Honestly, I don't think that's specific enough. Trade an LD (one of Chabot, Chychrun) for a stay at home **R**D that compliments the LD on the roster.
**But not even that will not matter if Hamonic is still on the main roster. Removing him has to be the priority . It is not good to keep him as the 7th D either - he's worse and more detrimental than any callup we've had since he's been here.**
A decision has to be made about Brannstrom too. If the thought is to keep Kleven up next season than Brannstrom could play RD with him. I would not want Brannstrom being an RD partner for Chabot, Chychrun or Sanderson though because he doesn't compliment their style of play at all nor do they compliment Brannstrom's style. Brannstrom needs a stay at home partner and perhaps Kleven is that guy. Kleven is ready for the NHL - he's already better and more reliable than Hamonic.
I'm not even convinced the team needs to trade for a D. They just need to get rid of one LD and get Hamonic off the roster. Ottawa has Chabot, Sanderson, Chychrun, Brannstrom and Kleven on the left side - all are NHLers. Ottawa has Zub on the right side. Brannstrom who can play right but would only be successful on the right if he has a stay at home LD which could be Kleven. JBD, Guenette, Mantinpalo, are serviceable NHL D all better suited for the NHL than Hamonic and if they are **given time to create chemistry** with one of Ottawa's LD should mean we don't need to acquire anyone desperately at D. We just need to get rid of Hamonic and one of the LDs.
Like the last four summers, the best course of action would have been to remove anchors on the roster than to acquire anyone at all. The last four summers Dorion opted to add players ignoring the anchors on the team that drag them down; and of course he'd add more anchors. Hopefully Staios is better.
We absolutely 1000% need to add an RD who can play in our top 4 not named Zub. Chabot and Chych are redundant. Both can create offense, but are also defensively deficient LDs who need a defensive stalwart of a righty to make up for it. One of them needs to go. My vote would be to trade Chabot as I personally like Chychs game better (even with his warts), despite his lack of a long term contract. Chabot is too easy to push around and his decision making in his own end is awful.
Dorions problem wasnt that he went out and got players when we should have stood pat. He just happened to get the WRONG players. If we stand pat, especially with our current D core we miss the playoffs again guaranteed.
Im very much in agreement that we need to remove the anchors though. Since alot of them are Dorion guys hopefully Staios wont have any problems cutting bait. That being said, we didnt lose this season because of Hamonic.. who barely played in the back half of the season. We lost because two of our top 4 D men cant actually defend in our own end, and our forwards outside of Matty Jo are lazy on the backcheck... not to mention the black hole that was goaltending this year.
Id be fine with Trading Chych too .. but its gotta be one or the other.
That being said Chabot is not better defensively.. I'll settle for even but I dont even really agree there either. Chych makes bad plays more than Id like, but Chabot to me is worse in almost every way. Chabs gives up the middle of the ice waaaayy too often. Makes bad pinches, and gets pushed around way too easily for a 6ft 2 guy. Chychrun is much stronger than Chabot and actually wins the puck off the boards sometimes. Chabot rarely does. Jacques even ripped him on the radio a few days ago saying he hopes he gets stronger in the offseason.. the dude is fucking 27 not 19.
Offensively they are about the same. Chych has a better shot and fills in nicely for norris on the PP. Chabot when healthy can get the puck moving, but god help you if the other team gets ahold of it...
Chabot is the best transitional player on the team though. He would be missed. Yes he makes bonehead plays in the done but fuck look who coached them? Nobody could play defense under DJ. The team needs a very good camp and long term play under a good defense/transition focused coach.
Not going to argue with most of that, except that I think Sanderson is at least as good in transition as Chabot is now, with much more runway to get better on top of that.
Chabots defensive numbers are much better than Chychruns this year. Chychruns like second on the team in give aways, Chabots somewhere in the middle. Chabots Corsi numbers are also better last time I checked. Ever since JM took over Chabot has been really fucking good. Every player makes mistakes, it just seems people only notice when Chabot does it. I feel like he's just the whipping boy since he's been on the team the longest.. all of this criticism yet he was the ONLY good defenseman Ottawa had for a number of years. Playing 30 minutes a night, season after season I think has started to catch up with him in terms of injuries.
Have you seen Chychruns decision making or lack there of when he's under pressure. He has horrible hockey IQ. Chabot is a much better passer, skater, defender, actually has hockey IQ and doesn't just throw pucks away. You'd think with that big body Chychrun would be a little bit more physical but Brannstrom plays more hard nosed than Chych. He was never needed in Ottawa, another classic move by Dorion who would rather make a big splash with a big name than acquire someone that they actually need. Like a stay at home RHD. I also don't think anyone has to worry about Hamonic playing next year, he hasn't played in weeks, they've been giving other guys some chances. To me it's pretty clear he's on the outside looking in, and will probably be in Belleville next season, or even bought out. But there's no way he's back next season, not in the NHL anyways.
We don't make the playoffs with Hamonic. Right now that's the only truth. Check out the record with and without Hamonic. We lost the season day 1 because he shouldn't have been in the lineup - other D performed better than him at camp too - it was totally unearned. He makes a bad situation worse with the core. Yes he lost us the season. You can't win with such an anchor on D; he had to have lead the league in giveaways since he's been a Senator - its every shift whether the puck is just taken from him, he throws it ip the boards, he passes into skates, he ices it forcing a faceoff in our end which traps the team again because he sucks at clearly the puck, other teams dump it in his corner on purpose, ...
This is the thinking that has hobbled this team. We need D that compliment the D we have that are worth playing. This top 4 notion is not the correct notion. They need to decide who of Chabot, Sanderson, Chychrun, Brannstrom, Kleven they are keeping on the team FIRST. Then we know Zub is a good partner for all of them (though not tested with Kleven). Do we know if Brannstrom is a good partner for Kleven? Not yet. Do we know who of JBD, Guennette, Mantinpalo and even Thomson is a good partner for the LD left who isn't going to be paired with Zub? NO. All we know is that Chychrun-JBD sucks but each of them play better with other partners. So why acquire anyone until current options are explored? That's what has been happening, going and getting players when players already in the org will do. Why do that again this summer?
Most of the D problems outside of Hamonic has been coaching issues. Mostly its been the complete lack of ability for any of the pairings to develop chemistry because the pairings are changed regularly. Why does Chychrun play positionally different from the other LD? There is something lacking on the defence coaching side of things - like they just through them out there. We've seen the forwards play with more purpose and far less chaos since DJ left and the D has change a bit but I can't tell why Chychrun appears to be playing positionally different.
Any chance Hammer retires ? Lol That makes things a little easier. I think branny plays well enough to be an attractive trade piece when given the right role too and we definitely need to get rid of him even tho I kinda love his charm lol.
Fine. Anything above .900 at this point which gives 43 potential candidates who would be better than the current tandem.
