To be honest, his defensive deficiencies are blown way out of proportion. His game is very Patrick Kane like. On a line with Tavares he easily puts up 40 goal seasons. Strome wouldn't work for the Sens. He is better suited playing center, and Ottawa already has too many of those. I don't see us trading with Isles if Hoffman becomes available.
- TheCalSen

For what it's worth, Strome has played very little center with the Isles. He's been used almost exclusively as a winger. I could live with parting with Brock Nelson, too...although he has been more successful than Strome and I'm not so sure I'd be willing to toss in our 1st rounder with him.

Strome is coming off a major down year though, so I imagine his value is at an all-time low.

Anyway, thanks to the few of you for the input.

The problem I have with Strome is, again, where he would fit into the line up. He's a C / RW guy, and so his main competition for top 6 minutes would be Turris, and Zibanejad at centre or Stone and Ryan at RW. I don't really see any of those guys as mainly 3rd line players, so either Strome would be slotted into a 3rd line role with Pageau, or he would move Ryan down to 3rd line duty. I'm not sure 3rd line duty is the best utilization of Strome. Especially when it means the Sens could be left with no bonafide top 6 LW.

Strome fills a hole that isn't really needed, whereas losing Hoffman creates a GIANT hole on LW. If the Sens lose Hoffman, they will need a natural top 6 LW in return. It seems silly to let a guy guy go who fills a spot in your line up that is quite thin. Sens are thin on LW so they let their top LW walk...because they don't want to pay him for leading the team in goals scored the past two years? Because he isn't a top tier defensive player?

Drouin is a better player, no doubt, but it still would be a bad trade for ottawa. The sens are one of the highest scoring teams in the league, but have almost no depth on D. They don't need drouin.....they absolutely need ceci.
- sensarmy_11

I dont think thats a great way to look at it. I very much doubt the trade was a 1 for 1 tbh.. but I will pretend it was

The sens would never have the chance to get or draft a player like Drouin.. they just never tank enough, so if you have the chance to get one, you do it.. figure out the rest later. You can draft another Ceci with #12 this year.. yes you miss out on the years of development you have in Ceci but a good GM can find a player to fill his role if need be, I honestly think Ceci is a bit over rated by Sens fans.

So I disagree you need Elite talent like Drouin...you dont need a Ceci as much..he is much easier replaced imo

I dont think thats a great way to look at it. I very much doubt the trade was a 1 for 1 tbh.. but I will pretend it was

The sens would never have the chance to get or draft a player like Drouin.. they just never tank enough, so if you have the chance to get one, you do it.. figure out the rest later. You can draft another Ceci with #12 this year.. yes you miss out on the years of development you have in Ceci but a good GM can find a player to fill his role if need be, I honestly think Ceci is a bit over rated by Sens fans.

So I disagree you need Elite talent like Drouin...you dont need a Ceci as much..he is much easier replaced imo
- senstroll

let's not get ahead of ourselves here.....i'm still not ready to declare drouin "elite talent". so far he's been pretty good, but nowhere near elite. he's having a nice playoff run (although would like to see more goals out of him) but in the reg season he only has 40 pts in almost 100 games....harldly elite.

i'd take him on my team, no doubt, but not at the expense of creating a MASSIVE hole on our backend. you say that Ceci is easy to replace, but last time i looked there aren't a lot of teams lining up to trade 22 year old top 4 D-men.

IThe sens would never have the chance to get or draft a player like Drouin.. they just never tank enough, so if you have the chance to get one, you do it.. figure out the rest later. You can draft another Ceci with #12 this year.. yes you miss out on the years of development you have in Ceci but a good GM can find a player to fill his role if need be, I honestly think Ceci is a bit over rated by Sens fans.
- senstroll

You talk like it is a sure thing that you draft a Dman 12th overall and he turns into a top 4 pairing guy.

So I disagree you need Elite talent like Drouin...you dont need a Ceci as much..he is much easier replaced imo
- senstroll

Drouin has potential to be an elite talent. He is having a good playoffs right now, but has struggled through the past 2 regular seasons. Let's not pretend there is no risk here.

let's not get ahead of ourselves here.....i'm still not ready to declare drouin "elite talent". so far he's been pretty good, but nowhere near elite. he's having a nice playoff run (although would like to see more goals out of him) but in the reg season he only has 40 pts in almost 100 games....harldly elite.

i'd take him on my team, no doubt, but not at the expense of creating a MASSIVE hole on our backend. you say that Ceci is easy to replace, but last time i looked there aren't a lot of teams lining up to trade 22 year old top 4 D-men.
- sensarmy_11

There is no doubt he has high end Skill..not many players score 2+ ppg in jr
Until the playoffs he was not given the opportunity.. as we saw with this trade request.

