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New Year: Sadly, Same ‘New’ Sens It Seems
by SENShobo on 01/02/09 at 10:03 AM ET
Comments (4)
I took my holiday break from writing (one of the perks of being a blogger), enjoying the holidays with family and friends.
I followed the team, but took in as much non-Senators hockey as I could as well.
Lo and behold, while there’s no shortage of stories and events out there having nothing to do with the Sens, my frustrated mind failed to cease drawing it all back home.
Nuts to you, brain.
Somehow I managed to get home amidst the snowmageddon going on the Friday before Christmas. Phone call after phone call, and I finally found someone with enough hope to join me at the game. Driving home, thinking how great it was for a new contributor, Smith with his first in a Sens jersey, to win the game, that would about end my happy thoughts.
Sens manage to score four goals, including a pair from Dany Heatley.
Loss.
The guys manage to spot themselves to an early 2-0 lead on the first western leg of their road trip.
Loss.
Luongo (who along with Canucks fans has my sympathies, every other night but tonight and in February) was out, and Sundin still hadn’t yet joined the Canucks.
Shutout loss.
I got plenty for Christmas that reminded me of the Sens. A branded puck in my stocking, but so few goals worth remembering or celebrating at game’s end for the Sens. A Canadian Mint coin set with a Sens branded quarter, but there’s no money left to buy the Sens out of this hole. A Sens clock featuring Alfie, as time slips away and our captain slumps worse than any other player on the whole team. Some Senators stickers, but for the first time in a decade, such support is starting to feel muted and destined to end too soon. A pair of Nike Bauer Vapor skates, but the team still feels stuck in neutral, unwilling to go where they must or do what they must. I have a feeling I’ll be the only one still skating in April.
Sadder, even, that the following Thrashers talk is true:
We will enjoy watching all of these former Thrashers in the playoffs this spring… Marian Hossa, Pascal Dupuis, Braydon Coburn, Glen Metropolit, Marc Savard, Shane Hnidy, Eric Belanger, Andrew Brunette, Frantisek Kaberle and Bobby Holik. But not Dany Heatley.
Burn, but at least there’s the hope they may not be right.
Some of those players not named Dany Heatley might also miss the playoffs.
Usually it’s Tampa that’s on the receiving end, but I’d say Tocchet’s comment dishes it out to the Sens, subtly to anyone else perhaps:
“Ovechkin just doesn’t sit on the outside and take one-timers, he’s in front of the net, he goes behind. He does a lot of wraps. He’s a special player because he’s an aggressive player. That’s why I think he’s the best player, because he’s an aggressive player. He’s not just a pure sniper who sits on the outside all day.”
Can anyone take a guess as to who I see painted not-so-prettily alongside Ovechkin in that picture? Honestly, there’s a whole roster you can name most nights. Guys who’ll wait out in the slot, stick back and ready to one-time, but nobody digging hard enough to set it up. Great passes to open ice, but no players set up in a consistent offensive style to pick them up and score. Juicy rebounds, but nobody at the doorstep to finish the job. Watching the Winter Classic and Canada at the World Juniors gave me an appreciation for how well a secure offensive system can pump your offense. These young boys have far more pressure, and far less time together, and it was Hartsburg himself steering their ship the past two contests, but no offensive system yet for these not-so-young men.
The Sabres get it:
The Sabres say they are trying to hold each other accountable. They also are hinting their friends are taking it personal.
“We’ve got to demand out of each other more,” Sabres center Jochen Hecht said Wednesday. “We’ve got to be able to give the other guy a hard time when he’s not playing well, be able to tell him. It’s something that’s hard when you’re good friends, but usually you think if you’re good friends you would take whatever he says seriously. That’s what we’ve got to do, hold each other accountable.”
Hecht’s words about accepting advice came 14 hours after goaltender Ryan Miller made a similar statement.
“We’ve got to maintain a close team, and a team that we have to [be able to] offer constructive criticism,” Miller said after Tuesday’s 4-2 loss to Washington. “Guys have to be able to be able to take it. Guys can’t be immune to it.”
The Penguins are already in a tizzy after a 3-game losing streak, now 5-game at home.
The Canadiens were upset earlier in the season when they were without Komisarek, but they had Markov in that time. Can’t say the same now for the Sens’ counterparts.
It’s not bright and sunny on the Sens’ road trip. It won’t be bright and sunny tomorrow when they descend on the Air Canada Centre. There are plenty of walls to bang one’s head against.