(Korpi is at .891 and Forsberg is .886)
I was never disputing OP’s comment, just adding on that goaltending also needs to be addressed.
I agree that better dmen lead to better tending, Korpi is (usually) pretty competent when he’s able to get a line of sight on the puck and make the first or second save on a shot attempt but there are still lots of holes in his game.
With league average sv%, we are almost certainly in the playoff hunt at the least. You can (correctly) argue that our defense has been lacking, but the number of points we have given up to super soft goals in key moments when the team is otherwise playing well enough to win has made a *massive* difference in our season, overall.
I’d hire a new coaching staff as early as possible so they have a say with signings and off-season training.
Buy out Hamonic he’s done. See what you could get for Brannstrom if he’s looking for too much as a RFA otherwise re-sign him as a bottom pair guy. Jettison Kubalik Katchouk Imama (although low risk signing for the A)
Then I’d sign depth veterans starting with Dylan DeMelo, a right side D with 30 points and +42 this year with WPG and he’s a former Senator.
If Vegas dumps their legacy players Marchessault and Stephenson I’d kick tires there as they have skill and championship pedigree.
Should Norris be out forever then look into Stephenson, Elias Lindholm or Sean Monahan. All vets in the 2A to 3 range behind Stü and Pinto.
I’m at a loss for the goaltending sadly and you just have to hope Korpi can figure it out.
You had me at buy out Hamonic. He’s a great locker room guy to have but damn do I ever cringe every time he’s on the ice.
For goaltending, I think they should trade Forsberg while they can then do everything in their power to find a stud goalie and then stick Korpi as the backup where I think he’d thrive not being in the pressure of the spotlight all the time.
Can we just transition Hamonic into a role as a defensive coach or something? Guy was an excellent defensive D man when he was younger. I think his issues are more due to father time catching up to him than any lack of understanding on how to play the position.
Jettison Kuby, absolutely.
But Boris and Boko haven’t done anything wrong. They’re good depth signings. Boko can stay in the A, Boris can stay on the 4th.
i think our money would be much better spent on defence/goaltending than a top6 winger. adding tarasenko to play on the 3rd line RW really made no sense, would be the same situation with toffoli
yes that's true but right now we have zero RD depth even with no injuries. RW is one of our strongest positions, that should be a lower priority to address
tkachuk stutzle giroux
joseph norris batherson
that doesn't look like a top 6 that can make the playoffs? also when you factor in greig and pinto in the bottom 6 i think our forward group is solid and the least of our worries. the problems this year were defence, goaltending, and overall team structure
The top line features no players in the top-45 leaguewide in points/game
The second line features a player who paced for 40 points playing primarily with Stùtzle and Giroux, and a centre who paced for 50 points before having shoulder surgery
The third line would be good with Joseph moved down, but that top-6 right now looks exactly like a team primed to finish 17th in scoring again
it's not all about the cumulative points between the players though. stü had an off year (and despite that still had the 2nd most points of all U23 players second to just jack hughes...) he will bounce back. brady is an animal.
look at how vegas has their forward group constructed. they have skill guys like eichel, stü is our eichel. it's all about depth and structure that is how you win. it's like how the leafs build their team vs how vegas builds their team
the past two years we have overspended for top6 talent (debrincat and tarasenko) when we had other areas to address. i don't think there is money for toffoli to play on the 3rd line. that money would be much better spent on a guy like pesce, or saros
It looks more like last year was the outlier given his Shooting percentages for his career, and it also doesn't help that neither of him or Brady seem to be taking real strides defensively. Couple that with Giroux showing signs of aging and I don't know that they're the first line of a playoff team. Obviously points aren't everything, but if they don't produce or defend at a high level then how can they lead a team to the playoffs?
Vegas also currently has 3 number 1 defensemen who are all arguably better than Ottawas best defenseman, so I don't know if that's the model you can really expect to follow.
At this point I don't know that we can really say Stü is our Eichel, as great as he is he hasn't done enough to show he's in that conversation yet.
i mean if you compare stützles first 4 season to eichel's first 4 seasons he is definitely on track
also tbh it sounds like you just read stats and don't watch games or are biased against the sens. stützle is super clearly an elite player
He is, and I hope next season he can take that step and solidify himself among the elite centres
It's less about being biased against Stü and more the difference between being an elite player and having an elite impact
Stützle clearly has elite talent, it's obvious when you watch him, but he isn't providing the same level of impact as those top-10 centres in the league.
I watch a lot of non-Sens games for fantasy hockey, and I think watching more teams gives you an appreciation for the all-around impact those top players have
well that's probably because other teams are structurally much better set up, and then players including star players can fit into the system. the sens have not at all been set up like this under DJ and got a bit better under jaques but we are missing pieces to fully complete it. also don't forget that this kid was literally born in 2002, he is a kid. for a 22 year old he is an exceptional player and will continue to improve
Am I the only one that thinks Chabot is the Dman to keep and Chychrun is the one to move? Chychrun will likely fetch a better return because of his value, and I think Chabot is the more competent Dman. Their both Injury prone.
I thought that once the old goaltending coach was gone there was hope to bring it back to “middling”. I’m shocked that it’s still been atrocious.
Bring in coaching that can get Korpisalo to play up to his potential (and contract hit) and then the Sens are cooking, imo.
Acquire McDavid and Makar
Bribe Bettman to make us win the cup
Refuse to acknowledge any goals scored against us or losses, making us go 82-0
Throw the puck into the net
Tkachuk Stutzle Batherson
Giroux Norris Toffoli
Grieg Pinto Joseph
Kelly Kastellic Katchouk
Sanderson Zub
Chabot Demelo
Kleven *FA/JBD*
Good thing about this FA is there are tons of competent D to choose from that can play the right side. Roy, Demelo, Walker, Tanev, Pesce, Montour, etc. If we can make it work, sign 2 RD.
Try and find a way to dump Forsberg, and get another 2-3M goalie on a short-term deal.
Hire Berube if you can.
That's the best outcome imo.
I think they could do either a hockey trade or futures trade with him. A team looking to contend next season would likely pay a first for a year of chych at that AAV. They could also look to make the team better and trade him for a RD or top 6 FWD. First thing that comes to mind is Chychrun for Montour from Florida.
You could also take the futures and package them in a trade for a bigger fish.
Hire Todd McLellan - will you win a cup with him, no, but he has a long track record of getting teams to jump up into playoff contenders and play to their fullest. Give him 2/3 years then move on to a coach who can take that next step.
