Who is our next captain?

[Tap on the Ankle]

https://twitter.com/TSNBobMcKenzie/status/511507312780279808

Murray says Sens may just go with 4 A's like Montreal

I'm okay with this. With how quick the last captain lasted it's probably a good idea to see how things play out for a bit before naming a new one.

I would guess Phillips, Neil, MacArthur, Karlsson for the A's

 

[yoplait]

With what Murray said in his interview, I'm thinking Karlsson is going to have at least an A for sure, and is definitely in the running for the C.

 

[Micklebot]

...
It reflects a players will to win he doesn't have it.

That's not the expectation but if he is as dedicated to this franchise as he says he is this would be a no brainer. If he is a competitive guy with his career winding down he probably wants to win. You know like winners do ie Bourque or Iginla. The fact that were having this debate is exactly why I don't want him to be the captain.

What does it achieve exactly? Seems to me its just going along with the status quo.

Montreal has it figured out I hope the sens do too.

Idk, but to me it cheapens winning when you aren't there from the start. As a competitive guy, I want to build something special, not jump on last minute and enjoy the ride. Being a playoff mercinary to me isn't showing you're a winner, or that you have the drive to win; it seems like taking the easy route, almost like quiting on your team for a small chance of winning a cup.

If he see's himself as a long term part of the organization (post playing career) he may see aiding in the devlopment of young D as his contribution towards building a cup contender, and if all goes right, winner. At least then he could say he helped build a winner rather than just tagging along.

Maybe the difference is I don't see the value in happening to be on the winning team, but rather I see the value in building towards the final achievement. Winning the cup means a lot more when you're there from the start in my books.

 

[Back in Black]

We are band Waggoner's because we recognize he shouldn't be playing all the time? Hindering the development of players like Wiercioch, Cowen and Boro?

Sorry for actually watching the games.

Part of development means sitting out a few to watch & learn from experienced players. Very vital to the game. Don't be sorry.........

 

[bert]

Part of development means sitting out a few to watch & learn from experienced players. Very vital to the game. Don't be sorry.........

If the team is healthy and Phillips plays every game that means one spot is split between 3 players. So 28 games each for Boro, Wiercioch and Cowen. Even if Methot or Phillips are injured that is still 2 spots for 3 players.

That's stagnant development.

 

[Vaclav Varada]

Hope_Smoke ‏@Hope_Smoke 3m
McKenzie "Phillips would be an easy choice in Ottawa, but he might be their 7th D and will be in the press box many nights"

Hope_Smoke ‏@Hope_Smoke 3m
McKenzie "I think Karlsson could be great, and it might be time to give it to him but it may be better to give it a year"

Hope_Smoke ‏@Hope_Smoke 3m
McKenzie "With Alfredsson gone and now Spezza let that leadership evolve organically in Ottawa"

I agree 100% with Bob.

 

[bert]

I agree 100% with Bob.

As do I.

 

[BankStreetParade]

Seriously.

People that are thinking/hoping Phillips will get healthy-scratched for the majority f the season are in for a rude awakening. He won't be playing 22+ minutes, but he'll be an every-nighter (barring injury, or another seriously catastrophic drop-off in his play).

Whether or not that is acceptable to you or not, I can't see it being any less of a fact because of it.



Also: if this causes anyone to be "done with this team!!!", the line forms to your left, and you can pick up your Crosby jersey after your ticket has been stamped.

Hope_Smoke ‏@Hope_Smoke 3m
McKenzie "Phillips would be an easy choice in Ottawa, but he might be their 7th D and will be in the press box many nights"

Hope_Smoke ‏@Hope_Smoke 3m
McKenzie "I think Karlsson could be great, and it might be time to give it to him but it may be better to give it a year"

Hope_Smoke ‏@Hope_Smoke 3m
McKenzie "With Alfredsson gone and now Spezza let that leadership evolve organically in Ottawa"

Sorry Bonk. Looks like there might be a legitimate disagreement on the point you tried to make.

 

[Back in Black]

If the team is healthy and Phillips plays every game that means one spot is split between 3 players. So 28 games each for Boro, Wiercioch and Cowen. Even if Methot or Phillips are injured that is still 2 spots for 3 players.

That's stagnant development.

That's the reality. If Phillips play's that bad, he will sit some nights.

