-The Sens signed 2012 first-round pick Cody Ceci to his ELC today.

-NHL.com has posted a series of articles on the Sens, beginning with Arpon Basu‘s ranking the team’s prospects:
1. Mika Zibanejad
2. Jakob Silfverberg
3. Robin Lehner
4. Cody Ceci
5. Mark Stone
6. Stefan Noesen
7. Matt Puempel
8. Mark Borowiecki
9. Patrick Wiercioch
10. Shane Prince
Many of the organisational comments included by Basu are either very broad or ones we’ve heard before, but it’s worth including Pierre Dorion’s comments on Mark Stone: “Mark has taken it upon himself to get better. He’s been in Ottawa a lot to work on his skating – which still needs improvement – and his strength. But what he has in terms of hockey sense, his shot, his ability to make plays and his offensive instincts are things you can’t teach.”  The comment about his strength is one I haven’t heard before and is yet another sign he will be in Binghamton for at least the coming season.  I don’t think Shane Prince belongs in the top-ten, but as with any prospect time with tell.

–Corey Masisak tries to guess what the Sens upcoming lineup will be:

Michalek-Spezza-Silfverberg
Latendresse-Turris-Alfredsson
Greening-O’Brien-Zibanejad
Condra-Smith-Neil
Regin

Karlsson-Methot
Gonchar-Cowen
Lundin-Phillips
Borowiecki

I have a few problems with Masisak’s speculation, although other than Zibanejad he has all the players I expect to be on the NHL roster listed (Daugavins should be included).  Peter Regin will not be an extra forward, nor will Jim O’Brien play on the third line; otherwise the forward lines are up in the air.

–Basu wonders if last season’s success will be a springboard for the Sens.  Bryan Murray thinks so:

It very definitely should give us a bit of a springboard this year. Our finish and our performance in the playoffs last season gave us some confidence that we’re going in the right direction. With Lundin and Methot in our top six, with the continued growth of Cowen and with Karlsson being what he is, age-wise those four guys should improve and should help us improve defensively.

I expect Murray to be optimistic, but given that neither blueline acquisition adds offence and both Karlsson and Cowen could have down years (the former because he’s unlikely to repeat his success, the latter could suffer from the sophomore slump).  Given that possibility, the engine that moves the puck to the forwards could start to break down.

-Here’s my profile of Erik Condra

–ESPN‘s Tim Boughton, Paul Grant, and David Walton assess the moves in NHL free agency.  Walton liked Alexander Semin (Carolina), Boughton liked Teemu Selanne (Anaheim), and Grant liked Jason Garrison (Vancouver).  I don’t see Selanne as a true UFA since he would only play for Anaheim (Boughton’s other choice was RFA Tuukka Rask).  All three thought Parise and Suter (Minnesota) were given too much money and term, but I just can’t see any other signing as coming close to the impact those two will have on the Wild.

-The Swedish Elite League will not sign any locked out NHL players (should there be a lockout).

This article is written by Peter Levi (@eyeonthesens)

August 23, 2012
Categories: Binghamton Senators, Ottawa Senators . . Author: Eye on the Sens . Comments: 1 Comment

–Robin Lehner talked about his journey as a player:

It’s a marathon, it’s not a sprint. (The Senators) are doing what they think is best for me. They’re trying to develop me as good as they want. I’m an asset to them and they want me to do as well as possible. I’ve got to trust them, too. They’ve got lots of hockey experience in this organization. I’m only 21 — I don’t know as much. I’m just eager to play and eager to show myself. I’ve got to deserve the opportunity first and that’s what I’m (trying to prove) now in the summer and heading to camp, to get them to want me to play here. That was just the thing for me, with the game in Boston and a few other games I played up here, to show myself and show other people that I can play at this level. I know I’ve got a long way to go and some technical things I need to work on, and I have to get more stable and be a little bit more calm in the net. People can look at it that way. This is a business and, of course, they’re going to do things money wise for the organization. That’s not my job. I have one job, to stop pucks and to try to stop as many as I can. That’s what it all comes down to in the end. You’ve got to believe it’s realistic (to make the team). I’m trying to prepare myself as well as I can to be able to get a spot. You never know. You go for it and you see what happens. I’m looking forward to it and I’m excited. Now, when I look back at it … it was a lot of good learning experiences. I think I developed as a goalie and I think I’ve developed and matured a lot as a (person). I’m starting to really know what it’s all about. Last year, in some ways, it didn’t go as we wanted, but it was a really good experience for us, too. Sometimes, that happens. Up here in Ottawa, it felt really good when I got the chance. The main thing for me is (having) the feeling that I got to be a better goalie. And I think I can stop more pucks this season.

