TSN - Ottawa Makes a Splash at the 2018 Trade Deadline
Aug 9, 2016 18:58:22 GMT -5
bjernagris (PHI) and mbest (ANA) like this
Post by brob89 (NSH) on Aug 9, 2016 18:58:22 GMT -5
- TSN Ottawa
After last year's less than stellar performance at the trade deadline threatened to derail Ottawa's
chances at Stanley Cup glory (retrospect says it wasn't that big of a deal), clearly Ottawa management
wanted to make sure that this year was different. Their playoff preparations began early with trades
to acquire useful depth pieces Luke Schenn and Andreas Johnson, and continued on into the very last minute
of the trade deadline when, surprisingly, Ottawa acquired Mark Scheifele from their hated rivals, the Boston
Bruins (Managed by the notoriously horrible person, GM Beans), for a boatload of picks in the 2018 draft.
All in all, Ottawa shipped out 12 draft picks (including 9 in the first 3 rounds), 4 excellent prospects, fan favourite
Eddie Lack, and Connor Murphy. That is a fairly mind boggling outlay, and represents a massive loss in terms of
the franchise's future. This team's core is relatively young, but still, all teams have a shelf life, and fans are rightly surprised
by seeing such a significant amount of moves made involving valuable young assets leaving Ottawa.
When GM Lawblaw was asked about the team's activity around trade deadline, he seemed aware of those concerns, but
not overly affected by them.
"Anytime you're going in search of additions to your roster or organization, it's going to cost you something, and usually
it's something you don't want to give up. The other GM's in this league aren't stupid... except for Beans, of course. They
know that we're in a position to win, and they're going to use whatever available leverage they have to get the best possible
deal for their side, and so are we."
Perhaps the most important addition to this Senators team was goalie, Frederik Andersen, out of Arizona. Andersen has yet
to truly excel as an iNHL goalie up to this point in his career, but GM Lawblaw attributes that to his situations rather than his
overall ability. After his success in his sophomore season in Anaheim, Andersen has jumped around from team to team with Buffalo,
Chicago, and Arizona. His numbers seem to reflect that he never truly settled in his previous situations.
"Clearly Freddie hasn't had the greatest of seasons up to this point, but to be fair, neither has the team in front of him. We've
been keeping a very close eye on Freddie for a few years now, and we're very excited to have had the opportunity to bring
him in. Good goaltending is at the heart of any potential success that an iNHL team might have. We think we now have one
of the best tandems in the iNHL with Freddie and Güs, who is having such an excellent year for us. I'm extremely pleased, and
Freddie will hopefully be a big part of our success here for a long time."
It's not totally clear how the Senator's will line up now with their most recent additions. Auston Wagner was sent back down
to Binghamton this afternoon, and it is likely that he will remain there unless there are any long term injuries. But clearly Rob
Murray has a great number of options, all of them good, for how he is going to put together his lineup for tomorrow's game
against the lowly Stars. Murray spoke about that this evening after meeting with the team's newest additions.
"I am certainly spoiled for choice. It was a hard blow for us when EK went down, and it kind of felt like our season might
have taken a turn in that moment. But our boys are resilient and they play hard for each other and for this city. I'm really
proud of where we are in the Standings, and now our good team has only gotten better. It was hard to see some guys go.
Eddie and Connor both were big parts of our team and our success, but this is about winning and I like what we've put
together here."
Speaking about the new additions:
"I've had Andreas here for a while and he's starting to settle into his role. I'm an admirer of what Desjardins can do and has been
doing in New Jersey. He is a valuable asset to any team. Mark is a great team player and a great leader with a big body
that can play anywhere. Freddie is a world class goalie who will get a real chance to establish himself here as one of the
world's best players at his position. I'm excited for these guys, and excited for our team. It's really an ideal situation for
us all."
