According to hockey writers . com, the Senators have the second best prospect pool in the NHL now. Just imagine how powerful their pool will be after this years draft. I think there is a lot to be excited about!
- Barrykerr1

You are right in taking the forward looking perspective. This has been a fundamental asset management issue. First, the Sens needed to sell off assets. We need elite players. But serious contenders need solid 3rd and 4th line skaters. They need depth on defence and competent goaltending.

I think we are at the point where Sens fans can stop looking backwards. There is lots of opportunity to be excited about.

Almost as awkward as realizing that's pretty much exactly what middling means?
https://www.merriam-webst...r.com/dictionary/middling

Mediocre is literally one of the words they use to define it. I get the sense you meant it in a less negative sense, but that's not exactly the convention. Regardless, you're right that ultimately prospects need to prove their worth - 2020/21 will be a huge year in that regard, seeing if the likes of Batherson, Norris, Formenton, White, Brannstrom, etc. can take a major step forward and transition their games to the NHL.
- khawk

I will just use "top prospects" for every single prospect we have to avoid ambiguity and confusion. Seems to be what the goggles do to fans in here anyways.

I can already sense your annoyance with me to go out of your way next season with every positive thing Norris does to prove my "definition" is incorrect.

To St. Louis
Bobby Ryan
- AlfieisKing[20% retained]
conditional pick

To Ottawa
Tyler Bozak
Alexander Steen
Contract rights to Alex Pietrangelo [8 x 10.5m]

Brady Tkachuk - Colin White - Connor Brown
Tim Stutzle - Josh Norris - Drake Batherson
Anthony Duclair - Logan Brown - Tyler Bozak
Alex Steen - Chris Tierney - Jayce Hawryluk

Thomas Chabot - Alex Pietrangelo
Erik Brannstrom - Nikita Zaitsev
Mark Borowiecki - Christian Wolanin/Artem Zub

Anders Nilsson
Marcus Hogberg

*Lucas Raymond or Marco Rossi start in Belleville

How does that deal make any sense for the Blues. all 3 of those players have value, varying amounts, but actual value......why would they package them to Ottawa for a cap dump and a conditional pick.

also, they only reason they would have to move steen and/or bozak would be to create space to sign pietrangelo.....so why would they move them all in the same deal?

If a team is in a rebuilding mode, we make a mistake when we look at trades in a purely transactional framework. You need to look at the grand aggregates.

Ottawa decided they wanted to rebuild therefore they traded the following assets


Karlsson
Stone
Pageau
Duchene
Dzingle
Demelo
etc
etc

In return, they received the following assets

#3 overall
Norris
Tierney
Demelo
Balcers
Brannstrom
#21
#52
etc.
etc

You need to have both lists fully completed. Only then can you assess overall success. On the day Dorion traded Karlsson most Sens fans hated the deal. Now?
- spatso

missed a few key pieces in this post;

abramov (duch trade)
roughly a ppg player in ahl, with flashes of brilliance down there. was arguably one of our best players in training camp

Davidson (duch trade)
(last cut previous year on cbj, injury issues and buried in bottom 6 in ahl, hopefully more from him)

duclair (dzingle trade)
all star and grossly outperformed dzingle

you throw around lots of etc, which are 2nd and 3 round picks from some of these trades.

let's not forget some of the late round picks sens have snagged in later rounds. (jgp stone hoff etc)

yes alot of what ifs, but its not as terrible a return as it looks like.

guess in 5 years we can look back.

I was furious with Karlsson return, but looks like a slam dunk win now... between just norris and #3 alone.

I will just use "top prospects" for every single prospect we have to avoid ambiguity and confusion. Seems to be what the goggles do to fans in here anyways.

I can already sense your annoyance with me to go out of your way next season with every positive thing Norris does to prove my "definition" is incorrect.


- Gord_Wilson_2.0

Well, or maybe try using the right word to describe what you mean. I can be a bit of a jerk about this kind of thing, but honestly... it seems mildly hypocritical to go after people for overusing "top prospect" if you're then going to invent new and confusing meanings for terms like "middling prospect".

