Hoping stuzle and Brady just kept out as a precaution.

Glass half full, Yakemchuk looking good so far.
- david22

would be surprised if he don't get at very least a 9 game look to start season

Not sure what the issue was with Chabot or Greig and why they left. Tkachuk and Stutzle looked to be okay after the play. I'm hoping they were just kept out of the meaningless game for precaution as things degenerated. Kind of surprised that an ex-player like St. Louis would coach such a chippy team when he always used to whine and complain about that style of game back in the day.

Here is a question I have ........ the Sens have back to back games this weekend vs Detroit on Friday and then Montreal on Saturday. Let's face facts ... both are meaningless games and you want to protect against injury before the start of the season.
Let's assume the Sens start their main lineup as a tuneup vs Detroit.

Then Montreal rolls in. Can the Sens sit their main starters and recall guys from Belleville that they previously sent down. That way you don't have to play guys like Norris, Tkachuk, Stu, Sanderson, Chabot, Zub and a few others. Just go with a Belleville heavy lineup? The question is ..... can a team recall guys it already sent down to the AHL? Why risk injury vs Montreal in a meaningless game.

Well that turned ugly in a hurry. Probably not the right game for Greig to be going around throwing hits like that, but in his defense it's not clear that it would have been an interference call in the regular season. And he's definitely a player that hits with purpose... I'm not sure I've seen anyone since Michael Peca who could hit bigger players with so much impact despite only being ~6'0-185. That hit last year on Ristolainen (6'4-220) was probably the biggest hit of the year by any Senators player.

Fortunately the hit on Stutzle wasn't more serious... but the NHL should probably look into more severe punishments for overt retaliation plays like that in the pre-season. Xhakej may still be suspended, but it's notable that the NHL went and released the most sanitized version imaginable of the game highlights, with no reference whatsoever to the controversial major penalty that completely reversed the outcome of the game...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_MOrfQUJL-w

On the positive side, it was good to see Zub/Norris back on the ice... even though they were both a team-worst -2 for the game. I thought Norris still looked kind of peripheral, but going 10/16 in the face-off circle was a good sign. Hopefully they will continue skating/playing the rest of the pre-season in order to get up to speed. Yakemchuk had another 2pts, but also directly caused the 1st goal-against. Ullmark looked pretty good, and it's hard not to like his calm disposition. Gaudette looks like he may have the inside track for the 12th forward role, especially after putting up another 1G/1A and going 10/15 in the face-off circle.

Ullmark was very good!

Ullmark was very good!
- spatso

Yes.
But he shouldn't have to be.
This team is still a calamity in their own end.
Turn over machines middle of the ice.

Lets hope we see some "coaching" soon.

Not sure what the issue was with Chabot or Greig and why they left. Tkachuk and Stutzle looked to be okay after the play. I'm hoping they were just kept out of the meaningless game for precaution as things degenerated. Kind of surprised that an ex-player like St. Louis would coach such a chippy team when he always used to whine and complain about that style of game back in the day.
- OttawaB

You have to take things into context.

A useless AHL plug destroyed Laine's knee against Toronto.

Then Greig goes out of his way to make a useless, dangerous hit on Kirby Dach.

poop just hit the fan.

I'm not saying I condone Xhekaj going after Stutzle, but saying it's Montreal that turned this game into the mess it became is just false.

For what it's worth, Xhekaj ended up hitting Stutzle's gloves/stick and it was Stutzle's stick that hit him, so I guess that lessens the whole event despite the major penalty.

Well that turned ugly in a hurry. Probably not the right game for Greig to be going around throwing hits like that, but in his defense it's not clear that it would have been an interference call in the regular season. And he's definitely a player that hits with purpose... I'm not sure I've seen anyone since Michael Peca who could hit bigger players with so much impact despite only being ~6'0-185. That hit last year on Ristolainen (6'4-220) was probably the biggest hit of the year by any Senators player.

Fortunately the hit on Stutzle wasn't more serious... but the NHL should probably look into more severe punishments for overt retaliation plays like that in the pre-season. Xhakej may still be suspended, but it's notable that the NHL went and released the most sanitized version imaginable of the game highlights, with no reference whatsoever to the controversial major penalty that completely reversed the outcome of the game...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_MOrfQUJL-w

On the positive side, it was good to see Zub/Norris back on the ice... even though they were both a team-worst -2 for the game. I thought Norris still looked kind of peripheral, but going 10/16 in the face-off circle was a good sign. Hopefully they will continue skating/playing the rest of the pre-season in order to get up to speed. Yakemchuk had another 2pts, but also directly caused the 1st goal-against. Ullmark looked pretty good, and it's hard not to like his calm disposition. Gaudette looks like he may have the inside track for the 12th forward role, especially after putting up another 1G/1A and going 10/15 in the face-off circle.
- khawk

whats the update on Tkachuk for my draft tomorrow please ;-)

whats the update on Tkachuk for my draft tomorrow please ;-)
- Xizord

take him, he rarely misses game!

