Danielpalfredsson's Last NHL Legacy GM Log Ever (Return Of The Melnyk)

bigwoz62

Registered User
Sep 7, 2012
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4
Victoria, BC
Nice addition with the Roy hiring ;)

Nice EA logic to actually trade Kronwall away after falling out of contention.
Too bad they are going to lose like 20 draft slots for a few games worth of Kronwall though.

Keep it up :yo:
 

danielpalfredsson

youtube dot com /watch?v=CdqMZ_s7Y6k
Aug 14, 2013
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SENATORS FEBRUARY 2019 (Team Record 32-23-8) (January Record 5-5-3)


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After an eventful February, the Senators remain first in the Atlantic Division. They are a single point ahead of rival Toronto Maple Leafs who embarrassed the Senators on Feb 7th in what was a 6-2 loss for Ottawa that saw them outshot 41-20.

In terms of injuries, it was a scary month for Ottawa. Not only did Craig Anderson go down mid month with a sprained ankle expected to keep him out of action until mid March, but just prior to the trade deadline Kyle Turris suffered a lower body injury that if severe enough to keep him out past the playoffs may have prevented the Senators from being able to sell the pending UFA off at the deadline. Fortunately for Ottawa, Turris’ injury, a pulled groin, will only keep him out roughly a few days past the trade deadline so it isn’t expected to hamper interest in the 29 year old center.

The Senators defensive depth is being tested as well. At the NHL level, Dion Phaneuf and Thomas Chabot both suffered losses within days of each other leading to Ben Harpur who was warming the press box in the NHL being dressed in Phaneuf’s place. It is not yet known whether either Phaneuf or Chabot’s injuries will keep them out long term.


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MIKE CONDON’S TIME TO SHINE
With Craig Anderson out until mid-March, Mike Condon has an opportunity to show Senators coaching staff why he should be the starting goalie going into the post-season. During the first half of the season, Craig Anderson was thought to be the Senators starting goalie, no questions asked For the first forty or so games, he was performing at a level beyond any other goalie in the NHL and was being talked about as a Vezina contender. Whether due to age, or unsustainability, Anderson’s play has dropped off a cliff over the last 25 games. His save percentage has dropped from .930+ to .911. While Condon hasn’t been fantastic this season, he’s been a perfectly average consistent NHL starter. If he can take things to the next level or the next week or two, maybe the coaching staff has a change of heart going into the playoffs regarding who will be the starter.


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SENATORS CLOSING IN ON 40 WINS
At the start of the season, Senators owner Eugene Melnyk stipulated he wanted at least 40 wins this upcoming season. The Senators currently have 32 wins in 63 games. With 19 games left in the season, the Senators should hit the 40 win mark. Earlier in the season, there were some questions about whether the Senators would feel comfortable selling UFAs like Kyle Turris and Craig Anderson at the deadline due to the need to meet ownership expectations. Expect Anderson to stick around as the starter, but all signs are pointing to Kyle Turris being dealt.

“There’s zero chance of that happening” said TSN insider Bob McKenzie when probed about the possibility of the Senators holding on to Turris past the deadline. McKenzie later added “Well, I don’t want to say zero because you never know, but 99 percent, the wheels are in motion, I don’t think the Senators feel they are in a position where they can forgo the opportunity to get back the type of assets that they think a player like Kyle Turris merits asking for in a trade”.


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OTHER SENS DEADLINE NEWS (SENS TRADE RUMOURS)
-The Senators are apparently kicking the tires on adding a veteran defender. Mark Streit of the Canadiens is a possibility and he might not cost all that much. There were rumblings about the Senators making a push for Chara, but with Boston still hoping to grab a playoff spot, the likelihood of Chara moving is slim.

-Expect a few minor league moves prior to the deadline. The Senators would like to add a veteran scorer in Belleville and might dangle defender Patrick Sieloff who doesn’t appear to be in their long term plans.

-Chris Driedger G is apparently on his way out of the Senators organization. The former 3rd round pick spent most of the year in the press box with Hogberg and Danny Taylor playing in Belleville. The Senators may not qualify Driedger at the end of the season, but expect them to explore going the trade route. Driedger isn’t a sure thing as a future NHLer, but he is still thought to be someone who might step into a backup role within the next two years. The Senators might be able to acquire a late pick from a team with a lack of goalie depth.

-With heavy rumors that Anderson may retire or move on from the Senators at the end of the season, Sens insider Bruce Garrioch has claimed that acquiring an NHL ready backup goalie with potential to start 2-3 years down the line might be a priority in Ottawa. “They’ve really been exploring their options. We know they liked Oettinger at last year’s draft but missed out on him. Realistically, they want somebody who’ll be ready to step in sooner rather than later. The ideal scenario might be acquiring a goalie who is ready to be the 1B behind Condon next year, and can maybe fight for that starting job by 2020.”


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VANCOUVER OUT ON KYLE TURRIS?
The Canucks who currently sport the 2nd worst record in the NHL are apparently out on hometown boy Kyle Turris. The Canucks who were considered front runners for the better part of the last few weeks have decided to hold on to their 1st round pick and go a different direction.

“GMDP was asking for the Canucks 1st round pick, and he may have also wanted a roster player coming back. The Cancuks seriously considered this, they really wanted to bring in Turris and by all accounts Turris was willing to sign there, but with their (Vancouver) recent skid, I think they got cold feet about giving up that pick which right now is looking like it could be the 1st one in the draft.”-Bob McKenzie on TSN 1200

There’s been an idea put forth by the Ottawa Sun’s Bruce Garrioch that there might be an internal push to hold on to Turris to bolster the Senators playoff run. Even so, multiple teams are calling and the big hitch seems to be waiting on John Tavares to get dealt. Not only will the Islanders help set the market, but for a lot of the teams expected to be in on Turris, Tavares is their first choice with Turris being the backup plan. Those close to the situation expect that Nashville might ultimately be the team to step up and acquire Turris. They badly need another high scoring center, and as much as they seem to be angling to make a play for John Tavares, their top prospect Eeli Tolvanaen isn’t nearly at the level of what the Islanders are rumoured to want for Tavares.


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PLAYER STATS
FORWARDS
Ryan 63GP 20g 63p
Hoffman 63gp 29g 55p
Brassard 63gp 19g 49p
Stone 59gp 20g 37p
Dzingel 63gp 9g 32p
Smith 58gp 14g 22p
Burrows 63gp 6g 22p
Pageau 51gp 10g 21p
Latta 43gp 7g 18p
Thompson 63gp 4g 18p
MacArthur 58gp 5gp 14p
Pyatt 47gp 5g 12p
Didomenico 14gp 3g 5p
M.Reinhart 1gp 0g 0p
White 2gp 0g 0p
Chalpik 1gp 0g 0p
DEFENSE
Karlsson 62gp 20g 76p
Phaneuf 61gp 8g 30p
Ceci 63gp 7g 28p
Claesson 63gp 3g 10p
Oduya 59gp 1g 7p
Borowieci 61gp 2g 4p
Chabot 3gp 1g 1p
Harpur 1gp 0g 0p
GOALIES
Anderson 50 gp 2.60GAA 24-18-7 .911 5SO
Condon 19gp 2.83GAA 9-7-1 .906 0SO
Taylor 1GP 6.00GAA 0-1-0 .793 0SO
















[/QUOTE]
 

danielpalfredsson

youtube dot com /watch?v=CdqMZ_s7Y6k
Aug 14, 2013
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AROUND THE NHL FEB 2018


TAVARES, WHERE WILL HE GO?
With the Islanders arena situation in shambles, it’s not a matter of if John Tavares will be traded, but when and to what team. Expect nearly every team in the league to be in on Tavares in some form. The price is apparently high. It’s going to take an absolute top level blue chip prospect, think a top 5 pick from a recent draft to get the conversation started and then some. Despite the perception that the Islanders are on the clock to move Tavares before the deadline, there is enough of a market out there that they shouldn’t have to worry about being low balled.


