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Forums :: Blog World :: Sens Writer: Senators Training Camp Preview
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GrimmdaGoalie
Ottawa Senators
Location: Ottawa, ON
Joined: 01.07.2016

Sep 27 @ 9:32 PM ET
top 6 is set, top 4 D is set, G is set, 1RD spot open 3LD is Klevens, remainder playing for spots in bottom 6 and 3RD
- Mithos

Top 9 definitely set. I would say there are 11 guarantees. One bubble guy. One spot for the best 4th liner in camp.
OttawaB
Ottawa Senators
Location: Ottawa, ON
Joined: 08.02.2016

Sep 27 @ 11:29 PM ET
Now that Guenette has been sent to Bellville along with Mantinpalo (both need to clear waivers .... probable they will clear), that really only leaves Addison to push JBD and Hamonic. Quite frankly, Addison has IMO not played well enough (too small and too easy to move off the puck) to earn a contract (he is on a PTO currently and should be waived bye bye to).

As for forwards, IMO only Cousins has a spot wrapped up. I think McKewen and Gregor need to play much much much better then they are to lock down a spot. Crookshank is gone to Bellville now as well. So in my mind that leaves Ostapchuk and Gaudette to fight over those 2 spots with McKewen and Gregor.
Now, I believe McKewen will easily clear waivers, but if Gregor is sent down he could easily/likely be claimed, so maybe he has an inside track.
david22
Ottawa Senators
Joined: 04.15.2008

Sep 28 @ 8:12 AM ET
I haven't seen any pre-season games, has Yakemchuk looked as good as some people are saying?
Sens Writer
Location: Vancouver, BC
Joined: 08.19.2013

Sep 28 @ 8:53 AM ET
Correct me if I'm wrong, but unless Gregor hits waivers, there really is only one forward spot available. And, unless Addison or Guenette really outplay Kleven or JBD, the D is pretty well sowed up too.

Unless the Sens are waiting to see what falls out from other camp's roster moves, there isn't much to figure out with training camp.

- GrimmdaGoalie

I've seen nothing so far in the pre-season in terms of D-man performances to suggest that anyone but Kleven, Hamonic, and Bernard-Docker will be the #5D-#7D. Yakemchuk has been impressive, but it's not clear that he's physically ready for a full 82GP season - though he's the wild card. As for the 4th line role it feels like Jenik/Gaudette may have the inside track, and they have the cap space for a cost-effective 13th forward. Of course, they could also use that extra cap space to make a waiver pick-up, but we'll have to see what kinds of players come up in that regard.
Sens Writer
Location: Vancouver, BC
Joined: 08.19.2013

Sep 28 @ 9:27 AM ET
The Senators have made their first major cut of training camp, affecting 20 AHL-eligible players.
https://sports.yahoo.com/...nk-stephen-204338110.html

The forwards include Crookshank, Halliday, Reinhardt, Boucher, Pettersson, Bourgault, Pilon, Chiasson, Bongiovanni, Daoust, Rees, and Hodgson. The D-men include Donovan, Guenette, Davies, Matinpalo, Toure, and Hamara. Simpson was also sent down as the lone G of the group, while Washkurak had his PTO ended but received an invite to the B-Sens camp.

Of those, Reinhardt, Pilon, Hodgson, and Rees had to be placed on waivers, as did Guenette, Davies, and Matinpalo. I'm not quite sure why Crookshank and Bongiovanni didn't have to be waived, but I've yet to see any indication of this being incorrect. In terms of potential waiver claims, Guenette is the highest-risk case - though any team claiming him off waivers would have to be prepared to offer him a regular NHL roster spot, which seems unlikely given his mediocre training camp.