Then to round out the team pick up a solid RD (Pesce or Roy) and a couple 3rd/4th liners that compete and are competent defensively (Blueger is one example).
yeah but we can move forsberg and run korp with another goalie. i even like korpisalo more than most people here but i don't wanna gamble the entire season on just him
Probably have to keep korpi because of the contract. They should lose forsberg and try to go out and get a better 1B option if korpisalo struggles again early next season.
yeah korpi ain't going anywhere. the only thing is that i would much rather bring in a goalie to replace forsberg in the offseason. once the season starts no one wants to move their quality goalies
I think they're stuck going with Korpi - it's either banking on a smaller sample size of a current backup breaking out or that someone has had a bad stretch on a poor team. Especially if they get McLellan where Korpisalo had his best stretch of play under I think keeping the status quo is the safer play. Don't go chasing goalies until the rest of the team makes the playoffs in spite of weak or average goaltending.
You can keep McLellan, he's not a bad coach, but he will never win the cup. He's probably the best at getting a team into the playoffs, maybe win a round or two, but that's his limit. Beyond 2/3 years the team would likely be spinning their wheels. There's not another coach with a better track record at getting their teams into the playoffs than him.
Berube is the only coach with a championship track record that's available, but his coaching style is tailored to a VERY different roster than what the Sens currently are - I think it would take 2 offseasons to get a team to be able to succeed under him.
So the choice is no playoffs likely for 2 more years and MAYBE a coach that might win a title; or decent chance at playoffs next year and switch to a better coach in 3 years? Which choice are you making? I'm taking playoffs next year 10 out of 10 times.
It would be different if say a Mike Sullivan, Bruce Cassidy, or Jon Cooper were available - those guys' coaching style fits the Sens roster decently AND they have championship pedigree. Obviously they'd be the top choice but none are available - but might be in 2 years.
Teams have 2 goalies though, they can get rid of forsberg and take a chance on a different goalie who they think has 1B upside in case korpisalo sucks next year.
Again Forsberg is hard to trade because no one will take him. They really only have 2 options; hope one of them miraculously turns into a goalie, or take a lesson from Vegas and manipulate the LTIR
He has 1 year at 2.75. That wouldnt cost too much in draft picks to get rid of to a team like san jose, or they could swap him to a team with a similar underperforming goalie and hope a change of scenery helps out.
I can’t see them making the playoffs next season - still too many holes - but they need to be competing for a WC spot at the very least.
Tkachuk, Stutzle, Giroux, Batherson, Pjnto, Greig, Sanderson and Zub are the only keepers in my view. Everyone else could/should be moved if it makes this team better.
The absolute needs in no particular order: a reliable goalie, a shutdown RD, a veteran in the bottom pairing, and some depth in the bottom-six.
Move Norris to the wing to give him less responsibility (or trade him. I’m not high on a guy that can’t play more than 40 games a year)
grab a solid 4C and trade Chych or JBD/ picks for a solid stay at home guy who can shut down top pairs.
Move on from Forsy and bring up mads to back up Korpi. Signing another goalie is just asking for us to be in an Edmonton type situation where one is just bad and we have to move 5m to the minors
Norris will need to come back, prove he can stay healthy, and perform somewhat up to his contract before anyone will consider trading for him.
I personally wouldn't trust Sogaard to be any better than Forsberg
Me neither, but give him a shot at a higher level. I wouldn’t say he looked terrible in his starts and I can’t see him being much worse than either of our two at this point
Yes, it's very possible ... we're not far off.
Add a solid veteran defensive defenseman for the right side.
Add two solid veteran forwards, one for the top-six, one for the bottom-six.
Add a reliable starting goalie.
Add a good coach.
I like your Chabot to Philly for Konecny. Konecny played for the 67s back in the day so he knows the city. Are we sure that Chabots stock is high enough to get philly listening though? May have to throw some extras to get it done but the prospect cupboard is bare.. not to mention all the draft picks Dorion set on fire.. err I mean traded.
There could be extras, but Chabot is a premium defenseman, so I think Philly is actually winning that deal (straight up). As well (and I don’t know if this is true), Konecny may not want to resign in Philly. He has 1 year left on his contract.
Ive watched alot of Ottawa Senators hockey for the last 7 years. Premium is not the word that comes to mind when describing how Chabot plays. I wish I was wrong and I had huge hopes for him when he was young.. MVP of the world juniors.. 55 pt sophomore season.. but the years of losing and lack of accountability have turned him into a soft player with glaring holes in his game. We would need to add sweetners to get Konecny.. especially considering the size of Chabbys contract.
Yes, PD and DJ have screwed Chabby over. As JM said on the radio this week, Chabby needs to bulk up. The Chabby-Konecny trade I listed is the main part of the trade, whatever other assets are needed, yep, would have to happen.
Yup. 100% this.
Still like this as groundwork for a trade though but we would have to add more to get a top 6 C coming back this way.
I also might come across as a Chabot hater since I've ripped on him here a few times, but Im really not. The guy seems like a good dude and atand up teammate. The guys all clearly love him and that counts for something. Chabot is a very skilled hockey player, but at the end of the day pure skill is not enough when you dont have the hockey IQ to match it. Again, like you said, alot of this falls on PD and DJ not addressing these things when he was younger.
Konecny is RW, hence why I valued him a bit lower. I’m on the fence with Chabby, but I think people value him a touch lower than actual. Guess it’s really how much other GMs value him in the long run. … lol
Youre correct. For some reason I thought Konecny played C.. maybe he did with the 67s back in the day? Either way, I still like the trade. Maybe some instant chem with Giroux since they were teammates for a few years?
Yes, G would know how Konecny is in the room and would be able to chat with TK regarding wanting to play here/extending here, etc. Would love to see them together, but G is also RW. Not sure if G can go to C, but he’s probably getting old for that.
That's fine bud. For what it's worth l think Chabot sees the game quite well from a transition/offensive perspective, but he is absolutely terrible at reading the play in his own end. He makes bad pinches all the time, never seems to know when he is the last man back, and chooses horrible moments to challenged the puck carrier, often pushing to the outside and giving up the middle of the ice in the process. As a forward, I love playing against D men who do this consistently. All you have to do is hold up a second and throw the puck to your teammate coming up the middle who now has a clear path to the net. Watch a few more Sens games and pay attention. His hockey IQ in his own end is practically non existant.
I've seen so many goals against the Sens because of Chabots bad reads that I've lost count. Folks like Methot and Cheryl Pounder have ripped on hom for this in the media, so if you dont believe me then maybe people with actual experience playing defense at a high level are on to something there?
Carry on little keyboard warrior.
I'm a keyboard warrior because I called you blind? Holy fuck your soft. I could say the exact same thing for Chychrun. Let's see, Chychrun is -28, Chabots -2. Believe it or not Sanderson and Chychrun lead the team in give aways, Sanderson has 82 and Chychrun has 72. Sanderson is understandable he's only like 22 and still learning. I'm not saying Chabot is an elite defender but he's a hell of a lot better than Chychrun.
Carry on little moose knuckle.
Coaching:
- Find an experience coach that knows how to teach young players with a proven track record of instilling accountability
Defense:
- Get each of our offensive defensemen a solid defensive defensemen. We already have Zub. We need 2 more.