Senators fans are excited for another long playoff run, and this team looks like it won't disappoint. If they can just figure
out how to beat Buffalo and the Islanders, they're well positioned to get back to the Cup Finals. And once there, I'd pick the
team that's won it all any day of the week... and twice on Saturday.
- End -
After last year's less than stellar performance at the trade deadline threatened to derail Ottawa's
chances at Stanley Cup glory (retrospect says it wasn't that big of a deal), clearly Ottawa management
wanted to make sure that this year was different. Their playoff preparations began early with trades
to acquire useful depth pieces Luke Schenn and Andreas Johnson, and continued on into the very last minute
of the trade deadline when, surprisingly, Ottawa acquired Mark Scheifele from their hated rivals, the Boston
Bruins (Managed by the notoriously horrible person, GM Beans), for a boatload of picks in the 2018 draft.
All in all, Ottawa shipped out 12 draft picks (including 9 in the first 3 rounds), 4 excellent prospects, fan favourite
Eddie Lack, and Connor Murphy. That is a fairly mind boggling outlay, and represents a massive loss in terms of
the franchise's future. This team's core is relatively young, but still, all teams have a shelf life, and fans are rightly surprised
by seeing such a significant amount of moves made involving valuable young assets leaving Ottawa.
When GM Lawblaw was asked about the team's activity around trade deadline, he seemed aware of those concerns, but
not overly affected by them.
"Anytime you're going in search of additions to your roster or organization, it's going to cost you something, and usually
it's something you don't want to give up. The other GM's in this league aren't stupid... except for Beans, of course. They
know that we're in a position to win, and they're going to use whatever available leverage they have to get the best possible
deal for their side, and so are we."
Perhaps the most important addition to this Senators team was goalie, Frederik Andersen, out of Arizona. Andersen has yet
to truly excel as an iNHL goalie up to this point in his career, but GM Lawblaw attributes that to his situations rather than his
overall ability. After his success in his sophomore season in Anaheim, Andersen has jumped around from team to team with Buffalo,
Chicago, and Arizona. His numbers seem to reflect that he never truly settled in his previous situations.
"Clearly Freddie hasn't had the greatest of seasons up to this point, but to be fair, neither has the team in front of him. We've
been keeping a very close eye on Freddie for a few years now, and we're very excited to have had the opportunity to bring
him in. Good goaltending is at the heart of any potential success that an iNHL team might have. We think we now have one
of the best tandems in the iNHL with Freddie and Güs, who is having such an excellent year for us. I'm extremely pleased, and
Freddie will hopefully be a big part of our success here for a long time."
It's not totally clear how the Senator's will line up now with their most recent additions. Auston Wagner was sent back down
to Binghamton this afternoon, and it is likely that he will remain there unless there are any long term injuries. But clearly Rob
Murray has a great number of options, all of them good, for how he is going to put together his lineup for tomorrow's game
against the lowly Stars. Murray spoke about that this evening after meeting with the team's newest additions.
"I am certainly spoiled for choice. It was a hard blow for us when EK went down, and it kind of felt like our season might
have taken a turn in that moment. But our boys are resilient and they play hard for each other and for this city. I'm really
proud of where we are in the Standings, and now our good team has only gotten better. It was hard to see some guys go.
Eddie and Connor both were big parts of our team and our success, but this is about winning and I like what we've put
together here."
Speaking about the new additions:
"I've had Andreas here for a while and he's starting to settle into his role. I'm an admirer of what Desjardins can do and has been
doing in New Jersey. He is a valuable asset to any team. Mark is a great team player and a great leader with a big body
that can play anywhere. Freddie is a world class goalie who will get a real chance to establish himself here as one of the
world's best players at his position. I'm excited for these guys, and excited for our team. It's really an ideal situation for
us all."
Senators fans are excited for another long playoff run, and this team looks like it won't disappoint. If they can just figure
out how to beat Buffalo and the Islanders, they're well positioned to get back to the Cup Finals. And once there, I'd pick the
team that's won it all any day of the week... and twice on Saturday.
- End -