Kevin Francis: Sens Gameday/More injuries/Sale of team

I think you are entirely right on the bidding for the team. I expect it will come down to 2 groups almost immediatly...maybe 3. We should get some leaking of information on who remains in contention from the other guys as they begin to drop out. As a rule of thumb, the guys who are making news and talking are on the outside. The guys on the inside are in total lockdown mode...they will say nothing until a deal is done.

Pure guess on my part but I think Bettman already has the name of the guy who he wants leading the purchase and I suspect he has a huge mandate from the BOG to make sure the sale of the Sens is seen as home run for everyone.

They have done a marvellous job in handling the process so far. Remarkable how the attitudes and expectations around ownership have been reshaped in less than half a season.

https://www.danslescoulis...-actionnaire-du-canadien/ The interesting part is Andlauer could team up with Desmarais. Desmarais don t want to be major owner want something around 25%

Nice blog write up Octavarium! Take care of yourself Kevin! Sending positive vibes. Wish I was able to offer more help.

I predict a well fought game by the Sens. 4-3 OT win. When a top player like Stu goes down, it’s tough long term, but in the short term, some guys will likely step up to slow the bleeding. I think Pinto might just have that ability if given the chance. He had a hot start. Slowed down a bit and really hasn’t played with overly skilled players of late. He had some great chances in the Ducks game once lines needed to be shuffled. This team wasn’t struggling offensively, so while it sucks to see Stu out, I think the result may be close to what we have been seeing all year.

Regarding ownership, I think folks should be excited. While I agree Bruce goes overboard a lot and his numbers seem unfathomable, there should be an element of positivity towards this. When Eugene first came on, he did save this team and catapult them into legitimacy ownership-wise. The product on the ice was strong and we saw some of the best hockey this city as seen. While there was a well-documented fallout, I think new ownership can bring a similar catapult to respectability. Move this team into a perennial playoff contender and have a first class building to play in whether it’s at LeBreton, another location, or serious upgrades to the current building. It will be interesting to see if Ryan Reynolds will be significantly involved. It will create an ownership layer that really doesn’t exist in the NHL. I am not sure it would create more revenue or be best for the team, but there isn’t much downside to having a recognized and respected name involved.

The Ambrì-Piotta Hockey Club is pleased to announce the signing of forward Alex Formenton until the end of the 2022/2023 season


So, Swiss Club.

Solid blog.

I'm looking forward to getting a new owner in place before the end of the current season. My money is on Michael Andlauer considering that he is currently on the NHL board of governors. He has recently sold $90M of stock in Andlauer Health Care and will need to sell his 20% stake in the Montreal Canadiens - maybe to Desmarais.

I think you are entirely right on the bidding for the team. I expect it will come down to 2 groups almost immediatly...maybe 3. We should get some leaking of information on who remains in contention from the other guys as they begin to drop out. As a rule of thumb, the guys who are making news and talking are on the outside. The guys on the inside are in total lockdown mode...they will say nothing until a deal is done.

Pure guess on my part but I think Bettman already has the name of the guy who he wants leading the purchase and I suspect he has a huge mandate from the BOG to make sure the sale of the Sens is seen as home run for everyone.

They have done a marvellous job in handling the process so far. Remarkable how the attitudes and expectations around ownership have been reshaped in less than half a season.
- spatso

Hard to argue with your post. Great analysis.

The Ambrì-Piotta Hockey Club is pleased to announce the signing of forward Alex Formenton until the end of the 2022/2023 season


So, Swiss Club.
- david22

I was reading where Ottawa has his rights until he's 27.

https://www.danslescoulisses.com/michael-andlauer-pourrait-acheter-les-senateurs-tout-en-demeurant-actionnaire-du-canadien/ The interesting part is Andlauer could team up with Desmarais. Desmarais don t want to be major owner want something around 25%
- Crosside

Bettman said they will open it up on Jan. 1s. Going to be interesting to see who ends up being the owner. Sure sounds like Bettman wants Ryan Reynolds are part of the winning group.

Nice blog write up Octavarium! Take care of yourself Kevin! Sending positive vibes. Wish I was able to offer more help.

