Jared Crozier: Game Day: Senators vs Maple Leafs; MacArthur's Career In Jeopardy

You should call it their 'A' lineup... as in AHL

The first time I saw the hit it didn't seem that bad and Macarthur just went in weird. Playing it back, Sieloff is a (frank)ing idiot... such a stupid thing to do.

Sucks about MacArthur. Sadly, while it wasn't a soft hit, it wasn't particularly hard, so it might be that he just can't take a hard hit of any type. Granted, it was high, but your head's gonna get jarred at times during the season. I think it's time to hang them up.

Assuming MacArthur is out for the season, and possibly career, what should the Sens do now? Hope that some kid breaks through and makes top 6, trade prospects for a top 6 winger, or trade picks for a top 6 winger?

In my opinion it would be best to use the next two first rounders as trade bait with a team on the edge of a rebuild.

Very unfortunate, and a very poor decision by Sieloff.

However, we can't act like we weren't expecting Mac to go down at some point this season, he's always had poor luck with injuries.

Sucks about MacArthur. Sadly, while it wasn't a soft hit, it wasn't particularly hard, so it might be that he just can't take a hard hit of any type. Granted, it was high, but your head's gonna get jarred at times during the season. I think it's time to hang them up.
- jmatchett383

I agree, but I feel like he didn't expect to get a hit like that in a team scrimmage. I realize Sieloff is trying to demonstrate his value, but it was a very ill conceived move.

Unfortuantely, I think if that play causes him another concussion that is at all serious, he likely would not have had much more of a career anyway.

You just hope at this point that he is OK, nevermind about his career.

What a shame about what happened to MacArthur, but this was probably inevitable and made worse by the fact that a fellow teammate dealt the final blow. I hope he does the correct thing for himself and his family and decides to retire before getting more seriously hurt.

If there is a silver lining in all of this it is that MacArthur will continue to collect on his current contract (if I Googled the information correctly) and the Senators can now shop around for another top 6 forward, allowing Melnyk to but his money where his mouth is, on making this year's team a playoff one.

What a shame about what happened to MacArthur, but this was probably inevitable and made worse by the fact that a fellow teammate dealt the final blow. I hope he does the correct thing for himself and his family and decides to retire before getting more seriously hurt.

If there is a silver lining in all of this it is that MacArthur will continue to collect on his current contract (if I Googled the information correctly) and the Senators can now shop around for another top 6 forward, allowing Melnyk to but his money where his mouth is, on making this year's team a playoff one.
- canuck279

Is age teh factor in deciding if the contract is still payable to the injured player?

And Melnyk is still on the hook for it?

I think it would be silly to try to make a trade now.

The Sens will have to overpay to get a top 6 forward before the season starts. There is a reason why you never see trades at this time of the year (and up until around December). Every GM thinks his team is great, and the rebuilding teams would rather wait till the deadline to trade.

Any trade we make now, we will be on the losing end of.

The Sens had no trouble scoring goals last year without Mac so I don't see why it will be a huge issue this year. Keeping goals out will be the bigger problem and I'm actually more upset about losing his two-way play than I am his offense.

The Sens could slide Smith back in that spot, and while he may not get 25 goals again, he will probably be adequate for the time being.

If the Sens are in the hunt around Feb, then make a deal. There will be teams who will have underachieved this season who won't want to lose players for nothing in the expansion draft. We may be able to get lucky and make a deal for a top 6 guy at that time with giving up very little.

Is age teh factor in deciding if the contract is still payable to the injured player?

And Melnyk is still on the hook for it?
- david22

Most teams take out insurance on player contracts for this very reason. If the player goes on LTIR, then the insurance company pays the salary.

I've heard rumblings that Melnyk didn't do this.. I'm not sure if he did or not, so don't quote me on it. If he didn't take out insurance, then he's cheaper and dumber than any of us could have ever imagined.

Edit: Just to add, this was the big issue surrounding the Olympics. The insurance companies (rightly so) didn't want to be on the hook for player injuries if they happened during the games. The IOC had to step up and insure the contracts during the time the players were at the Olympics.

I feel terrible for Grizz, he seems like a great guy and when he's been healthy he's been a great soldier for the team. I hope he can come back someday, but not if his long term health is at risk. I'm hoping that he'll make the right decision for him and his family, even if that means calling it quits.

I noticed a lot of Senators fans yesterday who were feeling a little bit despondent about this injury. Gotta try to keep things in perspective. MacArthur was slotted to be a 2LW this year, and hopefully to be a key contributor, but remember that he only played 4 fairly ineffective games last season. If the Senators were counting on his offence, keep in mind that they finished 9th in GF last year without him. I don't anticipate a dropoff in that respect. If they were looking for his defensive contributions, then that's a fair thing to be concerned about, but I do think that the additions they made up front in the offseason should contribute enough to the PK that they probably wouldn't have leaned on him too much for that. Specifically referring to adding Kelly, as I'm sure that he'll be logging a ton of minutes on the PK.

The bigger concern is still with the defense.

As for Sieloff, well, I kinda get why the hit happened. At the same time, I don't know how you can come back from that. He doesn't really know the guys in that room, and most of the time, the first impression you make on people lasts forever. He's already had two veteran players chasing him around trying to beat him up. I can't see how the team would be able to unite with him on the roster. All that said, I doubt he's got the necessary acumen to make the team anyways, with basically one open spot on D, I'd have to think there's at least 3 guys in front of him on the depth chart.

