Oh thank you Bryan Murray, thank you!
Now don't go getting your panties in a twist... I have read a lot about how Meszaros was supposedly an elite defenceman experiencing an off year. I am sorry, but that is about as insane as Bruce Garrioch calling a trade with any sort of validity until four other creditable outlets have already announced it. Meszaros going to Tampa Bay may be good for the kid, but ultimately he flourished with Chara -- who wouldn't -- and the buck stopped when Chara went to Beantown.
Now, Kuba I have been a fan of for a bit. He's a little grittier and able to gobble up some time and being a little older is set in on his salary range without demanding millions more than what he is actually worth. This, as someone else classified, was an old time hockey trade and I think Ottawa got the upper hand. They not only shipped out someone who was unproven to show progress, but also potential salary problems down the line for a little more solid addition of maturity and even a little youth with Picard coming with the deal. To sweeten the pot we picked up a First round draft pick acquired from San Jose by Tampa...
... Question now remains: do we use it in a bid for a top shelf calibre player to round things off completely or do we roll with a mix of youth and experience? I am leaning toward the latter much more than the former.
Friday, August 29, 2008
Thursday, August 7, 2008
The Big A question
I am going to borrow liberally from SensChirp (http://senschirp.blogspot.com/) and their poll they have. Since Wade Redden was one of our alternate captains and he is no longer with the club, who should take over his big A? Well, I am going to break down my opinion based off of the four candidates SensChirp presented.
Dany Heatley:
The second I traded Wade Redden away on my copy of NHL08 for the Xbox 360, Heater was awarded the alternate captaincy by the computer. I didn't bother to fix it because I honestly don't care and the game certainly doesn't either. Unfortunately this isn't a video game and there are some big time things to consider. Heatley is already our premiere player who typically will be on the ice with Alfredsson most of the time. Backing up on the blueline there stands a good chance that Big Rig, Chris Phillips, will also see a lot of time with Heater on the ice. That is reason enough to waive Heater from contention -- who wants to see all "leaders" on the ice at once? Spread the love around. Is he qualified? Sure. Would he respond to the pressure? More than likely, but there's no reason to bunch our eggs in the same basket.
Mike Fisher:
Last year he was wearing the A when Alfie was injured and the media asked him how it felt. He jokingly responded "right where it belongs". Nevertheless, he could very well be right. Mike is a tireless force who is always there for the team. He doesn't have the same scoring touch as say Heater, but he is a solid player with a presence of mind both up and down the ice that a leader requires. Atop of that he is a fan favourite in Ottawa and is signed for a number of years to come.
Jason Smith:
I am not a huge fan of honouring a previous captain of another team with a A or C for their current club. Respect is something earned and not given immediately regardless of tenure in the league. The guys may know of Smith, but may not know him very well. As it stands he would be a short term alternate captain and though he could probably do the job justice we would return in a year or two and ask this very question again.
Chris Kelly:
Former captain of the Binghamton Senators and one of the Sens smartest young players, Kelly has a total package of a born leader. He is, however, young though the club seems to respond well when he is on the ice. For him to get the Big A would require more ice time than he current is afforded and his presence with that time would need to increase quite a bit.
So what do I think? If you know me then you know my obvious answer is Mike Fisher. I am a big fan of Fish -- to me the quintessential Canadian hockey player -- and I think it's high time we recognize his accomplishments.
Dany Heatley:
The second I traded Wade Redden away on my copy of NHL08 for the Xbox 360, Heater was awarded the alternate captaincy by the computer. I didn't bother to fix it because I honestly don't care and the game certainly doesn't either. Unfortunately this isn't a video game and there are some big time things to consider. Heatley is already our premiere player who typically will be on the ice with Alfredsson most of the time. Backing up on the blueline there stands a good chance that Big Rig, Chris Phillips, will also see a lot of time with Heater on the ice. That is reason enough to waive Heater from contention -- who wants to see all "leaders" on the ice at once? Spread the love around. Is he qualified? Sure. Would he respond to the pressure? More than likely, but there's no reason to bunch our eggs in the same basket.
Mike Fisher:
Last year he was wearing the A when Alfie was injured and the media asked him how it felt. He jokingly responded "right where it belongs". Nevertheless, he could very well be right. Mike is a tireless force who is always there for the team. He doesn't have the same scoring touch as say Heater, but he is a solid player with a presence of mind both up and down the ice that a leader requires. Atop of that he is a fan favourite in Ottawa and is signed for a number of years to come.
Jason Smith:
I am not a huge fan of honouring a previous captain of another team with a A or C for their current club. Respect is something earned and not given immediately regardless of tenure in the league. The guys may know of Smith, but may not know him very well. As it stands he would be a short term alternate captain and though he could probably do the job justice we would return in a year or two and ask this very question again.