I predict a well fought game by the Sens. 4-3 OT win. When a top player like Stu goes down, it’s tough long term, but in the short term, some guys will likely step up to slow the bleeding. I think Pinto might just have that ability if given the chance. He had a hot start. Slowed down a bit and really hasn’t played with overly skilled players of late. He had some great chances in the Ducks game once lines needed to be shuffled. This team wasn’t struggling offensively, so while it sucks to see Stu out, I think the result may be close to what we have been seeing all year.

Regarding ownership, I think folks should be excited. While I agree Bruce goes overboard a lot and his numbers seem unfathomable, there should be an element of positivity towards this. When Eugene first came on, he did save this team and catapult them into legitimacy ownership-wise. The product on the ice was strong and we saw some of the best hockey this city as seen. While there was a well-documented fallout, I think new ownership can bring a similar catapult to respectability. Move this team into a perennial playoff contender and have a first class building to play in whether it’s at LeBreton, another location, or serious upgrades to the current building. It will be interesting to see if Ryan Reynolds will be significantly involved. It will create an ownership layer that really doesn’t exist in the NHL. I am not sure it would create more revenue or be best for the team, but there isn’t much downside to having a recognized and respected name involved.
- Gord_Wilson_2.0

Habs are pretty banged up too with Monahan, Savard, Matheson, Bryon, Gallagher and Drouin. Nice to see Jake get his first NHL game tonight.

You are so right with Melnyk and how a new building would put the Sens on another level. Good post as always.

If anyone out there can help Kevin, I know he would be grateful for it. Check out his Twitter feed. I DMed him as did many others he said, he got back to me, told me a few details. This guy is all heart and class, family guy and overall stand up person. I hope others can help him out as it took a lot for him to ask for help.

Great blog Octavarium.

OTT has more missed shot than shot on net....they need a whole day of week of drills on how to hit the dam net

I think someone set the Sens shot accuracy to the lowest setting.

Good game. DeBrincat is very effective.

Solid goaltending makes a huge difference,

Last minute of the game, up a goal and Sanderson called on to close it down. He seems to improve every game out.

Sens 7-2-1 in last 10 games.

Rangers and Islanders holding down last two playoff spots. Both on pace for 95 point seasons.

If Sens are playing .500 hockey going into January they will remain an exciting part of the conversation.

Dodged a bullet with Stutzle only having to miss a couple of games. I am expecting him to have a monster 2nd half. DeBrincat is very good. He is actually turning out to be more than I had expected. Same for Giroux.

Brady may not be best captain in NHL but he is getting close to the top tier.

OTT has more missed shot than shot on net....they need a whole day of week of drills on how to hit the dam net
- Mithos

Poor start for sure, but ended up getting the job done, thankfully.

Sens 7-2-1 in last 10 games.

Rangers and Islanders holding down last two playoff spots. Both on pace for 95 point seasons.

If Sens are playing .500 hockey going into January they will remain an exciting part of the conversation.

Dodged a bullet with Stutzle only having to miss a couple of games. I am expecting him to have a monster 2nd half. DeBrincat is very good. He is actually turning out to be more than I had expected. Same for Giroux.

Brady may not be best captain in NHL but he is getting close to the top tier.
- spatso

To think Ottawa has played that well over their last 10 games but have barely put a dent into catching teams ahead of them. That's why the poor start is just crippling long term. Let's see how they finish the month. Hoping for the best.

^^^It really is mostly over^^^

And it's unfortunate that the US Thanksgiving "marker" is an almost perfect indicator of how your season will finish. I'm happy the team is playing with some confidence. But Anaheim is a terrible hockey team, and montreal is playing pretty well-----when they have a full line up. They did not last night and they still managed to create that chaos in our end that keeps doing us in. Some lucky bounces, Talbot and some stupid penalties by Montreal helped us get the win.

The power play seems funny to me. On one hand the numbers don't lie. It's very effective right now. On the other hand...it looks disjointed and confused most of the time. It seems they just sling it around until the other team is tired and then hope something happens when they stuff it near the net.

