Michael Stuart: Thumbs Up, Thumbs Down: Gudbranson Sinks Senators

There are already so many positives from this season that I can't wait what the coming years will bring: the emergence of Batherson (as expected), Stuetzle being the best player from last draft out of the gate, Zaitsev's and Zub's play at the back, Brannstrom finally getting it done, White's comeback, etc. etc.

Now all we need is a Murray comeback (I still don't believe he is a bad goalie per se, he just needs to become more consistent which is still something he can learn) and a good draft pick and it was an awesome season.

Overall I did not mind Gudbranson's game other than for the brain cramping that turned the game. 3 games in 4 nights is a heavy load on the legs and I thought the Sens maintained a good pace despite the weight of the schedule.

Stutzle was really dangerous in the attack zone and he is due for a huge night. Batherson is much better skater than I thought.

It was a good game and enjoyed it.

I fear Montreal is not going to get much better and they have a long way to fall before this season comes to an end.

Overall I did not mind Gudbranson's game other than for the brain cramping that turned the game. 3 games in 4 nights is a heavy load on the legs and I thought the Sens maintained a good pace despite the weight of the schedule.

Stutzle was really dangerous in the attack zone and he is due for a huge night. Batherson is much better skater than I thought.

It was a good game and enjoyed it.

I fear Montreal is not going to get much better and they have a long way to fall before this season comes to an end.
- spatso

then you clearly weren't watching.....he is, BY FAR, the worst dman on that roster. i would rather have cobourn or brown in there over gudbrandson

Stutzle had a golden opportunity to tie it up in th e 3rd, but passed it off to Batherson.

Hopefully next time he takes the shot.

Looking forward to thursday, hopefully Dzingle is back in by then.

Stutzle had a golden opportunity to tie it up in th e 3rd, but passed it off to Batherson.

Hopefully next time he takes the shot.

Looking forward to thursday, hopefully Dzingle is back in by then.
- david22

in his defence, if Chabot isn't out of position (he knocked the puck away) that was an easy tap in for Drake

The Gudbranson sequence was not great. Everything that could go wrong went wrong.

Gudbranson is not a great but he could be a lot worse. I sort of put him in the same category as Hainsey last year. Not great in any area but could be worse. Let’s not forget he was the only guy to stick up for Stu in the Calgary game after an ugly hit. Sure, he took a penalty, but you can’t have your prized prospects receiving cheap shots.

I do think it might be time to shake up the defence a bit and scratch him to have a birds-eye view. Sometimes that helps.

Really liked Daccord’s game. He looked confident all night. He’s a little small in the goal but his athleticism seemed to make up for it. Will be interesting to see if he gets a few more appearances. The Hogberg window might be closing faster than people thought.

The Gudbranson sequence was not great. Everything that could go wrong went wrong.

Gudbranson is not a great but he could be a lot worse. I sort of put him in the same category as Hainsey last year. Not great in any area but could be worse. Let’s not forget he was the only guy to stick up for Stu in the Calgary game after an ugly hit. Sure, he took a penalty, but you can’t have your prized prospects receiving cheap shots.

I do think it might be time to shake up the defence a bit and scratch him to have a birds-eye view. Sometimes that helps.
- Gord_Wilson_2.0

statistically speaking (in pretty much every stat that is tracked) Gudbrandson is way worse than Hainsey. his stats are ceci/cowen levels of bad

Really liked Daccord’s game. He looked confident all night. He’s a little small in the goal but his athleticism seemed to make up for it. Will be interesting to see if he gets a few more appearances. The Hogberg window might be closing faster than people thought.
- Gord_Wilson_2.0

agreed. his puck handling skills and rebound control were a breath of fresh air

statistically speaking (in pretty much every stat that is tracked) Gudbrandson is way worse than Hainsey. his stats are ceci/cowen levels of bad
- sensarmy_11

Ya. He’s bad. So was Hainsey. So was Cowen and Ceci. This is indisputable. Right now, you only have so many things you can do:

1. Replace him with Coburn. Opposite shot. Just as bad overall. Has been given less leadership responsibility. Could potentially put Brannstrom on his preferred side. Organization seems hesitant to put Brannstrom on his preferred but off side.
2. Replace him with Josh Brown. Same shot. Arguably the same overall skill.
3. Replace him with Wolanin and adjust pairings and put Brannstrom on his preferred side. Probably what most fans want. As mentioned, organization seems hesitant to put Brannstrom on his preferred but off side. Wolanin has been so-so in his opportunities.
4. Stay the current d pairings and assume a sequence like last night doesn’t happen again.

