–Peter Regin is honest in his self-assessment:

There’s been talk about me playing a second-line role for the past two years, but I’ve run into some bad luck every time I’ve got the opportunity. And sometimes I haven’t produced when I’ve got the chance, so it’s not only the injuries. I feel like I have decent skill, to play on the second or third line, and be the second-hand scoring.

I like that he’s not making injuries an excuse for his lack of production (as well as acknowledging the opportunities he’s had).  He’s a good player if he can stay healthy.

-ISS has released a prospect primer leading into the shortened season (it was clearly written in the summer) and here’s what they have to say about Ottawa:

Mika Zibanejad: A terrifically talented forward with a deadly shot, Zibanejad is a hard working player who doesn’t hesitate to make teams pay for missing assignments. He has great hands, a strong powerful stride and can throw some huge hits on top of his offensive abilities.

Jakob Silfverberg: An excellent two-way winger who has taken the Swedish Elite League by storm, Silfverberg is highly competitive and highly skilled. He continues to show better and better power elements in his game and has the capacity to put up big numbers.

Mark Stone: A big powerful forward with a great shot, Stone is a beast around the net and always seems to find ways to be a goal scoring threat. On top of his shot, Stone also shows great hands and is very good at maintaining possession of the puck in tightly contested areas of the ice.

–Kevin Allen predicts the Sens will finish 6th in the east, saying:

With 84 points, C Jason Spezza played a role in more than one-third of Ottawa’s goals. But he’s still the second-most-important offensive catalyst behind Norris Trophy winner Karlsson. The Senators attack usually starts with Karlsson skating or passing the puck out of the Ottawa zone. General manager Bryan Murray has said he expects Karlsson, 22, to be a better offensive and defensive player this season. With Karlsson as the fire starter, the Senators have an intriguing offensive team. They were tied for fourth in the NHL in scoring last season. Spezza, Milan Michalek and Daniel Alfredsson (likely playing in his final season) are proven scorers, but it was the secondary scorers such as Colin Greening, Zack Smith and Chris Neil who put Ottawa over the top. Those three players combined for 44 goals. Kyle Turris could mature into a scoring center, and Swedish rookie Jakob Silfverberg could play in the top six. The Senators hope are hoping offseason addition Guillaume Latendresse, if he stays healthy, will boost their offense. Arrival Marc Methot is expected to help provide a stabilizing presence on the blue line.

Allen doesn’t delve into the Sens depleted blueline so this may be another article shelved from the summer, but it’s certainly an optimistic look at the team.

–Luke Fox see’s the Sens in a dog fight to make the playoffs, believing it’s unlikely that both Spezza and Karlsson will be in the NHL’s top-eleven in scoring.

–Scotty Bowman believes the shootout will be particularly important in the shortened season and points out that five of the top six shootout teams last season made the playoffs.

–Nichols takes a look at the available UFA blueliners and doesn’t like what he see’s (neither do I), approving of Bryan Murray’s decision to stay the course.

-Binghamton plays Rochester (19-14-3) tonight; the Americans are lead by Kevin Porter (30 points) in the absence of T. J. Brennan who is attending Buffalo’s training camp; David Leggio (18-11-1 2.90 .913) backstops the Amerks.  Binghamton defeated Rochester 2-1 in their last meeting a couple of weeks ago.  Wacey Hamilton Tweeted that he’s in the lineup tonight.

–Bobby Kelly provides his assessment of Luke Richardson through the first half of the AHL season and I highly recommend reading through the entire thing.  Here’s a sample:

Has [Richardson] implemented the style [Paul MacLean’s 200-foot posession game] he said he would? Emphatically, no. Has the team played well? Resoundingly, yes. More on that later. Predictably, we are left with a mixed bag. On one hand, the team has not been the puck possession squad fans expected. On the other hand, Richardson clearly has his team playing a certain style, and they’re winning hockey games. Most of them. Your team is on top of the league and you’ve been recognized to be a coach at the AHL All-Star Game. Meanwhile, your team spends too much time on a nightly basis hemmed in its own end chasing the puck, when fans thought the team would possess it.  The Binghamton Senators have an impressively structured means of restricting oppositional play to the perimeter, collapsing around their goaltender and clearing the puck from danger when necessary. However, as much as this is all positive, it has some severe limitations.

In essence Bobby doesn’t believe the team can sustain being badly outshot with winning.  This does make sense, but I wonder if part of their success is that they’ve gotten into the heads of their opposition.  Binghamton plays a ton of its season against a small group of teams (ten games against Wilkes-Barre alone!) and after doubling up on the B-Sens in shots but still losing I suspect shooters are squeezing their sticks a little tighter.  I’m interested to see how the roster does with a denuded blueline, but I think the calibre of the goaltending won’t slip much as I expect Robin Lehner to be returned and to play the bulk of the games going forward.

-Elmira beat Cincinnati 3-1 last night with Louie Caporusso and Dustin Gazley had two points while Darren Kramer had a single.  Elmira faces Kalamazoo (16-18-3) tonight; the Wings are lead by Eric Kattelus (32 points) and backstopped by Joel Martin (14-15-3 2.74 .914).  Brad Peltz‘s Trenton Titans are in action this afternoon against Reading, but he is not playing.

-Elmira signed defenseman Steven Kaunisto (SPHL 23-1-8-9) and he played last night.

-The ISS draft rankings for 2013 have been updated (for the previous list go here):
1 – Jones, Seth – D – Portland – WHL (+1)
2 – MacKinnon, Nathan – C – Halifax – QMJHL (-1)
3 – Drouin, Jonathan – F – Halifax – QMJHL (+1)
4 – Barkov, Aleksander – F – Tappara – FinE (-1)
5 – Monahan, Sean – C – Ottawa – OHL
6 – Lindholm, Elias – C – Brynas – SweE
7 – Nichushkin, Valery – F – Chelyabinsk Chelmet – RusS
8 – Ristolainen, Rasmus – D – TPS Turku – FinE (-2) (+2)
9 – Zadorov, Nikita – D – London – OHL (+2)
10 – Nurse, Darnell – D – S.S. Marie – OHL (-1)
11 – Lazar, Curtis – C – Edmonton – WHL (+1)
12 – Hagg, Robert – D – Modo – SweJE (+5)
13 – Dickinson, Jason – F – Guelph – OHL (+2)
14 – Shinkaruk, Hunter – F – Medicine Hat – WHL (-6)
15 – Erne, Adam- F – Quebec – QMJHL (+4)
16 –Valentin Zykov – RW – Baie-Comeau – QMJHL (NR)
17 – Pulock, Ryan – D – Brandon – WHL (-4)
18 – Burakowsky, Andre – F – Malmo – SweAl (-4)
19 – Gauthier, Frederik – C – Rimouski – QMJHL (+3)
20 – Morrissey, JT – D – Prince Albert – WHL (-2)
21 –Alexander Wennberg – C – Djurgarden – SweJr (NR)
22 –Bo Horvat – C – London – OHL (NR)
23 – Santini, Steve – D – USA U18 – NTDP (-7)
24 – Lehkonen, Artturi – F – Kuopio – FinE (-3)
25 –Ryan Hartman – RW – Plymouth – OHL (NR)
26 –J. T. Compher – C – USA Under-18 – NTDP (NR)
27 – Rychel, Kerby – F – Windsor – OHL (-4)
28 –Max Domi – C – London – OHL (NR)
29 – Thompson, Keaton – D – USA U18 – NTDP (-5)
30 – Anthony Duclair– LW – Quebec – QMJHL (NR)

