-Ottawa plays Boston (22-8-4) tonight; the Bruins are lead by Patrice Bergeron (31 points) and backstopped by Tuukka Rask (15-5-4 2.02 .922). Robin Lehner will get the start.
-I somehow missed that Jared Cowen was on the Sens road trip yesterday, but he is.
–Sylvain St-Laurent believes that Ben Bishop won’t be moved until he is healthy, but believes Curtis Glencross would be good value in return for him if that deal happens.
–Nichols takes a look at acquiring Glencross:
As a forward who has tallied 24 and 26 goals in his last two seasons (he has 14 goals in 31 games this season), Glencross would assuredly help Ottawa now. And with his paltry cap hit, the Senators would continue to have the financial flexibility that allows them to go out and take on a significant contract that can help put the team over the top. Now here’s the rub… They would still have to go out and get that high-end guy. Like it or not, having cap friendly contracts and a shit-tonne of cap space is meaningless until the Senators actually go out into the trade or free agent market and acquire the kind of high-calibre player they surely covet. And if we’re really being honest with ourselves, those kinds of players are rarely, if ever, available in free agency. For the Senators to go out and acquire elite talent, they’re going to have to draft it or acquire it via trade. So it’s worth re-examining whether it’s prudent to move some young assets – in this case, the reported asking price is Ben Bishop and a draft pick – when these same assets could be packaged as part of a larger deal to bring in a better and younger talent who can play with this team’s younger core and hopefully give the Senators a bigger window of Cup contention. In a vacuum, the trade makes sense for right now. Bishop is expendable because Robin Lehner has shown that he’s NHL-ready and can play well when called upon. And the draft pick, well that’s a gamble at the best of times. Nonetheless, I don’t believe that Glencross is a player who can put Ottawa “over the top” by the time his contract expires following the 2014/15 season and for that reason, I’d rather see management explore the trade market in the summer, moving their currency (goaltending, draft picks, prospects) as part of a deal that nets them a better talent.
This is the sentiment I expressed yesterday, although I believe there is pressure to move Bishop before the deadline as it will be harder to do so in the off-season (assets have more value when you don’t have to move them).
–Varada takes a look at some of the trade deals of late and then reflects on Ottawa:
What should Ottawa do at the deadline, anyway? Well, considering how quickly any players of consequence are being snatched up, I can’t imagine Bryan Murray swinging for the fences on this one, and I desperately hope he doesn’t part with that 1st rounder. The best player I think Ottawa can hope for is a familiar face: Jason Spezza or Jared Cowen coming back in time for the playoffs. This deadline day was already going to be a boring one, but I think it might be especially so for Sens fans.
I can’t agree more.
–Bobby Kelly provides an overview of the week that was for Binghamton and I encourage you all to check it out. A couple of thoughts on his thoughts: Cole Schneider‘s entire season has been up and down, with spurts of offence followed by barren periods, but I think he’s fluctuating less and less. Marc Cheverie has struggled at the AHL level and if Andrew Hammond is ready for prime time I wouldn’t be surprised to see Cheverie returned to Elmira.
-Speaking of Elmira, Louie Caporusso was sent down to the ECHL and may well have made his last appearance in a Binghamton uniform.
–Hockey’s Future looks at prospects who are exceeding expectations and those falling behind and Ottawa’s Cody Ceci makes the former list:
Ceci’s development was done a great service when he was traded from the Ottawa 67’s to the Owen Sound Attack on January 7th. Ottawa struggled mightily in their own end all season, and has allowed an average of well over four goals per game. So while Ceci was playing a lot of minutes, it was not exactly the type of quality ice time that is conducive to developing good defensive habits. Since the trade to Owen Sound, Ceci has looked like a different player. He has been smarter defensively, but has also played with a great deal of confidence, shooting the puck more, and playing a crucial role in the Attack’s transition game.
–Conor Mulligan projects who the Sens will draft this year (assuming their pick selection and league finish remains the same) and proposes the following:
1-23 Bo Horvat (or Ryan Hartman or Alexander Wennberg)
3-83 Nicholas Baptiste (or Remi Elie or Jackson Houck)
4-113 Eric Roy (or Martin Reway, Greg Chase, or Nathan Pancel)
5-143 Blaine Byron (or Charlie Graham, Josh Burnside, or Emil Djuse)
6-173 J. C. Lipon (or Jeremy Gregoire, Stephen Harper, or Jonatan Tanus)
The Senators don’t need to draft in one specific area thanks to Bryan Murray’s great drafting throughout the years. This year, look for some off the board picks as the Senators go for boom/bust players with massive potential. They don’t need to play it safe; Murray and his scouting staff have done a great job stockpiling players.
This article is written by Peter Levi (@eyeonthesens)
eyeonthesens 