Giroux is not going anywhere. He is hugely popular with the fanbase, a local boy on a team friendly contract, has a NO MOVE clause and is a veteran who provides the perfect example to his younger teammates for 200 foot play and consistency of effort.

While yesterday was a crappy game by the team, we have certainly watched a few over the past few years. From an organizational assessment perspective, I'd have to think that such crappy games provide excellent insights into the consistency of effort and character for the players. Looking forward to Staios and Poulin putting their stamp on this team and I expect 1 or more "core" players to be moved.
- SensFan25

Which core pieces? And for what?

I don't have a problem with trading those guys (Norris, Chabot, Chychrun) but Giroux will mean NOTHING for this team in 2 years. This leadership and being a perfect example, there are other options for the Sens. It depends what the return was. Hypothetically - what if it was Gabriel Perreault from the NY Rangers? or 1st rounder + a prospect

Which core pieces? And for what?

I don't have a problem with trading those guys (Norris, Chabot, Chychrun) but Giroux will mean NOTHING for this team in 2 years. This leadership and being a perfect example, there are other options for the Sens. It depends what the return was. Hypothetically - what if it was Gabriel Perreault from the NY Rangers? or 1st rounder + a prospect
- AlfieisKing

I believe the Sens can be a contender. But most teams need to make core strategic moves to get to their Cup compete level. Las Vegas traded for a power forward (Stone), an elite centre (Eichel) and signed a UFA #1 D (Pietrangelo). They won a Cup. Florida got to the final by trading for Tkachuk, Reinhardt and Bennett and completely transformed the compete level in their lineup.

Too many Sens fans focus on the belief that they will improve by getting rid of someone without even thinking about what they need to get in return.

Who are the players you would keep and what players would you add into this Ottawa line up in order to make the Sens a Cup finalist?

Giroux has more value at the trade deadline next year. IF the Sens are the same situation.

But if the Sens are in the same situation next year, more than Giroux will have to go.

Better to keep Giroux and have him be the veteran presence they need.

And at 6 million, he's getting 30 goals, which is a good value in this day and age in the NHL.

I want them to have a full season under a better coach before making major roster changes. And improve the RD to see if we can improve the goaltending.

What are they...8-3-2 in their last 13? Better coaching goes a long way?

obligatory soft ass goal by korpisalo....

3 (frank)ing sens players 1 CHI player and the CHI player ends up with the puck.....and its 3-2 unbelievable

Which core pieces? And for what?

I don't have a problem with trading those guys (Norris, Chabot, Chychrun) but Giroux will mean NOTHING for this team in 2 years. This leadership and being a perfect example, there are other options for the Sens. It depends what the return was. Hypothetically - what if it was Gabriel Perreault from the NY Rangers? or 1st rounder + a prospect
- AlfieisKing

I want to see this team win now. The team needs to start winning next year. If not, much bigger changes are required.

Prospects and draft picks take 4+ years to have an impact.

When are we going to come to grips with the fact that this is really not a good team .... not a well made team. Barely beat Columbus, lost to Anaheim and Chicago. Too many guys riding coat-tails.
I am becoming more and more inclined on most days that this team is going to need a restructure. Too many just seem to not want to do the defensive work to improve. And for poop's sake, can we just get a goalie to make some saves. Too many games with subpar 0.900 .......
Both goalies need to go. We almost seem to be edging towards another restructure with results to show in 3-ish years.

For now, lets just play/trade for some high draft picks.

Seen a lot of defending these goalies owing to poor defensive structure, but personally I think neither are good or reliable. Both nearly always let in at least one soft goal every single game. That second Bedard goal should not be trickling through. The last goal was a real boneheaded move by Zub - if you're going to blindly pass the puck up the ice, make it airborne so it doesn't go straight to the stick of an attacking forward. This team top to bottom is outright terrible at any degree of consistency. Watch us go 3-0 the next three games against Tampa, Florida, and Dallas after losing to Anaheim and Chicago. It's frustrating hockey to watch.

The hockey gods can be so capricious. They delight in teasing us with a great run of a dozen games and then they blow smoke in our face and laugh at us when we start to feel good about this team.

Last year the Devils had a great run. But, the year before they struggled. This year the Devils are paying the price for having inferior quality goaltending.

