With the Swayman signing it probably helps Ottawa make an Ullmark signing easier if he wants to stay. I could see Ullmark fitting into Ottawa's salary structure of between $7.5-8.5 million per year. How many years ? That is the question as well.

Let's just hope that Ullmark is content enough to want to stay.

Taking another look at the Debrincat trade with Detroit. This trade tree is starting to improve.

Debrincat to Detroit
Ottawa gets:
Kubalik ... gone now back to Europe
Sebrango .... d-man ... maybe potential as a filler in the future. In Belleville now.
A 1rst round pick which belonged to Boston. Ottawa trades this pick back to Boston as part of the deal to get Ullmark.
A 4rth round pick from Detroit which Ottawa uses to draft 6ft 5in left winger Jevon Moore .... or was it 6ft 5 in left winger Blake Montgomery (not sure which one).

So it doesn't look as bleak now, especially if Ullmark can become our long term goalie answer.

Just out ...

Ottawa puts Jenik and Gaudette on waivers. Looks like Ostapchuk is staying with the Senators for now .... 4rth line .
Yakemchuk staying up ... probably earned a couple games with Ottawa. I like that this may put some pressure on Hamonic and JBD to play better.


Lots of "chuks" on the Sens lately.
Pappy Tkachuk, and Chuky's Cheeses , Yakemchuk and Ostapchuk.

With the Swayman signing it probably helps Ottawa make an Ullmark signing easier if he wants to stay. I could see Ullmark fitting into Ottawa's salary structure of between $7.5-8.5 million per year. How many years ? That is the question as well.

Let's just hope that Ullmark is content enough to want to stay.
- OttawaB

I dunno. Could go either way. Ullmark could see what swayman got and realize he is the only big name ufa goalie next year and want the big payout, choosing where he goes. Or, it has set the market, and if the sens offer close to swaymans (and pay the extra year like the team does on all contracts) he might bite.

Still think both team and player wait the year...till the trade deadline. If the sens aren't close to a playoff spot, he might want to bolt.

This bigger issue for me is....will MacEwan ever win a fight?

I dunno. Could go either way. Ullmark could see what swayman got and realize he is the only big name ufa goalie next year and want the big payout, choosing where he goes. Or, it has set the market, and if the sens offer close to swaymans (and pay the extra year like the team does on all contracts) he might bite.

Still think both team and player wait the year...till the trade deadline. If the sens aren't close to a playoff spot, he might want to bolt.

This bigger issue for me is....will MacEwan ever win a fight?
- GrimmdaGoalie

Ha. Why have a "fighter" on your team, when he doesn't win any fights? That might be why they kept Ostapchuk.


In another note ..... Vancouver placed Eric Brannstrom on waivers to send him to their AHL franchise.

Ha. Why have a "fighter" on your team, when he doesn't win any fights? That might be why they kept Ostapchuk.


In another note ..... Vancouver placed Eric Brannstrom on waivers to send him to their AHL franchise.
- OttawaB

Dorion's proudest day, on the waiver wire. On the plus - former Sens officeholders aren't often hired again, but PD found a job as a French language radio host.

Yak sent to the WHL today, so it's JBD/Ham rounding us out. Gotta imagine if Hamonic didn't have that NMC, he'd probably have gotten the 9 day trial.

Dorion's proudest day, on the waiver wire. On the plus - former Sens officeholders aren't often hired again, but PD found a job as a French language radio host.

Yak sent to the WHL today, so it's JBD/Ham rounding us out. Gotta imagine if Hamonic didn't have that NMC, he'd probably have gotten the 9 day trial.
- Bartacus

If Ham doesn't have the NMC, the money paid to him might pay for a decent 3rd pairing RD that can be picked up on the waiver wire/trade dump.

Still waiting to see what Toronto is going to do, as they are over the cap.

Honestly, in make take Staois 2 years to fix Dorion's messes.

One point to keep in mind with Yakemchuk being sent down. The main reason might be that Highmore is still up on the Senator's team. He got injured in the Montreal game. You can't send an injured guy to the minors if they need to pass waivers. So, even if you throw Highmore onto IR, you still need to claim his salary on the team cap. Highmore is expected back Oct 10 (I read that somewhere) at which point he can be placed on waivers and sent down.

