Player Discussion Sens sign free wallet defenseman Nikolas Matinpalo

[aragorn]

Luke Schenn had a bit of a resurgence but he was pretty bad for a number of years prior, buyer beware imo. I don't mind the idea of a physical guy who can PK, I'm just not sold on him specifically, especially at 34.

Isn't it more likely that if they want that kind of player on their roster that they would just stick with Hamonic who they like & he has done everything they have asked of him especially with his mentoring of Sanderson. IMO he would be the most ideal candidate to also mentor Kleven in a 3rd pairing role & cheaper contract.

The only reason to go with someone else would be that it would be cheaper, but not necessarily better & that's something that has frustrated fans for yrs here with ownership. I like Mayfield who is younger than both, bigger than both, tougher than both & likely cheaper than Hamonic but not necessarily better than Hamonic & who knows if he is the mentoring type. I guess it will depend on what Hamonic wants in term & salary.

 

[DaveMatthew]

Isn't it more likely that if they want that kind of player on their roster that they would just stick with Hamonic who they like & he has done everything they have asked of him especially with his mentoring of Sanderson. IMO he would be the most ideal candidate to also mentor Kleven in a 3rd pairing role & cheaper contract.

The only reason to go with someone else would be that it would be cheaper, but not necessarily better & that's something that has frustrated fans for yrs here with ownership. I like Mayfield who is younger than both, bigger than both, tougher than both & likely cheaper than Hamonic but not necessarily better than Hamonic & who knows if he is the mentoring type. I guess it will depend on what Hamonic wants in term & salary.

Scott Mayfield is significantly better than Travis Hamonic. He's a top 4 guy who'll get a Josh Manson like contract.

Hamonic was a good soldier last year, but I think Luke Schenn is a better player today. Hamonic is undersized for what we need him to be.

 

[aragorn]

Scott Mayfield is significantly better than Travis Hamonic. He's a top 4 guy who'll get a Josh Manson like contract.

Hamonic was a good soldier last year, but I think Luke Schenn is a better player today. Hamonic is undersized for what we need him to be.

We'll see, teams tend to be loyal to the players they have especially if they have been as you say a good soldier. The only point that I would agree with is that Schenn might be cheaper & if they are salary strained in any way that could be a deciding factor.

I'm also not sure Mayfield has the skating or stick handling ability for a top 4 guy, he's already 30 & I don't recall him ever playing above the 3rd pairing, but I also haven't seen a ton of him. Should be interesting what happens with Hamonic.

 

[Bileur]

We'll see, teams tend to be loyal to the players they have especially if they have been as you say a good soldier. The only point that I would agree with is that Schenn might be cheaper & if they are salary strained in any way that could be a deciding factor.

I'm also not sure Mayfield has the skating or stick handling ability for a top 4 guy, he's already 30 & I don't recall him ever playing above the 3rd pairing, but I also haven't seen a ton of him. Should be interesting what happens with Hamonic.

NYI are pretty deep at RD. Mayfield has been playing top 4 minutes for three seasons with heavier PK deployment.

 

[DaveMatthew]

We'll see, teams tend to be loyal to the players they have especially if they have been as you say a good soldier. The only point that I would agree with is that Schenn might be cheaper & if they are salary strained in any way that could be a deciding factor.

I'm also not sure Mayfield has the skating or stick handling ability for a top 4 guy, he's already 30 & I don't recall him ever playing above the 3rd pairing, but I also haven't seen a ton of him. Should be interesting what happens with Hamonic.

Mayfield played over 21 minutes a night on the Island last year, 2nd on their team behind Pelech. He played more than Pulock and Dobson.

 

[aragorn]

NYI are pretty deep at RD. Mayfield has been playing top 4 minutes for three seasons with heavier PK deployment.

I thought Pulock & Dobson were both ahead of him on RD?

Mayfield played over 21 minutes a night on the Island last year, 2nd on their team behind Pelech. He played more than Pulock and Dobson.

My mistake then.

 

[Senscore]

More organizational depth on defense is always good.


There are some hard decisions coming so we may just need the help.

 

[Bileur]

 

[Wallet Inspector]

Free wallet you say?

My time has come.

 

[Micklebot]

Wow, that's a 102 mph shot in game...

 

[Bileur]

Wow, that's a 102 mph shot in game...

Yeah it’s pretty impressive to be able to get that kind of bullet off in the heat of the moment.

 

[bicboi64]

Definitely a fan of this. 6ft3, 207 pound Finnish RD that can develop in Belleville? Absolutely.

More of these moves to build a good depth pipeline.

 

[Oscar The Grouch]

Sounds like we got ourselves a Christoph Schubert.