The two comments that attract my attention are his mention of the team’s money concerns, which I take to be a reflection of Ben Bishop‘s one-way deal, and his comment about how things felt better in Ottawa, which is clearly where he would like to be.  Unfortunately for Lehner, I don’t think it matters if he’s the second coming of Jacques Plante because the organisation is not going to send Bishop to the minors.

-With next to nothing to write about articles are appearing talking about Jared Cowen and Jakob Silfverberg playing in Binghamton if there is a lockout.  This isn’t news to my mind–both players are signed and the organisation will decide where they play–but as I don’t believe the season is going to be effected by the CBA it’s largely a moot point anyway.

–Kyle Turris talked about the upcoming season:

It’s been great working with Schwarzy on things we want to get better at over the summer — getting stronger and putting on some weight. I feel really good. We’re all confident in our abilities as a team. It’s a lot of work to jell and combine together as a team over the course of a season. That’s why we had so much success over the course of last season and into the playoffs. We’re just going to have to do that again this year and everyone’s excited to get back at it. I think it’s exciting [playing with Latendresse]. It’s going to be fun. He’s a big, skilled player and he’s obviously a good player. It’s going to be a good addition for us and fun to have him as a part of our team. I enjoy every minute of it (here). It’s fun to go out and support different charities and learn more about them. I really enjoy going to those events and spending time in the city.

It will be interesting to see if Turris does add the strength he needs to his frame, since presumably that’s been something Phoenix was urging him to do while he was with their organisation.

-Every once and awhile I see an article like this one from Adam Proteau and wonder about the kind of defaults reporters use to fill space.  Proteau argues that a second team in Toronto will create the pressure necessary to make the Maple Leafs more interested in winning.  I have two of problems with this: 1) the assumption that the lack of a second team in the area means there’s no pressure on the Maple Leafs to win (a popular sentiment, but not something that’s demonstrable), 2) that the NHL will allow another team in Toronto.  Unless Proteau can establish the former, his speculation is irrelevant.

This article is written by Peter Levi (@eyeonthesens)

August 22, 2012
Categories: Binghamton Senators, Ottawa Senators . . Author: Eye on the Sens . Comments: Leave a comment

-I’ve been away for a week and most of the hockey news has surrounded the tedious CBA negotiations and its attendant hysteria.  Through that noise some Sens news has come down the pipe

–Peter Regin has been cleared for contact and considers himself healthy and fully recovered.

-Going back to August 10th, Tim Murray was on The Team 1200 and Nichols transcribed his comments.  He discusses Sens prospect Stefan Noesen:

We recognize certainly his ability and his potential. We have high expectations for him. I suspect that he’s going to be a top-six or seven forward. I suspect that he’s going to play on our power play someday. I suspect that he is going to be a hard guy to play against and be a very competitive guy so our expectations are high. As far as the casual fan, I’m not quite sure what they think or know from him. I think that there are fans out there that follow (the Senators) quite closely and follow the OHL quite closely and know that he’s a quite good prospect. The rules dictate that Stefan makes our team or goes back to junior but for the most part, and I know it’s a cliche but it is true, we’ll let him decide that. He’ll either knock our socks off or go back to junior and that’s basically the two choices that he has. He can’t come into camp and have a solid camp. We’ll be happy with that but it won’t put him on the hockey club.

There’s nothing new here other than setting the development ceiling the team see’s for Noesen.  Murray then commented on Mika Zibanejad playing in North American this upcoming season:

That’s our plan and that’s the thought obviously. We know things can change. There could be a family issue. There are multiple reasons why he would go back next year but that’s not what we want. The plan is for him to either be here eithere in Ottawa or in Binghamton. As I say, I shouldn’t be so definitive in an article like that because we know that it could change but the idea is for him to be here. He wants to be here. We want him here. Is there something that could pop up in the future to change that? Sure, but I don’t foresee that.