The final roster spots will therefore boil down to some combination of:
F - Gaudette, Highmore, Jenik, Kulemin, MacEwan, Ostapchuk
D - Addison, Bernard-Docker, Roos, Sebrango, Yakemchuk
OttawaB
Ottawa Senators
Location: Ottawa, ON
Joined: 08.02.2016

Sep 29 @ 12:06 PM ET
Latest news is that Zub will be back training on ice in a few days. I could see him in maybe 1 preseason game (next weekend). I am still wondering when we may see Norris in a game. I would think they may want him in 2 of the remaining 3 preseason games. It might be time to rip this bandage off and see what kind of player we have. If he is not ready .... an LTIR stint.... or if he gets injured again .... an LTIR stint. Either of these may allow the Sens to make a necessary replacement trade. Kadri for the Flames could be a target if he is not injured.
OttawaB
Ottawa Senators
Location: Ottawa, ON
Joined: 08.02.2016

Sep 29 @ 9:36 PM ET
Might be nice if our back-up goalie could have a better save % then 0.84

Same old Forsberg.
GrimmdaGoalie
Ottawa Senators
Location: Ottawa, ON
Joined: 01.07.2016

Sep 30 @ 10:49 AM ET
Might be nice if our back-up goalie could have a better save % then 0.84

Same old Forsberg.

- OttawaB


What's killing me is Kevin Lankinen is sitting there, unsigned, and you can get him for half of what Forsberg costs to do a better job.

Forsberg can steal you a game. But he can also lose you a game, single handed, and that is the one thing you don't want for a backup goalie?

Any truth to the rumors that Forsberg is a buddy of Ullman? Cuz if not, waiver him and see what is what...

Bartacus
Ottawa Senators
Location: Toronto, ON
Joined: 01.08.2019

Sep 30 @ 11:41 AM ET
Ullmark is likely watching the Swayman negotiations closer than anyone right now - they are great friends and always saw each other as equals in net.

Dollars to donuts the Ullmark extension won't get discussed until JS signs, and I'll bet any eventual Linus deal will look a lot like Swayman's in term and value. Which IMO likely means that extension starts, at the very least, with the number 8.
Mithos
Joined: 04.14.2021

Sep 30 @ 2:08 PM ET
Ullmark is likely watching the Swayman negotiations closer than anyone right now - they are great friends and always saw each other as equals in net.

Dollars to donuts the Ullmark extension won't get discussed until JS signs, and I'll bet any eventual Linus deal will look a lot like Swayman's in term and value. Which IMO likely means that extension starts, at the very least, with the number 8.

- Bartacus


seems BOS offer Swayman 8x8
OttawaB
Ottawa Senators
Location: Ottawa, ON
Joined: 08.02.2016

Sep 30 @ 7:10 PM ET
seems BOS offer Swayman 8x8
- Mithos


An interesting starting point (sure is different from where the Spittin Chicklets guys were mentioning at 6 million). I wonder what Swayman is wanting?

If Ullmark has a good year and stabilizes the Ottawa goaltending position, I could see him wanting $8-9 million for 5 or 6 years. So if Ullmark is condusive to signing in Ottawa, do the Sens offer him that deal? If they don't, then what is their Plan B in net. I ask this because we are likely to see the goalie market pay resetting itself with Sheshterkin, Swayman, Ullmark and Oettinger (in 1 years), Demko (in 2 years) . We have seen Sorokin, Soros, and Hellebuyck move into the upper realm as well. You want a top end goalie, it is going to cost north of $8 million for term.

If Ottawa doesn't pay then our alternative is most likely to play goalie roulette with middling goaltenders and hope someone gets hot. I just don't see Mads Sogaard as being our long term #1` goalie answer, so what is Plan B?
GrimmdaGoalie
Ottawa Senators
Location: Ottawa, ON
Joined: 01.07.2016

Sep 30 @ 9:26 PM ET
I don't have a problem with the sens offering an elite goalie $8 mil a year. If Ullmark puts up vezina like numbers again, then he is an elite goalie.

But the term cannot be for more than 5 years.

And if I'm swayman, I take a one year deal at $6.5 million (the amount the Bruins have available this year), bet on myself, and become a true UFA next year.

Both player and team should play out most of the year before making any decisions.
OttawaB
Ottawa Senators
Location: Ottawa, ON
Joined: 08.02.2016

Sep 30 @ 11:33 PM ET
According to Swayman's agent, the Bruins are whistling out their ass .....Lewis says the Bruins have never offered Swayman 8x8. Interesting.

I also heard that the hold-up may be that the Bruins want the 8 year term ($$ who knows ????). But the Swayman camp want less term, maybe 3 years or so. But Bruins want to lock up 6 years of potential free agency, whereas, Swayman wants less term of 3 years (for example) so he can bet on himself and get a bigger payday when the cap goes north of 100 million.
The increasing cap is why so many teams want to lock their young stars up to 8 years, essentially buying up free agent years. Think about Seider for $8.7 million over 8 years. May seem fair (or slightly cheaper) now, but in 5 years we will probably look at Seider as being dramatically underpaid.

