Just another failure from a fancy stat perspective.

I tend not to read Tanner and most of the people who want to create false proxies rather than use the scoreboard as a measure of success. This year all the higher CF% teams are being taken apart on the scoreboard. Tanner appears to be holding his breathe and saying it is not true. Scoring more goals and defence actually matters. It did in the regular season and it appears to be giving us the same result in the playoffs. This is my favourite fancy stat choker writhing through his numbers trying to justify an entire year of Tanner like nonsense.

"I meant every word I said all season. Ottawa was a bad team getting some breaks. Was. This is a very different group than the one that won games inexplicably in the first half of the season. Their bottom six was atrocious, but adding Alex Burrows, Viktor Stalberg, and Tommy Wingels has pushed some very bad players out of the lineup. Then there’s the Clarke MacArthur factor. That’s a big time addition right before the playoffs that very few models can account for. He’s a good player that’s already scored some big time goals these playoffs.
All those depth additions add up and they’ve suddenly got four actually capable lines. They’re led by Mark Stone and Mike Hoffman up front, two very talented and underrated wingers who I believe could arguably be the best forwards on the Rangers. Combine that with the fact they have the league’s best defenseman on the backend and Craig Anderson playing his best hockey in years – suddenly it doesn’t seem all that crazy for Ottawa to win. This current iteration is a slightly above average hockey club, and that could be enough to take down New York."

The Ottawa Senators. The team that saw the mess the Leafs were in and said "Hey give us Phaneuf's contract," and the same team that every sane person thought would be 29th or 30th - due to their bad roster, bad contracts and terrible GM. 

Oh Tanner. You are so transparent. Using a pro-Boucher post as yet another reason to bash the Sens.

You are the only person who predicted Ottawa to finish in the bottom five. All the other real analysts had them as a bubble playoff team. I guess that makes you the only 'sane' hockey fan huh? Everyone else who were closer to being correct about them are insane, right?

We get it. You're a Leafs homer. You hate all things Senators. Blah, blah, blah.

Firstly, let me thank you for taking Dion Phaneuf off our hands.
Second, an Ottawa Senators fan chirping Leafs management ? If i'm a small market team , who never spends, and, i'm paying close to 13 million for Phaneuf and Ryan.
That's fantastic management there i'll tell ya.
Lastly, sell some tickets . Don't tell me it's because of the rink location, or the price. You guys sold out when you were an entertaining team. Your team plays the most boring style of hockey as you are littered with 3rd and 4th liners.
Get over the " little brother complex ".

Who's chirping Leafs' management? I think the Leafs have done a fine job building a team but this isn't about the Leafs.

Seems to me like everyone is chirping Tanner and his amazing predictions. His blogs that mention the Sens are troll blogs and nothing more.

It's not about any sort of inferiority complex. Any reasonable Sens fan knows we have made some terrible moves and some good moves. Any reasonable Sens fan knows our owner is a cheapskate. This isn't news.

At any rate, his post wasn't about any of these things. It's about the Sens having a terrible roster and being the most boring team in the league. Same old garbage we have heard over and over.

Who's chirping Leafs' management? I think the Leafs have done a fine job building a team but this isn't about the Leafs.

Seems to me like everyone is chirping Tanner and his amazing predictions. His blogs that mention the Sens are troll blogs and nothing more.

It's not about any sort of inferiority complex. Any reasonable Sens fan knows we have made some terrible moves and some good moves. Any reasonable Sens fan knows our owner is a cheapskate. This isn't news.

At any rate, his post wasn't about any of these things. It's about the Sens having a terrible roster and being the most boring team in the league. Same old garbage we have heard over and over.
- Charliebox

We have one of the most exciting players in the game. I've been a sens fan for 21 years and thus is my favourite team to watch that we have ever had. It might be boring hockey for opposing fans but when karlsson explodes and creates the magic he does its exciting hockey.

Say what you will about the team, but the Sens were able to turn over their entire roster (minus healthy scratch Chris Neil) from their contending years without missing the playoffs in two consecutive years.....all while being a budget team.

Other than Detroit and Boston, what other teams have been able to pull that off in the past two decades?

If you are going to rip them for the bad moves (Ryan/Dion), you have to at least acknowledge the good moves and draft picks they have made.

Firstly, let me thank you for taking Dion Phaneuf off our hands.
Second, an Ottawa Senators fan chirping Leafs management ? If i'm a small market team , who never spends, and, i'm paying close to 13 million for Phaneuf and Ryan.
That's fantastic management there i'll tell ya.
Lastly, sell some tickets . Don't tell me it's because of the rink location, or the price. You guys sold out when you were an entertaining team. Your team plays the most boring style of hockey as you are littered with 3rd and 4th liners.
Get over the " little brother complex ".
- jcfogerty

Price tag aside Phaneuf has been solid for us and a warrior so far in the playoffs. The leafs team he played on was garbage and that wasn't his fault.

I never said he was a baD guy either tanner.. Enough of your comments about "alternative right weirdos" . you are such an arse
- rrentz

I know I was talking to Tanner. Look at my quote.

Nope Torts is a huge ass. Sorry, but I am better. You be better.
- James_Tanner

You're factually wrong.
http://www.tortorellafoundation.org/

Jackass.

