Marc Methot Says That The Sens Are Not Even Close To The Playoffs

[Micklebot]

He isn't wrong but hockey is random enough that anything can happen. That team be was on wasn't close to playoffs either, but they squeaked in and came within a goal of the cup final.

Making the playoffs next year might be the worst thing that could happen because it might just delay the inevitable of having to tear down a flawed build.

Ultimately, I think we are heading for a major retool/rebuild whether we like it or not. Brady is gone by July 1st 2025 (if we don't magically win next year), and that will be the major domino that causes a rebuild or retool.

The team is too soft physically and mentally.

Just give us 2021-22 Forsberg playing instead of Korpisalo and we're in the playoffs with 42 fewer goals against.

 

[swiftwin]

I think a lot depends on our core and how much they improve, something no one can really predict.

We don’t have the cap space/flexibility/assets to really fix the depth this off-season. It’ll take two summers imo. But better goaltending, proper coaching to start and around 3 players that actually bring elements we need will already help a significant amount. Having said that, I think that turns us into a bubble team - not necessarily a playoff team.

Significant steps forward from guys like Stützle, Sanderson, Pinto etc will probably be the difference imo.

Exactly this. It has to come from within. A step forward from players like Stu, Sanderson, Pinto, Greig, Batherson, etc. can easily make us a playoff team, especially if we get average goaltending.

This core was just 6 pts out two seasons ago.

 

[Max Milk]

After watching a few playoff games, I can confirm that the Sens forecheck this year was nowhere near the level of these playoff teams. We'll see if they can ramp up the intensity next year, but as many have noted here, that will require some new players and a bit of a culture change.

 

[Alf Silfversson]

Also just a reminder that Marc Methot said this 3 years ago.



He's a former player and a damn good one at that but his takes, while hot, are not exactly gospel. He was a big DJ fan as well. Being a former player does not guarantee analytical excellence.

 

[The Devilish Buffoon]

Does anyone think this is a playoff team without significant additions? Not exactly a hot take

 

[Micklebot]

I think comparing Reg season Sens vs post season playoff teams is a bit of an apples and oranges comparison, most teams if not all are dialing it up a notch in the playoffs, presumably we would as well.

As currently built, I think we are best case a bubble team, not all that different from the Det, NYI, and Flyers.

 

[BonHoonLayneCornell]

What does it matter what Marc Methot thinks, he's basically just another guy giving an opinion. The next "expert" will come along and tell us to watch out for that Ottawa team and around it goes.

Nobody would deny that the team needs some changes if they want to right the ship. They also need to re-stock the cupboards some. But it's not a total disaster.

Lets talk at the end of the summer when we know what the team actually looks like.

 

[Micklebot]

Does anyone think this is a playoff team without significant additions? Not exactly a hot take

Last 45 games we actually played at a 91 pts pace which would have put us in a 3 way tie for the last wildcard spot, that's probably close to the high water mark for this team unless goaltending plays better (certainly possible, both guys have put up good years, but I wouldn't count on it since neither is consistent)

 

[BondraTime]

Does anyone think this is a playoff team without significant additions? Not exactly a hot take

You’d think that was a very easy thing to conclude, but reading you’d swear we were an 100+ point team with another goalie. It’s absolutely baffling to me.

 

[HoweHullOrr]

You’d think that was a very easy thing to conclude, but reading you’d swear we were an 100+ point team with another goalie. It’s absolutely baffling to me.

With the heavy emphasis on the goaltending situation, it drew attention away from other areas that need addressing.

 

[Sens of Anarchy]

With the heavy emphasis on the goaltending situation, it drew attention away from other areas that need addressing.

they have needed addressing for longer than this past season

the gm and coaching changes were late for this group as well

 

[HoweHullOrr]

they have needed addressing for longer than this past season

the gm and coaching changes were late for this group as well

I guess what I didn’t explain is that heavy emphasis was from the posters here on the Sens HF forum. But, yes the other issues have been around for a while.

 

[PlayOn]

With the heavy emphasis on the goaltending situation, it drew attention away from other areas that need addressing.

Idk, I think there hasn’t been a single flaw on this team that hasn’t been discussed a thousand times over. We’ve been losing for seven years.

This thread is split into “this team sucks, they’re not making playoffs” and “this team could be average if they make the right changes and the right growth occurs, and sneak into a wild card spot” basically. I’m not seeing any glowing reviews for this roster.

FLA, Toronto, Boston, Carolina, NYR, and Tampa are the actual good teams in the East. The fanbases of all the other teams are having the same conversations we are. Someone’s gotta get into those other two spots.