FRONT RUNNERS
Nashville: Near the top of the NHL, apparently going all in, but they might not have the one big piece to acquire Tavares.

Toronto: TOR is battling OTT for the 1st spot in the ATL division. Marner or Nylander would likely have to be part of the package which might be enough to keep Toronto away.

Montreal: It would be a bold move by new Canadiens emperor Patrick Roy. They don’t have a blue chip prospect in their system but with only 53 points they are dead last in the NHL. Could they leverage their 2018 draft pick along with another piece like Alex Galchenyuk to acquire Tavares at the deadline and attempt to sign him to an extension?


:habs
ROY READY TO MAKE A SPLASH - PRICE ON HIS WAY OUT?
There are rumours that MTL Canadiens emperor Patrick Roy is “open” to dealing Carey Price. Carey Price signed an 8 year 10.5M extension earlier during the season with a full NMC, but that NMC doesn’t kick in until July 1st. Since Price is still finishing up his previous deal which only sports a 15 team NTC, he could still be traded. Whether or not Roy is truly serious about dealing Price, and whether anything will come of it, sources have indicated that Roy has at the very least attempted to get a feel for what is out there.


:avs
COLORADO NO LONGER A JOKE? BUYERS?
Going into the deadline, the Avalanche have won their last 15 games in a row. Coming off one of the worst seasons in franchise history, the Colorado Avalanche have managed to put together a season that sees them tied with Nashville for first in the West with 82 points.

Through a series of trust building exercises and team field trips, Joe Sakic and Matt Duchene have apparently repaired their friendship. There’s no chance Duchene will be available at the deadline. Expect the Avalanche to make an attempt to add at the deadline.


:rangers
RICK NASH LIKELY TO BE MOVED
With the Rangers last in their division, there is heavy chatter that they are preparing to trade RW Rick Nash. At 33, Nash will be a free agent at the end of the season. Nash has 20 goals in 62 games this season. The Rangers will likely want a first round pick.



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BREAKING DOWN THE PLAYOFF RACE


EASTERN CONFERENCE
The Atlantic is the weaker of the two Eastern divisions. The top four teams in the Metropolitan all have more points than the Ottawa Senators who are first in the Atlantic with 72.

As of now, it’s looking like the Penguins, Hurricanes, Bluejackets, and Capitals are establishing a stronghold on playoff spots coming out of the Metropolitan while New Jersey with 69 points is gunning for the last wild card spot. Barring a miracle run by either team, PHI 63, NYI 62, and NYR 60 are all likely out of the running for a playoff spot.

The Atlantic currently has four teams who have broken out from the pack, those teams are Ottawa 72, Toronto 71, Boston 68, and Detroit 66. All four teams are within 6 points of each other. Detroit has the least points with 66. With both wild card spots likely to go to Metropoltian teams, expect 3 of these 4 Atlantic teams to make the playoffs with the least successful of the four on the outside looking in.

The next best teams in the Atlantic like TB, and FLA have fallen back from the pack with only 59 points. At this point, they are likely out of the running for a playoff spot. Buffalo and Montreal also are expected to miss. With 51 points, Montreal is one of the worst teams in the league.


WESTERN CONFERENCE
Things are extremely tight in the Western Conference. 65 points is the current cutoff for the last Wildcard spot and all but one team (VAN 55) are within 6 points or three wins of that marker.

Nashville and Colorado have both established a big lead on Central division playoff spots with 82 points each while the third place wild have 70 points putting them 12 points back of the top two teams and only 5 points ahead of STL and CHI. The big story in the central is the prospect of the Blackhawks missing the playoffs for the first time in a decade. They aren’t out yet, but they are fighting tooth and nail to hold on to the last wild card spot.

In the Pacific, the San Jose Sharks are the only team who have established a reasonable lead on a playoff spot. They sit first in the division with 77 points. LA is second with 73, while both CGY and EDM are tied wtih 70. It’s important to note, EDM has 3 games in hand. Arizona and Anaheim both have 64 and 62 points which puts them far back from a divisional spot, but has them still in the mix for a wild card berth.


:nhl
LEAGUE LEADERS


GOALS
Kane CHI 46
Ovechkin WSH 33
Crosby PIT 33
McDavid EDM 32
Perry ANA 31
Duchene COL 31
Tarasenko STL 30
Hall NJ 29


POINTS
Giroux PHI 77
Karlsson OTT 76
Kopitar LA 74
Stamkos TB 73
Kane CHI 73
Getzlaf ANA 71
Bacstrom WSH 71
Pavelski SJ 71


SAVE %
Holtby WSH 927
Varlamov COL 924
Murray PIT 922
Rinne NSH 921
Allen STL 919
Bobrovsky CBJ 917
Andersen TOR 916
Rask BOS 916
LEAGUE LEADERS

GOALS
Kane CHI 46
Ovechkin WSH 33
Crosby PIT 33
McDavid EDM 32
Perry ANA 31
Duchene COL 31
Tarasenko STL 30
Hall NJ 29


POINTS
Giroux PHI 77
Karlsson OTT 76
Kopitar LA 74
Stamkos TB 73
Kane CHI 73
Getzlaf ANA 71
Bacstrom WSH 71
Pavelski SJ 71


SAVE %
Holtby WSH 927
Varlamov COL 924
Murray PIT 922
Rinne NSH 921
Allen STL 919
Bobrovsky CBJ 917
Andersen TOR 916
Rask BOS 916​
 

danielpalfredsson

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Aug 14, 2013
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Next post will be the Trade Deadline post....

-Which team acquires John Tavares (You guys will be shocked)
-Does emperor Roy go through with moving Carey Price after putting him on the trade block? (He's actually on the block in the game FYI)
-Where does Kyle Turris go?
-Will Jim Benning man up and trade the Sedins? Will they get split up?
-Does Niklas Kronwall get traded for a 3rd time this season?
-Will the CPU GMs do absolutely nothing despite having loads of players and picks on the block?
 

Cor

I am a bot
Jun 24, 2012
69,648
35,246
AEF
Next post will be the Trade Deadline post....

-Which team acquires John Tavares (You guys will be shocked)
-Does emperor Roy go through with moving Carey Price after putting him on the trade block? (He's actually on the block in the game FYI)
-Where does Kyle Turris go?
-Will Jim Benning man up and trade the Sedins? Will they get split up?
-Does Niklas Kronwall get traded for a 3rd time this season?
-Will the CPU GMs do absolutely nothing despite having loads of players and picks on the block?

Tavares actually gets moved? That's insane
 

danielpalfredsson

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Aug 14, 2013
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Tavares actually gets moved? That's insane

Granted, this is Legacy edition so I don't know if this has changed, but the game is programmed so that if a team isn't killing it come playoff time and they have a big time UFA, the team puts that player on the block around the trade deadline. Obviously, this makes no sense in the context of how the game works since everybody know UFAs never walk in NHL 14/15/Legacy, but I guess it adds some excitement. In short, yes Tavares ends up being traded from NYI to another CPU team.

Carey Price being on the block is actually true as well. The updated roster I have somehow has next year's contracts built in, but the game doesn't recognise them until re-sign. So for example, next season McDavid will have his huge contract, Price also will have his 8 year 10.5M deal. The updated contracts don't appear to be recognised until the following season, so going into the deadline the AI for MTL thinks Carey Price is a pending UFA, and they are last in the league, so they are going to try and move him. If Price is moved, his 10.5M deal will still kick in with his new team.
 

