No doubt the Bruins are the team to beat within the division.

Buffalo now has an owner who has loosened the purse strings and is committed to building a Cup contender and looks to have a good balance of talent between their forwards and defensive corp. They do have a first class goaltender......and this goes a long way in close games.

Montreal has improved in the off season and Carey Price has established himself as an elite goaltender.

Ottawa hit rock bottom last season, and the reboot button was pushed prior to the trading deadline. They should only be competitive with the one other team in the division, neither of which should be making plans for a playoff berth.

Which team ends up in the basement? I see it as a coin flip, as you can never predict injuries which would impact either team.

The leafs may have a bit more scoring up front, and their defense corp is roughly equal to that of Ottawa's, but I see an edge in Ottawa's goal tending depth.

Make no mistake, if Anderson goes down with an extended injury, Lehner will be called up and Auld will back him up.

TBH I really hope Ottawa ends up in the bottom. The rebuild here is going absolutely great, but I feel like you could use Nail Yakupov or somebody else with ridiculous amounts of talent. All of the pieces of this rebuild are coming together, just add a piece or two and this team will be a force in a few years.

No doubt the Bruins are the team to beat within the division.

Buffalo now has an owner who has loosened the purse strings and is committed to building a Cup contender and looks to have a good balance of talent between their forwards and defensive corp. They do have a first class goaltender......and this goes a long way in close games.

Montreal has improved in the off season and Carey Price has established himself as an elite goaltender.

Ottawa hit rock bottom last season, and the reboot button was pushed prior to the trading deadline. They should only be competitive with the one other team in the division, neither of which should be making plans for a playoff berth.

Which team ends up in the basement? I see it as a coin flip, as you can never predict injuries which would impact either team.

The leafs may have a bit more scoring up front, and their defense corp is roughly equal to that of Ottawa's, but I see an edge in Ottawa's goal tending depth.

Make no mistake, if Anderson goes down with an extended injury, Lehner will be called up and Auld will back him up.
- Doppleganger

i don't see where you think the leafs are going to do worse than they did last year.

No doubt the Bruins are the team to beat within the division.

Buffalo now has an owner who has loosened the purse strings and is committed to building a Cup contender and looks to have a good balance of talent between their forwards and defensive corp. They do have a first class goaltender......and this goes a long way in close games.

Montreal has improved in the off season and Carey Price has established himself as an elite goaltender.

Ottawa hit rock bottom last season, and the reboot button was pushed prior to the trading deadline. They should only be competitive with the one other team in the division, neither of which should be making plans for a playoff berth.

Which team ends up in the basement? I see it as a coin flip, as you can never predict injuries which would impact either team.

The leafs may have a bit more scoring up front, and their defense corp is roughly equal to that of Ottawa's, but I see an edge in Ottawa's goal tending depth.

Make no mistake, if Anderson goes down with an extended injury, Lehner will be called up and Auld will back him up.
- Doppleganger

No chance, I typed out a whole explanation but it got deleted, and I'm too lazy to wtire it again.. Heres the gist of it.

forwards - not even close, Toronto wins hands down. 3 30 goal scorers, 2 in the 20's and 2 with between 18-20. Ottawa has 2 in the twenties int he last 2 seasons.

defense - Ottawas top 3 defence had a combined total of -91 +/-. Karlsson topped the list in points, but the rest of the defensive corps dropped in points fairly substantially. Toronto has a fairly consistent contribution in points, with the best being our newest addition in Liles. The +/- combined from our top 4 is much, much better. Your prospects may be better, but they are still prospects, give it a few years

Goalies - Both had similar stats this past season, but I will give the slight edge to Ott because Andersson has more experience. Bringing up Lehner as a candidate is as pointless as putting up Scrivens as a candidate because Lehner has 5 games of NHL experience and a sv % of 0.888 in the NHL. Same situation

So overall, Toronto has the better overall team with better players, and only a slightly worse goaltender, but by no means a bad one.

i don't see where you think the leafs are going to do worse than they did last year.
- sens rock

No chance, I typed out a whole explanation but it got deleted, and I'm too lazy to wtire it again.. Heres the gist of it.

forwards - not even close, Toronto wins hands down. 3 30 goal scorers, 2 in the 20's and 2 with between 18-20. Ottawa has 2 in the twenties int he last 2 seasons.

defense - Ottawas top 3 defence had a combined total of -91 +/-. Karlsson topped the list in points, but the rest of the defensive corps dropped in points fairly substantially. Toronto has a fairly consistent contribution in points, with the best being our newest addition in Liles. The +/- combined from our top 4 is much, much better. Your prospects may be better, but they are still prospects, give it a few years