 

[PlayersLtd]

At the risk of getting ahead of myself, let's pretend for a second that Matinpalo pans out in a similar vain to Marcus Bjork in Columbus. Can we acknowledge for a second what an unbelievable turnaround our D has taken between the end of the 2022 season and the start of the 2023-24? Crazy.

 

[Icelevel]

At the risk of getting ahead of myself, let's pretend for a second that Matinpalo pans out in a similar vain to Marcus Bjork in Columbus. Can we acknowledge for a second what an unbelievable turnaround our D has taken between the end of the 2022 season and the start of the 2023-24? Crazy.

You are getting ahead of yourself.

 

[Sens of Anarchy]

 

[Micklebot]

I suspect we're backfilling in Belleville for JBD and possibly Thomson who both are either on the big club or waived

 

[aragorn]

I suspect we're backfilling in Belleville for JBD and possibly Thomson who both are either on the big club or waived

Or one traded before next season, likely Thomson but we'll see. I'm not sure JBD gets through waivers or Thomson but it's always possible, but why take the chance losing one for nothing?

 

[coladin]

Zub 2.0

 

[Good in Osgoode]

Zub 2.0

I have to say I was thinking the same thing in watching him play last night.
Really calm, cool & collected. Does not seem to get rattled.
Played with some physicality and was giving it back around the net as well.
Really noticed his size as well yesterday. He impressed with his keep it simple type of play.

 

[Dionysus]

I have to say I was thinking the same thing in watching him play last night.
Really calm, cool & collected. Does not seem to get rattled.
Played with some physicality and was giving it back around the net as well.
Really noticed his size as well yesterday. He impressed with his keep it simple type of play.

Agreed, he has been very effective in his role.

Question is, has he done enough to keep his spot when Hamonic comes back? I think he has been shown he should he can play the 3rd pairing role as well or better than Hammer.

Hamonic has been forced to play top 4 minutes where he was exposed more often. Matinpalo has better size, skating, and possibly decision making, but tough to tell with a small sample size.

 

[coladin]

I have to say I was thinking the same thing in watching him play last night.
Really calm, cool & collected. Does not seem to get rattled.
Played with some physicality and was giving it back around the net as well.
Really noticed his size as well yesterday. He impressed with his keep it simple type of play.

He plays bigger than he looks, for some reason? Almost like Sami Salo size and checking they are almost the same size.

Zub 2.0 also in the fact that he was scouted and comes over, what a great find. I like JBD, but when healthy, I am liking Matinpalo right now as the No.6

 

[armani]

He plays bigger than he looks, for some reason? Almost like Sami Salo size and checking they are almost the same size.

Zub 2.0 also in the fact that he was scouted and comes over, what a great find. I like JBD, but when healthy, I am liking Matinpalo right now as the No.6

Yeah I thought he was a Zub like free wallet, now he is bringing the same type of defensive defenceman mentality to the NHL. Kleven looked his best playing with Jensen and Zub at times last night, but his game started to steady since Matinpalo became his partner. JBD and Hamonic weren’t sheltering or really mentoring the rookie, who is improving game by game. His K-Bomb resulted in Gaudette’s game winning goal and he is using his size more and more. Another legit 2020 draft prospect. We always lacked that 3rd pairing guy for Kleven, thus far Matinpalo looks to be a fit.

 

[Blotto71]

Yeah I thought he was a Zub like free wallet, now he is bringing the same type of defensive defenceman mentality to the NHL. Kleven looked his best playing with Jensen and Zub at times last night, but his game started to steady since Matinpalo became his partner. JBD and Hamonic weren’t sheltering or really mentoring the rookie, who is improving game by game. His K-Bomb resulted in Gaudette’s game winning goal and he is using his size more and more. Another legit 2020 draft prospect. We always lacked that 3rd pairing guy for Kleven, thus far Matinpalo looks to be a fit.

I can't really believe that there was ever any intention of playing JBD more than as relief for Hamonic and that the injuries Zub suffered really threw a wrench in the Kleven development plan. Not that I feel Hamonic would be the best to develop Kleven, but rather the best the Sens have. Having both Hamonic and JBD in the lineup for an extended period really stretched things - with Zub back we can see the Sanderson we expected emerging and - fortunately - the Kleven we expected developing.

 

[DrEasy]

Zub 2.0

I'd rephrase to say "poor man's Zub". Like Zub he is steady and has low-key physicality, but Zub makes better decisions and makes them quicker. Zub also has underrated (and under-utilized; he should be encouraged to be more involved offensively) stick-handling skills that are better than Matinpalo based on my limited viewings so far.

We need to have our international scouts (is the plural warranted?) find us more gems like Zub and Matinpalo.