Never thought McGuire signing made sense. Believed it was something imposed on Melnyk and the Sens. I wonder if we will ever know how (and why) it came about.

Now, it appears that McGuire's departure is every bit as strange as his initial hiring.

Maybe we will never know.

Big bodies eh?
Like Gudbrandson? Or J.Brown?

Those kind of signings haven't worked out very well here.

Big bodies eh?
Like Gudbrandson? Or J.Brown?

Those kind of signings haven't worked out very well here.
- Octavarium

Gudbranson is playing good for Calgary not his fault our Defensive coach sucks balls
We can’t have a soft defense core we need players to lay bodies make opponents think twice about skating in freely with no worries like they have been 🤦‍♂️

Gudbranson is playing good for Calgary not his fault our Defensive coach sucks balls
We can’t have a soft defense core we need players to lay bodies make opponents think twice about skating in freely with no worries like they have been 🤦‍♂️
- sens4life1971

I have a different take. There are good reasons that most veteran players hate playing babysitter to a bunch of kids. We have seen some vets here (Reilly and Gudbranson last year) that get traded to a veteran team and do fine.

Everyone is far too quick to jump on the vets for not doing enough. You want to believe that the 4th or 5th Dman coming over from a veteran team should carry a bigger responsibility when they come over to play with the Sens. But, too often the kids don't come back to help in their own end, they lose coverage and often the vet looks especially bad because the kids totally missed in their defensive responsibility.

Stutzle was minus 27. Even for a young team loaded with prospects it is still a horrible number. But it is the price we need to pay in the development of an elite prospect who really has no experience in playing defensive hockey.

We should be entirely confident that Stutzle will learn to play a very good defensive game. But we need to be patient. Like Tkachuk and Chabot he will "want to win now" and realize that you need to come back and pick up on your defensive responsibility if you want to win in the NHL.

I have a different take. There are good reasons that most veteran players hate playing babysitter to a bunch of kids. We have seen some vets here (Reilly and Gudbranson last year) that get traded to a veteran team and do fine.

Everyone is far too quick to jump on the vets for not doing enough. You want to believe that the 4th or 5th Dman coming over from a veteran team should carry a bigger responsibility when they come over to play with the Sens. But, too often the kids don't come back to help in their own end, they lose coverage and often the vet looks especially bad because the kids totally missed in their defensive responsibility.

Stutzle was minus 27. Even for a young team loaded with prospects it is still a horrible number. But it is the price we need to pay in the development of an elite prospect who really has no experience in playing defensive hockey.

We should be entirely confident that Stutzle will learn to play a very good defensive game. But we need to be patient. Like Tkachuk and Chabot he will "want to win now" and realize that you need to come back and pick up on your defensive responsibility if you want to win in the NHL.
- spatso

All I’m saying is we need bigger bodies on the blue line it’s way to soft …specially for when it comes playoff time .. it’s almost like everyone we play stars skates in freely without being worried of getting hit 🤷‍♂️ And that needs to stop if they wanna take another step

Its lottery day!

Here's hoping for some luck tonight!

I agree with the softness.
Mete - gone.
MDZ....maybe gone.
Brannstrom....who knows, though he does take big hits, he doesn't give them out.

All I’m saying is we need bigger bodies on the blue line it’s way to soft …specially for when it comes playoff time .. it’s almost like everyone we play stars skates in freely without being worried of getting hit 🤷‍♂️ And that needs to stop if they wanna take another step
- sens4life1971

You have to be careful not to jump to conclusions. A lot of that has to do with coaching and team systems, but you're assuming that the answer is more big-body players. Truth is, the Senators already had the 2nd most hits in the NHL this year, including 4 different D-men with over 100 hits. By comparison, only 3 teams in the NHL had more D-men with 100+ hits, and 2 of those teams missed the playoffs. In fact, of the 7 NHL teams who had 4 D-men with 100+ hits, only 3 of them were playoff teams. Meanwhile, CAR had just 1, CGY had just 2, and COL had just 2 for most of the year until they traded for Josh Manson. So if you want a bit of extra toughness on the blueline for the playoffs, you can always trade for it... but you don't have to build your team that way in training camp.