Goalies - Both had similar stats this past season, but I will give the slight edge to Ott because Andersson has more experience. Bringing up Lehner as a candidate is as pointless as putting up Scrivens as a candidate because Lehner has 5 games of NHL experience and a sv % of 0.888 in the NHL. Same situation

So overall, Toronto has the better overall team with better players, and only a slightly worse goaltender, but by no means a bad one.
- mfreedman

Obviously you do not remember Lehner's MVP performance in the AHL playoffs. His NHL numbers mean SFA. HE still has a few rough edges to work on, and that's the plan for him this year by being the starter for the season in Binghamton. However he has been the best goaltender in the last two training camps, and after watching his playoff run last spring he is light years beyond where he was last year at this time.

In any case no matter we each think of our respective teams vs the other, neither will be making the playoffs.

No chance, I typed out a whole explanation but it got deleted, and I'm too lazy to wtire it again.. Heres the gist of it.

forwards - not even close, Toronto wins hands down. 3 30 goal scorers, 2 in the 20's and 2 with between 18-20. Ottawa has 2 in the twenties int he last 2 seasons.

defense - Ottawas top 3 defence had a combined total of -91 +/-. Karlsson topped the list in points, but the rest of the defensive corps dropped in points fairly substantially. Toronto has a fairly consistent contribution in points, with the best being our newest addition in Liles. The +/- combined from our top 4 is much, much better. Your prospects may be better, but they are still prospects, give it a few years

Goalies - Both had similar stats this past season, but I will give the slight edge to Ott because Andersson has more experience. Bringing up Lehner as a candidate is as pointless as putting up Scrivens as a candidate because Lehner has 5 games of NHL experience and a sv % of 0.888 in the NHL. Same situation

So overall, Toronto has the better overall team with better players, and only a slightly worse goaltender, but by no means a bad one.
- mfreedman

.Every player has good and bad years ,ottawa,s top 6 could have three 30 goal men in spezza ,alfie and michalek say 20 from butler and foligno.

Add to that some decent goaltending and what looks to be a much better defense up and coming we can be just as good as the leafs maybe even better.How about we play the season and revisit this subjet later

Obviously you do not remember Lehner's MVP performance in the AHL playoffs. His NHL numbers mean SFA. HE still has a few rough edges to work on, and that's the plan for him this year by being the starter for the season in Binghamton. However he has been the best goaltender in the last two training camps, and after watching his playoff run last spring he is light years beyond where he was last year at this time.

In any case no matter we each think of our respective teams vs the other, neither will be making the playoffs.
- Doppleganger

I never said Lehner doesn't have talent, but a great AHL performance does NOT automatically mean that his NHL stats will be remotely close to the same level. This is mostly true of goaltenders.

I am not saying he can't be great, but pencilling him in as a sure fire starter in the NHL if Anderson goes down is just plain stupid until you have seen him play remotely close in the NHL to the level he needs to be at.

.Every player has good and bad years ,ottawa,s top 6 could have three 30 goal men in spezza ,alfie and michalek say 20 from butler and foligno.

Add to that some decent goaltending and what looks to be a much better defense up and coming we can be just as good as the leafs maybe even better.How about we play the season and revisit this subjet later
- top shelf 15

COMPLETELY AGREE! I personally think Ottawa can finish anywhere from 10-15th, I think the leafs can finish anywhere from 5-15th. I am not saying anything with certainty, I was just comenting ont he fact that he believes that a team who just shipped out half their team last season, brought in a new goaltender, and is playing most of the season with rookies, sophomore, and 3rd year NHLers would DEFINATELY compete with the Leafs this year.

Not saying it couldn't happen, but he is just asking for me to argue the point

I never said Lehner doesn't have talent, but a great AHL performance does NOT automatically mean that his NHL stats will be remotely close to the same level. This is mostly true of goaltenders.

I am not saying he can't be great, but pencilling him in as a sure fire starter in the NHL if Anderson goes down is just plain stupid until you have seen him play remotely close in the NHL to the level he needs to be at.
- mfreedman

but a great AHL performance does NOT automatically mean that his NHL stats will be remotely close to the same level. Unless we're talking about Kadri, right?


Ottawa fans have seen enough of Lehner over the past years to know that if he's called up to replace Anderson (should he be injured and out for an extended number of games), he will get the bulk of the games over Auld, who is not the goaltender of the future.

