Are we going to be the new Buffalo Sabres? 5 years straight without playoffs.

[Alex1234]

I stand corrected. I read the wiki too quickly, it says:

"It was also the worst record of any team in the NHL since the Atlanta Thrashers finished with a record of 14–61–7 and 39 points in the 1999–2000 season (which was their first season in the league)[135] and one of the worst for a non-expansion team since 1967."

Ok, so maybe not the worst, but one of the worst. Way worse than any of the seasons in our current rebuild (48pts for them in 2016-17 vs 64pts for us in 2018-19).

1975-6 Washington Caps had 32 points
Anyway you were trying to spin and got caught

 

[Ice-Tray]

The good news is management said FYOUS were starting this season lol
Senators' Eugene Melnyk pledges to spend close to salary cap from 2021–25 - Sportsnet.ca
So they lied
So where is the proof they are not lying again?

Did they lie though?

Has EM not opened the wallet to sign every young core player to long term deals as they have come off their ELCs?

We have a couple more on deck this summer as well.

Or do you mean that when an owner, GM, coach, or player makes a guarantee of success, that fans are supposed to realistically hold it as though it was a promise?

So the 5 years has been bumped, it’s organic growth of young players, does that even sound remotely guaranteeable?

As long as Melnyk continues to sign our young players, he’s doing his part of the plan is he not?

Again, I’m really not sure what the expectations are here. Do you accuse your ex of being a liar because she promised she would love you forever all those years ago?

These guys cheerlead their teams, owners GM’s coaches players, on every team. Speaking of cheerleaders, do you angrily call them liars too? They said we were the B-E-S-T-! And they lied!!!!

 

[Alex1234]

Did they lie though?

Has EM not opened the wallet to sign every young core player to long term deals as they have come off their ELCs?

We have a couple more on deck this summer as well.

Or do you mean that when an owner, GM, coach, or player makes a guarantee of success, that fans are supposed to realistically hold it as though it was a promise?

So the 5 years has been bumped, it’s organic growth of young players, does that even sound remotely guaranteeable?

As long as Melnyk continues to sign our young players, he’s doing his part of the plan is he not?

Again, I’m really not sure what the expectations are here. Do you accuse your ex of being a liar because she promised she would love you forever all those years ago?

These guys cheerlead their teams, owners GM’s coaches players, on every team. Speaking of cheerleaders, do you angrily call them liars too? They said we were the B-E-S-T-! And they lied!!!!

Stop deflecting because you are losing the argument lol
26 teams are spending closer to the cap
They lied that's the fact
And you cannot prove they won't do it again that's a fact
Only thing we know for sure is history makes them liars
Your example with my girlfriend is total non sense btw lol

 

[swiftwin]

1975-6 Washington Caps had 32 points
Anyway you were trying to spin and got caught

I stand corrected. I read the wiki too quickly, it says:

"It was also the worst record of any team in the NHL since the Atlanta Thrashers finished with a record of 14–61–7 and 39 points in the 1999–2000 season (which was their first season in the league)[135] and one of the worst for a non-expansion team since 1967."

Ok, so maybe not the worst, but one of the worst. Way worse than any of the seasons in our current rebuild (48pts for them in 2016-17 vs 64pts for us in 2018-19).

 

[UglyPuckling]

Well, shouldn't we be doing the same with Detroit this season then??? OP is trying to measure up our rebuild against Detroit's. They haven't played their way out of the bottom 5 for two seasons in a row. Heck, they haven't even done it for one full season since 2017. They've been a bottom 6 team every single season since before our conference final appearance in 2017. But because, they've been .500 for the first 21 games of this season, their rebuild is done and ours isn't?!?! We were .571 in the last 21 games of last season. There isn't a single measure that anyone can use to declare that Detroit's rebuild is going better than ours. None.

Sure. The comparison that was done was obviously based on what has transpired on a 1/4 of this season. If that's your point, then OK. But on the other hand, what they have done in this 1/4 of a season so far is post about a .500 record. We are quite a ways off that.

If your betting that we will end up surpassing them by the end of the season, you are certainly welcome to that opinion & good luck to you.

 

[Ice-Tray]

Stop deflecting because you are losing the argument lol
26 teams are spending closer to the cap
They lied that's the fact
And you cannot prove they won't do it again that's a fact
Only thing we know for sure is history makes them liars
Your example with my girlfriend is total non sense btw lol

I’m sorry you didn’t get my ever so clever examples of silly behaviour.

But yes, I guess they are all liars. What are you going to do about it now that you have exposed them. How can you continue to support such an underhanded enterprise with your time, emotions, and perhaps money?

 

[Alex1234]

I’m sorry you didn’t get my ever so clever examples of silly behaviour.

But yes, I guess they are all liars. What are you going to do about it now that you have exposed them. How can you continue to support such an underhanded enterprise with your time, emotions, and perhaps money?

