SB Nation - Erik Condra

Silver Nuggets: Top Canadian Organization

DaveYoung — Mon, 10 Sep 2012 17:00:38 -0000

ESPN, the world leader in every sport except for Hockey, caused quite the stir a couple days ago when it put out it's annual "Ultimate Organizational Rankings". The rankings were determined by a number of factors, and ranked all teams in each major North American sport under one system.

The system was obviously flawed, as the top ranking NHL team went to the Phoenix Coyotes, who are bankrupt and owned by the league, constantly a threat to be moved. One of the other top NHL squads is the New Jersey Devils who are also in serious financial troubles, unable to pay back an 80 million dollar loan.

The rankings may make some Sens fans smile however, as the Senators were ranked 43rd overall, ahead of the Canucks, Canadiens, Flames, Oilers, Jets and Leafs. More fun for Sens fans: the Leafs were ranked DEAD LAST among all organizations in any major sport. This reeks of trying to drive up page views by being sensationalist, but it is nonetheless quite funny.

Could the Senators be the top Canadian organization though? Especially after last season, the team has shown an ability to win on a budget, has a stable owner (financially at least...), solid coaching and management. By contrast the only other Canadian team that was better than Ottawa last season plays out of Vancouver, and they are a team with a much higher operating budget and have not lived up to expectations in recent years.

How would you rank the Canadian franchises, based on ESPN's format?

Links

Sens Links:

September 8th was returns for Rogers house, and it raised a good chunk of money for the Foundation. Kyle Turris and Spartacat were among the reps from the team. [Sens]
Nichols with some thoughts on the recent Bryan Murray scrum. [6thSens]
Erik Condra was the latest player profile on the Sens website. [Sens]
WTYKY gives us all a look at what hockey blogging will look like in the event of a lockout (which is my new least favourite phrase) [WTYKY]
James Gordon on the ESPN rankings. [SensExtra]

League News:

For those of you who play Fantasy hockey, here is NHL.com's top 50 list. Erik Karlsson comes in at #13 and Jason Spezza at #21 (behind Patrick Sharp?)
Labour Junk. [CBC]

Silver Nuggets: Bingo Boys

DaveYoung — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 16:32:07 -0000

They played the entire last season on the big club for the Senators, but they are still the Bingo Boys in my heart. Kaspars Daugavins, Colin Greening, Erik Condra and Zack Smith (Bobby Butler was one as well, but his ship has sailed). They did yeoman's work to bring the Calder Cup and some respect to the Bingo squad a few years ago, and they each earned shiny one-way contracts for their efforts.

The Bingo Boys then played a big role in helping the Senators get to the post season last year. Zack Smith was a huge force on the third line, especially early in the season where he added some much needed secondary scoring and grit before tapering off at the end of the year. Greening played big minutes on the top line and nearly became a 20 goal scorer as a rookie. He provided size, skill and speed to the top line and wasn't afraid to go to the front of the net to score goals, either at even strength or on the powerplay.

Erik Condra and The Rooster both played a vital role in not only keeping the penalty kill respectable, but also allowing Jason Spezza and Daniel Alfredsson to conserve their energy for offensive situations, because they no longer had to carry the load.

Each of these players has earned the trust of Paulrus and Daugavins recently received yet another contract. They play minutes effectively, if not in a flashy manner, and they contribute in their own way. But what does the future hold for these guys? Are they in the long term plans of the organization? Smith is the youngest of the bunch and likely will be in Ottawa for some time, but the others aren't very young, and the organization has players like Mark Stone and Stefan Noesen who will be chomping at the bit to take spots from the Bingo Boys.

So what does the future hold for them? Look forward to your thoughts.

Links

Sens News:

Just to troll me, Peter does a story about which Senators may try their luck in Russia. [SSS]
Reigning Norris Champ Erik Karlsson returns to Ottawa, but with a lockout looming, how long will he stay? [SensExtra]
Season ticket owners are preparing for the worst. Word is, tickets have been sent out but only for the first 10 games. [SensExtra]
Erik Karlsson had himself one heck of a summer. [Sens]
Nichols on selling "hope". [6thSens]

Silver Nuggets: Which is More Likely Series: The "After Karlsson" Edition

DaveYoung — Mon, 13 Aug 2012 17:00:43 -0000

Mark nailed it on Friday and had some fun with you guys with a hilarious question as to which player was more likely to have a TSN pun headline in their likeness: Marc Methot or Bobby Butler. With 56% of the vote (one of the closest yet) you, the people have spoken, and there is a Methot to your choosing.