Ottawa wants Lehner to play as much as possible, that's why he's going to remain in the AHL this season...............however if he's called up because of injury, he's not going to sit, he's going to play and Auld will do what he was signed to do, back up.

His performance in the AHL playoffs showed his future potential,(14-4 record with a 2.10 goals against average and .939 save percentage, including three shutouts) and was the reason they won the Calder Cup. Very few teenaged goaltenders in AHL history have done the same (win the playoff MVP), and this puts him in pretty good company.

I think the leafs can finish anywhere from 5-15th.
- mfreedman

You cannot be serious.

The leafs finishing as high as 5th in the Eastern Conference?

The leafs would have needed 19 more points last season to finish 5th in the Conference.

The leafs will be lucky to be "mathematically" in the hunt for a playoff spot with 20 games remaining in the season, at best.

seeing how i was either 1 wrong or dead on last year ill give it ago again, and yes your explanations are already making me laugh

1- Boston
like last year when i said this, they have the most depth and play a great system

2- montral
good goaltending , good depth. Im not a huge fan of their make up of forwards but it seems to work in the regular season

3 this one is a but tougher to judge but ill go with the sabres. Miller is a lights out goalie, A healthy roy and they should end up here

4- leafs
The leafs could surprise and be 2nd -3rd in the division but they have way too many question marks for me to peg them there. They have really good offensive depth, a couple 25 goal scorers and a few decent grinders. Wish we signed a pk specialist still.
THe fact you think the sens and leafs defense are comparable is comical. Phaneuf will chew up big mins again, he is no lidstrom but hes a top 3 guy on most if not all teams. We have some shutdown guys, and liles and franson can round out the powerplay nice

remier is the question mark. ANy goalie can come in for 25 games and play on his head, its doing it year in and out that defines a good goalie. He plays similar to last year leafs are in the playoffs, he doesnt they arent

5- ottawa
Lets be honest, they need to rebuild. Spezza is a #1 guy, Alfi is turning into more of a leadership guy, still has great skill but time is catching up. Karlsson or how ever u spell it will be your offensive stud for years to come, and they have some good prospects, but their complete lack of depth will keep them in last here.

Anderson was a nice pickup.

seeing how i was either 1 wrong or dead on last year ill give it ago again, and yes your explanations are already making me laugh

1- Boston
like last year when i said this, they have the most depth and play a great system

2- montral
good goaltending , good depth. Im not a huge fan of their make up of forwards but it seems to work in the regular season

3 this one is a but tougher to judge but ill go with the sabres. Miller is a lights out goalie, A healthy roy and they should end up here

4- leafs
The leafs could surprise and be 2nd -3rd in the division but they have way too many question marks for me to peg them there. They have really good offensive depth, a couple 25 goal scorers and a few decent grinders. Wish we signed a pk specialist still.
THe fact you think the sens and leafs defense are comparable is comical. Phaneuf will chew up big mins again, he is no lidstrom but hes a top 3 guy on most if not all teams. We have some shutdown guys, and liles and franson can round out the powerplay nice

remier is the question mark. ANy goalie can come in for 25 games and play on his head, its doing it year in and out that defines a good goalie. He plays similar to last year leafs are in the playoffs, he doesnt they arent

5- ottawa
Lets be honest, they need to rebuild. Spezza is a #1 guy, Alfi is turning into more of a leadership guy, still has great skill but time is catching up. Karlsson or how ever u spell it will be your offensive stud for years to come, and they have some good prospects, but their complete lack of depth will keep them in last here.

Anderson was a nice pickup.
- nightmare3020

I agree with your "take" on Reimer, whenever a "new" goaltender enters the league, there is a learning curve for the players and scouts in detecting whatever they see as the so called "Weaknesses" and build a "book" on the goaltender. The same will happen for Reimer and it'll be up to him to recognize the shooters know where to shoot on him to increase their chances of scoring.

Ottawa may not have any acknowledged "scorers" other than Spezza, Alfredsson and Michalek (who has averaged over 20 goals per season for 6 seasons,despite injures).

Whatever remaining scoring will be spread out thinly over the remaining forwards who have yet top show their NHL potential. Filatov, Foligno, Butler and Regin still have a lot to prove, but should account for in the range of 50 or more goals.

I believe the Senators will be emphasizing a defensive system first and hope solid goal-tending will keep them in games long enough to pull out wins.

but a great AHL performance does NOT automatically mean that his NHL stats will be remotely close to the same level. Unless we're talking about Kadri, right?