The possibility that Zibanejad might return to Sweden at all surprises me, but I still believe he’ll play for either Ottawa or Binghamton this year.  Murray then commented on Bobby Butler‘s buyout:

It was mostly the numbers game. It was partly the way he played. It was partly, I guess, the way that he prepared. I know I hear it all. I hear it’s a long season in Bingo and I hear a lot of things from different people and from different sources, but that came into it. I just think it was easy to do because of the numbers. It was basically $400,000 over two years. The cap hit doesn’t mean anything because of the position that we’re in. I just think the number and I have to say I guess a little bit the way that he played and prepared for last season sure (contributed to his buyout). To me Bobby was a success. He had a two-way contract. He came out of college hockey a little more mature athlete than a kid out of junior. He went down to Binghamton and he played some games (in Ottawa). He played in Binghamton and he scored some big goals down there. Maybe the team doesn’t win a (Calder) Championship without him, so I think his first year was a success. He gets a one-way (contract) because of the way that the CBA was worded and the amount of games that he has to play in the NHL for us to retain his rights and a whole bunch of different reasons that he gets the one-way deal. I think he kind of on the ice deserved the one-way deal. We had to give it to him or lose him anyway. I think maybe he just got caught up in: we win a championship, he played a lot, it was a short summer and he just… it all came at him too quickly and he didn’t know how to prepare for the following year. Now I think he can take a step back and certainly, I think you can learn from that. I assume that he’s having a better summer this year and is being more prepared. He signed a two-way (contract) with Jersey and now he has to earn his NHL games again and we’ll see where he’s at.

There’s nothing surprising about the comments.  Murray then talked about signing college free agents in general:

I think that they’re a good try. They are on a two-way. You have to give them a signing bonus. I think that when you can get a free player like that… I just don’t know what you guys expect or the fans expect when (we announce the signing of a collegiate free agent). For the most part, (Jesse (Winchester), Bobby (Butler) at times in their time with us in Ottawa, we’ve been very pleased with the production that we got from the money that we put out.

Murray touches on the primary problem college free agents face–hype (as I concluded not long ago).  The expectations for undrafted NCAA stars are often higher than is warranted.  The only other items of note was Murray commenting on Matt Puempel‘s improvements as a player and that the team is essentially done in free agency.

–Adnan wonders what fans can expect in terms of production from Erik Karlsson and compares him to a number of other top offensive blueliners, but I think the most important comment is this one, “most of those players did this [continuing high levels of production] in the 1980s where scoring goals was a lot easier.”  If Adnan said “from the 1967 expansion into the early 1990s” he would be absolutely correct about when scoring was high in the NHL.  This makes the comparisons very tricky, as the trend in the NHL is less scoring (declining every single year).

–The Hockey News has been slowly grinding out their predictions for the 2012-13 season and have picked the Senators to finish eighth in the Eastern Conference:

The Sens surprised many (THN included) when they made the playoffs last season. However, now that offense-minded dynamo and reigning Norris Trophy winner Erik Karlsson has blossomed into a superstar, they won’t be able to sneak up on opponents. The good news is that with goaltending depth (Craig Anderson, Ben Bishop and Robin Lehner), a buttressed blueline (with the addition of Marc Methot) and promising youngsters including Kyle Turris, Jakob Silfverberg and Mika Zibanejad up front, they don’t need stealth to in order to win.

I don’t know why THN doesn’t fully embrace being wrong about the Sens last year–it happened to most predictions.  There’s no need to qualify the error by saying the Sens were “sneaky”.  I actually think the Sens are likely to finish on the outside looking in (an opinion shared by Nichols), and I have problems both with decreased offensive capacity of Ottawa’s blueline, the ability of the team to reproduce their offensive production overall, and I my opinion of the Anderson/Bishop tandem is “wait and see”.

-For those who’ve followed the Dany Heatley saga after being traded from Ottawa, he’s filled a lawsuit against his former agent

–Stu Hackel writes about the NHL’s deplorable officiating and notes that the uninspiring Colin Campbell has admitted the officiating standards have slipped considerably since the post-lockout era began.  One can only hope there’s a slight shift towards allowing skill to return to the forefront of the game.

This article is written by Peter Levi (@eyeonthesens)

August 20, 2012
Categories: Binghamton Senators, Ottawa Senators . . Author: Eye on the Sens . Comments: Leave a comment

–The 6th Sens provide their Senators essentials for Puck Daddy.  It’s an entertaining read and re-cap and I encourage you to check it out, but their notion that the 2002/03 Senators were better than the 2005/06 Sens is wrong and while there are many reasons for that I’ll make it simple: goaltending.  No one wins with Patrick Lalime between the pipes.