Falling out of the top thirty were Jacob De La Rose (20), Ryan Kujawinski (25), Madison Bowey (26), Hudson Fasching (27), Justin Bailey (28), Theodore Shea (29), and Samuel Morin (30).

This article is written by Peter Levi (@eyeonthesens)

January 16, 2013
Categories: Binghamton Senators, Ottawa Senators . . Author: Eye on the Sens . Comments: 2 Comments

-As expected Bryan  Murray has no immediate plans to make a deal for a blueliner; prices are high and he wants to see how the younger players perform before making that call.  It’s worth going through what Ottawa’s NHL depth chart looks like on the blueline in the absence of Jared Cowen (for depth players listed their age and the number of NHL games played):
Erik Karlsson
Sergei Gonchar
Marc Methot
Chris Phillips
Mike Lundin
Andre Benoit (29, 8GP)
Patrick Wiercioch (22, 8GP)
Mark Borowiecki (23, 2GP)
Eric Gryba (24, 0GP)
Tyler Eckford (27, 7GP)
There’s nothing after Eckford in the organisation and it’s an open question as to what any of the depth players can offer.  All can probably handle limited minutes on a bottom pairing, although to what degree remains an open question.

-Also as expected, it turns out Robin Lehner‘s understanding of the CBA was off target and he does have one more year left on his ELC.

-Not long ago both Luke Fox and The 6th Sens criticised the idea of expanding the playoff format and I want to add some perspective to the issue.  No reasons were given by my fellow bloggers, but Fox spends an enormous amount of time complaining that:

There is, of course, a giant downside to allowing all but 33.3 per cent of your teams into the playoffs: the weak will be rewarded.

This is a puzzling line of thought regarding the NHL from Fox.  The venerated Original Six era (42-43 to 66-67), rewarded .666 of its teams with playoff births and this ratio continued until 79-80 when 16 of 21 teams (or .761) made the playoffs (the venerated Gretzky era)–this lasted all the way to expansion in 91-92.  It wasn’t until the 93-94 season (with the addition of the Florida Panthers) that the NHL had less than two-thirds of its teams make the playoffs.  The complaint from Fox about having to add another round to the playoffs isn’t very strong, as the league has thrived going from two rounds in the Original Six to four in the modern day.  There’s nothing sacred about the current ratio or any ratio from what I can tell.  I haven’t seen any tangible evidence that it’s better to have more teams miss the playoffs.  The dislike seems to be tied to a meritocracy argument, but it doesn’t fit the history of the league which (one assumes) matters more than a sense of fairness.  It’s my belief that the NHL should echo its venerated past and start letting more teams into the fray.

-Elmira faces Cincinnati (22-12-4) tonight; the Cyclones are lead by Michael Pelech (31 points) and backstopped by Brian Foster (13-5-3 2.55 .908).

-Here the latest prospect update (for players with more than 10 games played I’ve indicated where they are in scoring; for blueliners they are compared to other defensemen on the team):

CHL
Cody Ceci (OHL Ottawa/Owen Sound) 44-11-30-41 (1st)
Matt Puempel (OHL Kitchener) 26-21-7-28 (1st) (injured)
Stefan Noesen (OHL Plymouth) 26-17-9-26 (7th) (suspended)
Jordan Fransoo (WHL Victoria) 36-3-8-11 (2nd)
Jakub Culek (QMJHL Cape Breton) 9-4-3-7 (10th)
Jarrod Maidens (OHL Owen Sound) (injured)
Chris Driedger (WHL Calgary) 24-8-3 2.19 .924
Francois Brassard (QMJHL Quebec) 19-13-3 2.77 .905

Allsvenskan (Swe)
Mikael Wikstrand (Mora) 29-9-9-18 (1st) WJC 6-0-4-4 (1st)

KHL
Nikita Filatov (Salavat) 38-8-11-19 (t-2nd)

NCAA
Ryan Dzingel (Ohio) – 22-9-8-17 (1st)
Jeff Costello (Notre Dame) – 16-6-9-15 (4th) (injured)
Bryce Aneloski (Nebraska-Omaha) – 23-4-11-15 (2nd)
Max McCormick (Ohio) – 22-7-5-12 (3rd)
Michael Sdao (Princeton) – 18-5-4-9 (1st)
Tim Boyle (Union) – 10-0-2-2 (t-6th)

USHL
Robbie Baillargeon (Indiana/Omaha) – 33-12-14-26 (1st)

One thing to note is that Francois Brassard, who got off to a great start, has slipped down to his rookie numbers from last year.

–Central Scouting has released their mid-season draft rankings update (here’s the previous ranking). CS divides between goalies and skaters, North American and European, and in this list each individual league (which makes it far too bifurcated for me to copy it here).

–Michael Grange wonders if Chris Campoli‘s prominent role in the CBA negotiations has cost him a job in the NHL.  While it’s possible, I think it’s much more likely that Campoli‘s mediocre play over the last three seasons is why he’s without a contract.

–Stu Hackel wonders if the Rangers and Habs can really shelve the perfectly healthy Wade Redden and Scott Gomez simply to ensure they can be bought out in the summer.  It’s an interesting question, but if the NHLPA can truly grieve the issue it’s not receiving much play in the coverage.

This article is written by Peter Levi (@eyeonthesens)

January 15, 2013
Categories: Binghamton Senators, Ottawa Senators . . Author: Eye on the Sens . Comments: Leave a comment

-The Sens are experimenting with Jakob Silfverberg on the top line, but Paul MacLean isn’t committing to anything:

We think if you give somebody an opportunity, they’ll show you if they can handle it, or not. That’s what we’re going to do. (Silfverberg) has been an elite player … and playing in a small rink (in Binghamton) has helped him a lot. We’re just giving him the opportunity to show us he can do it. If he can’t do it, we can always go back to what we did. We can always play Alfie (Daniel Alfredsson) there. We can always put Colin Greening back. We can always go back to what we had before, that we felt worked for us. But we’re trying to give him an opportunity to show he can play. We did that today, but I’ve got a funny feeling we might be changing that by (Monday). Or by Wednesday … before we get to Saturday. It might end up the way it is right now on Saturday, but I can pretty much guarantee you that the next few days, it’s not always going to be the same. We’re here to try and find out who they can play with.

