Player Discussion Michael Del Zotto signs 2 year contract with Ottawa, $2M AAV

[Masked]

I think he makes it as a 7th D.

Bruce seems have been fed information that he'll be in the top 4.

Assen na yo!

 

[Sens of Anarchy]

Bruce seems have been fed information that he'll be in the top 4.

Assen na yo!

Mete? top 4 or MDZ?

 

[thinkwild]

I just don’t see how Mete fits in this team. I know the fans love him but he could be a Balcers type of chow bey - waivers before the season begins. Don’t see him making the team

One year, $1.2mil, that's pretty good for someone competent in our 8 man rotation. He has some skills that the coach will surely find useful at times. He'll get a chance i reckon.

 

[Masked]

Mete? top 4 or MDZ?

Mete.

Assen na yo!

 

[Sens of Anarchy]

Mete.

Assen na yo!

Never saw that top 4 Bruce thing. Would be quite surprising.

 

[Masked]

Never saw that top 4 Bruce thing. Would be quite surprising.

Last line from Bruce's article on Mete signing - "The expectation is he will play in the club’s top four next season."

I don't really understand it but it sounds like the Sens told him that and not Bruce trying to think for himself.

Assen na yo!

 

[Boud]

Last line from Bruce's article on Mete signing - "The expectation is he will play in the club’s top four next season."

I don't really understand it but it sounds like the Sens told him that and not Bruce trying to think for himself.

Assen na yo!

Bruce also said he expects Holden to play 3rd pair with Josh Brown.

 

[Ouroboros]

Never saw that top 4 Bruce thing. Would be quite surprising.

He has written conflicting things about it.

In the MDZ article he says this...

Yes, it will be up to Smith and the coaching staff on where everybody fits when they get into camp in September, but you can see a scenario where he’ll be on the left side of second pairing with Artem Zub while Thomas Chabot and Nikita Zaitsev form the top twosome.

Acquired from the Vegas Golden Knights, the indication is Nick Holden will play with Josh Brown so we’ll have to wait and see where Erik Brannstrom fits into this picture. There’s been no shortage of speculation he could be part of a deal to help the club acquire another forward, however that’s something that will play out over the course of the summer.

...but in the Mete article he says this...

The expectation is he will play in the club’s top four next season.

 

[Sens of Anarchy]

Last line from Bruce's article on Mete signing - "The expectation is he will play in the club’s top four next season."

I don't really understand it but it sounds like the Sens told him that and not Bruce trying to think for himself.

Assen na yo!

Yah lol wow I just found and read that. So that would mean MDZ, Holden, Brown, Brannstrom for the bottom 2 spots.

Expectation top 4. I don't get it but I guess we'll see.

 

[Sens of Anarchy]

He has written conflicting things about it.

In the MDZ article he says this...



...but in the Mete article he says this...

That expert competent level reporting we've come to hold so close.

 

[Masked]

He has written conflicting things about it.

In the MDZ article he says this...



...but in the Mete article he says this...

Holden and Brown will be playing pattycake in the press box.

Assen na yo!

 

[Masked]

That expert competent level reporting we've come to hold so close.

Not a reporter. He's a columnist. He doesn't have to give facts or even make sense. He just has to get readers.

Assen na yo!

 

[Boud]

It's pretty clear to me that Brannstrom is gone. With Sanderson coming in it only makes sense to deal from a position of strenght considering we can fill the bottom pair relatively easily with lesser players that have less potential and thus less trade value.

The only thing I would've liked to see is them giving a real shot by pairing Brannstrom with Zub to start the year. I think that could potentially raise his value but again who knows he might not have a good season and his value could go down too... The team doesn't seem open to try it out. Maybe they just don't think as highly about Brann as some here do.

All in all with Chabot and Sanderson it was written in the sky that Brannstrom had no future here and with good reason. I just hope they maximize his value by acquiring someone who'll help us significantly up front and someone we'll be able to keep for at least 2-3 seasons. His value should be high in the current context. We have cap space/salary to spend and teams are looking to shed cap, Brannstrom is a defensemen with a lot of potential and still very young so I assume the value will be there.

 

[GermanSpitfire]

What a waste of cap room.

How is he better than Brannstrom or Mete exactly?

Cap and room really isn’t the problem here.

Ottawa needs to give Brannstrom a long leash. Ottawa played well down the stretch with Brannstrom in the top 4 and DJ allowing him to do his thing.
Unfortunately, Ottawa has different plans going forward with Brannstrom.

I don’t have a problem with the MDZ signing but if he inadvertently costs Ottawa Brannstrom i’m going to be down on whatever Ottawa brings in because of him.

 

[aragorn]

To start the season:

Just look at the salaries, Mete makes the same amount as J. Brown, that's an indicator as to what they think of him. MDZ & Holden make more & it's most likely they will play over Mete & Brannstrom IMO.

Chabot - Zaitsev
MDZ - Zub
Holden - J. Brown/Mete

 

[bert]

Yah lol wow I just found and read that. So that would mean MDZ, Holden, Brown, Brannstrom for the bottom 2 spots.

Expectation top 4. I don't get it but I guess we'll see.

Holden with Josh Brown is a really bad idea. Brown played his best with Mete a player that could retrieve pucks and get the puck out controlled. I honestly like Holden with Zub. I see MDZ and Brannstrom as the ones looking from the outside on opening night. Just my opinion.

Bruce seems have been fed information that he'll be in the top 4.

Assen na yo!

I dont think the coaching staff knows who the 4th player in the top 4 at this point. I am sure they want someone to win the spot.