-Here’s my look at the success of college free agents in the post-lockout NHL.

–Mark Parisi writes a long article wondering why fans expectations for rookies are so varied (specifically comparing Colin Greening to other prospects), but never makes the connection that the difference is hype.  No one hyped Greening or Condra the way they have Mika Zibanejad, Mark Stone, and Jakob Silverberg.

-In the “water is wet” category Bruce Garrioch reports that Mika Zibanejad won’t be going back to Sweden.  This is only news to Garrioch himself, but he does provide some comments about how disappointed the Sens were with how Djurgarden used Zibanejad when he was in Sweden:

Nothing is ever a waste of time so it wasn’t a waste of time, but it was close to that I guess. They weren’t very good. I assume the management and coaching staff have to take some responsibility for that. The players suffer. Unless you’re there every day you don’t know, but I can say there were times they didn’t (put him in the role they promised). Consistently, they didn’t. There were probably times we didn’t see them play that they did. Overall, no, it wasn’t a great experience, that’s for sure. There’s at least one spot in a Top-6 role and I think any one of the kids could come in and push for that. It’s going to be good competition. He can play either wing. He did for Sweden. I don’t think it matters at all. You can see that he’s a top player. He looked good in spurts. When he gets the puck in the offensive zone and when he shoots the puck, he shoots it like nobody else. He’s got a 10-out-of-10 NHL shot, not (just) a top shot for his own age group. He shoots the puck like a man. That’s his biggest asset.

-For those looking for a primer on the New Jersey Devils financial situation check out Stu Hackel‘s article.

This article is written by Peter Levi (@eyeonthesens)

August 11, 2012
Categories: Binghamton Senators, Ottawa Senators . . Author: Eye on the Sens . Comments: Leave a comment

-Joy Lindsay, Binghamton’s excellent beat writer for the past two years, is moving on from the team.  I join many other fans in wishing her all the best–her coverage of all things Binghamton was second to none.

-In Joy’s final post she clarifies that Shane Prince can be returned to junior, which would help alleviate the forward clutter in Binghamton’s roster.

-Speaking of Binghamton, I will continue updating my roster and expectations as new information dictates.

–Mark Parisi wonders if signing college free agents is worth it (something I brought up when Bobby Butler was bought out), but instead of looking at their general success he sadly limits his comments to Ottawa’s signings under Bryan Murray and listing Hobey Baker winners.  I would have liked to see some analysis on the broader phenomena post-lockout, but I am beginning to think I’ll have to write about it myself.  I limit myself to post-lockout because the attitude of teams towards drafting, prospects, and college free agents changed with the new CBA.

-Here are my profiles of Zack Smith and Colin Greening.

This article is written by Peter Levi (@eyeonthesens)

August 7, 2012
Categories: Binghamton Senators, Ottawa Senators . . Author: Eye on the Sens . Comments: Leave a comment

-For those of you who may have thought the proliferation of hockey blogs and analysis outside traditional media might pressure journalists to change their approach or improve their repertoire, you’d be wrong…at least in the case of Don Brennan.  Yesterday he offered yet another confused column making the following baseless assertions:
1. Jakob Silfverberg will play on Ottawa’s top-line
2. The Sens aren’t at the cap floor and this will cause trouble
3. The Sens aren’t tough enough because they let Matt Carkner walk
Two of these points are simply false while the other is purely speculative.  Take Silfverberg, no one is suggesting he is going to play on the top line (he may not play in the top-six).  I’m truly at a loss as to how Brennan came to that conclusion.  Secondly, the cap floor fears are simply wrong (five seconds with Capgeek illustrates the point), although here at least Brennan says that the concern is “outside the Senators’ offices“.  The third point is a chestnut Brennan has been writing for months (the team is not tough enough!), which remains an absurd theory; he dynamites his own argument about Carkner by noting that the “Senators were too worried about the condition of [Carkner‘s] damaged knee.”  That’s a pretty good reason to be concerned!  Carkner is an older player who couldn’t skate has two bad knees–it’s a mercy the Sens didn’t bring him back.  Nichols goes further into the inanity of the column (particularly points #1 and #3), but the facts aren’t going to interfere with Brennan continuing to write this crap.  I don’t derive any joy from unpacking Brennan’s nonsense and I don’t think he’s an idiot, I just think he’s lazy.

