Current state of Sens roster formation

DrEasy

Out rumptackling
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Oct 3, 2010
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It might be good to stop wheeling and dealing at this point, and use the space left under the cap closer to the beginning of the season, when players without a contract or teams desperate to shed salary to get under the cap may come knocking.
 

Xspyrit

DJ Dorion
Jun 29, 2008
31,639
10,552
Montreal, Canada
I'd love Teravainen, but it's his last chance at a big contract and he'd be a luxury for us at what he costs. He won't be signing for a penny less than $6 million aav, and we have no business spending that on a middle 6 winger before we had our RD situation sorted

Well, he signed for 5.4 AAV x 3 years... I really WISH we had signed him instead of Perron and Amadio (5.6 AAV) but it is what it is, we're a small canadian market between giants and we don't have the management to get us out of suckage (or mediocrity when/if we peak)

That isn’t a team that should finish towards the bottom of the league

Coaching and goaltending will determine this, as well as health in general but the roster is worse than last season.

Tarasenko > Perron
Joseph > Amadio
Kelly > Gregor
Kubalik < Crookshank (?)

Chychrun > Jensen (unless he bounces back to 21-22 form)
Brannstrom > Hamonic/JBD

Korpisalo < Ullmark

I'd be surprised in Montreal doesn't leap frog us in a couple years, their new management group is much more competent than the previous one and they are building things right over there.

Detroit might already be ahead but I don't really like their talent pool, they strike me as perpetual one and done type team destined for mediocrity. Don't know what Buffalo's issue is, they are loaded with talent and a great prospect pool but never seem to find a way to get it together, no idea when or if they will be a legit contender.

The top 4 dogs are so far ahead and will most likely remain that way for several years, I don't see them dropping off anytime soon.

Only reason they're not ahead now is because we started our rebuild 4 years earlier and they were stuck with several bad contracts but its incredible what their management has done. Their future is shaping pretty nicely while ours has been deteriorating for 3 years now.

Detroit and Buffalo are question marks like us I agree

Pretty much the entire TSN panel thought they did well and Marty Biron on overdrive said that they were the only team that improved out of Detroit, Buffalo and Montreal in the Atlantic.

I seriously don’t know how you can look at today’s roster and say it’s worse than last year. I seriously don’t know how you can have opinion. It’s objectively better.

Montreal is obviously not going for it, they are still rebuilding and are stockpiling talent, and high draft picks unlike Dorion did.

How would you do these comparisons?

Tarasenko vs Perron
Joseph vs Amadio
Kelly vs Gregor
Crookshank(?) vs Kubalik
Chychrun vs Jensen
Brannstrom vs Hamonic/JBD
Korpisalo vs Ullmark

I am not saying the Sens can't be better than last season but it requires :

- coaching change to be very efficient
- goaltending to be better
- Norris and Chabot to be healthy
- Giroux, Jensen and Perron to not decline too much

Problem you have is let's say it works out this year, then you have the problem that these 3 guys will continue to decline but our prospect pool is basically inexistant now, that's the problem. And I dont trust our chances on the UFA market to make this team better. I mean, we needed to turn this rebuild's momentum around and all we came up with is the changes above. Sorry but I don't see the optimism.

* since I'll be gone all day I'm getting ahead in saying that over the last 3 seasons (since Amadio finally became a NHL regular), Joseph scored 11 more pts (6 at ES) while playing on a rebuilding (vs championship team). Is he a defensive specialist or supreme physical player? Is he one of the fastest skaters or PK specialists like Joseph?
 
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lancepitlick

Registered User
Nov 20, 2016
418
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I don't think the talent level is much different, goalie aside, but the the hope has to be that the new players are a better fit with the other roster players and the coach. And they need Stutzle/Pinto/Greig/Sanderson to take a step forward, with Chabot/Norris bouncing back somewhat.

The team looked absolutely lost at times last year. If they can get rid of that inconsistency and look sort of like an NHL team when at their "worst" they'll improve their record.

