The NHL Hockey Season Is On!
Well, the 2021-2022 National Hockey League (NHL) season started a couple of days ago, but tonight the Ottawa Senators begin their season with a game here in Ottawa against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
The news broke this morning that Brady Tkachuk has finally signed a deal, 7 years worth an average of $8.21M or some such, but he won't be in the line-up for at least 10 days to two weeks, given that he missed all of training camp. So he's not going to be a factor early on. The Senators also announced that four players - Thomas Chabot, Nick Paul, Nikita Zaitsev, and Connor Brown - will wear the "A" on their sweaters, with Tkachuk getting an "A" as well when he gets on the ice. (I don't think he deserves a letter on his jersey, but I'm not the one who makes these decisions.) The team says they'll name a Captain later on in the season, but we'll see how that shakes out.
So what to expect from the Senators this season? I don't know for sure, but I'm of the opinion that they won't make the playoffs this season, though they'll come pretty close. Sure, they could surprise everyone (and I really hope they do!), but the team hasn't really made enough changes to make a real difference, given they're playing in such a strong Division. They added Michael Del Zotto and Nick Holden to bolster the defense, also reducing Chabot's ice time which will hopefully make him better, and that will help some, but haven't really added any scoring depth up front, though Zach Sanford (acquired from STL) will help a little. Still, with the injuries the team is dealing with (notably the loss of centres Clark Bishop and Colin White), the Sens don't have anything to write home about down the middle, and the forwards they've got don't have any 30 to 40 goal scorers on it. The team's power play is anaemic, which showed in the pre-season games and most of last season, and that problem hasn't been addressed. The Senators need to add another centre, preferably a veteran with a bit of scoring ability and face-off ability, as well as another winger with some power play credentials. Until they do so, this team isn't going to challenge for a Stanley Cup yet.
One area where the Senators are going to have to be better is in goal. Matt Murray had a terrible season after coming over from Pittsburgh, but there were extenuating circumstances to that, and he showed some of what he's capable of towards the end of the season, but the Sens will have to have solid goaltending out of the gate this year. Anton Forsberg, his back-up, wasn't very good in the pre-season, but it's only the games now that count. Because this Senators team is going to be low scoring, both Murray and Forsberg (and whoever else plays goal during the course of the season) are going to have to stand on their heads each night to give the Senators a chance to win.
Anyway, the new NHL season starts for the Senators tonight at home against the Maple Leafs, and I can't wait to see how things shape up.
Go Sens, Go! :)
The news broke this morning that Brady Tkachuk has finally signed a deal, 7 years worth an average of $8.21M or some such, but he won't be in the line-up for at least 10 days to two weeks, given that he missed all of training camp. So he's not going to be a factor early on. The Senators also announced that four players - Thomas Chabot, Nick Paul, Nikita Zaitsev, and Connor Brown - will wear the "A" on their sweaters, with Tkachuk getting an "A" as well when he gets on the ice. (I don't think he deserves a letter on his jersey, but I'm not the one who makes these decisions.) The team says they'll name a Captain later on in the season, but we'll see how that shakes out.
So what to expect from the Senators this season? I don't know for sure, but I'm of the opinion that they won't make the playoffs this season, though they'll come pretty close. Sure, they could surprise everyone (and I really hope they do!), but the team hasn't really made enough changes to make a real difference, given they're playing in such a strong Division. They added Michael Del Zotto and Nick Holden to bolster the defense, also reducing Chabot's ice time which will hopefully make him better, and that will help some, but haven't really added any scoring depth up front, though Zach Sanford (acquired from STL) will help a little. Still, with the injuries the team is dealing with (notably the loss of centres Clark Bishop and Colin White), the Sens don't have anything to write home about down the middle, and the forwards they've got don't have any 30 to 40 goal scorers on it. The team's power play is anaemic, which showed in the pre-season games and most of last season, and that problem hasn't been addressed. The Senators need to add another centre, preferably a veteran with a bit of scoring ability and face-off ability, as well as another winger with some power play credentials. Until they do so, this team isn't going to challenge for a Stanley Cup yet.
One area where the Senators are going to have to be better is in goal. Matt Murray had a terrible season after coming over from Pittsburgh, but there were extenuating circumstances to that, and he showed some of what he's capable of towards the end of the season, but the Sens will have to have solid goaltending out of the gate this year. Anton Forsberg, his back-up, wasn't very good in the pre-season, but it's only the games now that count. Because this Senators team is going to be low scoring, both Murray and Forsberg (and whoever else plays goal during the course of the season) are going to have to stand on their heads each night to give the Senators a chance to win.
Anyway, the new NHL season starts for the Senators tonight at home against the Maple Leafs, and I can't wait to see how things shape up.
Go Sens, Go! :)