Around the NHL - Episode XLXII

[Senscore]

Wow, figured this guy was done!

I'm stunned they were even able to find a photo of him in a Sens jersey.

 

[Ouroboros]

Stepan will be much better in Carolina.

 

[Sens of Anarchy]

Stepan will be much better in Carolina.

Much better anywhere but here

 

[NyQuil]

Much better anywhere but here

Yeah, was he ever a swing and a miss.

 

[playasRus]

The Sens should add a heavy to the organization. The Leafs now have Simmonds, Gabriel and Ritchie. I would assume they all get dressed vs the Sens. It could be a good idea to have somebody to go after them so Tkachuk doesn't have to waste time fighting them.

I also wouldn't be surprised if Gabriel and Ritchie get a bit dirty with their play if the Sens are really laying the hits and going after the Leafs top players. It would be nice to have somebody in the organization to handle them and maybe give the young players a bit more confidence to just play their physical game and not worry about them.

Only guy there I'm really concerned about is Ritchie, who can hurt you both on the scoreboard and physically. Plus he's massive.
Gabriel fights a lot but otherwise, can't really stick in the league as a player - not to mention he loses most of his fights.
Simmonds is in the twilight of his career, hasn't been a big fighter last 2-3 years, more injured than not. He's not the imposing presence he once was, and isn't on Ritchie's level - more of a Ruutu than a Neil.

That's what makes the Watson signing so important for Ottawa. He lets us counter guys like Ritchie, while being a part of our PK and leadership. Also can take a regular shift and good for 15-20 pts. A bit forgotten since he got hurt to end the year.

 

[SensHulk]

Not gonna lie, I'm quite enjoying us being really quiet while a ton of crazy f***ed up shit is happening around the league. Buffalo (Eichel saga), Montreal (drafting Mailloux), San Jose (Kane gambling), Rangers (imploding because of Wilson), Carolina (DeAngelo), Vegas (Fleury and others finding out about getting traded on twitter), etc....

Edit: Holy shit, I forgot the most important one... Chicago.

Very true. It’s refreshing not to be involved in some of these discussions for once.

The Chicago one is the worst by far, and I sometimes worry if we didn’t get the whole scoop on Randy lee here in Ottawa. These allegations came to light after 10+ years, and I wasn’t pleased with how the sens initially handled the news/investigation. Add to the horror is the realization this is part of the hockey culture and it makes cheering for this league very difficult

 

[Sensmileletsgo]

Very true. It’s refreshing not to be involved in some of these discussions for once.

The Chicago one is the worst by far, and I sometimes worry if we didn’t get the whole scoop on Randy lee here in Ottawa. These allegations came to light after 10+ years, and I wasn’t pleased with how the sens initially handled the news/investigation. Add to the horror is the realization this is part of the hockey culture and it makes cheering for this league very difficult

I love the sport but there’s a lot of shitty things related to hockey culture. Hopefully that changes and gets better, but it needs to start in the top leagues (NHLa and junior leagues).

 

[RAFI BOMB]

Only guy there I'm really concerned about is Ritchie, who can hurt you both on the scoreboard and physically. Plus he's massive.
Gabriel fights a lot but otherwise, can't really stick in the league as a player - not to mention he loses most of his fights.
Simmonds is in the twilight of his career, hasn't been a big fighter last 2-3 years, more injured than not. He's not the imposing presence he once was, and isn't on Ritchie's level - more of a Ruutu than a Neil.

That's what makes the Watson signing so important for Ottawa. He lets us counter guys like Ritchie, while being a part of our PK and leadership. Also can take a regular shift and good for 15-20 pts. A bit forgotten since he got hurt to end the year.

I still think there is an advantage to having a heavyweight in the organization at least for this upcoming season. The team is still very young and the Sens are trying to build a tough team to play against where all players commit to being difficult to play against and ideally being physical and mean on every shift. Some players (i.e. Tkachuk) are going to play that way naturally whereas others might need a bit of encouragement and confidence to continually play that way.

I just imagine a scenario where some of the young guys start throwing their weight around against the Leafs and then having Simmonds, Gabriel or Ritchie going after them. The rest of the team will stick up for our guys but I just don't want those young players holding back any of the physicality and would prefer if they just have the confidence to play that way. If we have a player in the organization that can take on and beat the likes of Simmonds, Gabriel and Ritchie then we at least have an option to boost the young players confidence if need be.

