If there was a 48 Game Season, where do you see us finishing?

[General Granny*]

Some rumors that a CBA deal gets done in the next 7-10 days, don't get your hopes up. Where do you guys seem the Sens finishing in the standings if we were to play 48-54 games?

With that depleted defense, not in the playoffs in my opinion. It was already a weak defense with Cowen in it but now he is out its even worse.

Cowen out for the season
More teams will be focusing on Kalrsson trying to shut him down, no else on that blue line could take the attention away from him.
Gonchar and Philips are now a year older, they were already slow.
New player in Methot, not sure if there is even any chemistry with Karlsson.
Our power play will suck, with only Gonchar and EK, we have no one else to put at the point for the 2nd PP and not that many puck movers. Maybe Benoit or Weircioch but who knows.
We didn't get a whole better while a lot of other teams in the conference did, a lot of teams underachieved last season that would be much tougher to beat this season

I say we end up drafting in the range of 8-12

Click to read more...

 

[Benjamin]

With this draft, hopefully last. Only have to endure suckiness for 50ish games and get a top prospect.

 

[saskriders]

I think we still make the playoffs in the 6-8 seed. Methot is underrated here, Karlsson will be a year more developed. Phillips still plays well, we will just have to hope his body can handle the extra minutes. Don't forget we will have Silfverberg and Latendresse on the left side, so that is an upgrade.


BTW, didn't someone on this board say they had Cowen's surgery, and that out for season might be worst case scenario?

 

[18Hossa]

I think we still make the playoffs in the 6-8 seed. Methot is underrated here, Karlsson will be a year more developed. Phillips still plays well, we will just have to hope his body can handle the extra minutes. Don't forget we will have Silfverberg and Latendresse on the left side, so that is an upgrade.

BTW, didn't someone on this board say they had Cowen's surgery, and that out for season might be worst case scenario?

I believe it was a Columbus fan that had it and i think he said that out for season was possible but it was more likely to be back a bit sooner. (just going off memory)

 

[McManked]

13th when Cowen is injured and Spezza or Michalek has one injury that sidelines him for 3 weeks, which is 10-12 games.

 

[Benjamin]

I believe it was a Columbus fan that had it and i think he said that out for season was possible but it was more likely to be back a bit sooner. (just going off memory)

Something like that and that it heals quick but the problem is the pain takes awhile to go away. Technically he could play through the pain.

 

[dumbdick]

The shortened season would mean all bets are off. More chance for a bad team to sneak into the playoffs or for a good team to miss. One hot or cold streak could make all the difference.

 

[playasRus]

I'd see us top 10 in the east.

 

[enviro61]

Like others have said, a hot or cold streak will make or break some teams. If Anderson plays like he can we should be able to fight it out for the 6th-8th. If our goaltending falters, it could get ugly.

 

[QuietOnTheFront]

I'm hoping we tank.. This draft's top 10 is ridiculous.

But in all seriousness I don't know how well we're going to do. The defense is a big concern even with Cowen in it. It'll be interesting to see how certain new players adapt to new roles. We haven't really added anyone who can fill in Kuba's void as an offensive two way dman. Wiercioch could step up given his production in Bingo, but he's still too young to fill the void Kuba leaves. As much as I hated Kuba, without him, aside from Gonchar and Karlsson, I don't think we have as much offensive output coming from the back end.

That being said, I think Latendresse is intriguing. If he is paired on Spezza's wing, I think we could see a 30 goal season out of him if he stays healthy. A first line of him, Spezza and Michalek would be solid. With the second line of Turris, Silf and Alfie, I think we have a pretty solid top 6. I don't think scoring should be an issue for us.

Either way, if we make playoffs I'll be happy and if we tank I'll be happy with the solid prospect from the draft. Let's just hope we don't finish just outside a playoff spot..

 

[Mark Effin Stone]

Just on the outside of playoffs.. was looking forward to Cowen's 2nd year... a shame he got hurt.

What would our defense look like if the season started right now?

 

[ReginKarlssonLehner]

Just on the outside of playoffs.. was looking forward to Cowen's 2nd year... a shame he got hurt.

What would our defense look like if the season started right now?

