not pretty.

Javentie 3rd goal so far in pre-season and Jiri Smejkal 4 points so far in pre-season, both should make roster for reg season start

If Jarventie and Smejkal keep it up, they are going to make decisions awfully hard for the management team.
Sokolov is now waiver exempt and could be claimed if he is sent down.
Josh Bailey is really not doing much to show that he deserves a contract.
And I still say you can't play Kelly and MacEwen in the same game on the same line.

And enough is enough. Dorion needs to get Pinto into camp now. Quit f**king around and get it done.

The Senators beat the Panthers 4-2 on Sunday to improve their preseason record to 4-1-0.
https://youtu.be/ywIR_ibzLVw?si=MqKrsxHN3YkNdfxZ

This game was really the Drake Batherson show, as he put up an impressive 1G-3A performance, and was the best player on the ice for either team. Smejkal and Jarventie added 1G-1A each, and continued to Impress. Forsberg got the win in goal and was fairly busy, given that FLA outshot OTT by a 35-31 margin.

Hopefully the late goal by Kelly doesn't overshadow his team-worst -2 performance in today's game, or in any way insulates him from a very weak preseason overall. If he's in the lineup ahead of someone like Smejkal to start the season, it will truly be delusional on the part of Dorion/Smith.

Ducks claimed him.
- Ratsreign

What’s the word on this cat we got from you ??

What’s the word on this cat we got from you ??
- dozerD10

Thomson? Offensively inclined, good size, right handed, puts up decent numbers but has gotten very few looks with the big club and appeared to not have the confidence of our coaches. Then again, our coaches have been frequently excoriated for dubious habitualities and making some very questionable moves these past years. I would have preferred not to lose him, but hopefully he's going somewhere he will get a chance to play. Nothing wrong with the player except that he's waiver eligible. If he's going to be an NHLer, he needs some NHL ice time. He could play Drysdale's role, albeit as a poor facsimile, until JD signs. If Anaheim waives the player in the next 30 days, I'm pretty much 100% certain Ottawa will use waiver preference to pick him back up and stick him in the minors (much like TBL/Seattle did with Alex Barré-Boulet).

Thomson? Offensively inclined, good size, right handed, puts up decent numbers but has gotten very few looks with the big club and appeared to not have the confidence of our coaches. Then again, our coaches have been frequently excoriated for dubious habitualities and making some very questionable moves these past years. I would have preferred not to lose him, but hopefully he's going somewhere he will get a chance to play. Nothing wrong with the player except that he's waiver eligible. If he's going to be an NHLer, he needs some NHL ice time. He could play Drysdale's role, albeit as a poor facsimile, until JD signs. If Anaheim waives the player in the next 30 days, I'm pretty much 100% certain Ottawa will use waiver preference to pick him back up and stick him in the minors (much like TBL/Seattle did with Alex Barré-Boulet).
- Bartacus

Max Guenette is looking really good and the Sens best RD prospect ahead of Bernard-Docker on RD.

32 Thoughts: The Podcast with Jeff Marek and NHL Insider Elliotte Friedman

Go check this out around the 15 minute mark .... https://www.sportsnet.ca/...st-kept-secret-in-hockey/


Thomson simply was not in Ottawa's top 8 or 9 d-men at this point and would see little to no likelihood of seeing action in Ottawa. Even if he did make the team, he would never have seen time on the powerplay. Teams probably recognized this and so why would they offer up anything in a trade when they feel they could have a chance at grabbing him off waivers.
He is a decent d-man (right side) with good slapshop. He also has potential to play defence on the power play. But he needs time on ice to develop. Which is why I am curious as to why they add him to their defence (Anaheim must keep him on the team, they can't send him to their AHHL team). So I wonder how Thomson will get enough playing time to develop. Maybe a scene change will help his confidence.

Now it gets interesting as the Sens place Bernard-Docker, and Sokolov on waivers. (Also Highmore and Larsson). I am wondering if either of them will pass through without being claimed.

Kevin Mandolese, defencemen Tyler Kleven and Nikolas Matinpalo, and forwards Zack Ostapchuk and Cole Reinhardt were also sent to Belleville.

On defence , that leaves Guenette and Larsson for the 7th spot.
Chabot/Chychrun
Sanderson/Zub
Brannstrom/Hamonic and Guenette (also a righty) or Larsson (a left-defence).