Happy New Year. Glad to be back.
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Comments
Welcome back, the site wasn’t the same without you.
Posted by Andy from Ottawa on 01/02/09 at 11:58 AM ET
davetherave - I looked at the goal potential vs. reality of the team a few posts back, and found the same consistent downward slide. I would say that playoff performance is the better determining factor over final point total, but the 05-06 season, while only a second round finish, could have been the Cup year if Hasek hadn’t bitten it and some personal troubles reared their heads. One trade won’t save this team, that’s for sure.
Andy - Glad to be back, though since my name is Andrew, I can’t help but wonder if there’s some split personality self promotion going on here.
Posted by SENShobo from Waterloo, ON on 01/02/09 at 06:09 PM ET
Make that 32 of 47 games, and 63 of 94 points. My bad.
Doable? Maybe.
SensHobo, we agree. Time for a rethink.
The Senators need an identity, a clear vision of what the team needs to be, and a plan to get there.
Cheers.
Posted by davetherave from Ottawa, Canada on 01/03/09 at 01:37 AM ET
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Who is SENShobo?
Fully addicted to hockey, Andrew Dodds finds it safe to live in the alleys, considering his allegiance to the Ottawa Senators in the middle of Leaf County. He tries to bring you as many worthwhile Sens stories as he can find, along with his musings on the team and the NHL in general; musings indeed since he is but a humble hockey hobo.
If you have any general comments, questions, suggestions, or concerns about myself or my blog and its content, you can post them publicly here, or drop me an email.
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The Professionals
SensHobo, best wishes to you for the New Year.
A snapshot of the Ottawa record since the lockout is revealing.
2005-06: 52-21-9, 113 pts, 314 gf 211 ga, 1st place East
2006-07: 48-25-9, 105 pts, 288 gf 221 ga, 4th place East
2007-08: 43-31-8, 94 pts, 261 gf 247 ga, 7th place East
2008-09: 13-17-5, 31 pts, 83 gf 100 ga, 12th place East (after 35GP)
which is projected as 30-40-12, 72 pts, 194 gf, 234 ga.
The slide being consistent, the decline this year would seem less of a shock than a manifestation of the inevitable.
Just to match last year’s win and/or points total and presumably sneak into the playoffs, the Senators would have to win 32 of their next 37 games or somehow get 63 of a possible 74 points.
Not a good bet.
Even the Vegas oddsmakers confirm the Senators’ fall. Belmont Sports rates the Senators’ chances at finishing first in the East as the worst: 50-1, same as Atlanta and the Islanders. Their Cup chances? 100-1, last among the last.
Yet Eugene Melnyk comes out and declares:
“Watch this team. You’re going to be very, very surprised. We have nine new players. We have a new coach. We have a new system. It’s only 30 games into the season and we will be a Stanley Cup contender. Mark my words. You’ll see. Just give them some time and that time is right now.”
Fans can be justified in asking themselves why management hasn’t taken steps to improve the team. The lessons were clear after the Cup Final loss to the Ducks. The Senators were already sliding in pecking order, and had shown they couldn’t match up to an opponent built for the post-lockout NHL.
Boston, Philadelphia and Washington, all non-playoff teams in 2006-07, have all surpassed Ottawa and continue to improve.
What has Ottawa management learned from those teams? Apparently, not much.
And what about going forward? Will ticket-buying fans tolerate a mediocre product, especially in difficult economic times?
Is Eugene Melnyk not thinking about the health of the hockey component of his business enterprise? Or has he become so enamoured of his idea of a soccer franchise that the Senators are left to their own devices?
Rebuilding is challenged by the bottleneck of a megacontracts and absence of salary cap room. The Senators don’t have any money left to spend on the players they will need (like scorers, a puck moving defenseman and a goalie), without dumping at least one, if not more of these contracts.
Sixty days until the trade deadline. The clock is ticking.
Talent in the pipeline? A look at the boys from Bingo shows some promise, but the Senators are ranked 27th out of 30 teams in prospect strength by HockeysFuture.com.
One can try to look for positives, but one would have to be delusional not to admit that this team is in serious trouble in terms of its personnel.
As the consistently astute Lyle Richardson (Spectorshockey.net) said this past week, “For the Senators, rebuilding could not only last beyond this season but could also be more difficult than many believe.”
Posted by davetherave from Ottawa, Canada on 01/02/09 at 11:07 AM ET