User High Priest of Alfie said it short and sweet and left us with a thought of what might have been:

Voted Methot

It’s way, way to easy to find silly puns for Methot than Butler.

It’s too bad they’ve never played on the same team. Butler feeding Methot with a goal could easily become the Butler Methot.

Today we look at high scoring d-men in the league not named Erik Karlsson. I thought about including Erik in our poll, but I think our hometown bias (and him being the best choice) would have made the poll a slaughter. So instead we will look at the "after Karlsson" d-men. Today's question is this: (featuring our first 3-way WIML!)

Which is More Likely? That Kris Letang finishes second in d-men scoring OR Alex Pietrangelo does OR Brian Campbell does?

Letang: Arguably the only defenceman in the league who is as good as Karlsson in terms offensive prowess and flow. He also has what Karlsson does not: Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin (among others) to feed the puck to on a nightly basis. Can he stay healthy enough to put up big numbers?

Pietrangelo: Took a while to arrive (compared to other d-men in his draft year) but last season was a coming out party for Alex. He was an absolute machine for the St. Louis blues and this former WJC star for Canada is just warming up.

Campbell: Was second in points the whole season last year on an upstart Panthers team before Dustin Byfuglien (who is more of a forward, hence not in this poll) passed him in the final days of the season. As that Florida team continues to grow, can Campbell continue to put up solid numbers?

What say you?

Links...

Sens News:

Mark gets us pumped for the upcoming season of gamethreads. Head over and suggest your choice as a pump up song. Can you master the pump? [SSS]
Mika Zibanejad has been turning heads in Lake Placid at Team Sweden's WJC summer camp. Here is hoping that provides him with a boost going into the season. [Sens]
Tim Murray is not happy with Mika's former SEL team though. [SSS]
If you didn't get a chance to listen in on the Friday phone call with Erik Condra last week, never fear, it has been transcribed here. [Sens]
A story from Nichols about how Zack Smith fell off the rails last season. He started so well, but after that hit on the west coast, he was never the same. [6thSens]
Chris Phillips photo gallery. [Sens]
Lastly, I had to triple-check that Ryan Lambert wrote this article, not only was it totally civil, but he praises Erik Karlsson twice and the Sens as an organization. [PD]

Poll

Which is more likely?

Kris Letang finishes 2nd in d-man scoring

130 votes

Alex Pietrangelo finishes 2nd in d-man scoring

63 votes

Brian Campbell finishes 2nd in d-man scoring

23 votes

216 votes | Poll has closed

What skews fan expectations?

Mark Parisi — Fri, 10 Aug 2012 11:00:16 -0000

Last year, Gabriel Landeskog won the Calder Memorial Trophy with a 52-point season. He scored 22 goals and added 30 assists. This was good enough to beat out the only player chosen ahead of him in the 2011 draft, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, as well as New Jersey's cold-blooded sniper, Adam Henrique. The Nuge had 52 points (18G, 34A) in a season shortened by injury, and Henrique managed 16 goals and 35 assists, good for 51 points in only 74 games. Nugent-Hopkins only played 62.

In short, both players probably might have had a better shot than Landeskog had they played full seasons. If playoff performance were to be included, Henrique had back-to-back game seven series-winning goals, while his competition didn't even get the chance to play in the playoffs. He'd have won my vote.

Senators fans are excited for prospect Jakob Silfverberg, whose personal destruction of the Elitserien has been well-documented by this point. And we have ridden that hype train to Caldertown, considering Silfverberg to be a legitimate contender for the trophy before he has even earned a spot on an NHL roster. There's no denying Silfverberg's accomplishments last year, but Senators fans have just been through this with David Rundblad, the team's top defensive prospect until he was traded. After managing 50 points (11G, 39A) in 55 games in Sweden, Rundblad managed just four (1G, 3A) in 24 games with Ottawa. The defenseman put up better numbers in Phoenix (three assists in six games) but ultimately wound up in their AHL system with the Portland Pirates. Rundblad's inability to earn a roster spot on an Ottawa defensive group not exactly loaded with talent is a lesson on just how difficult the transition to the NHL can be--no matter how good a player has looked in other leagues.

But Silfverberg is totally going to fit right in on the first line and win the Calder. To do that, he'd need to score at least 50 points if last year is any indication. Ottawa's last Calder winner, some guy named Daniel Alfredsson, did it with 26 goals and 35 assists--61 total points. That's a tall order for any player, no matter how talented they are. Alfredsson himself only managed 59 last year.

