Answering for the past

[Abandoneduser]

Trollbot

 

[Gin and tonic]

Fun fact since the last Canadian team to win '93, 14 different teams have won the Cup since then.

So are you implying that the rest 16/17 clubs including all the Canadian ones have drafted poorly and can blame mostly their drafting for their shortcomings?

In long, no. It is only natural to have a team reach success on multiple occasions. As a result, in any 25 year period, you would expect 15 or perhaps less teams to win the cup. So, does that mean that each team that failed, did so thanks to poor drafts?.no..

But we are talking about the Sens, who have now spent 12 years floundering. An average finish that is in the bottom 10. Two years and possibly more, at or near the bottom. 6 years in/6 years out. 3 series wins in 12 years..that is poor performance...That is not; some team that reaches a top 10 status in the league, but fails to advance in the playoffs..That will happen and do so regularly. This is about a team that is bad..and bad teams, are far more a byproduct of poor drafting. Once your own supply dries up, you panic and do trades for future picks. You unwisely sign free agents. You give unwise contracts to players, because, again, your system is not delivering. Bobby Ryan's contract was blackmail..There was no one behind him. It was give in, or loss him and no one to replace him. A healthy player development system, should have had the Sens looking at Ryan and saying: NO.

I believe that bottom 10 teams get there, because the pipe line gets interrupted, not broken or clogged, but reduced flow. The Edmonton Oilers are a good case (no pun intended). Bring forth the next quality player and odds are better than good, you will be in the upper half of the league. The random nature of "stars" popping up (Hello Erik Karlsson, hello Mark Stone) should mean that at regular intervals, you should compete for a cup.

 

[Gin and tonic]

Dude you're batting 1 for 18 on your likes to message ratio Perhaps a different angle? or topic

about the same as the Sens draft success

 

[Abandoneduser]

about the same as the Sens draft success

Then surely it's up to you to solve it.

 

[Gin and tonic]

Then surely it's up to you to solve it.

Easy, a new GM. One with a track record of drafting. Some more funds into scouting. Murray should have been let go after the 2010-2011 blood bath and a new regime should have been installed. Instead he stayed and his underlings now run things. This regime has been there for 10 years. From a Stanley cup run in 2007, to a last place finish in 2019, without a chance at the Number overall pick. We have moved in the right direction, haven't we?

Follow Detroit..3 loosing seasons, goodbye Ken Holland..the man who was a big part of their 25 year run of success. A dead last, a second to last and Dorion is as safe as a Stanley cup winner!!!! Makes no sense.

 

[Abandoneduser]

Troll

 

[dumbdick]

Ive always thought our drafting has been overrated by the fact that we rest heavy on cheap homegrown talent. Richer teams fill their rosters with more free agents and trade acquisitions, leaving fewer spots available for draft players. For example, condra and greening might not have seen much nhl time if they were drafted by the leafs or rangers. I think it skews things enough to make one question the draft performance stats.

 

[Xspyrit]

Welp. This thread is off to a rollicking start.

Zibanejad
Foligno
Silfverberg
Lehner
Karlsson
Ceci

are all 1st or second rounders who are smack dab in the middle of productive NHL careers.

It's also interesting to note that for some reason the cutoff is 2014 when in 2015 the Sens took the 18th and 21st overall and turned them into a top 20 (league-wide) D and a burgeoning #2C.

Nice to see that this thread was /thread with the first reply. Thanks

Everyone knows (or should) the Sens drafting was putrid from 2002 to 2007 (the Muckler years), until Bryan Murray fixed it with awesome back to back drafts in 2008 and 2009. Their drafting has EASILY been one of the best since then. Ownership is a whole different problem but anyone looking at the Sens and think that the problem comes drafting is totally on the wrong (edit : forgot a word) track

Even if you take the random suggested period in the OP (most 2004-008 players are either retired, out of the NHL or on a big decline), of course it could have been better, it can always be better. Pens got Malkin, Crosby, Fleury, Staal? Of course, look where those guys were drafted. Sens had Zibanejad 6th OA and then finally Tkachuk 4th in 2018. Outside of that, we drafted on average in the mid first... Hard to get elite generational players there. But we still did once with EK and Chabot looks like he could be close to that. Again, drafting is the only NO PROBLEM in the organization right now.

Next.

 

[BonHoonLayneCornell]

I will say that the 2011/2012 rebuild drafts are pretty disappointing in hindsight. That was supposed to catapault us, but not much worked out and Zbad was gone by the time he showed he's a star.