But on a side note .......... isn't it nice, that for a change, the annual NHL poop show isn't happening in Ottawa. Its nice to sit back and look at another team poop the bed.
Bartacus
Ottawa Senators
Location: Toronto, ON
Joined: 01.08.2019

Oct 1 @ 8:51 AM ET
According to Swayman's agent, the Bruins are whistling out their ass .....Lewis says the Bruins have never offered Swayman 8x8. Interesting.

I also heard that the hold-up may be that the Bruins want the 8 year term ($$ who knows ????). But the Swayman camp want less term, maybe 3 years or so. But Bruins want to lock up 6 years of potential free agency, whereas, Swayman wants less term of 3 years (for example) so he can bet on himself and get a bigger payday when the cap goes north of 100 million.
The increasing cap is why so many teams want to lock their young stars up to 8 years, essentially buying up free agent years. Think about Seider for $8.7 million over 8 years. May seem fair (or slightly cheaper) now, but in 5 years we will probably look at Seider as being dramatically underpaid.

But on a side note .......... isn't it nice, that for a change, the annual NHL poop show isn't happening in Ottawa. Its nice to sit back and look at another team poop the bed.

- OttawaB


This here. It's why Mathews keep signing bridge deals, why LeBron signs rotating one year deals - if you are a really talented player in this market it makes sense to bet on yourself, because your gross pay at the end of the road will be significantly higher if your contract escalates with the cap. There's a risk you could get injured and lose it all, or bet on yourself like John Kilngberg and ruin your earning potential forever, but I like the confidence of this new generation of players - it's refreshing.
Octavarium
New York Islanders
Joined: 01.03.2007

Oct 1 @ 11:47 AM ET
what's concerning is the lack of talk in here about what we saw in Subury (elliot lake)

Minus, Norris, Zub and Ullmark. And we looked pretty much like last year but different. Strong start. Terrible second. No push back third.

What a dismal game. Timmy looked good.....for a period.
OttawaB
Ottawa Senators
Location: Ottawa, ON
Joined: 08.02.2016

Oct 1 @ 12:51 PM ET
what's concerning is the lack of talk in here about what we saw in Subury (elliot lake)

Minus, Norris, Zub and Ullmark. And we looked pretty much like last year but different. Strong start. Terrible second. No push back third.

What a dismal game. Timmy looked good.....for a period.

- Octavarium


Not too concerned on the effort. Players just don't put it out there much in preseason. They don't want to get injured so the physicality is less, less shot blocking, etc.
Besides, last year in preseason we beat the Pens 3-0 and looked good. Then the rest of the regular season hits and blah.

News out that Norris is playing tonight. So we shall see how it goes.


PogBoi
Season Ticket Holder
Ottawa Senators
Location: Barrie, ON
Joined: 08.27.2020

Oct 1 @ 1:32 PM ET
Preseason means nothing except for players trying to fight for a spot. Sens have top 9 and top 4 D figured out (I think JBD is the only bubble D guy. Kleven should be making the team). Sens are just working on who will eat 5-10 minutes. Worry if this effort is seen in real games.
GrimmdaGoalie
Ottawa Senators
Location: Ottawa, ON
Joined: 01.07.2016

Oct 1 @ 2:10 PM ET
I feel the Sens are keeping an eye on what other teams will do closer to the start of the season.

For example, the Leafs are over the cap. Would Connor Timmins be available? He'd be a 5/6 replacement for JBD and doesn't cost much more.
Sens Writer
Location: Vancouver, BC
Joined: 08.19.2013

Oct 1 @ 2:43 PM ET
what's concerning is the lack of talk in here about what we saw in Subury (elliot lake)

Minus, Norris, Zub and Ullmark. And we looked pretty much like last year but different. Strong start. Terrible second. No push back third.

What a dismal game. Timmy looked good.....for a period.