 

[Sens]

To start the season:

Just look at the salaries, Mete makes the same amount as J. Brown, that's an indicator as to what they think of him. MDZ & Holden make more & it's most likely they will play over Mete & Brannstrom IMO.

Chabot - Zaitsev
MDZ - Zub
Holden - J. Brown/Mete

Playoffs are a delusion

 

[JD1]

My god you guys are quick to dismiss Brannstrom

He played well down the stretch with Zub when the team had its best record. He's still making "best prospect" lists

We've got 3 guys in our top 4that will play: Chabot, Zaitsev and Zub.

Then we've got 5 guys battling for spots.
Brannstrom
Mete
MDZ
Holden
Brown

And i think MDZ and Brannstrom have the inside track on two spots and will need to be seriously outplayed to lose those spots.

Pk: zaitsev, Zub, MDZ, Brown or Holden
Pp: Chabot, Brannstrom with a 4 to 1 set up

If Mete plays top 6 with everyone healthy he needs to play one of those specialty teams and I don't see it. DJ won't like his size on the PK and he's maybe option 4 at best on the PP.

 

[The Waffler]

Maybe Brucie is looking at the lineup sheet upside down and when he says top 4 he means bottom 4.

 

[bert]

My god you guys are quick to dismiss Brannstrom

He played well down the stretch with Zub when the team had its best record. He's still making "best prospect" lists

We've got 3 guys in our top 4that will play: Chabot, Zaitsev and Zub.

Then we've got 5 guys battling for spots.
Brannstrom
Mete
MDZ
Holden
Brown

And i think MDZ and Brannstrom have the inside track on two spots and will need to be seriously outplayed to lose those spots.

Pk: zaitsev, Zub, MDZ, Brown or Holden
Pp: Chabot, Brannstrom with a 4 to 1 set up

If Mete plays top 6 with everyone healthy he needs to play one of those specialty teams and I don't see it. DJ won't like his size on the PK and he's maybe option 4 at best on the PP.

Why do you think the bolded? What indication do you have of this?

No way Del Zotto plays PK over Brown. Brown was great on the pk last year and has a way better skill set for it. Del Zotto is an offensive D man. I really dont understand the Del Zotto signing on any level. Guy cant stay put anywhere this is his 10th professional team in 13 years since he started playing pro. Mete and Brannstrom are better offensively at this point and have potential moving forward. Its so strange. They needed a true top 4 shut down D man. Instead they got two third pairing D men one shut down and one offensive.

DJ isnt dumb, he wants competition I dont think it really matters who it is going into training camp. Whoever plays best likely gets the spots. Holden played better hockey in the playoffs than Del Zotto ever has. If Holden plays like that he will be in the lineup and likely paired with Zub as a shut down pair.

 

[Big Muddy]

The plan so to speak seems evident. We have three (3) defenders that can play in the top 4. Then we have 5 defenders who are all bottom pairing defenders. The hope is that one can emerge and play decent enough to be given a role on the 2nd pair.

We didn't spend enough money to fulfill that FYOUS statement (promise, whatever). COVID killed that possibility (or dream) if it was a possibility in the first place.

 

[playasRus]

Last line from Bruce's article on Mete signing - "The expectation is he will play in the club’s top four next season."

I don't really understand it but it sounds like the Sens told him that and not Bruce trying to think for himself.

Assen na yo!

Would've thought Brannstrom would be the one to beat out for 2nd LD behind Chabot at this time.

MDZ is basically this year's Stepan, will get games and TOI based on veterancy + salary for the first 60 games, until injured or we finally give up on him.

Holden should be #6-7 with Brown for injuries.

Chabot - Zaitsev
Brannstom/MDZ/Mete - Zub
Brannstom/MDZ/Mete - Brown
Holden

Can't trade Brannstrom so soon just because Sanderson is in the pipeline. Sanderson is at least 1 year away, we don't know if he'll be able to come in next season and slot into our top 4 right away. More likely I see him slot into AHL/NHL (if we're tanking) post NCAA season, and then bottom pairing 2022-2023.

Trading Brannstrom now would be asinine if he breaks out into a decent #3-4 LHD - he's 22 years old, with a year of development lost to COVID and has shown no signs of busting.

 

[SpezDispenser]

He says he's played the right side, so I assume he'll battle it out with Brown for 3rd pairing right.

 

[God Says No]

Brannstrom will need to seriously outplay everyone else on the left side to stick with the team. It's the same story pretty much every year, waiver status plays a big role in the decisions. So even if he's better than MDZ and Holden, he won't stick with the team unless he blows them out of the water. I see Brann starting in the AHL, and if last year has shown us anything it will be deja vu again with veterans getting the starting nod. So something like this:

Chabot - Zaitsev
MDZ - Zub
Holden - Brown

extra: Mete
AHL: Brann

 

[Ice-Tray]

Bruce doesn’t know squat about what’s going on with negotiations, line combinations, or trades from a Sens perspective. This should be obvious by now. He is speculating like everyone else and has to generate clicks and interest I his fluff pieces.

The team is extremely tight lipped about contracts, trades, and DJ hasn’t said anything to Bruce about lines or coaching.

a few guys have been brought in to shore up the back end from the bottom, same character and mentorship as last year, but this time with more skill and talent to fight for a roster spot.

Mete and Bran will still have to fight it out for spots with NHL vets, instead of being handed spots while prospects develop in Belleville.

If a trade happens, so be it, but Bruce isn’t going to know shit about it until the deal is done.