Hockey's Back!
And so the start of the 2022-2023 NHL hockey season is upon us.
Well, technically it started this past weekend with the Nashville Predators and the San Jose Sharks opening the season in the Czech Republic with a pair of games as part of the Global something-or-other series.
The Ottawa Senators will be playing in a couple of days (Thursday), when they visit the Buffalo Sabres, which I'm looking forward to seeing. But...
Hockey's back!
The Senators had a terrific off-season that saw the team create a new, positive dynamic for themselves, though it all started with a tragic loss - the death of team owner Eugene Melnyk in late March. Love him or hate him, the fans of the Ottawa Senators and the people of Ottawa owe Mr. Melnyk a debt of gratitude for keeping the Sens alive as a team in August of 2003, when the future of the Sens and NHL hockey in Ottawa was in doubt. I'm not going to go into the positives and negatives of Mr. Melnyk's owning the team, but fortunately, plans for the future were already in place, though the matter of the team ownership is something that is still unclear.
The immediate impact on the team was very simply a change in the hockey culture in Ottawa. It started with the Sens trading for 40+ goal scorer Alex DeBrincat from the Chicago Blackhawks for a pittance, then proceeded to making a splash on the first day of Free Agency with the acquisition of Claude Giroux on July 1st. The Sens also switched goalies with the Minnesota Wild, trading Filip Gustavsson for Cam Talbot. They signed Tim Stüzle and Josh Norris to long-term deals, brought in a whole crop of rookies who promise to have bright futures in the NHL (one of whom, Jake Sanderson, appears to be a star in the making), got rid ofunloaded goalie Matt Murray (to the Toronto Maple Leafs) at almost no cost, saw a few players from last year sign PTOs with other teams but fail to earn a job with them, traded Connor Brown to the Washington Capitals and signed free agent Tyler Motte to replace him defensively. Finally, the Sens signed Derick Brassard to a one-year deal for a second stint with the team after he impressed them during a PTO contract. Whew! A lot of activity in the off-season.
I will say that I'm still somewhat in shock at all the change that has been made to the Ottawa Senators' line-up, but that overall I'm pretty pleased with what's happened and all. The fact that D-man Nikita Zaitsev remains with the team is the only sore spot that I have about all the changes, as he's really not got the skills or the hockey sense any longer that made him worth the contract paid him several years ago. We'll have to wait and see what his fate will be. One thing is for sure: the Ottawa Senators will have a lot more offence this year. The question is whether the defence will be able to keep the puck out of the net, but the goaltending tandem of Anton Forsberg and Cam Talbot (when he returns from injury in November) should be much better than what they had last season. And the season before that, come to think of it. I think the rebuild of the Senators is done, to be honest, though it may still take a bit of tweaking to make the mixture just right. Still, based on the pre-season the Sens had this year, it should be a fun, exciting team to watch. 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 they may well just squeak in; they're in a very tough division and conference, to be honest and the other teams around them made changes too, so only time will tell how things shake out. That said, they finished 27 points (if I remember correctly) out of the last Wild Card spot last year, so to be honest, I think they have a chance to make the playoffs this year. It will all come down to how the team performs, injuries the team has to deal with over the course of the season, and a few other elements and factors. But I think this is a much better team, with a positive, much better approach to the game this season, so 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! :)
Well, technically it started this past weekend with the Nashville Predators and the San Jose Sharks opening the season in the Czech Republic with a pair of games as part of the Global something-or-other series.
The Ottawa Senators will be playing in a couple of days (Thursday), when they visit the Buffalo Sabres, which I'm looking forward to seeing. But...
Hockey's back!
The Senators had a terrific off-season that saw the team create a new, positive dynamic for themselves, though it all started with a tragic loss - the death of team owner Eugene Melnyk in late March. Love him or hate him, the fans of the Ottawa Senators and the people of Ottawa owe Mr. Melnyk a debt of gratitude for keeping the Sens alive as a team in August of 2003, when the future of the Sens and NHL hockey in Ottawa was in doubt. I'm not going to go into the positives and negatives of Mr. Melnyk's owning the team, but fortunately, plans for the future were already in place, though the matter of the team ownership is something that is still unclear.
The immediate impact on the team was very simply a change in the hockey culture in Ottawa. It started with the Sens trading for 40+ goal scorer Alex DeBrincat from the Chicago Blackhawks for a pittance, then proceeded to making a splash on the first day of Free Agency with the acquisition of Claude Giroux on July 1st. The Sens also switched goalies with the Minnesota Wild, trading Filip Gustavsson for Cam Talbot. They signed Tim Stüzle and Josh Norris to long-term deals, brought in a whole crop of rookies who promise to have bright futures in the NHL (one of whom, Jake Sanderson, appears to be a star in the making), got rid ofunloaded goalie Matt Murray (to the Toronto Maple Leafs) at almost no cost, saw a few players from last year sign PTOs with other teams but fail to earn a job with them, traded Connor Brown to the Washington Capitals and signed free agent Tyler Motte to replace him defensively. Finally, the Sens signed Derick Brassard to a one-year deal for a second stint with the team after he impressed them during a PTO contract. Whew! A lot of activity in the off-season.
I will say that I'm still somewhat in shock at all the change that has been made to the Ottawa Senators' line-up, but that overall I'm pretty pleased with what's happened and all. The fact that D-man Nikita Zaitsev remains with the team is the only sore spot that I have about all the changes, as he's really not got the skills or the hockey sense any longer that made him worth the contract paid him several years ago. We'll have to wait and see what his fate will be. One thing is for sure: the Ottawa Senators will have a lot more offence this year. The question is whether the defence will be able to keep the puck out of the net, but the goaltending tandem of Anton Forsberg and Cam Talbot (when he returns from injury in November) should be much better than what they had last season. And the season before that, come to think of it. I think the rebuild of the Senators is done, to be honest, though it may still take a bit of tweaking to make the mixture just right. Still, based on the pre-season the Sens had this year, it should be a fun, exciting team to watch. 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 they may well just squeak in; they're in a very tough division and conference, to be honest and the other teams around them made changes too, so only time will tell how things shake out. That said, they finished 27 points (if I remember correctly) out of the last Wild Card spot last year, so to be honest, I think they have a chance to make the playoffs this year. It will all come down to how the team performs, injuries the team has to deal with over the course of the season, and a few other elements and factors. But I think this is a much better team, with a positive, much better approach to the game this season, so 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! :)