Big year for Cowen

[tony d]

Hoping for a good season from him, we need all our young guys to play up to their full potential this year.

 

[Xspyrit]

What does this even mean? Has he been saying anyone else is responsible for his play? Has he suggested that his level of play from last season was acceptable?

I'm really at a loss as to what you're suggesting, as it seems like you believe he's either happy with how last season went or pinning the blame for any mistakes he made on others; none of which I've seen any evidence to suggest is the case.

It just means that somebody is heavily biased against Cowen.

Cowen's hit on Skinner was not very physical as he basically just stepped in his way. He did not accelerate very much nor drive through Skinner. Gryba's hit on Eller was much the same, stepping in his way, catching Eller with his hip. The penalty call on Gryba was basically an after the fact call because Eller got hurt. It was not a real rule violation at all. The referees over-reacted. Then the so-called review team screwed the Senators by giving Gryba a two game suspension. What a crock of s...

You have to appease the Habs fans, because riots are damn expensive after all, and also dangerous. The NHL is aware that there's a lot of fanatics out there. I was right there in Montreal when the riot after the playoffs series win against Boston happened a few years ago, it was disgusting and the Habs fanbase lost a lot of the (already mediocre) respect I had for them.

As for Cowen's hits, there is plenty out there on youtube. He doesn't need to accelerate that much to destroy somebody because if you go into him without expecting it, it's actually like hitting a wall. Cowen can get more physical yes, but that will come with confidence and experience. He has 158 NHL games, not even 2 full seasons yet. At this point, he is learning how to be an everyday NHLer, at the hardest position.

 

[Micklebot]

Did anyone see Chara play for the Islanders? The 2 seasons prior to the Yashin deal, he had the worst +/- on the team with virtually no offence to show for it. He was 24 when he got to Ottawa and turned it around completely being on a well structured team. And he didn't become the perennial Norris candidate until after leaving for the Bruins.

Cowen is 23. Let these kids learn the position before being convinced that they're garbage.

He finished 7th, 2nd and 4th in Norris voting in his last 3 years here; he was a perennial Norris candidate before leaving for the Bruins, that's why the decision to keep Redden over him hurts so much.

 

[bert]

It just means that somebody is heavily biased against Cowen.

I base my opinion on what I watch, read and see. I am not the only one apparently.

http://www.silversevensens.com/2013...ng-about-jared-cowen-his-play-or-his-attitude

The difference between Chara and Cowen outside of 4 inches is Chara's work ethic, leadership and maturity. All the guy does is want to get better and put in the time. No doubt in my mind if Cowen had the same mental make up as Chara he will be a very good player. It doesn't mean that Cowen cant or wont I just haven't seen any signs of this changing thus far. He is still very young and very raw, but I would like to see some improvement. I have no doubts about Cowens physical attributes its what's upstairs that I am skeptical about.

 

[Xspyrit]

I base my opinion on what I watch, read and see. I am not the only one apparently.

http://www.silversevensens.com/2013...ng-about-jared-cowen-his-play-or-his-attitude

The difference between Chara and Cowen outside of 4 inches is Chara's work ethic, leadership and maturity. All the guy does is want to get better and put in the time. No doubt in my mind if Cowen had the same mental make up as Chara he will be a very good player. It doesn't mean that Cowen cant or wont I just haven't seen any signs of this changing thus far. He is still very young and very raw, but I would like to see some improvement. I have no doubts about Cowens physical attributes its what's upstairs that I am skeptical about.

I see and I can certainly give you the benefit of the doubt on this. We have all followed Cowen's progression for a long time and before his injury, it looked very good. He won several things already being a key player and a leader. We'll see what's next I guess. I think he has it in him.

 

[ErikNorrisson]

I think the next 100 games are crucial for Cowen on how he will be defined for the rest of his career. He has the tools, but I think his confidence is the lowest it's ever been. I'm hoping we've seen the worst of him for a long time.

 

[aragorn]

I think the organization would like to see him step up & find his way on to the 1st pairing with karlsson. However, he was overwhelmed last yr & will need to work really hard over the summer & improve dramatically on his decision making to make that happen. I think he will be given about 20 games to see if he can handle it & if not could find himself back with Gryba on the bottom pairing & the PK.

If Cowen can step up he could find himself with Karlsson & his ice time increased dramatically including some PP time. Should be interesting to see if Cowen can step up, kind of reminds me of Phillips in his early days although Phillips never did provide the offence they thought was possible from him. Cowen could also turn into just a defensive defenceman as opposed to a two way or offensive defenceman.

IMO if Cowen can't step up & take the 1st pairing spot then I think that forces management to give Methot what he wants & he stays long term in Ottawa. Ottawa then ends up with 4 defensive defencemen on the bottom pairing with Cowen, Gryba, Phillips & Boro. And 4 defencemen for the top two pairings in Karlsson, Methot, Wiercioch & Ceci except Ceci will be stuck in Bingo thanks to the re-signing of Phillips.

 

[BigBush*]

I don't think there's a chance Ceci does not make the team and stick all year, unless he really struggles for some reason in the first few months

 

[SlapJack]

He finished 7th, 2nd and 4th in Norris voting in his last 3 years here; he was a perennial Norris candidate before leaving for the Bruins, that's why the decision to keep Redden over him hurts so much.

It was a horrible move, but back then there was this perception that the league was changing and Chara looked exposed in the playoffs by small, speedy forwards. That said, I think the blame for that should fall squarely on Muckler.

He was still a consideration in voting when he was with Ottawa, but really the only year he was a serious candidate was 2003-04. If you're not top 3, people don't remember. His last 7 years with Boston, he's had 5 'nominations' with one win.

Something I found funny looking that stuff up was the first year he was gone. He had a bad year statistically and the voting in 2006-07 had Chara at 20th. But here's where the voting process is so completely mental. There were 3 Senators that got votes that year and this is where they finished:

Volchenkov: 21st, right after Chara
Phillips: 18th, ahead of Chara (must have been carrying him in Ottawa all those years!)
Aaaaaaand....Tom Preissing was the top Norris vote getter for Ottawa finishing in 15th place. 2 years later he was in the AHL, then on to Europe after the 2008-09 season.

Preissing wasn't even in the top 4 pairings for Ottawa all year, but he was +40 so he got one 3rd place vote, three 4ths, and a 5th. Phillips had a 2nd place vote (finalists that year were Lidstrom/Niedermayer/Pronger), and Volchenkov was on more ballots than Chara.

Redden did not get any votes after having his worst year as a Senator, but then was rewarded with a 6yr/$39M contract. Thankfully from another team.

Hm, so uh...long story short....you never know what's going to happen. Cowen is going to be good, that's all I think...

 

[Do Make Say Think]

The Norris is voted on by journalists

Plenty of good people but they are outnumbered by idiots like Brennan, Garrioch and Kypreos