I know that Tkachuk will be willing to fight all of them if they take cheap shots at our players but I would prefer if some depth player took on that role instead as Tkachuk is a pretty useful player for us. I am a big fan of Watson but he isn't very good of a fighter. If he could really throw them then he would be perfect for that role but his skill set is more his hits, shot blocking, speed and penalty killing.

But again the big thing is just giving the young players the chance to physically mature and making it easier on them to just have the confidence to be mean and physical and embrace the identity this organization is trying to build.

 

[Loach]

Matt Carkner kind of guy?

 

[playasRus]

Lucic is owed 6.5 M over hte next two seasons after his signing bonus if you really want a pound em to a pulp fighter, and he can skate, except he takes a lot of bonehead penalties...which doesn't bode well with our PK.

Watson still fits the bill for me for penalty major magnet. He doesn't have to win, just take Ritchie out for 5 min.

Otherwise, guy like Zach Macewen?

 

[SensontheRush]

Ritchie is a teddybear. "Gabriel Gagne" tough.

Apparently Bunting is pretty dece.

 

[RAFI BOMB]

Matt Carkner kind of guy?

I think the options are Nic Deslauriers, Brendan Lemieux or Bokondji Imama if we go the trade route. If we go the free agent route then it could be Jordan Nolan or Tyrell Goulbourne.

Anaheim might be open to trading Deslauriers as a lot of the key heavyweights are no longer in that division. Gabriel went to the Leafs and Reaves got traded to the rangers. He is 6'3 215 lbs and he has decent speed and can throw big hits. He had some decent tilts with Gabriel and Reaves among others this year.

LA acquired Lemieux this year so I don't know if they would be open to trading him. He isn't really a heavyweight but he is probably the best player of the names I listed. He is listed at 6'1 213 lbs.

Bokondji Imama just had his RFA rights traded to Arizona so I don't know if they would be willing to part with him. He is a former teammate of Chabot back with the Saint Johns Sea Dogs. He is a pretty damn good fighter and actually put up decent AHL stats this season. He is listed at 6'1 214 lbs.

Jordan Nolan has sent the last few seasons playing in the AHL but he does have a fair amount of NHL experience. He has decent speed, can throw big hits, is mean and is a very good fighter. He played for D.J. Smith back in Windsor and has also played multiple seasons under Sens assistant coach Davis Payne in LA and Buffalo. He was looking to work his way back into the NHL but had his season cut short because he needed to be close to home for family reasons. He is listed at 6'3 219 lbs.

Goulbourne is a very exciting fighter but he isn't really a heavyweight. He is listed at 5'11 195 lbs. He is a willing combatant and a chippy player but maybe not ideal for a heavyweight.

Signing Nolan or Goulbourne on two way contracts seems pretty realistic. Imama would be a solid target given his connection to Chabot and is age but I am not sure if they Sens can acquire him. Deslauriers and Lemieux are on cheap contracts so if they can be acquired via trade then they might be interesting options.

 

[JD1]

I still think there is an advantage to having a heavyweight in the organization at least for this upcoming season. The team is still very young and the Sens are trying to build a tough team to play against where all players commit to being difficult to play against and ideally being physical and mean on every shift. Some players (i.e. Tkachuk) are going to play that way naturally whereas others might need a bit of encouragement and confidence to continually play that way.

I just imagine a scenario where some of the young guys start throwing their weight around against the Leafs and then having Simmonds, Gabriel or Ritchie going after them. The rest of the team will stick up for our guys but I just don't want those young players holding back any of the physicality and would prefer if they just have the confidence to play that way. If we have a player in the organization that can take on and beat the likes of Simmonds, Gabriel and Ritchie then we at least have an option to boost the young players confidence if need be.

I know that Tkachuk will be willing to fight all of them if they take cheap shots at our players but I would prefer if some depth player took on that role instead as Tkachuk is a pretty useful player for us. I am a big fan of Watson but he isn't very good of a fighter. If he could really throw them then he would be perfect for that role but his skill set is more his hits, shot blocking, speed and penalty killing.

But again the big thing is just giving the young players the chance to physically mature and making it easier on them to just have the confidence to be mean and physical and embrace the identity this organization is trying to build.