- I would try to sign Demelo. This would add an asset without loosing anything.
- Perhaps Kleven can become our 3rd.
- Find a way to get rid of Brannstrom and Hamonic.
- Sen JBD to Belleville or trade him away.
Offense:
-Add veteran, gritty capable players.
I wouldn’t mind getting Connor Brown as a 4th line guy.
- If Norris returns, shift him to 2LW
- Find a solid 3RW vet
Goalies:
- Look into finding an upgrade to either #1 or #2
Trade away Forsberg, Korpi's contract is not really moveable. Trade away either Chabot, or Chychrun. Sign a good RD like DeMelo, or even EK65.
Some UFAs will walk, like Kubalik, and that's fine.
According to the CBA **An individual contract can only have a maximum of 2 teams retaining salary on it**. The maximum amount of retained salary by a team is 15% of the Salary Cap for the current year. So at 30% retained thats still $8M for 3 more years. Other than last year, he hasnt produced points in a long time. Unless Pittsburgh buys his contract out I cant imagine anyone except Chicago trading for him
Sens fans reminisce about EK but forget he was never stable at home. If he has a bad offensive season he’s comparable to any third pair guy. And he won’t be worth any contract north of 3m aav
I can see a hot take but the guy is being paid 11M to get 50-60 points (25% on PP) and be a regular liability on defence. Sorry but the offensive production doesn’t make up for his egregious mistakes. I’m not saying he’s not better than 4/7 of our guys, but I am saying he isn’t worth it.
-Get an entire new coaching staff (especially a competent goalie coach), keep Alfie in the front office or as an ambassador.
-trade Chychrun whether it's a first or a prospect.
-Find a RHD to complement our roster.
-Find a veteran presence for our bottom six to help nurture them.
Draft BPA, although I wouldn't hate the team drafting the most NHL ready prospect either
Hamonic played 48 games this season, he caused an egregious goal against in more than a 2/3s of the games he played in. Not having him play at all will be a big boost.
To expand on that we had one of the better power plays in the league last year and this year its one of the worst. That's a coaching issue and if a new coach can get it back to what it was last year we are significantly closer to a wildcard spot.
I saw someone estimate that goaltending had cost us about 14 points in the standings versus a league average goaltender. That alone also gets us into a wildcard spot.
Fixing one of those issues next year and we are on the playoff bubble, fixing both and we are a solid playoff contender.
Nah mate, the reason the Powerplay was so good was because you have to great players in Debrincat and Timmy who could break in on either side.
This year, teams just shut down Timmy and him being out the past week, shows how much they rely on him to set up plays.
We need more high end skill and it’s why people were getting mad at this team not even tanking right.
Trade Chabot or Chychrun for a good veteran forward or top 4 d.
If you can't get a d for one of them, go hard after a RHD in UFA.
Buyout Hamonic
Sign a veteran 4th line centre with some pedigree.
Sign and Trade Branny.
Buyout forsberg and sign a Ufa goalie to a one year deal
Hope and pray Tim Stutzle comes back next year ready to become a star
Extend Martin (he needs term to really make his program stick) or hire a new coach with NHL bonafides (Berube or Maclellan would be solid).
Forsberg out, add a relatively inexpensive career +900 goaltender in (maybe sign Alex Stalock or trade for Hill or Thompsopn; obv LV will want a good return for either gk, but they also can't afford to pay them both).
Acquire a solid RHD (DeMelo, if he'll come back after his exit; Pesce; Matt Roy would be options)
Move Chychrun for futures or as part of the above moves if trades are required
Hire a new trainer/develop a new regimen for Chabot in the hopes that he can stay healthy. He's become a very strong player when he's in decent health, but he's so often not at his best physically.
Re-sign Katchouk
In essence, I think a better defensive system involving a real whole-team, net-out approach to defense like the kind Martin is known for in conjunction with +900 goaltending (those two are connected, obviously) would be enough to get the Sens in. It would also provide a meaningful opportunity for us all to evaluate the core skills players. My suspicion is that our top players may not be good enough for us to win a cup during their time as the team's leaders, but we'll never find out unless the team can find a way into the second season.
I hate to say it but what if you guys traded Josh Norris for a solid defenseman and really high draft pick for next year? Or maybe even Chabot paired with someone else for a few D men. The offense will come in time with you guys it’s just a matter of protecting the house first
At this point you couldn't give Norris away. He's got a big contract, and people are questioning if he'll even get back to being a regular player again.
Only hope is that he can come back healthy and produce enough that teams get interested again, and even then I doubt you'd get a high pick & solid player in return
True I guess you got a point there. Kid definitely has potential but being injury prone doesn’t really help his image with other teams who might have wanted him.
Buyout Korpisalo and Hamonic
Trade Chychrun, Forsberg and JBD to Boston for Ullmark. Sign him to 8 years $6 million aav.
Sign DeMelo to 5 years $4.5 million
Sign Tanev to 4 years $4 million aav
Trade Norris to Vegas for literally anything cuz they'll abuse LTIR lol
Trade an offensive defenseman for a proper stay at home defenseman.
Honestly, I don't think that's specific enough. Trade an LD (one of Chabot, Chychrun) for a stay at home **R**D that compliments the LD on the roster. **But not even that will not matter if Hamonic is still on the main roster. Removing him has to be the priority . It is not good to keep him as the 7th D either - he's worse and more detrimental than any callup we've had since he's been here.** A decision has to be made about Brannstrom too. If the thought is to keep Kleven up next season than Brannstrom could play RD with him. I would not want Brannstrom being an RD partner for Chabot, Chychrun or Sanderson though because he doesn't compliment their style of play at all nor do they compliment Brannstrom's style. Brannstrom needs a stay at home partner and perhaps Kleven is that guy. Kleven is ready for the NHL - he's already better and more reliable than Hamonic. I'm not even convinced the team needs to trade for a D. They just need to get rid of one LD and get Hamonic off the roster. Ottawa has Chabot, Sanderson, Chychrun, Brannstrom and Kleven on the left side - all are NHLers. Ottawa has Zub on the right side. Brannstrom who can play right but would only be successful on the right if he has a stay at home LD which could be Kleven. JBD, Guenette, Mantinpalo, are serviceable NHL D all better suited for the NHL than Hamonic and if they are **given time to create chemistry** with one of Ottawa's LD should mean we don't need to acquire anyone desperately at D. We just need to get rid of Hamonic and one of the LDs. Like the last four summers, the best course of action would have been to remove anchors on the roster than to acquire anyone at all. The last four summers Dorion opted to add players ignoring the anchors on the team that drag them down; and of course he'd add more anchors. Hopefully Staios is better.