MacLean dismissed the notion that either Cody Ceci or Stefan Noesen would make the team, while implying Andre Benoit was a lock and that either Patrick Wiercioch or Mark Borowiecki would get the other spot.

–Jeremy Milks expects the Sens to reach the second round of the playoffs:

They have a Norris Trophy defenseman in Erik Karlsson. A Jack Adams finalist for the coach of the year in Paul Maclean. They have goaltending depth the rest of Eastern Conference would envy. They are strong down the middle with Jason Spezza and Kyle Turris, overloaded on the wings and their best prospects are either fighting their way onto the team or leading their AHL affiliate to a possible championship season in Binghamton. Sure, the defense is depleted on the bottom pairing but they have plenty of cap space or tradeable prospects to address that as soon as they need to.

This is as optimistic an appraisal as I can imagine.  Before I play devil’s advocate in response to this, I’m curious who Jeremy thinks the Sens can get to fill in that bottom pairing (and who they would have to give up for that player).  I think his premise is off in terms of the need in the short term, as what Ottawa requires is a top-four blueliner to allow Chris Phillips to play the same protected minutes he enjoyed last season (we all recall the results of the last time the Big Rig was in the top-four [-35]).

The devil’s advocate way of looking at Jeremy’s expectations: that goaltending the league “envies” includes a starter who was awful the previous season and two untested rookies; Turris has one decent half-season to his name; the “overloaded wings” have only two established players (Michalek and Alfredsson), one of whom is 40 years old and the other is an injury waiting to happen; the blueline is composed of a rock star (Karlsson), a 38-year old declining Gonchar, a 34-year old declining Phillips, a Blue Jacket coming off an awful season (Methot), and a Wild cast-off who can’t stay healthy (Lundin).  Does that summary sound like a second round team?

I have no problem with Jeremy’s optimism, but mine is tempered.  The team enjoyed a surprising year last season, but there’s no guarantee that in the midst of a rebuild they will enjoy the same success again, especially with the injury to Jared Cowen.

-There’s simply no escaping the five-point formula as Roy MacGregor joins in the arbitrary numeration.  Roy wonders about Alfredsson, the goaltending, Karlsson, the blueliners, and Paul MacLean, which is on par with what we’ve seen before.

-As Nichols posted yesterday Andre Petersson is done for the year as he needs surgery to repair a torn labrum (the same procedure Jared Cowen just went through).  It’s an unfortunate turn of events for the talented Swede who had a rocky start to the season.

-In other Binghamton news, Wacey Hamilton is expected to play either Wednesday or on the weekend after missing the entire season thus far.

–Bobby Kelly and Mark Parisi talk Binghamton Senators and before I tackle what they discussed I have a correction for Bobby: Tyler Eckford was not with the B-Sens last season (also, Andre Petersson hasn’t established himself because he’s been injured since December).  On their basic points: I disagree with Mark that Stephane Da Costa has played better than Mike Hoffman–Da Costa has the better ceiling, but Hoffman has been more consistent and is better defensively.  I also think Mark is off-base thinking Mika Zibanejad should have been included in training camp–he needs to get himself right before he even thinks about the NHL.  I’m with Bobby in believing Binghamton will suffer most for losing some of its blueline, but the flip side of that coin is that it will be a true test for fringe players like Chris Wideman and Ben Blood.  I don’t know what Mark is seeing out of Jean-Gabriel Pageau as a darkhorse to produce more–the B-Sens are only losing one forward and I wonder if the return of Wacey Hamilton will knock Pageau into the pressbox or down to Elmira.  Mark wonders why Mark Stone hasn’t been getting more minutes and the easiest answer to that is who has playing ahead of him on rightwing: Jakob Silfverberg.

–Scott Gomez has been shutdown by Montreal in the same fashion that the Rangers have told Wade Redden to stay home.  While this has upset some (one?), it’s a no-brainer for the Habs.  Trading for Gomez was a bad idea and he (like Redden) clearly has nothing left in the tank.

-Elmira signed Kelly Miller who played with Trenton last year and was with the Danbury Whalers in the FHL this season.

This article is written by Peter Levi (@eyeonthesens)

January 14, 2013
Categories: Binghamton Senators, Ottawa Senators . . Author: Eye on the Sens . Comments: 11 Comments

-Binghamton’s training camp-altered lineup defeated Norfolk 4-2 last night in a game I was unable to watch.  Nathan Lawson picked up the win, Mika Zibanejad returned to action (no points), and Daniel New picked up his first AHL point; Eric Gryba scored twice (including an empty-netter) while Mark Stone and Corey Cowick had the other goals.  Here’s the box score.

-Elmira lost 4-3 in OT to Evansville; Louie Caporusso picked up a goal.  Brad Peltz did not dress for Trenton in their 3-1 loss; I’m not sure if he was a healthy scratch or was injured after his fight with Tyler Randell the night.

-Some fans were surprised that Mark Stone was not included in the Sens training camp, but as Paul MacLean succinctly put’s it:

The evaluations I made in the games I went to were Hoffman and Silfverberg were better.

Stone has spent the bulk of the AHL season playing on the checking line and while he’s been good he’s definitely not been as good as the two forwards picked ahead of him.

-For those who remember Robin Lehner‘s comments that stirred up a debate about his ELC status, he had this to say:

It’s not my job to look at numbers and contracts and stuff there’s other people who gets paid for that. Wherever I am, I really like this organization. They’ve been treating me well. I came here as a pretty young boy and they’ve been helping me mature and they’ve been a little bit like family and they’ve helped me get into the man I am now. Wherever I am, you get paid to do your job, and I love to do it.

That was said in the context of the goaltending question in Ottawa, but I’d take the first part of that and apply it to what Lehner said about his contract: those details are going to be the meat for his agent and the organisation, not him.

-The addiction to five-point lists continues with Allen Panzeri, who goes through the usual goaltending nonsense before wondering if Jason Spezza can repeat last year’s performance, if Kyle Turris a legit second-line center, if the blueline can hold up, and wondering what the team will get out of Guillaume Latendresse.

-The Sens schedule is up.

–The Silver Seven re-visit their predictions for the 2011-12 season (welcome to the club)–gotta love Dave Young and Adnan picking Sergei Gonchar as the surprise player–don’t go out on a limb boys!

