Confirmed with Link: [EDM/OTT] Oilers Acquire Eric Gryba For 107th & Travis Ewanyk

[McDeathbyCheerios*]

How many bottom pairing d-men do we have now? Ference, Fayne (on a good team), Gryba, Schultz (he's just not top 4 and shouldn't handle those minutes against hard comps).. Basically everyone but Klefbom, which is sad considering 15/16 will be his second full season.

Fayne is a second pairing dman on most teams. Teams like NYR, Calgary and Nashville he would be lower but those are elite defensive teams.

Ference should be moved and Schultz I think could handle top 4 minutes if he had a left handed Fayne to play with. At the end of the summer if we still have Ference, Nikitin and Schultz then yeah it was dumb. But if we move those 3 out then it was for the better. That and Gryba is a RHD which we don't have many of.

 

[ohheyhemsky]

Fayne is a second pairing dman on most teams. Teams like NYR, Calgary and Nashville he would be lower but those are elite defensive teams.

Ference should be moved and Schultz I think could handle top 4 minutes if he had a left handed Fayne to play with. At the end of the summer if we still have Ference, Nikitin and Schultz then yeah it was dumb. But if we move those 3 out then it was for the better. That and Gryba is a RHD which we don't have many of.

All good points.

We sit and we wait.

 

[McDeathbyCheerios*]

All good points.

We sit and we wait.

If Gryba can go back to post Eller and is given the freedom to lay big hits then we will love him. I would like to see Kassian try and take a run at McDavid (If he can catch him), just to see Gryba completely level him.

 

[kickaction]

Fayne is a second pairing dman on most teams. Teams like NYR, Calgary and Nashville he would be lower but those are elite defensive teams.

Ference should be moved and Schultz I think could handle top 4 minutes if he had a left handed Fayne to play with. At the end of the summer if we still have Ference, Nikitin and Schultz then yeah it was dumb. But if we move those 3 out then it was for the better. That and Gryba is a RHD which we don't have many of.

The way I see it, it looks like it will be something along the lines of:

XXX - Fayne
Klefa - Schultz
Ference/Reinhart - Gryba
Reinhart

But who knows, maybe Nurse somehow finds himself onto the roster this season which I will not be surprised by.

 

[Roof Daddy]

at least we know that Chia is familiar with Gryba from his Sens days

but I count 4 bottom pairing d-man in this roster now
Ference
Nikitin
Gryba
Reinhart

hope they bury Nikitin and Ference is the 7th d-man

UFA-Fayne
Klefbom-Schultz
Reinhart-Gryba

Ference

I don't disagree with your assessment, but I do disagree with your expectations. Nikitin should be sent packing, but 3 of those "bottom pair D" will most certainly be in the every day lineup. I'm not saying it's ideal, but I can't see us acquiring the necessary depth to make Ference the #7 he deserves to be.

 

[McDeathbyCheerios*]

The way I see it, it looks like it will be something along the lines of:

XXX - Fayne
Klefa - Schultz
Ference/Reinhart - Gryba
Reinhart

But who knows, maybe Nurse somehow finds himself onto the roster this season which I will not be surprised by.

I feel like the hope is that by mid season Nurse is ready to take a spot from Ference. And that Schultz is gone. So something like..

Klefbom -Green/Oduya/Franson/Shattenkirk
Ference/Nurse - Fayne
Reinhart - Gryba

 

[HeavyHitter99]

I'm going to enjoy watching Gryba lay punishing hits but it's going to suck watching him get his *** kicked time and time again.

 

[bonehead]

Ottawa fan coming in peace. Don't have time to read the first 10 pages here, so apologies if I say anything that's already been covered, but I wanted to add my 2 cents on Gryba. Bottom line: I think he's a great fit and will quietly help your team.

