Ottawa Senators

[larrylintz]

Legwand to me has been so-so, at least a couple of bad giveaways/penalties at key moments that you'd expect from a young guy. I can't recall if there were any decent FA d-men out there during off-season, or if we had a shot at Leddy or Boychuk, but have to say that I would love to have the salaries being paid to Michalek, Legwand and Phillips invested instead in a great shutdown D, and use kids to fill the Michalek/Legwand holes.

[Big Ev]

Need veterans up front. Going with too many kids doesn't work. See oilers. These older guys who want to be here are great for mentoring and playoffs.

you have to remember Legwand is adjusting to a new team. He has been worth his deal so far. Chris Phillips has been more than worth his deal so far. I don't think we'd be 4-1 without him.

[larrylintz]

I think it's hard to credit anyone other than two goalies sporting an unsustainable .944 save % (it was a league-leading 933 during strike year) for a 4-1 record. It's fantastic they've managed a great record while not playing well, but unless changes are made chickens will come home to roost if they keep allowing 36 shots a game, which is worse than last year's average. I'd love to know if anyone else has seen Phillips be a difference-maker in any significant way.

[sensfan15]

I agree. The goalies are the reason we are 4-1, not Chris Phillips, Legwand or anyone else. TB should not have been a win and we could of very easily lost the FLA game without Anderson, hell the CLB game could of went either way. I wouldn't call Phillips a difference maker but he has done what has been expected. He's battled hard and hasn't had too many of the turnovers he had last season but the lack of speed concerns me. A couple times he has backed away letting the opponent get the puck for a rush when he could of just as easily stepped up and got the puck himself.

I disagree about the Veteran thing with forwards. The only really young forwards are Lazar and Zibby. Hoffman is as old as Turris and Stone is 22 years old. Michalek has been invisible out there and seems like an average bottom 6 forward. That is a waste of $4.3 million for a budget team. Legwand is slower than Zibby so having him on that 2nd line would be even more of a disaster.

The reason the Oilers have been bad is they have had a combination of terrible defence, terrible goaltending and to a degree bad luck. They also play in the Western Conference. If Ottawa played in the West they are likely finishing with CGY and ARI at the bottom of the standings. That being said Ottawa has won 4 games and you can't take that away from them but we are going to have to see some improvements if the team wants to sustain a winning pace.

[larrylintz]

People often ask why Canadian teams haven't one a cup in a generation, i think the Phillips/Legwand/Michalek signings and perhaps the Ryan trade, which i think we will regret a lot in the next couple of years, are good examples. No doubt small market US teams do lousy signings all the time, but i think the staggering pressure Canadian teams are under to do SOMETHING, ANYTHING, thanks to incessant talk radio analysis, daily newspaper beat writers there every day pressuring for new angles, etc, etc., vs US cities where the vast majority of sports fans and media don't give a crap, prevents teams from doing a sensible, methodical rebuild. I just can't see a small-market US team resigning Phillips because of his leadership role, community links, etc. If you have a strong top four D and decent goaltending you can get away with a lot of low-cost gambles, etc.,, at forward position.

[notch4077]

I disagree with your entire post. Will reply fully later though

[Mr. Guru]

Ottawa off to a hot start!

[sensfan15]

People often ask why Canadian teams haven't one a cup in a generation, i think the Phillips/Legwand/Michalek signings and perhaps the Ryan trade, which i think we will regret a lot in the next couple of years, are good examples. No doubt small market US teams do lousy signings all the time, but i think the staggering pressure Canadian teams are under to do SOMETHING, ANYTHING, thanks to incessant talk radio analysis, daily newspaper beat writers there every day pressuring for new angles, etc, etc., vs US cities where the vast majority of sports fans and media don't give a crap, prevents teams from doing a sensible, methodical rebuild. I just can't see a small-market US team resigning Phillips because of his leadership role, community links, etc. If you have a strong top four D and decent goaltending you can get away with a lot of low-cost gambles, etc.,, at forward position.

I think the biggest reason Phillips was signed was because the team had just lost Alfie and Spezza, two guys who were faces of the franchise and management didn't want the same thing to happen again. The worst part is that Phillips is by far the worse player of the 3 but I can see why the team did it.

As for the rebuild part I don't know if that is entirely true. The Boston's and the Chicagos have a heavy media presence as well. You should blame bad management for the lack of rebuilds more than pressure to win. Fans in Toronto will tell you they should of rebuilt for 2-3 years instead of being consistently mediocre. I am a huge fan of what Buffalo is doing right now because they know that there is no point in finishing 5th worst so you may as well plan to be terrible because you can guarantee a McDavid/Eichel if you finish last.

[VincentVega]

Who's on the top PP? In particular, where is Ryan playing? What are the expectations of him this season? He's off to a slow start but of course it's only been 5 games. Thanks in advance for your insightful answers, gents!

[sensfan15]

Who's on the top PP? In particular, where is Ryan playing? What are the expectations of him this season? He's off to a slow start but of course it's only been 5 games. Thanks in advance for your insightful answers, gents!

Ryan has been on PP2 IIRC. 1st PP is Turris-Stone-Mccarthur-Karlsson and I want to say Legwand. Ryan if he stays healthy should be able to get 50 points and 25 goals. If he gets time on the first PP and even 1st PP he has upside to get 35 goals and 70 points.

[Mr. Guru]

Ryan needs more character.....

[Big Ev]

lol he has character in spades. We all know his life story and how great of a dude he is

[rainydrinkwater]

It looks like the team in general is doing what it has to do to regain the moniker of "pesky sens". Goaltending has obviously been a lot stronger than last season so far as well.

[HockeyProphet]

lol he has character in spades. We all know his life story and how great of a dude he is

Amen

[Mr. Guru]

lol he has character in spades. We all know his life story and how great of a dude he is

Thats not what you were saying when he was in Anaheim hahaha

too easy!