Ottawa Senators (present and past) TIDBITS & QUICK HITS!

Agreed. Players like this are still needed (maybe less so when players like Brown, White, Paul are all in the lineup and plying like they could/should). But Boro is a bottom-pairing guy with limited skill, and he should not have been playing on his off-side with a first round bust. And Neil should never be the extra guy when they pull the goalie. I'd argue he should not be in the crease on a PP, either, as we have guys that are bigger with softer hands and quicker reflexes. They have their place, but I don't think Cameron was very good at using them properly.

wprager wrote:But Boro is a bottom-pairing guy with limited skill, and he should not have been playing on his off-side with a first round bust.  And Neil should never be the extra guy when they pull the goalie.

I think we'll see "better" player usage with the new and improved Scarface.

tim1_2 wrote:Our 6th/7th d-man isn't making the difference between being a contender or not.  Boro got tired of the Twitter/analytics community constantly pooping on him, so he called them out and quit Twitter.  It's the same people who constantly poop on Chris Neil.  The fact is that these two guys bring a big physical presence to the lineup that would be absent otherwise.  Despite this being the "new" NHL, you still need a player or two that do what these guys do.

For sure, we're definitely not the biggest team out there.

Problem with Boro sometimes isn't Boro necessarely. Being a defenseman isn't the ideal position you want from a guy that brings physicality. He will be Ina position to give up the puck because he goes for the big hit and in that position it hurts the play of the game. There's less chance for recovery whe a Dman does that. Now you combine with the fact that he's done that few to many times and you can see why you'd want to limit his time or at least he's going to have to play differently. We had similar problems with Carkner if you recal.

I don't agree with the amount of hate that goes around with him but I do think he should adjust his game to play better with the puck.

tim1_2 wrote:

wprager wrote:But Boro is a bottom-pairing guy with limited skill, and he should not have been playing on his off-side with a first round bust.  And Neil should never be the extra guy when they pull the goalie.

I think we'll see "better" player usage with the new and improved Scarface.

Need a picture of Boucher hugging Hoffman saying "Say hello to my little friend"!

Flo The Action wrote:Problem with Boro sometimes isn't Boro necessarely. Being a defenseman isn't the ideal position you want from a guy that brings physicality. He will be Ina position to give up the puck because he goes for the big hit and in that position it hurts the play of the game. There's less chance for recovery whe a Dman does that. Now you combine with the fact that he's done that few to many times and you can see why you'd want to limit his time or at least he's going to have to play differently. We had similar problems with Carkner if you recal.

I don't agree with the amount of hate that goes around with him but I do think he should adjust his game to play better with the puck.

For a while, there, Cowen was doing it (getting out of position to deliver a hit) more than Boro. Again, that's coaching. Take the hit if it's there but not at the expense of getting out of position.

Karlsson on Ovechkin -- he half-missed and ended up out of position, fell down trying to get back to Ovi. Just doesn't happen with him very often (and when it does he is a lot quicker than most to recover).

wprager wrote:

Flo The Action wrote:Problem with Boro sometimes isn't Boro necessarely. Being a defenseman isn't the ideal position you want from a guy that brings physicality. He will be Ina position to give up the puck because he goes for the big hit and in that position it hurts the play of the game. There's less chance for recovery whe a Dman does that. Now you combine with the fact that he's done that few to many times and you can see why you'd want to limit his time or at least he's going to have to play differently. We had similar problems with Carkner if you recal.

I don't agree with the amount of hate that goes around with him but I do think he should adjust his game to play better with the puck.

Karlsson on Ovechkin -- he half-missed and ended up out of position, fell down trying to get back to Ovi.  Just doesn't happen with him very often (and when it does he is a lot quicker than most to recover).

Yeah, those hits near the blue line by d-men are high-risk. I'd prefer the physicality be kept more down-low.

wprager wrote:They also have a hate-on for Boro because of what Cameron said (how he wanted his whole team to play like Boro).  Let's not forget that Boro was asked to play the right side with Cowen.  He was fine when paired up with Wideman and not expected to be A-Train to Cowbun's Big Rig as the PK shut-down pairing.

Also he played boro on the first line and demoted hoffman to the 4th line, believe it was that Florida game where hoffman was pissed after he scored. Online community hated that.

tim1_2 wrote:Our 6th/7th d-man isn't making the difference between being a contender or not.  Boro got tired of the Twitter/analytics community constantly pooping on him, so he called them out and quit Twitter.  It's the same people who constantly poop on Chris Neil.  The fact is that these two guys bring a big physical presence to the lineup that would be absent otherwise.  Despite this being the "new" NHL, you still need a player or two that do what these guys do.

I'm not saying there isn't a place for them, but there might not be with the sens. Besides, hypothetically if they bring a seidenberg in, he's not playing all 82 games, might actually play 50 games only. Boro is good insurance on a player like that. AAAAAND boro is injury prone, has only played 63 games each of the last two seasons.

Chris Neil definitely has adjusted his game to keep pace and should be commended for that. If he doesn't get signed for next season, I could easily see him getting scooped up by a western conference team like St. louis or Anaheim.

