Jared Crozier: Game Day: Flames @ Senators - its a trap! & front office shakeup

Certianly is a trap game, Sens have a real chance to pad the lead they have against the teams below them. Boston is playing Pittsbrugh too so this is a good opportunity for them.

Excited to see how wingels does in his first game.

I'm curious to know -- what's the consensus on Condon from Sens fans? I personally liked him last year as a Hab and felt he was thrown under the bus (not to mention overworked), glad to see/hear he's having success on another team. Think the Sens are approaching another "three goalie" dilemma soon?

I'm curious to know -- what's the consensus on Condon from Sens fans? I personally liked him last year as a Hab and felt he was thrown under the bus (not to mention overworked), glad to see/hear he's having success on another team. Think the Sens are approaching another "three goalie" dilemma soon?
- GstrangWondah

I think Condon has been great and I expect he'll be signed.to an extension. No 3 goalie situation.....barring injury I doubt you'll ever see Hammond in Ottawa again. I say sign Condon, leave Andy unprotected (doubt he gets taken) and roll with him and Condon next year

I'm curious to know -- what's the consensus on Condon from Sens fans? I personally liked him last year as a Hab and felt he was thrown under the bus (not to mention overworked), glad to see/hear he's having success on another team. Think the Sens are approaching another "three goalie" dilemma soon?
- GstrangWondah

I wouldn't say there's much of a "three goalie" dilemma... Condon is significantly better than Hammond at this point, and Anderson is 36. There's a huge opportunity for Condon to be at least a full-time back-up in Ottawa next season, and possibly have a chance at the #1 job when Anderson's contract expires. Hopefully they can find a way to navigate the expansion draft, because it's been a pretty natural fit and that shouldn't be taken for granted. It might even be possible that they would re-sign him and leave Anderson exposed... which is remarkable, given that he was waived earlier in the year and acquired with a 5th round pick.

I'm not sure how anyone can say for certain that Condon is better than Hammond. I think they are about the same skill-wise, with the main difference that Hammond has been injured for the better part of two seasons.

Condon= has been a good back-up in Andy's absence.

Hammond= modern era record holder, absolute fan favorite (except here apparently), hit with bad luck vis à vis injuries.

I'm sure that some will say that Hammy has failed to make the most of his opportunities. Well, not getting more than a game or two in a row with a starter breathing down your neck, hardly qualifies as much of an opportunity.

I am conflicted. I realize that Condon has played well, but at the same time feel that Hammond earned the right to be the back-up. I am truly disappointed that so many people hate on him.

Personal feelings aside, I unfortunately see the writing on the wall for Hammond. I just hope that wherever he lands, he proves his detractors wrong.

I'm not sure how anyone can say for certain that Condon is better than Hammond. I think they are about the same skill-wise, with the main difference that Hammond has been injured for the better part of two seasons.

Condon= has been a good back-up in Andy's absence.

Hammond= modern era record holder, absolute fan favorite (except here apparently), hit with bad luck vis à vis injuries.

I'm sure that some will say that Hammy has failed to make the most of his opportunities. Well, not getting more than a game or two in a row with a starter breathing down your neck, hardly qualifies as much of an opportunity.

I am conflicted. I realize that Condon has played well, but at the same time feel that Hammond earned the right to be the back-up. I am truly disappointed that so many people hate on him.

Personal feelings aside, I unfortunately see the writing on the wall for Hammond. I just hope that wherever he lands, he proves his detractors wrong.
- jaz258

What has Hammond earned or proven.........he had a 20 game stretch where he was excellent in the middle of an entire career (roughly 200 professional games) where he was average at best and mostly mediocre.

I think Condon has been great and I expect he'll be signed.to an extension. No 3 goalie situation.....barring injury I doubt you'll ever see Hammond in Ottawa again. I say sign Condon, leave Andy unprotected (doubt he gets taken) and roll with him and Condon next year
- sensarmy_11

Agreed. Sign Condon and leave Anderson exposed. The only problem is $$$. How much do you pay Condon?

What has Hammond earned or proven.........he had a 20 game stretch where he was excellent in the middle of an entire career (roughly 200 professional games) where he was average at best and mostly mediocre.

It was not the middle of his NHL career, it was the beginning of it. AHL is not the same and you know it.

Looking at NHL numbers

Condon 82GP 35W - 10L 2.61 GAA .908 SP 200 GA

Hammond 53 GP 27W - 13L 2.25 GAA .925 SP 13 GA

Pretty similar.