–Ken Hitchcock offers some insight on what he expects from a shortened season:

When we start up here, there’s going to be some guys who have played in either Russia or Europe who have played 40 games and they’re going to have a big advantage, game conditioning-wise, over a guy who’s played zero. You’ve got to get quality over quantity and accept that, for the first month. If [a player] was a  20-minute player and he can give you 15 good ones, you’ve got to get 15 good ones out of him.

Via the same Stu Hackel link the other emphasis various coaches make is on the health of their roster–injury problems are magnified in a shortened season.

–Allan Muir warns that:

Part of the payoff of the last lockout was a commitment to calling the rules  more stringently, and it worked for a couple of years. Last season,  season-and-a-half, though? It doesn’t take a seasoned observer to recognize that  standards had been relaxed.

This laxity has been obvious and contributed to the success of teams like Phoenix and LA (among others).  One wonders how far it will go before the NHL makes yet another crackdown on obstruction.

This article is written by Peter Levi (@eyeonthesens)

January 13, 2013
Categories: Binghamton Senators, Ottawa Senators . . Author: Eye on the Sens . Comments: 1 Comment

–Jakob Silfverberg, Mike Hoffman, Patrick Wiercioch, Mark Borowiecki, Andre Benoit, and Robin Lehner have been called up to Ottawa to participate in training camp.  Ben Blood, Daniel New, Jack Downing, and Marc Cheverie have been brought up from Elmira to fill out Binghamton’s roster.

-Binghamton lost 3-2 to Adirondack in what was a pretty lifeless game for the B-Sens until they started the comeback (they were down 2-0 through the mid-point of the game).  Ben Bishop took the loss (the shootout was brutal for both sides), while Patrick Wiercioch and Mark Borowiecki provided the goals.  Here’s the box score and the highlights.

-The B-Sens play Norfolk (14-17-3) tonight; the Admirals are lead by Peter Holland (31 points) and backstopped by an even rotation of Frederik Andersen (7-9-1 2.45 .924) and Igor Bobkov (7-10-0 3.41 .896).

-Elmira won 3-2 in OT last night with Ben Blood notching the winner with his first professional point; Dustin Gazley had two points and Daniel New and Louie Caporusso picked up singles among B-Sen signees; Marc Cheverie earned the win.  Elmira faces Evansville again tonight.  Brad Peltz had no points in Trenton’s 3-1 loss.

–The 6th Sens offer 48 thoughts about the Sens which I recommend you read in full, but I do have a few thoughts: I disagree with their dislike of an expanded playoff format (hopefully they have a more rational reason for disliking the expansion than Luke Fox did); I agree wholeheartedly that the only scenario in which Sergei Gonchar gets traded is if the wheels come off and the Sens are tanking; kuddos for the Mattias Karlsson reference; I don’t think the Sens should expect any favours from the schedule-makers; I agree that missing the playoffs this season wouldn’t be a terrible thing (particularly with such a strong draft forthcoming).

-Apparently the number five is a significant one for those writing about the Sens as Bruce Garrioch has his own five-point list: 1. Can Paul MacLean continue to be effective?  2. Can Erik Karlsson have another Norris-worthy season?  3. Will age catch up to Daniel Alfredsson?  4. Will the time off hurt Craig Anderson?  5. Will the roster changes pan out?

It’s a reasonable group of questions which can only be answered once the season is over, but I’ll take a stab at prognostication: 1. Paul MacLean will remain a good coach irrespective of the team’s record, 2. Erik Karlsson can have another Norris-like season, but I’m not sure he’ll approach the same stratospheric statistics, 3. Age is catching up to Alfredsson, but I think he’ll continue to be effective, 4. Anderson has struggled with consistency irrespective of time off, so he might struggle, but I’m not sure that would be the cause, 5. It will be a mixed bag–some changes will be good, some won’t pan out.

–Varada seems to think Ottawa would get decent assets for Sergei Gonchar, Peter Regin, and Guillaume Latendresse…if “decent” means 6th and 7th round picks, he’s on to something.

–TSN‘s pre-season power rankings have Ottawa 13th:

The forward lines could get a boost from the addition of winger Guillaume Latendresse and rookie RW Jakob Silfverberg and the bulls-eye will fall squarely on D Erik Karlsson, who exploded for 78 points last season. Ottawa’s blueline depth could be an issue, particularly with Jared Cowen out for the year, so that’s a situation worth monitoring.

This article is written by Peter Levi (@eyeonthesens)

January 12, 2013
Categories: Binghamton Senators, Ottawa Senators . . Author: Eye on the Sens . Comments: 1 Comment

-Binghamton faces Adirondack (14-17-2) tonight; the Phantoms are lead by Brayden Schenn (33 points) and backstopped by Scott Munroe (9-8-0 2.59 .918).  The B-Sens beat Adirondack 7-4 in their last meeting over a month ago.

-Elmira plays Evansville (14-21-3) tonight; the IceMen are lead by Josh Beaulieu (32 points) and backstopped by Paul Karpowich (5-7-1 3.30 .896).  Brad Peltz and Trenton are playing South Carolina.

–Stefan G:Son (someday someone will explain the colon in his name) points out that Robin Lehner thinks he’s in the last year of his ELC and would want a one-way deal to follow it:

It would take a lot for me to sign a two-way deal again

I don’t think that sentiment should surprise anyone and as much as I admire Stefan (and Nichols) for trying to break down the arcane technicalities regarding Lehner‘s ELC status, that decision will really be up to lawyers such that Lehner will have no impute on it.  If he is about to become an RFA there’s no question the team will give him a one-way deal.

-There’s been a lot of ink spilt over trying to create a goaltending controversy in Ottawa, but as fun a topic as it is I just don’t see it.  As dull as it sounds the season will open Anderson/Bishop as long as the former can avoid using an ice pick late at night.

–Pierre LeBrun offers a breakdown of the Senators in offering up five-points (the format echoing Mark Parisi from a few days ago):

1. The GM Doesn’t Stand Pat

Interesting that Murray felt the need to slightly change a roster that played so well last season. But the veteran hockey man knows his team well and saw deficiencies. The addition of Latendresse, in particular, fills a need for more size up front.

2. The Senational Mr. Karlsson

The exciting puck-mover is electrifying to watch, and his evolution last season was a big reason for Ottawa’s surprise performance. Karlsson did lose his regular defensive partner in Kuba, so we will have to watch how he adjusts on that front. But given his natural talent, I can’t imagine a drop-off.

3. Sens in Europe

Ottawa had eight skaters playing overseas during the lockout, and that’s no small factor. The difference between those who have played real games the past few months and those just working out in scrimmages on this side of the ocean could be noticeable in some cases. Ottawa gets a bit of an edge here early in the season by having so many players who already have their game rhythm down pat.

