|
Josh Brown vs. JBD! Forsberg garnering trade deadline attention! |
|
|
|
|
|
First off, for the latest Sens updates, please follow me on Twitter at
Give me a Twitter follow, I will give you a follow too!
Looking back at last night's Ottawa Senators win 2-1 win over Columbus, it's easy to point to great goaltending for being a huge part of the win. When looking at the bigger picture, the Sens played with energy and structure while sacrificing the body(17 blocked SOG). Anton Forsberg has certainly caught the eye of many other GM's and it has put Sens GM Pierre Dorion in a nice spot as Forsberg's stock has never been higher. With Filip Gustavsson on a one-way deal next year and Matt Murray with two more years on his 4 years extension remaining after this season, I can't see Dorion keeping Forsberg past the NHL trade deadline of March 21st. I'm curious to hear what Sens fans feel Dorion could get for Forsberg at the deadline. Fans will also get a better understanding of how Pierre McGuire is influencing Dorion at this year's trade deadline. McGuire won't stand for the garbage that has gone on here the last few years at UFA time and trade deadline time.
It was nice to see DJ Smith mix up the top two lines with Drake Batherson dropping down to play with Tim Stutzle and Alex Formenton. When Conner Brown returns from injury, he could slide in on the top line RW spot, therefore, balancing out the scoring on the top 2 lines. One lineup change I wouldn't mind seeing happening is making Chris Tierney a health scratch. His play since the Christmas break has been average at best and if anything his stock is dropping leading up to the deadline. I thought Clark Bishop played just fine in a limited role for the Pittsburgh and Washington games. I understand DJ wanted to get Tyler Ennis back into the lineup but the coach made the wrong player a healthy scratch as it should've been a slam dunk in making Tierny sit over Bishop.
When it comes to the youth movement here in Ottawa as stated over a month ago by both Smith and Dorion, the demotion of Jacob Benard-Docker today to Belleville continues to make many wonder with the Sens fan base about how DJ is handling his young players. As stated here on a few occasions, from the likes of Erik Brannstrom to Tim Stutzle and Alex Formenton this season, all of these players have been jerked around by DJ Smith while vets continue to get a free pass when it comes to mistakes. But all three have been thrust into larger roles due to injuries or covid and look at how they've responded.
You would think DJ learned his lesson with these 3 young players when looking at how to manage JBD! Management should be more concerned about having their youth ready to compete for a playoff spot next year, by giving them game experience in all situations. In the case of JBD, he did nothing to warrant a demotion so the team can keep Josh Brown and Victor Mete in the lineup. The coach spoke so highly of JBD prior to the break, in fact, he played 20 minutes that night in Philly and was put in all situations! What kind of message are you sending JBD when you say you are keeping Brown in the lineup because he clears the front of the net? What about all of Brown's shortcomings compared to the all-around game JBD has brought since being called up. In fact, if Brown was so busy protecting the goalie and other players, why hasn't he fought once over the last 5 games since returning to the lineup when it's Watson and Tkachuk who have dropped the gloves. Adding another layer to it is that DJ tried to justify Brown being in the game against CLB saying they play a heavy game similar to Washington. Well, that heavy Jackets team didn't register a single hit in the 3rd period and only had 17 hits all game!
Memo to DJ, quit talking to this fanbase like they were born yesterday! Everyone can see through your shortcomings as a coach and it needs to stop before you screw up another prospect's confidence and development. There are no expectations for this team now, the fanbase is more than willing to be patient to finish out this season, so why not get JBD and even Lassi Thomson quality TOI here in Ottawa now versus having Brown and Mete in the lineup. Dorion also needs to get involved in what's happening here with this first-time NHL head coach.
In the 5 games since the break that both Brown and JBD appeared in when comparing the TOI for both players, it's clear DJ doesn't trust Brown out there, so why keep him in the lineup? You be the judge, the TOI doesn't lie? Both players were +1 in those 5 games. It would be nice if one of our media members would specifically ask DJ why JBD was sent down and why Brown and Mete were in the lineup over JBD in Columbus? I don't think that's asking too much?! This coach needs to be held accountable and the more he knows the fans are screaming for him to stop messing around with the prospects on the blueline, maybe he might take a step back and realize how ridiculous some of his lineup decisions are perceived.
CAL - JBD(17:45) vs. Brown(14:08)
EDM - JBD(12:53) vs. Brown(12:55)
BUFF - JBD(14:01) vs. Brown(9:34)
PITT - JBD(17:28) vs. Brown(11:57)
WASH - JBD(13:33) vs. Brown(14:44)
In the Caps game, here's the breakdown of TOI for each period -
JBD - 4:57/4:59/3:34
Brown - 5:36/5:04/4:04
In the Jackets game, Brown certainly didn't have the confidence of the coach as evidenced by his TOI each period (5:21/2:33/2:26). Brown had 10:20 the least of anyone on the blueline, heck if Victor Mete got more TOI 11:08.
The Sens are home to Buffalo tomorrow night and hopefully, we don't have a repeat of what happened a week ago on home ice with the Sabres in town. Ottawa has a 4 game homestand, with Carolina here on Thursday, Anaheim on Saturday for a rare 1230pm start, and then Edmonton on Monday night.
Thanks for reading.
Kevin
Ottawa Senators Blogger • 
Join the Discussion:
»