Sens owned in the faceoff circle in 1st P but they outhit NJ 19-9 and had 10 BS vs. only 5 for NJ, solid team game for the goaltender!

Yes, I'd posted that idea earlier. I was under the impression that signing bonus $$$ wouldn't have to be paid, but it's only performance bonus $$$ that doesn't have to be paid in a buyout scenario. As such, they're most likely stuck with Zaitsev for the duration of his contract, which unfortunately is going to be a major pain in terms of Bernard-Docker and Thomson getting ice time at RHD... unless they get a high-value trade offer for Zub. It might not be the worst idea to consider, given how much more valuable a top-4-capable RHD at $2.5M/yr for two post-season runs would be to a "win-now" playoff team with very limited cap space.
- khawk

You are certainly correct. IMO Zub seems like an obvious keep for me, but only at Zaitsev level money, on shorter tenure (4~5*4~5). He is already playing his value higher than that, which means Ottawa possibly trades him. We'll see - he's a fan fave. Vis a vis Zaitsev... I wonder if there's any deal to be made with the Coyotes? They have space, and the whole team is pending UFA.... need to pay *somebody* next season to hit the floor. What would you tag onto that deal to make it happen?

It's good to see Murray proving this denier wrong, he's been amazing since he came back from the minors. Good on him. We might be destined for another interesting tenth pick at this rate.

You are certainly correct. IMO Zub seems like an obvious keep for me, but only at Zaitsev level money, on shorter tenure (4~5*4~5). He is already playing his value higher than that, which means Ottawa possibly trades him. We'll see - he's a fan fave. Vis a vis Zaitsev... I wonder if there's any deal to be made with the Coyotes? They have space, and the whole team is pending UFA.... need to pay *somebody* next season to hit the floor. What would you tag onto that deal to make it happen?
- Bartacus

Dorion needs to be very careful how much he pays Zub, they don't need cap problems on the blueline again. Zub could price himself out of the Sens salary structure, but Ottawa has so many prospects coming, Kleven could be the physical stay-at-home defenseman that replaces Zub.

It's good to see Murray proving this denier wrong, he's been amazing since he came back from the minors. Good on him. We might be destined for another interesting tenth pick at this rate.
- Bartacus

Everything about Murray's game, some of the simple things, how he tracks the pucks better, not caught deep in his net, etc....

Big difference in the 2nd period with the Sens pace and smoother releases from their defensive zone. DJ recognized how Brannstrom is far better at that than JBrown. JB 3:44 TOI vs. EB 6:26 TOI, team results far better because of it!

Henny I am curious as to where you think they've been keeping PM this whole time lol, especially with the nose of a Basset hound.

I'd love to see this lineup without any injuries for once, it might actually look passable today.

Kevin somebody once made a post that indicated buying out Zaitsev in the off-season would make a lot of sense financially, but looking at the 4M owed in bonuses over the last two years I'm wondering if I dreamed that. Since the cap implications don't matter for this floor team, insofar as I can tell the team would still be on the hook to pay him 7.3M in real money, a total savings of 1.3M and losing a body on the back end, which from a Melnyk perspective suggests he might be sticking around longer. Does a Zaitsev buyout make sense?
- Bartacus

I understand, on the QT, He's been seen in the sleeping quarters of one of those Big Rigs in Town smelling the place up.

New blog up!