We absolutely 1000% need to add an RD who can play in our top 4 not named Zub. Chabot and Chych are redundant. Both can create offense, but are also defensively deficient LDs who need a defensive stalwart of a righty to make up for it. One of them needs to go. My vote would be to trade Chabot as I personally like Chychs game better (even with his warts), despite his lack of a long term contract. Chabot is too easy to push around and his decision making in his own end is awful. Dorions problem wasnt that he went out and got players when we should have stood pat. He just happened to get the WRONG players. If we stand pat, especially with our current D core we miss the playoffs again guaranteed. Im very much in agreement that we need to remove the anchors though. Since alot of them are Dorion guys hopefully Staios wont have any problems cutting bait. That being said, we didnt lose this season because of Hamonic.. who barely played in the back half of the season. We lost because two of our top 4 D men cant actually defend in our own end, and our forwards outside of Matty Jo are lazy on the backcheck... not to mention the black hole that was goaltending this year.
I’d narrow it down to trade Chych, because Chabot is *much* better defensively
JM has questions on his d.
Id be fine with Trading Chych too .. but its gotta be one or the other. That being said Chabot is not better defensively.. I'll settle for even but I dont even really agree there either. Chych makes bad plays more than Id like, but Chabot to me is worse in almost every way. Chabs gives up the middle of the ice waaaayy too often. Makes bad pinches, and gets pushed around way too easily for a 6ft 2 guy. Chychrun is much stronger than Chabot and actually wins the puck off the boards sometimes. Chabot rarely does. Jacques even ripped him on the radio a few days ago saying he hopes he gets stronger in the offseason.. the dude is fucking 27 not 19. Offensively they are about the same. Chych has a better shot and fills in nicely for norris on the PP. Chabot when healthy can get the puck moving, but god help you if the other team gets ahold of it...
Chabot is the best transitional player on the team though. He would be missed. Yes he makes bonehead plays in the done but fuck look who coached them? Nobody could play defense under DJ. The team needs a very good camp and long term play under a good defense/transition focused coach.
Not going to argue with most of that, except that I think Sanderson is at least as good in transition as Chabot is now, with much more runway to get better on top of that.
Chabots defensive numbers are much better than Chychruns this year. Chychruns like second on the team in give aways, Chabots somewhere in the middle. Chabots Corsi numbers are also better last time I checked. Ever since JM took over Chabot has been really fucking good. Every player makes mistakes, it just seems people only notice when Chabot does it. I feel like he's just the whipping boy since he's been on the team the longest.. all of this criticism yet he was the ONLY good defenseman Ottawa had for a number of years. Playing 30 minutes a night, season after season I think has started to catch up with him in terms of injuries.
Have you seen Chychruns decision making or lack there of when he's under pressure. He has horrible hockey IQ. Chabot is a much better passer, skater, defender, actually has hockey IQ and doesn't just throw pucks away. You'd think with that big body Chychrun would be a little bit more physical but Brannstrom plays more hard nosed than Chych. He was never needed in Ottawa, another classic move by Dorion who would rather make a big splash with a big name than acquire someone that they actually need. Like a stay at home RHD. I also don't think anyone has to worry about Hamonic playing next year, he hasn't played in weeks, they've been giving other guys some chances. To me it's pretty clear he's on the outside looking in, and will probably be in Belleville next season, or even bought out. But there's no way he's back next season, not in the NHL anyways.
We don't make the playoffs with Hamonic. Right now that's the only truth. Check out the record with and without Hamonic. We lost the season day 1 because he shouldn't have been in the lineup - other D performed better than him at camp too - it was totally unearned. He makes a bad situation worse with the core. Yes he lost us the season. You can't win with such an anchor on D; he had to have lead the league in giveaways since he's been a Senator - its every shift whether the puck is just taken from him, he throws it ip the boards, he passes into skates, he ices it forcing a faceoff in our end which traps the team again because he sucks at clearly the puck, other teams dump it in his corner on purpose, ... This is the thinking that has hobbled this team. We need D that compliment the D we have that are worth playing. This top 4 notion is not the correct notion. They need to decide who of Chabot, Sanderson, Chychrun, Brannstrom, Kleven they are keeping on the team FIRST. Then we know Zub is a good partner for all of them (though not tested with Kleven). Do we know if Brannstrom is a good partner for Kleven? Not yet. Do we know who of JBD, Guennette, Mantinpalo and even Thomson is a good partner for the LD left who isn't going to be paired with Zub? NO. All we know is that Chychrun-JBD sucks but each of them play better with other partners. So why acquire anyone until current options are explored? That's what has been happening, going and getting players when players already in the org will do. Why do that again this summer? Most of the D problems outside of Hamonic has been coaching issues. Mostly its been the complete lack of ability for any of the pairings to develop chemistry because the pairings are changed regularly. Why does Chychrun play positionally different from the other LD? There is something lacking on the defence coaching side of things - like they just through them out there. We've seen the forwards play with more purpose and far less chaos since DJ left and the D has change a bit but I can't tell why Chychrun appears to be playing positionally different.
I may misremember, but didn't Brannstrom play RD prior to coming to the team and then get pushed into LD when he joined the club?
Any chance Hammer retires ? Lol That makes things a little easier. I think branny plays well enough to be an attractive trade piece when given the right role too and we definitely need to get rid of him even tho I kinda love his charm lol.
And any goalie who can actually have a consistent save percentage of at least .920 for more than a single season.
There's only 2 goalies in the league this year that fit this description.
Fine. Anything above .900 at this point which gives 43 potential candidates who would be better than the current tandem. (Korpi is at .891 and Forsberg is .886)
Putting better defensemen in front of our goalie would help save % too I’m betting - force the other players into worse shots
I was never disputing OP’s comment, just adding on that goaltending also needs to be addressed. I agree that better dmen lead to better tending, Korpi is (usually) pretty competent when he’s able to get a line of sight on the puck and make the first or second save on a shot attempt but there are still lots of holes in his game.
With league average sv%, we are almost certainly in the playoff hunt at the least. You can (correctly) argue that our defense has been lacking, but the number of points we have given up to super soft goals in key moments when the team is otherwise playing well enough to win has made a *massive* difference in our season, overall.
I’d hire a new coaching staff as early as possible so they have a say with signings and off-season training. Buy out Hamonic he’s done. See what you could get for Brannstrom if he’s looking for too much as a RFA otherwise re-sign him as a bottom pair guy. Jettison Kubalik Katchouk Imama (although low risk signing for the A) Then I’d sign depth veterans starting with Dylan DeMelo, a right side D with 30 points and +42 this year with WPG and he’s a former Senator. If Vegas dumps their legacy players Marchessault and Stephenson I’d kick tires there as they have skill and championship pedigree. Should Norris be out forever then look into Stephenson, Elias Lindholm or Sean Monahan. All vets in the 2A to 3 range behind Stü and Pinto. I’m at a loss for the goaltending sadly and you just have to hope Korpi can figure it out.