Very honest player. Works hard, hard to play against, plays for his teammates, reasonable hockey IQ, has enough skill to be a solid 5/6/7 D - he is not a stiff. Paired with the right partner can be very effective. Was surprisingly useful for last 20+ games plus playoffs playing with Borowiecki (a similarly honest, skill-limited player), and would be even better playing with a mobile partner. Only reason he had to be traded was because Ottawa's defence needs more mobility and others who offer less can't be moved (Phillips, Cowen). Yes, he's better/more solid than Cowen.

 

[McDeathbyCheerios*]

Ottawa fan coming in peace. Don't have time to read the first 10 pages here, so apologies if I say anything that's already been covered, but I wanted to add my 2 cents on Gryba. Bottom line: I think he's a great fit and will quietly help your team.

Very honest player. Works hard, hard to play against, plays for his teammates, reasonable hockey IQ, has enough skill to be a solid 5/6/7 D - he is not a stiff. Paired with the right partner can be very effective. Was surprisingly useful for last 20+ games plus playoffs playing with Borowiecki (a similarly honest, skill-limited player), and would be even better playing with a mobile partner. Only reason he had to be traded was because Ottawa's defence needs more mobility and others who offer less can't be moved (Phillips, Cowen). Yes, he's better/more solid than Cowen.

With what I have seen, I agree and glad to see an Ottawa fan say it to.

I feel like Gryba would excel in the western conference style

 

[KCC]

Listening to an interview with Gryba, he admitted that the West is a tougher and more physical conference. The reason I bring this up is he feels that this is more suited to his style of play. He said in the East, players tend to go around, while in the West they try to go 'through' you. It's just one person saying it so it doesn't mean much, but I found that somewhat interesting.

 

[tiger_80]

Fayne is a second pairing dman on most teams. Teams like NYR, Calgary and Nashville he would be lower but those are elite defensive teams.

Ference should be moved and Schultz I think could handle top 4 minutes if he had a left handed Fayne to play with. At the end of the summer if we still have Ference, Nikitin and Schultz then yeah it was dumb. But if we move those 3 out then it was for the better. That and Gryba is a RHD which we don't have many of.

Yeah, Fayne is a classical No.4 (stay home guy on the 2nd pairing). Schultz is probably No.5. Ference, Nikitin, Gryba are all bottom pairing players. Klefbom is difficult to categorize. He plays huge minutes, but probably would be better off playing around 20 mins. So maybe he's a 2nd pairing, ideally.

 

[tiger_80]

Ottawa fan coming in peace. Don't have time to read the first 10 pages here, so apologies if I say anything that's already been covered, but I wanted to add my 2 cents on Gryba. Bottom line: I think he's a great fit and will quietly help your team.

Very honest player. Works hard, hard to play against, plays for his teammates, reasonable hockey IQ, has enough skill to be a solid 5/6/7 D - he is not a stiff. Paired with the right partner can be very effective. Was surprisingly useful for last 20+ games plus playoffs playing with Borowiecki (a similarly honest, skill-limited player), and would be even better playing with a mobile partner. Only reason he had to be traded was because Ottawa's defence needs more mobility and others who offer less can't be moved (Phillips, Cowen). Yes, he's better/more solid than Cowen.

What happened to Cowen. I have not Ottawa closely, but i thought he was one of Ottawa's best d-men, on track of becoming an elite shut down d-man.

 

[McDeathbyCheerios*]

Listening to an interview with Gryba, he admitted that the West is a tougher and more physical conference. The reason I bring this up is he feels that this is more suited to his style of play. He said in the East, players tend to go around, while in the West they try to go 'through' you. It's just one person saying it so it doesn't mean much, but I found that somewhat interesting.

I see this too. Gryba would be more effective in the western conference style. As long as he isn't playing against Gaudreau and other small speedsters he will be good.

 

[StoveTopStauffer]

Fayne is a second pairing dman on most teams. Teams like NYR, Calgary and Nashville he would be lower but those are elite defensive teams.