Zibanejad, Pageau & a 7th round Dzingel are the only players worth anything from those years. Ceci plays in the NHL too I guess.

 

[Nac Mac Feegle]

Our drafting is pretty average overall.

We're going to hit...and we're going to miss.

That's life. Hopefully in the next year or two we can get a couple more scouts, and rebuild our scouting group after so much transition in that area. Then put more resources into Belleville to make sure we don't screw up any kids that do have potential.

It's kind of a weird last 10-15 years or so. The NHL has changed...alot. Scouting has changed. Developing kids at the 8-16 ages levels have changed. Need for things to stabilize for awhile and get a hold of the new NHL and where the league is going to be for the next 20 years (likely things will calm down after Seattle enters the scene)...then start evaluating from there.

But yes...scouting hasn't exactly been the saving grace of this team as much as we claim it is. But it's not awful, either.

 

[Sensmileletsgo]

I've always thought Ottawa has been a good drafting team especially considering we've had very rarely had a top 5 pick. I'm not sure I agree with OP.

 

[Rand0m]

Ottawa has historically done better than average with regards to drafting & developing. Most of the franchises best players were drafted and developed by the Sens. It’s why they managed to be so successful for long, it wasn’t really due to trades & UFA’s save for a few exceptions throughout the years.

 

[JD1]

Our drafting is pretty average overall.

We're going to hit...and we're going to miss.

That's life. Hopefully in the next year or two we can get a couple more scouts, and rebuild our scouting group after so much transition in that area. Then put more resources into Belleville to make sure we don't screw up any kids that do have potential.

It's kind of a weird last 10-15 years or so. The NHL has changed...alot. Scouting has changed. Developing kids at the 8-16 ages levels have changed. Need for things to stabilize for awhile and get a hold of the new NHL and where the league is going to be for the next 20 years (likely things will calm down after Seattle enters the scene)...then start evaluating from there.

But yes...scouting hasn't exactly been the saving grace of this team as much as we claim it is. But it's not awful, either.

In a hit and miss world, having more options ups the odds of hitting and we've currently got a huge stable of near ready talent and a whack of draft pics in the next two drafts

I think the game is changing. Kids are more prepared and physically stronger than at any point in history. And as the league gets younger, there are obviously more young guys making it easier for young guys to break in without having their bodies at full man strength.

I think it will be harder for the 30+ crowd to remain in the game. Actually I think we've already arrived at that point but there are a ton of legacy contracts out there.

I expect over the next 5 years that the percentage of 30+ players will drop noticeably from historical levels

 

[Upgrayedd]

I have never viewed our scouts and draft team as anything more than average personally, not sure what the stats say though.

 

[Silencio]

Easy, a new GM. One with a track record of drafting. Some more funds into scouting. Murray should have been let go after the 2010-2011 blood bath and a new regime should have been installed. Instead he stayed and his underlings now run things. This regime has been there for 10 years. From a Stanley cup run in 2007, to a last place finish in 2019, without a chance at the Number overall pick. We have moved in the right direction, haven't we?

Follow Detroit..3 loosing seasons, goodbye Ken Holland..the man who was a big part of their 25 year run of success. A dead last, a second to last and Dorion is as safe as a Stanley cup winner!!!! Makes no sense.

I always thought it was a mistake to promote Murray after the '07 run. I know he was the Melnyk whisperer or whatever but I don't think it's entirely coincidental that Ottawa's dive from elite/perpetual playoff team to mediocre at best occurred almost immediately after Murray wrested the keys to the franchise away from Muckler. Can't really blame the fall on Melnyk's stinginess either (at least at first) as he was ponying up the cash for Murray to sign Kovalev, Gonchar etc.

 

[YouGotAStuGoing]

I always thought it was a mistake to promote Murray after the '07 run. I know he was the Melnyk whisperer or whatever but I don't think it's entirely coincidental that Ottawa's dive from elite/perpetual playoff team to mediocre at best occurred almost immediately after Murray wrested the keys to the franchise away from Muckler. Can't really blame the fall on Melnyk's stinginess either (at least at first) as he was ponying up the cash for Murray to sign Kovalev, Gonchar etc.

I'd counter that argument by saying that the team succeeded under Muckler while mortgaging the future. The prospect pool Murray inherited featured top-end prospects like Cody Bass, Denis Hamel, Alexei Kaigorodov and Kyrill Lyamin. Hard to succeed under those circumstances.