Not sure if I am missing other options?

Personally, I’d like to see option 3. Realistically, option 4 is probably what will happen. Fingers crossed the club walks away in the summer.

Ya. He’s bad. So was Hainsey. So was Cowen and Ceci. This is indisputable. Right now, you only have so many things you can do:

1. Replace him with Coburn. Opposite shot. Just as bad overall. Has been given less leadership responsibility. Could potentially put Brannstrom on his preferred side. Organization seems hesitant to put Brannstrom on his preferred but off side.
2. Replace him with Josh Brown. Same shot. Arguably the same overall skill.
3. Replace him with Wolanin and adjust pairings and put Brannstrom on his preferred side. Probably what most fans want. As mentioned, organization seems hesitant to put Brannstrom on his preferred but off side. Wolanin has been so-so in his opportunities.
4. Stay the current d pairings and assume a sequence like last night doesn’t happen again.

Not sure if I am missing other options?

Personally, I’d like to see option 3. Realistically, option 4 is probably what will happen. Fingers crossed the club walks away in the summer.
- Gord_Wilson_2.0

i agree that there aren't great options with the current roster.

my issue is the message it sends. young guys like branny, wolanin, etc get benched at the first hint of a single mistake......while someone like gudbrandson is a goddamn tire fire every time his skates touch the ice, and he never misses a shift.

failed clearing the d- zone, ( cant remember who it was but the video will show)when there was no one within 20 ft resulted in the first goal. ..within a matter of seconds.


I do like how they control the points now in the offensive zone,....it looks very good.

Overall a solid effort despite a couple lapses wich in the nhl usually result in g.a.

Cant wait to see Sanderson.

With Zaitsev and Zub, and J Brown being the rational candidate to expose to Seattle (though if Zaitsev drops off, maybe he's the one to put out there given his contract), Ottawa actually has a free spot to protect a D man. If you could flip Gudbranson 50% retained, maybe packaged with a L Brown type, what do you think Ottawa could reasonably get vis a vis a functional/not cataclysmically bad RD from a team with too many D men to protect in the expansion?

With Zaitsev and Zub, and J Brown being the rational candidate to expose to Seattle (though if Zaitsev drops off, maybe he's the one to put out there given his contract), Ottawa actually has a free spot to protect a D man.
- Bartacus

Chabot will obviously be the first D protected, but I'd say there's almost no chance they leave Zub exposed. He's a 25yo RHD with affordable RFA status, who's 6'2/200 with good mobility, and just starting to show his full potential. In fact, I'm not even sure they have to protect him, given that he's in his first NHL season... just like Brannstrom is exempt. Plus, with all of Gudbranson, Reilly, and Coburn approaching UFA status, it may mean they can effectively retain all of Chabot, Zaitsev, Wolanin, Zub, and Brannstrom.

With Zaitsev and Zub, and J Brown being the rational candidate to expose to Seattle (though if Zaitsev drops off, maybe he's the one to put out there given his contract), Ottawa actually has a free spot to protect a D man. If you could flip Gudbranson 50% retained, maybe packaged with a L Brown type, what do you think Ottawa could reasonably get vis a vis a functional/not cataclysmically bad RD from a team with too many D men to protect in the expansion?
- Bartacus

Gudbrandson is negative value right now, and Brown's value is very low also.

can't imagine you get much for a package like that.