Plus, what you're actually talking about isn't hitting... it's about playing more aggressively at the blue line. Being aggressive at the blue line as a D-man means challenging the puck-carrier, and preventing easy zone entrances. That can result in a hit, but more often it results in a puck separation, or in the forward making a pass instead of carrying the puck. To make that aggressive play, what you really need are: a) good judgment, b) the mobility to establish good positioning against a forward skating at high-speed, and c) trust in your d-man partner and forwards to cover the d-zone position you're giving up. This is where DJ Smith fails in multiple ways... over-playing guys with low-mobility, thinking aggressive hockey is just about size, teaching the forwards nothing in terms of D-zone support, and pretending that collapsing towards the net is a defensive system.

If you're talking about where Ottawa's D-men are genuinely lacking, you have to start with mobility, puck-movement, and scoring. Ottawa had just 2 D-men in the top-100 in NHL scoring among defencemen in 2021/22 (including Zub, who barely made the list at 94th), and were 1/10 teams not to have at least 3 d-men on that list. And for those 10 teams, 8 of them missed the playoffs... and the 2 that made it had Drew Doughy and Adam Fox (i.e. a Norris-quality offensive D-man). Is Chabot that guy? He's very good, but wasn't among the top-30 D-man scorers this year, and even in terms of Pts/GP he ranked 22nd. Meanwhile, there were 26 NHL teams with a D-man on their roster that out-scored Chabot this year, including 8 NHL teams with at least 2 D-men with more points. Of those, only Vegas missed the playoffs, and it's pretty clear they shouldn't have.

You have to be careful not to jump to conclusions. A lot of that has to do with coaching and team systems, but you're assuming that the answer is more big-body players. Truth is, the Senators already had the 2nd most hits in the NHL this year, including 4 different D-men with over 100 hits. By comparison, only 3 teams in the NHL had more D-men with 100+ hits, and 2 of those teams missed the playoffs. In fact, of the 7 NHL teams who had 4 D-men with 100+ hits, only 3 of them were playoff teams. Meanwhile, CAR had just 1, CGY had just 2, and COL had just 2 for most of the year until they traded for Josh Manson. So if you want a bit of extra toughness on the blueline for the playoffs, you can always trade for it... but you don't have to build your team that way in training camp.

Plus, what you're actually talking about isn't hitting... it's about playing more aggressively at the blue line. Being aggressive at the blue line as a D-man means challenging the puck-carrier, and preventing easy zone entrances. That can result in a hit, but more often it results in a puck separation, or in the forward making a pass instead of carrying the puck. To make that aggressive play, what you really need are: a) good judgment, b) the mobility to establish good positioning against a forward skating at high-speed, and c) trust in your d-man partner and forwards to cover the d-zone position you're giving up. This is where DJ Smith fails in multiple ways... over-playing guys with low-mobility, thinking aggressive hockey is just about size, teaching the forwards nothing in terms of D-zone support, and pretending that collapsing towards the net is a defensive system.

If you're talking about where Ottawa's D-men are genuinely lacking, you have to start with mobility, puck-movement, and scoring. Ottawa had just 2 D-men in the top-100 in NHL scoring among defencemen in 2021/22 (including Zub, who barely made the list at 94th), and were 1/10 teams not to have at least 3 d-men on that list. And for those 10 teams, 8 of them missed the playoffs... and the 2 that made it had Drew Doughy and Adam Fox (i.e. a Norris-quality offensive D-man). Is Chabot that guy? He's very good, but wasn't among the top-30 D-man scorers this year, and even in terms of Pts/GP he ranked 22nd. Meanwhile, there were 26 NHL teams with a D-man on their roster that out-scored Chabot this year, including 8 NHL teams with at least 2 D-men with more points. Of those, only Vegas missed the playoffs, and it's pretty clear they shouldn't have.
- khawk

I like this post and your analysis of what a good D looks like which does include forwards doing their part. Far too often Tkachuk is waiting on the opposing blue line for the long stretch pass while Norris keeps him company skating around center ice.