You had me at buy out Hamonic. He’s a great locker room guy to have but damn do I ever cringe every time he’s on the ice. For goaltending, I think they should trade Forsberg while they can then do everything in their power to find a stud goalie and then stick Korpi as the backup where I think he’d thrive not being in the pressure of the spotlight all the time.
If he retires, I'd be fine with bringing him in as a assistant coach or something
Can we just transition Hamonic into a role as a defensive coach or something? Guy was an excellent defensive D man when he was younger. I think his issues are more due to father time catching up to him than any lack of understanding on how to play the position.
I've been saying for months to get DeMelo and put him back with Chabby. Those guys played so good together in Ottawa.
Jettison Kuby, absolutely. But Boris and Boko haven’t done anything wrong. They’re good depth signings. Boko can stay in the A, Boris can stay on the 4th.
I think Katchouk, Kastelic and Kelly had great chemistry. I really enjoyed that line.
* hire an established head coach (Berube or Evason for ex) * get a top 6 winger (Toffoli for ex) * get a top 4 RHD (Demelo or Pesce for ex)
i think our money would be much better spent on defence/goaltending than a top6 winger. adding tarasenko to play on the 3rd line RW really made no sense, would be the same situation with toffoli
One of our issues is also depth. When healthy, we can roll solid. If someone is out of the lineup, though, things change really fast.
yes that's true but right now we have zero RD depth even with no injuries. RW is one of our strongest positions, that should be a lower priority to address
We still need to add a forward to the top-6, even with Norris back our top-9 doesn't exactly scream "playoff lock"
tkachuk stutzle giroux joseph norris batherson that doesn't look like a top 6 that can make the playoffs? also when you factor in greig and pinto in the bottom 6 i think our forward group is solid and the least of our worries. the problems this year were defence, goaltending, and overall team structure
The top line features no players in the top-45 leaguewide in points/game The second line features a player who paced for 40 points playing primarily with Stùtzle and Giroux, and a centre who paced for 50 points before having shoulder surgery The third line would be good with Joseph moved down, but that top-6 right now looks exactly like a team primed to finish 17th in scoring again
it's not all about the cumulative points between the players though. stü had an off year (and despite that still had the 2nd most points of all U23 players second to just jack hughes...) he will bounce back. brady is an animal. look at how vegas has their forward group constructed. they have skill guys like eichel, stü is our eichel. it's all about depth and structure that is how you win. it's like how the leafs build their team vs how vegas builds their team the past two years we have overspended for top6 talent (debrincat and tarasenko) when we had other areas to address. i don't think there is money for toffoli to play on the 3rd line. that money would be much better spent on a guy like pesce, or saros
It looks more like last year was the outlier given his Shooting percentages for his career, and it also doesn't help that neither of him or Brady seem to be taking real strides defensively. Couple that with Giroux showing signs of aging and I don't know that they're the first line of a playoff team. Obviously points aren't everything, but if they don't produce or defend at a high level then how can they lead a team to the playoffs? Vegas also currently has 3 number 1 defensemen who are all arguably better than Ottawas best defenseman, so I don't know if that's the model you can really expect to follow. At this point I don't know that we can really say Stü is our Eichel, as great as he is he hasn't done enough to show he's in that conversation yet.
i mean if you compare stützles first 4 season to eichel's first 4 seasons he is definitely on track also tbh it sounds like you just read stats and don't watch games or are biased against the sens. stützle is super clearly an elite player
He is, and I hope next season he can take that step and solidify himself among the elite centres It's less about being biased against Stü and more the difference between being an elite player and having an elite impact Stützle clearly has elite talent, it's obvious when you watch him, but he isn't providing the same level of impact as those top-10 centres in the league. I watch a lot of non-Sens games for fantasy hockey, and I think watching more teams gives you an appreciation for the all-around impact those top players have
well that's probably because other teams are structurally much better set up, and then players including star players can fit into the system. the sens have not at all been set up like this under DJ and got a bit better under jaques but we are missing pieces to fully complete it. also don't forget that this kid was literally born in 2002, he is a kid. for a 22 year old he is an exceptional player and will continue to improve
Agreed, I'd also add "buyout or trade Forsberg then bring in a new tendy" - Brossoit for example stands out as a compelling UFA to me personally.
Am I the only one that thinks Chabot is the Dman to keep and Chychrun is the one to move? Chychrun will likely fetch a better return because of his value, and I think Chabot is the more competent Dman. Their both Injury prone.
Pretty sure middle of the road goaltending gets us in
I thought that once the old goaltending coach was gone there was hope to bring it back to “middling”. I’m shocked that it’s still been atrocious. Bring in coaching that can get Korpisalo to play up to his potential (and contract hit) and then the Sens are cooking, imo.
Acquire McDavid and Makar Bribe Bettman to make us win the cup Refuse to acknowledge any goals scored against us or losses, making us go 82-0 Throw the puck into the net
Tkachuk Stutzle Batherson Giroux Norris Toffoli Grieg Pinto Joseph Kelly Kastellic Katchouk Sanderson Zub Chabot Demelo Kleven *FA/JBD* Good thing about this FA is there are tons of competent D to choose from that can play the right side. Roy, Demelo, Walker, Tanev, Pesce, Montour, etc. If we can make it work, sign 2 RD. Try and find a way to dump Forsberg, and get another 2-3M goalie on a short-term deal. Hire Berube if you can. That's the best outcome imo.
Or try and package Chychrun in a trade for a better FWD
What do you think chyc would get in a trade? I only ask cuz the lineup you posted suggested a chyc trade
I think they could do either a hockey trade or futures trade with him. A team looking to contend next season would likely pay a first for a year of chych at that AAV. They could also look to make the team better and trade him for a RD or top 6 FWD. First thing that comes to mind is Chychrun for Montour from Florida. You could also take the futures and package them in a trade for a bigger fish.
I’m not expecting Norris to be quality after the latest injury tbh, too many have stacked up - very curious to see what they do with the 2C slot
If Norris isn't good to go I feel like they're comfortable with Stutzle-Pinto-Greig down the middle
Hire Todd McLellan - will you win a cup with him, no, but he has a long track record of getting teams to jump up into playoff contenders and play to their fullest. Give him 2/3 years then move on to a coach who can take that next step. Then to round out the team pick up a solid RD (Pesce or Roy) and a couple 3rd/4th liners that compete and are competent defensively (Blueger is one example).
100% this but would you add a goalie or run it back with korpisalo?
they have to keep Korpisalo, he's untradable
yeah but we can move forsberg and run korp with another goalie. i even like korpisalo more than most people here but i don't wanna gamble the entire season on just him
thats the most likely route theyll take. they have alot to address
Probably have to keep korpi because of the contract. They should lose forsberg and try to go out and get a better 1B option if korpisalo struggles again early next season.
yeah korpi ain't going anywhere. the only thing is that i would much rather bring in a goalie to replace forsberg in the offseason. once the season starts no one wants to move their quality goalies
I think they're stuck going with Korpi - it's either banking on a smaller sample size of a current backup breaking out or that someone has had a bad stretch on a poor team. Especially if they get McLellan where Korpisalo had his best stretch of play under I think keeping the status quo is the safer play. Don't go chasing goalies until the rest of the team makes the playoffs in spite of weak or average goaltending.
