Your expectations for the 2014-2015 Ottawa Senators

[SensFactor]

I think with Spezza gone there are a lot of opportunities for new leaders on this team to step up. Ottawa IS a bubble team.

My concern is defense. Can Cowen improve his place drastically? Can Karlsson player better defense and not always act like a forward? How much further has Phillips declined? Is Borowiecki ready for the NHL? Can Wiercioch play consistent defense or is he likley to be moved? Does Methot get traded?

A lot of questions for the Sens on D. If they revert back to last years D, we are doomed.

 

[Busboy]

Phillips was quite good...in 2003 to 2007 or so. Now it's 2014-2015 and he's well past his best before date and there is no reason to keep him on outside of sentimentality or loyalty. The more Phillips is on the ice, the more our zone is in peril.

There's plenty of reasons to keep him around. For one, he's our only D over the age of 30. Two, there are no UFAs available for less than 2.5 mil that are as good as Phillips. Three, lots of other reasons.

 

[SensFactor]

Rumour is that it was for Chris Stewart from Buffalo but that Tim kept asking for someone we didn't want to let go so it fell through

Thank the lord

From another poster the rumour was:

To Ottawa: Chris Stewart
To Buffalo: Matt Puempel, Patrick Wiercioch

 

[Savannah Skunk]

From another poster the rumour was:

To Ottawa: Chris Stewart
To Buffalo: Matt Puempel, Patrick Wiercioch

I like Puempel and hope we do not trade him.

 

[Flamingo]

The key to this season will be Cowen's hair. If he keeps the flow, success!

 

[DylanSensFan]

Remember... I voted safe playoff team. We will be there fighting for the cup after 82.

 

[Do Make Say Think]

From another poster the rumour was:

To Ottawa: Chris Stewart
To Buffalo: Matt Puempel, Patrick Wiercioch

That would have been a poor trade

Thank the heavens we didn't go ahead with it

 

[aragorn]

From another poster the rumour was:

To Ottawa: Chris Stewart
To Buffalo: Matt Puempel, Patrick Wiercioch

I'd trade Prince before Puempel I think, snipers are hard to come by & we may need to keep Puempel around in case Ryan ever decides to bolt out of town. The other problem with this trade will likely be the money, unless TM agrees to keep the difference in salary. That's why I had Wiercioch, Hoffman & Condra for Stewart because those three together came just $150K less than Stewart's salary.

 

[Skrymir]

We don't have the horses to score and we aren't good enough defensively to keep the goals out so I'm setting the bar low and hope to be surprised.

 

[PoutineSp00nZ]

From another poster the rumour was:

To Ottawa: Chris Stewart
To Buffalo: Matt Puempel, Patrick Wiercioch

That would be horrible for the Sens.

 

[DrEasy]

Since a majority of HFers believe the Sens to be a bubble team, how about a bubble-themed collection of avatars for this season?

 

[aragorn]

We don't have the horses to score and we aren't good enough defensively to keep the goals out so I'm setting the bar low and hope to be surprised.

So are you of the opinion that Turris, MacArthur & Ryan won't produce this yr like they did last yr? And do you not think that Legwand who had 51 pts last yr can not score as much in Ottawa even if they were to put Ryan with him? Or that Michalek can rebound & get 40 pts or more or Zibanejad score more than 40 pts or Karlsson won't get up to 70 pts this yr?

Do you not think any of our young guys will have a surprising good yr like Stone or Ceci or Cowen or Wiercioch or Hoffman or Chiasson? Do you also not think that both Anderson & Lehner will not be better than they were last yr? Do you not think the coaching staff is not addressing the defensive miscues of last yr & reducing the amount of penalties & playing a much better two way game with the forwards reducing their gaps & playing much better defensively as a team?

Well I hope they are & I think they will be better defensively & reduce the negatives & hopefully score more at the same time.

 

[ReginKarlssonLehner]

From another poster the rumour was:

To Ottawa: Chris Stewart
To Buffalo: Matt Puempel, Patrick Wiercioch

At this point I don't do that. Puempel looks like a real threat in the future.

 

[darglor]

Since a majority of HFers believe the Sens to be a bubble team, how about a bubble-themed collection of avatars for this season?

Since when does HF have such a rosy glow on the Sens fortunes? Seems like the majority has the Sens down in the bottom 5.

 

[DrEasy]

Since when does HF have such a rosy glow on the Sens fortunes? Seems like the majority has the Sens down in the bottom 5.

I'm referring to the results of the poll in this thread. If it annoys HFers outside the Sens forum even better! It would be the new "Ain't even mad" or "Senatrolls", but this time with the team or players literally "on the bubble". Wish I had PhotoShop skills...

 

[trentmccleary]

Miss the playoffs by half a dozen points... enough for Melnyk to justify not increasing the payroll significantly next year either.

 

[BankStreetParade]

The reality is the team was 6 wins away from a 100 point season. Is it really that hard to believe that we will be:

a) considerably better defensively
b) better in afternoon games (even by virtue of having fewer this year)
c) better at holding leads
d) a better skating team

Not to mention the fact that it seemed like 85% of the roster regressed last year. Any return to normal performance for our players will see a tremendous uptick in our on-ice success.