Cor

I am a bot
Jun 24, 2012
69,648
35,246
AEF
Granted, this is Legacy edition so I don't know if this has changed, but the game is programmed so that if a team isn't killing it come playoff time and they have a big time UFA, the team puts that player on the block around the trade deadline. Obviously, this makes no sense in the context of how the game works since everybody know UFAs never walk in NHL 14/15/Legacy, but I guess it adds some excitement. In short, yes Tavares ends up being traded from NYI to another CPU team.

Carey Price being on the block is actually true as well. The updated roster I have somehow has next year's contracts built in, but the game doesn't recognise them until re-sign. So for example, next season McDavid will have his huge contract, Price also will have his 8 year 10.5M deal. The updated contracts don't appear to be recognised until the following season, so going into the deadline the AI for MTL thinks Carey Price is a pending UFA, and they are last in the league, so they are going to try and move him. If Price is moved, his 10.5M deal will still kick in with his new team.

Yeah, for NHL 18 they just made it so that teams out of the playoffs will aggressively try and deal UFA's or teams with big name RFA's/UFA's will try and move other salaries.


But that's cool! Looking to see where he goes and if Price moves.

Also interested to see what you'll do with Turris
 

danielpalfredsson

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Aug 14, 2013
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Hey @danielpalfredsson have you noticed any prospect gems on the sens that go up to a high overall?

Can't help you there. I am on Legacy and am on a custom roster. I'm also not deep enough in to be able to comment on prospects.

From previous GM play throughs, the only thing I remember is that Cody Ceci almost always shoots up to top 2 and Curtis Lazar (on CGY now I know) would never grow at all regardless of how many GM saves I tried (so I guess EA is realistic in that regard...). Otherwise, ignoring the guys who appear to be pre-programmed by EA, I think for most prospects how good they become is usually different on every save you create, and there's nothing you can do to alter how they grow. It's more about identifying who will grow by tracking their overalls from season to season. Obviously, that goes for every team, and not just for the Sens.
 

danielpalfredsson

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Aug 14, 2013
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NHL-1.jpg

2018 NHL TRADE DEADLINE


MINOR TRADES

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Confirmed Trade [OTT/MIN] Chris Driedger G for A.Stezka G, MIN 2018 4th, MIN 2018 5th

As rumoured, the Senators move on from Chris Driedger who with the addition of Hogberg and Taylor in net for Belleville has been the odd man out this season. The Senators acquire the rights to goalie A.Stezka along with a few late round picks. Driedger is expected to start for Minnesota’s AHL team and potentially take the backup job from Alex Stalock over the next two seasons.
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Confirmed Trade [OTT/PHI] Patrick Sieloff for PHI 2018 4th
The Senators do some more house cleaning and move former 2nd round pick Patrick Sieloff for a Flyers fourth. The rumour was that the Senators were looking to add an AHL scoring winger in exchange for Sieloff, but clearly that didn’t materialize. They may have had their eyes on Jakob Vrana from WSH.
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Confirmed Trade [VAN/CBJ] Alex Burmistrov for Sam Vigneault and Veeti Vainio
Burmistrov is a 26 year old pending UFA. The 3rd line center should add depth to the Bluejackets as they make a playoff push. Veeti Vainio is of little value as a late round defensive prospect who if everything goes right might top out as a bottom pairing or depth defender. Sam Vigneault is an intriguing center prospect who may only be a 3rd liner but at 6’5” and 200+ lbs could be a very good complimentary physical player down the line.
=========================================================================

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Confirmed Trade [NYR/NSH] Michael Grabner for Justin Kirkland and Jacob Pacquette
Grabner only has 17 points this season and both Kirkland and Pacquette are long shots at making it to the NHL. The Predators add a third liner for cheap, while the Rangers who are near the bottom of the NHL add two low end prospects to their system.
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RICK NASH TRADED
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Confirmed Trade [NYR/LA] Rick Nash and David Desharnais for LA’s 2018 1st Round Pick, Spencer Watson, and C.Reddekopp
This deal might help set the market for the Senators who are trying to move UFA Kyle Turris. Despite being a 7th round pick, Spencer Watson is considered to be one of LA’s top prospects and is seen as having top 6 potential. Reddekopp is simply a warm body in this deal. With 20 goals already on the season, Nash should be a big addition to LA down the stretch as they push for a playoff spot. At 33 years old, the Kings might opt not to re-sign Nash, but only time will tell. Desarnais is having a fairly successful season with 31 points and is a nice depth throw in for the Kings.
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James Duthie
We have a major trade breaking, so I’ll throw it to our trade breakers.


Bob McKenzie
The Tavares derby is over….Tavares has been dealt, and don’t adjust your sets, it’s to the Dallas Stars. Yes, you heard that right; Dallas who sit last in the central division have acquired John Tavares. We’re hearing that in exchange for John Tavares the Stars have sent over last year’s 3rd overall pick defenseman Mikko Heiskanen and a 1st round pick.


Gord Miller
Worth noting, that 1st round pick is not for the upcoming 2018 draft. We’re hearing that Dallas has instead opted to send the Islanders their 2019 1st. If true, this would be a major consolation as Dallas is currently sitting last in their division and might draft somewhere in the top 10 of the deep 2018 draft.


Pierre Lebrun
We’re lead to believe that John Tavares has not budged on his unwillingness to negotiate a contract in season. That makes this trade a huge gamble for Dallas’ management group. Especially if the Stars fail to climb back in the playoff race, they might have just given up a 1st round pick and a blue chip high end young player in exchange for two inconsequential months of John Tavares.


Bob McKenzie
If they do manage to get an extension done, and we’re hearing Tavares may want something in the 10.5M range, Dallas could set themselves up long term to have a Crosby/Malkin type dynamic down the middle. Not to mention Jamie Benn on the wing. This is a big risk for the Stars, but if this trade pays off ,the upside for their organisation could be tremendous.

=========================================================================

James Duthie
John Tavares, finally moved. Traded for the first time in his career, arguably one of the best centers in the league. We’re going to hear from our guest analyst, former NHL GM, current manager of the Orleans location of Gabriel Pizza, Pierre Dorion, how’s it going today.

dorionphone.jpg


Pierre Dorion
It’s going great guys, thanks for having me.


James Duthie
Pierre, we wanted to get an inside perspective from a former general manger on this deal. Obviously, the hockey world is shocked. We all knew Tavares would be traded, and nothing against the Dallas stars, but to see him go to a team that may not even make the playoffs without a contract in place, is that something that comes as a surprise to you?


Pierre Dorion
Certainly you know, it’s uh one of those things like franchise centers….they are so hard to get. Everybody wants one and uh nobody ever gives them up. Like the last slice of pizza. If it’s on the table, you’ve just gotta take it and worry about the consequences later on.


James Duthie
Despite Senators owner Eugene Melnyk initially claiming he fired you, we know you and the Sens actually left on good terms. You seemed to want to go a different direction, chase your other passion in life, local Ottawa pizza by managing your favourite pizza joint, so with that in mind, knowing Kyle Turris is likely to be traded by the end of the day, were you cheering for the Senators to make a play for Tavares?


Pierre Dorion
Sure, but come on, we know how that goes. Eugene has got them on a budget, Karlsson’s contract is coming up, and Thomas Chabot is going to be a great hockey player and isn't that who the Islanders would have wanted? I don’t think there was a deal to be made for Ottawa there. They have Pageau anyways, he’s gotta be considered a franchise center right?


James Duthie
Not quite yet, but maybe he'll get there. Thank you for your time Pierre, good luck with the pizzas.
=========================================================================

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James Duthie
As the clock ticks down on trade deadline, it sounds like we’ve got another deal for our trade breakers to tell you guys about. Bob, who was just moved?


Bob McKenzie
In what might be the most predictable deal of the day, the Senators have finally dealt pending UFA Kyle Turris and he’s heading to the Nashville Predators. There are a few moving parts in the deal but it looks like the primary pieces going back to Ottawa are the Predators 2019 1st Round pick and prospect Eeli Tolvanen.