 

[Joeyjoejoe]

 

[Sens72]

Losing brain cells reading some of the takes in here

 

[Loach]

This is so difficult. They won't make it the next two years. That leaves 3 years or complete disaster. History tells me we are headed for disaster...but I still have some hope. I chose 3.

 

[bicboi64]

The good news is that management has told us that they weren’t even been trying to bring in good on ice pro talent last season, and this year they only wanted to bring in two players if possible. I’m not sure we have been trying too hard to bring in pro talent as of yet.

Doesn't matter what they tell us. If they aren't trying to bring in NHL tested players as stop gaps or long term in roles we need (top 4 D or top 6 centre), then they're being waste

 

[Ice-Tray]

Doesn't matter what they tell us. If they aren't trying to bring in NHL tested players as stop gaps or long term in roles we need (top 4 D or top 6 centre), then they're being waste

My point was tongue and cheek, that hopefully when they fair better next time they try and bring in, and pay more, for good players.

 

[ottawah]

There are good prospects,

And thats the issue. They are prospects. Prospects rarely turn out as good as hoped, especially when they are not a top 3 pick.

Edmonton thought they were set with the likes of Pitlick, Maracin, Klefbom, Musil, moroz, Benson, Yakamoto, were all going ot be solid NHL players.

Buffalo thought they had gems in Mittlestats, Nylander, Guhle, Borgen, Grigerenko, McCabe, Girgenson, Armia.


Some of those players turned out OK, but so many of their touted prospects never really panned out. I'm not sold on this etam, until some of these prospects start producing at the levels you need to move up in the NHL standings.

 

[inthewings]

I'm very concerned about the team's ability to a) retain the talent they have, and b) make additions if/when attrition hits. Tkachuk/Batherson/Chabot/White already have a combined 26M cap hit. Norris is up this offseason. Zub, Stutzle, Gustavsson, and Brown after that. And then Sanderson/Thomson etc... This team is going to be up against their internal cap before playing a single playoff game.

They're going to have to avoid bad contracts/buyouts/wasted cap space and Dorion hasn't proven capable of that so far.

 

[ColinM]

I think we are in the middle of being the 2006-2015 Edmonton Oilers. One really good playoff run followed by many losing seasons in a less than stellar building and overall not being a desired destination (especially in the winter).

The real question is "What needs to change?". I don't want to rehash the bad owner vs bad fans debate but I do think that turning this around is going to involve the people of Ottawa spending money, one way or another.

 

[Adele Dazeem]

It's possible. If the right moves aren't made (firing Dorion and DJ) we will definitely be stuck in purgatory.

 

[Tap on the Ankle]

My only real problem is just how uninteresting this all is. Just year after year going through the motions of signing plugs and hoping the draft fixes the team and then watching them be crap night in and night out. Just nothing fun about this and I'm beginning to watch less and less games, not out of some bitterness over management but because I'm simply less interested.

As bad as the Brassard trade was in hindsight I don't lose sleep over it because he played great during that ECF run. I'm sure I'm not alone in saying that run was the last time I can remember was just having fun as a Sens fan. Since then the only bright spots has been the routine stuff (draft if we have a pick, watching a prospect make his debut, etc.) because the team itself has been a constant dumpster fire.

I'm also totally cool with Andrew Hammond completely taking us out of the McDavid sweepstakes. Even though that playoff opportunity bombed out as quick as Hammond's NHL career did it was fun as hell watching this AHL goalie blow everyone's mind and the team make an impossible run to qualify.

It's not even fairweather stuff because for most of the last decade we had Karlsson. The fact that the team wasn't particularly good didn't matter as seeing what Karlsson would do was at least worth the watch. I probably get more of a kick out of the silly/embarrassing stories that seem to routinely come out about management's misadventures than I do out of anything regarding the actual team these days.

 

[Xspyrit]

After this season :


Chabot : 6 years left
Tkachuk : 6 years left
Batherson : 5 years left

If we're lucky, we'll have a 2-3 years window

 

[ISensFanI]

My only real problem is just how uninteresting this all is. Just year after year going through the motions of signing plugs and hoping the draft fixes the team and then watching them be crap night in and night out. Just nothing fun about this and I'm beginning to watch less and less games, not out of some bitterness over management but because I'm simply less interested.

As bad as the Brassard trade was in hindsight I don't lose sleep over it because he played great during that ECF run. I'm sure I'm not alone in saying that run was the last time I can remember was just having fun as a Sens fan. Since then the only bright spots has been the routine stuff (draft if we have a pick, watching a prospect make his debut, etc.) because the team itself has been a constant dumpster fire.

I'm also totally cool with Andrew Hammond completely taking us out of the McDavid sweepstakes. Even though that playoff opportunity bombed out as quick as Hammond's NHL career did it was fun as hell watching this AHL goalie blow everyone's mind and the team make an impossible run to qualify.