I look at the rosters of teams like Montreal, Tampa Bay and Minnesota from last season and think there's no reason why our roster isn't every bit as good if not better than theirs was.

 

[GimmeMyJetpack]

The reality is the team was 6 wins away from a 100 point season. Is it really that hard to believe that we will be:

a) considerably better defensively
b) better in afternoon games (even by virtue of having fewer this year)
c) better at holding leads
d) a better skating team

Not to mention the fact that it seemed like 85% of the roster regressed last year. Any return to normal performance for our players will see a tremendous uptick in our on-ice success.

I look at the rosters of teams like Montreal, Tampa Bay and Minnesota from last season and think there's no reason why our roster isn't every bit as good if not better than theirs was.

This is a really good post. It's basically what I was going to write. Well done.

 

[ReginKarlssonLehner]

The reality is the team was 6 wins away from a 100 point season. Is it really that hard to believe that we will be:

a) considerably better defensively
b) better in afternoon games (even by virtue of having fewer this year)
c) better at holding leads
d) a better skating team

Not to mention the fact that it seemed like 85% of the roster regressed last year. Any return to normal performance for our players will see a tremendous uptick in our on-ice success.

I look at the rosters of teams like Montreal, Tampa Bay and Minnesota from last season and think there's no reason why our roster isn't every bit as good if not better than theirs was.

Word.

I saw enormous positives against both games against Toronto.

The positives equalled to what could be our potential roster for next year. We will be a good team. Especially if Karlsson guides us there.

 

[bornNraised Sens]

Bubble team I think but mostly would like to see them just be competitive. Hate that word when people use it, but what I mean is that the guys try hard and don't give up easily while looking to improve. Would rather see close games and more consistent play instead of 3 loses and then a 5-1 win. Not a lot of outside expectations for the sens this year which helps for te younger guys I think and let's then play their game. Tryed too hard to be something we weren't last year.

Edit: it's also interesting to note that bob mckenzie picked ottawa to make the playoffs out of toronto and ottawa, which if you listen to some posters and analyst guys would seem insane. On the other hand it doesn't say much as both will be around the same spot in the standings realistically.

 

[Quo]

I thought Bob was flirting with us during that segment.

 

[Lenny the Lynx]

I have no idea what to expect. Could be like 2 years ago and way better than they should be, or we could end up in a draft lottery position, especially if there are a few key injuries

 

[Filatov2Kovalev2Bonk]

There's plenty of reasons to keep him around. For one, he's our only D over the age of 30. Two, there are no UFAs available for less than 2.5 mil that are as good as Phillips. Three, lots of other reasons.

Methot can do the mentoring and all the other reaons seem to boil down to: "He's a nice guy and a longtime Senator", which is basically sentimentality. Phillips will be gone in a year or two and this team will still win games, so I do not see why he's needed at this point.

Other D on this team play hockey and defence better and that's the bottom line.

 

[coladin]

The reality is the team was 6 wins away from a 100 point season. Is it really that hard to believe that we will be:

a) considerably better defensively
b) better in afternoon games (even by virtue of having fewer this year)
c) better at holding leads
d) a better skating team

Not to mention the fact that it seemed like 85% of the roster regressed last year. Any return to normal performance for our players will see a tremendous uptick in our on-ice success.

I look at the rosters of teams like Montreal, Tampa Bay and Minnesota from last season and think there's no reason why our roster isn't every bit as good if not better than theirs was.

All true.

but...

Is it really hard to believe that others won't be better as well?

 

[Dr.Sens(e)]

The reality is the team was 6 wins away from a 100 point season.

And we were 6 losses away from being bottom 3 in the league. Plus, 100 points isn't what it used to be, with so many 3 point games. 85 points is basically a BAD team.

Is it really that hard to believe that we will be:

a) considerably better defensively
b) better in afternoon games (even by virtue of having fewer this year)
c) better at holding leads
d) a better skating team

Not to mention the fact that it seemed like 85% of the roster regressed last year. Any return to normal performance for our players will see a tremendous uptick in our on-ice success.

I look at the rosters of teams like Montreal, Tampa Bay and Minnesota from last season and think there's no reason why our roster isn't every bit as good if not better than theirs was.

The problem is, with essentially the same roster minus the Spezza and Legwand swap, there is really no major reason to think we will have improved in those areas. With Spezza gone, it's probably reasonable to think out PP will take a minor step back too, although Legwand will probably help the 2nd unit. And while hopefully we will improve in some of those areas, we could also take a step back in other areas. What if Anderson has a bad year? What if Turris has a horrible slump? Or Karlsson gets a nagging injury that limits his impact? Expecting the ball to simple bounce better for you next year without rationale on why it will is being a bit naïve.

Overall, this team is no more talented than the team that was well out of the playoffs last year, BUT, I am hoping the team can find a similar identity to the pesky Sens of two years ago. That team was obviously buoyed by some crazy good goaltending, but overall, we want to become a tough and grinding team to play against, with consistent effort and flow from every line. And it's not like this team is without significant talent. We're arguably middle of the road talent-wise. But if we can establish that type of team persona we had going for us previously, we have a chance at being a playoff team, but more importantly, will set the stage for better things in the years ahead as some of our younger guys develop into bigger impact players. Our young core is pretty solid and set. There is reason for optimism long-term.