So, what if Silfverberg does struggle? What can be considered a good season for him in the NHL? What if Silfverberg makes the team, but bounces around the lines, spending most of his time on Spezza's wing, but also taking shifts alongside Jim O'Brien as he learns the ropes of the NHL? What if he falls just shy of 40 points in that campaign--good enough to get recognized, but not quite a Calder Trophy pace? Would we call him a bust or would we consider it an encouraging start and get excited to see how he built on it the next year?

Here's the interesting part: Ottawa just had a rookie player do exactly that.

It was Colin Greening.

Be honest with yourself: Do you even remember that Greening was selected to the NHL All-Star rookie group (not the all-rookie team) last year? It's true. He was there. I saw him. He was one of only twelve rookies selected, joining a group that included Landeskog, Nugent-Hopkins, Henrique, Sean Couturier, Ryan Johansen, and Adam Larsson--pretty impressive company.

Greening, not Erik Karlsson, is the team's fastest skater. He lost out on the overall title at the All-Star game to fellow rookie Carl Hagelin of the New York Rangers by just three hundredths of a second. It's not an exaggeration to say there is just one player in the league faster than Greening. And it's Greening, not Jared Cowen, not Chris Neil, who is the team's strongest player.

Let's recap: Rookie. All-Star. Fastest player. Strongest player. 37 points (17G, 20A) despite averaging just 1:45 per game on the power play (three seconds more than Neil) while playing across four lines.

Yet Sens fans, myself included, have ignored these positives and put Greening in our bottom six for next season--usually in favor of one of the three of Silfverberg, Mark Stone, or Mika Zibanejad.

Why?

What makes us look at Greening, the strongest, fastest player on the team, and dismiss the same kind of season that would have us drooling all over Silfverberg's future?

It shouldn't be his age. Age is a crutch we use to convince ourselves players have not yet fulfilled their potential. If a player's age were a determining factor in how they performed, why was a 39-year-old Alfredsson better than a 38-year-old one? Besides, you don't have to look hard to find plenty of examples of NHL players who hit their stride in their mid-20's: Martin St. Louis, P.A. Parenteau, and Matt Moulson all immediately come to mind.

It shouldn't be his stats. Those can be twisted to suit any argument you want. Anyone who points out Greening has never exceeded 60 points at any level of hockey convienently ignores the fact that the college hockey season doesn't last more than 40 games, and that Greening recorded 118 points in 137 games at Cornell University-- a pace of .86 points per game. That pace is dragged down by his freshman year, where he only scored 19 points (11G, 8A) in a very limited role. With regular ice time starting his sophomore season, he put up 99 points in 106 games, good for a .93 points per game average. In Binghamton during the 2010-11 season, he had 15 goals and 25 assists, good for 40 points, in 59 games. The remainder of his season was spent in Ottawa, where he added 13 more points in 24 games. His stats don't prove he can't improve on last year any more than Mark Stone's first two seasons (17-22-39, 11-17-28) prove he couldn't deliver his last two (37-69-106, 41-82-123).

It shouldn't be his draft position. Being selected 204th overall in the seventh round is not a big deal. That same Alfredsson guy was selected 133rd overall in the sixth round of the 1994 NHL Draft and he's turned out all right.

Why do we dismiss Greening? I can't put my finger on why I do. I just think Silfverberg's better--an opinion not only based on nothing, but flagrantly contradicting everything I know--and have listed--about Greening as a player. When you think about what you look for in a forward: size (Greening is 6'3" and 212lbs), speed (Greening is currently the second-fastest player in the NHL) and strength (strongest player on the Senators), Greening's description is practically the ideal match... until you attach his name to it. It makes no sense.

And our bias isn't limited to Greening. Criticism of Mika Zibanejad began the second he was drafted and has been mounting ever since. Comparisons with Couturier were inevitable the second the Flyers' rookie recorded a hat trick in the playoffs while Zibanejad's team had already been eliminated. Never mind that Zibanejad has only played nine NHL games. Perhaps fans just need a new whipping boy, now that Brian Lee can no longer be blamed for not being Anze Kopitar. Never mind the utter hypocrisy of criticizing a player like Zibanejad while being unable to contain your excitement over a player like Silfverberg. Both were drafted by the same scouting staff, but one is not good because another player on a different team with different circumstances is having more immediate success. Where does the arrogance to second-guess professionals who spend their lives evaluating players come from after watching a rookie play 116 minutes of hockey?

