This team needs a shakeup

[Berserker*]

How about straight up MM for Hartnell/Simmonds? Those two are struggling badly too in Philly, could be a steal for Sens again if Philly bite on that one.

If we can make that trade then sure. But I would be willing to add to get either Michalek or Simmonds.

 

[Legend Killer]

Need to get rid of Greening... The guy is a total waste of a roster spot... He is supposed to be big fast and physical but he has 0 consistency to his game... The fact that he is even an option for top line duty is an embarrassment... I cant believe that FRAUD got a contract extension for 2.6? Million....

Other than that, Michalek looks rattled mentally or physically, or both? I dont see him being re-signed...

 

[Icelevel]

Need to get rid of Greening... The guy is a total waste of a roster spot... He is supposed to be big fast and physical but he has 0 consistency to his game... The fact that he is even an option for top line duty is an embarrassment... I cant believe that FRAUD got a contract extension for 2.6? Million....

Other than that, Michalek looks rattled mentally or physically, or both? I dont see him being re-signed...

Greening is too much of a nice guy. Unfortunately, with his lack of skills this makes him useless.

 

[ReginKarlssonLehner]

In the year we made finals...

We started off season 6-10-1 through mid novemeber and we were 13-12-1 by end of November.

Be patient fellow Sens fans.

Although if I could deal Michalek for anything I RUN AND DO IT AND LAUGH FOR JOY.

 

[OttawaOilers]

One game after a 6-1 win. You jump to conclusions WAY TO FAST. Get outta here.

 

[albator71]

It seems like a lot of people are forgetting that. The odds of us winning this game is extremely poor.

But would it be nice if we could beat the sharks who were playing their second game of a back 2 back and played their rookie goaltender. All the ingredients were there for us to win that game.

 

[PoutineSp00nZ]

In the year we made finals...

We started off season 6-10-1 through mid novemeber and we were 13-12-1 by end of November.

Be patient fellow Sens fans.

Although if I could deal Michalek for anything I RUN AND DO IT AND LAUGH FOR JOY.

THat's the thing. It's still early and this team is capable of putting together a winning streak if they play a solid string of games the same way they playe the wings.

Too early to write them off

 

[VVS]

Sens have lost to a lot of teams so far. We can't keep using excuses (road trip, tough teams) we will eventually run out of time. I would rather them turn it around now instead of in February. And regardless if they ever want to win the cup the Sens will have to beat the best teams

Technically, we only lost to 3 teams... Just lost to 2 of those 3 teams twice.

 

[derriko]

I think a good bench clearing brawl would get the guys back into it, or at least a couple line brawls.

I also wouldn't mind making the Andy for Lehner swap. Robin deserves the chance, instead of playing every 5 games and usually being tossed to the wolves against the best teams in the league.

And this isn't a reactionary trade as Smith has been on the hot seat for his second year now, and I'm not a fan of Greening, but I would trade one of them. Greening could be a monster with his physical attributes, but he's just too soft / nice for his role. God damn just the thought of him with Conachers' drive makes me drool. Same could be said for Smith, but he just has no confidence anymore.

A trade for a decent defenseman could be a win-win.

 

[The Fuhr*]

In the year we made finals...

We started off season 6-10-1 through mid novemeber and we were 13-12-1 by end of November.

Be patient fellow Sens fans.

Although if I could deal Michalek for anything I RUN AND DO IT AND LAUGH FOR JOY.

We had Alfredsson then

 

[YNWA14]

We had Alfredsson then

...and that means what?

There's a ton of time left in the season to get back into things. Two years ago we looked really bad to start the season and still made the playoffs. Our team is much better now.

 

[Nac Mac Feegle]

We had Alfredsson then

...and the Wings have Alfredsson right now and that so-called powerhouse team just lost to both us and the Rangers.

One player doesn't make or break a team.

 

[Derivation]

1-3-0 at home is inexcusable, regardless if 2 of the 3 L's were against ANA/SJ. Team needs to have a players only meeting and figure this out fast.

 

[Tuna99]

I;ve said it beofre, I'll say it again, this team needs a Kris Versteeg, someone who plays with a line drawn in the sand because no one on our team is doing that. When Cory Conacher is your gritty forward, who have huge huge issues.

Ott: Versteeg
Flo: 3rd rounder

Versteeg is the rat we need, emotion, dirty goals, grit - that's what we need.

 

[ChocolateLeclaire]

I;ve said it beofre, I'll say it again, this team needs a Kris Versteeg, someone who plays with a line drawn in the sand because no one on our team is doing that. When Cory Conacher is your gritty forward, who have huge huge issues.

Ott: Versteeg
Flo: 3rd rounder

Versteeg is the rat we need, emotion, dirty goals, grit - that's what we need.

I completely agree with this! I was saying the other day when Florida starting talking about a firesale that we go for Kris Versteeg. He's gritty and can be moved up and down the lines relatively easy.

 

[Do Make Say Think]

No it really doesn't

The system the team, especially for the breakout, is playing is radically different than that of last year's:
-The team is still getting used to it
-Opposing teams have figured it out

Offensively we're still doing the same thing as last year: get it to the points but we don't have a lot of players with solid one-timers (Zibanejad helps in that regard) and we seldom cycle the puck down low which makes us very predictable

We have some excellent players so while the system is predictable, raw talent helps the team through it

I wonder how long before the team gets it or the coaching staff decides to try something else

 

[Filatov2Kovalev2Bonk]

In the year we made finals...

We started off season 6-10-1 through mid novemeber and we were 13-12-1 by end of November.

