First 16 games

[Flamingo]

I think we’ll win the Emmy for best real-life drama.

 

[Tuna99]

It all depends on goaltending.

I’m already exhausted from the BS, I can’t imagine actually having to watch this team play hockey.

We’ve talked so much about the suits and off ice BS this summer I forget there is hockey to be played...and forgetting about the on ice product might be a good thing, there is hope and I do have faith they can make the playoffs, but in reality I think the entire team wants a start over and keeping it together for 82 games will be really impossible for Boucher - but....

 

[Spartachat]

On the bright side, Duchene, Stone and Karlsson will probably be playing really hard to prove their value to get out and sign somewhere else for big money.

 

[Rand0m]

Sens were 3-0-2 last season before Karlsson came back from injury. Ryan and Stone were healthy, goalies didn’t suck and when EK came back (probably too early), things started to fall apart

Yeah, this is totally the same team as at the beginning of last season...

As it’s been mentioned, we had an experienced 2nd line C (Brassard) a top 3 sniper (Hoffman) and a decent veteran on D (Phaneuf). Pretty sure Oduya wasn’t injured yet either so he wasn’t totally useless at the begining of the year. All those 3 key positions were downgraded over the past year. Anderson is also a year older and from hearing his comments lately he likely will be phoning it in until he’s traded.

I guess you’re part of the “Karlsson wasn’t that important to this team” camp. Things didn’t fall apart when he came back, they fell apart after the Turris trade, and although Duchene is a better player, the trade did something to kill the teams chemistry.

If Karlsson is gone you realize this is one of the worst D corps in the league? Other than Chabot, there’s not much going on back there and Chabot can’t carry this team like Karlsson does.

I’ll say it again, if Karlsson is traded, it might take them to the Xmas break to win 8 regulation games.

 

[Sensung]

Yeah, this is totally the same team as at the beginning of last season...

As it’s been mentioned, we had an experienced 2nd line C (Brassard) a top 3 sniper (Hoffman) and a decent veteran on D (Phaneuf). Pretty sure Oduya wasn’t injured yet either so he wasn’t totally useless at the begining of the year. All those 3 key positions were downgraded over the past year. Anderson is also a year older and from hearing his comments lately he likely will be phoning it in until he’s traded.

I guess you’re part of the “Karlsson wasn’t that important to this team” camp. Things didn’t fall apart when he came back, they fell apart after the Turris trade, and although Duchene is a better player, the trade did something to kill the teams chemistry.

If Karlsson is gone you realize this is one of the worst D corps in the league? Other than Chabot, there’s not much going on back there and Chabot can’t carry this team like Karlsson does.

I’ll say it again, if Karlsson is traded, it might take them to the Xmas break to win 8 regulation games.

If only Turris had blamed someone for the trade we might have an idea what the dressing room thought the problem was...

 

[Icelevel]

I predict us to come out flying and have a great start. And then all the doubters will be like wow we were wrong about the senators they are a playoff team. And then we will level off and just miss the playoffs

Or not

 

[dumbdick]

Yeah, this is totally the same team as at the beginning of last season...

As it’s been mentioned, we had an experienced 2nd line C (Brassard) a top 3 sniper (Hoffman) and a decent veteran on D (Phaneuf). Pretty sure Oduya wasn’t injured yet either so he wasn’t totally useless at the begining of the year. All those 3 key positions were downgraded over the past year. Anderson is also a year older and from hearing his comments lately he likely will be phoning it in until he’s traded.

I guess you’re part of the “Karlsson wasn’t that important to this team” camp. Things didn’t fall apart when he came back, they fell apart after the Turris trade, and although Duchene is a better player, the trade did something to kill the teams chemistry.

If Karlsson is gone you realize this is one of the worst D corps in the league? Other than Chabot, there’s not much going on back there and Chabot can’t carry this team like Karlsson does.

I’ll say it again, if Karlsson is traded, it might take them to the Xmas break to win 8 regulation games.

I dont disagree with what you said, but you know you're reaching when you include oduya in your argument.

 

[Alex1234]

The GM replaced Neil,Methot,Kelly,Phillips ,Mc Arthur and Turris leadership with Duchene and Oduya's lol

 

[FolignoQuantumLeap]

The GM replaced Neil,Methot,Kelly,Phillips ,Mc Arthur and Turris leadership with Duchene and Oduya's lol

Its okay, he drafted Tkachuk. Now we have ALL the character.