It doesn't end there. As user "brochenski" showed recently, Erik Condra makes everyone he plays with better. Our own Peter Raaymakers then expanded on that notion, clearly demonstrating Condra does not just make the players he's with better, he enables his defensemen to advance the puck more easily--a critical part of head coach Paul MacLean's scheme. It's not an effect that shows up on the scoresheet, but one has to wonder if Erik Karlsson would have won the Norris Trophy without Condra. After all, Condra only played 26 games with the Senators the previous year, where Karlsson put up just 45 points. Karlsson's leap, of course, is not merely attributable to Condra's presence in the lineup. There's no denying personal improvement as well as system changes were larger influences on that leap--but there's also no denying Condra was a major fit in those system changes. Think about that. Then ask yourself what you think about Condra.

Fourth-line player.

I don't know about you, but that's the answer I came up with. Why? Think about it. If someone described a player to you, and they said, "This guy makes everyone around him better and makes the game easier for his defensemen," wouldn't you be excited to have that guy on your team? That's the kind of thing people say about Sidney Crosby, and the kind of thing a player like Alex Ovechkin is criticized for not doing. It's the kind of thing you want from every player on your team, until you find out that player is named Erik Condra. Erik Condra? Oh. Fourth-line player.

In his article about Condra, Peter writes:

In this case, it challenges ideas of Condra's worth based on his relatively low offensive production (which can, as others have shown, be partially explained by his inferior linemates and remarkably low shooting percentage) and offers a new measure of his worth; one which takes into consideration his ability to support his teammates in their production of offence and, in this case, their defensive ability.

Is this it? Is that the answer? Are we too quick to judge players solely on the merits of their offensive production? I think so.

The reality is that as fans, we're not very knowledgeable about the game of hockey. We may think we are. We may think we understand the subtle nuances of the game, but no amount of watching television, with its limited viewing angles, video game success, with its design favoring entertainment over reality, or coaching kids, which emphasizes fun over strategy, will ever come close to replicating the thousands of hours professionals spend on the game every year.

Why do we think it does? Maybe it's just the nature of such a globalized tool like the Internet. Maybe we think having a medium to share our opinions somehow means those opinions have more credibility than if we were bitching to our friends in a sports bar--not unlike how Martin Sheen thinks having played the President of the United States on television somehow makes him a credible voice in the arena of politics.

The truth is we watch sports for their entertainment value. And while some would argue paying for entertainment justifies their criticism of it, there are many more critical walks of life where we keep our mouths shut despite having a financial investment in them. We don't tell a prosecutor what charges to file despite paying the taxes that support their salary, for example.

And because we watch sports for their entertainment value, we overemphasize the plays that entertain us and ignore the ones that don't. A routine save born of positionally sound play doesn't stick in our minds the way some lunging, desperation poke does--even though highlight reel saves are frequently the result of some technical mistake by a goalie. But how a play happened, why it happened, doesn't matter to us as long as we're entertained by the result.

The most entertaining thing about hockey is when a goal is scored. That's why the game has goal horns and goal songs. It's not surprising, then, that we value players who provide offense more than those that don't. And we're such point-junkies that even the promise of more points is enough for us to disregard anything that doesn't feed that promise. Jakob Silfverberg had more points in a different league? Of course he's a better option than Colin Greening! Sean Couturier has more hat tricks than Mika Zibanejad? Of course he would have been the better draft choice! Erik Condra only had 25 points last year? Of course he's just an easily replaceable fourth-liner!

I don't know what any of this means. I do know that I'm as guilty of it as any other fan. Maybe we should all just relax and enjoy the game a little more. Maybe the true fun is in celebrating what happens as it happens instead of worrying about what could happen next.

What do you think?

Alfie Nuggets: Which is More Likely Series: Alfie Edition

DaveYoung — Tue, 31 Jul 2012 17:00:17 -0000

In honour of the best player to ever play for the Ottawa Senators announcing he will return for one more glorious year, today's WIML will focus solely on The Captain, Daniel Alfredsson. Before we get to that, let us look at what went down in yesterday's poll.

I asked yesterday about two depth players, Jim O'Brien and Mark Borowiecki. In the end, even though some great arguments were made in favour of Borocop in the comment section, you decided it was more likely JOB scored 15+ points than it was that Boro would play 20+ games. The people have spoken, and this is the best answer we have ever received, from RogerTheShrubber:

I voted for JO'B

Because, as we established ages ago, number 42 is The Answer.

For some hockey analysis in an answer, new user Peter Raaymakers put it very well:

I think both are fairly likely

But in the end, I voted for O’Brien because the fourth-line centre spot is his to lose, whereas Borowiecki will have to earn his spot on the team. I still think Boro is the next guy up in the event of injuries which leads me to believe he’ll play 20 games or more, but JOB should play most if not all of the season on the fourth line. That should get him 15-20 points or more

Very well said!

