Hockey's Back!
And so the start of the 2019-2020 NHL hockey season is upon us.
The Ottawa Senators will be playing this evening (Wednesday), when they visit the Toronto Maple Leafs, which I'm looking forward to seeing. But...
Hockey's back!
I don't know whether I'm pleased or not about the off-season and summer that the Senators had, though I will freely admit that changes needed to be made. The deals and signings for former Maple Leafs (not to mention the new coach, D.J. Smith) are...intriguing, and give a whole new meaning to the Battle of Ontario this year, but we'll have to see how the dust shakes out on the deals. Nikita Zaitsev will be a good addition to the team, as will Tyler Ennis, but Connor Brown and Ron Hainsey remain unknowns to me (least of which because of the latter's age). That said, if they bring stability to the Ottawa defense and some scoring punch, I won't be unhappy. Artem Anisimov is an interesting addition, and should make an impact on scoring; hopefully his defensive abilities will be equal to the task at hand. The signing of Thomas Chabot to a long-term deal, and the signing of Colin White to another good deal are indicative that the Sens are trying to build the team around these two, but with a club owned by Eugene Melnyk anything is likely to happen. The rebuilding team this year, with a mix of veterans and youth, will be interesting and fun to watch, but I suspect there will still be some some very loooooong nights ahead for the fans, I suspect. 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. That said, the Sens finished in in last place in the league last year (if I remember correctly); the only way to go is up, right? :)
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!
Meantime...
Go, Sens, Go! :)
The Ottawa Senators will be playing this evening (Wednesday), when they visit the Toronto Maple Leafs, which I'm looking forward to seeing. But...
Hockey's back!
I don't know whether I'm pleased or not about the off-season and summer that the Senators had, though I will freely admit that changes needed to be made. The deals and signings for former Maple Leafs (not to mention the new coach, D.J. Smith) are...intriguing, and give a whole new meaning to the Battle of Ontario this year, but we'll have to see how the dust shakes out on the deals. Nikita Zaitsev will be a good addition to the team, as will Tyler Ennis, but Connor Brown and Ron Hainsey remain unknowns to me (least of which because of the latter's age). That said, if they bring stability to the Ottawa defense and some scoring punch, I won't be unhappy. Artem Anisimov is an interesting addition, and should make an impact on scoring; hopefully his defensive abilities will be equal to the task at hand. The signing of Thomas Chabot to a long-term deal, and the signing of Colin White to another good deal are indicative that the Sens are trying to build the team around these two, but with a club owned by Eugene Melnyk anything is likely to happen. The rebuilding team this year, with a mix of veterans and youth, will be interesting and fun to watch, but I suspect there will still be some some very loooooong nights ahead for the fans, I suspect. 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. That said, the Sens finished in in last place in the league last year (if I remember correctly); the only way to go is up, right? :)
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!
Meantime...
Go, Sens, Go! :)