Ottawa fans have seen enough of Lehner over the past years to know that if he's called up to replace Anderson (should he be injured and out for an extended number of games), he will get the bulk of the games over Auld, who is not the goaltender of the future.

Ottawa wants Lehner to play as much as possible, that's why he's going to remain in the AHL this season...............however if he's called up because of injury, he's not going to sit, he's going to play and Auld will do what he was signed to do, back up.

His performance in the AHL playoffs showed his future potential,(14-4 record with a 2.10 goals against average and .939 save percentage, including three shutouts) and was the reason they won the Calder Cup. Very few teenaged goaltenders in AHL history have done the same (win the playoff MVP), and this puts him in pretty good company.
- Doppleganger

Do not try to defend your point about how your player will do by comparing him to a player, one who I have not mentioned in any post, anywhere, as becoming a top line player in the NHL. I see it as possible, but I have never said Kadri becomes a star in the league. So back to your point, NO, Lehner is still not remotely close to being guaranteed to be successful in the NHL.

If you think it does correlate, here's some stats for you:

James Reimer:
2009-10 Toronto Marlies AHL 14-8-2 0.925
2010-11 Toronto Marlies AHL 9-5-1 0.920

Ben Scrivens:
2010-11 Toronto Marlies AHL 13-12-5 0.924

Jonas Gustavsson:
2010-11 Toronto Marlies AHL 3-1-1 0.955

Are you saying that because all of our goalies have winning records and save %s of 0.920+ that they all become incredible starters in the NHL?

He is a prospect, plain and simple, he may have a good chance of becoming a #1 starter, but he is far from it at the moment

You cannot be serious.

The leafs finishing as high as 5th in the Eastern Conference?

The leafs would have needed 19 more points last season to finish 5th in the Conference.

The leafs will be lucky to be "mathematically" in the hunt for a playoff spot with 20 games remaining in the season, at best.
- Doppleganger

Just because they could finish 5th doesnt mean they will, and just because they could finish 15th doesnt mean tthey will. Realistically I see anywhere from 7th-12th.

If everything goes perfect for the leafs, I see the highest they finish as 5th. That wasn't meant to be a compliment, it was saying that the best they could possibly do under the best of the best conditions is 5th. Is that so unrealistic?

It will take a monumental disaster for any team in the NE to finish behind the Sens. They're worse at every position than every other team.

It will take a monumental disaster for any team in the NE to finish behind the Sens. They're worse at every position than every other team.
- prock

Agree except goaltending.

FLA, NYI, TB, and Potentially TOR (will know within 2 weeks of the season) can be considered worse

It will take a monumental disaster for any team in the NE to finish behind the Sens. They're worse at every position than every other team.
- prock

It hurts, but I agree. We find it too easy to take our excitement level from our prospects and apply it at the NHL level - our kids can't be expected to accomplish very much this year, in my opinion. We may enjoy this season a lot more if we allow ourselves to ignore the Win/Loss column...

Agree except goaltending.

FLA, NYI, TB, and Potentially TOR (will know within 2 weeks of the season) can be considered worse
- mfreedman

They're not in the NE.

I actually like Anderson. But his performance tends to be fairly erratic. Hard to tell what Anderson they'll get.

They're not in the NE.

I actually like Anderson. But his performance tends to be fairly erratic. Hard to tell what Anderson they'll get.
- prock

got threads confused, haha.. Yea well then in the NE, we are the closest just cause Reimer isn't proven

, NO, Lehner is still not remotely close to being guaranteed to be successful in the NHL.
He is a prospect, plain and simple, he may have a good chance of becoming a #1 starter, but he is far from it at the moment
- mfreedman

My point when comparing the goal-tending depth on both Ontario teams was that Ottawa's goal-tending comes out on top.

Ottawa's Starter has a proven record and enough time in the NHL to know what to expect. And I simply pointed out that IF he goes down, Lehner will be called up, and will play ahead of Auld, unless he shows he cannot.

I don;t know how much you've seen of him, but he is huge, and is extremely motivated. His father is a goaltender coach and because of that he probably has no off-season.

I'll repeat, the consensus for the past two training camps, was he was the best goaltender in camp. But he was young, and was sent back to Junior two years ago, and the AHL last year. He did have a few injury problems last season, but proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that he can plan well enough at the AHL level to lead his team to the Calder Cup as a teenager and win the MVP to boot.............as Cary Price did a few years back.