Personally I think you have it reversed

I don't think Ottawa is in any way worried about physicality and fighting coming out of Toronto. I think onthe other hand this is a concern Toronto has with Ottawa and they're right to be concerned

We have lots of big boys that can throw.

 

[RAFI BOMB]

Personally I think you have it reversed

I don't think Ottawa is in any way worried about physicality and fighting coming out of Toronto. I think onthe other hand this is a concern Toronto has with Ottawa and they're right to be concerned

We have lots of big boys that can throw.

I agree that the Leafs are being reactionary and I think the Sens have a lot of tough players/prospects. I still think the prospects are a bit young and I would like them to have that added confidence to play physical without being nervous about having a target on their backs by some reputable enforcer types. I don't find Simmonds to be very dirty so I am not really concerned that he will do anything we should worry about. Gabriel and Ritchie on the other hand do have a bit of reputation for crossing the line.

For example if Stützle starts throwing some big hits and getting in the faces of some of the Leafs players do we really want him worried that Gabriel and Ritchie are coming after him?

Building on your suggestion I do think the Leafs will be reactionary and that if part of my concern. The Sens are building a physical team identity so there is a very good chance that the Sens vastly outhit and outplay the Leafs in terms of physical play this upcoming season. If the Leafs are being outplayed physically and the Sens players are taking clean runs at Matthew, Marner, Tavarers, Nylander, or other skill players then maybe the Leafs start sending Ritchie and Gabriel out there to start gooning it up.

I mostly just want to have someone in the organization that can really fight and is very intimidating if need be. Last season we had Gudbranson in the lineup and Haley as an extra body. Without having Gudbranson we are lacking a real capable fighter. I would prefer if we either had someone as an extra body or someone on a two way contract who could be down in Belleville and called up if need be.

In a few seasons all the Sens prospects and young players will have mature so this will be a non issue but for this upcoming season I don't want those players to have any hesitancy.

With that said I appreciate your perspective and I do think there is plenty of room for dialogue about what the best solution is to this problem and where the problem really lies or whether it is as significant as I am interpreting it to be.

 

[Ouroboros]

I could possibly see the Senators signing a heavyweight fighter and stashing him in Belleville. I think DJ and Capuano like having that sort of presence - see Mike Haley for example - available to them.

Belleville also kind of have a need for that skill set as well given that they lost Joe Labate.

I have my eye on a few players that can fill the role. I'm available for consultation if Pierre Squared need my expertise.

 

[GCK]

I love the sport but there’s a lot of shitty things related to hockey culture. Hopefully that changes and gets better, but it needs to start in the top leagues (NHLa and junior leagues).

There’s a lot of shitty things related to our society overall. Why would sports be immune.

 

[Sensmileletsgo]

There’s a lot of shitty things related to our society overall. Why would sports be immune.

It wouldn’t. Hockey is just something I hold close to me, so I hold it to a higher standard.

 

[Micklebot]

I could possibly see the Senators signing a heavyweight fighter and stashing him in Belleville. I think DJ and Capuano like having that sort of presence - see Mike Haley for example - available to them.

Belleville also kind of have a need for that skill set as well given that they lost Joe Labate.

I have my eye on a few players that can fill the role. I'm available for consultation if Pierre Squared need my expertise.

Bring back Yablonski!

 

[RAFI BOMB]

Bring back Yablonski!

Honestly a prime Yablonski would be a hell of a lot of fun at this point. . He was an incredible fighter and a very entertaining player.

 

[supsens]

Lucic is owed 6.5 M over hte next two seasons after his signing bonus if you really want a pound em to a pulp fighter, and he can skate, except he takes a lot of bonehead penalties...which doesn't bode well with our PK.

Watson still fits the bill for me for penalty major magnet. He doesn't have to win, just take Ritchie out for 5 min.

Otherwise, guy like Zach Macewen?

Josh Brown

 

[JD1]

I agree that the Leafs are being reactionary and I think the Sens have a lot of tough players/prospects. I still think the prospects are a bit young and I would like them to have that added confidence to play physical without being nervous about having a target on their backs by some reputable enforcer types. I don't find Simmonds to be very dirty so I am not really concerned that he will do anything we should worry about. Gabriel and Ritchie on the other hand do have a bit of reputation for crossing the line.