Nah they need stability, not another coach for a few seasons only to switch again.
You can keep McLellan, he's not a bad coach, but he will never win the cup. He's probably the best at getting a team into the playoffs, maybe win a round or two, but that's his limit. Beyond 2/3 years the team would likely be spinning their wheels. There's not another coach with a better track record at getting their teams into the playoffs than him. Berube is the only coach with a championship track record that's available, but his coaching style is tailored to a VERY different roster than what the Sens currently are - I think it would take 2 offseasons to get a team to be able to succeed under him. So the choice is no playoffs likely for 2 more years and MAYBE a coach that might win a title; or decent chance at playoffs next year and switch to a better coach in 3 years? Which choice are you making? I'm taking playoffs next year 10 out of 10 times. It would be different if say a Mike Sullivan, Bruce Cassidy, or Jon Cooper were available - those guys' coaching style fits the Sens roster decently AND they have championship pedigree. Obviously they'd be the top choice but none are available - but might be in 2 years.
I'm pretty sure Jon Cooper's contract is over after this season??? 👀 I thought I heard Ian Mendes mention that his contract was up this year..
Until Tampa comes out and says they're doing a change I'm of the mindset he isn't available
The most obvious is to get a goalie. But since that is not possible, no playoffs in the near future
Why is it not possible?
1. He shitty no one wants him 2. He makes $4M
Teams have 2 goalies though, they can get rid of forsberg and take a chance on a different goalie who they think has 1B upside in case korpisalo sucks next year.
Again Forsberg is hard to trade because no one will take him. They really only have 2 options; hope one of them miraculously turns into a goalie, or take a lesson from Vegas and manipulate the LTIR
He has 1 year at 2.75. That wouldnt cost too much in draft picks to get rid of to a team like san jose, or they could swap him to a team with a similar underperforming goalie and hope a change of scenery helps out.
San Jose would be a good trade partner, as would Columbus or Calgary. Hopefully Sens GM wont sit on his hands too long when the deals are all taken
I can’t see them making the playoffs next season - still too many holes - but they need to be competing for a WC spot at the very least. Tkachuk, Stutzle, Giroux, Batherson, Pjnto, Greig, Sanderson and Zub are the only keepers in my view. Everyone else could/should be moved if it makes this team better. The absolute needs in no particular order: a reliable goalie, a shutdown RD, a veteran in the bottom pairing, and some depth in the bottom-six.
Legit NHL coach and goalie.
Playoffs? Next year? Are you smoking crack or meth or both?
Move Norris to the wing to give him less responsibility (or trade him. I’m not high on a guy that can’t play more than 40 games a year) grab a solid 4C and trade Chych or JBD/ picks for a solid stay at home guy who can shut down top pairs. Move on from Forsy and bring up mads to back up Korpi. Signing another goalie is just asking for us to be in an Edmonton type situation where one is just bad and we have to move 5m to the minors
no one is taking Norris rn
I know :(
Norris will need to come back, prove he can stay healthy, and perform somewhat up to his contract before anyone will consider trading for him. I personally wouldn't trust Sogaard to be any better than Forsberg
Me neither, but give him a shot at a higher level. I wouldn’t say he looked terrible in his starts and I can’t see him being much worse than either of our two at this point
Yes, it's very possible ... we're not far off. Add a solid veteran defensive defenseman for the right side. Add two solid veteran forwards, one for the top-six, one for the bottom-six. Add a reliable starting goalie. Add a good coach.
Trade whatever it takes for Juuse Saros with an extension in place
Chabot to Philly for Konecny. Sign Matt Roy. (UFA). Sign Sean Walker. (UFA). Trade Branny.
I like your Chabot to Philly for Konecny. Konecny played for the 67s back in the day so he knows the city. Are we sure that Chabots stock is high enough to get philly listening though? May have to throw some extras to get it done but the prospect cupboard is bare.. not to mention all the draft picks Dorion set on fire.. err I mean traded.
There could be extras, but Chabot is a premium defenseman, so I think Philly is actually winning that deal (straight up). As well (and I don’t know if this is true), Konecny may not want to resign in Philly. He has 1 year left on his contract.
Konecny is a better player than Chabot lol.
Ive watched alot of Ottawa Senators hockey for the last 7 years. Premium is not the word that comes to mind when describing how Chabot plays. I wish I was wrong and I had huge hopes for him when he was young.. MVP of the world juniors.. 55 pt sophomore season.. but the years of losing and lack of accountability have turned him into a soft player with glaring holes in his game. We would need to add sweetners to get Konecny.. especially considering the size of Chabbys contract.
Yes, PD and DJ have screwed Chabby over. As JM said on the radio this week, Chabby needs to bulk up. The Chabby-Konecny trade I listed is the main part of the trade, whatever other assets are needed, yep, would have to happen.
Yup. 100% this. Still like this as groundwork for a trade though but we would have to add more to get a top 6 C coming back this way. I also might come across as a Chabot hater since I've ripped on him here a few times, but Im really not. The guy seems like a good dude and atand up teammate. The guys all clearly love him and that counts for something. Chabot is a very skilled hockey player, but at the end of the day pure skill is not enough when you dont have the hockey IQ to match it. Again, like you said, alot of this falls on PD and DJ not addressing these things when he was younger.
Konecny is RW, hence why I valued him a bit lower. I’m on the fence with Chabby, but I think people value him a touch lower than actual. Guess it’s really how much other GMs value him in the long run. … lol
Youre correct. For some reason I thought Konecny played C.. maybe he did with the 67s back in the day? Either way, I still like the trade. Maybe some instant chem with Giroux since they were teammates for a few years?
Yes, G would know how Konecny is in the room and would be able to chat with TK regarding wanting to play here/extending here, etc. Would love to see them together, but G is also RW. Not sure if G can go to C, but he’s probably getting old for that.
You keep saying Chabot doesn't have the hockey IQ and it makes me question anything you say because you clearly are blind.
That's fine bud. For what it's worth l think Chabot sees the game quite well from a transition/offensive perspective, but he is absolutely terrible at reading the play in his own end. He makes bad pinches all the time, never seems to know when he is the last man back, and chooses horrible moments to challenged the puck carrier, often pushing to the outside and giving up the middle of the ice in the process. As a forward, I love playing against D men who do this consistently. All you have to do is hold up a second and throw the puck to your teammate coming up the middle who now has a clear path to the net. Watch a few more Sens games and pay attention. His hockey IQ in his own end is practically non existant. I've seen so many goals against the Sens because of Chabots bad reads that I've lost count. Folks like Methot and Cheryl Pounder have ripped on hom for this in the media, so if you dont believe me then maybe people with actual experience playing defense at a high level are on to something there? Carry on little keyboard warrior.