Hoff-Machine wrote:

wprager wrote:They also have a hate-on for Boro because of what Cameron said (how he wanted his whole team to play like Boro).  Let's not forget that Boro was asked to play the right side with Cowen.  He was fine when paired up with Wideman and not expected to be A-Train to Cowbun's Big Rig as the PK shut-down pairing.

Also he played boro on the first line and demoted hoffman to the 4th line, believe it was that Florida game where hoffman was pissed after he scored.  Online community hated that.

tim1_2 wrote:Our 6th/7th d-man isn't making the difference between being a contender or not.  Boro got tired of the Twitter/analytics community constantly pooping on him, so he called them out and quit Twitter.  It's the same people who constantly poop on Chris Neil.  The fact is that these two guys bring a big physical presence to the lineup that would be absent otherwise.  Despite this being the "new" NHL, you still need a player or two that do what these guys do.

I'm not saying there isn't a place for them, but there might not be with the sens.  Besides, hypothetically if they bring a seidenberg in, he's not playing all 82 games, might actually play 50 games only.  Boro is good insurance on a player like that.  AAAAAND boro is injury prone, has only played 63 games each of the last two seasons.  

Chris Neil definitely has adjusted his game to keep pace and should be commended for that.  If he doesn't get signed for next season, I could easily see him getting scooped up by a western conference team like St. louis or Anaheim.

The other thing to keep in mind is if we lose someone to injury on the top 4. Wideman can do spot duties and maybe seidenberg but I don't want to see Boro on there or almost anyone else. Anything long term in terms of injuries would leave us looking bare. That's why I could have seen a Russell player come in on a one year. Yeah it would cost a lot but he could easily move up to the 2nd pairing.

I'm quite nervous Seidenberg is playing himself off Ottawa and onto Chicago or some contender that needs a veteran guy.

The more people talk about Seidenberg's near miracle comeback, the more I want him on Ottawa.

Flo The Action wrote:. That's why I could have seen a Russell player come in on a one year. Yeah it would cost a lot but he could easily move up to the 2nd pairing.

There's zero chance we're signing Russell. He'll come in around $4M and that just isn't happening.

tim1_2 wrote:

Flo The Action wrote:. That's why I could have seen a Russell player come in on a one year. Yeah it would cost a lot but he could easily move up to the 2nd pairing.

There's zero chance we're signing Russell.  He'll come in around $4M and that just isn't happening.

Oh I know. It would make too much sense.
That's why I could get behind seindenberg. At this stage he's likely our best bet. He probably knows that Ottawa might affoard him the best chance at playing decent minutes too.

PTFlea wrote:I'm quite nervous Seidenberg is playing himself off Ottawa and onto Chicago or some contender that needs a veteran guy.

The more people talk about Seidenberg's near miracle comeback, the more I want him on Ottawa.

Yeah but how much would he be playing in Chicago? They already seem to have a 7 dman team.

Nice little write up on Erkamps:
http://www.silversevensens.com/2016/9/21/12929374/macoy-erkamps-eager-to-make-a-name-for-himself-in-binghamton-ottawa-senators-nhl

He's not big -- 6'0" 198 lbs and at 21 he's not growing any more; but will likely add a few pounds, so 210-ish? But he's a hard player, finishes his checks, drops the gloves to stand up for his team mates, and he's got an offensive flair, with 71 points in his last junior season. True, he was an over-ager, and he partnered with Provorov, but still. Skill-wise, can he do what Boro is doing now? Hard to say until we've seen him play some pro hockey, at least, but it seems likely that his skill level is a little higher. Other than that, he may have the same toolset as Boro.

wprager wrote:Nice little write up on Erkamps:
http://www.silversevensens.com/2016/9/21/12929374/macoy-erkamps-eager-to-make-a-name-for-himself-in-binghamton-ottawa-senators-nhl

He's not big -- 6'0" 198 lbs and at 21 he's not growing any more; but will likely add a few pounds, so 210-ish?  But he's a hard player, finishes his checks, drops the gloves to stand up for his team mates, and he's got an offensive flair, with 71 points in his last junior season.  True, he was an over-ager, and he partnered with Provorov, but still.  Skill-wise, can he do what Boro is doing now?  Hard to say until we've seen him play some pro hockey, at least, but it seems likely that his skill level is a little higher.  Other than that, he may have the same toolset as Boro.

He's a guy that you could likely sub in for Boro without losing much, but I would sincerely doubt he ever gets significant minutes in Ottawa.

Flo The Action wrote:

PTFlea wrote:I'm quite nervous Seidenberg is playing himself off Ottawa and onto Chicago or some contender that needs a veteran guy.

The more people talk about Seidenberg's near miracle comeback, the more I want him on Ottawa.

Yeah but how much would he be playing in Chicago? They already seem to have a 7 dman team.

I meant a contender in the vein of Chicago more than Chicago itself. A team that fancies itself a true contender and needs a 6th D-man with experience.

ICYMI: https://www.nhl.com/senators/news/senators-announce-2016-17-training-camp-roster/c-281971976

Stephen Harper is among the invitees.

Also a 29-year old small center named Chad Nehring.

But no Mike Babcock Jr. Take that!