jammer2 Posted August 31, 2013 Share Posted August 31, 2013 http://www.windsorstar.com/sports/hockey/Senators+head+coach+MacLean+says+time+move+from+Alfredsson/8853930/story.html Or at least that's the company line that Paul McLean is spewing. The search is on for the Senators next captain. The Sens are going the Flyer route here and are not letting the players vote on the captaincy. The management will dictate who replaces Alfie as the team Captain. Early favourites, according to Lisa Wallace of the Canadian Press are Chris Philips and Jason Spezza. There is a huge void where the face of the franchise used to be, so the new captain will be filling some big shoes. If given the choice, I'd take Philips over Spezza. Who knows if Jason's back will hold up, and Philips is tougher than Jason, plays a more aggressive game and in general works harder. If Philips was selected over Jason it would look like a clear cut case of the team winning because the best player was not selected to lead the team. That formula is not a good way to select a leader. I believe Paul and Bryan Murray will do the right thing and select Philips. I think the Sens will win the Presidents trophy next spring. I also think they will represent the East in the Stanley Cup Finals. The big weakness of the Senators last year was goal scoring. They bulged the twine a mere 2.33 times per game, good for 27th in the league. The way I look at it, one of the easier things to do is add goals to a line-up....much, much harder to work on sub-par goalies or defensemen. The Sens have a huge leg up on other teams in the East cause the defense and goalies are so solid. An enormous key for the Sens next season is the back of Jason Spezza. If he can stay healthy and contribute his normal ppg+, Ottawa will be in a really good position to dominate. Of course, the other huge addition is the goal scoring prowess of Bobby Ryan. He should be good for 35, but I'm leaning more towards 40. Those two additions alone should provide a huge spark for the lifeless Sens offense. With the pending addition of Spezza, all of a sudden the Sens look very respectable down the middle. Spezza, Kyle Turris and 2nd year man Mika Zibanejad will provide speed and scoring through the top 3 lines. Even if Zibanejad does not score a whole lot, his skating and all round play will make the Sens 3rd line tough to deal with. Here is how I see the Sens forward lines going... Bobby Ryan Jason Spezza Milan MichalekClarke McCarther Kyle Turris Cory ConacherColin Greening Mika Zibanejad Eric CondraJean-Gabriel Pageau Zack Smith Chris Neil Lot's of depth here, and the bottom six are absolute demons to play against. I'd put up Ottawa's checkers against any other team in the league, although Boston, Pittsburgh, Flyers all have formidable bottom six's also. There is a legit chance that almost every member of the Sens forward group could have career years. This Jean-Gabriel Pageau is an interesting player. During his debut in the playoffs, the puck seemed to follow this kid around, very high hockey IQ and should turn that into some decent offensive numbers. He may not play much, but he will find ways to maximize his potential. Another kid who should make his debut is Mark Stone. He starred for Canada at the WJC a few years ago and has deadly eye hand coordination. A pure goal scorer. Injuries should allow him to sneak unto the team at some point, and when he arrives, I'm thinking he does not leave. Rookies Matt Pumpel and Curtis Lazar will get long looks in training camp, but I believe Matt is AHL bound and Curtis will be sent back to his junior team. It will be interesting to see where Curtis Lazar is inserted into the line up. He's a big talented kid who could arrive as early as the 2014-15 season. They already have 3 top centers, but Lazar is a natural center, don't think he will be converted to the wing, so they will have to find a place for him somehow, a great problem to have. Lazar is possible captain material. Matt Kassian will be in the mix adding his physical brand of hockey. The Defense has a few vets but is mostly comprised of youthful exuberance.... and everyone can skate with the exception of Methot. The vet of the group is Chris Philips. Young Eric Karlsson is one of the rising stars of the entire league, who knows how good this kid can be, or how high is ceiling is?? Jared Cowen is a beast, great skater, great size, nice mobility and some respectable offensive upside. Patrick Wierccioch has really nice mobility and can skate the puck out of trouble. This Gryba kid came out of nowhere and was stellar in the playoffs, very dependable and quick. Veteran Joe Corvo signed a one year deal, should provide nice depth. The may not be room, but Cody Cici has NHL talent, but may make an AHL appearance before he reaches the show. The scary part about the Sens is the goaltending. Andersons was hurt for a while, but when he was healthy, his stats were mind boggling....a stunning 1.69 Goals Against Average and an equally impressive .941 Save %...he lead the NHL in both those stats. Bishop and Lehnear were excellent filling in for Anderson, the latter being dealt to the Bolts at the deadline. Lehnear might just be one of the very best back ups in the game. With the defense gaining invaluable playoff experience, the Sens could improve on last years wicked defensive numbers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goalnut3133 Posted August 31, 2013 Share Posted August 31, 2013 @jammer2 Nice write-up! I'm also interested to see what JG Pageau does this year...that kid seems to have a lot of spunk, sure wouldn't mind having him on our team! I also didn't realize Anderson's stats were that good! From what little I saw of him last year, he didn't look his usual self. Regardless, I think the Sens are in a much better position this coming season than we are, anyways. And, really, I'd be happy with any Canadian team representing the East & making a strong go of it in the playoffs...cuz we sure aren't gonna be leading the Pacific (I can't see it anyways), let alone the West! Forget it! Just keeping it real... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hf101 Posted August 31, 2013 Share Posted August 31, 2013 @jammer2 I think Spezza will be named captain over Phillips. Spezza is one of those guys that is involved, such as the lockout. Some say he ran the locker room even with Alfredsson there.Spezza isn't a FA until 2015, where as the 35 year old Phillips is a FA at the end of this season. Of the two Spezza probably has a greater chance of being resigned. I'm also not sold what so ever that the Presidents trophy will come out of the East, let alone the Senators. There are a lot of games against Boston, Montreal, Toronto and the Redwings that are going to be tough wins. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jammer2 Posted September 5, 2013 Share Posted September 5, 2013 Big Buddy Robinson is trying to make an impression on the Sens during their annual prospect tourny. Big unheralded 6'5 kid who started playing the game very late. Could be one to watch, had a respectable opening season with Binghampton. http://www.senatorsextra.com/main/buddy-robinson-making-big-impression-with-senators Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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