For example if Stützle starts throwing some big hits and getting in the faces of some of the Leafs players do we really want him worried that Gabriel and Ritchie are coming after him?

Building on your suggestion I do think the Leafs will be reactionary and that if part of my concern. The Sens are building a physical team identity so there is a very good chance that the Sens vastly outhit and outplay the Leafs in terms of physical play this upcoming season. If the Leafs are being outplayed physically and the Sens players are taking clean runs at Matthew, Marner, Tavarers, Nylander, or other skill players then maybe the Leafs start sending Ritchie and Gabriel out there to start gooning it up.

I mostly just want to have someone in the organization that can really fight and is very intimidating if need be. Last season we had Gudbranson in the lineup and Haley as an extra body. Without having Gudbranson we are lacking a real capable fighter. I would prefer if we either had someone as an extra body or someone on a two way contract who could be down in Belleville and called up if need be.

In a few seasons all the Sens prospects and young players will have mature so this will be a non issue but for this upcoming season I don't want those players to have any hesitancy.

With that said I appreciate your perspective and I do think there is plenty of room for dialogue about what the best solution is to this problem and where the problem really lies or whether it is as significant as I am interpreting it to be.

The way i see it

Tkachuk will be the league's premier power forward by the end of this season and he can go at any time with anyone. That fight he had with Weber moved him from tough kid to whoa, don't tangle with that mofo, and he plays 19 minutes a night.

Then we've got big dick Nick who's 230 pounds and will throw them.

Batherson is a big boy. He's not looking for it, but he's big and it'll happen now and again

Watson looks for it. And he's plenty of customer for a guy like Wayne Simmonds.

We've even got ColinWhite for the light weight division

Did you see the fight with Logan Stanley and Josh Brown? I forget who Stanley was bullying. Might have been Dzingle. Brown gets out there and boom. Punches thrown. I liked Brown's post game comments. Pretty sure he said "words were said, punches got thrown, that's it". I think the only guy bigger than Stanley in the league is Chara.

I just don't see us getting run. Certainly not by Toronto

That said, i saw a lot of cheap shots on Stuetzle last year from Montreal but i expect Montreal to be less bold without Weber who kinda has a big bird aura to him. I also expect Stuetzle to be physically bigger next year

 

[IranCondraAffair]

Ottawa really has nothing to worry about for fighting. Between regulars like Tkachuk, Paul, Brown, and Watson who fight there isn't many teams who go that deep with their regular roster.

 

[RAFI BOMB]

The way i see it

Tkachuk will be the league's premier power forward by the end of this season and he can go at any time with anyone. That fight he had with Weber moved him from tough kid to whoa, don't tangle with that mofo, and he plays 19 minutes a night.

Then we've got big dick Nick who's 230 pounds and will throw them.

Batherson is a big boy. He's not looking for it, but he's big and it'll happen now and again

Watson looks for it. And he's plenty of customer for a guy like Wayne Simmonds.

We've even got ColinWhite for the light weight division

Did you see the fight with Logan Stanley and Josh Brown? I forget who Stanley was bullying. Might have been Dzingle. Brown gets out there and boom. Punches thrown. I liked Brown's post game comments. Pretty sure he said "words were said, punches got thrown, that's it". I think the only guy bigger than Stanley in the league is Chara.

I just don't see us getting run. Certainly not by Toronto

That said, i saw a lot of cheap shots on Stuetzle last year from Montreal but i expect Montreal to be less bold without Weber who kinda has a big bird aura to him. I also expect Stuetzle to be physically bigger next year

Last year Gudbranson took on that role. He was the one the Sens relied on to keep the opposition in line and he did a tremendous job at it. Josh Brown was billed as that and has had some impressive fights at the AHL level but struggled to embrace that role in Ottawa. He wasn't a physically imposing as Gudbranson and he didn't show the willingness to drop them like Gudbranson. He improve that a bit towards the end of the season when Gudbranson and Coburn were traded. It also isn't exactly clear whether he will be a regular in the lineup or not this upcoming season.

D.J. Smith said before that they like to have guys in the lineup that can fight so Tkachuk doesn't have to and that Tkachuk still ends up getting into those fights. I think from the organization's stand point they would prefer if other players took on that role and didn't need to rely so heavily on Tkachuk to do it. Tkachuk is probably fully capable of taking on all comers and will be even more capable as he physically matures but it isn't always the best trade off for the Sens.