Ference should be moved and Schultz I think could handle top 4 minutes if he had a left handed Fayne to play with. At the end of the summer if we still have Ference, Nikitin and Schultz then yeah it was dumb. But if we move those 3 out then it was for the better. That and Gryba is a RHD which we don't have many of.

I think someone like Beauchemin/Oduya would be a solid partner for Schultz, or Reinhart if he manages to perform well and we don't land any solid FA.

 

[Aerchon]

I see this too. Gryba would be more effective in the western conference style. As long as he isn't playing against Gaudreau and other small speedsters he will be good.

This is a popular misconception from Eastern players.

Fayne said the exact same thing and I would bet he would disagree with that comment a bit now that he has survived a full season.

The West is bigger but does not lose much if anything in speed or skill. Big defenders who are not quick and agile now have to be worried about being run over or ran around.

This is a exaggeration of course but I think the East and West are almost two different leagues. The Oilers record against the East certainly suggests this. West has better coaching and systems, equal or better talent, plus the size factor. With no clear cut super power in the East anymore (Pitts & Boston) its doubtful the East gets another cup for a long while.

 

[McDeathbyCheerios*]

This is a popular misconception from Eastern players.

Fayne said the exact same thing and I would bet he would disagree with that comment a bit now that he has survived a full season.

The West is bigger but does not lose much if anything in speed or skill. Big defenders who are not quick and agile now have to be worried about being run over or ran around.

This is a exaggeration of course but I think the East and West are almost two different leagues. The Oilers record against the East certainly suggests this. West has better coaching and systems, equal or better talent, plus the size factor. With no clear cut super power in the East anymore (Pitts & Boston) its doubtful the East gets another cup for a long while.

Some players play better in the west then the east as their style works better. Just like some players are better on big ice then small and vice versa.

 

[KCC]

This is a popular misconception from Eastern players.

Fayne said the exact same thing and I would bet he would disagree with that comment a bit now that he has survived a full season.

The West is bigger but does not lose much if anything in speed or skill. Big defenders who are not quick and agile now have to be worried about being run over or ran around.

This is a exaggeration of course but I think the East and West are almost two different leagues. The Oilers record against the East certainly suggests this. West has better coaching and systems, equal or better talent, plus the size factor. With no clear cut super power in the East anymore (Pitts & Boston) its doubtful the East gets another cup for a long while.

Gryba seems to think both conferences are quite different, thus, you can make a case that it's like two different leagues. The West is more defensive oriented while the East tends to be more about 'star players'. I mean if EDM and their AHL roster this past season won a fair amount against the East (and they were close and even games), you know the conference is struggling.

I mean Buffalo beat the Sharks 3x last year I recall, but it was men against boys where every game was as lopsided as you're going to get. But the goaltending stole every game for the Sabers.

 

[Vesa Awesaka]

This is a popular misconception from Eastern players.

Fayne said the exact same thing and I would bet he would disagree with that comment a bit now that he has survived a full season.

The West is bigger but does not lose much if anything in speed or skill. Big defenders who are not quick and agile now have to be worried about being run over or ran around.

This is a exaggeration of course but I think the East and West are almost two different leagues. The Oilers record against the East certainly suggests this. West has better coaching and systems, equal or better talent, plus the size factor. With no clear cut super power in the East anymore (Pitts & Boston) its doubtful the East gets another cup for a long while.

Idk.... Detroit was 12-0-2 against the central. Ottawa was 11-2-1 against the pacific

Arizona was the only west team that struggled against the east

Montreal, Boston, Florida, Toronto, Buffalo, New Jersey and Carolina all struggled against the west

Top east teams usually fair decently well against the west. I feel rather then saysing the west is dominating the east it should be the west is beating up on 6 bad eastern teams and montreal

I find people make big generalization when looking at these stats. I mean Mike Hoffman would be your prototipical smallish, skilled, soft eastern conference player. Hoffman has 24 points in 27 games against the west this year. Wouldnt you think he should struggle more against the west?