I also think Cameron was not a very good coach..and the sens might not be as bad defensivley as you think..based on his comments he sounded a lot like Carlyle.. more old school ..out dated system.. I hope im wrong though and the sens are terrible

There is no doubt he has high end Skill..not many players score 2+ ppg in jr
Until the playoffs he was not given the opportunity.. as we saw with this trade request.

I also think Cameron was not a very good coach..and the sens might not be as bad defensivley as you think..based on his comments he sounded a lot like Carlyle.. more old school ..out dated system.. I hope im wrong though and the sens are terrible

- senstroll

i think cameron's system had a lot to do with ottawa's defensive woes....that being said, if you take ceci out of that lineup, the "best" player you have to step into that top 4 role is probably..........i'm not even sure.........wideman? claesson?

no matter who it is you can guarantee that they are nowhere near to being an actual top 4 d-man. ottawa has ZERO depth on D, when discussing guys who are actually NHL ready right now.

i have no doubt that drouin has high skill.....that being said ottawa already has ryan, stone, and hoffman.....all of whom i think are currently better players (not to say drouin won't develop into a better player, but he isn't right now). ottawa doesn't NEED drouin, but they absolutely NEED ceci.

obviously the value is there, drouin is probably worth more than ceci....but from an organizational point of view, that deal makes no sense for ottawa.

it would be like edmonton trading nurse (arguably their only good d-man) to acquire drouin.....makes ZERO sense, even though in terms of value the oilers are porbably coming out on top.

The rumor was the Bolts asked for Ceci in a trade for Drouin and Ottawa said no.
- spatso

Come on...

The rumor was Ceci, White/Chabot, and our 1st for Drouin.

Massive overpayment. Even if it was player for player I still think it would weaken the team. Moving Ceci leaves another huge hold on the backend.

Don't trade 22 year old quality D man

I dont think thats a great way to look at it. I very much doubt the trade was a 1 for 1 tbh.. but I will pretend it was

The sens would never have the chance to get or draft a player like Drouin.. they just never tank enough, so if you have the chance to get one, you do it.. figure out the rest later. You can draft another Ceci with #12 this year.. yes you miss out on the years of development you have in Ceci but a good GM can find a player to fill his role if need be, I honestly think Ceci is a bit over rated by Sens fans.

So I disagree you need Elite talent like Drouin...you dont need a Ceci as much..he is much easier replaced imo
- senstroll

Funny I think Leaf fans do the same for Rielly

That being said...would you do Rielly for Drouin straight up cause similar to Ottawa, Toronto's back end is pretty thin.

Always need guys who can consistently put pucks in the net but its just important imo to have 4 quality D man or you will get lit up on a nightly basis.

Funny I think Leaf fans do the same for Rielly

That being said...would you do Rielly for Drouin straight up cause similar to Ottawa, Toronto's back end is pretty thin.

Always need guys who can consistently put pucks in the net but its just important imo to have 4 quality D man or you will get lit up on a nightly basis.
- SENS 613

Little different as Rielly is the leafs best dman while Ceci is like the third or fourth on Ottawa plus Rielly is better

Funny I think Leaf fans do the same for Rielly

That being said...would you do Rielly for Drouin straight up cause similar to Ottawa, Toronto's back end is pretty thin.

Always need guys who can consistently put pucks in the net but its just important imo to have 4 quality D man or you will get lit up on a nightly basis.
- SENS 613

Little different as Rielly is the leafs best dman while Ceci is like the third or fourth on Ottawa plus Rielly is better

Come on...

The rumor was Ceci, White/Chabot, and our 1st for Drouin.

Massive overpayment. Even if it was player for player I still think it would weaken the team. Moving Ceci leaves another huge hold on the backend.

Don't trade 22 year old quality D man
- SENS 613

Thats a whole different thing

Funny I think Leaf fans do the same for Rielly

That being said...would you do Rielly for Drouin straight up cause similar to Ottawa, Toronto's back end is pretty thin.

Always need guys who can consistently put pucks in the net but its just important imo to have 4 quality D man or you will get lit up on a nightly basis.
- SENS 613

I agree Leaf fans do the same with Rielly.. but I get why, he was basically the only bright spot in the Burke/Nonis abomination.. all Fans had to show hope.. thats all changed now.

If the Leafs had more than Just Rielly/Gardiner I would trade him for Drouin....Leafs dont have a Karlsson.