Chabot will obviously be the first D protected, but I'd say there's almost no chance they leave Zub exposed. He's a 25yo RHD with affordable RFA status, who's 6'2/200 with good mobility, and just starting to show his full potential. In fact, I'm not even sure they have to protect him, given that he's in his first NHL season... just like Brannstrom is exempt. Plus, with all of Gudbranson, Reilly, and Coburn approaching UFA status, it may mean they can effectively retain all of Chabot, Zaitsev, Wolanin, Zub, and Brannstrom.
- khawk

As I understand it, they don't have to protect Zub as he's technically a rookie. The only contracted d men are Chabot, Zaitsev, and J Brown, and there is really no incentive thus far to protect Brown, as I see it, so the question mark here is whether Wolanin is worth protecting, and I am no longer sure if he is, especially with TC, EB, and JS in the system.

As I understand it, they don't have to protect Zub as he's technically a rookie. The only contracted d men are Chabot, Zaitsev, and J Brown, and there is really no incentive thus far to protect Brown, as I see it, so the question mark here is whether Wolanin is worth protecting, and I am no longer sure if he is, especially with TC, EB, and JS in the system.
- Bartacus

Pretty confident this is right. Zaitsev was on Torontos exempt list for the vegas draft and that was after his first season in the NHL similar to Zub.

I am not overly concerned with potential Sens losses in the expansion draft. In truth, the Sens do not have enough useful players that require protection.

Forwards: Other than Tkachuk, the remaining useful forwards do not require protection. I would not be surprised if Dorion opted to sign a free agent specifically to leave unprotected. There is no concern here.

Defense: Other than Chabot the remaining defensemen are not NHL level talent. Zaitsev and his farcical contract will likely exposed. Nonetheless, No defender exposed by the Sens will interest the the Kraken. There is no concern here.

Goal: I expect Dorion will protect Hog if he plays enough this season to qualify. This would allow Dorion to leave Murray exposed. The only concern here is the potential that the Kraken do not select Murray.

I am not overly concerned with potential Sens losses in the expansion draft. In truth, the Sens do not have enough useful players that require protection.

Forwards: Other than Tkachuk, the remaining useful forwards do not require protection. I would not be surprised if Dorion opted to sign a free agent specifically to leave unprotected. There is no concern here.

Defense: Other than Chabot the remaining defensemen are not NHL level talent. Zaitsev and his farcical contract will likely exposed. Nonetheless, No defender exposed by the Sens will interest the the Kraken. There is no concern here.

Goal: I expect Dorion will protect Hog if he plays enough this season to qualify. This would allow Dorion to leave Murray exposed. The only concern here is the potential that the Kraken do not select Murray.
- Jackie Daytona

Stutzle had a golden opportunity to tie it up in th e 3rd, but passed it off to Batherson.

Hopefully next time he takes the shot.

Looking forward to thursday, hopefully Dzingle is back in by then.
- david22

I saw that that too. But before the game started batherson was tied with 6 consecutives games with a goal so they tried to get batherson 7 to beat the all time franchise record. But now he's tied with 5 other guys

Gudbranson Icing the puck for no reason before the PP’s was the worst play

Gudbranson Icing the puck for no reason before the PP’s was the worst play
- Newgod77

You could rewrite this post as:

Gudbrandson "insert just about anything he ever does on the ice" was the worst play.

and it would still almost always be an accurate post.

How many player on this roster did Dzigle play with, despite not leaving not that long ago?

Tierny and Chabot?

How many player on this roster did Dzigle play with, despite not leaving not that long ago?
Tierny and Chabot?
- david22

You can add Tkachuk and White as regulars, and then a combination of Batherson, Paul, and Wolanin as significant AHL call-ups from that year (i.e. >10GP). Conversely, they've since traded away Pageau, DeMelo, Ceci, Smith, and Nilsson, traded for Murray, Zaitsev, Gudbranson, Reilly, Coburn, J. Brown, Stepan, C. Brown, and Watson, signed Dadonov and Zub, and drafted the likes of Stutzle, Grieg, Sanderson, Thomson, Pinto, Sogaard, Jarventie, Kleven, and Sokolov in just the 1st/2nd rounds of the past 2 drafts.