That leaves Chartier and the following question marks.
MacEwen and Kelly and Bailey have not IMO impressed much during camp. Will Bailey be left unsigned (I still say unlikely).

IMO, Greig, Jarventie and Smejkal seem to be playing for the empty spots. Winnipeg will be a busy night looking at the remaining bubble guys above.

JBD and Sokolov now on waivers. I don't understand what Dorion is doing here - waiving them won't get us Pinto-type space and risks us losing even more assets, unless Pinto has indicated that he'll sign 1*1. Yet somehow Parker Kelly is still on the team, which perplexingly means they value Kelly over JBD. If I am Andlauer and he loses both those guys, I would fire PD immediately.

The Senators beat the Penguins 3-0 on Monday to improve their preseason record to 5-1-0.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uivH6M4J7Fc&t=8s

The crowd may have been hoping to see the Crosby show, but it was the Senators who stole the show and put on a solid defensive display led by Joonas Korpisalo and his 40-save shutout. Tim Stutzle led the scoring with a 1G-1A performance, while Ridley Greig and Brady Tkachuk were the other two goal scorers. This game also featured the entire top-6D for the Senators, which no doubt played a significant role in the shutout result.

Watch out for another possible waiver claim on Tuesday, with both Egor Sokolov and Jacob Bernard-Docker going on waivers. If this happens, there will certainly be a lot of buzz regarding the team's asset management. And while it would be hard to argue that Bernard-Docker and Sokolov have done anything in training camp to prove they're ready for regular NHL work, the persistent retention of Parker Kelly will continue to make it hard to understand the relative value being placed on depth roster assets.

Bartacus pretty much nailed it on Lassi.
See my rant a few pages back on the "opportunity" he was given in Ottawa. I hope the kid excels in Anaheim. I mostly blame the coach on this one. The JBD waive just shows that Dorion is still willing to make (what's left of) his proudest embarrassment stick here in Ottawa. Did Branny look a little better last year? Sure. Was Hamonic really that good....no actually Sanderson made him look good. Bad bad bad asset management from the moment they were drafted.

I don't understand all this "bad asset management talk. As a player you are either good enough to make the team or you are not good enough. Thomson and JBD simply ran out of options. They couldn't crack the lineup, and the team can't reward subpar play with a spot on the roster.
The defence was set with Chabot/Chychrun/Sanderson/Zub. Neither JBD nor Thomson had the abilities of Brannstrom or Hamonic. Hamonic can play a heavier game and block shots and kill penalties. Neither Thomson nor JDB could show flashes of this. Both would have been relegated to 3rd d-man pairing, and would never (no matter how they developed) had the talent to crack the top 4.
A year or 2 ago they could have been traded but Ottawa was keeping them for depth as they tried to figure out what was there.
Did any of you truly think they were top 5 d-man material ? Sometimes you just let a player walk away.
As for Sokolov. I think his game is really in the top 9 forward rank. But he is too slow for consistency here. He is not a checking forward nor is he an "energy" player. He seems to be passed by Jarventie, Greig, and Smejkal at this point in camp.

The Sokolov/JBD moves are pretty clearly about trying to clear one-way contracts from the books to create enough cap space to sign Pinto. There's absolutely no rational argument for keeping a waiver-exempt Guenette over JBD if they legitimately intend to carry 7D to start the season. Sokolov is a bit different in that the preseason has revealed that Jarventie, Greig, and Smekjal have a higher degree of middle-6F potential, however it doesn't mean he couldn't have played a 12/13F role if there was enough cap space to carry an extra forward.

Assuming this is the game plan for Pinto, expect Joseph to be waived before the end of training camp so they can get $1.125M of cap space back (the maximum amount saved by burying NHL contracts in the AHL). Combined with their existing ~$0.121M of cap space and the ~$1.580M saved on JBD/Sokolov, that should allow them to sign Pinto at ~$2.075M, x 1yr and Bailey to a league-minimum deal at $0.750M. They'd also need to demote Guenette before the season started, but he's waiver exempt and could be demoted along with the likes of Greig/Jarventie.

Somewhat overshadowed by the recent asset management issues has been the team's overall performance in the preseason. They've sometimes been facing less NHL-established rosters however the team has shown consistent improvement as it rounds into shape to start the year. And while these are obviously not regular-season games (and shouldn't ever be confused as such), it's certainly showing evidence of the defensive upgrades they've made since last year's training camp.