 

[Sens of Anarchy]

I guess what I didn’t explain is that heavy emphasis was from the posters here on the Sens HF forum. But, yes the other issues have been around for a while.

Optimism is good but watching them play well for small sets of games has proven to be difficult for this group to sustain. I think its been laid bare that this team lacks depth, sustained intensity (effort level), physicality and they are still learning how to defend while lacking some instincts , physical makeup and ability to defend. Some pieces are here but not enough, Changes are needed and imo they have to grow up in a few cases.

It should piss everyone off that Dorion did not surround a very young group with a couple - three quality vets (he let a few go) and that he made the moves he did to acquire DeBrincat and Chychrun vs staying the course on acquiring high end talent with those picks. It has set them back in more ways than one.

The new group has a lot of work to recover.. and the clock ticks on the players wanting to stay here or come here while they try to find success with the on ice product and with the pipeline.

This has been a very dysfunctional rebuild even though did acquire a few nice pieces.

 

[HoweHullOrr]

Idk, I think there hasn’t been a single flaw on this team that hasn’t been discussed a thousand times over. We’ve been losing for seven years.

This thread is split into “this team sucks, they’re not making playoffs” and “this team could be average if they make the right changes and the right growth occurs, and sneak into a wild card spot” basically. I’m not seeing any glowing reviews for this roster.

FLA, Toronto, Boston, Carolina, NYR, and Tampa are the actual good teams in the East. The fanbases of all the other teams are having the same conversations we are. Someone’s gotta get into those other two spots.

Sure, the various other flaws were discussed, but the heaviest concentration of comments this past season focused on goaltending. I felt It almost got to the point where some got annoyed if another deficiency or issue got brought up.

 

[PlayOn]

Sure, the various other flaws were discussed, but the heaviest concentration of comments this past season focused on goaltending. I felt It almost got to the point where some got annoyed if another deficiency or issue got brought up.

That’s because on this team, it’s the most critical piece. We have a young and fragile team who can’t fully control their emotions — a big save to start the game, less untimely softies etc could have been a huge boost from a confidence perspective.

That being said, I think most people agree we’re a bubble team with good goaltending, which in and of itself is an acknowledgment that there are plenty of other flaws. It just gets to the point where if Korpi plays the way he did the majority of the year then it almost doesn’t matter what other changes we make and so that might be why it dominates the conversation at times.

 

[Back in Black]

He's right, they didnt make it....

 

[Golden_Jet]

We are close but a serious mindset adjustment needs to happen. Trade Brady’s BFF Norris to shake things up.

Untradeable atm.

 

[Micklebot]

Optimism is good but watching them play well for small sets of games has proven to be difficult for this group to sustain. I think its been laid bare that this team lacks depth, sustained intensity (effort level), physicality and they are still learning how to defend while lacking some instincts , physical makeup and ability to defend. Some pieces are here but not enough, Changes are needed and imo they have to grow up in a few cases.

It should piss everyone off that Dorion did not surround a very young group with a couple - three quality vets (he let a few go) and that he made the moves he did to acquire DeBrincat and Chychrun vs staying the course on acquiring high end talent with those picks. It has set them back in more ways than one.

The new group has a lot of work to recover.. and the clock ticks on the players wanting to stay here or come here while they try to find success with the on ice product and with the pipeline.

This has been a very dysfunctional rebuild even though did acquire a few nice pieces.

How large of a sample do we need to "know" who a team really is? We were a 90+ pt team in the second half, and that's inspite of bottom 10 goaltending, along with no Norris or Tank for much of it.

We have obvious issues that need to be addressed, the question is, if we address them, where does that leave us. Chychrun out and a defensive RHD seems like an obvious move, but maybe losing Chychrun's offense is a bigger hit than we think.

I'd like to move on from Brannstrom and get a more physical and defensive minded 3rd pair, but with Brannstrom out, maybe we have a tougher time dealing with injuries to Chabot.

I look at NJD and just how fragile teams that aren't quite elite can be. Bad goaltending combined with a key injury and it upends a season, good health and good goaltending and they hit 50 wins.

Well, a team that is seen as a bubble team has the same vulnerability, it just starts a little lower.

I think we need to make some lateral moves that result in a more well balanced and intelligently assembled team. Chychrun for and equivalent defensive RHD. Tank out can be replaced by a gritty middle sixer that kills penalties. Brannstrom out for a physical/mean defensive minded 3rd pair guy. We aren't improving the roster on a name by name basis, but we are giving the new coach the tools that this roster was lacking,

 

[WallyD]

I think a lot depends on our core and how much they improve, something no one can really predict.