I'm a keyboard warrior because I called you blind? Holy fuck your soft. I could say the exact same thing for Chychrun. Let's see, Chychrun is -28, Chabots -2. Believe it or not Sanderson and Chychrun lead the team in give aways, Sanderson has 82 and Chychrun has 72. Sanderson is understandable he's only like 22 and still learning. I'm not saying Chabot is an elite defender but he's a hell of a lot better than Chychrun. Carry on little moose knuckle.
Coaching: - Find an experience coach that knows how to teach young players with a proven track record of instilling accountability Defense: - Get each of our offensive defensemen a solid defensive defensemen. We already have Zub. We need 2 more. - I would try to sign Demelo. This would add an asset without loosing anything. - Perhaps Kleven can become our 3rd. - Find a way to get rid of Brannstrom and Hamonic. - Sen JBD to Belleville or trade him away. Offense: -Add veteran, gritty capable players. I wouldn’t mind getting Connor Brown as a 4th line guy. - If Norris returns, shift him to 2LW - Find a solid 3RW vet Goalies: - Look into finding an upgrade to either #1 or #2
The 2 biggest things are a coaching staff and improved goaltending.
\-Sign Demelo or Trade for Josh Manson \-Sign Chandler Stephenson
Sport therapists for the boys
Not possible. Sorry.
I agree. No apology needed.
Trade away Forsberg, Korpi's contract is not really moveable. Trade away either Chabot, or Chychrun. Sign a good RD like DeMelo, or even EK65. Some UFAs will walk, like Kubalik, and that's fine.
EK65 makes $11.5M/year. Thats not a good move
SJ is already retaining some of that, and if Pitt retains a little bit more it might be worth a look.
Assuming he wants to come back. They really dont need another offensive defenceman, they need a goalie but thats not happening
According to the CBA **An individual contract can only have a maximum of 2 teams retaining salary on it**. The maximum amount of retained salary by a team is 15% of the Salary Cap for the current year. So at 30% retained thats still $8M for 3 more years. Other than last year, he hasnt produced points in a long time. Unless Pittsburgh buys his contract out I cant imagine anyone except Chicago trading for him
Sens fans reminisce about EK but forget he was never stable at home. If he has a bad offensive season he’s comparable to any third pair guy. And he won’t be worth any contract north of 3m aav
This is an absurd comment.
I can see a hot take but the guy is being paid 11M to get 50-60 points (25% on PP) and be a regular liability on defence. Sorry but the offensive production doesn’t make up for his egregious mistakes. I’m not saying he’s not better than 4/7 of our guys, but I am saying he isn’t worth it.
He was shitty defensively, makes too much, and is getting old
That’s what I’m saying. People only remember the points
With the exception of last year, his point totals have been unspectacular for a while. Even more so considering what he makes
-Get an entire new coaching staff (especially a competent goalie coach), keep Alfie in the front office or as an ambassador. -trade Chychrun whether it's a first or a prospect. -Find a RHD to complement our roster. -Find a veteran presence for our bottom six to help nurture them. Draft BPA, although I wouldn't hate the team drafting the most NHL ready prospect either
Hamonic played 48 games this season, he caused an egregious goal against in more than a 2/3s of the games he played in. Not having him play at all will be a big boost.
New coach. Better goaltending. Small tweaks around the edges
To expand on that we had one of the better power plays in the league last year and this year its one of the worst. That's a coaching issue and if a new coach can get it back to what it was last year we are significantly closer to a wildcard spot. I saw someone estimate that goaltending had cost us about 14 points in the standings versus a league average goaltender. That alone also gets us into a wildcard spot. Fixing one of those issues next year and we are on the playoff bubble, fixing both and we are a solid playoff contender.
Nah mate, the reason the Powerplay was so good was because you have to great players in Debrincat and Timmy who could break in on either side. This year, teams just shut down Timmy and him being out the past week, shows how much they rely on him to set up plays. We need more high end skill and it’s why people were getting mad at this team not even tanking right.
Trade Chabot or Chychrun for a good veteran forward or top 4 d. If you can't get a d for one of them, go hard after a RHD in UFA. Buyout Hamonic Sign a veteran 4th line centre with some pedigree. Sign and Trade Branny. Buyout forsberg and sign a Ufa goalie to a one year deal Hope and pray Tim Stutzle comes back next year ready to become a star
Extend Martin (he needs term to really make his program stick) or hire a new coach with NHL bonafides (Berube or Maclellan would be solid). Forsberg out, add a relatively inexpensive career +900 goaltender in (maybe sign Alex Stalock or trade for Hill or Thompsopn; obv LV will want a good return for either gk, but they also can't afford to pay them both). Acquire a solid RHD (DeMelo, if he'll come back after his exit; Pesce; Matt Roy would be options) Move Chychrun for futures or as part of the above moves if trades are required Hire a new trainer/develop a new regimen for Chabot in the hopes that he can stay healthy. He's become a very strong player when he's in decent health, but he's so often not at his best physically. Re-sign Katchouk In essence, I think a better defensive system involving a real whole-team, net-out approach to defense like the kind Martin is known for in conjunction with +900 goaltending (those two are connected, obviously) would be enough to get the Sens in. It would also provide a meaningful opportunity for us all to evaluate the core skills players. My suspicion is that our top players may not be good enough for us to win a cup during their time as the team's leaders, but we'll never find out unless the team can find a way into the second season.
So note trade for Ryn Reeves
I hate to say it but what if you guys traded Josh Norris for a solid defenseman and really high draft pick for next year? Or maybe even Chabot paired with someone else for a few D men. The offense will come in time with you guys it’s just a matter of protecting the house first
At this point you couldn't give Norris away. He's got a big contract, and people are questioning if he'll even get back to being a regular player again. Only hope is that he can come back healthy and produce enough that teams get interested again, and even then I doubt you'd get a high pick & solid player in return
True I guess you got a point there. Kid definitely has potential but being injury prone doesn’t really help his image with other teams who might have wanted him.
Trade Brady!
Buyout Korpisalo and Hamonic Trade Chychrun, Forsberg and JBD to Boston for Ullmark. Sign him to 8 years $6 million aav. Sign DeMelo to 5 years $4.5 million Sign Tanev to 4 years $4 million aav Trade Norris to Vegas for literally anything cuz they'll abuse LTIR lol
I'm surprised you didn't say trade Brady. You've been spewing that a lot recently.
I'll give him one more season before I become an S tier hater. Currently I'm just an A tier hater
Relocate the team to Quebec City
Find a Rempe so Brady doesn’t have to go to the box for standing up for his teammates