WARM AND FUZZY FEELINGS
The dual announcement of yesterday created a whirlwind of positive feeling and a turning of the page in the Senators history.
Owner Eugene Melnyk was front and centre, obviously enjoying the news he was able to deliver, a bit of positivity after such a string of negativity. His willingness to pony up $50M over 7 years to Bobby Ryan is a sign, but really it was a no-brainer. He had to do it or there would have been mutiny in Sens Nation if another star walked away. We will see the true level of commitment to spend when it comes to adding a piece that might put them over the top and actually cost more than the $2M or so raise that Ryan was awarded.
What it also does is give the Senators a bit of leverage in their negotiations with Marc Methot. Now that Melnyk has shown a willingness to spend when needed, they don't have to overspend on Methot and can hold pretty firm to their $4.5-4.75M range and avoid overpaying him, which is what $5M would be. That is a line I think they don't want to breach, for that type of player regardless of what other foolish teams decide to spend (Brooks Orpic, Mark Fayne).
For the moment, at least, the "cheap" tag is gone from the Senators and although getting Methot signed is important, the Senators can use the goodwill they earned yesterday to hold a harder line with Methot.
*** EK 22nd BEST?
TSN had a special last night naming their top 50 players, and to nobody's surprise Erik Karlsson was the lone player from the Senators included on the list. What was perhaps a little bit surprising is that he was ranked just 22nd and was the 6th defenseman on the list (Drew Doughty, Shea Weber, Duncan Keith, P.K. Subban and Ryan Suter were all ranked ahead of him).
I know Karlsson has his defensive deficiencies at times, but I can imagine he knows about his ranking and will use it to put just another small chip on his shoulder and another reason to prove the pundits wrong, and I bet by the end of the season if they do the same rankings he will be among the top 2 or 3 blueliners and near, if not in, the top 10 overall.
*** SENS - HABS
Time is running out for those bubble players to make a final impression before the final roster is named. Injuries to some regulars will allow some of the wannabes to get into the lineup where they otherwise would not, but you can expect most of the opening day roster to play in both of the games of the home and home series with the Habs that starts tonight.
This will be the first night that the Senators will ice a true NHL lineup, minus those guys with bumps and bruises. This means that we will probably also see the lines and defense pairs that Paul MacLean will probably decide to start the season with, unless he doesn't.
Key players I will be paying particular attention to tonight Jared Cowen and Patrick Wiercioch on the blue line along with Curtis Lazar, Mike Hoffman and Mark Stone up front. Their play will go a long way to determining how the lineup shapes up for October 9th in Nashville
The game will be on TSN5 tonight, with the puck drop at 7:30 PM.