Ary M has a great article looking at Alex Chaisson and what he brings to the Sens. I also thought Chaisson was a bottom-dwelling failure, but the analytics presents a decent top-nine player. It’s well worth reading in detail.
In a lengthy discussion with Ian Mendes, Pierre Dorion added some clarity on the Mikael Wikstrand situation:
He’s under contract with us next year. I heard that he signed somewhere else [Farjestad], but we want him to play for us. We think he’s very close to the NHL. If Erik Karlsson played a month in Binghamton, I don’t think it’s a bad thing for Mikael Wikstrand. If Cody Ceci played a few months in Binghamton, we don’t think it’s the worst thing for him to adjust to North American hockey and we think he’s really close to (playing in) the NHL
It sounds like Wikstrand is reluctant to join Binghamton, but as he’s under contract with the Sens and apparently signed with Farjestad without their impute, I don’t see that he has any choice. I don’t think B-Sens fans should take offense at Wikstrand‘s possible attitude–a lot of people are reluctant to leave home and he likely knows next to nothing about the city.
Dorion also talked about the newly signed Tobias Lindberg:
Yeah, obviously a lot of credit has to go to Randy (Lee) to get that deal done under a certain deadline that we had. As far as Tobias at the Memorial Cup, I think Tobias took great strides this year. I think coming over to play the North American game in Oshawa with a team that plays hard was so beneficial for him. Obviously, Tobias has NHL speed and NHL skill. We obviously see him more as a winger than a centerman with his up-and-down play. Obviously he’s still got to get more involved and keep on improving and always playing at a high pace. We definitely see someone that can play for us down the road. Now obviously when I say ‘down the road’, it’s not… I’m not saying that Tobias couldn’t play games for us this year, but when he’s ready to contribute, I think we’re going to see someone that can play in the NHL.
I think Pierre should be fined for how often he said “obviously”, but that aside, they understandably like his upset. I’d remind fans that they should take his production in Oshawa with a grain of salt given the very talented linemates he had there. He’ll definitely be a welcome addition to Binghamton’s lineup in the fall.
Ryan Wagman offers a look at drafting tendencies and there’s something he said that I think is worth emphasizing:
the wholesale turnover in the Buffalo and Boston organizations, looking at their historical draft records is not just useless, but counterproductive
The point here isn’t the specific teams mentioned, but the turnover. So often people will talk about historical trends for a team with no reference to the brain trust in charge–it’s irrelevant what a team did five years ago if the same people are no longer in charge. This might seem like an obvious point, but I see it ignored over and over again so it’s worth drilling home. Going back to Wagman’s article, it’s an excellent breakdown of the Pacific division and their drafting trends based on those in charge (he also looks at the Atlantic division–Nichols and others will enjoy how hesitant he is to call Jared Cowen a draft “success”).
Craig Smith presents a wide range of players that the Sens might draft. I’ve normally posted a completely separate post with something similar, but given time constraints I’ll simply list who would go as per my NHL mock draft:
1-18 Jeremy Roy, although if the Sens may want to dip their toe into Sweden with Joel Eriksson Ek who is listed next
2-42 Zachary Senyshyn
2-48 Guillaume Brisebois
4-109 Jonne Tammela, although the Sens under Murray don’t draft Finns so perhaps Will Borgen (listed next)
5-139 Christian Jaros
7-199 Mikhail Vorobyov lands here, but the Sens don’t draft Russians so the next listed non-Russian would be Kevin Davis
I don’t take these predictions too seriously, but the above includes four defenseman and just two forwards (3 and 3 if they take Ek), so it’s more than a little impractical (with six picks I’d be surprised by more than two blueliners); it does contain Ottawa staples such as a QMJHL player and a Swede (two in fact). Regardless, it’s fun to speculate.
There was another European FA signing as Pittsburgh inked Sergei Plotnikov (the 25-year old has put up consistent, solid numbers with Lokomotiv).
This article is written by Peter Levi (@eyeonthesens)
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eyeonthesens 
Obviously a great article as usual; I enjoy reading your articles.
Good for Karlsson winning the Norris. And obviously Stone will win the Calder next year (joke).
Draft day should be busy. I am still hoping Lehner isn’t traded (obviously as long as there isn’t behind the scenes stuff).
I’ll stop with the obviously references.
lol – if I let Pierre Dorion go I have to let you go as well–obviously
well played sir.
That’s why they pay me the big bucks….
I am jumping the gun here, but I don’t like the Lehner trade. I hope in a way that it was tied to off ice issues, because it still doesn’t make sense to give up on a young goalie.
Booo to Management and their lack of interest in my opinions.
Now Management, that’s where the big bucks are ..
I’m with you on not liking the trade–the org’s track record of correctly assessing goaltenders is awful, so they better hope Lehner’s post-concussion issues impact his career….
Well then, the “eye’s” have it. I am not a patient man, so I’m not going to wait to see how this trade looks in a few years – it was not a great trade.
But I am intrigued who the Sens will take in the draft tonight. I’m also intrigued how Management will be able to unload Greening without getting an awful return.
And speaking of big bucks from earlier, are you still giving out that cash prize to the person who predicts the correct Sens draft picks tonight?
Definitely not a great trade. As for Greening, it’s hard to say–might have to buy him out.
Cash prize?
[…] Craig Smith to predict who the Sens might pick at the draft this year (as Smith did for Senschirp last year). Smith does the right thing by looking at the team’s picks since Tim Murray left and […]