–Mika Zibanejad and Mikael Wikstrand are playing for Sweden in their WJC summer camp (for those wondering, Fredrik Claesson is too old to attend).

-Speaking of prospects, Brian-Huddle offers his opinion on the Sens top-10:
1. Mika Zibanejad (comparing him to Ryan Kesler)
2. Cody Ceci (comparing him to Brent Seabrook)
3. Robin Lehner (comparing him to Henrik Lundqvist)
4. Shane Prince (comparing him to Zack Parise-lite)
5. Mark Stone (comparing him to Scott Hartnell)
6. Jakob Silfverberg (comparing him to Patrik Hornqvist)
7. Stefan Noesen (comparing him to Corry Perry-lite)
8. Matt Puempel (comparing him to Alex Semin)
9. Jarrod Maidens (comparing him to David Backes)
10. Stephane Da Costa (comparing him to no one)

He gives Patrick Wiercioch an honourable mention.  With all due respect to Huddle, his comparisons are over the top and in some cases I wonder if he’s seen the players mentioned (for example, Silfverberg is not a Tomas Holmstrom-clone like Hornqvist; Stone is not particularly physical and is more of a playmaker than Hartnell; etc).

-Here’s my updated profile of Peter Regin.

–Lyle Richardson tries to figure out why Tim Thomas came off the rails this year.  He admits that it’s all speculation at this point, but makes some interesting points:

If anyone had told me a year ago Tim Thomas would alienate a portion of the Boston Bruins fan base with far-right political and social opinions, upset his Bruins teammates and front office by refusing to attend a White House ceremony honoring their Stanley Cup championship, then decide to take a year off (effectively ending his tenure with the team), I would’ve told that person to quit abusing solvents. Last summer, Thomas was a hero in Boston, winning playoff MVP honors in the Bruins march to their first Cup championship in nearly forty years, and won his second Vezina Trophy in three years as the league’s best goaltender. At 37, Tim Thomas was the toast of the National Hockey League. Today, at 38, his  views have made him the target of scorn and the butt of jokes, while his reasons for his year-long sabbatical (family, friends and faith) have been questioned by cynical critics. He’s also left a Bruins fan base understandably puzzled over his views, the sudden move of his family from the Boston-area last season to Colorado, and apparent desire to ring down the curtain on his career in Boston. I neither condone or condemn Thomas’ views, but I question his sensitivity toward criticism of his public statements. Just as he has the right to state his views, he should expect his detractors would employ the same right to criticize them. Thomas is currently unwilling to explain why he’s taken to Facebook this year to make his far-right views known, leaving only guesswork on my part (and those of his fans and critics) as to why he’s doing so now. Thomas could’ve voiced his views earlier to a sympathetic right wing media source well before this year. One would assume, given Thomas shares their [the Tea Party’s] beliefs, he might’ve spoken out then [2009]. Or in 2010. Or last summer, when his playoff heroics would’ve made him a hot media commodity.

This article is written by Peter Levi (@eyeonthesens)

August 4, 2012
Categories: Binghamton Senators, Ottawa Senators . . Author: Eye on the Sens . Comments: 1 Comment

–Daniel Alfredsson talked about returning to the team:

I’m not saying this is my last year. If I can still play and contribute, I’ll continue. I had issues with my back for a few years, and now that I finally feel healthy again, I want to see how good I can be. You see players at 40 and 40-plus like (Jaromir) Jagr and (Teemu) Selanne, and maybe it’s a new trend that’s starting, that if you look after yourself and take care of yourself, you can play. Who knows what the limit is? That’s an intriguing part for me, how far I can push myself. How good can I still be? I feel like I can get better, especially looking back at the health issues I’ve had, feeling that I’ve corrected that. I should be able to push myself and be better, especially physically, than I was last year. I’m good with the way the contract is. I’ll just play out the last year of the contract and go from there. I think I’ve had the intention of playing (next season) from the beginning, but I had to go through the process to really know for sure. With my back problems … I haven’t really been able to work out as I would have liked for the last, probably, four years. With the surgery last summer, having to do a lot of rehab and I didn’t get the proper training in, I didn’t know where I stood physically and mentally. It took some time, but the training has been going well. I’ve really enjoyed it, so I’m really happy that I feel this way in the process of getting ready for another camp. I could probably have made my mind up a little quicker if I felt the team needed to know for whatever reason, but I also feel this is a good time. The training the last two weeks has gone into another phase, more heavy lifting, and that’s gone well. I probably could have waited for another month, but this feels right. Once that day comes, I’ll look forward to the challenges. But when you feel as healthy as I do … if you retire too early, you’ll kind of look back and say ‘Maybe I should have played another year or two. My kids have (had) me playing the whole time. They’ve been bugging me and I think they would have been really disappointed if I didn’t play. And my wife and I, we feel that our family situation will be easier this season coming up than it was last year, with a newborn baby (William Erik) and sleepless nights. We have more of a routine now. She’s kind of been hoping, too, that physically I would feel fine and play another year and postpone everything that comes with retirement and starting a new chapter in our lives. We’ve got pretty good control of what to do when I’m playing and how to handle me being away and whatnot, so she’s been extremely supportive, too. That’s makes me feel a little less guilty, I guess, about playing another year because I know how much time it takes away from family.

–Stu Hackel offers an outsiders view of Alfredssson deciding to play another season.

–Nichols transcribes Eugene Melnyk’s chat with The Team 1200 yesterday and while I encourage you to read the entire article what interested me was this:

I gave up with this theory [big moves] about going over the top. I really did. We blew our brains out spending to the cap and what we proved last year is that we don’t have to do that. I mean, all that does is cover up our mistakes. Really, at the end of the day, if you invest into scouting, into development of these players, you’re going to get what you’re going to get. And you can’t buy that. You can’t buy heart. You can’t buy the fans. You can’t buy the dressing room. And my attitude, look, we were going to bid on a couple of these (free agents). We were prepared to. We had presentations done. We were all ready to go. We put our July 1st holidays on hold and I called Bryan two days before and I said, ‘Bryan, did you see these contracts and numbers that these people are throwing around?’ and he said ‘Yep. That is what we’re going to have to pay.’ And I said, ‘Do you want to blow your weekend with your grandkids and kids on July 1st and waste our time because we’re not going to spend that kind of money?’ And he says, ‘No, let’s enjoy our barbeques and let somebody else blow their brains out.’ And they did it. I don’t wish them bad luck, but I don’t think that (spending frivolously) is the solution.

Whether you wish Melnyk was willing to bid on big free agents or not I’m happy the team has given up on the futile practice.  The best free agents do not want to come to Ottawa, so rather than overpaying broken down older players like Alexei Kovalev I’m happy to see the organisation focus on developing talent and then paying those players big salaries when the time comes.

–Travis Yost compares how Cory Clouston and Paul MacLean differed in which players they started in the offensive zone (the most amusing for me was Ryan Shannon‘s 61.5% under Clouston).

-Here’s my look at Binghamton‘s roster changes and their potential lineup for the upcoming season.

This article is written by Peter Levi (@eyeonthesens)

August 2, 2012
Categories: Binghamton Senators, Ottawa Senators . . Author: Eye on the Sens . Comments: Leave a comment

The Binghamton Senators finished 30th in the AHL with a 29-40-7 record for 65 points, which represents a 27-point (and 13 win) drop over last year’s Calder Cup winning season (when they were 12th in the league).  The team was 23rd in scoring (their 201 goals was 54 less than last year), and 27th in goals against (their 243 goals 22 worse than last year).  The team featured 11 rookies, 7 of whom were regulars in the lineup.  Twelve players from the Calder Cup team remained (thirteen if you count Daugavins’ brief tenure with the team).  Tim Murray admitted the unexpected retirement of Lee Sweatt hurt the team a great deal (comparing him to Andre Benoit), and admitted the other veterans he signed (Parrish and Conboy) weren’t able to replace those lost from the previous season (Ryan Keller and David Hale are the most likely parallels, although Murray also mentioned Ryan Potulny who was acquired by trade mid-season).  It was a disappointing season for the team, although it did feature some was positive development for individual players.  Here’s my full review of the season.  Sixteen players will no longer be with the team when it begins next season, removing 76 goals from the lineup (37% of last season’s total).