Be patient fellow Sens fans.

Although if I could deal Michalek for anything I RUN AND DO IT AND LAUGH FOR JOY.

We had Alfredsson then

...and that means what?

There's a ton of time left in the season to get back into things. Two years ago we looked really bad to start the season and still made the playoffs. Our team is much better now.

Alfredsson was the living, breathing heart of that team. He took it on his back and carried it through four rounds. He won the Buffalo series for us and was one of the few players on the team that actually showed up versus Anaheim, and could very well have won the Conn Smythe. He did everything for us, from scoring to passing to backchecking to agitating the other team. We also had a prime Heatley, decent depth at forward and a bunch of 20+ point defencemen.

If you're going to point to Detroit, Alfie isn't the key there he's another player and he's been doing well for them. Detroit is fighting for the division lead and we are not.

The fact is, we lost a ton of experience and two-way play when Gonchar, Alfredsson and Silfverberg left in the same season. Replacing Gonchar with Corvo is a downgrade. Replacing Alfredsson's two-way play (even aging) with the invisible MacArthur is a downgrade. Replacing Silf with Ryan is even, edge to us offensively but at best neutral defensively. You want to know why we're allowing so many early goals against? The guys we have now at forward aren't quick to fold back or position themselves or fight for the puck. The Spezza line just waits for the puck to get to them. The Turris line is great, Turris does a lot of the work. The other two lines are offence deficient but decent enough. Our "D" is a bit of a mess. Karlsson is really the only one that can move the puck with elegance and efficiency; Phillips is crap, Methot is decent but lacks offensive instincts. Gryba, Cowen are offensive black holes.

So all this being said, what is Murray going to do? He could trade Neil (though he probably has a NTC like everyone else on the team) but he won't because he's too sentimental and afraid of a shake-up like that. So he trades a Zack Smith or Greening? That might send a message to the team...but the message that needs to be sent is from MacLean; he needs to sit Neil or someone down for a game or they need to get less ice time. If a player is selfish or lazy on the ice and gets more ice time it spreads through the team, bad habits develop and then you enter a funk.
MacLean needs to earn his pay and fix this before the team falls too behind in the wild card race.

 

[WhiteLight*]

Alfredsson was the living, breathing heart of that team. He took it on his back and carried it through four rounds. He won the Buffalo series for us and was one of the few players on the team that actually showed up versus Anaheim, and could very well have won the Conn Smythe. He did everything for us, from scoring to passing to backchecking to agitating the other team. We also had a prime Heatley, decent depth at forward and a bunch of 20+ point defencemen.

If you're going to point to Detroit, Alfie isn't the key there he's another player and he's been doing well for them. Detroit is fighting for the division lead and we are not.

The fact is, we lost a ton of experience and two-way play when Gonchar, Alfredsson and Silfverberg left in the same season. Replacing Gonchar with Corvo is a downgrade. Replacing Alfredsson's two-way play (even aging) with the invisible MacArthur is a downgrade. Replacing Silf with Ryan is even, edge to us offensively but at best neutral defensively. You want to know why we're allowing so many early goals against? The guys we have now at forward aren't quick to fold back or position themselves or fight for the puck. The Spezza line just waits for the puck to get to them. The Turris line is great, Turris does a lot of the work. The other two lines are offence deficient but decent enough. Our "D" is a bit of a mess. Karlsson is really the only one that can move the puck with elegance and efficiency; Phillips is crap, Methot is decent but lacks offensive instincts. Gryba, Cowen are offensive black holes.

So all this being said, what is Murray going to do? He could trade Neil (though he probably has a NTC like everyone else on the team) but he won't because he's too sentimental and afraid of a shake-up like that. So he trades a Zack Smith or Greening? That might send a message to the team...but the message that needs to be sent is from MacLean; he needs to sit Neil or someone down for a game or they need to get less ice time. If a player is selfish or lazy on the ice and gets more ice time it spreads through the team, bad habits develop and then you enter a funk.
MacLean needs to earn his pay and fix this before the team falls too behind in the wild card race.

Agreed. Good post.


I want a Greening or Neil trade. Something's gotta give.

 

[Do Make Say Think]

Methot certainly isn't lacking in offensive instinct

He just happens to be paired with someone who's got "the gift" and his job is to be the counterpart

Methot is great at pinching

 

[Rocurs]

Nice lets go back to this.

Does anyone still have the YouTube link to the 2007 playoff tribute video that had "3 Months" by Kelly Clarkson in the first half then "Good Riddance" by Green Day in the second half. Been searching for that for ages, favorite video of all time.

 

[Marty Straka]

We are only 2pts out of a Wild Card Spot and 4 out of a Top 3 in the division standings... Let's relax here were only 11 games in to an 82 game season.

 

[koreaboy]

Nice lets go back to this.

you know emery has had at least one, and I think two major, major hip surgeries since then, right?

 

[ChocolateLeclaire]

We are only 2pts out of a Wild Card Spot and 4 out of a Top 3 in the division standings... Let's relax here were only 11 games in to an 82 game season.

No! This is HFSENS! We demand an 82-0 season and anything short of that requires a complete roster overhaul, change in coaching staff and new ownership!

 

[Pierre from Orleans]

How about straight up MM for Hartnell/Simmonds? Those two are struggling badly too in Philly, could be a steal for Sens again if Philly bite on that one.

I would do Michalek for Simmonds in a heart beat.

 

[SebFromHawk]

Grant down. Hoffman up. Lehner in. Trade 2 prospects and a pick for solid veteran D.