 

[ReginKarlssonLehner]

Lol y'all really Aint Sens fans.

If Karlsson stays we'll def be in playoff position after those games and even towards Christmas.

First time Karlsson has trained in off-season in 3-4 years. He, Stone, Duchene and half of Ottawa have something to prove.

Plus.... the Anderson underdog effect. I expect nothing less of a .930 from Andy.

 

[BondraTime]

Lol y'all really Aint Sens fans.

If Karlsson stays we'll def be in playoff position after those games and even towards Christmas.

First time Karlsson has trained in off-season in 3-4 years. He, Stone, Duchene and half of Ottawa have something to prove.

Plus.... the Anderson underdog effect. I expect nothing less of a .930 from Andy.

You can be a fan without always expecting the Sens to do well, even in the face of very harsh realities.

I'm a fan (or at least I think I am) and them being in a playoff spot anytime after the 10 game mark would be exceeding expectations the way I see it. Things don't always go how we want, as much as we keep hoping it to. You expect differently, that's cool. To me it's ignoring reality in place of hope, which I don't like doing, but I don't think any less of you as a fan.

You're expecting Anderson to have his best season in his career at age 37/38 behind a D consisting of 4 of Boro/Harpur/Wolanin/Wideman/Ceci every game? That's not just hopeful, that's downright ignoring reality.

 

[Sensung]

You can be a fan without always expecting the Sens to do well, even in the face of very harsh realities.

I'm a fan (or at least I think I am) and them being in a playoff spot anytime after the 10 game mark would be exceeding expectations the way I see it. Things don't always go how we want, as much as we keep hoping it to.

Probably should check with Coladin before you declare yourself a fan.

 

[aragorn]

I just don't see this yr's team as a playoff team with the current roster of players. IMO the next two yrs will probably be transition yrs to remove a number of veteran players to be replaced by the younger prospects, at least that is my hope. I don't have any expectations for this yr other than I hope they are able to place this "stuff" behind them. The drama is exhausting.

 

[FolignoQuantumLeap]

Probably should check with Coladin before you declare yourself a fan.

The true gatekeeper of Senator fandom. You gotta submit, be willing to waste money and accept failure as a norm. That is a true Sens fan apparently.

 

[Karl Prime]

Lol y'all really Aint Sens fans.

If Karlsson stays we'll def be in playoff position after those games and even towards Christmas.

First time Karlsson has trained in off-season in 3-4 years. He, Stone, Duchene and half of Ottawa have something to prove.

Plus.... the Anderson underdog effect. I expect nothing less of a .930 from Andy.

Pretty sure EK was able to train normally in 2014, 2015, and 2016, and we saw the results from that (being the best D in the league). So in that regard, I expect him to be at his best this coming season whether it's with us or another team.

 

[4thlineduster]

With this roster.......

I’m not even sure Gordon Bombay himself could take this merry band of misfits to a Minnesota State Peewee Championship let alone the Stanley Cup playoffs.

However I’ve been wrong before so who knows.....

 

[RAFI BOMB]

Lol y'all really Aint Sens fans.

If Karlsson stays we'll def be in playoff position after those games and even towards Christmas.

First time Karlsson has trained in off-season in 3-4 years. He, Stone, Duchene and half of Ottawa have something to prove.

Plus.... the Anderson underdog effect. I expect nothing less of a .930 from Andy.

Anderson is too old and is losing his athleticism, he will be mediocre this year and could even lose his spot to Condon pretty quickly. He is a backup goalie at this point.

The only way we have a strong start to the season is if some combination of Tkachuk, Brown, White, Formenton, Batherson, Gagne, Paul and Jaros crack the roster and somehow had a monster offseason and come flying out of the gate. The success of this season is basically resting on a gamble that multiple prospects will break out as star players and fairly dominant NHL players right away.

Realistically we should be happy if a few prospects put up 30 points this year, but for this team to make the playoffs we will need multiple to put up 50-60 points. The odds of that happening are very slim and that is why it doesn't make any sense to build a roster that needs break out stars to be succesful.

 

[Que]

I am a very negative person (we’re all going to suffocate if we keep polluting the ocean), but... This team has a legitimate shot of going worst to first.

Our first 16 games we’re going to eek out 8/9 wins, but the 2nd month of the season we’ll be the best team in the league (easy schedule).