4. Alfie, Alfie, Alfie

The Sens need to be wary of the compacted, 48-game schedule and make sure they don’t wear him down.

5. The Coach with the Right Answers

He was nominated for the Jack Adams Award and was instrumental in blending the youth and veteran elements on his club in a season that surpassed all expectations. The Senators are blessed behind the bench.

This is all pretty general, but I agree with LeBrun’s points–there may be a slight edge for the Sens because of how much competitive hockey the roster has played and no one can argue with the job Paul MacLean or Erik Karlsson did last season.  The key question would be the blueline overall, but LeBrun doesn’t delve into it.

–David Shoalts also provides an overview which does include the worries on the blueline.

This article is written by Peter Levi (@eyeonthesens)

January 11, 2013
Categories: Binghamton Senators, Ottawa Senators . . Author: Eye on the Sens . Comments: 3 Comments

-Despite being outshot by a two to one margin (32-16), Binghamton defeated Wilkes-Barre 3-1 last night.  Robin Lehner picked up the win while Stephane Da Costa, Eric Gryba, and Mike Hoffman (into an empty net) provided the offence. Mark Borowiecki crashed into the boards in the third (courtesy of Riley Holzapfel) and injured his leg (he did stay in the game).  I also saw an illustration of why Corey Cowick is not yet ready for prime time when it comes to fighting.  Here’s the box score and the highlights.

–Tim Murray had a lot to say and behind obvious things like Cody Ceci is in tough to make the NHL roster (which is a nice way to say he won’t), he offered this in Mika Zibanejad:

He’s on the ice everyday. He’s been monitored everyday. When you’re working out in the gym and then when you’re skating on the ice that can all go very well, and than it’s how you feel after. Since Tueday he’s had no issues, and felt very good after. Luke feels he’s getting in better shape….we feel he could play this weekend. Well there are a lot of factors [in why we’ve been cautious with his bringing him back]. One, he’s a high pick and he’s a young guy. Two is, in Binghamton we’re winning every night. So you don’t have to do in quotations ‘stupid things’, and we didn’t have to. So I just said to Luke here, we just have to shut him down, and I talked to Randy Lee about, let’s just shut him down, let’s just get him right. Fortunately we were in a position, where we didn’t have to rush him, we were still winning. I think when you you’re winning great things happen, byproduct of winning are many things, but in one of them you don’t have to rush a guy back, you can take your time, you can sure that you don’t make a mistake with them. Glen down there has done a great job with him, he came up to Ottawa and worked with our people up here a little bit and did a great job with him. I think now actually he’s been out so long that he felt he could play before we allowed him to play, so I think that’s a good situation.

The organisation has been cautious with virtually all their players this season and I think that’s been to the benefit of the individuals and the team.  Tim then talked about making a trade for a blueliner:

I was on the phone a lot yesterday at home, and Bryan here in the office. Certainly agents are calling us for the lesser guys, you know “my guy’s ready, he’s available he’s in great shape” that’s the message you get from them all. And some of those guys wouldn’t be your first choice, but that’s not to say they wouldn’t be useful defenceman. I think that the phones with the other GM’s are heating up, so Bryan is certainly…we’re gonna find out what’s available, what the price is , and then that’s the decision you have to make. Would I be surprised if we traded for one defenseman? No. Obviously you guys can see it, everybody in the league can see it, when you look at our depth chart that’s where we’re a litlte bit short right now because of injuries. But in saying that you do have to give your kids a chance at some point too, to find out if they’re ready. You know, we’ve seen these kids for three years, none of them are first year players; Benoit‘s a veteran, I would call Patrick a veteran in the AHL, I’d call Gryba a veteran in the AHL, I’d call Borowiecki a veteran in the AHL. They’re inexperienced NHL players, but everybody was at one time. So, we’ll work the phones and if can get better than them then we will, but I think we’re pretty confident that one or two out of this group of four will do a tremendous job for us.

This intention to try things out with Binghamton blueliners before making a move is exactly what I expected.  Finally he talked about goaltending:

It’s a position that takes time. You can draft four or five goalies over a four, five, or six year period and come out with nothing. And that is no disrepct to your scouting staff, it’s attrition. We’ve seen lots of goalies picked very high that didn’t turn out, and we’ve seen goalies picked in the mid-rounds that now are players. Robin‘s in his third year, he’s had a tremendous year, we know he’s a #1 goalie in the league…eventually, and we’re quite confident him. And you trade a second for Bishop, and what he’s done. They’re probably the biggest twosome or tandem in hockey as far as that goes, they’ve both played great down there. Everybody saw what Anderson did here last year, he got us to the playoffs, he was great against the Rangers. So we’re quite confident in our goaltending. And uh, the two guys we drafted last year are farther along the line but now we have depth here, we got guys coming, and I think that’s the kind of progression you want. If Paul tells us that Lehner should be his guy, then we’ll listen. But the way the other two guys can play the game…we’re confident in those two guys in the net too, so if it’s Bishop and Anderson or Anderson and Bishop, that’s what it was last year or for part of last year and we were a playoff team. Anderson played great so if he comes in here and gets going right off the bat…and the other two guys have been playing. I don’t know if I’m answering your question, but I”m confident in all three guys. I mean if you told me Robin Lehner was our starter tomorrow, I’d be happy with that. If you told me Bishop and Anderson would be the two guys, I’m happy with that. I think they’re all quite capable of being top ten or so goalies in the league…and um, the contract may come into play.

That “eventually” and reference to Bishop‘s contract is yet another sign that Lehner will be back in Binghamton when camp is done.

-Here the latest prospect update (for players with more than 10 games played I’ve indicated where they are in scoring; for blueliners they are compared to other defensemen on the team):

CHL
Cody Ceci (OHL Ottawa/Owen Sound) 43-11-30-41 (1st)
Matt Puempel (OHL Kitchener) 26-21-7-28 (1st) (injured)
Stefan Noesen (OHL Plymouth) 26-17-9-26 (6th) (suspended)
Jordan Fransoo (WHL Victoria) 34-3-7-10 (2nd)
Jakub Culek (QMJHL Cape Breton) 8-4-3-7 (10th) (injured)
Jarrod Maidens (OHL Owen Sound) (injured)
Chris Driedger (WHL Calgary) 23-7-32.17 .924
Francois Brassard (QMJHL Quebec) 19-11-32.62 .909

Allsvenskan (Swe)
Mikael Wikstrand (Mora) 29-9-9-18 (1st) WJC 6-0-4-4 (1st)

KHL
Nikita Filatov (Salavat) 38-8-11-19 (t-2nd)

NCAA
Ryan Dzingel (Ohio) – 20-9-8-17 (1st)
Jeff Costello (Notre Dame) – 16-6-9-15 (2nd)
Bryce Aneloski (Nebraska-Omaha) – 22-4-11-15 (t-1st)
Max McCormick (Ohio) – 20-6-4-10 (3rd)
Michael Sdao (Princeton) – 16-5-4-9 (1st)
Tim Boyle (Union) – 10-0-2-2 (t-6th)

USHL
Robbie Baillargeon (Indiana/Omaha) – 31-10-13-23 (1st)

–D. J. Powers looks at the NCAA in December, but other than a passing reference to Ryan Dzingel doesn’t offer anything up on the Sens side of things.