I wonder how many of those D you talk about would outscore Chabot if they were playing with Zaitsev. Whenever Chabot was paired with Zub he was awesome. Next year he'll likely get saddled with Hamonic who will be another disaster on the top pairing.

I like this post and your analysis of what a good D looks like which does include forwards doing their part. Far too often Tkachuk is waiting on the opposing blue line for the long stretch pass while Norris keeps him company skating around center ice.

I wonder how many of those D you talk about would outscore Chabot if they were playing with Zaitsev. Whenever Chabot was paired with Zub he was awesome. Next year he'll likely get saddled with Hamonic who will be another disaster on the top pairing.
- Whatisavailable

As an outsider, what many of you haven't mentioned is that with the Sens defense, no opposing forward crosses that blueline with the fear of even being hit. They defense leaves the middle of the ice wide open in their defensive zone, so that boils down to defensive systems, something that many people have joked on message boards saying it's because the head coach has zero system. Well when you look at the results, it's hard to argue that.

I agree with the softness.
Mete - gone.
MDZ....maybe gone.
Brannstrom....who knows, though he does take big hits, he doesn't give them out.
- Octavarium

I know I have seen Kevin post in here before on those players, they don't boxout, thus creating an easy avenue for the opposing forwards, which is why Ottawa gives up so many high danger chances within 10 of the net.

Never thought McGuire signing made sense. Believed it was something imposed on Melnyk and the Sens. I wonder if we will ever know how (and why) it came about.

Now, it appears that McGuire's departure is every bit as strange as his initial hiring.

Maybe we will never know.
- spatso

Did you not read the comments Kevin posted in other blogs about this situation? Lost soul you are.

I'm putting together a piece about Pierre McGuire and a little info on what Ottawa could do with the 7th overall pick in the upcoming draft.

Ottawa picking 7th is about is good an outcome as could be reasonably expected (i.e. at least they didn't fall to 9th).

Feels quite a bit like Wright, Slafkovsky, Cooley, Nemec, Savoie, and Jiricek are the consensus top-6... if any fall to #7, that's who they should pick. I've yet to see any kind of general consensus around Kemell, Nazar, Lekkerimaki, Geekie, Yurov, Lambert, Gauthier, or Mateychuk... but I'd like to think they at least pick someone from that list (i.e. no crazy-town off-the-board $hit).

Or, maybe trade for Dubois.

I'm putting together a piece about Pierre McGuire and a little info on what Ottawa could do with the 7th overall pick in the upcoming draft.
- Kevin Francis

Duh!

Yes I thought his comments were really good.

But still does not change my opinion that the original hiring of McGuire did not make any sense. And the firing seems to continue something that appears to be entirely unrelated and unhinged from the overalll management of the team.

Ottawa picking 7th is about is good an outcome as could be reasonably expected (i.e. at least they didn't fall to 9th).

Feels quite a bit like Wright, Slafkovsky, Cooley, Nemec, Savoie, and Jiricek are the consensus top-6... if any fall to #7, that's who they should pick. I've yet to see any kind of general consensus around Kemell, Nazar, Lekkerimaki, Geekie, Yurov, Lambert, Gauthier, or Mateychuk... but I'd like to think they at least pick someone from that list (i.e. no crazy-town off-the-board $hit).

Or, maybe trade for Dubois.
- khawk

I would certainly be all in if Dubois was available. Still wonder why would Winnipeg be floating his name as a possible trade candidate.

You have to be careful not to jump to conclusions. A lot of that has to do with coaching and team systems, but you're assuming that the answer is more big-body players. Truth is, the Senators already had the 2nd most hits in the NHL this year, including 4 different D-men with over 100 hits. By comparison, only 3 teams in the NHL had more D-men with 100+ hits, and 2 of those teams missed the playoffs. In fact, of the 7 NHL teams who had 4 D-men with 100+ hits, only 3 of them were playoff teams. Meanwhile, CAR had just 1, CGY had just 2, and COL had just 2 for most of the year until they traded for Josh Manson. So if you want a bit of extra toughness on the blueline for the playoffs, you can always trade for it... but you don't have to build your team that way in training camp.