Last year the Canucks looked ugly. This year they are world class. They have great goaltending,

Young talented teams need to learn how to win. Some never do and they often end up deciding to do a rebuild of the rebuild despite being close to getting over the top.

I like both Chychrun and Chabot. I would keep both if it were not for Sanderson.

For discussion sake , what goalie(s) would you try to get in a trade? How much are you willing to sacrifice to get that goalie?

For discussion sake , what goalie(s) would you try to get in a trade? How much are you willing to sacrifice to get that goalie?
- OttawaB

anything more than a 1st in the range of 28-32 or a 2nd is a overpay for any G.

Goalies are far too expensive at the trade deadline as some playoff bound teams try to stock up on both their staring and back up goaltending.

Some teams will add goalie depth this deadline but need to move out some goalie cost in the summer.

Still some hope that another team experiences a season ending injury in nets and becomes open to looking at Kopisalo as an emergency move.

Our goalies aren't really the issue.
They're good enough if we we played better team defense.
In successive games. Teams with 1 LINE somehow managed to get out on the ice against our fourth line and worst D pair. Heck in the Anaheim game I watched coach Jacques reward the 4th line with 3 offensive zone draws. 2 from opposing team icings. So. Here you are, with last change, the other team is gassed....and you're not putting out the 24 million dollar line? How very DJ Smith.

Why is it significant? Because even just one line can be good enough to flip a game. Especially in the final minute. This is the NHL, margins are razor thin. Every match up matters. So our advantage of having a solid 3rd line is negated when you're going to purposefully allow the other team to line up nicely against five 4th liners.

If I'm Dave Poulin I'm throwing things in the air at this point. It's a good thing he's not doing radio hits anymore. And don't tell me it's Korpisalo when he makes highlight real saves and bails his team out time and time again...and then one easy one gets by him. You can't have it both ways unless you have Vasilvesky, Swayman, or Hellybuck. So do you want Ron Tugnutt who makes all the easy every day saves but lets in the odd man rush tick-tack-toe saves? Or do you want want Ray Emery who makes highlight real saves but lets in the occasional deflating easy one. I'll take Korpisalo who is more like Razor.

Our goalies aren't really the issue.
They're good enough if we we played better team defense.
In successive games. Teams with 1 LINE somehow managed to get out on the ice against our fourth line and worst D pair. Heck in the Anaheim game I watched coach Jacques reward the 4th line with 3 offensive zone draws. 2 from opposing team icings. So. Here you are, with last change, the other team is gassed....and you're not putting out the 24 million dollar line? How very DJ Smith.

Why is it significant? Because even just one line can be good enough to flip a game. Especially in the final minute. This is the NHL, margins are razor thin. Every match up matters. So our advantage of having a solid 3rd line is negated when you're going to purposefully allow the other team to line up nicely against five 4th liners.

If I'm Dave Poulin I'm throwing things in the air at this point. It's a good thing he's not doing radio hits anymore. And don't tell me it's Korpisalo when he makes highlight real saves and bails his team out time and time again...and then one easy one gets by him. You can't have it both ways unless you have Vasilvesky, Swayman, or Hellybuck. So do you want Ron Tugnutt who makes all the easy every day saves but lets in the odd man rush tick-tack-toe saves? Or do you want want Ray Emery who makes highlight real saves but lets in the occasional deflating easy one. I'll take Korpisalo who is more like Razor.
- Octavarium

That sure sounds nice. But the reality is our goalies are way subpar. Even Mrazek on Chicago, one of the worst teams has a 2.93, and 0.911 set of stats. Damn. If only our goalies could look similar. Korpisalo and Forsberg are 0.887 and 0.892 .... letting in north of 3 goals per game. Not good enough anymore.

As for Jacques playing the 4rth line ..... I chalk that up to sitting Stutzle, Tkachuk et al to try to get them to clean up their games and the bad giveaways. Don't reward their play with giving them offensive zone time. Maybe sitting them for a occassional shift will shake some sense into them. Also we may be seeing more player evaluations over the remaining season to determine who stays and who needs to go.

As for my earlier comment on the goalies .... these changes will probably occur at year end. So nothing imminent.