Pierre Lebrun
It’s been no secret that the Senators and Turris’ agent Kurt Overhardt didn’t see eye to eye during contract discussions. The Senators held out until the deadline to move Turris, and they had a bit of a scare earlier last week when Turris had to leave a game injured, but as it turns out he isn’t expected to be out for very long. We’re hearing that Turris has already been in contact with the Predators and although he won’t play their upcoming game, he’s expected to fly to Nashville this evening. There’s been no discussion of an extension between Turris and the Predators, but Nashville should have the cap space next year to lock Turris down if both sides want to go in that direction.


Bob McKenzie
Predators brass feel that their window to win is open now. The pick in this trade is the Predators 2019 pick, the reason being is that they already moved their 2018 pick to the Sabres in a deal that saw Nashville acquire winger Jason Pominville. Expect Turris to slot in as Nashville’s 2nd line center behind Ryan Johansen. That should push Nick Bonino who some have seen as being a bit overplayed this season into a much more comfortable spot as the Predators 3C.


Darren Dreger
Now I’m also hearing there are some other parts to this deal. The Senators have apparently sent over forward Michael Blunden who has floated between the NHL and the Senators’ affiliate in Belleville and in turn have acquired winger Austin Watson as part of the return from the Predators. Watson is signed to a 1 way contract for a few more seasons at 1.1M.


Gord Miller
It’s a surprise to see the Predators give up Tolvanen. Despite being picked 30th in the 2017 draft by Nashville, a strong season in the KHL has significantly upped Tolvanen’s perception around the NHL. Tolvanen wasn’t considered a high end enough prospect by the Islanders to get the Predators seriously in on Tavares, but the Senators may have just acquired a player who a few years down the line might be a top 6 forward for them.
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James Duthie
That might be our last major trade to go through the wire, but while we wait for confirmation we’ll be joined by Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch. Bruce, are you surprised that the Senators didn’t opt to hold on to Turris for a playoff run?


Bruce Garrioch
No, not at all James. In fact, the writing seemed to be on the wall here since the summer when talks weren’t going well at all. Although the Senators may have wanted to give the impression that if teams didn’t up their offers they’d be okay with holding on to Turris, I don’t think for a second that they thought it’d be appropriate for them to forgo the return Turris could bring to their team and lose him for nothing.


James Duthie
Were there any late season talks, maybe last ditch attempts to revive contract talks between both parties before fully committing to a Turris trade?


Bruce Garrioch
There were a few kicks at the can, but nothing serious. I think ultimately what made this deal take so long was the fact that most teams in on Turris were waiting to see how the Tavares situation played out before they gave up major assets to bring in a different center in Kyle Turris. I think early in the season Senators brass were resigned to the fact that an extension with Turris wasn’t going to work and they were going to have to explore their other options.


James Duthie
Do you think the Senators are comfortable with Brassard and Pageau as their top two centers going forward? Would you expect them to go out and attempt to acquire somebody else in the off season?


Bruce Garrioch
I think it’s one step at a time for Ottawa. They have Brown and White coming up, but both are a few years away. We know they liked Duchene, but he’s apparently not on the table anymore with how things have played out in COL this season.


James Duthie
We’ve heard rumours that with McDavid’s major raise kicking in next season, the Oilers are preparing to possibly deal Ryan Nugent-Hopkins at the draft. Would you be surprised to see the Senators attempt to acquire him?


Bruce Garrioch
Anything is possible. I don’t think the Senators really have a long term plan to fill in Turris’ spot. These playoffs will go a long way in determining how comfortable they are with what they have.


James Duthie
In other Senators news, as we now know Craig Anderson has remained with the Senators despite the prevailing rumour being that he is not willing to re-sign with the team at the end of the season. Did you expect Anderson to be dealt?


Bruce Garrioch
I think the Senators would have been open to it if there was the right offer on the table, but with the goalie market being as soft as it is, it seems like the Senators feel Anderson down the stretch is more valuable to them than say a 2nd round pick might end up being. I know that with Anderson walking at the end of the season, the Senators would be open to moving a major asset in order to acquire a goalie who they feel can be a major player for them 2 or 3 years down the line.


James Duthie
We’re just about out of time. Always a pleasure, thanks for your insight Bruce.
 

danielpalfredsson

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Aug 14, 2013
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AssetImage

HIGHLIGHTS FROM GMDP POST TRADE DEADLINE TSN 1200 INTERVIEW


ON TRADING TURRIS
"I'd be lying if I said I thought we got better at the deadline. You just can't get better trading away your number 1 center for futures, but we've got a solid competitive group going into the playoffs, and as a budget team we couldn't just let Turris walk for nothing at the end of the season. We put ourselves in a better spot long term at the expense of doing the best we could do this season. Tolvanen is a high end guy, and now we've got an extra 1st to work with....whether that means keeping it and using it in 2019 or just having extra ammo to make another deal, we'll see."

ON THE INCLUSION OF AUSTIN WATSON
"We felt it was important to get someone back who could help us going into the post season. Sort of like acquiring Latta, we know what we're getting here. He's a solid bottom 6 guy. He'll be physical for us. Add a bit of an edge that maybe wasn't there enough before. He's signed for a few seasons so this is a long term addition for us. Feel free to go out and buy an Austin Watson jersey, he isn't going anywhere."

ON THE STATUS OF CRAIG ANDERSON
"Team doctors say he's still out for another week or two. That's the benefit of having two strong goalies. We trust Condon to carry the load while he's out. (......) No, we haven't made any progress on a contract, I guess it's the worst kept secret that this is Craig's last season here in Ottawa. (.....) There was no temptation to move him at the deadline, yeah if someone came up to use with something crazy we'd have to listen and do what is best for the team, but with the way the goalie market is, and how much Craig brings to our team, we weren't going to hinder our chances at winning a cup for the sake of adding a 2nd round pick"

ON THE SIELOFF/DRIEDGER TRADES
"We moved on from both of those players because they aren't really in our long term plans and there was some interest in them else where. We're really hoping to come on strong in the later rounds of the drafts. Add picks whenever we can over the next few seasons. As a budget team, we're really going to have to make drafting strong our number one priority and the easiest way to do it is to raid those late rounds. We're happy to have added 3 late picks through those two trades."

DID THE TEAM KICK THE TIRES ON CAREY PRICE OR JOHN TAVARES?
"We explore everything that is out there, and boy we'd love to have both those players, but we just didn't feel we were in a position to not only give up the type of young future superstar either team would have wanted. Not to mention, we've got other extensions to worry about right now, another player making 10.5M might not be doable in our salary structure."

ON WHETHER THE TEAM WILL GO AFTER A TOP 6 CENTER IN THE SUMMER
"These playoffs will be a good test for JG Pageau. Maybe he can step up, be the guy, and we can deal with this internally. Remember, we've got Logan Brown coming up, Colin White is looking very promising in Belleville where he's scored what...over a point per game at this juncture? We know there are guys who might be floated around by other GMs this summer, and we feel after getting what we got for Turris, we'll have the assets to make something happen if need be."
 

danielpalfredsson

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3mSeJD9.png

MARCH UPDATE (End Of Season) (TEAM RECORD: 41-32-9/POST TDL RECORD: 9-9-1)


The Senators finish the season 3rd in their division, 7th in the East, and 13th in the entire league. With 41 wins and a playoff berth, owner Eugene Melnyk is happy as his expectation of 40 wins has been met.

On the final day of the season, the Senators faced the Boston Bruins in a game that would determine which of the two teams would finish first in the Atlantic division. The Bruins had 92 points prior to the game while the Senators had 91. A decisive 10-4 win for the Bruins clinched 1st in the division for them while knocking the Senators down to the 3rd seed and costing them home ice advantage in the playoffs.