Plus, what you're actually talking about isn't hitting... it's about playing more aggressively at the blue line. Being aggressive at the blue line as a D-man means challenging the puck-carrier, and preventing easy zone entrances. That can result in a hit, but more often it results in a puck separation, or in the forward making a pass instead of carrying the puck. To make that aggressive play, what you really need are: a) good judgment, b) the mobility to establish good positioning against a forward skating at high-speed, and c) trust in your d-man partner and forwards to cover the d-zone position you're giving up. This is where DJ Smith fails in multiple ways... over-playing guys with low-mobility, thinking aggressive hockey is just about size, teaching the forwards nothing in terms of D-zone support, and pretending that collapsing towards the net is a defensive system.

If you're talking about where Ottawa's D-men are genuinely lacking, you have to start with mobility, puck-movement, and scoring. Ottawa had just 2 D-men in the top-100 in NHL scoring among defencemen in 2021/22 (including Zub, who barely made the list at 94th), and were 1/10 teams not to have at least 3 d-men on that list. And for those 10 teams, 8 of them missed the playoffs... and the 2 that made it had Drew Doughy and Adam Fox (i.e. a Norris-quality offensive D-man). Is Chabot that guy? He's very good, but wasn't among the top-30 D-man scorers this year, and even in terms of Pts/GP he ranked 22nd. Meanwhile, there were 26 NHL teams with a D-man on their roster that out-scored Chabot this year, including 8 NHL teams with at least 2 D-men with more points. Of those, only Vegas missed the playoffs, and it's pretty clear they shouldn't have.
- khawk

Solid analysis.. Not to mention Chabot likely ranks up in toi. He should have had a few more points.

so any speculation on how badly Dorion will blow 7th OA pick this year like he did for 10th last year

Duh!

Yes I thought his comments were really good.

But still does not change my opinion that the original hiring of McGuire did not make any sense. And the firing seems to continue something that appears to be entirely unrelated and unhinged from the overalll management of the team.
- spatso

What is your problem with the Duh comment? Seriously, in the process of talking the moderators now due to garbage ridiculous 12 year duh comment.

You couldn't be more wrong on the McGuire stuff, you seem to think you know more than everything in here, no wonder the Leafs fans want you banned, with your know it all attitude. You have NO IDEA about the McGuire hiring and firing, none! You cant control what others say and want to start as banter in my blog by telling them oh I have been here in 12 years and there should be negativity, get lost with the attitude and holier than thou attitude in here, you will find out really fast after this pathetic comment of yours! Texting with EK as we speak. I don't know who you think you are but your tone and ego are going to be checked at the door in a hurry, book that!

so any speculation on how badly Dorion will blow 7th OA pick this year like he did for 10th last year
- Mithos

Dorion almost wouldn't allow the Sanderson draft pick, so you can only imagine what this idiot GM will do come the draft.

I would certainly be all in if Dubois was available. Still wonder why would Winnipeg be floating his name as a possible trade candidate.
- spatso

Seriously? Teams do it all the time to find out what the market is, well in advance of the draft and free agency. They've been going this for years yet for some reason you dumbfounded as to why they are floating his name. Take a look around the league last year and the year before....names you would think would never get traded but do. Heck look no further than Laine the guy they traded Dubois for.

What is your problem with the Duh comment? Seriously, in the process of talking the moderators now due to garbage ridiculous 12 year duh comment.

You couldn't be more wrong on the McGuire stuff, you seem to think you know more than everything in here, no wonder the Leafs fans want you banned, with your know it all attitude. You have NO IDEA about the McGuire hiring and firing, none! You cant control what others say and want to start as banter in my blog by telling them oh I have been here in 12 years and there should be negativity, get lost with the attitude and holier than thou attitude in here, you will find out really fast after this pathetic comment of yours! Texting with EK as we speak. I don't know who you think you are but your tone and ego are going to be checked at the door in a hurry, book that!
- Kevin Francis

Ok.