The plan is for him to play games this year, and that's why he'll start and stay in the AHL unless called up due to injury to either Auld or Anderson. If it's Anderson who's injured, then Lehner will not sit and watch Auld, he will be given the chance to play ahead of Auld because the Senators want him to play as many games this year as possible.

He's about two seasons away from challenging for the Starting job.

If everything goes perfect for the leafs, I see the highest they finish as 5th. That wasn't meant to be a compliment, it was saying that the best they could possibly do under the best of the best conditions is 5th. Is that so unrealistic?
- mfreedman

The leafs will need everything to go terrible for about four or five teams for them to finish 5th in the Conference, even if as you say "everything goes perfect for the leafs".

As improved as you may see the leafs over last season, you cannot say the teams they'll be in the running with for that possible 5th playoff spot, have not at least kept pace, or even improved more than the leafs.

I don't see either Ontario team in the playoffs this season, and if one were to make it, it would be no higher than the 8th seed.

The leafs will need everything to go terrible for about four or five teams for them to finish 5th in the Conference, even if as you say "everything goes perfect for the leafs".

As improved as you may see the leafs over last season, you cannot say the teams they'll be in the running with for that possible 5th playoff spot, have not at least kept pace, or even improved more than the leafs.

I don't see either Ontario team in the playoffs this season, and if one were to make it, it would be no higher than the 8th seed.
- Doppleganger

Sens need everything to go perfect to get about 11th spot, and a other teams to tank out along with that. There is one top 6 player on the roster, now that Alfredsson looks to be done for.

Sens need everything to go perfect to get about 11th spot, and a other teams to tank out along with that. There is one top 6 player on the roster, now that Alfredsson looks to be done for.
- prock

I would suggest that is not done, nor is he an elite top 6 NHL forward anymore. He has recovered well from his injury and off-season surgery and looks primed to have a good season.

OTTAWA — Fans of the Ottawa Senators, and in particular fans of Daniel Alfredsson, would have been heartened to see the way the captain was skating on Tuesday morning during an informal practice session at the Sensplex.

Of the many questions surrounding the Senators as they head into their 20th season, this is perhaps the biggest: the state of Alfredsson’s health.

But he was on the ice for about 70 minutes, took part in every drill, and then took a regular shift in the scrimmage.

While one of these informal, pre-training camp scrimmages is several steps below an NHL game, it was a vigorous session and the 38-year-old Alfredsson didn’t look at all slowed by the back injury that limited him to only 54 games last season and eventually required surgery this summer.

So is it good news?

Certainly, even if it begs this question: Will this be Alfredsson’s final season?

Far from being insulted at the question, Alfredsson concedes the question has crossed his mind more than once.

“Heck,” he said, “I thought that the last five years.

“You never know. You never take anything for granted. Last season was tough, the way things went.

“In that sense, it feels good to get back and be able to play again. I feel fairly healthy and I’m really looking forward to it.”


So along with Spezza and an healthy Michalek, I'd say Ottawa has three "top 6" forwards.

I would suggest that is not done, nor is he an elite top 6 NHL forward anymore. He has recovered well from his injury and off-season surgery and looks primed to have a good season.

OTTAWA — Fans of the Ottawa Senators, and in particular fans of Daniel Alfredsson, would have been heartened to see the way the captain was skating on Tuesday morning during an informal practice session at the Sensplex.

Of the many questions surrounding the Senators as they head into their 20th season, this is perhaps the biggest: the state of Alfredsson’s health.

But he was on the ice for about 70 minutes, took part in every drill, and then took a regular shift in the scrimmage.

While one of these informal, pre-training camp scrimmages is several steps below an NHL game, it was a vigorous session and the 38-year-old Alfredsson didn’t look at all slowed by the back injury that limited him to only 54 games last season and eventually required surgery this summer.

So is it good news?

Certainly, even if it begs this question: Will this be Alfredsson’s final season?

Far from being insulted at the question, Alfredsson concedes the question has crossed his mind more than once.

“Heck,” he said, “I thought that the last five years.

“You never know. You never take anything for granted. Last season was tough, the way things went.

“In that sense, it feels good to get back and be able to play again. I feel fairly healthy and I’m really looking forward to it.”


So along with Spezza and an healthy Michalek, I'd say Ottawa has three "top 6" forwards.
- Doppleganger

Well, Alfredsson is 39, coming off a terrible season, and major surgery. Michalek hasn't put up more than about a 40 point pace in two years. Basically, since he's been off Joe Thornton's wing. At best, these guys are capable of being it, but haven't really been in a while. They have one top 6 forward, and you're hoping two more will be again.