I realize that Condon has played well, but at the same time feel that Hammond earned the right to be the back-up. I am truly disappointed that so many people hate on him.
Personal feelings aside, I unfortunately see the writing on the wall for Hammond. I just hope that wherever he lands, he proves his detractors wrong.
- jaz258

I'm not sure that anyone hates Hammond... but he's done relatively little since his big regular season winning streak to lay indisputable claim to the team's back-up job. How long do you plan to keep rewarding one player for an absurd run of luck during part of a season in 2014/15, versus making room for another player who's getting the job done in the here and now, particularly given the change in coaching staff and team system?

It was not the middle of his NHL career, it was the beginning of it. AHL is not the same and you know it.

Looking at NHL numbers

Condon 82GP 35W - 10L 2.61 GAA .908 SP 200 GA

Hammond 53 GP 27W - 13L 2.25 GAA .925 SP 13 GA

Pretty similar.
- jaz258

I agree with you 100%. Hammond was never given a fair shake after he basically saved the team when Anderson went down for the umpteenth time. His numbers speak for themselves, yet he was never given a fair opportunity to prove that he could either be a decent backup or starter for the Senators after that run. When he did play and have a good game, the coach pulled him for the next game, so he never got the opportunity to go for a run. How fair is that? Then of course there's the injury issue, which basically has plagued him for the last 2 seasons, but that doesn't mean he still can't recover and be an awesome backup (or maybe even a starter).

Of course, the fickle posters on this site need to have somebody to whine and complain about. If it isn't Hammond, it was Prince, or Peumpel or Smith. Now they've turned their sights to Curtis Lazar.

Yes, Lazar has struggled to produce offensively, but he plays a couple of minutes a game on the 4th line with Chris Neil and whoever else they choose to throw in with them. Put him on a line with Stone and Hoffman and leave him there for a couple of games. I bet he gets a few points with them. Even if they put him on a line with Smith and Pageau, you will more than likely see him produce some offensive numbers. But, he seems to be doomed to fail at the hands of Boucher who 'only' rewards players for their production and is blinded by the fact that he is the cause of Lazar's lack of points.

It won't be long before you guys are begging to get rid of Condon because he has a few bad games in a row and maybe plays the way he actually should. There's a reason he's always been a backup goaltender. We'll see how things unfold with the Anderson situation, but I would rather see Hammond given a chance, then roll the dice with Condon.

I agree with you 100%. Hammond was never given a fair shake after he basically saved the team when Anderson went down for the umpteenth time. His numbers speak for themselves, yet he was never given a fair opportunity to prove that he could either be a decent backup or starter for the Senators after that run. When he did play and have a good game, the coach pulled him for the next game, so he never got the opportunity to go for a run. How fair is that? Then of course there's the injury issue, which basically has plagued him for the last 2 seasons, but that doesn't mean he still can't recover and be an awesome backup (or maybe even a starter).

Of course, the fickle posters on this site need to have somebody to whine and complain about. If it isn't Hammond, it was Prince, or Peumpel or Smith. Now they've turned their sights to Curtis Lazar.

Yes, Lazar has struggled to produce offensively, but he plays a couple of minutes a game on the 4th line with Chris Neil and whoever else they choose to throw in with them. Put him on a line with Stone and Hoffman and leave him there for a couple of games. I bet he gets a few points with them. Even if they put him on a line with Smith and Pageau, you will more than likely see him produce some offensive numbers. But, he seems to be doomed to fail at the hands of Boucher who 'only' rewards players for their production and is blinded by the fact that he is the cause of Lazar's lack of points.

It won't be long before you guys are begging to get rid of Condon because he has a few bad games in a row and maybe plays the way he actually should. There's a reason he's always been a backup goaltender. We'll see how things unfold with the Anderson situation, but I would rather see Hammond given a chance, then roll the dice with Condon.
- legs37

You say that about condon and ignore the fact that Hammond has been a backup, and a pretty mediocre one, at pretty much every level he's ever played at. He's had 20 good games his entire career.......and if you watched those 20 games you know that even then there were some big concerns about his game.....positioning, rebound control, puck handling. Hammond is an average AHL calibre goalie who went on a heater at a great time (when the rest of the team was also playing out of their minds).

As for the other players you mention.....they all deserve the criticism they got. Lazar has 1 point (a secondary assist) in like the last half season. That deserves some criticism

I'm curious to know -- what's the consensus on Condon from Sens fans? I personally liked him last year as a Hab and felt he was thrown under the bus (not to mention overworked), glad to see/hear he's having success on another team. Think the Sens are approaching another "three goalie" dilemma soon?
- GstrangWondah

Condon has been solid in front of the Sens but the Sens defensive structure is the reason for their success. It's amazing and encouraging to say that because about 12 months ago it was horrible !.... people running around missing assignments
But these 3 very different then in 2013 with bishop, lehner, and Anderson.

