Let's Trade Zack Smith

[Holdurbreathe]

Derek Grant C'mon DOWN!

Can actually kill penalties too!

Grant isn't as good as Smith, sorry.

This flavour of the month might be fun to post about, but it really has no merit.

Out of training camp it was all about Pageau and Da Costa, now both of these guys have struggled mightily and many want them shipped to Bingo in the save Zibby campaign.

In the western swing where most of the top players for the team were struggling, people were questioning the Ryan trade, Spezza as captain, wanting to get rid of Michalek, Phillips, Gryba and now Smith.

There was also those that complained about Cowen, some wanted Karlsson to sit, there was the Kassian stuff and of course many wanted to trade Anderson.

It might be safe to say the only players not on someone's sh**list were Lehner and Methot.

So some part of the Sens fanbase on this forum wanted to change at least 12 pieces of this team over the course of six games.

Surely we all realize 90% of these trade, sit or give away this player or that player just aren't going to happen.

Outside of the potential demotion of Da Costa and Pageau and the recall of Zibby, this is the team we get to cheer for at least until December.

 

[bert]

Grant isn't as good as Smith, sorry.

This flavour of the month might be fun to post about, but it really has no merit.

Out of training camp it was all about Pageau and Da Costa, now both of these guys have struggled mightily and many want them shipped to Bingo in the save Zibby campaign.

In the western swing where most of the top players for the team were struggling, people were questioning the Ryan trade, Spezza as captain, wanting to get rid of Michalek, Phillips, Gryba and now Smith.

There was also those that complained about Cowen, some wanted Karlsson to sit, there was the Kassian stuff and of course many wanted to trade Anderson.

It might be safe to say the only players not on someone's sh**list were Lehner and Methot.

So some part of the Sens fanbase on this forum wanted to change at least 12 pieces of this team over the course of six games.

Surely we all realize 90% of these trade, sit or give away this player or that player just aren't going to happen.

Outside of the potential demotion of Da Costa and Pageau and the recall of Zibby, this is the team we get to cheer for at least until December.

Slow clap

The only thing I want to see is Gryba out and Jumpin Joe in unless an injury forces the sens otherwise. Zibby cant come up yet until he starts showing management what they want to see no matter how much Pageau and Dacosta struggle, because that's the point of the demotion.

A tough road trip before chemistry is developed along with a lot of new faces and a team where its star players are coming off injury. Everyone just needs to relax, I think the leafs success has increased the amount of panic around here. Don't worry everyone they wont play the worst goaltender in the world every night of the week.

I think Gonchar's calm demeanor and quietly eating icetime has been sorely missed, a lot of our D make big mistakes and we don't have him to settle everything down. That's honestly my biggest concern.

 

[Herping Derps*]

Not sure what people expect from Smith given what his role is and over the first six games being switched from wing to center every second game.

Of the Smith-Greening-Neil trio Neil is the black hole IMO.

While Neil does bring his physicality, making any kind of play with the puck is not a pretty thing to watch.

Smith is being asked to play third line minutes with one winger.

Reason, some people's pick for the Calder Cup (Pageau) isn't cutting it even on the fourth line.

Bring Zibby back and play Smith as the shutdown center and the bottom two lines will show a marked improvement.

This, but make sure Zippy starts throwing that body and using his size a bit more.
While its too much to expect most skaters on this team to get a mean streak, those with the tools to do so should experiment with playing a bit more physical.

More team toughness, less relying on 2 or 3 guys to fill the role.

 

[Larionov]

Check capgeek.com - there are so many teams snug against the cap it's crazy. That gets much better next year, but for this year a good chunk of the league can't even think about adding a salary until January, and maybe not even then. We would have to take back someone else's bad contract if we wanted to move Smith, and that would not excite our cheapskate owner.

 

[FolignoQuantumLeap]

Grant isn't as good as Smith, sorry.

This flavour of the month might be fun to post about, but it really has no merit.

Out of training camp it was all about Pageau and Da Costa, now both of these guys have struggled mightily and many want them shipped to Bingo in the save Zibby campaign.

In the western swing where most of the top players for the team were struggling, people were questioning the Ryan trade, Spezza as captain, wanting to get rid of Michalek, Phillips, Gryba and now Smith.

There was also those that complained about Cowen, some wanted Karlsson to sit, there was the Kassian stuff and of course many wanted to trade Anderson.

It might be safe to say the only players not on someone's sh**list were Lehner and Methot.

So some part of the Sens fanbase on this forum wanted to change at least 12 pieces of this team over the course of six games.

Surely we all realize 90% of these trade, sit or give away this player or that player just aren't going to happen.

Outside of the potential demotion of Da Costa and Pageau and the recall of Zibby, this is the team we get to cheer for at least until December.