Departed Forwards (9): Corey Locke (38-10-31-41) to TPS in the SM-Liiga; Rob Klinkhammer (35-12-23-35) to the Portland Pirates; Mark Parrish (51-15-15-30) UFA; Jack Downing (47-9-8-17) tryout with Binghamton; Jim O’Brien (27-7-7-14) NHL; Nikita Filatov (15-7-5-12) to Salavat Ufa in the KHL; Mike Bartlett (58-3-4-7) to HC Innsbruck in Austria; Kaspars Daugavins (7-2-4-6) NHL; Francis Lessard (43-1-1-2) UFA.  O’Brien and Daugavins were both re-signed to one-way deals with Ottawa.

Departed Blueliners (5): Craig Schira (73-4-9-13) to Frisk Asker in Norway; Tim Conboy (53-2-9-11) to Ingolstadt in the DEL; Dan Henningson (32-2-8-10) UFA; Josh Godfrey (38-2-6-8) Las Vegas (ECHL); Bobby Raymond (38-0-4-4) retained by Florida (ECHL).

Departed Goaltenders (2): Mike McKenna (14-18-5, 2.98, .918) to Peoria; Brian Stewart (no AHL games) to Bakersfield (ECHL).

Departed Coaches (1): Kurt Kleinendorst

Many of the players above were part-time in one way or another.  In essence Binghamton lost a top-four defenseman (Conboy), a bottom-pairing blueliner (Schira), a quality back-up goaltender (McKenna), roughly three top-six forwards (Locke, Parrish, and Klinkhammer/O’Brien), an enforcer (Lessard), and a couple of depth forwards (Bartlett and Downing).  The team also lost its head coach in Kleinendorst who was very popular with his players.

Forward Additions (7): Hugh Jessiman (AHL 67-27-17-44), Mika Zibanejad (SEL 26-5-8-13), Mark Stone (WHL 66-41-82-123), Shane Prince (OHL 57-43-47-90), Jean-Gabriel Pageau (QMJHL 46-32-33-65), Darren Kramer (WHL 71-21-19-40),  Jakub Culek (QMJHL 55-13-27-40).  Pageau and Prince can be returned to their junior teams.

Blueline Additions (5): Andre Benoit (KHL 53-5-12-17), Tyler Eckford (AHL 75-10-15-25), Chris Wideman (NCAA 41-4-20-24), Ben Blood (NCAA 42-3-18-21), Fredrik Claesson (SEL 47-1-6-7).

Goaltending Additions (2): Nathan Lawson (AHL 19-17-4 2.57 .914), , Marc Cheverie (ECHL 10-4-8 2.71 .910)

Coaching Additions (1): Luke Richardson

There are a lot of forwards slated for Binghamton (I am making the assumption Jakob Silfverberg plays in Ottawa) and while some will likely spend time in Elmira (ECHL) I have to imagine that either a CHL-eligible player will be returned to junior or else there will be some player movement.  I’m assuming that Zibanejad will be in Binghamton and if so he’s one of three potential top-six forward additions (along with Jessiman and possibly Stone); Kramer is expected to fill the enforcer role while the other players will slot in the bottom of the lineup.  The blueline has been completely overhauled with Benoit as the #1 defenseman and Eckford filling out a top-four slot; the other blueliners will fight for bottom-pairing slots with time in Elmira not out of the question.  Lawson is a quality back-up.  Luke Richardson has his first head coaching job and it will be an interesting challenge for the former NHLer.

Returning Forwards (10): Mike Hoffman (76-21-28-49), Andre Petersson (60-23-21-44), Pat Cannone (76-19-24-43), Stephane Da Costa (46-13-23-36), David Dziurzynski (72-11-17-28), Derek Grant (60-8-15-23), Corey Cowick (53-5-6-11), Wacey Hamilton (74-5-6-11), Louie Caporusso (ECHL 29-16-16-32), Cole Schneider (NCAA 38-23-22-45)

Returning Blueliners (3): Mark Borowiecki (73-5-17-22), Eric Gryba (73-5-15-20), Patrick Wiercioch (57-4-16-20)

Returning Goaltenders (1):  Robin Lehner (13-21-2, 3.26, .907)

Among the returning forwards three will definitely be in the top-six (Hoffman, Petersson, and Da Costa), while Cannone could slide down.  Dziurzynski and Grant round out the top-nine while the remaining forwards will compete to play on the fourth line.  There’s a good chance Borowiecki will stick with the Sens, while I think there’s no chance of Lehner beating out Bishop and staying in the NHL–not because he’s incapable, but because I don’t think the organisation will risk putting Bishop on waivers.  Either all three of the defensemen can be slotted into top-four roles or if (as expected) Borowiecki is absent than just Gryba and Wiercioch get those slots.  Lehner will be the unquestioned starter.