Lousy situation, but as long as Stone is back in time for the start of the season, then I think the Senators will be able to hit the ground running when the games count.

Assuming MacArthur is out for the season, and possibly career, what should the Sens do now? Hope that some kid breaks through and makes top 6, trade prospects for a top 6 winger, or trade picks for a top 6 winger?

In my opinion it would be best to use the next two first rounders as trade bait with a team on the edge of a rebuild

.

JVR????

Most teams take out insurance on player contracts for this very reason. If the player goes on LTIR, then the insurance company pays the salary.

I've heard rumblings that Melnyk didn't do this.. I'm not sure if he did or not, so don't quote me on it. If he didn't take out insurance, then he's cheaper and dumber than any of us could have ever imagined.

Edit: Just to add, this was the big issue surrounding the Olympics. The insurance companies (rightly so) didn't want to be on the hook for player injuries if they happened during the games. The IOC had to step up and insure the contracts during the time the players were at the Olympics.
- Charliebox

I believe that NHL teams try to insure every contract. What I heard with respect to MacArthur is that insurers wouldn't carry his contract because of the injury history. However, that's all speculation as far as I can tell, I've seen nothing concrete about that. Furthermore, that wouldn't make sense either when you consider that he signed that contract in the summer of 2014, and he didn't have his first concussion until February 2015. I doubt injury history would have factored into whether the contract was insured or not. Bottom line, I'd be surprised to find out that this contract was not insured.

Most teams take out insurance on player contracts for this very reason. If the player goes on LTIR, then the insurance company pays the salary.

I've heard rumblings that Melnyk didn't do this.. I'm not sure if he did or not, so don't quote me on it. If he didn't take out insurance, then he's cheaper and dumber than any of us could have ever imagined.
- Charliebox

Insurance plans cover 80% of the the salary, but some pre-existing conditions can be excluded by the policies underwriters. Teams generally never disclose if someone is covered or not or give specific insurance information.

I believe that NHL teams try to insure every contract. What I heard with respect to MacArthur is that insurers wouldn't carry his contract because of the injury history. However, that's all speculation as far as I can tell, I've seen nothing concrete about that. Furthermore, that wouldn't make sense either when you consider that he signed that contract in the summer of 2014, and he didn't have his first concussion until February 2015. I doubt injury history would have factored into whether the contract was insured or not. Bottom line, I'd be surprised to find out that this contract was not insured.
- the_terror

Agreed.

But if there is one owner who would opt out of doing it...............

unfortunately so

.

JVR????
- SensnRBs

I was thinking something along the lines of Detroit, Philly, Wild, Avalanche, New Jersey, Columbus, Carolina, Vancouver.... Teams like Buffalo, Edmonton, Toronto, Arizona seem to almost be done the rebuild stage and will just wait for their players to develop. On the other hands, the teams i've mentioned seem to be in a stand still, not really going anywhere, and us offering them 2 first round picks for some players might help persuade them to trade good players and start a rebuild.

I was thinking something along the lines of Detroit, Philly, Wild, Avalanche, New Jersey, Columbus, Carolina, Vancouver.... Teams like Buffalo, Edmonton, Toronto, Arizona seem to almost be done the rebuild stage and will just wait for their players to develop. On the other hands, the teams i've mentioned seem to be in a stand still, not really going anywhere, and us offering them 2 first round picks for some players might help persuade them to trade good players and start a rebuild.
- cprevost7

One could say the same thing about the Sens.

One could say the same thing about the Sens.
- david22

I very much agree with this, but by trading to improve, maybe it will send us in a forward direction?

Assuming MacArthur is out for the season, and possibly career, what should the Sens do now? Hope that some kid breaks through and makes top 6, trade prospects for a top 6 winger, or trade picks for a top 6 winger?

In my opinion it would be best to use the next two first rounders as trade bait with a team on the edge of a rebuild.
- cprevost7

Take this from a guy who's team did that for the better part of 3 decades, and became (justifiably) one of the leagues laughing stock's as a result...
Don't.
If Ottawa was a legitimate cup contender already, it might be a good idea. That isn't the case.

People are going to $hit all over Sieloff for this play, but I find it hard not to take the "if not now then soon" perspective. I'm glad to see that the team stuck up for MacArthur, but if he was playing on egg shells then this was pretty much inevitable. Hopefully it's not as serious as it looks, but regardless the team would be foolish not to seriously re-evaluate the LW situation. This is a dream opportunity for Puempel... though Smith will probably get the initial look.

At least they got Hoffman locked up... can you even imagine if those negotiations were still going on now?

Take this from a guy who's team did that for the better part of 3 decades, and became (justifiably) one of the leagues laughing stock's as a result...
Don't.
If Ottawa was a legitimate cup contender already, it might be a good idea. That isn't the case.
- oldstyle

agreed.....unless you're getting a legit top line guy (or top six), who's under 25, I'm not trading a 1st rd pick, let alone two of them.

Seiloff got kicked out of Flames training camp last year for the same sort of thing. I guess he doesn't know how to tone it down.