Pre-Season Results
3-2 vs. TOR
4-3 vs. TOR
3-4 vs. MTL
3-1 vs. WPG
4-2 vs. FLA
3-0 vs. PIT

In addition to scoring 3-4 goals in each of those games and putting up a 5-1-0 record, that's a GAA of 2.00 over the 6 preseason games and just 1.00 over the past 3 pre-season games. The latter also coincides in games where they've played more than 3 of their top-6D in the same game. And the only game they've lost is when they put by far their weakest roster on the ice, but still out-shot and out-hit MTL and held a 3rd-period lead.

Does it translate into the regular season? That's the question that DJ Smith's job will depend on.

It's bad asset management OttawaB (IMO anyhow) because as you pointed out--you either are good enough or you aren't. Show me when they gave 2 first round D men a legit shot to show what they had? When did this coach do that? No, I'm not talking last year. But the previous 3 years when the team iced garbage blue lines filled with veterans that nobody wanted to see. We the season ticket holding fans were prepared for a season full ---a WHOLE SEASON of Lassi and JBD to see what we had. Instead we got Brown...and others of his ilk.

Nothing would please me more than to see these to kids go somewhere else and be stud top 4's.

I don't understand all this "bad asset management talk. As a player you are either good enough to make the team or you are not good enough. Thomson and JBD simply ran out of options. They couldn't crack the lineup, and the team can't reward subpar play with a spot on the roster.
The defence was set with Chabot/Chychrun/Sanderson/Zub. Neither JBD nor Thomson had the abilities of Brannstrom or Hamonic. Hamonic can play a heavier game and block shots and kill penalties. Neither Thomson nor JDB could show flashes of this. Both would have been relegated to 3rd d-man pairing, and would never (no matter how they developed) had the talent to crack the top 4.
A year or 2 ago they could have been traded but Ottawa was keeping them for depth as they tried to figure out what was there.
Did any of you truly think they were top 5 d-man material ? Sometimes you just let a player walk away.
As for Sokolov. I think his game is really in the top 9 forward rank. But he is too slow for consistency here. He is not a checking forward nor is he an "energy" player. He seems to be passed by Jarventie, Greig, and Smejkal at this point in camp.
- OttawaB

Folks need to understand that most drafted players never play an NHL game. 2nd round picks do not have much better results than picks taken in the 3rd and 4th round.

Stutzle, Tkachuk, Batherson, Pinto, Grieg, Kestelec, Jarventie, Chabot and Sanderson plus Sogaard and Merillainen look like a really solid job. There are also a few guys on the fringes that might break through.

Other nice pieces have been added by way of trade (Norris, Chychrun, Braanstrom) and the recent free agent signings appear solid (Giroux, Tarasenko and Zub).

When folks focus on the guys that don't make it...they lose sight of how difficult the job of drafting and development has become. In the end, it is really about the player. At some point the team simply needs to let go of the guy who is not going to make it.

I kind of believe that Ottawa's asset management has been largely positive.
I think Guenette has shown more this preseason then JBD and Thomson. And Guenette was a 7th round pick.
Batherson was a 4rth round pick.
We have scooped up free agents from Europe .... Smejkal, Matinpalo, Zub ....
I just don't see the play required from JBD ... he had chances and came into camp flat and hesitant. Both JBD and Thomson look like they struggle with the pace of the NHL game. Even if they were "properly developed", I don't see them cracking the top 5 or 6 d-men at this point. We have seen both d-men being surpassed by others. That is on them. But I look at Guenette who IMO has had a better camp then JBD and Thomson (barely). But it is evident to all that Klevin will be joining the Sens sooner rather then later, and I think with more ice time to acclimate himself, that Matinpalo is next on the list. So where would JBD and Thomson fit in ? They simply ran out of runway in their development.
And if you're concerned about Ottawa's lack of asset development (every team has their "failures), just look at Larsson for the Sens on defence .... a past first round pick of Anaheim who could never seem to make it (although if Ottawa keeps a 7th d-man, then it could be Guenette or Larsson). Being a 7th d-man for Thomson or JBD is not ideal, as they need playing time they could only get in Belleville. They can't be kept up and then sat for vast stretches.