We don’t have the cap space/flexibility/assets to really fix the depth this off-season. It’ll take two summers imo. But better goaltending, proper coaching to start and around 3 players that actually bring elements we need will already help a significant amount. Having said that, I think that turns us into a bubble team - not necessarily a playoff team.

Significant steps forward from guys like Stützle, Sanderson, Pinto etc will probably be the difference imo.

Agree with this take... By far IMO the most impactful decision this summer will not be players but rather the coaching selection. Of course we will likely see a good deal of player movement, as much to change team chemistry as for a need to get different skill sets. The problem for Staios is the degraded market value of many Sens players given team performance. Getting even trade value for exchanging like for like players and contracts will not be easy given the "buy low sell high" factor for the Sens. It's not a strong or enviable position to be in. How this team progresses will absolutely depend on the ability of the new coach (and staff) to recognize and develop the very best abilities of the players remaining while ridding them of poor play, bad habits, where possible. To your point, the team may have to wait a while to evaluate and then move on from players that don't buy in or can't be fixed.

 

[ottawagm]

At least 12 months away.

 

[Sens of Anarchy]

How large of a sample do we need to "know" who a team really is? We were a 90+ pt team in the second half, and that's inspite of bottom 10 goaltending, along with no Norris or Tank for much of it.

We have obvious issues that need to be addressed, the question is, if we address them, where does that leave us. Chychrun out and a defensive RHD seems like an obvious move, but maybe losing Chychrun's offense is a bigger hit than we think.

I'd like to move on from Brannstrom and get a more physical and defensive minded 3rd pair, but with Brannstrom out, maybe we have a tougher time dealing with injuries to Chabot.

I look at NJD and just how fragile teams that aren't quite elite can be. Bad goaltending combined with a key injury and it upends a season, good health and good goaltending and they hit 50 wins.

Well, a team that is seen as a bubble team has the same vulnerability, it just starts a little lower.

I think we need to make some lateral moves that result in a more well balanced and intelligently assembled team. Chychrun for and equivalent defensive RHD. Tank out can be replaced by a gritty middle sixer that kills penalties. Brannstrom out for a physical/mean defensive minded 3rd pair guy. We aren't improving the roster on a name by name basis, but we are giving the new coach the tools that this roster was lacking,

I have a hard time buying into 2nd half performance of this team... I would be interested to see splits in pts% 1st half, 2nd half over the past 3 years

For this year just quick and dirty Wins = Losses 4 pts from OTLs
game 41-60 9W 11L
game 61-80 11W 9 L
Game 81-82 1W 1L

Tampa was 4th in the division with 98 pts; under 95 and under is bubbling

NJD is another team that should make changes up front if they want to survive in the playoffs

I think they are more than 3 player changes away but it could help with the right changes. Brannchise has been ok but we can improve the 3rd pair on both sides. I'll cheer for them anyway lol

Goaltending is a ? and an important one

 

[HoweHullOrr]

That’s because on this team, it’s the most critical piece. We have a young and fragile team who can’t fully control their emotions — a big save to start the game, less untimely softies etc could have been a huge boost from a confidence perspective.

That being said, I think most people agree we’re a bubble team with good goaltending, which in and of itself is an acknowledgment that there are plenty of other flaws. It just gets to the point where if Korpi plays the way he did the majority of the year then it almost doesn’t matter what other changes we make and so that might be why it dominates the conversation at times.

Yes, last year goaltending was a big concern. But, Forsberg had a better performance and stats (.917 save percentage) a couple years ago, and we were only slightly better. We were the 9th worst team that year.

I agree that there’s other flaws and that they’ve existed for years. But, people weren’t that interested in talking about them last year by and large. We started to show some improvements playing better team D towards the end of the year, and the goaltending didn’t look as bad. Consistency was still an issue though for sure. I think improvement is needed in many areas.

 

[lancepitlick]

I can see the team staying bad or improving, just depends how things shake out. They need everything to go right and for some smart coaching/roster changes to be a playoff team next season. I still think it's unlikely, but not impossible.

Improvement from Sanderson, Pinto, Greig, Stutzle. Improved goaltending. A healthier Norris that can contribute. Swapping a redundant LD to fill other weaknesses. Better coaching/system. A vet or two that can contribute. All that happens and you improve drastically. Now, I'd say the odds of all that happening are slim, so I'd be surprised if they make the playoffs next season.

It's a shame they have no top quality young guys either entering the league or season two (I don't have Kleven/Greig in that echelon) thanks to trading picks/Boucher. That'd potentially move the needle without costing anything, but Dorion screwed the pooch.

 

[Relapsing]

most teams if not all are dialing it up a notch in the playoffs, presumably we would as well.

This year, we were already at least a notch behind most other teams.

I don't think this team had two notches in em.