I still don't see that this is a playoff team.

Fun experiment: if you swap out the core guys with some comparable NHL talent in terms of salary/accolades do you think it's a playoff team? Say Stutzle, Tkachuck, Sanderson, Chabot.

That'll tell you if it's the top or bottom half of the lineup that's the problem.
 

SensFanInMTL

Registered User
Apr 25, 2020
769
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You don't. It's pretty clear after this mediocre offseason we're picking top 10 again.
We cannot continue moving forward like this. 2016-2017 feels like only a few years ago and if this trend continues, we will be losing our assets into either by free agency or demanding a trade. The players have absolute collateral to do so.
 
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HSF

Registered User
Sep 3, 2008
26,511
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You know wingers are allowed to take faceoffs, right?


Batherson can play heavy when he's on. Giroux and Perron are excellent at boardplay and keeping the puck in the opposing zone. Tkachuk is Tkachuk.
if you don't understand why having a strong center ice throughout the lineup is important then you haven't been watching. Lots of situations where our young centers struggled last year and having a player incase that happens again would be nice especially in key situations like the PK and end of game situations
 
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HSF

Registered User
Sep 3, 2008
26,511
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Well, he signed for 5.4 AAV x 3 years... I really WISH we had signed him instead of Perron and Amadio (5.6 AAV) but it is what it is, we're a small canadian market between giants and we don't have the management to get us out of suckage (or mediocrity when/if we peak)



Coaching and goaltending will determine this, as well as health in general but the roster is worse than last season.

Tarasenko > Perron
Joseph > Amadio
Kelly > Gregor
Kubalik < Crookshank (?)

Chychrun > Jensen (unless he bounces back to 21-22 form)
Brannstrom > Hamonic/JBD

Korpisalo < Ullmark



Only reason they're not ahead now is because we started our rebuild 4 years earlier and they were stuck with several bad contracts but its incredible what their management has done. Their future is shaping pretty nicely while ours has been deteriorating for 3 years now.

Detroit and Buffalo are question marks like us I agree



Montreal is obviously not going for it, they are still rebuilding and are stockpiling talent, and high draft picks unlike Dorion did.

How would you do these comparisons?

Tarasenko vs Perron
Joseph vs Amadio
Kelly vs Gregor
Crookshank(?) vs Kubalik
Chychrun vs Jensen
Brannstrom vs Hamonic/JBD
Korpisalo vs Ullmark

I am not saying the Sens can't be better than last season but it requires :

- coaching change to be very efficient
- goaltending to be better
- Norris and Chabot to be healthy
- Giroux, Jensen and Perron to not decline too much

Problem you have is let's say it works out this year, then you have the problem that these 3 guys will continue to decline but our prospect pool is basically inexistant now, that's the problem. And I dont trust our chances on the UFA market to make this team better. I mean, we needed to turn this rebuild's momentum around and all we came up with is the changes above. Sorry but I don't see the optimism.

* since I'll be gone all day I'm getting ahead in saying that over the last 3 seasons (since Amadio finally became a NHL regular), Joseph scored 11 more pts (6 at ES) while playing on a rebuilding (vs championship team). Is he a defensive specialist or supreme physical player? Is he one of the fastest skaters or PK specialists like Joseph?
Perron brings a bigger edge than Tarasenko. I am concerned about his foot speed though
 
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HSF

Registered User
Sep 3, 2008
26,511
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Well Canucks fans were saying the same thing last summer ;)
canucks ended up having a norris defensemen, vezina candidate goalie and two really strong centers

we def need more from our guys... especially norris if we want to get to that level
 

BonHoonLayneCornell

Registered User
Oct 16, 2006
16,855
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Yukon
How would you do these comparisons?

Tarasenko vs Perron
Joseph vs Amadio
Kelly vs Gregor
Crookshank(?) vs Kubalik
Chychrun vs Jensen
Brannstrom vs Hamonic/JBD
Korpisalo vs Ullmark
My humble opinion...