For me ..... I'd like to delve into a trade with Nashville ..... Either Soros or Askarov. Toss in a dman from them ..... and add a 3rd team like LA Kings to the mix .....

Ottawa trades .... Chychrun, Korpisalo, Norris, Batherson.

Jiggling the handle a bit .... Askarov or Saros, Adrian Kempe, Fabbro or Carriere.

LA and Nashville could wrestle who gets what .... fill in with some fillers and draft picks.

That sure sounds nice. But the reality is our goalies are way subpar. Even Mrazek on Chicago, one of the worst teams has a 2.93, and 0.911 set of stats. Damn. If only our goalies could look similar. Korpisalo and Forsberg are 0.887 and 0.892 .... letting in north of 3 goals per game. Not good enough anymore.

As for Jacques playing the 4rth line ..... I chalk that up to sitting Stutzle, Tkachuk et al to try to get them to clean up their games and the bad giveaways. Don't reward their play with giving them offensive zone time. Maybe sitting them for a occassional shift will shake some sense into them. Also we may be seeing more player evaluations over the remaining season to determine who stays and who needs to go.

As for my earlier comment on the goalies .... these changes will probably occur at year end. So nothing imminent.

For me ..... I'd like to delve into a trade with Nashville ..... Either Soros or Askarov. Toss in a dman from them ..... and add a 3rd team like LA Kings to the mix .....

Ottawa trades .... Chychrun, Korpisalo, Norris, Batherson.

Jiggling the handle a bit .... Askarov or Saros, Adrian Kempe, Fabbro or Carriere.

LA and Nashville could wrestle who gets what .... fill in with some fillers and draft picks.
- OttawaB

holy crap that is so bad that it would destroy this team for the next decade. askarov is a freaking prospect and no guarantee he will be any good, saros aint worth chych, norris, or bath 1 for 1

I believe the Sens can be a contender. But most teams need to make core strategic moves to get to their Cup compete level. Las Vegas traded for a power forward (Stone), an elite centre (Eichel) and signed a UFA #1 D (Pietrangelo). They won a Cup. Florida got to the final by trading for Tkachuk, Reinhardt and Bennett and completely transformed the compete level in their lineup.

Too many Sens fans focus on the belief that they will improve by getting rid of someone without even thinking about what they need to get in return.

Who are the players you would keep and what players would you add into this Ottawa line up in order to make the Sens a Cup finalist?
- spatso

That is a good question. Vegas was in an EXCELLENT position. They did very well from the expansion draft. Being no tax state is a huge advantage for a guy like Mark Stone to sign a 8 year deal. Same with Pietrangelo. Eichel they just got lucky and it was the perfect fit.

The Sens "CAN" be a contender but not with the way they are going right now. There has been horrible management, coaching, and overall responses to things that have been happening over the past few years.

In terms of players, the Sens would benefit from 3 of the following things (in terms of roster moves): A solid #2 center that would play behind Tim Stutzle, a right shot D-man who logs a lot of mins, defensively very responsible, and plays a lot of mins; and their goaltending can use an upgrade as well.

#2 Center: If you look at Boston Bruins, many people think of Patrice Bergeron - but David Krejci was an OUTSTANDING center. 3 trips to the cup finals (65 points in those playoff runs - that average is better than Heatley, Spezza, Alfredsson in 2007 when the Sens had their best year in the playoffs). More than anything, he was +166. in his career. I like Norris as a person but he is -25 thus far in his career. Sean Couturier, from 4-5 years ago would've been perfect. Maybe Norris+ for someone more suited for the role

RD: Thomas Chabot vs Jakob Chychrun. One of them needs to be traded or moved to the right side. That's clearly what they were trying and it failed. You can look at Colton Parayko to come in but turns 31 years old in 3 months - with 6 years left at 6.5M. If they took salary back OR took Chabot straight up, it might be worth it. I would right away sign Matt Roy from LA; I doubt DeMelo would become available but he's another guy with tons of the qualities we need. We need to take the pressure of Zub and get another guy on the right side. Sen Walker is an another great option. Not as physical but smart and good puck mover. I like Jan Rutta but not sure about age. If price is low.