Chris Kelly:
Former captain of the Binghamton Senators and one of the Sens smartest young players, Kelly has a total package of a born leader. He is, however, young though the club seems to respond well when he is on the ice. For him to get the Big A would require more ice time than he current is afforded and his presence with that time would need to increase quite a bit.
So what do I think? If you know me then you know my obvious answer is Mike Fisher. I am a big fan of Fish -- to me the quintessential Canadian hockey player -- and I think it's high time we recognize his accomplishments.
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
What's with all the Swedes?!
To be honest I am not sure if I should be impressed by the ignorance or bravery of some fans. There has been a lot of rumbling around the groups about picking up some Swedes low in the draft and how it is signs of Sens scouting going to the proverbial water closet. Today I am going to chime in on this hot button topic -- since it seems that the Meszaros rumours are pretty lax as of late and Murray is not budging one iota on his contract -- and talk about the Swedish picks.
The Ottawa Senators have always been an organization to step away from the conventional scouting of the NHL. I don't mean to boast liberally, but it is the truth. When you pick someone who is so low down that they're not seen as neither an impact player or a depth player and they turn out to be the rookie of the year and our longest standing captain ... that's pretty outside the box. The Senators knew then what they still know now: central scouting is focused on North America from a purely economical stance. It is cheaper for teams to keep their scouts in the continent than it is to jet set them around the globe to seek talent outside of the pool. However, they have been keen on placing key people in positions where they can get a feel for what is outside of the Stars and Stripes as well as the Maple Leaf. My return question is ... why are people surprised by the Sens drafting from Sweden?
Consider two major things. Daniel Alfredsson -- that low pick, then rookie, now captain Swedish kid -- does have a bit of a say with the team's direction. Not that I am implying that he makes all the calls, but if he knows of a kid back home that is being overlooked then why would he sit on it and not share this information? Further to this point the Senators will open the NHL season in Sweden against the Penguins. Again ... a chance for a couple of up and coming hockey stars to play on home ice could be foreseeable, but also helps build some reporte with the country that the NHL is not Euro-phobic.
What should really shock Sens fans it that Bryan Murray has stepped out of his comfort zone of favouring Canadian boys. Perhaps picking Karlsson -- top defenceman of the u-18 tournement -- wasn't entirely bad idea. Now that the cliche that only clubs captained by a Canadian is busted -- thank you Nik Lindstrom -- the blow hards in the media that I so faithfully adore can lay off just a touch. Did it surprise me that Murray picked a Swede first (or a few times for the matter)? No. Does it bother me? No. Do I want to see more Canadian kids in the NHL? That's complex. I want to see the best game put forward by the best players out there. I don't care what country they come from, their religious practices, their sex -- yup, I said it, sex. For those not in the know ... women's ice hockey prior to the WWII was brutal and spectacular ... too bad it's "girls" now -- or even what kind of food preferences they have.
Why should you?
The Ottawa Senators have always been an organization to step away from the conventional scouting of the NHL. I don't mean to boast liberally, but it is the truth. When you pick someone who is so low down that they're not seen as neither an impact player or a depth player and they turn out to be the rookie of the year and our longest standing captain ... that's pretty outside the box. The Senators knew then what they still know now: central scouting is focused on North America from a purely economical stance. It is cheaper for teams to keep their scouts in the continent than it is to jet set them around the globe to seek talent outside of the pool. However, they have been keen on placing key people in positions where they can get a feel for what is outside of the Stars and Stripes as well as the Maple Leaf. My return question is ... why are people surprised by the Sens drafting from Sweden?
Consider two major things. Daniel Alfredsson -- that low pick, then rookie, now captain Swedish kid -- does have a bit of a say with the team's direction. Not that I am implying that he makes all the calls, but if he knows of a kid back home that is being overlooked then why would he sit on it and not share this information? Further to this point the Senators will open the NHL season in Sweden against the Penguins. Again ... a chance for a couple of up and coming hockey stars to play on home ice could be foreseeable, but also helps build some reporte with the country that the NHL is not Euro-phobic.
What should really shock Sens fans it that Bryan Murray has stepped out of his comfort zone of favouring Canadian boys. Perhaps picking Karlsson -- top defenceman of the u-18 tournement -- wasn't entirely bad idea. Now that the cliche that only clubs captained by a Canadian is busted -- thank you Nik Lindstrom -- the blow hards in the media that I so faithfully adore can lay off just a touch. Did it surprise me that Murray picked a Swede first (or a few times for the matter)? No. Does it bother me? No. Do I want to see more Canadian kids in the NHL? That's complex. I want to see the best game put forward by the best players out there. I don't care what country they come from, their religious practices, their sex -- yup, I said it, sex. For those not in the know ... women's ice hockey prior to the WWII was brutal and spectacular ... too bad it's "girls" now -- or even what kind of food preferences they have.
Why should you?
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