Andy will be league average or better. Erik will be unstoppable. Duchene will be a 1st line center, Stone will lead the league in takeaways. Colin White will break out, Ceci will take a step forward, Chlapik and Chabot will break in - in a big way.

Here’s my boldest of bold predictions. We’re going to do so well Ryan will forget he hates it here, the fans won’t focus their discontent towards him and Bobby will score 30 goals (thirty goals).

 

[Xspyrit]

Yeah, this is totally the same team as at the beginning of last season...

As it’s been mentioned, we had an experienced 2nd line C (Brassard) a top 3 sniper (Hoffman) and a decent veteran on D (Phaneuf). Pretty sure Oduya wasn’t injured yet either so he wasn’t totally useless at the begining of the year. All those 3 key positions were downgraded over the past year. Anderson is also a year older and from hearing his comments lately he likely will be phoning it in until he’s traded.

I guess you’re part of the “Karlsson wasn’t that important to this team” camp. Things didn’t fall apart when he came back, they fell apart after the Turris trade, and although Duchene is a better player, the trade did something to kill the teams chemistry.

If Karlsson is gone you realize this is one of the worst D corps in the league? Other than Chabot, there’s not much going on back there and Chabot can’t carry this team like Karlsson does.

It looks like you are entirely missing the point... Thing is... the usual same posters were saying that the Sens would go WINLESS (or close) without Karlsson and actually the team was without a loss after 5 games (lost twice in shootouts which is after a tie game). I just stated a simple fact, I never talked about if it was the same team or not, or what would be my prediction (I have none and I don't care much about predictions)

I know about Brassard, Hoffman and Phaneuf but I need to see what their replacements (Brown? Boedker/Tkachuk/?, Wolanin?) can do first before making predictions. Also, if Anderson wants to be traded, he will have to show that he is still a good NHL goalie, "phoning it in" lol wouldn't really help his case. I actually think it's possible that he is red hot for a while like he has done multiple times in the past.

I'm not part of any camp, Karlsson is one of my favorite players ever and I believed in him very fast (invested a lot in his rookie cards then made a killing when I sold). I am not saying Karlsson was THE reason why the team fell apart but when your best player is not 100% and plays very poorly defensively (want to some highlights?), it really doesn't help. They were 3-3-3 after EK came back and then the Turris-Duchene swap happened. Then there was the Sweden trip and it started really well with 2 wins against the Avs. The result was close in both games, but they totally dominated them in pretty much all aspects.

Ottawa Senators 2018 Schedule - Senators Home and Away - ESPN

Then, not sure exactly what happened but the team started to totally fall apart. I agree team chemistry was affected somehow (and probably not JUST because Turris was gone)

If EK stays and Chabot plays strong, then things start to look better for the defense. Then if Wolanin can be good very fast (and he did look good in his games with the Sens), that would also put Ceci in the #4 role, having normal assignments and zone starts, which would suit him much better (and then his advanced stats would be back to normal)

Sens have a wealth of young D-men (Chabot, Wolanin, JBD, Tychonick, Jaros, Lajoie, Harpur, Englund, Bergman), problem is how long can it take before they form a solid D-squad, probably not this year unfortunately. We need this to happen this year :

#1 Karlsson
#2 Chabot
#3 Wolanin
#4 Ceci
#5 Wideman
#6-7 Borowiecki/Harpur

If EK is back to form and if Chabot and Wolanin are good, then I am confident in that group. No pressure (;sarcasm but a lot rest on those 2 young guys shoulders.

One thing sure is they will need the emergence of a few young guys to help the team stay out of the basement.

I’ll say it again, if Karlsson is traded, it might take them to the Xmas break to win 8 regulation games.

Traded for? Nothing in return? I would hope they get a good D-man or two... If they trade Stone, Karlsson and/or Duchene for only "futures", then it means that they want to complete a full rebuild.

 

[aragorn]

I hope that they are able to make several deals by the end of 2018 & if that includes EK, I'm okay with that as well given they get some substantial return from it to rebuild with.

 

[dumbdick]

The true gatekeeper of Senator fandom. You gotta submit, be willing to waste money and accept failure as a norm. That is a true Sens fan apparently.

Sens have had decent success over our first 25 years. I recognize there will be dark times and spurts of poor performance and poor management. I recognize that the economics of the team aren't ideal, but also that management and ownership are trying. I'm fine with dedicating some of my cash each year to cheering for my favorite team, rain or shine. If you just want to be around for the good times that's your prerogative. I'll see you in a few years, hopefully, I guess.