 

[Filatov2Kovalev2Bonk]

That's the reality. If Phillips play's that bad, he will sit some nights.

Phillips was horrid at times last year and rarely missed a game.
It would be a massive ****storm if Phillips was healthy scratched, this is a team with very little history so they "need" Phillips there for the "veteran presence". Wiercioch is more likely to sit than Chris.

 

[Back in Black]

Couldn't agree more, but he is aging, and like Methot last year, he sat a few games after he was cleared from injury.

 

[BonkTastic]

Indeed. You clearly outlined being forced into the added monetary investment of picking up a Crosby jersey on top of the implied joining of the Penguin March.

No, my point was that if you are the kind of person to say "I am done with this team", I expect you to actually follow through on those words. Don't bring that completely unnecessary melodrama without backing it up.

It had nothing to do with Phillips whatsoever. I'm just anticipating Phillips to be the trigger for that kind of "throw in the towel" post.

 

[BonkTastic]

Sorry Bonk. Looks like there might be a legitimate disagreement on the point you tried to make.

Hey, I'm totally OK with that.

My entire point has been people are counting chickens before they hatch. If there's actual evidence that the team sees Phillips as a #7 guy, I'm completely in favor of that decision.

I think I've said this a dozen times at this point: I've felt that Phillips-as-captain is an inevitability, not because that's my desire, but because all signs pointed to that decision. If something has changed in the org to move away from leaning in that direction, I'm totally fine with that.

I think people are confusing me endorsing an opinion vs me trying to make a projection using the information that has publicly available, and trends with the team.

 

[BonkTastic]

If Phillips isn't getting scratched that means that one of Weircioch, Cowen, Gryba and Ceci will be. How is that beneficial to the team going forward when you're scratching the young players who will form the backbone of your defense for the next whatever number of years?

I'm not saying it's the right decision. At all.

I'm just saying it seems to be (or did seem to be, until today) the decision that was going to be made, based on how the team has treated these sorts of situations in the past.

 

[bert]

That's the reality. If Phillips play's that bad, he will sit some nights.

No that's not the reality, NHL teams play the players performing the best. Which is why he wont be the fulltime captain. The guy can barely play at the NHL level and you want him playing over young players this team has invested time, money and assets to acquire. Maybe home/road captain but it looks like its going to be four assistants.

 

[SenatorArmy*]

4 A's actually seems like a good idea....there's just too many guys to choose from...this way you can spread it out nicely & have a strong leadership group..and at the same time have guys competing to be the captain going forward. I suggest Turris/MacArthur/Karlsson & Phillips. I want to say Ryan but I'm a little put off with his recent "wait & see" approach to the team. He would be a strong candidate for captain material if he committed to the team unconditionally, although at the same time I can respect & understand his rationale. That said, once Phillips retires, if Ryan is still around he would be the next guy for an A.

 

[BankStreetParade]

Phillips was horrid at times last year and rarely missed a game.
It would be a massive ****storm if Phillips was healthy scratched, this is a team with very little history so they "need" Phillips there for the "veteran presence". Wiercioch is more likely to sit than Chris.

Two things to say about this:

1. While Phillips was horrible last year, so were all the other defensemen. Unfortunately, because everyone sucked and many regressed tremendously and didn't give the coaching staff the depth to isolate the worst performers Phillips ended up playing a lot. I would say conventional wisdom at the nhl level says if all players are performing equally poorly, veteran players will be given the opportunity to play out of it because they know how to handle the situation from experience.

2. Every projection I make for the top 6 defensemen sees Phillips as a #6, potentially #7, guy. Methot, Cowen, Gryba and Karlsson will be top 4 penalty killers on the team. Then I see a mix of borowiecki and Phillips being the next guys in line to draw duties on the penalty kill. PP setup will most likely see 4 forwards + karlsson on the top unit or 3 forwards + karlsson + Weircioch. Unit 2 will either have Weircioch + Methot/Cowen/Ceci or some combination of 2 of the latter 3.

This team needs to focus on winning hockey games next year. Maclean knows that if the team repeats it's performance from last year that he'll be on the chopping block and I doubt he'll get sentimental about a defensive defensemans' overstated legacy. Phillips playing like last year and the young guys like Cowen, Gryba, Ceci, Weircioch playing better will see Phillips sitting regardless of his tenure with the team.

