Harmless signing. Brass has been decently productive everywhere he's gone, a helpful add for any team especially at league min. Outside the HC situation there's no reason to believe this team can't weather it out this season, though it likely takes some seasoning. We'll see with this coaching.
- Bartacus

DJ is lost, nothing has changed. Very glad Dorion sees that Brassard is a better option than Parker Kelly and Watson. Seriously.

If Sens stay in their lane and maintain the same salary budget until the trade deadline they would have upwards of $15m in contracts they could absorb in deadline trades.

If they are able to swap out a Zaitsev salary for a Chychrun type salary, the numbers would remain roughly the same.

If the Sens can remain in contention beyond Christmas, they could make themselves formidable in the second half of the season.

Brassard is ok.
Ennis would have been AND IS better than Derick. Sorry.
Yes both players have familiarity with Ottawa, but I've liked Ennis better for his hustle and versatility. Oh well. Potato Tomato.

I agree on all the Zaitsev comments. The mo-mo's on 1200 pick apart Lassi's and JBD's game but don't compare them to Zaitsev. Were either of the rookies perfect in the pre-season? No. Were there hiccups? Yes. Was it pre-season with weakened line-ups? Yes. And they both outplayed Zaitsev easily.

I know Brannstrom hasn't turned out to be what we'd hoped. But at the same time the yo-yo'ing and Richarding him around with the call-ups has soured his relationship with this organization. PD is now doing the same thing with Lassi. Enough. The kid should be here.

Brassard is ok.
Ennis would have been AND IS better than Derick. Sorry.
Yes both players have familiarity with Ottawa, but I've liked Ennis better for his hustle and versatility. Oh well. Potato Tomato.

I agree on all the Zaitsev comments. The mo-mo's on 1200 pick apart Lassi's and JBD's game but don't compare them to Zaitsev. Were either of the rookies perfect in the pre-season? No. Were there hiccups? Yes. Was it pre-season with weakened line-ups? Yes. And they both outplayed Zaitsev easily.

I know Brannstrom hasn't turned out to be what we'd hoped. But at the same time the yo-yo'ing and Richarding him around with the call-ups has soured his relationship with this organization. PD is now doing the same thing with Lassi. Enough. The kid should be here.
- Octavarium

Keeping Zaitsev has nothing to do with his on ice performance. He has already sold his house. He is being moved. I can assure you that wherever he is going nobody wants to see him being called a minor league player with a $4.5m price tag. Sending him down makes trading him far more problematic at the other end of any deal. Remember the team where he is going is going to have a need to convince their fans and media on the wisdom of the move.

Once the deal is done we will better understand what the impasse was. Just guessing and I have wondered if Formenton may be somehow included in the mix.

Keeping Zaitsev has nothing to do with his on ice performance. He has already sold his house. He is being moved. I can assure you that wherever he is going nobody wants to see him being called a minor league player with a $4.5m price tag. Sending him down makes trading him far more problematic at the other end of any deal. Remember the team where he is going is going to have a need to convince their fans and media on the wisdom of the move.

Once the deal is done we will better understand what the impasse was. Just guessing and I have wondered if Formenton may be somehow included in the mix.
- spatso

If Dorion hadn't done all his other moves, and the top 9 hadn't come together so nicely, I think Formenton being unsigned and not in camp would be a much bigger story. Imagine if Batherson hadnt singed his extension ast year at this point?

I don’t mind the Brassard move. Doesn’t break the bank and he knows his role. This not like bringing in other veteran centres past who were being asked to play above their abilities (Tierney, Stephan, Anisimov, etc). This team has their top centres. Adding some insurance for the bottom of the lineup and injuries should be deemed a good thing. He also wants to play here, let’s not forget.

Zaitsev’s situation is dragging. As is addressing the defence as a whole. Right now, the only change from last season is adding Sanderson. Zaitsev’s preseason likely dragged down his value even further. At this point, I’d sacrifice a pick for the cap space if no other move is possible. However, not a lot of teams need to take on a crummy contract right now.

...I thought we'd heard at the draft that Dorion had a deal with Chicago that included Zaitsev and a 2nd round for a warm AHL body from the Hawks.

Revisit that?

...I thought we'd heard at the draft that Dorion had a deal with Chicago that included Zaitsev and a 2nd round for a warm AHL body from the Hawks.