Well, or maybe try using the right word to describe what you mean. I can be a bit of a jerk about this kind of thing, but honestly... it seems mildly hypocritical to go after people for overusing "top prospect" if you're then going to invent new and confusing meanings for terms like "middling prospect".
- khawk

I mean, there isn't a "hockey dictionary" and this is a crap hockey blog with a joke of a comment section, not a 3rd year University English course.

It seems weird to go after people constantly about a confusing term after they explained what they actually meant. I'll be more careful with terms in the future...or not. This is a little time killer in my day (as I am sure it is yours) not my day job.

I think basically, you are ranking most of our prospects in the same light and I am not and that seems to bug you for whatever reason, confusing terms or not. I think it's ok to cast prospects in different lights. Just makes sense to me considering skill ceilings, style of player, where they were drafted, age, etc. Maybe doesn't make sense for others.

I'll admit I'm a Richard about "Sens goggles" but it can be irritating to see, hear, watch, etc stuff about our prospects and they are all just jammed together and treated like a future all-star team. It's happened for years and every team's fans, writers, reporters seem to do the same thing. Sens fans aren't alone. This league would have far less poop hockey if all prospects turned out the way they are hyped.

We all have our own opinions about prospects. We all get some wrong and some right. I thought Ceci was going to be dominate before he came to the NHL. I was wrong. I though Hoffman wasn't going to be anything special. I was wrong. I thought Lehner was going to be our franchise goalie. I was wrong, but with hindsight, if we kept him, could have been right. I'll likely be wrong about players in the next generation and likely you will be too.

If you had the second overall pick who would you take? Byfield or stutzle

If you had the second overall pick who would you take? Byfield or stutzle
- david22

I would say Byfield for the size alone. Which makes me think they will go with something like Rossi at 3.

If you had the second overall pick who would you take? Byfield or stutzle
- david22

Stutzle so the Sens can have Byfield.

I'll admit I'm a Richard about "Sens goggles" but it can be irritating to see, hear, watch, etc stuff about our prospects and they are all just jammed together and treated like a future all-star team. It's happened for years and every team's fans, writers, reporters seem to do the same thing.
- Gord_Wilson_2.0

Well, I certainly agree that unrealistic expectations are more common than they should be. Nobody knows for sure how much potential will be realized for a given prospect, but at the same time there are relatively significant markers like year-over-year improvement or WJC/AHL performance along the way to give an indication of progress. Given that, I don't think that having at least 2nd line expectations for the likes of Batherson/Norris or 2nd pairing potential for the likes of Brannstrom/JBD are that much of a stretch, but you might disagree. Conversely, I'm quite a bit more skeptical at this point about the NHL potential of Brown, Abramov, Chlapik, Lajoie, Tychonick, and Gustavsson. That could change, of course, but Brown in particular is why I've become a strong advocate for them picking at least one high-end C from the #3/5 spots of the coming draft. It may also be a carry-over from the fact that I was quite a strong advocate for them picking McAvoy instead way back in 2016, and have been mildly irritated about it ever since.

If you had the second overall pick who would you take? Byfield or stutzle
- david22

Stutzle

If you had the second overall pick who would you take? Byfield or stutzle
- david22

STUTZLE

I have to confess that I'm finding Vigneault's comments about Gallagher's jaw to be mildly priceless. Highly reminiscent of Paul MacLean's "player 61" comments from back in 2013, which was a virtual masterclass in subverting an opponent's team psychology.

"I don't want to see a guy injured. I don't know if he aggravated his injury by speaking with us and to the referees for five minutes," Vigneault said Friday. He defended it as a hockey play and said he didn't think it was Niskanen's fault that the five-foot-nine Gallagher isn't as tall as other players.
https://www.tsn.ca/marc-b...ly-disappointed-1.1512503

Don't get me wrong, I watched Gallagher play WHL hockey here in Vancouver, and respect his work ethic and determination... but Vigneault is absolutely right about him running his mouth, and having no sense of backing down. I've quietly been wondering how long it would take an NHL d-man to feed him his teeth... I guess the answer was 8 years.