I think i will follow the others who are tired of all the negativity and check out for awhile. Maybe see you later in the summer.

Ok.

I think i will follow the others who are tired of all the negativity and check out for awhile. Maybe see you later in the summer.
- spatso

The amount of people that have messagd me on Twitter, on IM here on hockeybuzz and personal text that stopped messaging on here because of you was actually insane! So go do whatever you want, you aren't going to be rude talking to me like a 12 year old(saying Duh!) and you arent going to control the narrative either. When a team loses for 5 years, that might be why everyone is so negative! It all has to do with results, seriously figure it out. Do you think every media person in this town wants to be negative about the team? The team does it to themselves! Listen to the postgame all 4 hosts over the course of the season say to the fans, do you think we want to be negative? We want to be positive but give us something consistent to be positive about! It's pretty cut and dry. 5 years of losing brings on a ton of negativity all brought on by the management and coaching staff themselves! Heck listen to the Wally and Methot podcast, there exact words again on their final podcast of the season, they are tired of too but this upper management and coaching staff make it near impossible not to be negative.

Ottawa picking 7th is about is good an outcome as could be reasonably expected (i.e. at least they didn't fall to 9th).

Feels quite a bit like Wright, Slafkovsky, Cooley, Nemec, Savoie, and Jiricek are the consensus top-6... if any fall to #7, that's who they should pick. I've yet to see any kind of general consensus around Kemell, Nazar, Lekkerimaki, Geekie, Yurov, Lambert, Gauthier, or Mateychuk... but I'd like to think they at least pick someone from that list (i.e. no crazy-town off-the-board $hit).

Or, maybe trade for Dubois.
- khawk

I’ll take Savoie please lol 😂

The amount of people that have messagd me on Twitter, on IM here on hockeybuzz and personal text that stopped messaging on here because of you was actually insane! So go do whatever you want, you aren't going to be rude talking to me like a 12 year old(saying Duh!) and you arent going to control the narrative either. When a team loses for 5 years, that might be why everyone is so negative! It all has to do with results, seriously figure it out. Do you think every media person in this town wants to be negative about the team? The team does it to themselves! Listen to the postgame all 4 hosts over the course of the season say to the fans, do you think we want to be negative? We want to be positive but give us something consistent to be positive about! It's pretty cut and dry. 5 years of losing brings on a ton of negativity all brought on by the management and coaching staff themselves! Heck listen to the Wally and Methot podcast, there exact words again on their final podcast of the season, they are tired of too but this upper management and coaching staff make it near impossible not to be negative.
- Kevin Francis

To be honest, if anyone has noticed, I have only posted comments a bit lately due to that guy trying to tell me and everyone how we should think and feel about the team. We all have our opinions, read them and move on. But for some odd reason he thought his word was more important than everyone else's and preached to all of us how we should think about the team. That's not sports, sports is how each fan feels, don't try to control people who post or tell them how they should think. Respect the persons opinions, engage in a mature way but don't take it personally if someone doesn't adopt your views.

As I've said on here, there are 6 of us on a group Sens chat, the others all stopped posting and reading due to this guy and how he went on about things.

The fact that he talked to you like a toddler with the Duh comment was beyond disrespectful in my books when all you stated was you were doing a blog. It was so bizarre to say the least.

If anyone listened to TSN1200 the last few weeks of the season, every on air show said they are calling it the way see it and would rather not be negative as you said. But 5 years of ineptitude makes fans go nuts for the wrong reasons because of horrible mismanagement of assets, dollars in and out for the wrong players and a coaching staff that over thinks things or just flat out can't coach. Take a look at the list of coaches looking for work right now. All of them would be a huge upgrade on DJ and his band of fools behind the bench.

Glad you stuck your neck out with that poster. If he just accepted everyone's opinions and moved on, people wouldn't leave the blog or jump down his throat. He even threw himself under the bus saying how Leafs won't listen to him, well it's same here, learn from it, 2 blogs all feel the same way.