Boucher has done a great job in Ottawa, but at the same time this is a team that hasn't finished with fewer than 85pts or missed the playoffs by more than a couple of spots since the last lockout. They've not only made the playoffs in 3 of the past 5 years, but done it under 3 different coaches in that span, and managed to win their first round series in 2 of those years - while also successfully transitioning from a team led primarily by Alfredsson, Spezza, and Phillips to a team led primarily by Karlsson, Turris, and Phaneuf. To suggest they are somehow bottom-dwellers is just incorrect.

Crap all over them if you want with half-baked statistics, but this is a team built on solid drafting, team resiliency, and giving players a second chance to be successful in the NHL (eg. Anderson, Methot, Turris, MacArthur, Phaneuf). They've easily been one of the most successful small-market teams in the NHL over the past 20 years, and continue to find ways of making pundits and supposed experts look foolish.

I don't know if it was arrogance on the Sabres part to ask for permission to interview a GM who's only been in his job for one year and had zero expectations on him other than "don't (frank) up". Or just utter cluelessness that they'd actually be granted permission to poach him away from the Coyotes because of the aforementioned reasons.

I'd rather have Larry whatshisname that, frankly, sounds made up; over Maloney or Foote or Guerin or Burke.

Price tag aside Phaneuf has been solid for us and a warrior so far in the playoffs. The leafs team he played on was garbage and that wasn't his fault.
- forbetterorWORSE

The net price tag for Phaneuf is actually far less than many people realize, because you have to account for the ~$12M of dead-weight contracts that the Leafs were forced to eat upfront in that trade. The functional net price works out to roughly $4.5M/yr for a veteran defenceman who this year had over 23min/gp of ice time, played more games than anyone else on the blue line, scored 30 points, wore an 'A' for the team, and stabilized the team's second pairing. In terms of meaningful assets, the Senators gave up nothing but Tobias Lindberg and a 2nd round pick. In terms of relative value, consider that the Leafs got a pair of 2nd round picks for Roman Polak and Nick Spaling.

I understand how important it was for the Leafs to free up long-term cap space, but the Senators have gotten significant benefit from that trade as well.

Thanks Tanner for saying how 'bad' the Sens are so you can be wrong yet again!
Great game by Henrik, the only reason the game was close!

Never change James. Same garbage.

Boucher should have the consideration but the roster is better than 29th or 30th. Our depth is quite decent. C'mon Tanner.

And the fact that Phaneuf has a terrible contract doesn't mean he isn't a 3-4 Dman. EK + Methot is one of the best pairs in hockey because of EK. Phaneuf and Ceci are decent as 3 and 4. No one cares about nr 5 and 6 when the big guys are logging so many minutes.

Rosters which are worse: Arizona, Buffalo, Colorado, Dallas, Detroit, New Jersey, Vancouver. Please tell me how 6 of 7 of these teams have a better roster than Ottawa so we all can have a laugh.
- DutchSenators

Just as I expected, no response to my last question because you can't.

I agree that guy should of been their and torts isn't bad! An asshoo yes! But ottawas coach did a hell of a job! Good luck with the rest of the way

Just another failure from a fancy stat perspective.

I tend not to read Tanner and most of the people who want to create false proxies rather than use the scoreboard as a measure of success. This year all the higher CF% teams are being taken apart on the scoreboard. Tanner appears to be holding his breathe and saying it is not true. Scoring more goals and defence actually matters. It did in the regular season and it appears to be giving us the same result in the playoffs. This is my favourite fancy stat choker writhing through his numbers trying to justify an entire year of Tanner like nonsense.

"I meant every word I said all season. Ottawa was a bad team getting some breaks. Was. This is a very different group than the one that won games inexplicably in the first half of the season. Their bottom six was atrocious, but adding Alex Burrows, Viktor Stalberg, and Tommy Wingels has pushed some very bad players out of the lineup. Then there’s the Clarke MacArthur factor. That’s a big time addition right before the playoffs that very few models can account for. He’s a good player that’s already scored some big time goals these playoffs.
All those depth additions add up and they’ve suddenly got four actually capable lines. They’re led by Mark Stone and Mike Hoffman up front, two very talented and underrated wingers who I believe could arguably be the best forwards on the Rangers. Combine that with the fact they have the league’s best defenseman on the backend and Craig Anderson playing his best hockey in years – suddenly it doesn’t seem all that crazy for Ottawa to win. This current iteration is a slightly above average hockey club, and that could be enough to take down New York."
- spatso

I agree with that ! If you guys could find (not that it matters)lol but I said at the start of the season, ottawa (barring major injuries )would be a playoff team and the coach was a great Pick up! And I think will go farther than most (tanner)lol expect! And getting MacArthur back is amazing! And that goal!good for him he's a great guy!

I agree Boucher should have been a candidate but hey the league had to have a western coach too. Boucher's teams play defensive hockey and often demonstrate a 2 1 2 backcheck which can be boring.

Boucher is a fine coach and was in Toronto prior to Babcock walking across the Lake to Toronto from Buffalo. I wish Ottawa and Boucher success in this series. Cheers

I agree that guy should of been their and torts isn't bad! An asshoo yes! But ottawas coach did a hell of a job! Good luck with the rest of the way
- MR.Hunter

Torts was voted to be the coach most likely to get fired after the world cup.

He did a hell of a job with Columbus.

Hey tanner just wondering if you talked to your buddy up north yet? You know the worst gm in the league peter chiarelli. If you get a chance asked him how playoffs are goin. Lol.
But if you say he's a horrible gm then he must be because you have so many yrs experience as a NHL gm.