Speculation: 2021-2022 Ottawa Senators

[Sens]

That doesn’t matter, he has to first prove his worth in the NHL. If he has a decent year next year, the sense would try to sign him to a deal like whites but it wouldn’t be for 7x7, he would have to have a huge year for that to happen

I said 7x7 by UFA age... that money is still a few years away yet

 

[FormentonTheFuture]

Gosh, your takes often makes me want to start gambling. Depending on who they get with their (most likely) 2 top-10 picks in the upcoming stacked draft, this team could become good kinda soon (financial support would be needed though)

Top-5 pick 2020 ?
Top-10 pick 2020 ?
3 second round picks 2020
+
Tkachuk
Batherson
Duclair
Norris
L. Brown
Formenton
Balcers
White
Abramov
Pinto
Paul/Chlapik/Crookshank/Gruden/Novak/Veronneau/Davidsson/Kelly+++
+
Chabot
Brannstrom
Wolanin
Thomson
JBD
Jaros/Lajoie/Alsing/Tychonick/Guenette
+
Hogberg/Daccord/Sogaard/Gustavsson/Mandolese


Other young-ish assets the team currently has who could stick around (or be traded for more picks/prospects) : Pageau, C. Brown, Tierney, Zaitsev, DeMelo, Reilly, Nilsson

The Sens are going to be extremely rich in quality young assets after this draft. It's going to be very hard to stay bad for 5 more years. Melnyk would have to be very creative



Brown (much like Spezza for exanple), will always "look lazy", his body + the way he skates will do that when watching on TV.

Problem right now for Brown is he hasn't fully picked up the NHL pace, which is a notch above the AHL. Everytime you go up a level in hockey, it becomes a bit faster. He is still 21, let him gain more pro experience, I think he will figure it out eventually and his level of success in the NHL will depend on how much he picks it up.

This is the best league in the world we're talking about, the level is so high that very rarely young players come in and dominate. And Logan Brown was always going to be a long-term project.

If they get Lafreniere they are going to be good quickly. Look at the leafs who were complete trash then made the playoffs in Matthews first year.

 

[FormentonTheFuture]

I said 7x7 by UFA age... that money is still a few years away yet

Oh ok fair enough

 

[Micklebot]

That doesn’t matter, he has to first prove his worth in the NHL. If he has a decent year next year, the sense would try to sign him to a deal like whites but it wouldn’t be for 7x7, he would have to have a huge year for that to happen

He said by the time he hits UFA, that's not for quite a while yet.

edit: Looks like he beat me to it. Carry on...

 

[Xspyrit]

agreed that 5 more years of “bad” seems to be too long.

I am in the “2 or 3 more years of bad” camp which hopefully will yield some top 5 picks to fill the pipeline with higher quality skill players and give the current prospects and picks this year more time to develop.

I am more in the "let's see at next training camp after the draft and off-season" camp so we can have a better idea of the immediate future of the team. Trying to say "2, 3 4, 5 or x years for this or that" is very futile at the moment.

I have read some old posts recently as I was searching for some of mine. We are all wrong at some point or another but the bold statements like the post I was quoting end up the most ridiculous most often than not.

If they get Lafreniere they are going to be good quickly. Look at the leafs who were complete trash then made the playoffs in Matthews first year.

Getting Lafreniere would probably be the fastest way to turn things around. But I believe this draft has enough talent that even without him, the Sens could end with two high end players. But even without the 2020 picks, Sens should become good enough in not too long, problem is we would like to be more than a team fighting to make the playoffs and "try to get hot at the right time". That's where those 2 high picks become crucial.

There's one thing some hockey fans don't understand. If a team is "trash", it's not because the players on it are trash, it's because they are not in the "right chair". When you add a better player at a position, it puts the other players in the right chair and thus helps the team overall. Example, just adding Crosby and Stone makes the current forward group really really good all of sudden

Duclair-Crosby-Batherson (Duclair and Batherson are legit top-6 forwards with Crosby)
Tkachuk-White-Stone (That line becomes a possession monster right away and produces)
Paul-Pageau-Brown (Perfect 3rd line)
Ennis-Tierney-Namestnikov /Boedker/Anisimov (Great depth)

Same thing for defense, you add Karlsson and a prime Methot and the defense looks real good :

Methot-Karlsson
Chabot-Zaitsev
Wolanin-Jaros/Reilly
Boro

Anyway, if they 2 very good top-6 forwards in the next draft, they will be in a very good position going forward

 

[thinkwild]

The nhl is not a hitting league anymore...