You have to take things into context.

A useless AHL plug destroyed Laine's knee against Toronto.

Then Greig goes out of his way to make a useless, dangerous hit on Kirby Dach.

poop just hit the fan.

I'm not saying I condone Xhekaj going after Stutzle, but saying it's Montreal that turned this game into the mess it became is just false.

For what it's worth, Xhekaj ended up hitting Stutzle's gloves/stick and it was Stutzle's stick that hit him, so I guess that lessens the whole event despite the major penalty.
- Scabeh

You missed the plug taking out Tavares the game prior in the timeline - but agreed man

GM when asked about all players who left the game (though I think more specifically Brady Timmy and Thomas) "everybody is fine"

So.

blood pressure lowering

we could see the G salary ask drop like rock this season if BOS can win and be top 3 in the division top 5ish in the league without swayman and with korpisalo in net, that would show, as is the actual case, that Gs are not the end all be all position, all a team needs a a stable good G not a 8M+ one. we could also see shesterkin ridiculous ask (rumored) of 12-14M/year be laughed out of the city by NYR.

as for OTTs, that could mean getting Ullmark signed for 6-6.5M instead of 8M if OTT does not suck again and go into 2nd rebuild mode.

we could see the G salary ask drop like rock this season if BOS can win and be top 3 in the division top 5ish in the league without swayman and with korpisalo in net, that would show, as is the actual case, that Gs are not the end all be all position, all a team needs a a stable good G not a 8M+ one. we could also see shesterkin ridiculous ask (rumored) of 12-14M/year be laughed out of the city by NYR.

as for OTTs, that could mean getting Ullmark signed for 6-6.5M instead of 8M if OTT does not suck again and go into 2nd rebuild mode.
- Mithos

Say Ullmark plays at Craig Anderson levels, and gets the Sens to the playoffs.

Do the Sens sign him at 8m+? If they need to overpay to get a bonified starter then it may be a necessity. Otherwise what other option do they have.

Say Ullmark plays at Craig Anderson levels, and gets the Sens to the playoffs.

Do the Sens sign him at 8m+? If they need to overpay to get a bonified starter then it may be a necessity. Otherwise what other option do they have.
- david22

what would i do if OTT is 100% dependent on a G to win? rebuild again because that means this team do not have the right type pf players to win or if its because of coaching, get a actual freaking winning coach....which Green is not when he was hired.

no team can and will ever win a cup or much if they rely 100% on a/the G. Boston is going to prove it this season and you will see swayman either go to europe or sign below 8M before DEC 1st. Gs are the 3rd most important role on a team after D and F and the proof is in the cup winners of the last few years. a team needs a stable G that wont let in 2+ soft goals/game. If boston wins with Korpi the G market salary value will plummet and you could see shesterkin play in europe next year if he wont come down from his insane 12M+ ask.

what would i do if OTT is 100% dependent on a G to win? rebuild again because that means this team do not have the right type pf players to win or if its because of coaching, get a actual freaking winning coach....which Green is not when he was hired.

no team can and will ever win a cup or much if they rely 100% on a/the G. Boston is going to prove it this season and you will see swayman either go to europe or sign below 8M before DEC 1st. Gs are the 3rd most important role on a team after D and F and the proof is in the cup winners of the last few years. a team needs a stable G that wont let in 2+ soft goals/game. If boston wins with Korpi the G market salary value will plummet and you could see shesterkin play in europe next year if he wont come down from his insane 12M+ ask.
- Mithos

3 reasons why your thesis is wrong.
1) Bob stole games for Florida in the playoffs. He led Florida at the start before they got their playoff breath.
2) Vasilevskiy ... without him, Tampa doesn't necessarily win Cups
3) Montreal never gets a sniff of the Cup finals without Price.
4) Brodeur led the Devils
5) Roy is the final piece Colorado needed to win the Cup
6) No Anderson on Ottawa and the Sens never reach the semi finals vs Pens.
7) No Sheshterkin, and the Rangers are not nearly the threat they are. He is the best player on the Rangers.

Wait .... that's not 3 points ..... If you want to wine you need a dominating goalie. Its just that the cap freeze has caused goalie pay to stagnate. Now it will catch up.

Predictions:
Rangers will pay Sheshterkin $11 million ... or somebody else will. No Sheshterkin and the Rangers will struggle to make the playoffs.
Boston will pay Swayman $9-10 million. Korpisalo is not the answer. He can't make the timely save (and has no catching glove). Its funny .... my recollection is that you were one of the guys who were shouting last year that Korpisalo was not the answer, not a good goalie. And now ... Korpisalo will be the answer in Boston ?
Ottawa will end up paying Ullmark $8-9 million.

