-My erratic blogging is bad for Twitter numbers–apologies to the regulars. My erratic work schedule has not helped matters.
-The Sens are coming off two losses (to Vancouver—Amelia L‘s recap and Travis Yost‘s thoughts–and then to Detroit) and roster changes have been made in preparation for tonight’s game against Florida (7-15-5). Mike Hoffman (the newly named captain in Binghamton) comes to Ottawa, while Mark Borowiecki (the captain he replaced) and Derek Grant return to the AHL. Neither the Borocop nor Grant set the world on fire with the Sens, although Nichols points out the latter’s contribution outside the offensive sphere was excellent (his jab at the Sens carrying Matt Kassian is right on target). The Hoffman promotion is well deserved (he leads the B-Sens in scoring), although it remains to be seen how much of his production can carry over at the next level.
–Travis looks at the playoff odds for Ottawa and they remain grim (echoing thoughts from Elliotte Friedman almost a month ago; Ken Campbell also weighs in).
-After the Vancouver loss the knives were out for Craig Anderson and Nichols dug through the numbers to see that his major regression this season is his save percentage while the team is shorthanded.
-In the same article Nichols explores the three options he see’s for Ottawa:
1. Spend money to acquire players to try and win now, which he deems unlikely (agreed given the Sens limited budget)
2. Stick with the current group and hope they turn it around, which he thinks is most likely (agreed)
3. Do more rebuilding, which he see’s as least likely (agreed given the team’s assertion they want to win now)
–Ryan Classic breaks out his red pen and assigns the Sens grades because we all went to school and know that letters equal to value…. I’m just kidding, Ryan does a solid job of slapping his opinion on player performances, although a C for Cory Conacher strikes me as generous (and how is Matt Kassian not an F?).
-Tim Murray, Bryan’s likely successor in Ottawa, has been given permission to interview for the Buffalo Sabres vacant GM slot. It would be a great hire for Buffalo and a big loss for Ottawa.
-In light of the concussion lawsuit against the NHL, Scott recalled Bill Daly being asked about fighting in relation to player safety a couple of years ago and provides us with the transcription, the most interesting quote being:
I think 7 percent of our concussions last year were as a result of fighting. From my perspective that’s a pretty high number.
It’s actually a pretty low number (93% are non-fighting related?), but it’s interesting that Bill thinks it’s significant.
-On the more emotional note, Amelia L reminisces about Daniel Alfredsson‘s tenure as an Ottawa Senator and it’s worth reading in its entirety. What sticks out to me are the various criticisms about Alfie (long forgotten these days); I wonder how many of those “controversies” were simply radio filler and journalistic bias? They struck me as ridiculous at the time (right up there with the idea that a European captain couldn’t win the Cup), but I suppose there’s a possibility it was legitimate.
-The B-Sens also lost both their most recent games, dropping a 1-0 decision to Wilkes-Barre (boxscore and Jeff Ulmer‘s recap) and a 4-3 shootout game to St. John’s (boxscore and Jeff‘s recap). Speaking of Binghamton, here’s my look at player performances through the first twenty games.
-Elmira was 1-1 on the weekend, with Sens prospects producing nothing in either game.
-Sens prospect Curtis Lazar has made the World Juniors list of invitees.
-Hit stats are something that get brought up quite frequently in hockey coverage and I wonder if anyone has looked at whether there’s a correlation between hitting and winning–I suspect it has been done and I’d love to see it.
-As regular readers here are well aware, I’m not a fan of lazy journalism and Allan Muir has jumped into that category with the following:
matter how many members of the Canadian media are tenting their fingers and murmuring “Excellent!” at the thought of Cherry’s dismissal, the fact remains that he is revered by a much larger and more important segment of the public. You know, the segment of the public that buys products like beer and trucks and hardware backed by advertising dollars that will be key to the success of this venture.
Where to begin with this? There’s no basis provided for either of Muir’s assertions–that the “Canadian media” (who? The guys on Parliament Hill? The war correspondents? all of them?) wants Cherry gone or that he’s a lynchpin for the “important” segment of the public (people who buy things, so…well that’s everyone, presumably including the “Canadian media” too). Many people might agree with the sentiment above, but you have to recognise that just saying something doesn’t make it so. Facts allow you to theorize and Muir offers none. Briefly to the point of his article: Cherry is a perfect fit for the kinds of sports personalities Sportsnet employs.
This article is written by Peter Levi (@eyeonthesens)
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[…] in their previous segment of games, but they’ve barely moved at all in the standings (as predicted months […]
[…] to almost non-existent. It turns out those November musings that the season was over (referenced here) were spot on. As Nichols points out (props on being paid for your opinion […]