You cant be serious? Thats not the NHL that i watch. Goons that fight have disappeared, sure, but hitting is still a very important skill

 

[little BiG]

I think if we can snag a legit 1C at this years draft we will look pretty solid down the middle. And i do have to say im a fan of our D specs atm..
To me L.Brown looks like a bust he has great skill but i dont see any drive in his game. I also think c white will be a great 2nd line center to come but even if he doesnt pan out he will be atleast a solid 3rd line C (pageau type)

Down the middle: (Solid)
(Draft 1C)
White
Norris
Pinto

Defense: (very strong)

Chabot Branstron
JBD Thomson
Wolanin zaitsev

I do believe branstrom chabot is an excellent pairing fron the little ive seen those two together so far and although JBD and Thompson arent flashy they are great roll players and can play a shutdown line together and could be very effective

Nice post. I am also not sold on L Brown or White. I think the C pool will be deep even without them, especially after the draft.

I'd like to angle for Murray or Georgiev in net, using Pageau and/or Brown and White in trade.

Would be nice to draft another stay at home d to complement our more offensively-minded players.

 

[Sens]

You cant be serious? Thats not the NHL that i watch. Goons that fight have disappeared, sure, but hitting is still a very important skill

i watch games all the time where i might see a half dozen hits a period if I’m lucky

 

[Sens]

I watched a leaf game a couple weeks back where they threw 10 hits the entire game

 

[Alex1234]

White is a 3C imo
Unfortunatly

 

[Sweatred]

White is a 3C imo
Unfortunatly

I am optimistic he will develop into that roll over the next few years.

 

[Dingle]

I am optimistic he will develop into that roll over the next few years.

Ouch, at 4,75 million and the promise of our version of Patrice Bergeron..You will have the most expensive 3rd line center out there.

 

[Sens]

Ouch, at 4,75 million and the promise of our version of Patrice Bergeron..You will have the most expensive 3rd line center out there.

If he’s matching up against the opponents best center and anchoring a top PK while providing 40ish points that’s solid value

35-55 point wingers are dime a dozen in this league

quality two-way centers even at 40 points is a much rarer commodity

 

[Joeyjoejoe]

Ouch, at 4,75 million and the promise of our version of Patrice Bergeron..You will have the most expensive 3rd line center out there.

Not really, what do you think Pageau is gonna get this offseason? $5M+

Kevin Hayes would like a word with you. Marcus Johansson signed for $4.5M, Bozak at $5M, Brandon Sutter $4.375M, Bonino $4.1M, Craig Smith $4.25M. That's what the market is for 3rd line centers. And stop acting like this dude is a finished product, its just his sophomore season.

 

[HSF]

The nhl is not a hitting league anymore...

till the playoffs come

 

[Upgrayedd]

White is a 3C imo
Unfortunatly

Agreed, the contract seemed quite rich but perhaps that is what 3C's are destined to make? I never got the hype really with him personally.

 

[Dingle]

Not really, what do you think Pageau is gonna get this offseason? $5M+

Kevin Hayes would like a word with you. Marcus Johansson signed for $4.5M, Bozak at $5M, Brandon Sutter $4.375M, Bonino $4.1M, Craig Smith $4.25M. That's what the market is for 3rd line centers. And stop acting like this dude is a finished product, its just his sophomore season.

23 years old..not 20..3rd liner on this team making 4,75 million. What do his line mates make?..800 K each. If not, you risk the most expensive 3rd line in hockey..if 800 K each, who do you have and what productivity does your 3rd line offer???

All of this on a team that is a budget team...so, if any kind of pay scale holds..your #2 center makes what: 6-7 million. Your #1 makes 7-9 million. Add in wingers and you end up with the most expensive forward group in the NHL.

The contract, and the expectations are all for a #2 center...He is no where near Selke and is no where near a 50-60 point player. He better have one heck of a jump next year. And I mean one heck...Or Old Eugene is going to blow a gasket.

Because when B Ryan comes back..If your third line is Ryan at 7,25 million, White at 4,75 million and Name your third... There won't be a need for fireworks on July 1..Eugene will erupt.

 

[NyQuil]

White is a 3C imo
Unfortunatly

Still early.

Not impressing, certainly, but injuries early in a career can mess with development.