3 reasons why your thesis is wrong.
1) Bob stole games for Florida in the playoffs. He led Florida at the start before they got their playoff breath.
2) Vasilevskiy ... without him, Tampa doesn't necessarily win Cups
3) Montreal never gets a sniff of the Cup finals without Price.
4) Brodeur led the Devils
5) Roy is the final piece Colorado needed to win the Cup
6) No Anderson on Ottawa and the Sens never reach the semi finals vs Pens.
7) No Sheshterkin, and the Rangers are not nearly the threat they are. He is the best player on the Rangers.

Wait .... that's not 3 points ..... If you want to wine you need a dominating goalie. Its just that the cap freeze has caused goalie pay to stagnate. Now it will catch up.

Predictions:
Rangers will pay Sheshterkin $11 million ... or somebody else will. No Sheshterkin and the Rangers will struggle to make the playoffs.
Boston will pay Swayman $9-10 million. Korpisalo is not the answer. He can't make the timely save (and has no catching glove). Its funny .... my recollection is that you were one of the guys who were shouting last year that Korpisalo was not the answer, not a good goalie. And now ... Korpisalo will be the answer in Boston ?
Ottawa will end up paying Ullmark $8-9 million.
- OttawaB

this is not the era of Brodeur and Roy, even Brodeur said Gs are not that valuable anymore. Yes a hot G can make a difference, but that is chance. Vegas won with a carousel of unknow Gs, COL won with a rental, Blues won with a rookie that got hot at the right time, Bob was a buyout/worst contract in the league for several years after he singed in FLA, only when the team got good did he improve.

Since the 1986-87 season, the first NHL season to include four best-of-seven rounds in the playoffs, only three goalies went on to win the Stanley Cup during the same season in which they won the Vezina Trophy.

The last Vezina winner to win the cup in the same year was Tim Tomas in 2011.

Top 10 goalies last year, the average age was about 28-28.5 years old. Ullmark won't get and doesn't deserve 8-9M this year unless he gets Sens into the playoffs. He turns 32 years old next summer.

Boston had the best NHL season of all time when Ullmark won the Vezina. It's not to take anything away from him - I think he's a heck of a goalie but why did Bruins trade him if he's THAT good? Yes they got Swayman but Ullmark's return wasn't anything too special. I think Ottawa will get much better goaltending but their defensive coverage, breakdowns, and overall play away from the puck is very concerning to me. I don't see Travis Green making a big difference but I do have confidence in Alfie, Yeo, and Martin

this is not the era of Brodeur and Roy, even Brodeur said Gs are not that valuable anymore. Yes a hot G can make a difference, but that is chance. Vegas won with a carousel of unknow Gs, COL won with a rental, Blues won with a rookie that got hot at the right time, Bob was a buyout/worst contract in the league for several years after he singed in FLA, only when the team got good did he improve.

Since the 1986-87 season, the first NHL season to include four best-of-seven rounds in the playoffs, only three goalies went on to win the Stanley Cup during the same season in which they won the Vezina Trophy.

The last Vezina winner to win the cup in the same year was Tim Tomas in 2011.
- Mithos

Agree 100%

Goaltending is VERY important but there are only about 5-6 goals I would sign to more than a 5 year deal (Hellebuyck, Vasilevskiy, Oettinger, Saros, Shesterkin)

Goalie contracts just have gotten no respect over the last 10 or so years. Now that the cap is rising again, we are going to see a jump in goalie pay. Especially as some major goalies come due on their contracts.
Signing some back up to maybe a couple million, fine. But few teams have shown any consistency in standings and playoff success without a strongly defined number one goalie.
Without Shesterkin bailing out the Ranger defence and team defence, the Rangers would not have the success they have seen in recent years.
Ditto the Bruins. That Bruin team is not the same defensive dynamo that they were in the Chara/Bergeron/Raask days. It is a team that has gotten older, and thinner on depth. They are where they are (or were) because they had 2 standout goalies in Swayman and Ullmark. And to say that "the Boston system" could make any goalie look good .... I just look a tlast night where the old Korpisalo reared his ugly head with a 0.824 save percentage. Ahhhhh ...... good times in Ottawa.

One only need to look at teams like Ottawa or Detroit where poor goaltending has killed any rise in the standings . So, anytime you can nab a top goalie, you sign them even if it means an overpayment. The goaltending carousel in Ottawa has to stop. We have to stop grabbing middling goalies and hoping they catch fire. A great goalie like Ullmark could allow us time to get that team defensive structure in place. Every team needs their goalie to bail them out of bad plays in every game. The difference between a middle of the road goalie and a good/great goalie ....... timeliness of the saves.