As I said above, in celebration of this glorious day, today's question will be just about Daniel Alfredsson. Without further ado, here we go:

Which is more likely? That Daniel Alfredsson scores 25+ goals OR that he gets 35+ assists OR WHO CARES ALFIE IS BACK!

Goals: Last season Alfie had a goal scoring renaissance, potting 27 in his injury shortened season. Can he pound the puck to the back of the net like he has in the past for one more year?

Assists: With Guillaume Latendresse and Kyle Turris being likely linemates, is it more likely that Alfie plays the role of set-up man and grabs more than his 32 assists from a year ago, reaching the 35 assist level?

Who Cares: Our first ever three option poll gives us: Who cares? ALFIE IS BACK! Having him in the dressing room and on the ice and watching him play one more year is more important than what kind of numbers he can still put up.

There you have it, a slightly different flavour for our Nuggets today. Alfie Rises.

Links!

Sens News:

Really solid work from Peter who takes a look at Erik Condra and the effect he had on Senators d-men last season. It really paints a picture as to the kind of responsible forward Condra is. [SSS]
ALFIE RISES [SSS]
The official Panzeri story on the announcement with Melnyk and Murray quotes, as well as words from the man himself. [Panzeri]
Marc Methot is excited to play for his hometown club. I truly think he will be a solid contributor here this year, he's the type of player we need, and he's motivated with this fresh start. [Sun]
WTYKY says goodbye to Bobby the Kid. [WTYKY]

League News

Potential landing spots for Shane Doan. I'd hate to see him in the East, but it is looking that way. [NHL]
Revenue sharing, and what an issue it has been and will continue to be in labour talks. [PD]

Poll

Which is More Likely?

Alfie scores 25+ goals

50 votes

Alfie dishes out 35+ assists

71 votes

Alfie's worth isn't measured in points

321 votes

442 votes | Poll has closed

Senators avoid arbitration, sign Daugavins to one-year, one-way deal

Peter Raaymakers — Mon, 23 Jul 2012 14:19:55 -0000

As was first reported by TSN's Darren Dreger, the Ottawa Senators have re-signed forward Kaspars Daugavins to a one-year deal, avoiding arbitration with the loveable Latvian sparkplug.

Shortly after the initial announcement, Bruce Garrioch tweeted the contract's specifics: A one-way deal worth $635k, which was slightly less than Daugavins' qualifying offer, but the one-way aspect of it more than made up for the pay cut.

When Daugavins elected for arbitration, reports were that the biggest sticking point was between a one- and two-way deal; Daugavins wanted the certainty of a one-way deal, while the Sens wanted the flexibility of a two-way contract. The two sides ended up settling for lower salary on a one-way deal, which sets Ottawa up with a lot of guys vying for roster spots up front, even if Daniel Alfredsson isn't coming back next season (but he is, right? RIGHT?!?!).

By my count, there are 12 forwards on one-way deals (Jason Spezza, Milan Michalek, Guillaume Latendresse, Chris Neil, Kyle Turris, Bobby Butler, Colin Greening, Peter Regin, Zack Smith, Jim O'Brien, Daugavins, and Erik Condra), plus Alfredsson, plus prospects Mika Zibanejad, Jakob Silfverberg, Mark Stone, and Stefan Noesen each with a decent to pretty good opportunity at cracking the Ottawa roster in training camp. Competition will be tight, prospects will be disappointed, and trades or waivers seem almost inevitable.

How does your forward depth chart shake out?

Silver Nuggets: Which is More Likely Series: Cowen vs Smith

DaveYoung — Wed, 18 Jul 2012 17:00:12 -0000

Hope you are enjoying this series so far, I know I'm loving the contribution in the comments, you guys and girls have made some excellent points. Yesterday I asked which Senator would be scratched more in the coming season, Erik Condra or Mike Lundin. With a vote of about 60/40, you folks have spoken and picked Lundin to be the odd man out more often.

User The Tif put it best:

I voted Lundin.

Condra fits a niche and is a known commodity. His reputation will help him get a roster spot and if Rooster leaves, gives even more opportunity for him to stay. It’s really his spot to lose, and if he can manage to score a few goals, he’s set.

Lundin on the other hand is a new guy who needs to prove himself. A weak TC by him with a strong one by one of the others (Ceci, BoroCop) could put him in the press box.

Today, I go back to the style of the first day and ask two different questions. Today's poll is this:

Which is more likely? That Jared Cowen averages more than 21 minutes per game or that Zack Smith finds himself in at least 12 fights?

