Hockey's Back!
And so the start of the 2018-2019 NHL hockey season is upon us.
The Ottawa Senators will not be playing until tomorrow (Thursday), when they host the Chicago Blackhawks, which I'm looking forward to seeing. But...
Hockey's back!
I will say that I'm not pleased with what the Senators did in the off-season, but can understand that changes needed to be made, though I think that Pierre Dorion made a mistake in letting Erik Karlsson get away (but suspect that this had more to do with Eugene Melnyk), but can understand why EK might have wanted out of Ottawa. Finishing 30th in the NHL last year was not something that the Sens, either players or management, are proud of, but this "rebuilding" of the team from the ground up is something that will take time to happen and there are going to be some very loooooong nights ahead for the fans, I suspect. The lack of a bona fide goal scorer and the very young, inexperienced defense is going to make this a long season, I suspect, but it will be exciting with all the youth on display. I'm a die-hard Senators fan, and I like to think (as all hockey fans do at this stage of the season) that the Sens will make the playoffs, but I'm realistic enough to know that this isn't likely to happen, though we could all be surprised. I'm not sure if there are any rules changes this year, but will catch up on those as and when they happen. I still wish the league would get rid of the shootout and overtime business in regular season games, as overtime should be reserved for the playoffs, but 3-on-3 overtime was exciting last year, to say the least!
From the pov of the Ottawa Senators, the keys are Mark Stone (who has the leadership skills the team needs this season, with all the newcomers and rookies in the line-up) and Matt Duchene, but neither may be around much longer, if Melnyk has anything to do with it. Cody Ceci needs to bring his game up a massive notch and youngster Thomas Chabot has to lead he defense and make the power play click. Craig Anderson and Bobby Ryan have to have good years in goal and offensively, respectively. Just too many elements in Ottawa that could be talked about and issues that will need to be handled by the players this year. Committee play will be important this year, methinks.
Meantime...
Go, Sens, Go! :)
The Ottawa Senators will not be playing until tomorrow (Thursday), when they host the Chicago Blackhawks, which I'm looking forward to seeing. But...
Hockey's back!
I will say that I'm not pleased with what the Senators did in the off-season, but can understand that changes needed to be made, though I think that Pierre Dorion made a mistake in letting Erik Karlsson get away (but suspect that this had more to do with Eugene Melnyk), but can understand why EK might have wanted out of Ottawa. Finishing 30th in the NHL last year was not something that the Sens, either players or management, are proud of, but this "rebuilding" of the team from the ground up is something that will take time to happen and there are going to be some very loooooong nights ahead for the fans, I suspect. The lack of a bona fide goal scorer and the very young, inexperienced defense is going to make this a long season, I suspect, but it will be exciting with all the youth on display. I'm a die-hard Senators fan, and I like to think (as all hockey fans do at this stage of the season) that the Sens will make the playoffs, but I'm realistic enough to know that this isn't likely to happen, though we could all be surprised. I'm not sure if there are any rules changes this year, but will catch up on those as and when they happen. I still wish the league would get rid of the shootout and overtime business in regular season games, as overtime should be reserved for the playoffs, but 3-on-3 overtime was exciting last year, to say the least!
From the pov of the Ottawa Senators, the keys are Mark Stone (who has the leadership skills the team needs this season, with all the newcomers and rookies in the line-up) and Matt Duchene, but neither may be around much longer, if Melnyk has anything to do with it. Cody Ceci needs to bring his game up a massive notch and youngster Thomas Chabot has to lead he defense and make the power play click. Craig Anderson and Bobby Ryan have to have good years in goal and offensively, respectively. Just too many elements in Ottawa that could be talked about and issues that will need to be handled by the players this year. Committee play will be important this year, methinks.
Meantime...
Go, Sens, Go! :)