- Octavarium

This is 100% on Travis Green to more clearly articulate the expectations he has for the group in terms of being ready to start the NHL season. The ongoing competition for the 12th forward position can't be allowed to distract from the importance of this first training camp under their new head coach. There should be conversations going on right now, where he very clearly outlines exactly what each player needs to do differently from last year/last pre-season game if they want to stop losing NHL games. The first 8 games of the season include FLA/TBL as division rivals, COL/VGK as other recent Cup champions, LAK/NJD as likely playoff teams, and a road game in MTL. If they're not ready for the start of the season, they could easily find themselves down 2-6-0 or worse before they even get to Hallowe'en.

They also need to start developing chemistry on the 2nd/3rd forward lines, because there are just too many new faces to keep things in limbo. Plus, the #2C position drives the structure of the entire 2nd/3rd lines, and Norris not playing in the pre-season is becoming a major distraction. I really wish they'd just build the 2nd line around Pinto-Batherson, and the 3rd line around Greig-Perron... but they seem hell-bent on keeping Norris in the #2C role. I guess we'll see how long that lasts, but I think making him handle that kind of faceoff load is just a disaster waiting to happen.
OttawaB
Ottawa Senators
Location: Ottawa, ON
Joined: 08.02.2016

Oct 1 @ 3:05 PM ET
Plus, the #2C position drives the structure of the entire 2nd/3rd lines, and Norris not playing in the pre-season is becoming a major distraction. I really wish they'd just build the 2nd line around Pinto-Batherson, and the 3rd line around Greig-Perron... but they seem hell-bent on keeping Norris in the #2C role. I guess we'll see how long that lasts, but I think making him handle that kind of faceoff load is just a disaster waiting to happen.
- khawk


These kind of pronouncements just kind of bother me. On one hand, you are wrong and Norris can handle the workload and your comments just disappear into the ether. Or, Norris gets reinjured and all of a sudden you are the medical doctor genius who knew all along ... the "I told you so" guy. The reality is , none of us knows how Norris will fare. But I am sure actual medical personnel on the Sens have a better indication of how the shoulder is.
Anyways ......... according to TSN, both Norris and Zub will be in the line-up tonight. I expect the full contingent of Sen defenders .... McKewen, Ostapchuk et al .... to be in the line-up to ride sidesaddle and protect them from the heavies in Montreal should they try to goon it up.

Tkachuk-Stutzle-Batherson
Greig-Norris-Perron
Highmore-Pinto-Amadio
Gregor-Gaudette-McEwen

Sanderson-Yakemchuk
Chabot-Zub
Kleven-Jensen

Ullmark to get the start and expected to play the whole game.
Octavarium
New York Islanders
Joined: 01.03.2007

Oct 1 @ 8:24 PM ET
What a poop
Show of a game.

Coach. 5 shots. WTF!!!
Mithos
Joined: 04.14.2021

Oct 1 @ 9:16 PM ET
Senators' Brady Tkachuk, Tim Stutzle suffer upper-body injuries vs. Canadiens

Kiss the season goodbye if they out for any significant amount of time
OttawaB
Ottawa Senators
Location: Ottawa, ON
Joined: 08.02.2016

Oct 1 @ 9:25 PM ET
Senators' Brady Tkachuk, Tim Stutzle suffer upper-body injuries vs. Canadiens

Kiss the season goodbye if they out for any significant amount of time

- Mithos




.... you've been looking for reasons to kiss the season goodbye since the last season ended. Is your glass always half empty ? Come on ... I dare ya .... say something truly positive about the Senators and the players/team/coaching/management/ownership .
david22
Ottawa Senators
Joined: 04.15.2008

Oct 1 @ 9:30 PM ET
.... you've been looking for reasons to kiss the season goodbye since the last season ended. Is your glass always half empty ? Come on ... I dare ya .... say something truly positive about the Senators and the players/team/coaching/management/ownership .
- OttawaB

Hoping stuzle and Brady just kept out as a precaution.

Glass half full, Yakemchuk looking good so far.
Mithos
Joined: 04.14.2021

Oct 1 @ 9:31 PM ET
.... you've been looking for reasons to kiss the season goodbye since the last season ended. Is your glass always half empty ? Come on ... I dare ya .... say something truly positive about the Senators and the players/team/coaching/management/ownership .
- OttawaB


seems chabot out as well, Sens dropping like flies.
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