 

[M4TR1X]

A few alternates instead of naming one individual captain is definitely the best route for Ottawa to take. I couldn't and be neither could the organization really figure out who should wear the 'C.'

Definitely should be Phillips but not if he's a 7th defenceman.

In a year or two the team should be ready to choose a face.

For my picks of alternates:

Phillips, Neil, Karlsson, Turris/MacArthur. Really torn between the two of them.

 

[Back in Black]

No that's not the reality, NHL teams play the players performing the best. Which is why he wont be the fulltime captain. The guy can barely play at the NHL level and you want him playing over young players this team has invested time, money and assets to acquire. Maybe home/road captain but it looks like its going to be four assistants.

They won't rush young prospects, this is why they still need experienced players. You may think he's useless, but obviously the Sens don't agree with you otherwise they wouldn't have resigned Phillips.

As for not being named Captain, that's quite a possibility. Especially now that the Habs did the 4 A's.

 

[Caeldan]

Turris and Karlsson I want kept away from any potential C application for a couple years at least.

Karlsson doesn't work considering that a) he despises the majority of the Ottawa media, b) as a result the only real interviews we ever get from him are translated through Swedish papers, c) it sets him up too much as a scapegoat to be run out of town
Turris because the spotlight will be on him enough as it is filling Spezza's shoes at #1C.
MacArthur is an interesting potential pick since he's signed for 5 years, and is a lead by example type I think.
Phillips even if he's occasionally a #7 D, I think would be my pick for a C since he's got the history, he's got the local ties to the community, and is likely to be our only player for a long time to be drafted, play entire career and retire as a Senator at this point.
Neil is another for the same reason as Phillips, but I just feel like Phillips is more 'the guy' in that respect.

 

[maclean]

I accept that Phillips may be more of a leader than is evident, in the dressing room say (though videos I've seen from that environment would indicate "mascot" is a better description than "leader"). On the ice he has been much maligned for leaving other players hanging, which I would not classify as a leadership quality. There is more to leadership than seniority.

Karlsson, though the team's most talented player, is also not a leader. He occasionally suffers from attitude problems and is not so well suited to the role of media mediator. There is more to leadership than skill.

If you ask me, good choices for captain are hard-working players like macarthur or turris. They don't need to be the captain forever, but they do show the qualities that you want in a leader. They haven't been with the team as long, but on lots of teams that doesn't matter either.

I realise that basically everything that has been indicated thus far has pointed to Phillips or Neil. But I think there are other choices and I think the organisation could still surprise us. After all, if they were 100% fine just giving it to Phillips then they would have already.

 

[DrunkUncleDenis]

4 A's actually seems like a good idea....there's just too many guys to choose from...this way you can spread it out nicely & have a strong leadership group..and at the same time have guys competing to be the captain going forward. I suggest Turris/MacArthur/Karlsson & Phillips. I want to say Ryan but I'm a little put off with his recent "wait & see" approach to the team. He would be a strong candidate for captain material if he committed to the team unconditionally, although at the same time I can respect & understand his rationale. That said, once Phillips retires, if Ryan is still around he would be the next guy for an A.

Why are people talking 4 A's now? Because Montreal is doing some weird rotation thing? NHL rules are that we can only have 3 letters on the ice at any given time (ie. one C does not = 2 A's). Montreal is doing their 4 A's by rotating the third A between Patches and Subban: Subban at home games half the year and Patches at away games, then they switch (which is dumb imo).

Might as well give half the team A's (Mac Turris Ryan Methot Phillips Neil Karlsson, Smith, hell why not Andy?!)

Just do 3 permanent A's and give it a rest. You're stuck with Philly and Neil since they're not going to strip them. Slap an A on Turris or EK, problem solved.

 

[krapsik]

Lately i have a feeling, that best candidate for C is Ryan. At list if he walks or gets traded, Sens would have a crazy record. 3 captains in three years.

 

[Minister of Offence]

If it was going to be Phillips, he'd have it by now.

They want to put it on karlsson, and they will at some point this year IMO

 

[aragorn]

If it was going to be Phillips, he'd have it by now.

They want to put it on karlsson, and they will at some point this year IMO

Geez, I hope not. Turris provides the kind of work ethic in every game & on every shift you want to see from your captain & he gets my vote.