So when it came to sending someone down for the short term it was either Yakemchuk or Ostapchuk. I think they decided to keep the 13th forward. Carrying 8 d-men is a bit much at this point.

I liked Jenik’s game over Ostapchuk’s and MacEwan’s game in the preseason. Seemed like a good fit for a fourth line and played with some edge and doesn’t look out of place in the defensive and offensive zones.

I don’t understand the love for MacEwan’s game. Sure he fights - but not well and does not shift the teams momentum when he does.

It will be interesting to see how this year goes with Ullmark. If he plays well and this team becomes a playoff contender, he’ll warrant a new deal, and he will have had more of a track record and more freedom to do what he wants than Swayman ever did. I think the Ullmark camp is looking very closely at the Igor Shesterkin situation. Both have won Vezinas and both entering their prime window in their careers. Assuming both are coming out of a real good year, they could cash in becoming the highest paid goalies in the NHL. Could be a tricky ride cap-wise.

If Ullmark falters this year, it might finally mean goaltending is not the issue and you move on yet again and possibly blow up the core.

You’re damned if you do, damned if you don’t. Will be interesting!

I would have given Yakemchuk the audtion as well. And AND he he plays his way into a full rookie season, so be it. Some defense are "slow bake" and some aren't. I hate that there's this preconceived notion about it all.

Somehow the AHL's leading scorer can't get a sniff because he doesn't fit the mold of a fourth liner? (head scratcher)

I would have given Yakemchuk the audtion as well. And AND he he plays his way into a full rookie season, so be it. Some defense are "slow bake" and some aren't. I hate that there's this preconceived notion about it all.

Somehow the AHL's leading scorer can't get a sniff because he doesn't fit the mold of a fourth liner? (head scratcher)
- Octavarium

4rth liner .... you want in more of a checking role, usually bigger if possible. I don't think Gaudette has the defensive abilities. He scored his points in the preseason on power plays and while playing more minutes. He will not ever get a sniff of powerplay on either the 1rst or 2nd units. He will have to play more along the lines of 10-12 minutes of ice time per game. He won't be playing with guys like Pinto or Greig, et al so he won't have the same kind of chances in regular season. Ostapchuk at 6ft 3in and 205lbs ..... he is built for a heavier game.
Once Highmore has been dealt with, we could see some personnel changes. Florida and Montreal are the first 2 teams we play so we want to ensure a heavier line-up with MacEwen and Ostapchuk. After that, maybe we see a realignment and Jenik or Gaudette rotated in and out with Ostapchuk and MacEwen.

My top 9 X-factors for Sens to make playoffs (or close to)

9. Scoring - how a team with 18,7,19, etc. finished 20th is odd
8. Leadership - team needs to overcome adversity when it matters
7. D-Depth & Chemistry - looking beyond Sanderson & Zub
6. Strong start - if they don't have a better start, it should cost jobs
5. Powerplay - not even top 22 last year, need to get close to top 12
4. Penalty Kill - 4th worst in NHL last year, need to get back top 16
3. Health - highlight, bold, underline Norris, and then Chabot
2. Defensive coverage - easily could be #1
1. Linus Ullmark

Okay , so now I'm confused.

It turns out that Ostapchuk was sent to Belleville and Gaudette is staying with the Senators. Maybe the Sens had an inkling that Gaudette would not clear waivers. Whereas, Ostapchuk was waiver exempt.

I guess we'll see how all this plays out.



As for the above list. Most I agree with but I am not hung up on this "strong start" thing. What exactly is a strong start. What happens if they start to come together defensively, but just don't get the reward with wins? Is that a strong start. Or is a strong start only measured by the number of wins? In my view, I just want to see solid and consistent play. Be competitive and stay in games. I'm not going to panic if they aren't in that playoff space by Thanksgiving. It will take time to bring all the pieces together and allow them to mesh. I just want to see improvement, competitiveness, consistency, defensive structure, solid goaltending. Over time the wins will come.
And if it is disappointing ... you said if they don't have a strong start it should cost people jobs.
Well ... what people should lose their jobs? Management like Staios/Poulin and the coaching staff and ownership all just got there. You can't start creating uncertainty and that old poop show all over again with quick turnover of personnel. Nobody is losing their jobs here.
As for players .... you don't start trading the core group and rebuilding in the first few months. No team has the cap space or can offer or will offer any kind of reasonable trade. You do that in the off season. So .... who should lose their job.