Although, the loss might be considered a good thing for Ottawa because a win would have set them up to play the stacked Washington Capitals who occupy the WC1 spot due to the metro division being stronger than the Atlantic. Instead, the Senators will get an easier matchup against the Atlantic division’s 2nd seeded Detroit Red Wings, while also getting a more favourable draft position in a stacked 2018 1st round. The Bruins will gain home ice advantage in the playoffs, but for their troubles will have to face the Capitals.

========================================

benoit-andre-130206-thumb-620xauto-299062.jpg

SENATORS CLAIM ANDRE BENOIT FROM COLUMBUS
The Senators were close to pulling the trigger on adding a veteran top 6 defender at the trade deadline but were unable to find a deal that suited them. Waiting proved to be the right move as shortly after the trade deadline 34 year old top 6 OFD Andre Benoit was placed on waivers by the Columbus Blue Jackets. Benoit, a former Ottawa Senators is signed to a 1 year 800k deal that expires at the end of the season. At the time of this writing, he finished the year with 32GP 1G 5A 6P and a -4 rating.

“This move allows us to play Chabot or Harpur in the AHL. It just gives us depth, a good veteran presence going into the playoffs. We were disappointed not to be able to work something out at the deadline to bring in a defender, so for us this is really a nice surprise to be able to pick up a player like Andre (Benoit) off of waivers”-GMDP on the waiver wire transaction.

Expect Benoit to sit as the 7th defender behind Oduya and Borowiecki, but if someone goes down with injuries, he should figure into the lineup.
========================================

erik-karlsson-2017-54.jpg

Erik Karlsson Finishes First In D Scoring
At one point during the season, it looked like Erik Karlsson might win his first Art Ross trophy. Karlsson wasn’t able to keep up his rate of scoring but still finished 8th in the league and first among defenders with 89 points. Claude Giroux won the Art Ross with 101 points. Oliver Ekman-Larsson was second in D scoring with 77 points.

========================================

:wings:sens

SERIES PREVIEW
DETROIT RED WINGS (2 ATL) VS OTTAWA SENATORS (3 ATL)

Despite struggling early in the season and making the baffling decision to waive Henrik Zetterberg, while also selling off Niklas Kronwall to the MTL Canadiens (later traded to Columbus), a late season surge lead by Dylan Larkin and Anthony Mantha allowed the Red Wings to finish second in the Atlantic Division.

The Senators losing their final game of the season against Boston set up this series. With a win, the Senators would have leap frogged to first in the Atlantic. Instead, they finished 3rd and in turn lost the ever important home ice advantage.

A key storyline in this series, the Senators and Red Wings had consummated a trade earlier in the season that would have sent Niklas Kronwall to Ottawa, but Kronwall refused to waive his NTC for the Senators. The Red Wings are most likely happy with how things worked out since they would have had to face Kronwall in the first round of the playoffs had he become a Senator.

========================================

KEY INJURIES
With no injuries, the Senators are completely healthy going into the playoffs. The Red Wings will begin the series against Ottawa without starting Jimmy Howard who is out with back spasms. Howard should be healthy by game 3 of the series at the latest. The Red Wings depth will also take a slight hit to start the series with two defenders Xavier Ouellet and Ryan Sproul both expected to be on the shelf for the first few games.

========================================

STARTING LINEUPS

:sens
OTTAWA SENATORS

Hoffman 86 SNP-Brassard PLY 86-Ryan PLY 84
Dzingel PLY 82-Pageau TWF 84-Stone PLY 86
Smtih GRN 84-Thompson GRN 81-Burrows TWF 83
Watson TWF 81-Latta GRN 80-MacArthur TWF 83

Phaneuf TWD 86-Karlsson OFD 93
Claesson TWD 82-Ceci TWD 85
Oduya DFD 81-Borowiecki DFD 80
SCRATCHES: Pyatt 80 F, Didomenica 79 F, Benoit 80 D

Anderson 86
Condon 85

========================================

:wings
DETROIT RED WINGS

Nyquist SNP 85-Larkin SNP 87-Mantha SNP 85
Tatar TWF 85-Nielsen PLY 86-Abdelkader PWF 84
Tangradi PWF 78-Helm TWF 84-Glendening TWF 81
Bertuzzi TWF 76-Fisher TWF 81-Svechnikov TWF 75

Daley TWD 86-Green OFD 85
Ericsson DFD 84-Dekeyser TWD 84
Athanasiou TWF 81-Jensen TWD 79

Mrazek 84
McCollum 76

========================================

LINEUP BREAKDOWN
The Senators clearly have the better depth throughout their lineup. Their only major weakness being that they don’t have a true 2C behind Brassard, and are one injury away from Thompson playing in the top 6.

The Red Wings have made the baffling decision to play Athanasiou who is a forward on their bottom D pair rather than call up an AHL defender. This shouldn’t last for long as one of Sproul or Oulette should return within a few days.

Mrazek starting should not be an issue for the Red Wings. Both these teams have depth in net, and in 36 games this season, Mrazek’s numbers were slightly better than Howard who played 53.​
 

danielpalfredsson

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EUGENE MELNYK DISCUSSING THE SENATORS 2018 SEASON ON PRIMETIME SPORTS WITH BOB MCCOWN

On The Kyle Turris Trade
“You know, can you believe this guy? Thinks I’m made of money. I was telling GMDP to ship him out of town the moment trouble started….I just thought that was so dumb….holding on to him until the trade deadline. What if he got hurt? What you can’t get me 40 wins without Kyle Turris? What is this, the ECHL? And you saw….I was right….that skinny kid he got hurt right before the deadline….luckily it was nothing serious because could you imagine if he got hurt and we couldn’t trade him away? Nobody would have wanted a hurt player going into the playoffs.”

On how contract talks went with Turris
“Well….his agent is a bit of a weirdo, I’ll say that much. We put our offer out there, and they pretty much told us they were walking at the end of the season. What were we supposed to do? Look we got some great pieces for him. I know guys who know a lot about hockey and they tell me this Towelanen guy from Nashville is gonna be the next Ovechkin. Some guys telling me, they’d take him first over that Nico Patrick guy who the Devils took. I believe them.”

On whether he is happy with his team’s performance this season
“I’m not an unreasonable man. I wanted 40 wins and some playoff money so that I won’t have to sell another horse, god bless GMDP’s heart because he got me it. Now I’d love to see a deep run, but let’s be real we’re doing pretty well cost per point right now, so I’m happy.”

On whether he’ll give his team permission to spend above the budget to acquire a Kyle Turris replacement
“What am I running here, a soup kitchen? This isn’t a charity. We’ve got a budget. Something like 93 percent of the cap. They better figure it out because I swear to god if I have to send another horse to the glue factory because of lack of playoff revenue I am gonna move this team to Seattle.”

How do you like your odds against the Red Wings?
“The Red Wings stink. Dylan Larkin? He couldn’t hold Chris Didomenico’s jock strap and I don’t even know if I still have that guy signed to a contract. If we don’t wipe the floor with Detroit, I’ll be extremely disappointed.”​
 
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danielpalfredsson

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2018 NHL PLAYOFFS ROUND 1: OTTAWA SENATORS VS DETROIT RED WINGS

(PS: Be sure to "smash that like button" if you enjoy this log. Not because I want to pander for likes, it's just an efficient way for me to know that there are people enjoying this and the thread isn't a ghost town. A reply is just as good if you prefer that.)

=====================================================================

TUESDAY APRIL 12th, GAME 1 IN DETROIT
In what is a surprise, Mike Condon starts the game. Could Anderson be injured? Is this a late change of heart by coach Guy Boucher who rode Anderson as his number one goalie all season?