^^^It really is mostly over^^^

And it's unfortunate that the US Thanksgiving "marker" is an almost perfect indicator of how your season will finish. I'm happy the team is playing with some confidence. But Anaheim is a terrible hockey team, and montreal is playing pretty well-----when they have a full line up. They did not last night and they still managed to create that chaos in our end that keeps doing us in. Some lucky bounces, Talbot and some stupid penalties by Montreal helped us get the win.

The power play seems funny to me. On one hand the numbers don't lie. It's very effective right now. On the other hand...it looks disjointed and confused most of the time. It seems they just sling it around until the other team is tired and then hope something happens when they stuff it near the net.
- Octavarium

17 PP Goals in their last 11 games, but they try to get too cute as they say on the PP far too much.

Sens Surging After Slow Start

https://www.tsn.ca/nhl/by...fter-slow-start-1.1893626

Very interesting assessment of young talent across the league, specifically in terms of which teams are developing a strong core nucleus of high-end talent.
https://www.tsn.ca/young-...-player-ranking-1.1893607

It's pretty remarkable that Dallas pulled all of Miro Heiskanen, Jake Oettinger, and Jason Robertson from the same draft. Had they picked the player selected immediately BEFORE each of those players, they'd have Nolan Patrick, Ryan Poehling, and Gustav Lindstrom. They pulled a similar deal back in 2015, when they picked Roope Hintz immediately after the Senators' pick Filip Chlapik in the 2nd round. Ouch.

Still, Ottawa's group is pretty strong, Stutzle/Tkachuk have the 2nd highest grade of any prospect (only Makar & Hughes are higher), Norris/Sanderson rounded out their list, and they've included Pinto, Greig, Jarventie, and Sogaard as the 'B' class prospects coming up in support. Personally, I would have had Thomson ahead of Jarventie, but they were pretty ruthless in their assessment of some prospects. Byfield checks in as a 'B', Lafreniere has already been dropped to a 'C', and Kakko didn't even make the NYR list.

Very interesting assessment of young talent across the league, specifically in terms of which teams are developing a strong core nucleus of high-end talent.
https://www.tsn.ca/young-...-player-ranking-1.1893607

It's pretty remarkable that Dallas pulled all of Miro Heiskanen, Jake Oettinger, and Jason Robertson from the same draft. Had they picked the player selected immediately BEFORE each of those players, they'd have Nolan Patrick, Ryan Poehling, and Gustav Lindstrom. They pulled a similar deal back in 2015, when they picked Roope Hintz immediately after the Senators' pick Filip Chlapik in the 2nd round. Ouch.

Still, Ottawa's group is pretty strong, Stutzle/Tkachuk have the 2nd highest grade of any prospect (only Makar & Hughes are higher), Norris/Sanderson rounded out their list, and they've included Pinto, Greig, Jarventie, and Sogaard as the 'B' class prospects coming up in support. Personally, I would have had Thomson ahead of Jarventie, but they were pretty ruthless in their assessment of some prospects. Byfield checks in as a 'B', Lafreniere has already been dropped to a 'C', and Kakko didn't even make the NYR list.
- khawk

They were talking about those rankings on Serius Hockey channel today with a New York reporter and he flat out said Lafreniere and Kakko are A class prospects but they will never achieve their potential until they get out of NY. Neither player gets any power play time.

I like Lafreniere. Perhaps he will be moved. Sens should be interested.

I like Lafreniere. Perhaps he will be moved. Sens should be interested.
- spatso

Does he play right D? That is the greatest roster need, along with a true #1 goaltender.
Ottawa has a number of high quality options on the PP so Lafreniere would likely be second unit.

Congrats to former Senators Demelo getting a goal this season!

His second goal since 22 Mar 2019! Earning that 3 million for sure!

Congrats to former Senators Demelo getting a goal this season!

His second goal since 22 Mar 2019! Earning that 3 million for sure!
- PogBoi

His job isn't to score goals.

He also hasn't been a - player since 2018-2019 and that was -1 on crappy Sens team.

He is a combined +28 since!