The only asset management errors in the recent waiver decisions are not using them as trade bait for the last 1-3 years. Unless they are Mika Zibanejad, this team has a fixation on holding prospects too long until they are worth nothing. We’ve seen it before with the likes of Cowen, Lazar, Ceci, etc.

JBD, Thompson, and Sokolov did not show they were ready for the NHL. Welcome to the big boy league where they are now not waiver exempt. Could they thrive in other environments? Maybe. Maybe not. I am sure the club tried to move them for small assets but there were no takers. They were selling stocks at all-time lows. It is what it is.

The only asset management errors in the recent waiver decisions are not using them as trade bait for the last 1-3 years. Unless they are Mika Zibanejad, this team has a fixation on holding prospects too long until they are worth nothing. We’ve seen it before with the likes of Cowen, Lazar, Ceci, etc.

JBD, Thompson, and Sokolov did not show they were ready for the NHL. Welcome to the big boy league where they are now not waiver exempt. Could they thrive in other environments? Maybe. Maybe not. I am sure the club tried to move them for small assets but there were no takers. They were selling stocks at all-time lows. It is what it is.
- Gord_Wilson_2.0

I don't disagree with this assessment. But they did keep Thomson and JBD to develop in Belleville because we did not have much on defence at the time .... Zub was brand new to the NHL, Sanderson and Chychrun weren't around. You can't throw rookie d-men like Thomson and JBD to the wolves on a bad team. It would have destroyed them even more. So you bring in veteran slugs to take the punishment and let the younger guys develop in Belleville. With Sokolov, I don't think anyone knows what he is yet.

Most teams in cap trouble are doing what the Senators are doing and hoping the player sneaks through. No one is going to tradefor these players when they know they can steal one for free through waivers (and that team plans to use that player for the whole season on the big team).

I don’t see you Staios with us!
Sorry kids!

I don’t see you Staios with us!
Sorry kids!
- sharky21

???

Watched Coming in Hot Podcast today. Interesting thought to remember.

JBD, Thomson, Sokolov, etc. are not "the guys" from the Staios/Tierney/new ownership era. I doubt that Dorion puts them on waivers without implicit knowledge from the new group. Staios has no connection to any of them and may just want to start wiping the slate clean of some of this log jam of prospects. I wouldn't be surprised to see Joeseph traded away (if Smejkal continues to play well and can take over the penalty kill from Joseph ... apparently that is what he excelled at in the Euro leagues ... from Mendes interview).
We forget that new groups coming in do not have the same connection with the players /prospects. Everyone's slate is wiped clean and they start over to impress the new bosses.

Watched Coming in Hot Podcast today. Interesting thought to remember.

JBD, Thomson, Sokolov, etc. are not "the guys" from the Staios/Tierney/new ownership era. I doubt that Dorion puts them on waivers without implicit knowledge from the new group. Staios has no connection to any of them and may just want to start wiping the slate clean of some of this log jam of prospects. I wouldn't be surprised to see Joeseph traded away (if Smejkal continues to play well and can take over the penalty kill from Joseph ... apparently that is what he excelled at in the Euro leagues ... from Mendes interview).
We forget that new groups coming in do not have the same connection with the players /prospects. Everyone's slate is wiped clean and they start over to impress the new bosses.
- OttawaB

Glad we have faith in our management so much now that we can rationalize this move. I also believe Thomson, JBD don't belong on this team.
BUT reality is (or 'we forget' that) PD signed JBD to a two year one way July 1st - weeks after Andlauer won the bid. And yeah - PD was in contact with Andlauer at that point. He signed JBD to a two year, one way contract. You don't sign players to a multi year one way and then drop them immediately. Even if he's mediocre in training camp - one way contracts in the minors don't help our cap situation. That's Pinto money blown. How we can call this anything but bad asset management is beyond my comprehension.

Apparently JBD and Sokolov both cleared waivers, so they dodged a major bullet there in terms of questionable asset management. Personally, I think there's a good chance you could see both traded before the end of the year, because they're of very limited use in terms of being an NHL call-up. It also probably doesn't help things that they were so publicly dismissed by the team. All eyes now on Joseph, as they can clear another $1.125M by putting him in the AHL, and then probably had enough to sign Pinto to a 1yr deal.