I have a ton to catch-up on and this is the week that I'm going to try and get back to writing daily, even if it's just something short some days. Quite frankly I'm getting tired of getting called out by Elliotte Friedman..
To get back into the swing of things, here's a discussion question for you guys to ponder:
Are the 2008-09 Senators a more hyped version of the 2006-07 Tampa Bay Lightning?
Remember that before falling to last overall last year, the Lightning came out of the lockout with two decent seasons:
2005-06: 43-33-2-4 = 92 pts, Lost in Round 1
2006-07: 44-33-3-2 = 93 pts, Lost in Round 1
In 05-06 Tampa had a second tier of scorers in Modin (31), Fedotenko (26) Prospal (25) and Craig (15 in 48 games). The Big 3 combined for 89 of 252 goals (35.3%).
The next year, the Big 3 scored 120 of 253 (47.4%). Throw in Boyle and Kuba and those five scored 61.3% of the Lightning's goals. There wasn't another forward on the team who hit the 15-goal mark. After Prospal, the next highest point total among forwards was 36 (Eric Perrin). They were still a playoff team but were way too reliant on those three guys to score.
Fast-forward to this season.
Heatley, Spezza and Alfredsson have totaled 25 of Ottawa's 52 goals (48.1%).
Foligno is next on the list with four goals, followed by Fisher and Donovan at three.
Fisher has seven points and he's the fourth-highest amongst forwards.
Vermette has 2 goals and 5 points in 22 games.
Kelly has 1 goal and 4 points in 22 games.
The three players carry a $9 million cap hit for this year AND next, and Fisher's at $4.2 mil for another three years beyond that.
So are the Sens' secondary scorers just slumping or are they the sequel of the 06-07 Lightning all over again, starring Filip Kuba?
And will Spezza follow in Brad Richards' footsteps soon?
Will be interesting to follow what's to come from the Nation's Capital..
Danny -
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