Revisit that?
- Octavarium

Maybe the price has gone up? You'd have to think (hope?) they'd have made that trade by now if they could, particularly since they traded Brown for a 2nd from Washington.

Sooooo...... Alex Formenton playing for this team?

Sooooo...... Alex Formenton playing for this team?
- AlfieisKing

The lack of a contract rather concerning.

Is it just because of hte timing, that he was unsigned when the story started to break, or is there more going on here?

I agree on all the Zaitsev comments. The mo-mo's on 1200 pick apart Lassi's and JBD's game but don't compare them to Zaitsev. Were either of the rookies perfect in the pre-season? No. Were there hiccups? Yes. Was it pre-season with weakened line-ups? Yes. And they both outplayed Zaitsev easily.
- Octavarium

Even if they didn't easily outplay Zaitsev, there's a lot more tolerance within the fanbase for errors from JBD/Thomson because its generally understood that it's an investment in their development. There's also the benefit of optimism around the first round pedigree of those prospects, as well as the moderated expectations that come from playing younger players. Conversely, errors made by Zaitsev at $4.5M/yr are just grating because there's no constructive upside to the situation, and they achieve little more than polarizing the situation even further.

https://www.youtube.com/w...EElA&ab_channel=SPORTSNET

1:40 - Start there.

"We are going to lean on the Pageaus, Boros, Cc's, Ryans, Anderson, Tierney, Demelos" (all gone!!!)

"White, Brown, Balcers, Wolanin, Jaros, Harpur, Hogberg, Gustavsson" (all gone)

The lack of a contract rather concerning.

Is it just because of hte timing, that he was unsigned when the story started to break, or is there more going on here?
- david22

exactly. You think there would be a decision either way (sign or trade)

Not saying this is the wrong move because don't know what contract talks are like but it's annoying that another player won't be here

exactly. You think there would be a decision either way (sign or trade)

Not saying this is the wrong move because don't know what contract talks are like but it's annoying that another player won't be here
- AlfieisKing

I've mentioned this before, but I can't see anyone trading for him right now.

Some interesting scoring projections for the top-6 Senators forwards from both ESPN and NHL...

ESPN Projections
https://fantasy.espn.com/...ockey/players/projections
79 - Batherson
78 - Tkachuk
76 - DeBrincat
69 - Giroux
69 - Norris
68 - Stutzle

NHL Projections
https://www.nhl.com/news/...-stat-2022-23/c-290800452
75 - DeBrincat
73 - Tkachuk
70 - Norris
69 - Stutzle
64 - Giroux
63 - Batherson

Overall, it seems to be a relatively fair assessment of the offensive potential of the group. There seems to be consensus that DeBrincat will have a mid-70's type season, which implies a near-40G performance. It's kind of interesting that Batherson has the biggest swing between the two predictions, but that may be a function of expected GP. And despite the clear increases in projected scoring for most of the forwards, Chabot was predicted by ESPN to hit just 48pts this year. Given the major upgrade to the PP, you'd have to think it would be relatively disappointing for Chabot not to return to a >50pts season, or at least have that PPG scoring pace.

Even if they didn't easily outplay Zaitsev, there's a lot more tolerance within the fanbase for errors from JBD/Thomson because its generally understood that it's an investment in their development. There's also the benefit of optimism around the first round pedigree of those prospects, as well as the moderated expectations that come from playing younger players. Conversely, errors made by Zaitsev at $4.5M/yr are just grating because there's no constructive upside to the situation, and they achieve little more than polarizing the situation even further.
- khawk

I think management thinks that if they put the player on waivers, he's seen as a lost cause and untradable. But then, everything up til now points to that very fact. It's frustrating to have an expensive pylon that everybody has made their mind up on blocking younger players who still have the potential to show they belong. As it stands I don't know if any of those young players really 'fit', because they simply aren't given the oxygen to demonstrate it. This pattern has been blocking and yoyoing Brannstrom for years to such an extent that I have well and truly no idea if Brannstrom is an NHL player or not.

Brassard is ok.
Ennis would have been AND IS better than Derick. Sorry.
Yes both players have familiarity with Ottawa, but I've liked Ennis better for his hustle and versatility. Oh well. Potato Tomato.

I agree on all the Zaitsev comments. The mo-mo's on 1200 pick apart Lassi's and JBD's game but don't compare them to Zaitsev. Were either of the rookies perfect in the pre-season? No. Were there hiccups? Yes. Was it pre-season with weakened line-ups? Yes. And they both outplayed Zaitsev easily.