Early in the game the Senators take a penalty. Which leads to the Red Wings scoring on the first shot of the night. With a slap shot Justin Abdelkader puts Detroit ahead 1-0.

The Senators control possession and out shoot Detroit, but half way through the first period the Red Wings manage to get ahead 3-0. With 3 goals on only 6 shots, Condon is pulled from the game and Craig Anderson comes in.

5 minutes into the second period, Evgeni Svechnikov beats Anderson. That's a big moment for Red Wings fans as it is Svechnikov's first career playoff goal and it gives Detroit a commanding 4-0 lead with half the game still to go.

The Senators fail to capitalize on multiple powerplay attempts in the 2nd period. Derick Brassard scores Ottawa’s first goal 9:02 into the third period. Despite outshooting Detroit 31-27, terrible goaltending by Mike Condon and a complete inability to score buries the Senators who lose 4-1 to Detroit and go down 1-0 in the series.

Frans Nielsen makes a big impression on the Senators with a 3 point night that is good enough to earn him the first star of the evening. Former 67’s goalie Petr Mrazek is the 2nd star stopping 30 of 31 shots while Justin Abdelkader who scored the important first goal of the night gets the 3rd star.

=====================================================================

FMyiMH8.jpg


POST GAME
The Senators coaching staff gets absolutely torn apart by call ins on TSN 1200 for starting Mike Condon over Craig Anderson.

Fans calling in are also clamouring for Thomas Chabot in and Mark Borowiecki out, but it’s clear coach Guy Boucher doesn’t feel Chabot is ready for playoff action.

When asked about the game, captain Erik Karlsson said “It wasn’t Condo’s fault, we were terrible. We didn’t give the guy support. We can’t hang it on him, we have to be better if we want to win the series.”

Professional Senators journalist Don Brennan asked the completely non inflammatory question “Do you think this is on management for trading away Kyle Turris for nothing at the deadline when you guys were so close last year? Is Pageau really good enough as a 2C right now? Does it upset you that this team didn’t make winning moves at the deadline?”

Karlsson answered diplomatically as most hockey players do….”I think they did what is best long term for this team and we’ve got guys who can win here right now. We just need to bring a better effort to our game on Thursday.”

The next day it’s reported that Anderson is taking starting reps in practice and the Senators have called up 4th liner Tyler Randell. Randell who had 7 goals and 12 points in 74 AHL games is not expected to play, but it’s an interesting development.

Howard is expected to return from injury. Despite Mrazek’s strong performance in Tuesday’s game, Howard will start for Detroit against Anderson who will be starting for Ottawa. With Ryan Sproul returning from injury, Athanasiou is expected to be back to his natural position at forward instead of filling in on the bottom D pairing. When asked about the experience playing D for a game, Athanasiou replied “I didn’t think I was very good, but we won the game so maybe I did something right”. Ouellet is still in the shelf for Detroit.

=====================================================================

GAME 2 PREVIEW

:sens
SENATORS LINEUP
Hoffman SNP 86-Brassard PLY 86-Ryan PLY 84
Dzingel PLY 82-Pageau TWF 84-Stone PWF 86
Smith TWF 84-Thompson GRN 81-Burrows TWF 83
Watson TWF 81-Latta GRN 80-MacArthur TWF 83

Phaneuf TWD 86-Karlsson OFD 93
Claesson TWD 82-Ceci TWD 85
Oduya DFD 81-Borowiecki DFD 80

Anderson HYB 86 (STARTING)
Condon HYB 85


:wings
RED WINGS LINEUP
Nyquist SNP 85-Larkin SNP 87-Mantha SNP 85
Tatar TWF 85-Nielsen PLY 86-Abdelkader PWF 84
Tangradi PWF 78-Helm TWF 84-Gelndening TWF 81
Bertuzzi TWF 76-Fisher TWF 81-Athanasiou TWF 81

Daley TWF 86-Green OFD 85
Ericsson DFD 84-Dekeyser TWD 84
Jensen TWD 79-Sproul OFD 80

Howard HYB 85 (STARTING)
Mrazek HYB 84

=====================================================================​
 

danielpalfredsson

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THURSDAY APRIL 14th, GAME 2 IN DETROIT
(Detroit Leads The Series 1-0)


The Senators get off to a strong start, outshooting the Red Wings and successfully killling an early Detroit powerplay. Anderson seems to be providing stability in net, but gets beaten 17 minutes into the 1st period by a Tomas Tatar backhand goal. For the second straight game, the Red Wings take the first lead of the night.

Both teams trade powerplays in the 2nd period. The Senators are unsuccessful while an Anthony Mantha PP goal puts Detroit up 2-0 half way through the game. A frustrated Senators team can’t seem to score despite outshooting Detroit 19-14. So far the Senators only have a single goal in almost 5 periods of playoff hockey.

With the second period closing out, things go from bad to worse for the Senators. Tatar’s 2nd goal of the evening opens the floodgates, leading to two more quick Detroit goals. With three goals in under two minutes, the Red Wings are now up 5-0 on the Senators. Anderson’s night is over, and Condon comes into the game.

The Senators offense comes alive in the third period. They aren’t likely to come back and overcome a five goal deficit, but maybe they can find a way to die with their boots on. Less than 30 seconds apart, Mike Hoffman and Mark Stone both beat Jimmy Howard to cut Detroit’s lead to 5-2. The Senators follow that up with a powerplay opportunity, but just when things look like they might be turning around, Darren Helm scores shorthanded for Detroit and it’s now 6-2.

Brassard adds another goal for Ottawa, but it’s not enough. The Red Wings and Senators both have roughly the same amount of shots, but goaltending has been the difference in the first two games. The Senators lose 6-3 and go down 2-0 in the series. Mike Green, Tomas Tatar, and Darren Helm are the three stars. The one bright point for the Senators was Cody Ceci who played 25 minutes and had a career high 10 shots on goal.

====================================================================

1297923068756_ORIGINAL.jpg



POST GAME
The post game show for the Senators took on a frustrating tone. Fans had no idea what to think. Last game it was Condon’s fault, the Senators corrected things by starting Anderson and in turn Anderson had a meltdown of his own.

Guy Boucher was asked about who will start game 3 and stated, “We can’t change what happened in game 1 and 2. Anderson is our guy, he’s capable of winning us game 3, he’ll start. He had a bad game, there’s no changing that, but we know what this guy can do. There’s no reason to think it’ll happen again.”

The Senators have managed to stay healthy throughout these first two games, and as a result, they won’t make any changes to their lineup. There was speculation that Filip Chlapik who currently is one of the top scorers in the entire AHL might be recalled to help gives the Senators an offensive boost down the middle, but apparently that’s not going to happen just yet.

It’s been revealed that Lucas Glendening suffered a pulled groin during game 2 and may not return for the Red Wings until game 6 at the earliest. Athanasiou is expected to move up to the 3rd line, while Svechnikov who was scratched in game 2 will dress for game 3 as a result.

Game 3 in Ottawa will be crucial for the Senators. As they say, you’re not in trouble until you lose at home. Either the Senators get themselves back into the series with a convincing win, or they go down 3-0 to the Red Wings.