Training camp will have an impact on positioning, so predicting a lineup is haphazard at best.  Here’s what I think as things stand now (and using my assumptions about Borowiecki being on the NHL roster):
1. Top-six forwards: Mike Hoffman, Andre Petersson, Stephane Da Costa, Hugh Jessiman, Mika Zibanejad, and Pat Cannone
2. Top-four blueliners: Andre Benoit, Eric Gryba, Tyler Eckford, and Patrick Wiercioch
3. Bottom-six forwards: David Dziurzynski, Mark Stone, Derek Grant, Wacey Hamilton, Darren Kramer, Cole Schneider
4. The goaltending situation: Lehner starts, Lawson backs-up

I’m assuming Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Shane Prince will be returned to junior.  This leaves three forwards on the outside looking in (Corey Cowick, Louie Caporusso, and Jakub Culek) and I really wonder if the Sens will want that many prospects playing in Elmira or simply practising with the team.  Given their ages, Cowick and Caporusso are the players most likely to be moved if that’s the direction the Sens want to go.  Mark Stone could crack the top-six, but he may wind up as a top-nine forward to start his pro career.

Ben Blood will play regularly as the 5-6 blueliner, while Chris Wideman and Fredrik Claesson will battle it out for the rest of the ice time.

This article is written by Peter Levi (@eyeonthesens)

August 1, 2012
Categories: Binghamton Senators, Ottawa Senators . . Author: Eye on the Sens . Comments: 5 Comments

-The news I’ve expected for months has finally come down the wire with Daniel Alfredsson deciding to play another season in Ottawa.  It’s great for the organisation because there is no one to replace Alfie.  Luke Fox added an interesting tidbit “It’s been four years (or one Olympics ago, for those of you stricken with the fever) since Alfie has been able to train properly in the off-season and have his muscles respond the way he wants them to. A bad back, bouts of rehab and last summer’s surgery left him at a crossroads.”

–Brochenski goes to the Corsi bat in support of Erik Condra (apparently lifting the idea from Travis Yost who compared him to Ville Leino) where he uses stats to show just how good Condra is at the possession game.  This is certainly what I noticed over the season and is what makes him an effective player.  Peter Raaymakers has jumped onto the bandwagon and adds this salient point, “I think advanced statistics like Corsi or CF% or what-have-you are only as useful inasmuch as they can be used to explain or challenge preconceived notions we make while watching a player.”

–Varada provides a puzzling argument for retaining Bobby Butler.  He begins by saying the Sens need him to reach the cap floor (a canard that has been exploded many times), then conflates his numbers from this season and last season, as if they are one and the same thing (limited success on a terrible team versus no success on a competitive team).  Then he suggests they need Butler in case of injury, apparently not thinking much of the parade of forward prospects (Silfverberg, Zibanejad, Stone, and others) Ottawa has waiting in the wings.  He ends by saying this is an indication that Murray is planning a big move…or Melnyk wants to save money.  There’s no basis for the former, while the latter isn’t changed with or without Butler.  Putting aside the confusing arguments, I’m not sure why Varada wants to keep a one-dimensional player who was unable to produce.  He’s essentially Ryan Shannon without the passion, and Shannon is now out of the NHL playing in Switzerland.

–Tim Conboy signed a deal to play with ERC Ingolstadt in the DEL.  A free agent after spending last season with Binghamton, I thought there was a slight chance he would be retained up until the Sens signed Andre Benoit.

–Chet Pickard, the primary piece to Nashville via the Erik Karlsson trade at the 2008 draft, has parted ways with the Predators and signed with Djurgarden in the Allsvenskan.  If there needed to be any more evidence that Bryan Murray won this trade, this is it.

-For those of you buying season tickets for the Phoenix Coyotes, Stu Hackel provides us with the expected problems with the current sale.  Prospective owner Greg Jamison is short 20 million to purchase the franchise, which is why Shane Doan is trying to extort crazy money from other NHL teams.

This article is written by Peter Levi (@eyeonthesens)

July 31, 2012
Categories: Binghamton Senators, Ottawa Senators . . Author: Eye on the Sens . Comments: 5 Comments