-The Maple Leafs did the NHL a favour by firing Brian Burke in the aftermath of their deal, taking the focus away from the lockout and shifting it to the big blue team.  There have been innumerable theories and comments about the move, most of which boil down to accepting the many reasons he deserved to be fired but questioning the timing (from my reading it seems to have hinged on the change in ownership).

This article is written by Peter Levi (@eyeonthesens)

January 10, 2013
Categories: Binghamton Senators, Ottawa Senators . . Author: Eye on the Sens . Comments: Leave a comment

–Luke Richardson talked about Jakob Silfverberg and Mika Zibanejad:

The beginning of the season, Silfverberg and Zibanejad were offensive guys who were used to having a lot of room on the big rinks (in Europe), and they found it an adjustment to how hard the American league really was. It was an eye-opener, for sure. Both of them have developed quite nicely, but Silfverberg lately has really been taking over games. He didn’t have too many points at the beginning of the year, and points don’t mean everything, but his play over the last month has been dominating. He can do it at the next level. He’s a smart, skilled player and he’s really starting to take to the North American game. He’s a lot more forceful in the areas that require a bit more physicality and he’s not afraid to go to the net. People will be shocked when they see him shoot the puck, it really is unbelievable. It will be fun to watch him at the next level.

He [Zibanejad] really had his body run down. He’s just back practising full-time now, he looked great (Tuesday) in his first full-on practice, taking a regular turn on a line, taking extra faceoffs after practice. At this point, he hasn’t played a game in a while, so I don’t know what the thought process is and I know (the Senators) are still trying to figure things out on how many players they want and who’s coming up (from Binghamton), but I would guess they’d want him to play some (AHL) games first. Is he behind a bit because he’s missed some time? Maybe, but he’s a young, strong athlete who can rebound quickly, so I’m sure that will be a topic of conversation this week and I wouldn’t be surprised either way.

–Paul MacLean talked about the upcoming season and sadly didn’t say much of anything.  One thing that I think Nichols (whose transcript I’ve linked) is right in questioning was this:

I think whoever plays the best is going to play. I don’t think it gives him any more of an advantage. Robin Lehner has been very good in Binghamton. The games that I’ve gone to see, he’s been the best player on the ice. I’ve seen Ben Bishop play down there and he’s been the best player on the ice. So both of them have played very well. Craig Anderson is our number one goaltender at this point in time and I think between the three of those guys, we’ve got two real good goalies and two of them are going to be here. I think it would be unfair to say that just because one player’s contract says this that they get the position over the (other) guy. I think the best player is going to be here.

As much as I respect MacLean I think there’s zero chance Bishop doesn’t make the team–he’s on a one-way and cost the team a 2nd round pick–they want him to have a chance at the NHL level.  MacLean talked about the depleted defence:

Well the injury to Jared Cowen has been, we all knew it was a blow at the time. That would have given us a solid four. Now with Michael Lundin, now his injury is also (adds) a little bit of heat.  The opportunity for him to come in and take one of those four spots, he’s going to be a week or two into the season and we’re going to be into… so we’ll see how that affects him. But, the good thing is … good young players… Patrick Wiercioch has played very (well) in Binghamton this year and he just might be ready to come in and play. Last year with Jared Cowen, we gave Jared Cowen the opportunity. We kept putting him back out on the ice and that made him a better player as the season went on. Patrick Wiercioch and Mark Borowiecki as well, he’s playing very well in Binghamton. And these young players, we’re still a team of opportunity for young players. We don’t want to lose track of that thought with the success that we had last year. Yes, we want to be successful and continue down that road, but we also want to be a team of opportunity for young players. This is an opportunity for Mark Borowiecki and Patrick Wiercioch to come in and say, ‘Hey, I’m a NHL player and I want to be an Ottawa Senator. I can do it and know what the coach needs me to do to play in this league and if you keep giving me that opportunity, I can.’

MacLean also made an interesting comment about the loss of Nick Foligno:

Nick was really a good soldier for this team. And really did a lot of good things for us. He’s a player who I think is really on the verge of blossoming into the type of player that he believes he is and everyone believes he is. But at the same time, you have to give something up to get something. And we felt with the drafting of Jakob Silfverberg and being the player of the year in Sweden, Mark Stone coming in and playing in the playoffs and playing very well and Mike Hoffman’s play, we just felt that we had depth at that position at forward. We felt that we needed a top four defenceman to put into our mix with Filip (Kuba) leaving and that ended up being… we felt that we made that deal from strength and made our team better.

So the combination of solid forward prospects and a need on the blueline played into Foligno‘s departure–this isn’t new per se, but I find it interesting Hoffman is included with the two more highly touted forward prospects.

MacLean also made it clear that his expectation is that Peter Regin will be playing on the third line, which fits most people’s projected lineups.

–Allen Panzeri looks at the six Binghamton players he’s identified to push for a spot with the Sens: Silfverberg, Mark Stone, Patrick Wiercioch, Mark Borowiecki, Andre Benoit, and Robin Lehner.

-Binghamton faces Wilkes-Barre (15-16-3) tonight; Beau Bennett leads the Penguins in scoring (23 points) while Jeff Zatkoff handles the load in goal (11-11-0 2.22 .912).

-In a surprise move Brad Peltz (a healthy scatch for last 12 Binghamton games) has been loaned to the Trenton Titans rather than Elmira; presumably this is to find him ice time rather than a problem with the Jackals organisation.

-NHL power rankings are a largely pointless exercise, but I’m including them so they can be looked back on when the season is over to see how well various journalists did.  Here’s Adrian Dater‘s, with Ottawa at #19 saying:

It’s nice that Daniel Alfredsson didn’t have his career ended by a fully lost  season. His return figures to be a boon for the Sens on and off the ice. These guys were better than people (hand raised) thought they’d be last year, and they gave the Rangers fits in the playoffs. But this team is aging somewhat, with  five players 30 or older. In this league, it gets harder and harder to get by on  veteran moxie. If Craig Anderson can have a big season in net, though, another  playoff spot is very possible.