 

[FolignoQuantumLeap]

Sens have had decent success over our first 25 years. I recognize there will be dark times and spurts of poor performance and poor management. I recognize that the economics of the team aren't ideal, but also that management and ownership are trying. I'm fine with dedicating some of my cash each year to cheering for my favorite team, rain or shine. If you just want to be around for the good times that's your prerogative. I'll see you in a few years, hopefully, I guess.

It's way more about wins and loses. I don't care that they're losing, I care that the team is a complete shit show. They have no direction, they bleed talent like a shived drunk, and the owner is an amoral tool who doesn't deserve another single penny from our fans.

They come out and literally lie to our faces about making the team better, accountability and changing the culture. Dorion manages the team to a last place finishes and gets a freaking 3 year contract. Boucher plays cuckhold hockey and he keeps his job. There is no accountability.

We're literally days away from the professional hockey starting and they haven't done a single thing to improve the club. They cry poor and hand out huge contracts to depth players way past their prime. We gotta pay Alex "man masticator and hair yanker" Burrows to not play hockey for us. I guess that's culture change?

The team is a dumpster fire. The club needs a massive purge starting with the cancer killing the club in Melnyk. One of the best ways to kill a tumour is by starving it.

If Melnyk leaves and the team sucks for years but is rebuilding properly, I'll gladly fork out my cash for a half season or 10 game pack as I have for almost my entire adult life.

 

[dumbdick]

It's way more about wins and loses. I don't care that they're losing, I care that the team is a complete **** show. They have no direction, they bleed talent like a shived drunk, and the owner is an amoral tool who doesn't deserve another single penny from our fans.

They come out and literally lie to our faces about making the team better, accountability and changing the culture. Dorion manages the team to a last place finishes and gets a freaking 3 year contract. Boucher plays cuckhold hockey and he keeps his job. There is no accountability.

We're literally days away from the professional hockey starting and they haven't done a single thing to improve the club. They cry poor and hand out huge contracts to depth players way past their prime. We gotta pay Alex "man masticator and hair yanker" Burrows to not play hockey for us. I guess that's culture change?

The team is a dumpster fire. The club needs a massive purge starting with the cancer killing the club in Melnyk. One of the best ways to kill a tumour is by starving it.

If Melnyk leaves and the team sucks for years but is rebuilding properly, I'll gladly fork out my cash for a half season or 10 game pack as I have for almost my entire adult life.

Wow. You seem super upset. I just like hockey and am stoked to start watching my team again. Win or lose I go to games and have a good time. Eugene melnyk or bad past decisions don't factor much into the equation for me. My fandom comes with no preconditions, I guess. Looking forward to the season starting soon.

 

[FolignoQuantumLeap]

Wow. You seem super upset. I just like hockey and am stoked to start watching my team again. Win or lose I go to games and have a good time. Eugene melnyk or bad past decisions don't factor much into the equation for me. My fandom comes with no preconditions, I guess. Looking forward to the season starting soon.

I like hockey too. That's why I'll just go to 67s games instead.

If you enjoy going to Sens games then by all means indulge. For me, a male in my late 20s who likes to drink when I go out, going to CTC isn't ideal. I don't get a lot out of the experience, the enjoyment comes almost solely from the players and the quality of the hockey. This is poor quality hockey and there's only really one player on this team worth paying to see and he's rumored to be on the trade block. My dollars and time are best spent elsewhere until the team is worth watching and spending money on and not going into someone's pocket whom I find abhorrent.

 

[dumbdick]

I like hockey too. That's why I'll just go to 67s games instead.

If you enjoy going to Sens games then by all means indulge. For me, a male in my late 20s who likes to drink when I go out, going to CTC isn't ideal. I don't get a lot out of the experience, the enjoyment comes almost solely from the players and the quality of the hockey. This is poor quality hockey and there's only really one player on this team worth paying to see and he's rumored to be on the trade block. My dollars and time are best spent elsewhere until the team is worth watching and spending money on and not going into someone's pocket whom I find abhorrent.

Almost everyone would prefer a richer/better owner, but abhorrent is a bit much, no?

Melnyk family skate a thrill for kids

Eugene Melnyk launches campaign to shorten organ transplant wait times