Agree 100%

Goaltending is VERY important but there are only about 5-6 goals I would sign to more than a 5 year deal (Hellebuyck, Vasilevskiy, Oettinger, Saros, Shesterkin)
- AlfieisKing

Well this is where, and knock him if we must, Pierre Dorion tried to cheat the system by gambling on the Korpisalo deal. Just need to peek at Korpi's historical stat line to realize just how huge a gamble that was. Now look at Ullmark's stats - ridiculously consistent, elite numbers. One could quite easily argue he belongs on that list above. I know we are waiting for Linus to settle in but I hope they start talking extension sooner than later - the longer you wait, the more likely Shesterkin's deal comes through. Shesterkin will set a new bar in UFA goalie salaries, and having it in ink won't bode well for keeping Ullmark's AAV down.

Well this is where, and knock him if we must, Pierre Dorion tried to cheat the system by gambling on the Korpisalo deal. Just need to peek at Korpi's historical stat line to realize just how huge a gamble that was. Now look at Ullmark's stats - ridiculously consistent, elite numbers. One could quite easily argue he belongs on that list above. I know we are waiting for Linus to settle in but I hope they start talking extension sooner than later - the longer you wait, the more likely Shesterkin's deal comes through. Shesterkin will set a new bar in UFA goalie salaries, and having it in ink won't bode well for keeping Ullmark's AAV down.
- Bartacus

I have to admit - I was excited and positive about Matt Murray and I was so wrong about - then again with Korpisalo.

Hopefully Ullmark is the goalie for this team the next 4-5 years

Senators defence is now set, barring any injuries.

Calen Addison was released from his PTO. Why the Sens signed him to one is still puzzling, given his skill set (small, more offensive minded). Unless he was there as injury insurance.

Sens defence ....
Sanderson, Chabot, Klevin .... left side.
Zub, Jensen, Hamonic and JBD on the right side.

Ideal? Don't know until we see if they can play with more defensive structure (and more defensive support from the forward group).

So all that is left is to see how that 4rth line fills out ...... Cousens and Gregor are locks ..... the 12th and 13th forwards ...... Gaudette, MacEwen, Ostapchuk, Highmore. Tonight's game will have to sort them out. If we exclude MacEwen's salary for the moment , the Sens have $2.5 million in cap space. They can add 2 forwards (the 12th and 13th guys) and still have close to $1 million in cap space. That is enough to bring up a goalie should we have a short term injury at that position.
13 forwards
7 d-men
2 goalies (with enough cap space to add an extra if needed)

All in all, much better cap management at this point then previous years.

Also, we need to know the status of Perron and if he is injured or ready to go. So, if injured, the Sens may opt to keep 3 players up if it is longer term.

Senators defence is now set, barring any injuries.

Calen Addison was released from his PTO. Why the Sens signed him to one is still puzzling, given his skill set (small, more offensive minded). Unless he was there as injury insurance.

Sens defence ....
Sanderson, Chabot, Klevin .... left side.
Zub, Jensen, Hamonic and JBD on the right side.

Ideal? Don't know until we see if they can play with more defensive structure (and more defensive support from the forward group).

So all that is left is to see how that 4rth line fills out ...... Cousens and Gregor are locks ..... the 12th and 13th forwards ...... Gaudette, MacEwen, Ostapchuk, Highmore. Tonight's game will have to sort them out. If we exclude MacEwen's salary for the moment , the Sens have $2.5 million in cap space. They can add 2 forwards (the 12th and 13th guys) and still have close to $1 million in cap space. That is enough to bring up a goalie should we have a short term injury at that position.
13 forwards
7 d-men
2 goalies (with enough cap space to add an extra if needed)

All in all, much better cap management at this point then previous years.

Also, we need to know the status of Perron and if he is injured or ready to go. So, if injured, the Sens may opt to keep 3 players up if it is longer term.
- OttawaB

you forgot Yakemchuck, he still with the team.

you forgot Yakemchuck, he still with the team.
- Mithos

I think we all pretty much know that he is not stating up in the NHL at this time. He may get up to 9 games, but the reality is that an 18/19 year old d-man is probably not physically ready for the NHL.
Especially since Hamonic has a full no move (can't even send to Belleville) and JBD would require waivers to be sent down .... and JBD would not clear waivers in all likelihood. You do not want to risk a depth or potential 6th d-man being lost when you are unsure if Yakemchuk could even play for a full season. I just don't think the 18 year old has the strength, endurance, and maybe even the confidence to play more the a handful of games.

Of note ......... Yakemchuk is not playing tonight vs Montreal. It will be interesting to see if they give him a few games to start the season.

Swayman 8.25x8