Condom certainly can't play so many games going forward but Anderson is set to return which is almost perfect timing.

Of course, the fickle posters on this site need to have somebody to whine and complain about. If it isn't Hammond, it was Prince, or Peumpel or Smith. Now they've turned their sights to Curtis Lazar.

- legs37

No one here was complaining or whining about Hammond. There were simply multiple expressions of interest in seeing Condon signed. What we are saying is that Condon has played great. Indirectly, we are saying that he has played better than Hammond and would make a better backup.

It won't be long before you guys are begging to get rid of Condon because he has a few bad games in a row and maybe plays the way he actually should. There's a reason he's always been a backup goaltender. We'll see how things unfold with the Anderson situation, but I would rather see Hammond given a chance, then roll the dice with Condon.
- legs37

How you've come to the conclusion that Condon is either more of a back-up goaltender or more of a dice roll than Hammond is utterly beyond me. Beyond just the injury problems and the fact that he's barely played under Boucher , in the ~1.5 years since Hammond's fantasy run he's only played in 28 games and hasn't come anywhere close to that level of performance. Over that same span of time, Condon has 35 wins, played in nearly 3 times as many games, and even played for the USA at the World Championships. In fact, Condon has already played more games for Ottawa this year than Hammond did in his fantasy year, and has played in nearly 30 more career NHL games than Hammond in spite of being 2 years younger.

So you'll have to forgive me if I think they might be better off with the younger, more established, less injury prone, and more recently battle-tested goaltender who's had considerable success playing in the team's new system under the new coach.

NHL.com posting an entire article about how Matt Duchene is open to a trade.... can we please pick up this guy, Him and Turris would be the perfect 1-2 for C's and I honestly think that if we got Matt Duchene and pair him with Hoffman, He's be a 40+ goal scorer and he could get Ryan back up to 30+

That was a great play by Johnny hockey

That was a great play by Johnny hockey
- forbetterorWORSE

If he didn't block that, Sens would have had a good rush.

Bobby Ryan still bothers me. A few chances to take a shot in close but always is passing. As I've said many times, does he know how to take a hard shot? Hoffman does it every few minutes. His stick work trying to get around players also just doesn't work anymore. He looks like a forward in the old 5 on 5 all star game. Moving around slow trying to stick handle around everyone

If he didn't block that, Sens would have had a good rush.

Bobby Ryan still bothers me. A few chances to take a shot in close but always is passing. As I've said many times, does he know how to take a hard shot? Hoffman does it every few minutes. His stick work trying to get around players also just doesn't work anymore. He looks like a forward in the old 5 on 5 all star game. Moving around slow trying to stick handle around everyone
- Ottawa Fan

Pretty accurate assessment.

NHL.com posting an entire article about how Matt Duchene is open to a trade.... can we please pick up this guy, Him and Turris would be the perfect 1-2 for C's and I honestly think that if we got Matt Duchene and pair him with Hoffman, He's be a 40+ goal scorer and he could get Ryan back up to 30+
- Maverick1818

the problem is that the avs almost certainly want a package that includes Chabot, and at this point I don't think Ottawa is in a position to move one of the best D prospects in the league. Ottawa is building a nice pool of prospects right now that is setting them up nicely for the future.........I'd hope that they're willing to move some of them, but to me Chabot and brown should be non-starters.

if the avs would accept a package of ceci, lazar/white, 1st then go for it......but we all know that they almost surely wouldn't accept that.

Erm, has it occurred to any of you that Condon is succeeding because Boucher has completely re-built the Sens defense. The team now plays defense and collapses into a goal-mouth box to protect the goalie. It's working awesomely and I think it's entirely possible that it could work just as well for Hammond or any other decent goalie they put in nets. Why all the hate for Hammond?

Edit: oops, didn't see that someone made this observation before posting.

Erm, has it occurred to any of you that Condon is succeeding because Boucher has completely re-built the Sens defense. The team now plays defense and collapses into a goal-mouth box to protect the goalie. It's working awesomely and I think it's entirely possible that it could work just as well for Hammond or any other decent goalie they put in nets. Why all the hate for Hammond?

Edit: oops, didn't see that someone made this observation before posting.
- sgoodwin

nobody is hating Hammond....people are simply suggesting that he's not in fact the elite goalie that went on a ridiculous 20 game run, it's much much much more likely that he's the average AHL calibre goalie that he's shown himself to be pretty much his entire career other than that 20 game span.

Hammond hasn't had success at basically any level other than that one hot streak.....I think that's much more indicative of who he is as a goalie then one completely insane and unsustainable hot streak. and don't act like this is out of the blue, several people were against re-signing him from day one, myself included.

IMO Hammond is what he is, which is at best an average AHL calibre goalie.