But also knowing the Leafs have Nylander, Marner, Matthews/Laine and possibly Stamkos on the way.. I would keep Rielly

I agree Leaf fans do the same with Rielly.. but I get why, he was basically the only bright spot in the Burke/Nonis abomination.. all Fans had to show hope.. thats all changed now.

If the Leafs had more than Just Rielly/Gardiner I would trade him for Drouin....Leafs dont have a Karlsson.

But also knowing the Leafs have Nylander, Marner, Matthews/Laine and possibly Stamkos on the way.. I would keep Rielly
- senstroll

that's what i'm saying about ottawa too.....we already have lots of good forwards who are 25 or less, plus a couple more coming up through the system. in terms of D, we basically have chabot coming up and that's it. perhaps none of our guys are as good as drouin COULD be, but it's unlikely that he'll be so much better as to justify the massive roster hole we'd be creating in acquiring him.

that's what i'm saying about ottawa too.....we already have lots of good forwards who are 25 or less, plus a couple more coming up through the system. in terms of D, we basically have chabot coming up and that's it. perhaps none of our guys are as good as drouin COULD be, but it's unlikely that he'll be so much better as to justify the massive roster hole we'd be creating in acquiring him.
- sensarmy_11

We could always move Phaneuf to the right side where he played for years. Chabot and Englund are left defencemen and will arrive in 1-2 years.
If it was Ceci for Drouin straight up, you have to trade for Drouin.

We could always move Phaneuf to the right side where he played for years. Chabot and Englund are left defencemen and will arrive in 1-2 years.
If it was Ceci for Drouin straight up, you have to trade for Drouin.
- SensFan25

those 1-2 years are critical........we can't roll with only 3 guaranteed NHL calibre d-men for 3 years.

that's what i'm saying about ottawa too.....we already have lots of good forwards who are 25 or less, plus a couple more coming up through the system. in terms of D, we basically have chabot coming up and that's it. perhaps none of our guys are as good as drouin COULD be, but it's unlikely that he'll be so much better as to justify the massive roster hole we'd be creating in acquiring him.
- sensarmy_11

I would include Englund as an inclusion to that list. He will almost certainly be a solid NHL Dman. I don't think he ceiling is particularly high though. He may be an average #2LD or a good #3LD. I definitely agree that a lot rides on Chabot right now.

Both are 1-2 years away from playing as regular NHLers. If Ottawa loses one of their key Dmen THIS YEAR things could be a bit of a disaster. I don't think moving Phaneuf over to his off side again is a good idea. Sure, he played over there for a while. But that was some of his worst defensive hockey as well.

Sens don't currently have the means to move Ceci right now...or for the next while. Things are okay when they ice a healthy set of D now, in my opinion, however it is one injury away from being a disaster. Things are SO thin back there.

those 1-2 years are critical........we can't roll with only 3 guaranteed NHL calibre d-men for 3 years.
- sensarmy_11

3 years ??
It is easier to get a second pairing defenceman that a potential elite scoring forward that hasn't even yet hit his prime.
While I am hoping for big things from Dorion I have no expectations of a Stanley Cup contender this year. That is why I would prefer to add Drouin...

The rumor was the Bolts asked for Ceci in a trade for Drouin and Ottawa said no.
- spatso

ouch, that's pretty stupid of them.

Now that we are past the Hungary, France, Germany type teams in the tournament, it looks like they're done giving their top lines a rest, and players like Ceci and Mathieson can assume their bottom pairing spots again. With the bigger games on the line, time to let the top lines take over.

Not a good look by Team Canada today. There were a couple of lines out there that got really outmatched, and despite getting limited ice, still gave up goals in that limited ice. I guess you can only play your top players so much, and with guys like Ellis, and Rielly, who led all players on Team Canada by over 3 minutes (no goals against), they're forced to use the rest of their roster, even if it's only something like 15 minutes of ice.

Not a good look by Team Canada today. There were a couple of lines out there that got really outmatched, and despite getting limited ice, still gave up goals in that limited ice. I guess you can only play your top players so much, and with guys like Ellis, and Rielly, who led all players on Team Canada by over 3 minutes (no goals against), they're forced to use the rest of their roster, even if it's only something like 15 minutes of ice.
- prock

118 seconds isn't 3 minutes. It's not even 2. ( 21:35 for Reilly - 19:37 for Murray )

Domi sat for the entire 3rd. He was a minus 2 in 3:38 of ice time. Rough night.

A lot of momentum sapped by so many penalties.

Need a better game from Talbot.