anything. Hopefully Murray makes the right decision there because he should have all the information from the coaching staff and leadership group.

Oglethorpe wrote:

NEELY wrote:

Cap'n Clutch wrote:

NEELY wrote:Lehner may be trade bait at this point.  If they think Hammond can be a backup Lehner has his work cut out for him.

That would be a mistake IMHO.  Just imagine if the Habs had stuck with Huet way back when and then later stuck with Halak instead as well.  I think Andy, regardless of how Hammond plays, should be the one traded.  Greater trade value right now and if you're still building then you don't hang onto a guy that may not even be here when it's time to compete for a cup over a guy that should be a starter in short order and for many years to come.

Maybe... maybe not.  Depends what the plan is going forward but Methot sent a shot across the bow when he said that the team liked playing in front of Hammond because you don't hear a lot from him and he just does his job.

I'm the biggest Lehner fan out there but 1) he's no good as a backup and 2) he may have really rubbed teammates the wrong way and if that's the case and there is friction, that's the guy you move in a deal IMO.  Team is everything, I don't care who the player is, there is no one bigger than the team.

Maybe Methot was referring to Anderson never taking blame for anything.  Hopefully Murray makes the right decision there because he should have all the information from the coaching staff and leadership group.

Anderson isn't a wallflower and he's been vocal from game #1. We all heard him in his first ever game against the hated Leafs. I'm not sure that should be a bad thing. Plus Methot might be pissed because Anderson is interfering with his ability to hear the sound of his own voice, which he loves.

SpezDispensed wrote:Wiercioch won't last I don't think.  Too soft.  He'd be destroyed in the playoffs - or we'd be trying to shelter him.  I guess he'll be a good stop-gap until someone else is ready though, if they move Cowen that is.

They did a pretty good job sheltering Gonchar and Redden before him. Both very non-physical and Redden was pretty small, like Weir (but shorter).

Lehner is the guy that always blames himself when things go poorly, so I don't think Methot's comments had anything to do with him.

No matter who is or isn't here next year IMO the guy you want backing up is Hammond. He's a guy who will appreciate the role, embrace it, be a good teammate, and has the potential to play a very solid brand of hockey.

Lehner/Anderson going into next year is just asking for trouble.

NEELY wrote:No matter who is or isn't here next year IMO the guy you want backing up is Hammond.  He's a guy who will appreciate the role, embrace it, be a good teammate, and has the potential to play a very solid brand of hockey.

Lehner/Anderson going into next year is just asking for trouble.

That tandem has more than run it's course, unfortunately.

SeawaySensFan wrote:

NEELY wrote:No matter who is or isn't here next year IMO the guy you want backing up is Hammond.  He's a guy who will appreciate the role, embrace it, be a good teammate, and has the potential to play a very solid brand of hockey.

Lehner/Anderson going into next year is just asking for trouble.

That tandem has more than run it's course, unfortunately.

100%. I get goalies are head cases and you have to go with it at times but you can't have 2 guys like that fighting for every second of ice.

Hammond is a God send to the Sens and fans for the simple fact it's a breath of fresh air and it seems it's exactly what the team needed.

I also just want to qualify what I am saying (along with others), I'm not saying Hammond is a late bloomer (might be), or pushing for the #1 job, or anything else people might imply. He's a guy that everyone likes, great story, and a guy that appreciates every single thing he has right now. He should be the backup next season without question.

rooneypoo wrote:

LeCaptain wrote:

NEELY wrote:

Ev wrote:

NEELY wrote:

Ev wrote:Can't compare cowen and Wiercioch as cowrn never got the same kind of opportunity Wiercioch does in terms of offenzie zone starts and playing against the worst players every night.

Cowen has had more than his fair share of chances.  Saying Wiercioch has had a better opportunity than Cowen in any sort of way is pretty much a false statement.

It's not false, you completely ignored what I wrote. It is fact that Wiercioch has played the softest minutes and cowen hasnt. Wiercioch is a hut who can't play against the fastest biggest players

Saying Cowen has had any kind of advantage in completely wrong.  There isn't a player in the organization who has been given more rope than Cowen, it's not close.

Wiercioch does everything better than Cowen other than being more assertive and physical which he will never be.  Cowen lacks a lot of things and the biggest one is being hockey sense.

You still missed his point though. He's talking about in-game matchups.

When Wiercioch is replacing Cowen's spot with Ceci on the 2nd pairing, he's getting pretty much the exact same matchups Cowen would have gotten. The big difference is PP and PK time, with Cowen playing a lot of the PK and none of the PP, and Wiercioch playing just the opposite. So, yeah, before this stretch, Wiercioch would have had easier matchups. In the most recent run, since Cowen's has been out? BS. Wiercioch is playing the exact same role, 5 on 5, as Cowen was.

Exactly and fact is Cowen isn't a better player than Borowiecki who is doing Cowen's job right now on the bottom pair and doing it better.

I don't care if you are Murray, Cameron, NEELY, SSF, Ev, you, my mother, Jesus, or Allah, if people don't want to say Wiercioch is a better player than Cowen then they are ignoring the obvious. People can argue about potential all they want but Cowen has been the worst of the young group of D men in Ottawa and he's been given the most time and patients.

If they want to keep rolling with both next year, that's fine, it's not the worst thing in the world to have healthy competition but trading Wiercioch just so Cowen gets shot #349 then that's a mistake.

NEELY wrote:

SeawaySensFan wrote:

NEELY wrote:No matter who is or isn't here next year IMO the guy you want backing up is Hammond.  He's a guy who will appreciate the role, embrace it, be a good teammate, and has the potential to play a very solid brand of hockey.

Lehner/Anderson going into next year is just asking for trouble.

That tandem has more than run it's course, unfortunately.

100%.  I get goalies are head cases and you have to go with it at times but you can't have 2 guys like that fighting for every second of ice.

Hammond is a God send to the Sens and fans for the simple fact it's a breath of fresh air and it seems it's exactly what the team needed.  

I also just want to qualify what I am saying (along with others), I'm not saying Hammond is a late bloomer (might be), or pushing for the #1 job, or anything else people might imply.  He's a guy that everyone likes, great story, and a guy that appreciates every single thing he has right now.  He should be the backup next season without question.  

You might change your tune when he snubs a White House invite after winning the Cup as Playoff MVP.

Hammond = Tim Thomas. Fact.