💯 agree I rather Kastelic over Gambrell any day
He’s bigger and meaner and better offensive isn’t that what 4th line is about
Dorion just says Gambrell cause he traded for him didn’t he ??
- sens4life1971

he traded for him but then gives him a 1 year, 1 way deal after the season finished....many thought, why bother?! If it was a 2 way....sure! But another head scratcher by PD! PD keeps saying the youth will play....then let it happen in all areas of the team!

💯 agree I rather Kastelic over Gambrell any day
He’s bigger and meaner and better offensive isn’t that what 4th line is about
Dorion just says Gambrell cause he traded for him didn’t he ??
- sens4life1971

Kastelic is already here in Ottawa skating with the guys....no sign of Gambrell yet!

Top 3 Ottawa Coaches IMO:

(1) Matt Murray - 06/07 (Spezza, Fisher injuries, Chris Kelly with Heatley and Alfredsson on the top line got to playoffs.; later cup finals)

(2) Guy Boucher - 2017 (1 shot away from cup finals and beating eventual back to back cup winners; he got the most out of this team for sure)

(3) Paul MacLean - 12/13 (Spezza, Karlsson, Anderson all injured, despite this the Pesky Sens made the Conf. Semi finals)

*Honourable mentions to Jacques Martin - can't remember which year though, was too young lol

11 days to the beginning of training camp.

Would not think Sens want to hit that date without having made a move to upgrade defensive corps.

Top 3 Ottawa Coaches IMO:

(1) Matt Murray - 06/07 (Spezza, Fisher injuries, Chris Kelly with Heatley and Alfredsson on the top line got to playoffs.; later cup finals)

(2) Guy Boucher - 2017 (1 shot away from cup finals and beating eventual back to back cup winners; he got the most out of this team for sure)

(3) Paul MacLean - 12/13 (Spezza, Karlsson, Anderson all injured, despite this the Pesky Sens made the Conf. Semi finals)

*Honourable mentions to Jacques Martin - can't remember which year though, was too young lol
- AlfieisKing

Matt or Brian 😂🫣

Matt or Brian 😂🫣
- sens4life1971

Lol. Coach Matt Murray, number one! I liked Murray best as a coach, less as a GM. He chaired the whole Alfie exit treatment business, and while you might be inclined to blame the owner, the guy held considerable sway over Melnyk and could have definitely fixed that and made it done right. Absent that courage, the fix ended up being Bobby Ryan, whose contract coloured compensation perceptions of ownership immutably for years.

Lol. Coach Matt Murray, number one! I liked Murray best as a coach, less as a GM. He chaired the whole Alfie exit treatment business, and while you might be inclined to blame the owner, the guy held considerable sway over Melnyk and could have definitely fixed that and made it done right. Absent that courage, the fix ended up being Bobby Ryan, whose contract coloured compensation perceptions of ownership immutably for years.
- Bartacus

The warning signs on Bobby Ryan were flashing really bright. In his mid twenties and his skating was already showing significant regression. Guys who are inadequate technical skaters see their overall game diminish rapidly. There are exceptions (Brett Hull). But for the most part, you need to avoid players who are losing speed and balance in their overall skating.

The warning signs on Bobby Ryan were flashing really bright. In his mid twenties and his skating was already showing significant regression. Guys who are inadequate technical skaters see their overall game diminish rapidly. There are exceptions (Brett Hull). But for the most part, you need to avoid players who are losing speed and balance in their overall skating.
- spatso

To be fair...Ryan's issues were not strictly speaking his skating, it was slugging back a bottle of vodka every other night and his wrists being in 100 pieces.

This is a really interesting one because of the timeline. I still think the best coach was Paul McLean, but he seems to have some Torts energy in terms of nobody wanting to be taskmastered for more than 5 minutes. Unlike Torts though, he never won, so he never got that get out of jail card.
- AdamFrench

McLean lost the room when he started buying into his own hype. You could see him get more and more arrogant in interviews.

I know for a fact he made the whole team do a 2hr video session the day after a game. He then proceeded to comment to the whole team that when #65 is on the ice there is going to be a goal, he followed that up with saying, we just never know if it's going to be for us or against us. Apparently that little charade lost him the support of the core of the team.

To be fair...Ryan's issues were not strictly speaking his skating, it was slugging back a bottle of vodka every other night and his wrists being in 100 pieces.
- AdamFrench

Killer combination.

McLean lost the room when he started buying into his own hype. You could see him get more and more arrogant in interviews.

I know for a fact he made the whole team do a 2hr video session the day after a game. He then proceeded to comment to the whole team that when #65 is on the ice there is going to be a goal, he followed that up with saying, we just never know if it's going to be for us or against us. Apparently that little charade lost him the support of the core of the team.
- JoelytheGoalie

Many stories emerged after his departure but a few leaked out during his last season here that signalled the end for him.....which is why his 3rd season was so short lived.....I'm actually quite surprised he didn't get fired in the off-season, the Spezza stuff....he was quite loud in his exit meetings with Murray about McLean!