Trending Downwards
With last week’s trade of Andrej Meszaros, a young and talented defenseman that the Ottawa Senators had invested time and energy into developing, you can only begin to wonder if this is the beginning of a downward trend for the Sens. While the return in the trade (Filip Kuba, Alexandre Picard, and a 1st round pick) is solid, it feels very much like this is a team that was close but couldn’t get over the hump and is now starting to slide the opposite direction.
The strength of Ottawa in recent years has been the trio of Spezza-Heatley-Alfredsson. Outside of this line, the Sens have had a difficult time finding consistent secondary scoring. This issue remains unresolved this year, with Mike Fisher and Antoine Vermette returning to Ottawa’s second line this year with a mystery right winger (Nick Foligno?) and a distinct lack of scoring from their checking lines. This has been a problem for years, but still remains. What the fuck? I know being a GM is difficult, but trying to improve every year while doing nothing to address a glaring weakness is ridiculous.
The blueline has seen a massive exodus of talent the last few years, with Zdeno Chara, Joe Corvo, Wade Redden, and now Meszaros hitting the exit door. Jason Smith is a rugged leader, but his body has more mileage than a retired porn star. Who is going to play the point on the power play? Or move the puck to the forwards? I’ve seen a full season of a team that couldn’t pass the puck from the blueline when I shuddered through the abomination that was the 2006-07 Edmonton Oilers. It is bag-of-smashed-assholes ugly, and as a result I had way too much time to help my wife plan our wedding; when you start caring about the color of table clothes, you know your team is fucking terrible.
With the rest of the division (with the exception of the absolutely shitacular Toronto Maple Leafs) getting better in the offseason, the Senators roster being arguably less talented than last year (I can’t even describe how shitty their goaltending is), and the team dealing with the unpredictable element of a new coach (Craig Hartsburg) that has a) had two prior disappointing NHL coaching stints; and b) preaches “accountability” (sports code for being a dick) Senators fans will be in for a frustrating, and I believe, playoff-free season.
JB
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4 comments:
While losing Meszaros will smart in the short term, shifting him to TB was the best of a bad situation. Mesz has been guilty of "Trending Downwards" ... although admittedly that decline has followed the team's waning fortunes. Now the thing is that TB was reportedly set to offer Mesz an offer sheet the Sens would not be able to afford, which would have hurt both squads:
-- TB would have lost their picks in the 1st, 2nd and 3rd rounds to Ottawa in compensation
-- OTT would get nothing on in return for an already reeling blueline.
The trade, though, enabled TB to avoid selling the farm and Ottawa acquired both immediate and long term returns. (I really like that Picard kid, by the way.)
Sadly, the Senators ARE in transition, each year unable to hang on to appreciating assets that almost got them to Lord Stanley's mug. The 2008-2009 season could be a rollercoaster with questions in net, on the blueline and with secondary scoring. But at the trade deadline, if the Canuckleheads are stinking up the joint and the Sens are in the thick of things, we might learn that the rumour mill concerning a Luongo-Spezza deal might just have legs ... although I have my doubts.
Cheers,
jm
Well JM, I agree with you wholeheartedly on the fact that Ottawa made the best of a bad situation. I hope their blueline dilemma can be solved internally, as it appears Brian Murray is done adjusting the roster for now. As far as the Lunongo-Spezza fantasy league megatrade that has been speculated for months... it would definitely be a better return for Luuongo than the cursed Bertuzzi deal. Or the deal that sent Lunogo to Florida. Man, GMs are seriously dumb sometimes.
JB
Ah yes Bertuzzi ... or as I like to call him: "bert-goon-zi". He and Mike Keenan are well suited for each other. jm
Yes they are. They can join a support group for overrated "victims" whose ultimate lack of success should be blamed on others or uncontrollable circumstances.
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