Cowen: Last season Jared Cowen averaged nearly 19 minutes per game as a rookie, and played in all 82 games, showing good growth. He showed (for a stretch) that he can play big minutes and play with Erik Karlsson and be effective. If the Marc Methot experiment does not work out, Cowen could find himself playing big minutes again, and if Sergei Gonchar slows down noticeably this season, Cowen could find himself the 3rd d-man, and still play more minutes.

Smith: Much has been made about the perceived loss of team toughness (especially by fine journalists at the Sun) with the loss of Zenon Konopka and Matt Carkner. One of the players expected to step up and fill the void is Zack Smith, who started the season doing everything well and really fell off towards the end of the season. He has 16 career NHL fights and had 8 last season. With only him and Chris Neil around to drop the gloves, will he increase that total by 4? Does he give a crap?

Looking forward to reading your thoughts. Links after the jump.

Sens News

I don't know about you guys but I absolutely LOVE reading these two gentlemen. The WTYKY guys do a send-off to Nick Foligno in their typical witty fashion. [WTYKY]
The official Senators site does a little rundown/bio/update on undrafted free agent prospect Cole Schneider. Cole needs to work on his skating and his two-way game, but looks to be a promising project, and should help Binghamton this season. [Sens]
A sort of nuggets-like post from eyeonthesens, a blog I had never stumbled upon until today. This post has got some great Tim Murray and Rick Wamsley quotes in it that are well worth your time. [eyeonthesens]
Travis Yost takes a look at penalty differentials and even strength hockey. He makes a solid point that without ZK, Carks and Foligno, the Senators will most certainly be a more disciplined team next season. [Yost]
Kyle Turris is one of NHL.com's 7 players primed for a breakout season. [NHL]

League News

Couple of labour articles here today. Here is Copper and Blue with a FANTASTIC article breaking down the various things the league has asked for. They make a great point about new draftees and ELC players not being represented, so seeing a 5 year ELC is very possible. [C&B]
And here is the always excellent Elliotte Friedman saying that it is hard to take the NHL's initial offer seriously. With sport being as healthy as it ever has been, there is incentive to find common ground. [CBC]
Scott Howson is off his rocker. One of the teams supposedly on Rick Nash's "list", the Detroit Red Wings, made a very strong offer and heard nothing back. At the very least negotiate and use the Wings offer as leverage! [PuckDaddy]
Scott Stevens will be working with the Devils d-core next season as an assistant coach. I think him and Anton will get along famously. [NHL]
Best blog out there, Elliotte Friedman with his final 30 thoughts of the season (but you get 44 thoughts!!) [CBC]
And lastly, the most important link of the day, the hilarious Harrison Mooney puts together his top-10 hockey hugs of the NHL season. For all the supposed "chemistry" the Sens had this past season, none of theirs made the list. [PuckDaddy]

Poll

Which is More Likely?

Zack Smith gets in at least 12 fights

97 votes

Jared Cowen averages more than 21 minutes a night

241 votes

338 votes | Poll has closed

Silver Nuggets: Which is More Likely Series: Lundin vs Condra

DaveYoung — Tue, 17 Jul 2012 17:00:25 -0000

Welcome to day three of the "Which is More Likely?" Nuggets series! Through the first two days we have decided it is more likely that Kyle Turris scores more than 20 goals than it is that Sergei Gonchar finishes the year in Ottawa, and we've decided Erik Karlsson is more likely to win a major award this season than Jakob Silfverberg (though the vote was much closer). User Spez_Dispenser put it best:

Voted Karlsson

Silfverburg will likely be a very good rookie, but I don’t think he’s going to hit Calder level.

The Norris trophy is one that is frequently reputation based, for good or for ill. If Karlsson can hit a similar point output, his bid for the trophy will be bolstered by the fact that he can now be considered by the general public as a "Norris caliber" defenseman. While he did win this year, his detractors were loud and proud. Such opposition will not come again if he has a similar season.

There you have it! Now on to day three as I go back to the Parisi well of good ideas.

Which is more likely: Erik Condra is scratched more games than Mike Lundin, or vice-versa?

Erik Condra: Showed this past season that he is a capable penalty killer with good hockey sense, but that he has trouble finding open nets. With Bobby Butler looking for a bounce-back year and players like Mike Hoffman joining the usual suspects Stone, Zibanejad and Silfverberg looking for ice time with the big club, how often will Condra be in the lineup? The team already has many players (including Peter Regin, fresh from injury) who often kill penalties, so if other players bring an added dimension, Condra could be on the outside looking in.

Mike Lundin: Lundin, who was acquired first thing on July 1st by Bryan Murray is coming off a season in which he only played 17 games for the Minnesota Wild. With Mark Borowiecki getting quite a lot of hype and talk as a possible 6th defencemen, how many games will Lundin sit in the press box?