Your words are wasted on me. I have absolutely no problem with any of Pageau, Da Costa, Anderson, Cowen, Karlsson, Spezza, Ryan, Michalek and so on and so on. I've been continuing to say I hope to see Zibanejad in Binghamton for a few more weeks.

The fact is, Smith has been terribad. All those guys have a had a bad game here and there and I get it that guys have off games. That's gonna happen. But Smith is consistently disappointing and not fulfilling his role. Hardly surprising that he's now secure in a long term deal and just coasting his way to a paycheck.

He's shown an ability to get it done in the past but at some point you have to hold guys accountable. I'm not necessarily in the 'TRADE HIM' boat, but if he continues to play this way, he needs to at least sit. There are other options and I'm a big fan of giving guys opportunities when they've earned them (like Grant). Its great for the motivation of the underlings in the minors and pays dividends.

At this point, all he brings is ability to win draws. If he has more 21% nights like last night, there is no reason whatsoever to not take recourse. You have to address the weak links when there are so many options waiting for a chance.

And by the sounds of it, you seriously underrate Grant. I'm not particularly high on him but I do think he can be an affective bottom 6 guy and that's something that we're seriously lacking as of now. And like I said, he's reliable in the defensive zone and a good PKer. That's not my opinion, its Luke Richardson's. Can't say that about Smith right now (the last 100 or so games). Time for a wake up call. Hopefully its heard by other guys who've recently signed long term deals.

 

[Bileur]

I would never want Hemsky and Spezza on the same line. Two guys that need the puck on their sticks to be successful and can be prone to holding onto it for far too long. It would never work. A guy like Conacher or Greening will be far more effective on his line.

Hemsky is no bottom 6 player and why would we put him with Turris when Ryan and him have something great going?

And finally, why bother with Hemsky and

Not saying it's a good idea, just saying those are places he could be used.

That being said the Bobby Ryan argument is not impressive. Having a playmaker like Hemsky with Turris would be very interesting and I think the long term plan is still to try and force some chemistry between Spezza and Ryan.

 

[Ski]

Derek Grant.

 

[God Says No]

Derek Grant.

is not the answer. Unless he's awesome in the dot, and can fight.

 

[Ski]

is not the answer. Unless he's awesome in the dot, and can fight.

I'm saying he is..he's NHL ready, you sir saying he doesn't fight is the answer, really? And yes, Derek is decent on the dot.

 

[God Says No]

I'm saying he is..he's NHL ready, you sir saying he doesn't fight is the answer, really? And yes, Derek is decent on the dot.

Yeah he might be ready, but he's not an upgrade over Smith. He might be decent in AHL at draws, but NHL is totally different.

 

[Ski]

Yeah he might be ready, but he's not an upgrade over Smith. He might be decent in AHL at draws, but NHL is totally different.

I'm going to say Grant is the next Chris Kelly for the big club. He doesn't fight, but has speed, leadership, height and can bang bodies around in the corners. I've watched Derek play for the last several seasons and did a profile on him on senshot.

What he brings to the table is his pk specialties and scoring 5 goals last season to lead the AHL. He already has 1 shorty this season as seeing how Ottawa can't stay out of the box early on his assets would be heavy.

I'm a huge Zack Smith fan, saw him develop and prosper here in Bingo, just seems like Derek gets a chance to prove himself.

 

[God Says No]

I'm going to say Grant is the next Chris Kelly for the big club. He doesn't fight, but has speed, leadership, height and can bang bodies around in the corners. I've watched Derek play for the last several seasons and did a profile on him on senshot.

What he brings to the table is his pk specialties and scoring 5 goals last season to lead the AHL. He already has 1 shorty this season as seeing how Ottawa can't stay out of the box early on his assets would be heavy.

I'm a huge Zack Smith fan, saw him develop and prosper here in Bingo, just seems like Derek gets a chance to prove himself.

You might be right. I like Derek as well, just not at the expense of Smith. A Smith - Grant - Neil line would be alright if Grant can hold his own in the dot. DaCosta is pretty much on borrowed time. The question is who will replace him. Zib? JOB? Grant?

 

[Xspyrit]

It's cute and everything but you want to substract to add something that doesn't exist... Oh well, it exists but it's probably not available

You want a guy that is young, cheap, good on face-offs, can score, lay hits, can fight, is good defensively, etc.

I don't see any team parting with that kind of player, unless we overpay drastically.

The "upgrade" would have to come from within, Mika Zibanejad maybe?

Smith + Da Costa could net us a late first or a 2nd + prospect? I don't know. But there will be players in Bingo who need to graduate soon

Good luck.

4 years, 1.8755M.