Tarasenko > Perron
Joseph < Amadio
Kelly = Gregor
Crookshank(?) > Kubalik
Chychrun = Jensen
Brannstrom < Hamonic/JBD
Korpisalo<<<<<<<<<<<<<<Ullmark
 

bicboi64

Registered User
Aug 13, 2020
5,354
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Brampton
Tarasenko > Perron
Joseph > Amadio
Kelly > Gregor
Kubalik < Crookshank (?)

Chychrun > Jensen (unless he bounces back to 21-22 form)
Brannstrom > Hamonic/JBD

Korpisalo < Ullmark

How would you do these comparisons?

Tarasenko > Perron
Joseph > Amadio
Brannstrom > Hamonic/JBD
Kelly = Gregor
Korpisalo < Ullmark
Chychrun < Jensen
 
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SensFanInMTL

Registered User
Apr 25, 2020
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1720121424783.png
 

Icelevel

During these difficult times...
Sep 9, 2009
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Credit where it’s due. That was a lot of work to get done and in the end he did pretty good. It’s much better overall than last year. Only disappointment is I was hoping for a couple more(and younger than 34) impact players. One on d and one up top. Jensen should be good for a while. Just not who I was expecting or hoping for.
 

Stutzlaaaa

Registered User
Dec 18, 2021
283
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For all the people saying team on paper is better then last season I agree but remove Ulmark can you say without pink glass that this year roster is better then last year?

I think having a veteran RD defenseman will help a lot.
We were 26th (GF) offensively last year, Am feeling we can't do worse then that but at same time we betting on a lot of people to have strong season offensively next year to be above average.
So yeah Sens in playoff is still a reach for next season
 
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PlayOn

Registered User
Jun 22, 2010
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For all the people saying team on paper is better then last season I agree but remove Ulmark can you say without pink glass that this year roster is better then last year?

I think having a veteran RD defenseman will help a lot.
We were 26th (GF) offensively last year, Am feeling we can't do worse then that but at same time we betting on a lot of people to have strong season offensively next year to be above average.
So yeah Sens in playoff is still a reach for next season
I think it’ll be a lot easier to create consistent Powerplay units, a solid PK, and that the players on the team will know their roles.

I don’t think we are more talented, but we are more well rounded. When you add it all up, goaltending, better coaching, better special teams and players in specific roles that play to their strengths, I think the roster is significantly better in that sense.
 

Icelevel

During these difficult times...
Sep 9, 2009
25,800
5,828
For all the people saying team on paper is better then last season I agree but remove Ulmark can you say without pink glass that this year roster is better then last year?

I think having a veteran RD defenseman will help a lot.
We were 26th (GF) offensively last year, Am feeling we can't do worse then that but at same time we betting on a lot of people to have strong season offensively next year to be above average.
So yeah Sens in playoff is still a reach for next season
Even without the goalie swap it’s better.
 
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Micklebot

Moderator
Apr 27, 2010
56,709
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For all the people saying team on paper is better then last season I agree but remove Ulmark can you say without pink glass that this year roster is better then last year?

I think having a veteran RD defenseman will help a lot.
We were 26th (GF) offensively last year, Am feeling we can't do worse then that but at same time we betting on a lot of people to have strong season offensively next year to be above average.
So yeah Sens in playoff is still a reach for next season

Comparing this year's rost to last year's roster to this year's is a bit of a vague question, what was last year's roster?

Does last year's roster include Pinto despite him not being available half the year?

Does last year's roster account for us being unable to make injury callups because we were too tight to the cap, resulting in us playing a man short on opening night?

Do we expect to play equivalents to Hamonic 48 games or Chartier 37? Is that what you think of when you say last years roster?

Do we look at last year's roster with the knowledge of just how terrible Kubalik was or do we assume he won't be terrible? How about Chychrun, do we know how poor a fit, and how little a shit he will give defensively?

