Did you see the story where Murray is now practicing wearing blinders to restrict his peripheral vision and concentrate on his following the puck. If this were a made up story nobody would believe it.
- spatso

The Avalanche use these too to strengthen puck tracking for their goalies. But you guys are the only team I know where the coach wears blinders

Did you see the story where Murray is now practicing wearing blinders to restrict his peripheral vision and concentrate on his following the puck. If this were a made up story nobody would believe it.
- spatso

Maybe they should put a dirty gym towel over his eyes, like Peter Lafleur... that would surely heighten all of his other senses.

That said, I'd rather go with Forsberg/Hellberg then having Murray around, so I guess it's still more positive to where they were at in 2021/22.
- khawk

Yep, totally agree.

The Avalanche use these too to strengthen puck tracking for their goalies. But you guys are the only team I know where the coach wears blinders
- Canada Cup

Now that was pretty funny. Sad, but funny.

Looks like Sens are doing full dress rehearsal in Montreal tomorrow night. Dressing all the forward that we expect for opening night plus a couple of extras.

Dressing 7 Dmen including Chabot/Zub, Sanderson/Hamonic and Brannstrom/Holden. JBD is 7th Dman.

Zaitsev not dressing.

OTT should play Sogaard the rest of the pre-season to gage were he is, if Forsberg cant step up or gets injured Sogaard gonna have to come in as #1

Been dealing with a bunch of stuff....will have a new blog up tomorrow.....

I posted this Twitter not long ago.

Lots of noise coming out of AZ regarding Chychrun tonight, keep in mind it's 820pm out there, PD is working hard to get a deal done with GM Armstrong.PD seems adamant to include Zaitsev in any deal but AZ wants more compensation for him than PD is willing to give up, more to come

on my Twitter -

From what I was told tonight by 2 sources on the Ottawa side, PD wants a dman by the end of the week and he's doing everything he can, the injury to Talbot has accelerated the process. If Jakob doesn't end up in Ottawa, then PD will turn his attention to NYI and CGY for options!

on my Twitter -

From what I was told tonight by 2 sources on the Ottawa side, PD wants a dman by the end of the week and he's doing everything he can, the injury to Talbot has accelerated the process. If Jakob doesn't end up in Ottawa, then PD will turn his attention to NYI and CGY for options!
- Kevin Francis

i can understand why ppl think CGY can be a trade partner for a RD for OTT, but NYI got no extra RD to trade, especially any top 4 RD and CGY would not take back Z in a trade.

CGY is win now mode, they aint trading their best Dmen for picks and lesser prospects

i can understand why ppl think CGY can be a trade partner for a RD for OTT, but NYI got no extra RD to trade, especially any top 4 RD and CGY would not take back Z in a trade.
- Mithos

Check my Twitter feed and you will see why OTT is desperate for a top 4 dman.

Check my Twitter feed and you will see why OTT is desperate for a top 4 dman.
- Kevin Francis

don't have twitter and they don't allow people without an account to see much

Check my Twitter feed and you will see why OTT is desperate for a top 4 dman.
- Kevin Francis

rather they overpay for a 24 YO chych at 4.6m than a soon to be 33 YO tanev or soon to be 29 YO overated Weegar, and from NYI only Dman that makes sense is Dobson and he would cost just as much as chych and i don't see why NYI would trade him.

I posted this Twitter not long ago.

Lots of noise coming out of AZ regarding Chychrun tonight, keep in mind it's 820pm out there, PD is working hard to get a deal done with GM Armstrong.PD seems adamant to include Zaitsev in any deal but AZ wants more compensation for him than PD is willing to give up, more to come
- Kevin Francis

unless they want a 1st or a top prospect to take Z, even if it costs 3 2nd ronders its worth it to get rid of him if he does not want to burry him in bellville for the next 2 years

You aimed too high. It would be Michael Stone after he's released or signed from his PTO. Or Scott Mayfield. We don't need any more high end D prospect people. We need someone who can play good stay at home defense and not get burned every second play like Zaitsev.

I also avoid twitter like the plague of social media it is. I understand a sports blogger using it to establish himself though.

The goalie injury is unfortunate. A rib thing. Odd. I agree with getting Sogard way more reps.

And I'm happy Zaitsev has been left at home, but I still think the coach will have him in the opening night line up.

I don't know what the answer is on defense, but I do not think it is Chych. The guy has never played a full season of hockey at the NHL level.

Obviously any move that see's Zaitsev out of town and Chychrun in town is a vast improvement but I just don't think it makes us a contender as it does not address the need for a defensive minded guy that stabilizes things in Ottawa's end of the rink.

I know right shot d-men are always difficult to find but I'm still surprised it is as difficult as it is to find one that isn't the typical puck moving offensive type as those seem to be what teams always want. Maybe I'm wrong.

Sucks Gudbranson couldn't put it together here as credit to Dorion he did fit the bill on paper of what the team needed. A big right shot defensive defenseman.

Maybe it is all just on DJ Smith.

I don't know what the answer is on defense, but I do not think it is Chych. The guy has never played a full season of hockey at the NHL level.

