Trevor Shackles: Five Negative Developments This Season Five reasons to be pessimistic about the 2018-19 season

All solid comments except for the irrational Ceci disorder that seems to have set in with some commentators.

Hey guys! Give your head a shake. Ceci's presence or absence does not account in any way for what the Sens failed to achieve. Had Ceci never played a game this entire past season, probably outcomes would have been comparable to the actual final results.

I hate having to defend Ceci but the kind of cyber bullying we are seeing now is beginning to appear overtly irrational. You need to ask yourself about your own motives when continuous disproportionate attention is given to peripheral conclusions.

So many failures this year and, yet, Ceci still ranks as the #2 disappointment on the failure list. We are obviously struggling with a severe case of Cody Ceci Derangement Syndrome (CCDS). Even pro athletes should not be subjected to this kind of hatred. Stop.

Let Ceci walk and sign Karlsson?

One can hope

I'm a Leaf fan, have been one my whole life, but I was living in Ottawa when the Sens came back. I know its a strange combination but I consider them my second favorite team. Hope they do well in a rebuild to restart the Battle of Ontario. Maybe I'll get to hate them a little more again then. :-)

I'll be following them closely during this rebuild. Hoping for the best. I already love Brady T. Great young player. Obviously, Management is a huge problem for the team. Ownership reminds me of the Ballard Days.


Keep the faith Sen fans.

So many failures this year and, yet, Ceci still ranks as the #2 disappointment on the failure list. We are obviously struggling with a severe case of Cody Ceci Derangement Syndrome (CCDS).
- spatso

Not having him in the lineup would've changed little, if anything.

But giving top coin and tons of ice-time to what is at best an barely-average D-man makes little to no sense. I'd be happy with him if he was making $2M/year and half the time on the ice he was getting this season.

Not having him in the lineup would've changed little, if anything.

But giving top coin and tons of ice-time to what is at best an barely-average D-man makes little to no sense. I'd be happy with him if he was making $2M/year and half the time on the ice he was getting this season.
- Panzer_IVA

when Cody Ceci is your #2 dman in terms of ice-time, and he's demonstrated that he's, AT BEST, a fringe 6-7 dman.....and the team is considering signing him long term to big dollars.........that's a HUGE (frank)ING PROBLEM.

if anyone is suffering from CCDS, it's definitely Spatso.....however I'd rename it Cody Cedi Delusional Syndrome, as Spats is clearly delusional when it comes to Ceci

Not having him in the lineup would've changed little, if anything.

But giving top coin and tons of ice-time to what is at best an barely-average D-man makes little to no sense. I'd be happy with him if he was making $2M/year and half the time on the ice he was getting this season.
- Panzer_IVA

this....100% this

I'm fine with Ceci if he makes Harpur/Boro type money and is welded to the bottom pair, playing 10 mins a night against bottom six players. no issues with that at all.

he is completely incapable of play in the top 4 against top six forwards. there is no way to sugar coat it, he's just flat out not good enough of a hockey player to be in that role.

when Cody Ceci is your #2 dman in terms of ice-time, and he's demonstrated that he's, AT BEST, a fringe 6-7 dman.....and the team is considering signing him long term to big dollars.........that's a HUGE (frank)ING PROBLEM.

if anyone is suffering from CCDS, it's definitely Spatso.....however I'd rename it Cody Cedi Delusional Syndrome, as Spats is clearly delusional when it comes to Ceci
- sensarmy_11

I agree with Spatso that Ceci being a top failure is odd considering all the failures that went down. You are not incorrect that having a d-man of Ceci’s quality having high ice time is a mess, but there is next to nothing else you can do with the group that is there, especially with a right handed shot d-man.

People piling on Ceci are not necessarily wrong but when they insinuate that there are other viable options to turn to (complaining about ice time), it’s a pretty ridiculous narrative.

What else what this team supposed to do all year with the group? Ceci is a 5/6 D-man on a team of 5/6/7 d-men (outside of Chabot, offensively).


The franchise and roster are a mess. Throwing Ceci to the dogs is silly considering.

If he is brought back, long term, then that deserves to be piled on. All speculation at this point. I’ve heard just as many rumours to him being dealt at the draft as I have him signing.

I feel Stone and Duchene should have been included together as a failure. While Stone has been here longer and had captain written all over him, Duchene was just as valuable for a rebuild. Both pretty much the same age and should still be in their prime in the next 5 years or so. Too much emphasis was put on “the trade” which overshadowed Duchene’s contributions.

Trading a franchise d-man, a franchise winger, and solid #1 centre all in their prime, within a year is inexcusable and makes the franchise look like a laughing stock.

Watching the playoffs is painful with the amount of former Sens making huge impacts for their teams. Talent retention for this franchise is ridiculous and scary going forward. It stems from Melnyk.

I agree with Spatso that Ceci being a top failure is odd considering all the failures that went down. You are not incorrect that having a d-man of Ceci’s quality having high ice time is a mess, but there is next to nothing else you can do with the group that is there, especially with a right handed shot d-man.