I still think it makes sense for the organization to at least have another body available either waiting in the press box or playing in Belleville that is highly capable at taking on that role. Signing a guy like Jordan Nolan to a two way contract would work fine and he is a solid veteran with cup experience. Trading for Bokondji Imama would also be an interesting choice as he has that connection to Chabot and could maybe take that role on over the longer term given how young he is.

I think it is important to keep in mind that toughness and intimidation are part of the identity the Sens are trying to build. It is one thing to have a lineup where we are unlikely to get pushed around and it is another thing to have a lineup where we are able to be physically imposing and intimidating to the opposition. Having a real nasty SOB who can take on and decisively beat all fighters and can lay some bone crushing hits could go a long way. It just ramps up that intensity that much more.

It is also worth noting that the Sens relied quite heavily on a small percentage of players to carry their physical play last season. Tkachuk had over twice as many hits as the next highest hitter on the team. Watson was doing pretty good but he also missed a lot of games that lowered his total hits. Across the league this is where a lot of our players ended up ranking in total hits:
Tkachuk (2nd), Zaitsev (42nd), Batherson (67th), Watson (70th), Zub (108th), Paul (165th), Norris (172nd), J. Brown (176th), Chabot (195th), White (253rd), Stützle (301st)

The Sens will need players to embrace the physicality more this upcoming season and they might need a bit of confidence boost to do it. Having another capable fighter that can take on the role of heavyweight in the organization could be a good idea.

 

[JD1]

Last year Gudbranson took on that role. He was the one the Sens relied on to keep the opposition in line and he did a tremendous job at it. Josh Brown was billed as that and has had some impressive fights at the AHL level but struggled to embrace that role in Ottawa. He wasn't a physically imposing as Gudbranson and he didn't show the willingness to drop them like Gudbranson. He improve that a bit towards the end of the season when Gudbranson and Coburn were traded. It also isn't exactly clear whether he will be a regular in the lineup or not this upcoming season.

D.J. Smith said before that they like to have guys in the lineup that can fight so Tkachuk doesn't have to and that Tkachuk still ends up getting into those fights. I think from the organization's stand point they would prefer if other players took on that role and didn't need to rely so heavily on Tkachuk to do it. Tkachuk is probably fully capable of taking on all comers and will be even more capable as he physically matures but it isn't always the best trade off for the Sens.

I still think it makes sense for the organization to at least have another body available either waiting in the press box or playing in Belleville that is highly capable at taking on that role. Signing a guy like Jordan Nolan to a two way contract would work fine and he is a solid veteran with cup experience. Trading for Bokondji Imama would also be an interesting choice as he has that connection to Chabot and could maybe take that role on over the longer term given how young he is.

I think it is important to keep in mind that toughness and intimidation are part of the identity the Sens are trying to build. It is one thing to have a lineup where we are unlikely to get pushed around and it is another thing to have a lineup where we are able to be physically imposing and intimidating to the opposition. Having a real nasty SOB who can take on and decisively beat all fighters and can lay some bone crushing hits could go a long way. It just ramps up that intensity that much more.

It is also worth noting that the Sens relied quite heavily on a small percentage of players to carry their physical play last season. Tkachuk had over twice as many hits as the next highest hitter on the team. Watson was doing pretty good but he also missed a lot of games that lowered his total hits. Across the league this is where a lot of our players ended up ranking in total hits:
Tkachuk (2nd), Zaitsev (42nd), Batherson (67th), Watson (70th), Zub (108th), Paul (165th), Norris (172nd), J. Brown (176th), Chabot (195th), White (253rd), Stützle (301st)

The Sens will need players to embrace the physicality more this upcoming season and they might need a bit of confidence boost to do it. Having another capable fighter that can take on the role of heavyweight in the organization could be a good idea.

I don't disagree with the concept but it would have to be a guy on a 2 way

We've got plenty of guys that can fight that are full timers and while I don't necessarily see Brown as a full timer, i do see him drawing in any time needing that presence is a concern

 

[JimmySpaetzle]

Do we think there’s a chance Brady gets offer sheeted by another team?