It's not even fairweather stuff because for most of the last decade we had Karlsson. The fact that the team wasn't particularly good didn't matter as seeing what Karlsson would do was at least worth the watch. I probably get more of a kick out of the silly/embarrassing stories that seem to routinely come out about management's misadventures than I do out of anything regarding the actual team these days.

I'm a very big senators and general fan of hockey and I agree. It's just getting boring lol. These last few games without Batherson have been very hard to watch

 

[Big Muddy]

Buffalo currently leading the league with the longest playoff drought of 10 years without playoffs.


Ottawa is gonna be 5 years at the end of this season.

Ottawa's last 5 seasons:

32nd (currently)
23rd
30th
31st
30th

Ottawa may make the playoffs in the next five years. So, they might not get to the current Buffalo playoff drought level. Its still possible though of course. With EM as the owner, I think its going to be an uphill battle to achieve any level of success though.

 

[PlayOn]

If we don’t increase our budget, probably never.

Money stuff aside, depends on the core. Dorion is never going to be the most competent GM, so while I hope he can make a good move or two, I have low expectations. That means our success is going to hinge on our drafting and just how high the ceilings of guys like Timmy, Brady, Chabot, Sanderson etc are. I like our young core so I still have hope they can make us competitive, and then eventually we will need better management to take us to the next level. Melnyk is the biggest obstacle in attaining any of this as far as I’m concerned.

 

[Ice-Tray]

If we don’t increase our budget, probably never.

Money stuff aside, depends on the core. Dorion is never going to be the most competent GM, so while I hope he can make a good move or two, I have low expectations. That means our success is going to hinge on our drafting and just how high the ceilings of guys like Timmy, Brady, Chabot, Sanderson etc are. I like our young core so I still have hope they can make us competitive, and then eventually we will need better management to take us to the next level. Melnyk is the biggest obstacle in attaining any of this as far as I’m concerned.

I disagree on the trade front. Dorion has had the sack to make some big moves when we have needed it. The Duchene deal in a vacuum was fantastic (Byram is the only piece worth lamenting). The room crumbling had little to do with his arrival, and everything to do with what was already there. Brassard was fine at the time (what Zib turned into hurts, but we were win now and it’s always going to be a give to get. Brass turned into Gus, so we should still be happy as Gus is the more important piece to our team right now in hindsight anyways), and Burrows was the right move at the time as well (extension sweat et sucked, but Dahlen was a cheap price to pay for an instrumental player down the stretch).

Murray and Muckler were our two GMs that were never able to swing a deal to actually put us over the top at any time, they never even tried. Their TDL deals especially were at best lackluster, and at worst soul crushing.

PD may be a lot of things, and not a lot of others, but I have a LOT more faith in him and Pierre making trades for the right type of players when the time comes, than I have ever had with any previous Sens GM. We have seen that our guy is willing to pay high prices for good players.

Perhaps that’s not saying much as it isn’t exactly a high bar to clear.

 

[Big Muddy]

Very different interpretations of what is going on and what has transpired over the years - that's for sure. There isn't a a cloud in the sky in some folks forecast as well, let alone a drop of rain.

At least we got into a Cup final one year with one set of actors. That has to the measure of success worth noting for sure. IDK, but it seems like spin to describe it any other way.

 

[PlayOn]

I disagree on the trade front. Dorion has had the sack to make some big moves when we have needed it. The Duchene deal in a vacuum was fantastic (Byram is the only piece worth lamenting). The room crumbling had little to do with his arrival, and everything to do with what was already there. Brassard was fine at the time (what Zib turned into hurts, but we were win now and it’s always going to be a give to get. Brass turned into Gus, so we should still be happy as Gus is the more important piece to our team right now in hindsight anyways), and Burrows was the right move at the time as well (extension sweat et sucked, but Dahlen was a cheap price to pay for an instrumental player down the stretch).

Murray and Muckler were our two GMs that were never able to swing a deal to actually put us over the top at any time, they never even tried. Their TDL deals especially were at best lackluster, and at worst soul crushing.

PD may be a lot of things, and not a lot of others, but I have a LOT more faith in him and Pierre making trades for the right type of players when the time comes, than I have ever had with any previous Sens GM. We have seen that our guy is willing to pay high prices for good players.

Perhaps that’s not saying much as it isn’t exactly a high bar to clear.

Muckler was terrible but Murray was worlds ahead of Dorion as a GM imo. He traded Rundblad for Turris, Elliott for Anderson and Foligno for Methot. That’s what good GMs do, they make “hockey deals” to upgrade positions or fill holes.

I have a hard time commending Dorion for getting Brassard when he gave up Zibanejad for him. Put me in seat and I can get a very good player too if I decide I’m trading Josh Norris.

 

[Loach]

I can't wait until Dorion gets fired.