I know Brannstrom hasn't turned out to be what we'd hoped. But at the same time the yo-yo'ing and Richarding him around with the call-ups has soured his relationship with this organization. PD is now doing the same thing with Lassi. Enough. The kid should be here.
- Octavarium

Ennis was solid here and could do pretty much everything Brassard does, so great point in bringing up his name. Oh don't get me started with Lloyd or Creech, they are awful.....I cant listen to them....no doubt they're jerking around Thomson even more as it's been 2 years of this whereas with JBD only 1 year. To have either of them here over Zaitsev, getting practice reps at the NHL level for a week or two wouldn't hurt them...

I think management thinks that if they put the player on waivers, he's seen as a lost cause and untradable. But then, everything up til now points to that very fact. It's frustrating to have an expensive pylon that everybody has made their mind up on blocking younger players who still have the potential to show they belong. As it stands I don't know if any of those young players really 'fit', because they simply aren't given the oxygen to demonstrate it. This pattern has been blocking and yoyoing Brannstrom for years to such an extent that I have well and truly no idea if Brannstrom is an NHL player or not.
- Bartacus

Very true and a few people in the org have mentioned this to me, but man.....I look at it now and think.....every team in the NHL knows Zaitsev isn't more than 6/7 guy on defense. His value was terrible last year, it cant get any worse. But I agree with you to on Branny, he was blocked last year, then got jerked around. It' sad that Lassi and JBD feel like one mistake hurts them but that is what this coach has done with them....he has them thinking this!

Even if they didn't easily outplay Zaitsev, there's a lot more tolerance within the fanbase for errors from JBD/Thomson because its generally understood that it's an investment in their development. There's also the benefit of optimism around the first round pedigree of those prospects, as well as the moderated expectations that come from playing younger players. Conversely, errors made by Zaitsev at $4.5M/yr are just grating because there's no constructive upside to the situation, and they achieve little more than polarizing the situation even further.
- khawk

Right on, well said!

I think management thinks that if they put the player on waivers, he's seen as a lost cause and untradable. But then, everything up til now points to that very fact. It's frustrating to have an expensive pylon that everybody has made their mind up on blocking younger players who still have the potential to show they belong. As it stands I don't know if any of those young players really 'fit', because they simply aren't given the oxygen to demonstrate it. This pattern has been blocking and yoyoing Brannstrom for years to such an extent that I have well and truly no idea if Brannstrom is an NHL player or not.
- Bartacus

I can believe they're trying to frame Zaitsev as anything but an overpaid NHL liability, but at some point you need to compartmentalize and move on. This team has real on-ice expectations at this point, and there's no world in which it's appropriate for Zaitsev to be playing on Thursday night. If they really did have an offer in place to move on from him for a 2nd round pick, they were fools not to jump at that chance. It's called addition by subtraction... you set a whole new attitude in training camp with an open RHD spot for the likes of Thomson & Bernard-Docker to compete for. Maybe you even bring in a guy like De Haan or Stralman on a PTO. Hell, those guys were good enough to still be in the mix for CAR/BOS, so I'm pretty sure they would have been more than good enough to play 3rd pairing minutes for OTT... all without the expectation of more than a league-minimum 1yr contract. Instead, they still have this horse$hit looming over their heads, overshadowing would should be the start of a very exciting season.

It's been a very good off-season for the most part, but this Zaitsev thing just continues to be a total gong show.

I don’t mind the Brassard move. Doesn’t break the bank and he knows his role. This not like bringing in other veteran centres past who were being asked to play above their abilities (Tierney, Stephan, Anisimov, etc). This team has their top centres. Adding some insurance for the bottom of the lineup and injuries should be deemed a good thing. He also wants to play here, let’s not forget.

Zaitsev’s situation is dragging. As is addressing the defence as a whole. Right now, the only change from last season is adding Sanderson. Zaitsev’s preseason likely dragged down his value even further. At this point, I’d sacrifice a pick for the cap space if no other move is possible. However, not a lot of teams need to take on a crummy contract right now.
- Gord_Wilson_2.0

Great point, to think the only change on the blueline is Sanderson goes on PD. Yes, Zaitsev's pre-season had to drag down any value he had left lol.