Ya, it should be very hard to move a contract at a cap well under the average NHL salary...

lolz

Michalek - Spezza - Conacher
MacArthur - Turris - Ryan
Greening - Pageau - Condra
Smith - Da Costa - Neil.

THIS (with Smith taking draws on the 4th line)

 

[Knave]

Need our young players to improve dramatically at face offs before this can even be considered

 

[John Holmes*]

Without reading the thread, the obvious question is what is Smith worth?

I can't imagine any team would give up anything of value for Zack Smith.

I actually like the guy, but he is a fairly limited role player.

You could get 12 Zack Smiths for 10 cents.

 

[Six Assets]

He needs to simplify his game. IMO he trys to be fancy

 

[Indrew]

Ya, it should be very hard to move a contract at a cap well under the average NHL salary...

lolz

Don't lolz me. 4 years is a long time, especially for a player that is regressing offensively. The contract would be very moveable if it were 1 or maybe even 2 years.

The coaching staff loves him, or say they do as a motivational tactic. I don't know. I don't see in him what they see in him. They know waaaaaay more than me, obviously.

I have no problem with him as a 4th liner. I don't like him killing penalties, but I understand he can actually win a faceoff so he gets some reps.

 

[Tuna99]

Zach Smith is an awesome. When Ottawa finally plays a physical game this season we'll all be thankful he's here. He'll stand out when the going gets tough

 

[CanadianHockey]

I'm going to say Grant is the next Chris Kelly for the big club. He doesn't fight, but has speed, leadership, height and can bang bodies around in the corners. I've watched Derek play for the last several seasons and did a profile on him on senshot.

What he brings to the table is his pk specialties and scoring 5 goals last season to lead the AHL. He already has 1 shorty this season as seeing how Ottawa can't stay out of the box early on his assets would be heavy.

I'm a huge Zack Smith fan, saw him develop and prosper here in Bingo, just seems like Derek gets a chance to prove himself.

I'd like to see how well he plays offensively before I am 100% convinced he's the next Kelly, but I certainly agree that's his upside.

 

[Hammertyme]

Thank God some of the short visioned reactionaries dont have management responsibilites on this team. We'd have no chemistry at all a cap of 80mill, last place in the world and they would still be *****'n that there needs to be changes. Smith is struggling out of the gate. How about you trade Karlsson. Same arguement based on 6 *** games.

 

[Tuna99]

Thank God some of the short visioned reactionaries dont have management responsibilites on this team. We'd have no chemistry at all a cap of 80mill, last place in the world and they would still be *****'n that there needs to be changes. Smith is struggling out of the gate. How about you trade Karlsson. Same arguement based on 6 *** games.

If Karlsson doesn't get his head out of his ass and get ready to battle he might be on the trade block. Rumours in Ottawa he's not to motivated to play this year - who knows what is going on behind the scenes but it certainly looks like he isn't 100% ready to start the season. Maybe it's the flu, mabe it's Alfie, maybe it's ownership, but if this is the Erik Karlsson we got from now on, Ottawa will be a 10-15 NHL mid-team instead of a 3-6 top-NHL Team

I know he's coming off an injury and the Pens showed the league last year what his weaknesses were, but Karlsson is soft this year, he isn't getting in on guys and he isn't skating.

I'm not sure if I should hope he's just unmotivated or he is injured? Which would be better??

I don't think we'll see the real Erik Karlsson until October 23rd against Alfie, we'll see where his head is at in that game. If he's 100% committed to Ottawa or if he has lost his motivation to be in Ottawa.

 

[BonkTastic]

Thank God some of the short visioned reactionaries dont have management responsibilites on this team. We'd have no chemistry at all a cap of 80mill, last place in the world and they would still be *****'n that there needs to be changes. Smith is struggling out of the gate. How about you trade Karlsson. Same arguement based on 6 *** games.

To be fair, some of us are basing it on his last ~100 games.

I don't see a huge difference between the way he's played over the last 6 games, and the way he played in the last half of 2011/12. Or for long stretches of last season.

That's just me, though. "Your mileage may vary", and all that.

 

[UnHappyDude]

Smith is so underrated around here. During the playoffs he was matched up against teams top lines!!!! He is a great defensive player and he plays very physical!!!! geeeeepers creeepers guys.

 

[Indrew]

During the playoffs he was matched up against teams top lines!!!!

Uhhhh...

He played with Chris Neil and Zack Kassian against the Habs. Do you think they got tough assignments?

Against the Penguins he played with Chris Neil and Mika Zibanejad... not surprisingly, they failed to shutdown anyone. Of course... to be fair, the whole team struggled.

 

[PoutineSp00nZ]

I'd like to see how well he plays offensively before I am 100% convinced he's the next Kelly, but I certainly agree that's his upside.

The Sens already have the next Chris Kelly. His name is Eric COndra