5 Reasons the Sens Suck this yr:
1. Goaltending - this tandem has gone from one of the best in the NHL last yr to one of the worse this yr. No team is going anywhere without good goaltending in this league & sadly there doesn't seem to be any excuse for it other than incompetence. Can they bounce back next yr is the big question?
2. Best Players - we often hear it said on broadcasts that your best players have to be your best players & on many nights this season our best players have been our worse players or invisible with the exception of Mark Stone & maybe Dzingel. This of course includes the goalies & the captain.
3. Injuries - have pretty much retired MacArthur & Wideman is out for the yr. Injuries have hampered several key players all yr in Ryan, Karlsson, Smith, Boro maybe Brassard. Now it's Stone, Pageau, Thompson & Oduya. Hard to overcome so many injuries particularly to key players.
4. Coaching - GB has turned out to be a huge disappointment, while the reasons above may have more to do with it, his decisions at times seem desperate & the very definition of insanity. He continues to try the same tactics over & over again as well as the same personnel hoping for a different result but continues to get the same result, a losing effort. I don't know if he will get fired but he has been increasingly frustrating to watch & listen to & I wish they would get rid of all the players he has brought in. They have done nothing but take up valuable ice time from our younger players who actually have a future here.
5. Management - from ownership on down this has been a season to forget. The ownership of this franchise has always been somewhat of an embarrassment but this yr reached an all time low by announcing on National television that if the fans of this city don't support this team he will move it before he sells it. He can thank himself for the low attendance this yr, he's as hated as the Glieberman's now, maybe more.
The GM of this team was so keen to sign what he thought was an elite player & not re-sign a fan favourite but unfortunately for him the deal blew up in his face. It may yet be the better move long term but so far this team has been worse since the Turris trade & not better. The amount of veterans in this organization specifically in the AHL rather than giving the younger players more ice time is baffling. To bring in players from outside the league who are career minor leaguers at best to take spots that maybe our prospects could have grown into was & is a dumb move. This management team either lacks the ability to properly analyse a player's development or are not patient enough for them to improve. Hopefully, they will have learned from this blunder & not re-sign a single UFA in this organization.
Personally, I would like to see a new owner, a new GM & a new coach for next season but I doubt we will see any changes in those areas. I also have zero confidence in any deals this management group will make or whether there will be many changes & we could end up with pretty much the same team or same kind of team for next season. I see the same definition of insanity for next season as we got from this season with the same management team, the same players & the same attendance issues since the Phoenix system won't be much better either. We could be in this very same place at this time next yr. I wish I could be more optimistic.
