UPDATE 2: Leddy also went to the Islanders, after they had already acquired Johnny Boychuk earlier in the day. The Hawks send a pair of prospects and T.J. Brennan, giving them enough relief to get under the Cap. The Senators were smart, if they were indeed in the running, not to go that far.
UPDATE: Leddy?
According to Eklund, the Senators could be on the inside track to nab Nick Leddy as early as today from the Chicago Blackhawks, possibly giving up a defenseman in return. Because the Hawks are over the cap limit, they are looking to move salary. A move for Patrick Wiercioch would only save the Hawks about $700K but if they included Jeremy Morin, who is on a 1 year deal it would save them just under $1.5M. They have also waived Peter Regin, so that will get them closer to the cap. The Hawks need to shave at least 1.8M before opening night. If not Wiercioch, it could be Gryba going the other way, as Mark Borowiecki's recent play has turned heads (see below) and has pretty much made Gryba obsolete. A Leddy for Gryba salary for salary would save the Hawks just under $1.5M
Leddy would be a nice upgrade on the blue line, should it come to fruition, and also build upon the good feelings about the team that resulted from the Bobby Ryan extension and Karlsson captaincy
now back to regularly scheduled programming from earlier:
Is Bobby Ryan ever really on the 2nd line?
When Daniel Alfredsson was in his prime in Ottawa, the saying went that whatever line he was on at any given time was the Senators first line, whether he was playing with Jason Spezza, or Mike Fisher or Todd White.
While Bobby Ryan skated on a line with Mika Zibanejad and Alex Chiasson on Friday night, it might be time to make a similar statement about Ryan. At the end of last season, and after Jason Spezza was dealt to Dallas, both Byran Murray and Paul MacLean intimated that they thought Mika Zibanejad was close to being at the level of first line pivot.
As the Senators marquee forward, perhaps its time, if it sticks, to call the Ryan line the true first line, regardless of who lines up in the middle. Arguably at the moment Kyle Turris is the top centre on the team, but it makes sense on a team that lost its top offensive forward to spread the wealth and go with lines 1 and 1A. That way you can see if Zibanejad, who is bigger and stronger than Turris, can handle facing tougher competition that Ryan would draw, and also take some of the emphasis off Turris, who will be a full time top centre for the first time with giant expectations.
Turris and Clarke MacArthur did just fine with Mark Stone on the other side after Ryan was put on the shelf, and if the Senators can get another dominant pair in Zibanejad and Ryan then they will be that much better off, with balanced scoring taking the heat and pressure off both.
SENATORS 4, CANADIENS 3 (OT)
Ryan's power play goal just over 2 minutes into OT was the difference as the Sens used 3 goals with the man advantage to upend the Habs in their final home pre-season tuneup. It was a boistrous affair that included the unlikely scrap between Mark Borowiecki and P.K. Subban. 10 (Relatively) Random Thoughts On The Game
1. Jared Cowen got off to a rough start with a turnover and penalty in the opening seconds, but he seemed to recover and played a decent game. He jus missed putting Christian Tomas into the fifth row in the latter stages of the third period, a hit that surely would have started more fireworks. Cowen especially played well in overtime, making 3 or 3 really nice defensive plays to extend the extra frame.
2. The plague of the bad period, that affected them so often last season, reared its ugly head again, as the Senators carried a lead into the second period but were soundly outplayed and outshot 12-2. They bounced back and played a much better third period and came back for the win. Pesky?
3. The more I see Curtis Lazar, the more I think the Senators have to make a spot on the roster. He is always on the right side of the play and he will be an energy creator.
4. Speaking of Lazar, I think it is going to be fun watching him and Brendan Gallagher go head to head for the next few years. They are similar size and have similar styles of play, and neither will give an inch.
5. Mark Borowiecki is one mean SOB, and that is a good thing. If he can cut down on the unnecessary and ill timed penalties that I remember him taking in his previous stint in Ottawa, he could be an ingredient the Sens are lacking on the blue line. He could quickly solidify a top 6 spot, something I didn't see happening 2 weeks ago.
6. Lehner probably would have liked to play better, as he got caught sliding too far out of his net on the first Montreal goal, where Alex Galchenyuk banked it in from behind the net as Lehner was scrambling. The second goal would have been a tough stop for any netminder, a well placed shot on a breakaway by Pacioretty. He was solid if not spectacular, but the Senators can ill afford bad goals against.
7. Mike Hoffman might end up being that guy that is always on the cusp, but not able to make the lineup on a consistent basis. He has a quick and accurate shot, but if it is between him and Lazar for the final roster spot, Lazar would be my pick even if it meant the Sens had to waive Hoffman and risk losing him.
8. Not more than two minutes after I wrote #7, Hoffman basically broke through the Montreal defense and tucked one through Peter Budaj from a terrible angle. He has the tools, just needs to develop consistency at this level if he is going to stay. I would still take Lazar, although Hoffman showed a lot of good things against Montreal..
9. Remember the 7 games where P.K. Subban was the darling of the city of Ottawa? December 26, 2008-January 5, 2009. Those days are long gone, and now chants of P.K. are followed by the word "sucks". I know it is just an exhibition game, but the home crowd did a nice job of drowning out the Montreal faithful...until Montreal scored, that is.
10. Give P.K. credit (and the Senators did in post-game scrums) for going toe to toe with Borowiecki in a spirited (and long) scrap, although I think the whole Montreal orgaization was blue in the face as they held their collective breath for the entire length of the scrap. I'm sure they didn't like the prospect or potential of their superstar suffering a freak injury in a scrap with the other team's 7th or 8th defenseman, who has made his way to the league at least in part by his ability to drop the mitts. There were 4 sets of players paired off in the stoppage, but every eye was on the P.K. - Boro scrap, and they just kept going and going while the officials were separating everyone else.
The rematch goes Saturday night at the Bell Centre. Should be a good one, with Carey Price vs Craig Anderson the matchup in net.