The “aging” thing makes me shake my head.  The only key players who are truly aging are Alfredsson and Gonchar–that’s an important element, but doesn’t define the whole team.

This article is written by Peter Levi (@eyeonthesens)

January 9, 2013
Categories: Binghamton Senators, Ottawa Senators . . Author: Eye on the Sens . Comments: Leave a comment

-With the lockout over Sens news and speculation is flooding the interwebs, although it’s amusing to see some sites (like The Hockey News and TSN) simply regurgitate their pre-lockout predictions as “news”.

–Bryan Murray talked about the upcoming training camp and season:

Yeah, I think the setup on our first couple of lines should be, we have good skill. Obviously we think with that, we have some goal scoring ability. On the next two lines, we have a little bit of size. We have a little bit of variety of players – penalty killers, hard-nosed, competitive guys. I think our forward group is good and on top of that, we have Noesen, who is playing in Plymouth. We’ve got (Mark) Stone and (Mike) Hoffman. We’ve got a good group of young forwards down in Binghamton that, if they have to come up and play some games for us, can contribute. I think that’s where we really have a good edge right now.

The key thing here is its depth at the forward position, not the blueline.  On Jakob Silfverberg:

Yeah, he’s got a (good) head and hands. When a player has that, and he can get up and down the ice somewhat, you know he can contribute. You’re right, Jakob started fairly slow down there. I think the smaller ice surface, the type of game in the American (Hockey) League was a bit of a factor for him but he made the adjustment. I’ve seen a few of his highlight goals on tape and I keep replaying them hoping that he’ll be able to do it up here. He shoots the puck a ton. He’s got a head around the net and he makes real quality plays, so whoever plays with him will benefit from that as well.

On the state of the team’s blueline:

Well, it’s interesting, over the last day and a half now, I’ve received a number of calls from free agents, veteran guys that we will look at. But, we do have… again, we have some kids that have played very well – (Mark) Borowiecki, (Andre) Benoit, (Patrick) Wiercioch and (Eric) Gryba… people of that nature. So we will take a look at them as well. But I’ve talked to a couple of GMs about some surplus that we might have to get what we need. It’s like a normal year there. We will try and take our time, be smart about it, add the right chemistry type of guy to our lineup and hopefully (defence) won’t be the weak spot. We’re short in numbers, there’s no question and it’s really terrible that we lost Jared the way we did. But hopefully it will work out to our benefit later on because of this; we get a kid playing that will learn a lot and be better in the long run. No, they’re hard to get and it’s hard to have enough depth there. As I say, we have some big, young kids that are playing there and playing very well. We know they’re well-schooled in Binghamton and I think the way that it looks now at any rate, we’ll probably start with our own group and if we have to make an adjustment as we go forward, we will do that.

There’s really no replacement for Cowen, but I have a hard time imagining the Sens signing a veteran as anything other than a short-term solution.  Murray suggested he may have to make a trade to Wayne Scanlan.  On the organisation’s goaltending:

Yeah, we’ve been very, very happy overall. The two kids in Binghamton have been outstanding. Robin Lehner has been really, a star. A lot of nights they get outshot badly and outplayed and they win the hockey game and only give up one goal. So we’re going to really have to take a hard look at the two young guys along with Craig (Anderson). Our depth, again I mention up front and in goal in particular, our depth is really good. And in a shortened season, goaltending is going to be a major, major factor. So we have to play the right guy to start off with and hopefully he’ll carry the ball, whoever it may be, will carry the ball and help us win some games early on in particular. Yeah, the one thing that has happened with Robin, he’s matured so much. His game is so much better. His approach is really good. I think he understands now, which is hard for young players sometimes, that it does take time to make it (to the NHL). But you hope when you make it, you stay for a long time. And I think Robin understands that totally, so we’re going to give him a great viewing here. We’re going to give him a great opportunity here and if he has to go back (to Bingo) and play, I know he’ll be terrific down there as well.

All of this points to Lehner remaining in Binghamton.  Finally, on team toughness:

Oh boy, if we’re not tough enough, I’ll get some advice from (Don Brennan) I’m sure and he’ll tell me who to go get. I think that’s the one issue… there’s no question that having Matt Carkner and (Zenon) Konopka last year was a nice ability to put into (the lineup) – like in Game 2 against the Rangers. I think we’re tough enough. I think we have competitive people. And if we’re not, we’ll have to address it. But I think again, with the shortened season, we’re going to see a lot more competitive hockey. You’ve got to stay on the ice and you’ve got to play hard. Recognizing that, there probably won’t be a luxury of carrying a tough-guy only.

I enjoy Murray tweaking Don Brennan’s nose for all his whinging for the departed tough guys (Don choose not to mention the matter in his own column).  Toughness is not going to be an issue for the Sens.

-Nichols makes my point about Jared Cowen even more vociferously than I did yesterday:

The Jared Cowen injury really buggers up the Senators depth chart and with the possibility of starting the season with three new defensive pairings, the potential lack of cohesion on the back end gives me cause for concern; especially if it necessitates playing Gonchar and Phillips together against decent competition for 20-plus minutes per game.

–Varada is back with the hockey season and within his lengthy post offers the following:

I think we [the Senators] have some regression in store, helped along by the lack of mister 20-minutes-a-night Kuba, Cowen and Lundin’s injuries, Phillips, Gonchar and Alfie all being one year older, Michalek’s shooting percentage coming back down to earth, Karlsson probably not leading all defencemen in scoring by 20 points, and that we pretty much lucked out in not missing Spezza or Michalek or Alfie to injuries that much last year. I don’t think we’ll see a bottoming out, but I wouldn’t be surprised to find us just on the outside of the bubble looking in. I wrote earlier how if there was a year that the Sens were going to go futile on us, it may as well be this one, when I’m used to no hockey and we’d only have to live with about 50 games of sucking. Then again, wackier things have happened in a shortened season.