Injuries of course will happen, at some point maybe we'll actually see both Pinto and Norris be available at the same time, but I look at this roster and see a better constructed group, and a group where we should have more of the available throughout the year given to my knowledge nobody is slated to be suspended half the year.
 
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Stutzlaaaa

Registered User
Dec 18, 2021
283
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Comparing this year's rost to last year's roster to this year's is a bit of a vague question, what was last year's roster?

Does last year's roster include Pinto despite him not being available half the year?

Does last year's roster account for us being unable to make injury callups because we were too tight to the cap, resulting in us playing a man short on opening night?

Do we expect to play equivalents to Hamonic 48 games or Chartier 37? Is that what you think of when you say last years roster?

Do we look at last year's roster with the knowledge of just how terrible Kubalik was or do we assume he won't be terrible? How about Chychrun, do we know how poor a fit, and how little a shit he will give defensively?

Injuries of course will happen, at some point maybe we'll actually see both Pinto and Norris be available at the same time, but I look at this roster and see a better constructed group, and a group where we should have more of the available throughout the year given to my knowledge nobody is slated to be suspended half the year.

A lot of shit did go down last year which impacted the team for sure: change in ownership,pinto supension,dorion fiasco,norris injured again ect. Was talking about roster on paper objectively without taking consideration of what did happen when we played the season. A lot of people liked our team last year ,even Korpisalo lmao.

And let's not pretend we can't get the same formula( off ice issues) when season start . Just few examples players don't like the coach or new players *Perron lmao*, norris injured again or important player x, player want to be off the team doesnt like here ect, player x having an meh season. So yeah we can't know what will happens but we can't pretend that nothing will happen too.

I see the same problem on this roster as last year as you pointed out we still have thin depth in forward or even defense. The roster is more balanced*complete* then last year but we still have few guys that we can plug on top 9 or top 4 and be okay with it.

Am not trying to be pessimistic, I just don't think the improvement on the roster makes the team better right always it will take time for everyone to gel / find their roles and it's not sure that they will click like most people think here. Ex: Perron can be next Stepan XD, ulmark might have a down year so you never know.
To finish I think the difference maker not including Ulmark here are going to be :
Can Tkachuk Stu find another gear and improve there 200 foot play.
Is Giroux still to produce/be effective in a top 6 role
Can Norris play a full season and at least 75% of the level of his 35g season
Can Pinto be a Top 6 center that will create on his own behind Stu
Will Chabot finally find his game with a decent and veteran Top4 RD
Is the bottom 6 good enough to produce depth scoring
Do we see improvement from Sanderson or does he give us similar season as last two.

So still a lot of questions marks and will say far from a sure thing to be a playoff contender.
But I hope this year is the right one cause we deserve it us fan and few players on the team.
 

GCK

Registered User
Oct 15, 2018
16,656
10,867
For all the people saying team on paper is better then last season I agree but remove Ulmark can you say without pink glass that this year roster is better then last year?

I think having a veteran RD defenseman will help a lot.
We were 26th (GF) offensively last year, Am feeling we can't do worse then that but at same time we betting on a lot of people to have strong season offensively next year to be above average.
So yeah Sens in playoff is still a reach for next season
It’s absolutely better and the roster isn’t done.

Hopefully Chabot can regain his mojo now that he won’t have 4 different partners every game, because as horrible as Chychrun was, he did brink some offence from the back end that needs to be made up for.

Upfront is better slotted but we still need that 4th line centre, putting Ostapchuk there will hurt his development IMO.

I have mixed feelings on Perron, we need the culture he brings but I don’t expect as much offence as he put up.

What will really determine our fortunes are continued progression of Stu, Pinto and Greig, return to some level of effectiveness of Norris and Batherson playing like he did under Jacques.
 
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Micklebot

Moderator
Apr 27, 2010
56,709
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A lot of shit did go down last year which impacted the team for sure: change in ownership,pinto supension,dorion fiasco,norris injured again ect. Was talking about roster on paper objectively without taking consideration of what did happen when we played the season. A lot of people liked our team last year ,even Korpisalo lmao.

