What does Ottawa need more?

[scallionjj11]

Top 2 D to play with Karlsson.

I like Ottawa's forwards at the moment. I believe Stone has very similar skills to Ryan, and Stone will be a very similar player to Ryan, but to a slightly lesser degree.

y

while i agree that stone has potential to be that good it is yet to be seen with out a full nhl season to base it on. Top 2 d defiantly don't grow on trees so who do you have in mind?

 

[Cosmix]

Not mediocrity

Melynk's budget will force us into mediocrity whether we like it or not. We'll never be able to outscore the teams that can spend to the cap. Let the Rangers and the Leafs of the world spend 30-40M on their forward core trying to outscore their opponents on a nightly basis. We'll spend 25-30M on two-way forwards that can neutralize their more expensive, one-dimensional counterparts through defensive awareness and hard work. I'd rather be the team with more talent, but the sad reality is that we can't be that team spending 10-15M less than the big market skill teams. It's just not realistic.

We already have Turris, Ryan, and potentially Zibanejad as our top offensive players. Guys like MacArthur, Stone, Chiasson, Lazar and any one of our numerous young forwards make up the secondary scoring. That's plenty of offense for the team we should be looking to become - a team that wins close games by battling, working hard and out-defending the opposition. Adding another high-end forward means we can't afford to sign/trade for a high-end defenseman, which would be a lot more valuable to this team than another skilled forward.

We should be looking at acquiring a guy like Keith Yandle, not a guy like Evander Kane.

I don't see it as mediocrity. I agree with your assessment that the Senators, due to not being a cap spending team, should draft, trade for, and develop two way forwards who are hard working and have defensive skills to neutrality other teams offensive players. You may be right in preferring a top 4 D instead of a top forward. I am hopefully that two of Ceci, Cowen, Wiercioch, or one of our other Defenseman prospects can become top 4 defenceman. I view Methot and Karlsson as two top 4 Defenseman now.

 

[aragorn]

There are a few questions going into next season.
1. IMO Karlsson is the only top pairing defenceman Ottawa has but Methot, Cowen, Wiercioch & Ceci all have top 4 potential or 2nd pairing potential. Gryba, Phillips & Boro are defensive defencemen & Cowen can also play this role effectively. Will the defence step up this yr or will the defence disappoint us again?

2. I like our goalie situation, if they both can return to form, but I suspect that if Ottawa is not in playoff contention, than Anderson should be traded at the deadline. Then again, would it hurt to have Anderson in a backup situation for another couple of yrs, if he were to agree to that as insurance just in case? Dreidger & Hogberg are still a few yrs away & having an experienced goalie behind Lehner would IMO seem sensible.

3. It wouldn't hurt Ottawa to acquire another top 6 forward even if it were Chris Stewart who could play with Michalek & Legwand. That would give Ottawa two legitimate top scoring lines & would push Chiasson down a line. I doubt Stewart would be that expensive & could likely be had for a couple of prospects, one being Prince. A Chiasson, Zibanejad & Stone 3rd line would give Ottawa another big potential two way scoring line.

 

[Sensinitis]

We can't get Stewart unless we're giving up one of Stone/Chiasson in the package because we have too many RWs. That seems counterproductive.

Ryan
Stone
Chiasson
Condra/Neil

If you get Stewart for a pick or wtv, that's 6 RWs.

On another note, I think we have some of our best RW depth in years if Stone and Chiasson play well. Last season we had Erik ****ing Condra playing on the 2nd line at times.

 

[aragorn]

We can't get Stewart unless we're giving up one of Stone/Chiasson in the package because we have too many RWs. That seems counterproductive.

Ryan
Stone
Chiasson
Condra/Neil

If you get Stewart for a pick or wtv, that's 6 RWs.

On another note, I think we have some of our best RW depth in years if Stone and Chiasson play well. Last season we had Erik ****ing Condra playing on the 2nd line at times.

I would not include either Stone or Chiasson in a deal for Stewart, I was hoping to include Condra in the package though. Then again, Ottawa could move Smith on to the 3rd line LW, if Hoffman doesn't work out & bring up Grant to play 4th line centre. That would give Ottawa lots of size & toughness on every line except maybe the first. Smith seems to have some untapped offensive potential that could emerge with better offensive players.

 

[DrunkUncleDenis]

There are a few questions going into next season.
1. IMO Karlsson is the only top pairing defenceman Ottawa has but Methot, Cowen, Wiercioch & Ceci all have top 4 potential or 2nd pairing potential. Gryba, Phillips & Boro are defensive defencemen & Cowen can also play this role effectively. Will the defence step up this yr or will the defence disappoint us again?

2. I like our goalie situation, if they both can return to form, but I suspect that if Ottawa is not in playoff contention, than Anderson should be traded at the deadline. Then again, would it hurt to have Anderson in a backup situation for another couple of yrs, if he were to agree to that as insurance just in case? Dreidger & Hogberg are still a few yrs away & having an experienced goalie behind Lehner would IMO seem sensible.

3. It wouldn't hurt Ottawa to acquire another top 6 forward even if it were Chris Stewart who could play with Michalek & Legwand. That would give Ottawa two legitimate top scoring lines & would push Chiasson down a line. I doubt Stewart would be that expensive & could likely be had for a couple of prospects, one being Prince. A Chiasson, Zibanejad & Stone 3rd line would give Ottawa another big potential two way scoring line.

1. I have a feeling no help will be coming from outside, so we'll have to cross our fingers that the kids (and Methot for that matter) can bounce back in a big way. It would be awesome if we could have Methot on the second pairing with a new legit D to play with EK, but I don't think it's gonna happen.

2. If we are thinking of re-signing Andy for a few years as a backup and he is still playing well, I'd assume he will want to gun for a #1 spot on another team, and I'm doubtful he'll want to ride behind Lehner at that point. You know how goalies are. Plus it would be 3.5 million off the books if Lehner decides to take the reins, and we can bring in a cheap backup next year (I have my Melnyk hat on).

3. I agree.

 

[aragorn]

1. I have a feeling no help will be coming from outside, so we'll have to cross our fingers that the kids (and Methot for that matter) can bounce back in a big way. It would be awesome if we could have Methot on the second pairing with a new legit D to play with EK, but I don't think it's gonna happen.

2. If we are thinking of re-signing Andy for a few years as a backup and he is still playing well, I'd assume he will want to gun for a #1 spot on another team, and I'm doubtful he'll want to ride behind Lehner at that point. You know how goalies are. Plus it would be 3.5 million off the books if Lehner decides to take the reins, and we can bring in a cheap backup next year (I have my Melnyk hat on).

3. I agree.

Deadline Deal:
To Buffalo: Craig Anderson, Eric Condra & Shane Prince
To Ottawa: Jonas Enroth & Chris Stewart
- Buffalo gets a legitimate #1 goalie to help a young team plus a puck possession player & a good young prospect.
- Ottawa gets their top 6 power forward & a backup goalie at a decent price. Unfortunately, it would also increase their internal budget so I assume Melnyk would veto the deal unless TM kept the salary difference.

 

[CanadianGuest]

y

while i agree that stone has potential to be that good it is yet to be seen with out a full nhl season to base it on. Top 2 d defiantly don't grow on trees so who do you have in mind?

On the cheap, I'd like to get Scott Harrington from Pittsburgh.