This is certainly a possibility (and a better elucidated version of a downturn than Mark Parisi offers below).  On the surface it all boils down to the blueline and whether it can hold up given the issues it has.  James (who offers his opinions in the same link) is more positive, but (like me) also has the blueline as his primary concern.  Varada continues:

I feel like Turris is the natural answer to the breakout player question, though I’ve never been a huge champion of the kid and I’m skeptical still. I think he’ll do just fine as a 2nd line center, but breaking out, turning heads, stealing hearts? I dunno. Maybe. I think I’ll go with Jakub [Jakob] Silfverberg, who I think may be a part of the Calder conversation, thus increasing the “Is Jakub the reincarnation of the not-yet-dead-Alfie?’ chatter. As for the player in the doghouse, I’d say either Phillips or Neil, both of whom I think should have moved on a couple of seasons ago during the purge. Phillips is a serviceable second pairing guy, and obviously he’s a veteran with a great history in the city, but at $3MM per I don’t know if having both he and Marc Methot around battling for the not-quite-good-enough-to-play-with-Karlsson spot sets my world on fire. Neil gets a bit of a pass because Carkner and Konoptka are gone and as hockey savant Don Brennan will tell you, you need someone on your team who if he wasn’t playing hockey would probably be in jail. Neil will fight people, so…we need him? Veteran, pump-up guy, history in the city, blah blah blah. But his possession numbers are brutal. He also takes more penalties than he draws, making the whole ‘pest’ element a bit of a wash. I don’t know if I care much for yet another season of Neil scoring, what, 20 points? Holy shit, I completely forgot that this team signed Peter Regin. He might pleasantly surprise.

Safe picks for a breakout player, although Turris doesn’t qualify for me (or James) unless he runs at a point-per-game pace or something (the guy was the third overall pick in 2007, so a good to great season shouldn’t be a surprise).  Silfverberg will be that player if he has a productive season; no one else really springs to mind unless Regin really is healthy and can produce.  As for the doghouse I think Varada is spot on, although both those players are largely immune to criticism in the media here so another scapegoat would be found.  James defends Phillips, but he’s watched the Big Rig’s play decline over the years…it may get ugly this season.

–Mark Parisi offers up his five burning questions for the Sens:
5. Did the Sens over achieve last season?
Parisi doesn’t offer an answer, but it’s a valid question that’s hard to answer–I think they did, but this season and last form their own distinctive entities
4. Did the team lose too much toughness?
No.  I don’t see this as a serious question
3. What, if anything, should be done about the goaltending logjam?
I think the organisation has already made this decision, so it’s really only a question for fans who disagree with an Anderson/Bishop pairing
2. Where will the goals come from?
Given that Ottawa didn’t lose many goals to free agency in the summer, this question only makes sense if we can know players are going to have down seasons (an assumption that would need some backing methinks)
1. Who will replace Jared Cowen?
No one directly–there’s no trade or free agent who can provide what Cowen does.  I think the team will try internally first and then externally if that doesn’t work

-Sens prospect Cody Ceci was traded from the 67s to Owen Sound yesterday.  Ceci will be invited to the Sens camp, but it’s clear from Bryan Murray’s comments (above) that there’s no chance of him making the NHL roster.

–Jeremy Milks makes the odd prediction that Zack Smith will be Ottawa’s comeback player…coming back from what?  I’m not sure what heights Jeremy thinks he’ll be returning too.

–Pierre LeBrun goes through some of the CBA nuances, the most interesting of which is retaining salary via trade.  As LeBrun writes:

Here are the main parameters of the rule: A club cannot absorb more than 50 percent of the players’ annual cap hit/salary in any trade. Any NHL club can only have up to three contracts on their payroll in which the contract was traded away under the retaining salary proviso. Also, only up to 15 percent of your upper limit cap amount can be used up by the money you have retained in trades.  For example, let’s say the Maple Leafs want to trade little-used blueliner Mike Komisarek and his $4.5-million cap hit ($3.5 million salary this year) to the New York Islanders  (hypothetically). The Leafs could retain half the cap hit — $2.25 million — and half the salary — $1.75 million — in order to facilitate the deal. The Islanders would pay him the other half. This should facilitate more trades around the league, no question.

This article is written by Peter Levi (@eyeonthesens)

January 8, 2013
Categories: Binghamton Senators, Ottawa Senators . . Author: Eye on the Sens . Comments: 3 Comments

-Binghamton lost 5-2 to Albany (I was only able to watch the first period).  Robin Lehner took the loss while Patrick Wiercioch and Shane Prince provided the offense.  Here’s the box score and the highlights (which do not include Prince‘s goal).  Robin Lehner talked about the loss:

We were sleeping in the first. We have got to look at ourselves and see what’s going on. The last couple of weeks we have had very bad first periods and today too. The first goal I could’ve been a little better and maybe caught that… it’s not good enough right now. We got back in the second (period) and I felt pretty good in the second but unfortunately it wasn’t enough today.

Luke Richardson said:

We weren’t ready to compete and play tonight and they were. You can see that from the penalty kill, the 5-on-5, to everything. They deserved the win.

-For those who missed it, here’s my look at Binghamton at the thirty game mark.

-Elmira defeated Trenton 4-3 last night, with Marc Cheverie picking up the win, Dustin Gazley had three points and Danny New picked up a goal.

-I’ve been asked to speculate about the Sens roster, so here are a few early thoughts:
Forwards: Jason Spezza, Milan Michalek, Daniel Alfredsson, and Kyle Turris are the only locks as top-six forwards.  It’s likely that Guillaume Latendresse will play in that group, but performance (and health) will dictate if he stays.  I expect Jacob Silfverberg to make the team, but I don’t think he has to play with the top forward group to be effective (his time in the AHL will give him an edge in training camp however).  Given the number of forwards the Sens have signed, I think Silverberg is the only realistic addition from Binghamton.  Colin Greening may spend time with the top-six as well (he did last year), as could a healthy Peter Regin.  The other forwards (Chris Neil, Zack Smith, Erik Condra, Jim O’Brien, and Kaspars Daugavins) are all locks for the bottom two lines.
Defence: Erik Karlsson, Sergei Gonchar, Marc Methot, and Chris Phillips form the team’s top-four group while Mike Lundin (when healthy) will play in the bottom pair.  I expect Mark Borowiecki to start with the team while Patrick Wiercioch and Andre Benoit compete for the spot freed by Lundin.  None of the Binghamton blueliners is guaranteed to stick for the season and whatever struggles the team face will dictate who spends the most time there (if defensive grittiness is needed it benefits Borowiecki, while if there’s an offensive deficit I’d expect Wiercioch to see significant time).
Goaltending: I don’t see any alternative to Craig Anderson–Ben Bishop, despite Robin Lehner‘s play in Binghamton.
Potential deals: I’m not a fan of Ottawa’s blueline when Jared Cowen is on the shelf, so something may be done to bolster it.  The forward group could struggle as well, but given the number of quality players in the pipeline I don’t think there is the same sense of urgency.
The Cap: the Sens are extremely well situated to deal with the new cap and can choose to do nothing to be comfortably within the CBA.
Expectations: as a young team in the midst of a rebuilding transition the club could go anywhere.  Last year the health of veterans played a huge role and I think that and goaltending will be the key to how things unfold this season.

This article is written by Peter Levi (@eyeonthesens)

January 7, 2013
Categories: Binghamton Senators, Ottawa Senators . . Author: Eye on the Sens . Comments: 1 Comment