 

[Vesa Awesaka]

Gryba played 13 games against the pacific. Gryba had 5 points in those games. So alsmost half of Gryba points came against your division. I kinda doubt he can keep uop that production but gryba's splits seem to favor him playing better in the pacifc over other divisions

Gryba also played more when the sens played the pacific and was plus 9. Basically when Gryba was on the ice against the pacific good things happened

Overall Gryba was a better player against the west then East but the sens as a team were pretty good against the west. This could just be because how their season was though. They started playing well on a western road trip later in the season

 

[bonehead]

What happened to Cowen. I have not Ottawa closely, but i thought he was one of Ottawa's best d-men, on track of becoming an elite shut down d-man.

He's had injury problems that have hurt his mobility - curiously, it's also cut his hockey IQ in half! He can look decent at times but brutal at others. Senators gave him lots of opportunity last year to "work through it" - even paired with Karlsson for a bit - but that failed.

When Wiercioch - a decent player with limitations - replaced Cowen as Ceci's partner, the 3/4 pairing was much more effective and they played well for the last 20+ games of the season. Team is praying that Cowen can pull it together next year and somewhat justify his $3 - $4m salary.

 

[joestevens29]

Matt Kassian said "if you are listening Grybs, play the physical game when you play it you are more effective and bring more energy to the team".

 

[joestevens29]

Gryba played 13 games against the pacific. Gryba had 5 points in those games. So alsmost half of Gryba points came against your division. I kinda doubt he can keep uop that production but gryba's splits seem to favor him playing better in the pacifc over other divisions

Gryba also played more when the sens played the pacific and was plus 9. Basically when Gryba was on the ice against the pacific good things happened

Overall Gryba was a better player against the west then East but the sens as a team were pretty good against the west. This could just be because how their season was though. They started playing well on a western road trip later in the season

Don't tell me 4 of those points came against us though

 

[Vesa Awesaka]

Don't tell me 4 of those points came against us though

2 against Calgary
1 against Vancouver
1 against L.A
1 against Anahiem

minus 1 against the oilers and only played 14 mins
0 against the Coyotes but was plus 2

 

[Vesa Awesaka]

He's had injury problems that have hurt his mobility - curiously, it's also cut his hockey IQ in half! He can look decent at times but brutal at others. Senators gave him lots of opportunity last year to "work through it" - even paired with Karlsson for a bit - but that failed.

When Wiercioch - a decent player with limitations - replaced Cowen as Ceci's partner, the 3/4 pairing was much more effective and they played well for the last 20+ games of the season. Team is praying that Cowen can pull it together next year and somewhat justify his $3 - $4m salary.

Murray said Cowen is trying to play to offensive and needs to just be a big strong defenseman with mobility. This is kinda true. He does try to do offensive things that just straight up seem odd given his skill set.'


Cowen had a pretty decent rookie season for the sens but was garbage since then.

He for about 2 months played top pairing minutes included a 30+ minutes game where he finished plus one and a 4 point game. Guy complete has come off the rails and cant pass the puck worth ****. Personally i feel Murray is just enamoured with his physical traites. He honestly is probably one of the strongest players in the NHL. There were reports teams made calls about Cowen at the deadline but murray refused to trade him and pointed teams in the direction of trying to acquire Wiercioch

Murray and Maclean clashed about Cowen as Murray was unhappy with him being healthy scratched because he believes young players have to play through their struggles but he had no issue with wier being scratched the last two years eventhough Wier has played better the last two years. Murray said the big reason behind trade Gryba was to kinda FORCE the coach to play Cowen.

Gryba talked about Cowen when traded and said he might be having some of the problems he had. Cowen has had a few big hits that got him suspended. Gryba said after the Eller hit for about half a year he played to timid and was concerned about hurting someone again or getting suspended.