So let us hear your thoughts, which of these players is more likely to be filling Brian Lee's double down shoes?

Links after the jump.

Sens News

Only real news in Senator-land yesterday was the signing of goalie Nathan Lawson to presumably be Robin Lehner's backup in Binghamton. Here is Darren with a few words on the signing. [SSS]
Here is an old Goalie Guild story about Nathan Lawson's NHL debut, in which Kyle Turris made him look stupid in the shootout. [GG]
And here is Ken Warren with a fun fact, that Lawson actually was in the opposing net for Robin Lehner's first NHL win. [SensExtra]
This is an absurd article so I figured I'd post it here for everyone's amusement. Should the Senators go after Roberto Luongo? Absolutely not. [THW]
Top NHL players who are 35+ and our beloved captain comes in at #4. Let me know if you agree with this list, I'd probably have Martin St. Louis rated higher. [THW]
Nichols with some Tuesday morning news recap. [6thSens]

League News

Ken Warren sits down with a sports lawyer who expects an aggressive response by Donald Fehr and the players. Isn't that just super. [Warren]
Mike Green says "thank you Erik Karlsson and Dennis Wideman" and signs a three year deal worth just north of 6 million per season after barely playing the last two years. [NHL]
Mike Modano is thinking about a comeback. Why? [PuckDaddy]
Brooklyn Islanders anybody? If it got them out of Wang's hands and into a proper facility, it could only be good for the league. [PuckDaddy]

Poll

Who is likely to be scratched more by Paul MacLean this season?

Erik Condra

144 votes

Mike Lundin

241 votes

385 votes | Poll has closed

Silver Nuggets: Some hypocrisy from Bryan Murray

Mark Parisi — Fri, 06 Jul 2012 17:00:20 -0000

Ottawa's general manager is traditionally a stand-up guy. He traded Mike Fisher to Nashville, where he could be close to his wife. He traded Antoine Vermette to a place where he'd have the opportunity to be a true second-line player. He's shown a willingness to sign players from the region to help strengthen the team's ties to the community. Hell, he'll even give you a no-trade contract if you ask nicely (or even if you don't).

But sometimes, he does things that just don't sit right with me. Take this quote, from June 5th, for instance:

"I don’t need to hear from him right away and I don’t need to hear from him before the draft.I know he’s got a tough decision. I’m not going to ask him. Daniel and I had good conversations before he left here in the exit interview. I think he’ll make up his mind when he feels comfortable making up his mind and I’m just going to leave it at that."

All right. So far, so good. Daniel Alfredsson has earned the right to pretty much do whatever he wants in the city of Ottawa, as far as I'm concerned. Glad Murray agrees. Besides, usually when you pressure someone into a decision, they either don't do what you'd like because they resent the pressure, or they do it and resent you for pressuring them to do it. Neither are really good outcomes.

But then, not even a month later, we get this comment from him:

I've talked to J.P. Barry, his agent. We just asked that sometime, in the not to distant future, they just come back to us and give us an indication... but he didn't call back today yet, so we'll see what happens.

Say what?

What happened to "he'll make up his mind when he's comfortable and I'm going to leave it at that"? Bryan, you didn't say that Alfie could make up his mind whenever he wanted as long as it was in the next month. You said you were going to leave him alone! So why are you not leaving him alone? Alfie knows you need a decision. He didn't forget in the month since you last talked.

This probably shouldn't bother me as much as it does. Of course any GM wants to know the status of his players. He's got to plan out a roster for the upcoming season, and uncertainty over holes in that roster probably don't make things easier. But it's July--why does there need to be any pressure for a decision at all right now? Training camp is months away.

More importantly, don't say you're going to leave someone alone if you don't intend to. If Murray had an internal deadline, then he had an obligation to communicate that to Alfredsson when they spoke at the end of the year. Bringing it up a month after the fact, especially publicly, isn't the kind of move that gives me warm, fuzzy feelings.

(read more...)