People piling on Ceci are not necessarily wrong but when they insinuate that there are other viable options to turn to (complaining about ice time), it’s a pretty ridiculous narrative.

What else what this team supposed to do all year with the group? Ceci is a 5/6 D-man on a team of 5/6/7 d-men (outside of Chabot, offensively).


The franchise and roster are a mess. Throwing Ceci to the dogs is silly considering.

If he is brought back, long term, then that deserves to be piled on. All speculation at this point. I’ve heard just as many rumours to him being dealt at the draft as I have him signing.
- Gord_Wilson_2.0

I don't think the failure he's talking about in the blog is Ceci's on-ice failure....I think the failure is the team not seizing the opportunity to get away from Ceci when it was presented to them....and further than that, stating that he's part of the future of this team.

I agree with Trevor in that sense, the fact that this team is still employing Cody Ceci, and that they see him as a core piece for the future speaks volumes to the incompetence of this front office.

I don't think the failure he's talking about in the blog is Ceci's on-ice failure....I think the failure is the team not seizing the opportunity to get away from Ceci when it was presented to them....and further than that, stating that he's part of the future of this team.

I agree with Trevor in that sense, the fact that this team is still employing Cody Ceci, and that they see him as a core piece for the future speaks volumes to the incompetence of this front office.
- sensarmy_11

All speculation, though.

Sure, maybe not trading Ceci for peanuts at the deadline isn’t ideal and perhaps a failure, but guys like Smith, Andy, Pag, etc who also really have no place on this team either were not traded.

Saying Ceci it’s a failure that Ceci is part of the future of this team is premature when no contract is in place. Speculation at this point. Could very well happen.

You mention the incompetence of the front office. That’s the failure. Sort of indicated when talking about the front office, but that was more regarding the search of a president.

This team has so many former Sens thriving elsewhere after moving on. It’s crazy. You could ice a legit team with the players they have traded away within the last 5 years. That’s brutal.

Look my point has been well taken up by the faithful. Presumably this was supposed to be a discussion of Senss failings this past year. And, as usual, it is a discussion about Ceci. Let it go guys. Ceci is simply not that important to what ishappening.

Some people have decided to make him a symbol for failure. At the same time we all know if he walks away nothing changes. The mere fact we turn into a bunch of whiners over Ceci says more about us than it does about Ceci.

Just 5?

There is a lot to point to for blame for Ottawa's crash.

Could be Bryan Murray not going all in on the rebuild years ago when Alfredsson would have been around to guide the youngsters and when McDavid was the top prize.

Could be hiring Guy Boucher who had a history of tanking after his initial season.

Could be trading away Zibanejad.

Could be Trading Lehner and Bishop away.

Could be Keeping Ceci over Methot in the entry draft.

Could be the fact that Karlsson will probably never be as good as he was prior to the Conference Finals ever again.

Could be literally every single trade this team has made since the Hossa-Heatley Deal.

One thing for sure is that this team has had absolutely spectacular drafting and absolutely miserable asset management post draft.

It almost is like if this team simply made almost no trades except the Duchene deal (because let's face it Duchene was magnificent with the Senators.) and it would have been a dominant team.

But smart management and smart coaching requires money and we are a team with an owner that has none of that.

The biggest disappointment for Sens fans every year is that we still have Melnyk as the sole owner of the team. All problems with the team stem from the fact that it has no money.

[quote=TDBSenatoR]

I find it incredible that the organization has not hired a front office hockey ops. person from outside the Org. since 2007.

All speculation, though.

Sure, maybe not trading Ceci for peanuts at the deadline isn’t ideal and perhaps a failure, but guys like Smith, Andy, Pag, etc who also really have no place on this team either were not traded.

Saying Ceci it’s a failure that Ceci is part of the future of this team is premature when no contract is in place. Speculation at this point. Could very well happen.

You mention the incompetence of the front office. That’s the failure. Sort of indicated when talking about the front office, but that was more regarding the search of a president.

This team has so many former Sens thriving elsewhere after moving on. It’s crazy. You could ice a legit team with the players they have traded away within the last 5 years. That’s brutal.
- Gord_Wilson_2.0

is it speculation....sure

but is it speculation based on this team having a history of making idiotic decisions, especially with this player.......absolutely

as for pag, smith, andy....not the same situation. ceci has been cast as a 20-25 min/game, top 4 shut down dman....he's getting huge minutes against top players.

smith is a 4th line guy, doesn't help but doesn't hurt either. pageau is a 3rd line guy, and actually provides value to the team. andy, not much you can do there. they signed him when he was still playing great, now he's regressed and has an unmovable contract

Look my point has been well taken up by the faithful. Presumably this was supposed to be a discussion of Senss failings this past year. And, as usual, it is a discussion about Ceci. Let it go guys. Ceci is simply not that important to what ishappening.