Methot-Karlsson
Lundin-Gonchar
Phillips-Wiercioch

 

[ReginKarlssonLehner]

I say we make the playoffs. We have the depth to be able to come out flying for the 48 game season.

As someone mentioned, the top 10 looks ridiculous but so does the top 15 imo and we won't be far from that, therefore if we want something of interest i'm confident Murrays will trade up.

 

[Pierre from Orleans]

It wouldn't feel right if we won the cup with a 48 game season. I would actually hate that.

 

[PatrickEaves]

Spezza or Karlsson missing a combined total of >7 games and we finish last.

It wouldn't feel right if we won the cup with a 48 game season. I would actually hate that.

A Stanley Cup win is a Stanley Cup win. I don't care how we win it.

 

[source]

It all depends on our offense.

Between Anderson, Bishop, and Lehner, our goaltending will be above average.

Our defense will be below average. I am confident of that.

Our offense is a big question mark. Will Spezza and Michalek stay healthy? What about Regin and Latendresse? Is Turris legit? Does Alfie have gas left in the tank? Are the Bingo Boys (Greening, Condra, O'Brien, Smith, Daugavins) legit and consistent NHL contributors? What about Silfverberg and Stone? We may need a prospect to really step up for us.

 

[source]

I say we make the playoffs. We have the depth to be able to come out flying for the 48 game season.

As someone mentioned, the top 10 looks ridiculous but so does the top 15 imo and we won't be far from that, therefore if we want something of interest i'm confident Murrays will trade up.

Not on D, definitely not on D. Methot is a downgrade from Kuba, and we've lost Cowen. Karlsson can't possibly be as good, and I would expect both Phillips and Gonchar to be slightly worse.

Beyond those guys, we do not have what you can call "depth".

 

[Dionysus]

Depth on defence is kind of weak, but if even one guy like Weirciotch of Boro can step in it doesn't look so bad. Offensive depth looks good. I think that will take this team a long way. My guess would be bottom tier playoff team.

 

[ReginKarlssonLehner]

Not on D, definitely not on D. Methot is a downgrade from Kuba, and we've lost Cowen. Karlsson can't possibly be as good, and I would expect both Phillips and Gonchar to be slightly worse.

Beyond those guys, we do not have what you can call "depth".

I meant on forwards. We are fairly restricted when it comes to defense with an already gapping hole left by Cowen.

I do believe you are selling Methot short. I believe him to be better at his position and as a defensive partner for Karlsson resulting into better offensive transitions as well as less defensive mistakes.

 

[General Granny*]

Like everyone else said, if there is a season to tank, its definitely this with a 48 game season. That top 10 draft looks high end, very reminiscent of the 2003 draft with very high end forwards.

Personally I would sacrifice my cat for either a Monahan or Lindholm.

 

[Dysentery]

Not on D, definitely not on D. Methot is a downgrade from Kuba, and we've lost Cowen. Karlsson can't possibly be as good, and I would expect both Phillips and Gonchar to be slightly worse.

Beyond those guys, we do not have what you can call "depth".

Methot should be an upgrade defensively on Kuba.

 

[source]

There's a reason Kuba signed for 2 years/9mil. He's pretty good.

 

[sg58]

We obviously won't tank, but there's a chance our D will do that for us anyway. It does not look very good and would need some surprise performances and a very solid goaltender behind them to get anywhere without changes to the roster.

 

[BUCKLE UP]

Seth Jones or Elias Lindholm would be nice.

 

[Yokai]

It wouldn't feel right if we won the cup with a 48 game season. I would actually hate that.

To be honest I don't think I would really care. You still have to win 16 games in the post season against four different teams to win the Cup. Every single year there are teams that do better or worse than they should have in the regular season yet still make the playoffs. Not sure that shortening the year really makes a difference in regards to the quality of competition in the playoffs. Really I would think the playoffs would be even harder to win in because everyone is better rested/less injured.

In terms of Ottawa's finish in a shortened season? I really think it is a coin toss. Right now the team's success depends heavily on the play of Spezza, Karlsson, and Anderson. If any of those three get injured or simply hit a slump then they don't have the usual amount of time to pull out of it. If the team comes out flying with those three playing at their best then I could see Ottawa making the playoffs in the 4-6 slot.

Rebuild/Retool is going well but the team still has serious weaknesses when it comes to defense and high end scoring.