Sens News

The Ottawa Sun's Bruce Garrioch speculates the Senators could pursue Anaheim's top right winger Bobby Ryan via trade. He repeats (without citing) Darren Dreger's assertion Ducks GM Bob Murray's asking price for Ryan begins with a second-line center. If that's the case, do the Senators even have enough to be in the hunt? Would they move Turris after what they gave up to get him? Would the Ducks consider Mika Zibanejad ready to take that role full-time? [Sun]
Speaking of speculation, here's Nichols suggesting the Senators should kick the tires on a trade for Shea Weber if they were willing to give up assets to land a player like Rick Nash. Consider my mind blown. [6th Sens]
Allen Panzeri puts an end to the conversation of cap floor concerns for Ottawa's upcoming season. To sum it up: They're not going to be under. The end. [Citizen]
The Senators feature a photo gallery retrospective of... Erik Condra? How could they feature him before they got to Z. Smith? [Sens]
One of my favorite players, Kaspars Daugavins, has filed for arbitration with the Senators. Peter takes a quick look at what's involved. If Daugavins is awarded a one-way deal, is there even a spot on the team for him? [S7S]

NHL Links

Over at Welcome to Your Karlsson Years, Varada wonders how long the shine on Steve Yzerman as GM will last if his latest gambles don't work out. If I were a Lightning fan watching Steven Stamkos waste a 60-goal year by not making the playoffs, I'd be wondering the same thing. [WTYKY]
The Columbus Blue Jackets have agreed to a contract with former Senator Nick Foligno. It's a three-year deal that pays him $9.25M total, with a cap hit of slightly over $3M. So, the Senators wind up paying defenseman Marc Methot almost exactly what they would have paid Foligno. [NHL]
Seriously, watch this if you haven't seen it. A really cool look at how the playoffs went down. [FastcoDesign]

Silver Nuggets: Sophomore Slumps and Bobby Butler

DaveYoung — Fri, 01 Jun 2012 17:00:31 -0000

Bobby Butler had a lousy season. There, I said it, it is out of the way. While he drew into the lineup in 20 more games than last season (due solely to his new 1-way contract), he managed to put up 4 less goals and 5 less points than he managed in his 36 games last season.

So what happened? This isn't a player who forgot how to play overnight. Butler has done nothing but score at every level of hockey he's ever played. In his first full pro season last year, he played 106 games, including playoffs and scored 45 goals, 10 of them coming at the NHL level and 13 coming in the Calder Cup run by the Bingo Sens. He showed excellent chemistry with Jason Spezza. iIf you look in the archives of this website you will find many articles (some written by me) trying to decide whether he'd score 25 or 30 goals in 2011-2012. He had played to such a high level, showing such a good scorer's instinct, that it was laughable to think he'd score less that 20 or 15.

And yet, he scored 6, and 2 came in one game.

Maybe it is a case of a new system. Maybe its a case of a player playing 106 games the year before and being too run down in the summer to properly train. Perhaps his new 1-way contract made him feel like he no longer had to work as hard to keep a roster spot now that he was guaranteed NHL money. Whatever the reason, the Butler we saw this year was not the same one that we saw last year.

So what does the future hold for Bobby? Does he regain his form? Does he become an NHL/AHL tweener? Does he get a chance from another organization? Does he get passed on the depth chart by our incoming prospects?

There are holes in the top 6 for the Senators. This is well documented. If Alfie decides not to come back, there will be even more need for a player that can score. Bobby has scored in the past. Can he do it again?

Links below!

Senators Links

Latest in line of Senators getting married, Erik Condra will be marrying fiancée Ryan Reynolds this summer and heading to Greece for his honeymoon. I wish him and the Green Lantern all the best. [Sens]
Nichols takes a look at the Garrioch article I linked the other day about the 5 players who could be traded, along with a few other thoughts. [6thSens]
Cool story about Slater Koekkoek (which is the coolest name I've seen in a prospect in quite a while) and how he leaned on close friend and Senators prospect Matt Puempel when he had his draft season cut short due to injury. [SensExtra]
Former Senators goalie and fan favourite Ron Tuggnett has decided to leave his isolated home north of Peterborough to purchase the Kemptville 73's and get back involved with hockey in the Ottawa area. [Citizen]
After the big news of Nick Lidstrom calling it quits yesterday, Bruce Garrioch informs Daniel Alfredsson that it's his turn. I think I'm fine with Alfie taking his time, in order to make the right choice. [Sun]
Another cool little nugget from Garrioch about Lidstrom, who thanked Bryan Murray for helping him start his NHL career when BM was the GM in Detroit. [Sun]

League News

Obviously biggest league news is the retiring of the best European player of all time, and one of the best defensemen of all time, Nicklas Lidstrom. 7 Norris trophies, 4 cups, and made the playoffs in each of the 20 years he played. Incredibly impressive, the game will not be the same without him. [Post]
Weird story as Tim Thomas considers taking a year off from the NHL. He sure had a roller-coaster year with his image taking a hit. [PuckDaddy]
Bob Hartley is back in the NHL with the Calgary Flames. [Globe]
This article suggests this year's draft class is similar to one we have seen before. [Post]