====================================================================


GAME 2 PREVIEW

:sens
SENATORS LINEUP

Hoffman SNP 86-Brassard PLY 86-Ryan PLY 84
Dzingel PLY 82-Pageau TWF 84-Stone PWF 86
Smith TWF 84-Thompson GRN 81-Burrows TWF 83
Watson TWF 81-Latta GRN 80-MacArthur TWF 83

Phaneuf TWD 86-Karlsson OFD 93
Claesson TWD 82-Ceci TWD 85
Oduya DFD 81-Borowiecki DFD 80

Anderson HYB 86 (STARTING)
Condon HYB 85


:wings

RED WINGS LINEUP
Nyquist SNP 85-Larkin SNP 87-Mantha SNP 85
Tatar TWF 85-Nielsen PLY 86-Abdelkader PWF 84
Tangradi PWF 78-Helm TWF 84-Athanasiou TWF 81
Bertuzzi TWF 76-Fisher TWF 81-Svechnikov TWF 75

Daley TWF 86-Green OFD 85
Ericsson DFD 84-Dekeyser TWD 84
Jensen TWD 79-Sproul OFD 80

Howard HYB 85 (STARTING)
Mrazek HYB 84​
 

danielpalfredsson

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I've kinda always wondered, do you just think of this stuff up off the top of your head or what? I mean it's interesting to read (I kinda just post in-depth summaries) but what is your thought process for it all?

Everything is based off of whatever happens in my GM mode. I use a few pen and paper type rules to make up for things not in the game like NTCs, UFAs walking, etc. I add some narrative to make it more interesting, but at the end of the day everything that extra narrative is based on is determined by the game.

I sim the playoff games, so I can see what actually happens rather than just going past them on the calendar.
 

danielpalfredsson

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SATURDAY APRIL 16th, GAME 3 IN OTTAWA
(Detroit Leads The Series 2-0)


It’s a Saturday night and hockey is in the air. Live from CBC, the Senators play their first home playoff game of the season. Their backs are against the wall. After two straight games where questionable goaltending cost the Senators, they play at home and are desperate to stop the Red Wings from taking a commanding 3-0 series lead. Derick Brassard has been the most consistent Senator with a goal in each of the first two games, can he step up and help his team defeat the Red Wings tonight?

It’s pandemonium in the Canadian Tire Center when on the first shot of the night Alex Burrows snipes it past Jimmy Howard. The hometown fans get on their feet and waive their commemorative Mark Borowiecki #All-In-2018 towels as Thompson and Smith flank Burrows to celebrate the huge first goal. This is the first time in the entire series the Senators have taken the lead. 1-0 Ottawa.

With the crowd still buzzing from Burrows goal, Mike Hoffman puts another one past a frustrated Howard. Shortly after, 2017 trade deadline acquisition Alexandre Burrows scores his 2nd of the night to give Ottawa their 3rd goal on only 6 shots. The Senators are up 3-0 in the first ten minutes.

It looks like Howard is getting yanked. Petr Mrazek who had a brilliant game 1 is set to take over. This former Ottawa 67’s goalie is going in with the mammoth task of helping the Red Wings overcome a 3-0 deficit.

The goalie change seems to get Detroit rallying. They kill a 5 on 3 penalty and then early in the 1st period the youngster Tyler Bertuzzi scores his first career playoff goal. A veteran teammate is sure to scoop up the puck as Detroit cuts the Senators lead to 2.

The Red Wings continue to dominate to close out the 2nd period. The Senators seem to be just trying to hold on to their lead at this point. Frans Nielsen who has had a great series so far scores on a DET PP and now the Red Wings are within 1. 3-2 Ottawa.

We start a tense third period in the Canadian Tire Centre. Fans have transformed from rowdy to cautious as the Senators try to fight off mounting pressure from the Red Wings. Outshooting Ottawa 30-22, Trevor Daley scores on the power play. The game is tied 3-3. The Senators have blown a 3-0 lead.

With things still even at the end of regulation, the players head back to the locker room and will return in 17 minutes for the first overtime period of this series. To say this overtime is important would be an understatement. Going down 3-0 in a series is as good as losing it all. The Senators cannot lose this game. They’ve blown a 3-0 lead, and now somebody has to step up and win it for the home town crowd.

It’s a short overtime. 2 minutes into the period a goal is scored.

………


…..
….
…………

....................
.......
........................

.....































...................
..................
............................








.................



............................

……..

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………….

…….



Mark Stone beats Mrazek with a wrist shot. The Senators clear the bench and flood the ice in celebration. A standing ovation is in order as the Senators have won their first game of the series and are right back into things. With a 4-3 OT win, the Senators cut Detroit's series lead to 2-1.

Alexandre Burrows was the 1st star with a 2 goal night, Mark Stone the second with the winning goal and 5 hits, while JG Pageau received the 3rd star. Pageau had 2 assists, 2 hits, and was a +2 on the night.

====================================================================

FtzgPYL.jpg


POST GAME
The post game show took on a different tone from the previous two. Given the Senators won their first game of the series to cut Detroit’s series lead to 2-1, fans calling in were significantly more positive. Still, there were some who are unhappy with the fact that Borowiecki has remained dressed while Chabot sits in the AHL.

Guy Boucher revealed in a post game press conference that with the team fully healthy, there will be no changes to the lineup going into a crucial game 4 at home.

Gustav Nyquist left game three hurt. Although this is a big loss for the Red Wings, Nyquist has had a frustrating series. He has been held pointless in 3 games and is currently sitting at a -3.

JG Pageau is doing his best to silence the doubters. Playing in the top 6 as a result of Turris being dealt at the deadline, Pageau is tied for the team lead in points with 3 in 3 games. Turris has 2 points in 4 games so far for the Predators who are on the verge of eliminating the Arizona Coyotes.

====================================================================

GAME 2 PREVIEW

:sens
SENATORS LINEUP
Hoffman SNP 86-Brassard PLY 86-Ryan PLY 84
Dzingel PLY 82-Pageau TWF 84-Stone PWF 86
Smith TWF 84-Thompson GRN 81-Burrows TWF 83
Watson TWF 81-Latta GRN 80-MacArthur TWF 83

Phaneuf TWD 86-Karlsson OFD 93
Claesson TWD 82-Ceci TWD 85
Oduya DFD 81-Borowiecki DFD 80

Anderson HYB 86 (STARTING)
Condon HYB 85


:wings
RED WINGS LINEUP
Tatar TWF 85-Larkin SNP 87-Mantha SNP 85
Helm TWF 84-Nielsen PLY 86-Abdelkader PWF 84
Tangradi PWF 78-Fisher TWF 81-Glendening TWF 81
Bertuzzi TWF 76-Athanasour TWF 81-Svechnikov TWF 75

Daley TWF 86-Green OFD 85
Ericsson DFD 84-Dekeyser TWD 84
Ouellett TWD 81-Sproul OFD 80

Howard HYB 85 (STARTING)
Mrazek HYB 84​
 
Last edited:

danielpalfredsson

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WEDNESDAY APRIL 18th, GAME 4 IN OTTAWA
(Detroit Leads The Series 2-1)


The fans are rowdy in the Canadian Tire Centre. There are a few scattered Red Wings jerseys, but otherwise the arena is packed with Senators fans twirling their commemorative Nate Thompson playoff towels.

The Senators luck carries over from their first home game in Ottawa with Zack Smith scoring on the first shot of the game. The momentum from that goal carries forward for the rest of the period. While the Senators fail to convert a 5 on 3 PP, they outshoot Detroit 16-17.

Mid way through the second period, with the Senators dominating, Mark Stone as the net front presence deflects a PP goal past Jimmy Howard. The Senators find themselves with a 2-0 lead.

The Senators continue their all out domination of the Wings. With 10 minutes still remaining, the Senators notch their 40th shot of the night. Jimmy Howard is fantastic and keeps the Red Wings in the game.

With 7 minutes remaining, Abdelkader scores another big goal. The Senators lead is cut to 2-1, and now they have to hold on for another 7 minutes if they want to tie the series.

The Red Wings pull Howard. With the clock ticking down, the Senators scratch and claw their way to the buzzer. The Red Wings are unable to score, and with a 2-1 victory the Senators tie the series 2-2. Howard, Anderson, and Mark Stone are the 3 stars.

====================================================================

boucher2.jpg


POST GAME
Coach Guy Boucher states that he is very impressed with how calm and collected the Senators were down the stretch in a tight game.