 

[HSF]

I think White will be a 2C still. He is still developing

 

[BondraTime]

White is a guy who fits into a line perfectly, but will never carry a line or be the focal point of a line.

We have nobody for him to fit with, we have no high end talent up front whatsoever at the moment

 

[Dingle]

White is a guy who fits into a line perfectly, but will never carry a line or be the focal point of a line.

We have nobody for him to fit with, we have no high end talent up front whatsoever at the moment

Time to get action on this thread.

So we have a guy who cannot drive the line, but can ride along..They pay him 4.75 million and you say, there is no one that has enough talent around him.

If that talent does not surface from the minors and real quick, what?

...if we have to wait for the draft. At 1-2 proper forwards..needing a top 6. Tkachuk and he already there. That means 4 spots. So anywhere from 2 years to 4. If an emphasis gets placed on D men in the next draft or two, We are at 4!!!!!

he signed a 6 year contract???? one of which is being spent this year.

 

[BondraTime]

Time to get action on this thread.

So we have a guy who cannot drive the line, but can ride along..They pay him 4.75 million and you say, there is no one that has enough talent around him.

If that talent does not surface from the minors and real quick, what?

...if we have to wait for the draft. At 1-2 proper forwards..needing a top 6. Tkachuk and he already there. That means 4 spots. So anywhere from 2 years to 4. If an emphasis gets placed on D men in the next draft or two, We are at 4!!!!!

he signed a 6 year contract???? one of which is being spent this year.

White has always played that role, he was fantastic riding shotgun for the States in the U-18s and WJ's, and was that guy riding shotgun with Stone. We have no guys that can be offensive drivers like that on the team, or really in the organisation at the moment. That's what they need to acquire at the top of the draft this year.

The Sens were always more than a year or 2 until they are able to compete, 3-4 years sounds about right to me, though with luck in the drafts could be 2. They need to draft offensive talent in the 1st this year.

 

[Dingle]

White has always played that role, he was fantastic riding shotgun for the States in the U-18s and WJ's, and was that guy riding shotgun with Stone. We have no guys that can be offensive drivers like that on the team, or really in the organisation at the moment. That's what they need to acquire at the top of the draft this year.

The Sens were always more than a year or 2 until they are able to compete, 3-4 years sounds about right to me, though with luck in the drafts could be 2. They need to draft offensive talent in the 1st this year.

I am with you..but Collin white and his 6 year 4,75 million a year is what???? If a centerman does not drive the play? who does? a winger???? a first round pick. With Boeser 2 spots down, konecny 3 pots down, Beauvillier 10 down... everyone heading towards career seasons.

Can someone tell me why these things seem to happen to the Sens..

 

[ReginKarlssonLehner]

If they get Lafreniere they are going to be good quickly. Look at the leafs who were complete trash then made the playoffs in Matthews first year.

Laferniere has the ability to make guys like Brown legit first line players because he can carry the line and bring out the best in the others who are trying to break out with their own skillset.

In 2 years:

Laferniere-Brown-Batherson (good goly)
Tkachuk-Norris-Raymond/Holtz (can you imagine how good this line would be?)
Balcers-White-Brown (the perfect 3rd line)
Paul-Pinto-Davidsson/Abramov (do it all 4th line)

Chabot-JBD
Brannstrom-Zaitsev
Lajoie-Thomson

Lol

Im not even considering a bunch of other guys including anyone we get from potentially moving Duclair/Pageau/Demelo or the 3 seconds we have this year.

Even Raymond and Holtz tandem makes that lineup disgusting. Laferniere puts it over the top though.

 

[Larionov]

Laferniere has the ability to make guys like Brown legit first line players because he can carry the line and bring out the best in the others who are trying to break out with their own skillset.

In 2 years:

Laferniere-Brown-Batherson (good goly)
Tkachuk-Norris-Raymond/Holtz (can you imagine how good this line would be?)
Balcers-White-Brown (the perfect 3rd line)
Paul-Pinto-Davidsson/Abramov (do it all 4th line)

Chabot-JBD
Brannstrom-Zaitsev
Lajoie-Thomson

Lol

Im not even considering a bunch of other guys including anyone we get from potentially moving Duclair/Pageau/Demelo or the 3 seconds we have this year.

Even Raymond and Holtz tandem makes that lineup disgusting. Laferniere puts it over the top though.

Take this post and inject it into my veins. ;-) Thanks - you've given me reason for hope on this dreary January hockey-less week!