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Thursday Think Tank

July 19, 2018, 11:24 AM ET [28 Comments]
Trevor Shackles
Ottawa Senators Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
You can follow me on Twitter @ShackTS

Just a few thoughts this week for Thursday Think Tank:

Tragic Few Days

Everybody has seen the news by now, but it has been an extremely tragic few days for people who were formerly in the Senators organization, as Ray Emery passed away on Sunday in an unfortunate swimming incident, and former Director of European Scouting Vaclav Burda also passed away on Monday in a car accident. Burda was a huge part of the Senators organization for quite some time:




Even though he had moved on from the organization, it is still incredibly sad of course, as he was so young at the age of just 45. Burda saw players like Mika Zibanejad, Jakob Silfverberg, Robin Lehner, Fredrik Claesson, and Christian Jaros drafted during his time in Ottawa, and he seemed to be a well respected scout within the game. My deepest condolences go out to his family and friends.

Emery’s death hit home for quite a few people, as a lot of people have fond memories of him back in 2007. His Senators career didn’t last long, but he was a character and someone that people loved not only in Ottawa, but also in Philadelphia, Chicago, and Anaheim. Emery was even younger than Burda at just 35, and it’s unfortunate that his tragedy was avoidable. As with Burda, my condolences also go out to his family and friends. Just an awful few days for the hockey community.

The Razor will always be the ultimate warrior teammate:



Options for Brady

Ary from Silver Seven and I talked about this on the Cost Per Pointcast, and it was brought up again today, but Brady Tkachuk has four options for the upcoming season. Apparently he’s undecided so far, which makes sense because he has time:




If I had to guess, I honestly don’t know where he will end up, because I could see him being impressive enough that the Senators want to keep him around. I doubt he would end up in the AHL, but it’s a possibility. Leaving for the OHL to the London Knights is also on the table, but I feel like if he isn’t going pro he would probably rather just stay at BU.

Heading to the OHL would be a downgrade in competition and a waste of time, so if he doesn’t make the team out of camp then I hope he stays in University. Plus then we will be able to watch him at the World Juniors, which is always exciting. It’s nice that he can at least go where he’s most comfortable too, as his development is extremely important. Brady has a tough decision to make, although it’s not completely up to him.

Eerily Quiet

It is insane the lack of movement that has gone on in the league in the past couple weeks. There obviously aren’t that many free agents left that can be considered decent, but usually there are more trades by teams trying to take that next step forward.

It’s not just that there hasn’t been an Erik Karlsson or Max Pacioretty trade, it’s that the hot stove has been essentially turned off for a while now. There seems to be no buzz in the hockey community regarding rumours, and it’s a very strange feeling. The first week of free agency featured non-stop rumours about where Karlsson could end up, and ever since then there hasn’t been a peep.

I guess I’d rather it be silent than a barrage of “Karlsson trade close” tweets, but then again I also want the saga to be over. I never expect the Senators to do much in the summer, so a Karlsson trade might be the only other thing to happen, but it’s odd that other teams are being similarly inactive.

Week Where Nothing Ever Happens

It just so happens that this eerily quiet period perfectly coincides with the worst sports week of the year: the mid-July break. Every year during the MLB All-Star break, there is essentially nothing on: no NHL, NBA, MLB, NFL, World Cup, Wimbledon, just a few mid-week MLS games, and really nothing else. The MLB at least has the Homerun Derby and the All-Star game itself on Monday and Tuesday, but yesterday and today are brutal for sports fans.

Luckily I’ve had things to do outside of the house, but if I ever get stuck at home during this break, I almost get a sense of helplessness because I always expect there to be something to follow. Although perhaps if you are only a hockey fan, then the entire summer has felt like this week has for me. I already miss watching the World Cup in the morning, and I miss thinking that there was a chance that football was coming home...England was so close.

If you follow other sports besides hockey, I hope you have gotten through your worst sports week of the year.
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