Obviously any move that see's Zaitsev out of town and Chychrun in town is a vast improvement but I just don't think it makes us a contender as it does not address the need for a defensive minded guy that stabilizes things in Ottawa's end of the rink.

I know right shot d-men are always difficult to find but I'm still surprised it is as difficult as it is to find one that isn't the typical puck moving offensive type as those seem to be what teams always want. Maybe I'm wrong.

Sucks Gudbranson couldn't put it together here as credit to Dorion he did fit the bill on paper of what the team needed. A big right shot defensive defenseman.

Maybe it is all just on DJ Smith.
- TDBSenatoR

The Gudbranson situation was difficult. I thought he was a great add at the time. But, it was too soon. Veteran players go crazy when they need to play behind kids who are just learning the NHL game. A veteran often ends up looking bad and taking the criticism when the kids drop off on their defensive coverage or fail to complete a check.

The timing on Holden was much better and I think he was pretty solid last year. I would be happy if they could do another Holden to try and further stabilize the depth on the back end.

I do like Chychrun. He adds size and the Sens need to get bigger on defence. He would also make it easier to manage Sanderson's ice time and avoid imposing heavy expectations that he perform at an elite level coming straight out of the gate.

The Gudbranson situation was difficult. I thought he was a great add at the time. But, it was too soon. Veteran players go crazy when they need to play behind kids who are just learning the NHL game. A veteran often ends up looking bad and taking the criticism when the kids drop off on their defensive coverage or fail to complete a check.

The timing on Holden was much better and I think he was pretty solid last year. I would be happy if they could do another Holden to try and further stabilize the depth on the back end.

I do like Chychrun. He adds size and the Sens need to get bigger on defence. He would also make it easier to manage Sanderson's ice time and avoid imposing heavy expectations that he perform at an elite level coming straight out of the gate.
- spatso

Very true actually having Chychrun around for the purpose of sheltering Sanderson from huge expectations for a few years would actually be very valuable.

I just hope it doesn't cost the Sens long term competitiveness to bring him in.

dorion better get off his ass and make a trade for chych soon if he is the target, as teams are having players get injuries his price will only go up....

Tim Stützle 8 x $8.35M vs Mathew Barzal @ 8 x $9.15M?

TS had 22G / 36A in 79GP. Total GP = 132.

MB had 15G / 44A in 73GP. Total GP = 362.

Discuss.

Tim Stützle 8 x $8.35M vs Mathew Barzal @ 8 x $9.15M?

TS had 22G / 36A in 79GP. Total GP = 132.

MB had 15G / 44A in 73GP. Total GP = 362.

Discuss.
- HoweHatrick

It seems the Sens got the more acceptable contract.

I wouldn’t be so quick to knock some of the Murray training exercises with the Leafs. Peripheral vision can get people to become lazy. Working on tracking the puck without the use of peripheral vision sounds silly, but if done right, he could track the puck better after the fact. Ottawa didn’t seem to make much of an attempt to work on his basic skills, but Murray also seemed to have checked out in Ottawa. I hope he can regain some level of 1A play in Toronto, but hard for a goalie to bounce back after multiple poor seasons.

Will be interesting to see if Dorion grabs a d-man. I have kind of soured on the through of Chychurn but he would still be a decent option assuming the price is right. Just seems like the negotiations have gone on way too long to have something fall in place now.

Tim Stützle 8 x $8.35M vs Mathew Barzal @ 8 x $9.15M?

TS had 22G / 36A in 79GP. Total GP = 132.

MB had 15G / 44A in 73GP. Total GP = 362.

Discuss.
- HoweHatrick

Tough to really dispute either contract, given that they're the most dynamic offensive players on their respective teams. Barzal is more NHL-established but has trended down since his wildly successful rookie season, while Stutzle's offensive potential continues to trend higher... especially with the addition of DeBrincat & Giroux as regular linemates.

Tim Stützle 8 x $8.35M vs Mathew Barzal @ 8 x $9.15M?

TS had 22G / 36A in 79GP. Total GP = 132.

MB had 15G / 44A in 73GP. Total GP = 362.

Discuss.
- HoweHatrick

Fact & Everyone will agree: Barzal has accomplished a lot more than Stutzle; if looking at what he's done, Barzal deserves much more than TS

Fact & Everyone will agree: Stutzle received his contract on what he is expected to accomplish. Barzal will be 26 when his contract starts next season - Stutzle will be 21. There's a 4.5 year gap between the two. That's quite significant indeed.

My take - both are great players, and I think Barzal would score more playing on certain teams (EDM, TOR, COL, TBL) - heck the PP alone would be a game changer. With that said, on Stutzle, he is going to hit 70 points this season IMO if he plays 80+ games. He has too much skill, too much talent around him. If the Sens get their D and goaltending in order, in 2-3 years, he will be the #1 center Sens were praying for he was drafted

Very tough day to day for me that follow me Twitter. I just wanted to say a big thank you to the dozens and dozens of messages that I have received, thank you to this great hockey community!

well that went downhill quickly for OTT....