And let's not pretend we can't get the same formula( off ice issues) when season start . Just few examples players don't like the coach or new players *Perron lmao*, norris injured again or important player x, player want to be off the team doesnt like here ect, player x having an meh season. So yeah we can't know what will happens but we can't pretend that nothing will happen too.

I see the same problem on this roster as last year as you pointed out we still have thin depth in forward or even defense. The roster is more balanced*complete* then last year but we still have few guys that we can plug on top 9 or top 4 and be okay with it.

Am not trying to be pessimistic, I just don't think the improvement on the roster makes the team better right always it will take time for everyone to gel / find their roles and it's not sure that they will click like most people think here. Ex: Perron can be next Stepan XD, ulmark might have a down year so you never know.
To finish I think the difference maker not including Ulmark here are going to be :
Can Tkachuk Stu find another gear and improve there 200 foot play.
Is Giroux still to produce/be effective in a top 6 role
Can Norris play a full season and at least 75% of the level of his 35g season
Can Pinto be a Top 6 center that will create on his own behind Stu
Will Chabot finally find his game with a decent and veteran Top4 RD
Is the bottom 6 good enough to produce depth scoring
Do we see improvement from Sanderson or does he give us similar season as last two.

So still a lot of questions marks and will say far from a sure thing to be a playoff contender.
But I hope this year is the right one cause we deserve it us fan and few players on the team.
I think the skaters are about the same tbh.

Perron is a bit worse than Tank,
Jensen is a much better fit than Chychrun
Kelly is about the same as Gregor
Kastelic is about the same as Ostapchuk
Joseph and Amadio are about the same
Personally I like Kleven better than Brannstrom, I felt that while Brannstrom did well enough, he introduced issues, he's no a ok guy but he was out best option when in the lineup, he needed to play sheltered mins to maximize his effectiveness but he didn't really provide offense.

We're we see a big improvement is we shouldn't expect a 41 game off ice conduct suspension to Pinto. That's not a normal shit happens occurence, it's happened once in the history of the club.

We can probably expect similar health from Chabot and Norris, better health would be gravy.

There are some potential risks, what if Perron is the next Kubalik, what if Jensen is the next Hamonic, but I feel those risks are relatively low.

I also think it's worth considering we played at a 90 pts pace once Pinto returned, and that group lost Tarasenko (only 18 games played) to the trade deadline and Norris (16 games) to shoulder surgery. If we compare that roster to today's, how do we fair.

We played really loose under DJ, Martin got them playing tighter, eventually. I don't think that can be ignored either.

All that said, a goalie is part of the roster, so while you asked to put the goalie change aside, I don't think that's really an objective way to look at the teams potential.
 
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Bjornar Moxnes

Registered User
Oct 16, 2016
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Troms og Finnmark
For all the people saying team on paper is better then last season I agree but remove Ulmark can you say without pink glass that this year roster is better then last year?

I think having a veteran RD defenseman will help a lot.
We were 26th (GF) offensively last year, Am feeling we can't do worse then that but at same time we betting on a lot of people to have strong season offensively next year to be above average.
So yeah Sens in playoff is still a reach for next season
Having Pinto full time and more depth on forward means on paper even without Ullmark the team is better than last season.
 
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aragorn

Do The Right Thing
Aug 8, 2004
29,280
9,984
Looking at individual players is wrong, this is a team game & how they play as a team is what will be important. IMO the team overall should be much better defensively & if they can cut down on the goals against especially allowing the first goal so damn often that the team won't need to chase the game as often is going to be very important to team success. Not having to chase the game means less opportunites against & that in itself makes the team better if it plays out that way.

We have decent goal scorers & I have no doubt we will put up pts especially on the PP, but improving the PK & defensive play will be key to keeping us in games longer & give this team more opportunities to win close games. While I think we got better I imagine so did most other teams at this time of yr, so it will be what we see when the season starts to determine where we are relative to the league, conference & division.
 

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