-The major news for Ottawa is the trade to acquire Matt Kassian. The pugilist was a 2nd round pick by the Wild back in 2005 whose unremarkable play has him buried in the minors this season. Why the Sens thought he was worth a 6th round pick is beyond me. Kassian can’t play (28-2-0-2 -3 67pim [9 fights] career in the NHL), so was clearly picked up for his ability as an enforcer. I think the addition will be as meaningful as the trade that acquired Joey Tetarenko back in the day. It’s a move that smacks of desperation that I think is completely unwarranted–don’t be surprised to see Kassian in the minors sooner than later. I can only echo Chris who writes:
Heavyweights like Kassian, tend to be liabilites opposing player skate circles around, not to mention their propensity for unnecessary minor penalties. By adding Kassian, the Sens might also be taking away a roster spot from useful penalty killers like Daugavins or O’Brien, or maybe Peter Regin will be forced to sit in the press box more. To be honest, I’ll take the 4% at having a good player 5 or so years down the road than having one those guys lose a regular spot in the lineup.
Among those 4% are Sens prospect Mark Stone and Blackhawk regular Ben Smith, whom Murray peddled away for a broken down Martin Lapointe (“toughness” again) back in 2008. The Raaymaker offers a slightly more positive take on the acquisition, but all the positives are based on hope rather than analysis.
-Ottawa faces Montreal (17-5-4) tonight; the Habs are lead by Michael Ryder (23 points) and backstopped by Carey Price (13-4-3 2.37 .910). No lineup changes are expected for the Sens.
–Scott had the scoring chances in the Boston game 13/13.
-The WTYKY boys talk about the year thus far and the main thing I took away from it that’s worth repeating is that Daniel Alfredsson is having a tough year. I think the stress of having to be a first line player is too much for him at this stage; he looked fine when Spezza was in the lineup and he played with Turris against slightly weaker opposition. I don’t think he’s done by any stretch, but it appears as though he just can’t carry the mail for the team anymore. I also have to echo their sentiments that it might be the end of the line for Peter Regin; he has enough talent to be an NHL regular, but consistency and fragility might see him back in Europe sooner or later.
-Binghamton plays Rochester (31-22-4) tonight; the Amerks are lead by Mark Mancari (52 points) and backstopped by David Leggio (30-17-1 2.60 .922).
–SensProspects suggests Michael Sdao will be signed sometime soon and join Binghamton. It’s a good guess and he’ll be a welcome addition to the depleted AHL blueline.
This article is written by Peter Levi (@eyeonthesens)
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