-Here is the Sens lineup for tonight’s tilt against Toronto: MacArthur-Turris-Stone; Dziurzynski-Smith-Neil; Greening-DaCosta-Petersson; Cowick-O’Brien-Robinson; Cowen-Wiercioch; Borowiecki-Ceci; Sdao-Corvo. Toronto’s lineup has yet to be finalized.
–Travis Yost takes issue with yesterday’s ESPN column declaring the Sens the 9th best sports organisation:
But, Canada’s Ultimate Team? That’s, uh, a tough thing to sell right now. Ownership has been regularly noting that the team is allegedly bleeding money, as much as $94MM in the last decade, with that number expected to climb. Tangentially-related, a knifefight between ownership and the city over the location of a new casino, one that’s alleged to be a necessary third revenue stream for the Ottawa Senators to survive.
And that’s just it–the column has to be taken with a grain of salt. Better ownership might justify that rating, but the state of that ownership means the team has real problems.
-I don’t listen to The Team 1200 much anymore–I’m not a fan of the talent there–but I hadn’t heard much from Shawn Simpson until yesterday. I’m not sure what the attraction of ex-players is to sports radio–the skills are completely unrelated–but the guy clearly has a few screws loose. He was arguing players should have the right to crosscheck other players in the face if they feel threatened (in the context of the John Scott–Phil Kessel incident)–what? Beyond the obvious problem of legality (assault with a weapon is a very different kettle of fish–just ask Marty McSorley), how does that address the issue? The problem is that the league does nothing to prevent players from physically taking advantage of one another–allowing crosschecks or stick swinging doesn’t solve anything.
–Scott Greenham, who has been attending Sens camp on a PTO, had his ECHL rights traded from Bakersfield to Elmira for future considerations. I expected Greenham would wind up with the Jackals, but the fact that he was given away for nothing makes me wonder about his value. The Condors’ Troy Mann said:
The Ottawa Senators wanted to have Scott in their system and with Elmira being their affiliate, we were able to accommodate their request. We like our goaltending situation, knowing that we’re getting assigned a goaltender from Edmonton/Oklahoma City and excited about what (Paul) Karpowich can bring to our team.
For those who may not remember, Greenham was a free agent invite to the Sens 2011 development camp, so he has a relationship with the team that goes back a couple of years. The twenty-six year old is an NCAA grad who played for the Ottawa Jr. Senators a million years ago; he’s likely pencilled in as the starter for the Jackals (he has much more pedigree than tryout goaltender Mike McDonald).
–Allan Muir talks about the inconsistency of the NHL’s suspensions (nothing new, but worth remembering).
-Mark Spector is like the bulk of journalists covering the NHL: most of what he writes is generic and banal, sprinkled with the utterly absurd and, occasionally, mildly sensible. Today is a trip into loony land as he praises the Oilers’ acquisition of Steve MacIntyre. This is the same MacIntyre who has failed Edmonton twice beforehand; it’s his third tour of duty with the Oilers who waived him in 2009 and let him walk in 2011. This is a guy who Florida let walk and the Penguins just waived. If what MacIntyre provides is so important, why can’t he stick anywhere? Spector has no answer because he doesn’t question his preconception–he believes something and doesn’t need the facts to get in his way (for the true value of toughness check out the links here).
-Every year Hockey’s Future does an excellent job previewing the SM-Liiga (the most recent preview is here).
This article is written by Peter Levi (@eyeonthesens)
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