Some people have decided to make him a symbol for failure. At the same time we all know if he walks away nothing changes. The mere fact we turn into a bunch of whiners over Ceci says more about us than it does about Ceci.
- spatso

not true at all....losing ceci is addition by subtraction. his position and minutes will be given a dman who is far more competent than he is (be it Wolanin, Brannstrom, lajoie, etc).

will it be the difference that makes this team a contender.....obviously not....but this team will absolutely be better defensively without Ceci in the lineup

I find it incredible that the organization has not hired a front office hockey ops. person from outside the Org. since 2007.
- BINGO!

really? I actually find it pretty much par for the course with this team, given who the dumbass is signing the cheques

This could easily be a top 10 list

Look my point has been well taken up by the faithful. Presumably this was supposed to be a discussion of Senss failings this past year. And, as usual, it is a discussion about Ceci. Let it go guys. Ceci is simply not that important to what is happening.
- spatso

Well, you did bring up Ceci as a lone topic in this thread's #2 post. The author (Trevor) had only brought him up as one of five main reasons.

Yes, I completely agree that one lone player isn't responsible for the Sens' predicament right now. If we are to choose one single individual or reason, Melnyk takes that prize, no contest.

As for the other factors that lead us to failure, others earlier have brought some up, to which I'd like to add goaltending and SoGs. Andie's a good guy and works hard, but he's past his prime and is facing an insane amount of shots every night he goes up there. We need to reduce the SoGs big time, and we have to start looking at a legit #1 replacement.

All solid comments except for the irrational Ceci disorder that seems to have set in with some commentators.

Hey guys! Give your head a shake. Ceci's presence or absence does not account in any way for what the Sens failed to achieve. Had Ceci never played a game this entire past season, probably outcomes would have been comparable to the actual final results.

I hate having to defend Ceci but the kind of cyber bullying we are seeing now is beginning to appear overtly irrational. You need to ask yourself about your own motives when continuous disproportionate attention is given to peripheral conclusions.

So many failures this year and, yet, Ceci still ranks as the #2 disappointment on the failure list. We are obviously struggling with a severe case of Cody Ceci Derangement Syndrome (CCDS). Even pro athletes should not be subjected to this kind of hatred. Stop.
- spatso

I wasn't ranking them, it was just a randomized list. As for "bullying" him, it would be bullying if I said he was an idiot who I hate. Instead, I said he isn't good enough and that he is going to be vastly overpaid. We're allowed to criticize athletes who aren't good enough. And a contract extension is going to be a sign that Dorion doesn't know what he is doing, which is a cause for concern. Is Ceci the biggest reason why Ottawa is bad? No, but he is emblematic of many problems in the organization as it pertains to analyzing players

Reminder to everyone that this is about negative *developments* this season, so something like "Melnyk being cheap" can't be included because that didn't change since October. There are plenty of negative things in general, but the list of negative developments isn't actually insanely long.

is it speculation....sure

but is it speculation based on this team having a history of making idiotic decisions, especially with this player.......absolutely

as for pag, smith, andy....not the same situation. ceci has been cast as a 20-25 min/game, top 4 shut down dman....he's getting huge minutes against top players.

smith is a 4th line guy, doesn't help but doesn't hurt either. pageau is a 3rd line guy, and actually provides value to the team. andy, not much you can do there. they signed him when he was still playing great, now he's regressed and has an unmovable contract
- sensarmy_11

But if it’s not a fact, can’t really be a fail, can it? Just because Condon was signed to a bad deal, doesn’t necessarily mean Ceci will. It certainly can, but it hasn’t happened yet……

not true at all....losing ceci is addition by subtraction. his position and minutes will be given a dman who is far more competent than he is (be it Wolanin, Brannstrom, lajoie, etc).

will it be the difference that makes this team a contender.....obviously not....but this team will absolutely be better defensively without Ceci in the lineup
- sensarmy_11

All those guys are lefthanded shots. Part of the reason Ceci played so much was because this team is so poor on the right-hand side on D. This isn’t a video game.

With the current group, there will be next to no difference with the outcome on D if Ceci was removed. I know you love you pile on Ceci, but unless there is a Brent Burns coming up the ranks on the right-side D, the improvement with Ceci gone will be minimal.

Please know that I agree Ceci is terrible and actually think he’s close to becoming not even NHL quality. I just don’t fully understand how removing him and having low ceiling guys playing on their off side will improve anything. More reinforcement is required from the outside (free agents, trades, strong drafts). This is a long term project.

But if it’s not a fact, can’t really be a fail, can it? Just because Condon was signed to a bad deal, doesn’t necessarily mean Ceci will. It certainly can, but it hasn’t happened yet……
- Gord_Wilson_2.0

if they sign him to a deal period, it will be a bad deal. Since he's an RFA, he needs to be qualified at least with the same amount he made this past year (maybe even a little more), which was already more than double what he deserves.

the ONLY way this isn't a disaster for the Sens is if they trade him (for anything) or let him walk away without qualifying him.