It seems to be generally accepted that the Senators dominated and had it not been for an outstanding performance by Jimmy Howard, the score would not have been close.

Howard’s performance tonight should put an end to any goaltending controversy after he was pulled in game 3. Howard is expected to start in a crucial game 5 back in Detroit.

Gustav Nyquist left game 4 injured. He’s day to day and is expected to dress for game 5. He may not be 100 percent.

Terrible news for the Red Wings, Frans Nielsen who has been been fantastic for Detroit was also hurt in game 4. He is currently being evaluated. All we know, he will not dress for game 5.

So far in this series, Mark Stone is the Senators MVP. Stone has 3 goals in 4 games with two of those being game winners. On Detroit’s end, Abdelkader has been their best player. He has 7 points in 4 games so far. JG Pageau leads all Senators with 4 points in 4 games.

====================================================================

:wings
RED WINGS LINEUP
Mantha SNP 85-Larkin SNP 87-Nyquist SNP 85
Tatar TWF 85-Helm TWF 84-Abdelkader PWF 84
Tangradi PWF 78-Fisher TWF 81-Glendening TF 81
Bertuzzi TWF 76-Athanasiou TWF 81-Svechnikov TWF 75

Daley TWF 86-Green OFD 85
Ericsson DFD 84-Dekeyser TWD 84
Ouellett TWD 81-Sproul OFD 80

Howard HYB 85 (STARTING)
Mrazek HYB 84


:sens
SENATORS LINEUP
Hoffman SNP 86-Brassard PLY 86-Ryan PLY 84
Dzingel PLY 82-Pageau TWF 84-Stone PWF 86
Smith TWF 84-Thompson GRN 81-Burrows TWF 83
Watson TWF 81-Latta GRN 80-MacArthur TWF 83

Phaneuf TWD 86-Karlsson OFD 93
Claesson TWD 82-Ceci TWD 85
Oduya DFD 81-Borowiecki DFD 80

Anderson HYB 86 (STARTING)
Condon HYB 85​
 

danielpalfredsson

youtube dot com /watch?v=CdqMZ_s7Y6k
Aug 14, 2013
16,575
9,269
$

WEDNESDAY APRIL 20th, GAME 5 IN DETROIT
(Series Tied 2-2)

It’s a hugely important game five in Detroit. The Senators have yet to win in Detroit this series, and the winner of tonight’s game will take a 3-2 series lead.

The Senators come out strong in the early going, heavily outshooting the Red Wings who only muster a single shot in goal in the first 8 minutes of the game. The Senators kill a DET PP to close out the first period, and with two strong goaltending performances the game is stuck at 0-0.

Early in the 2nd, the Senators break the deadlock with a Phaneuf wrist shot that beats Hoawrd. 1-0 Ottawa.

Ottawa continues to outshoot the Red Wings to close out the second period. We’re still stuck at 1-0.

The Senators get a powerplay early in the 3rd, but are unable to convert. They manage to kill a Detroit PP and by now are outshooting the Red Wings 26-18. The clock continues winding down in the 3rd with the Senators up 1-0. With the final few minutes of the 3rd period approaching, the Red Wings press and inevitably pull their goalie. With loads of pressure on the Senators, an errant puck leads to a JG Pageau empty net goal that puts Ottawa up 2-0.

The clock hits 0:00, and with a 2-0 win, the Senators have their first lead of the series. Senators are ahead of the Red Wings 3 games to 2. Jimmy Howard gets the first star of the night after a 32 save performance that kept the Red Wings in the game until the very end. Anderson is the 2nd star with a 26 save shutout, while Phaneuf who had the game winning goal, 4 hits, and 5 shots on net is given the third star.

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POST GAME
Anderson gets a lot of praise for his shutout and big time performance. Pageau continues to lead the Senators in points as his empty net goal is his 5th point of the series.

We’re told that the Senators will continue to roll with the exact same lineup. Late season waiver claim Andre Benoit will sit out for a 6th straight game in favour of Mark Borowiecki who has 8 hits in only 58 minutes of play and is a +1 this series.

The Red Wings badly missed the presence of Frans Nielsen who is now revealed to have suffered a concussion in game 4. Nielsen is out for the rest of the series. This will be a huge deficit for the Red Wings to have to overcome.

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:wings
RED WINGS LINEUP
Mantha SNP 85-Larkin SNP 87-Nyquist SNP 85
Tatar TWF 85-Helm TWF 84-Abdelkader PWF 84
Tangradi PWF 78-Fisher TWF 81-Glendening TF 81
Bertuzzi TWF 76-Athanasiou TWF 81-Svechnikov TWF 75

Daley TWF 86-Green OFD 85
Ericsson DFD 84-Dekeyser TWD 84
Ouellett TWD 81-Sproul OFD 80

Howard HYB 85 (STARTING)
Mrazek HYB 84

:sens
SENATORS LINEUP
Hoffman SNP 86-Brassard PLY 86-Ryan PLY 84
Dzingel PLY 82-Pageau TWF 84-Stone PWF 86
Smith TWF 84-Thompson GRN 81-Burrows TWF 83
Watson TWF 81-Latta GRN 80-MacArthur TWF 83

Phaneuf TWD 86-Karlsson OFD 93
Claesson TWD 82-Ceci TWD 85
Oduya DFD 81-Borowiecki DFD 80

Anderson HYB 86 (STARTING)
Condon HYB 85​
 

danielpalfredsson

youtube dot com /watch?v=CdqMZ_s7Y6k
Aug 14, 2013
16,575
9,269


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James Duthie
As the clock ticks down on trade deadline, it sounds like we’ve got another deal for our trade breakers to tell you guys about. Bob, who was just moved?


Bob McKenzie
In what might be the most predictable deal of the day, the Senators have finally dealt pending UFA Kyle Turris and he’s heading to the Nashville Predators. There are a few moving parts in the deal but it looks like the primary pieces going back to Ottawa are the Predators 2019 1st Round pick and prospect Eeli Tolvanen.


Pierre Lebrun
It’s been no secret that the Senators and Turris’ agent Kurt Overhardt didn’t see eye to eye during contract discussions. The Senators held out until the deadline to move Turris, and they had a bit of a scare earlier last week when Turris had to leave a game injured, but as it turns out he isn’t expected to be out for very long. We’re hearing that Turris has already been in contact with the Predators and although he won’t play their upcoming game, he’s expected to fly to Nashville this evening. There’s been no discussion of an extension between Turris and the Predators, but Nashville should have the cap space next year to lock Turris down if both sides want to go in that direction.


Bob McKenzie
Predators brass feel that their window to win is open now. The pick in this trade is the Predators 2019 pick, the reason being is that they already moved their 2018 pick to the Sabres in a deal that saw Nashville acquire winger Jason Pominville. Expect Turris to slot in as Nashville’s 2nd line center behind Ryan Johansen. That should push Nick Bonino who some have seen as being a bit overplayed this season into a much more comfortable spot as the Predators 3C.


Darren Dreger
Now I’m also hearing there are some other parts to this deal. The Senators have apparently sent over forward Michael Blunden who has floated between the NHL and the Senators’ affiliate in Belleville and in turn have acquired winger Austin Watson as part of the return from the Predators. Watson is signed to a 1 way contract for a few more seasons at 1.1M.


Gord Miller
It’s a surprise to see the Predators give up Tolvanen. Despite being picked 30th in the 2017 draft by Nashville, a strong season in the KHL has significantly upped Tolvanen’s perception around the NHL. Tolvanen wasn’t considered a high end enough prospect by the Islanders to get the Predators seriously in on Tavares, but the Senators may have just acquired a player who a few years down the line might be a top 6 forward for them.​


And people say GM mode trades are never realistic!​
 

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