Goaltending: The most fickle position. Matt Murray won 2 cups and then was traded for future considerations years later. Same with Quick. I wouldn't trade for Binnington even if the price is really low. Gibson is a good option from Anaheim but again don't like the contract. Pierre Dorion was an idiot trading away Gustavsson who is only 25! Then he says stupid things like "the leadership of Cam Talbot in the room was huge". That makes me so angry. He tries to spin stupid decisions and obvious mistakes. Dustin Wolf looks like an amazing prospect for Calgary - his size is obviously the biggest concern. Markstrom is too old and probably not worth the price long term. Therefore I would bring in a goalie like Kaapo Kahkonen for the short term (get rid of Forsberg). Then... I'm not a scout but maybe try to get someone like Henrik Tikkanen or Filip Lindberg. With goalies, it might make most sense to invest in a bunch and hope 1 turns elite. Soogard, Mandolese, Reidler there too

Seen a lot of defending these goalies owing to poor defensive structure, but personally I think neither are good or reliable. Both nearly always let in at least one soft goal every single game. That second Bedard goal should not be trickling through. The last goal was a real boneheaded move by Zub - if you're going to blindly pass the puck up the ice, make it airborne so it doesn't go straight to the stick of an attacking forward. This team top to bottom is outright terrible at any degree of consistency. Watch us go 3-0 the next three games against Tampa, Florida, and Dallas after losing to Anaheim and Chicago. It's frustrating hockey to watch.
- Bartacus

One down, two to go. Watch it happen. This team makes no furranking sense and it sucks. I don't envy Staios. Stand pat, don't trade for anything outside of picks and prospects.. this team doesn't need more treading water - it needs more things to look forward to.

Sens win and we are all pulling our hair and lamenting our frustration with this team. Many of us, especially me, believe this team is capable of doing some serious damage if they could get into the playoffs. But, how do you get a sniff of a playoff appearance losing back to back games against Anaheim and Chicago?

I am impressed with Andlauer, Staios, Poulin and Bowness. They have changed nothing from the basic team they inherited. They have watched, studied and made notes, lots of notes.

I don't think they will make many changes at the deadline.

If Claude Giroux wants to go back to the Flyers for a playoff appearance, I would make that move out of respect for the player.

I would move a Dman and bring up Kleven so he could get some ice time this year.

Does Tarasenko want a move or to stay? I would do what he wants.

Beyond that, it is hard to imagine a deal they would make that could have a significant difference for next year.

A decision to do nothing is a decision to do something.

In terms of players, the Sens would benefit from 3 of the following things (in terms of roster moves): A solid #2 center that would play behind Tim Stutzle, a right shot D-man who logs a lot of mins, defensively very responsible, and plays a lot of mins; and their goaltending can use an upgrade as well.

- AlfieisKing

Agreed. Greig can be used as a winger/center as needed.

What a frustrating team to watch.
Agreed on the point of them winning and we are still annoyed.
Had they beaten Ducks n Hawks we'd almost be .500

Play Forsberg again. No question.
Keep Hamonic off the ice.
Continue with the "no penalties ever".

the key to Ottawa being in these gams lately relates to 3rd and 4th line match ups.

Florida's 3rd and 4th lines
eetu luostarinen - anton lundel - evan rodigues
jonah gadjovich - kevin stenlund - ryan lomberg

I guess our bottom six are more known to us because they're our guys...but I've only heard of 2/6 of these guys before looking this up

It was surprising to see Joseph score on 2 separate breakaways in the same game when he seems to always put the puck straight into the goaltender. Maybe he has turned the corner in terms of being able to process the opportunity when he is going full speed. It has been a great bounce back year for him and he can be a very useful top 6/9 guy if he can continue to develop.

Sens give up 3.6 goals per game. Only San Jose and Columbus rank lower.

On the other hand, Sens score 3.4 goals per game, 10th best in the league and well ahead of multiple teams that currently have a lock on a playoff position.

It is not rocket science to figure out what needs to improve and it is more than just goaltending.

So Dr. Jekyll last night. Looked really good, except for the opening 7 mins where they had a bit of yard sale in our own zone. I like it was a chippy game and our guys pushed back but didn't take penalties.

Joseph's speed is a killer. and I can see the appeal of him right now.

True test tonight.

Agree with upgrade at RD and better goaltending will go a long way.