Gaudette cleared waivers but the Sens did not send him down and sent Ostapchuk to Belleville instead.

Gaudette had a good camp. So Sens reward him with a spot on the 4rth line. If he works out he will stay, but if he falls off then the Sens have 30 days that they can send him to Belleville without having to clear waivers again.

I think the Sens like the fact that Ostapchuk and Jenik can keep the fire to Gaudette's feet.

Gaudette cleared waivers but the Sens did not send him down and sent Ostapchuk to Belleville instead.

Gaudette had a good camp. So Sens reward him with a spot on the 4rth line. If he works out he will stay, but if he falls off then the Sens have 30 days that they can send him to Belleville without having to clear waivers again.

I think the Sens like the fact that Ostapchuk and Jenik can keep the fire to Gaudette's feet.
- OttawaB

Letting Gaudette clear waivers gives them flexibility with that 13th forward position, and negates the risk of him being claimed if they just want to give him a look for a few early games. This is especially true if they're expecting less physical match-up early in the season, where a bit of skill and speed could make a difference. He was also consistently very good in the face-off circle in the pre-season, which is not a minor issue for the 4th line. Conversely, they have MacEwan for the games where they play more of an edge, where he'll be expected to limit the need for Tkachuk to rack up fighting majors. I don't think it will be long before Ostapchuk claims the #4C job, but I think his face-offs needs work.

As for the blue line, it's clear that Yakemchuk will be stepping into the #3RHD role in the near future, but he'll have a year in the WHL to work on his two-way game and hopefully be on the radar for Canada's WJC team. It's also clear that Hamonic arrived at camp ready to play a veteran role this year, despite widespread irritation over his NMC. But he made an early claim the #3RHD role in training camp, and even pushed Bernard-Docker into the #7D role to start the season. Hopefully he can be a valuable mentor for Kleven during this rookie season, much as he was to Sanderson just 2 seasons ago.

shesterkin rejected 11mx8=88M, NYR need to let him walk, he aint worth that yet alone more, he can play in the KHL OR it could be he wants out of NY.

i pity the fools that will/would pay a G 11M+ for they ill never win a cup with that G.

shesterkin rejected 11mx8=88M, NYR need to let him walk, he aint worth that yet alone more, he can play in the KHL OR it could be he wants out of NY.

i pity the fools that will/would pay a G 11M+ for they ill never win a cup with that G.
- Mithos

Bobrovsky is at $10M and Florida won a cup. $11M is just a bit more for a better goalie.

I read that Shesterkin doesn't want 8 years. But NY wants the 8 years. Shesterkin wants less years but for $11 million (for example). He is currently 28 years old. If he takes a 4 or 5 year deal then he can get an even bigger potential salary as the cap continues to rise.


On another note, Boston loses to Florida 6-4 with Korpisalo in net ... and he has a 0.829 save percentage. I also believe that the first goal was either the 1rst or 2nd shot on goal by Florida. Even Boston's vaunted defence couldn't save him.

Bobrovsky is at $10M and Florida won a cup. $11M is just a bit more for a better goalie.
- SensFan25

Agree

Boston' s vaunted defense looked slow and confused a lot of the time against Florida's blitzing style.

Re: the goalies. Price.......Bobrovsky....those are not good contracts. And I don't consider Bob's to have aged well simply because they won a cup in year five. Heck at a number of points in those first couple seasons he couldn't stop a beach ball. He was benched. There was buy out talk and on and on.

Sens extend ullmark. 4 years at 8.25.

Little pricey, but the goalie market is changing.

Not how I would have done it. But I'm not running a billion dollar hockey team. Seems like a good guy. Fingers crossed.

Sens extend ullmark. 4 years at 8.25.

Little pricey, but the goalie market is changing.
- david22

Wow. Love the term. And the aav is market value. But I thought korpo was a good signing, so what do I know.

Now we see....

First ten games are against tough opponents. True test. Let's see if the team has changed.

Sens extend ullmark. 4 years at 8.25.

Little pricey, but the goalie market is changing.
- david22

im guessing Ullmark offered that to staios and he said yes. 4 year he will be 35 when deal is up so if he declines OTT not on hook for 4 more year and if he still good OTT can re-sign him again