I tend to think that the Senators will continue to be a good team and will not only contend for the playoffs for a good while, but also contend for the Cup. But I have been thinking...
So Ottawa went to the Stanley Cup Finals last season, and was expected to make a serious Cup run this year. Tampa Bay obviously, went to the Cup and immediately declined. Now, I have to wonder what will happen with Ottawa.
Like Tampa Bay, there is an awful lot of cash tied up in a series of three players. Spezza, Heatley and Alfreddson are getting paid handsomely, like Richards, St. Louis and Lecavalier. Ottawa has goaltending issues, much like Tampa Bay has (or had).
I think that the Senators have greater depth than Tampa Bay, and this will save them from being in the basement for years to come, but will they pull a minor version of the dip Tampa Bay has experienced? Will they too crash to a certain extent?
This is merely for discussion purposes. I like the Senators, Heatley and Spezza are two of my favorite players in the league, and I think that Ottawa has a very good chance of remaining a competitive club. But, I'd like to know what everyone thinks. Good discussion.
Um... Alfredsson only make 4.5 million a year... and if he takes his options thats much much he will make till he retires... soo I can't see how his cap hurts us???
Tampa went into the crapper because they lost their goalie. If they make Khabbi one of their Big Three instead of three forwards, I think they're still in legitimate contention the last 3 years.
I tend to think that the Senators will continue to be a good team and will not only contend for the playoffs for a good while, but also contend for the Cup. But I have been thinking...
So Ottawa went to the Stanley Cup Finals last season, and was expected to make a serious Cup run this year. Tampa Bay obviously, went to the Cup and immediately declined. Now, I have to wonder what will happen with Ottawa.
Like Tampa Bay, there is an awful lot of cash tied up in a series of three players. Spezza, Heatley and Alfreddson are getting paid handsomely, like Richards, St. Louis and Lecavalier. Ottawa has goaltending issues, much like Tampa Bay has (or had).
I think that the Senators have greater depth than Tampa Bay, and this will save them from being in the basement for years to come, but will they pull a minor version of the dip Tampa Bay has experienced? Will they too crash to a certain extent?
This is merely for discussion purposes. I like the Senators, Heatley and Spezza are two of my favorite players in the league, and I think that Ottawa has a very good chance of remaining a competitive club. But, I'd like to know what everyone thinks. Good discussion.
So...discuss!
Alfredsson is one of the best value per dollar players in the NHL. His contract is fantastic when you compare it to others at his dollar figure. Aside from that, Tampa operated under a self imposed cap whereas the Sens have an owner willing to spend to the cap.
I don't know what the situation of T-Bay's AHL team, but Ottawa also runs its own affilates meaning they can develop their own players. Ottawa has also been very good at drafting players.
Have really just been waiting to take a shot at the Sens? Hate to break it to you, they're just not going to be that bad.
Alfredsson is one of the best value per dollar players in the NHL. His contract is fantastic when you compare it to others at his dollar figure. Aside from that, Tampa operated under a self imposed cap whereas the Sens have an owner willing to spend to the cap.
I don't know what the situation of T-Bay's AHL team, but Ottawa also runs its own affilates meaning they can develop their own players. Ottawa has also been very good at drafting players.
Have really just been waiting to take a shot at the Sens? Hate to break it to you, they're just not going to be that bad.
Maybe I didn't state it enough times in my starting paragraph (I stated it twice)--I like the SENATORS AND THINK THEY WILL REMAIN COMPETITIVE. Sometimes the reading comprehension on these boards is truly incredible...
I think the main difference as to why Tampa declined and Ottawa won't is because Ottawa will most likely spend to the cap while Tampa hovered around the cap floor. The only thing that will make Ottawa a bad team is bad management.
Ottawa's depth is much better than Tampa's. And Ottawa actually has a lot of good, cheap young players that can step into the lineup, like Foligno, Bass, and Lee.
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And when you pray for an end to this
I do believe this is eternity
Ottawa's got a lot of depth, better D, and they have some good homegrown forwards. What homegrown forwards have surrounded Tampa's big three?
It says a lot for their organization when they have to go out and get Ouellet in free agency. Any development system should be able to produce an Ouellet.
I tend to think that the Senators will continue to be a good team and will not only contend for the playoffs for a good while, but also contend for the Cup. But I have been thinking...
So Ottawa went to the Stanley Cup Finals last season, and was expected to make a serious Cup run this year. Tampa Bay obviously, went to the Cup and immediately declined. Now, I have to wonder what will happen with Ottawa.
Like Tampa Bay, there is an awful lot of cash tied up in a series of three players. Spezza, Heatley and Alfreddson are getting paid handsomely, like Richards, St. Louis and Lecavalier. Ottawa has goaltending issues, much like Tampa Bay has (or had).
I think that the Senators have greater depth than Tampa Bay, and this will save them from being in the basement for years to come, but will they pull a minor version of the dip Tampa Bay has experienced? Will they too crash to a certain extent?
This is merely for discussion purposes. I like the Senators, Heatley and Spezza are two of my favorite players in the league, and I think that Ottawa has a very good chance of remaining a competitive club. But, I'd like to know what everyone thinks. Good discussion.
So...discuss!
Any post that compares any team to Tampa Bay and fails to recognize that Tampa Bay did not come close to spending to the cap has zero credibility.
Ottawa's got a lot of depth, better D, and they have some good homegrown forwards. What homegrown forwards have surrounded Tampa's big three?
It says a lot for their organization when they have to go out and get Ouellet in free agency. Any development system should be able to produce an Ouellet.
Tampa had a lot of depth as well doesnt mean a team will keep it. Bad trades, players leaving for free agency without them being traded at the deadline all harms depth and that happened in droves in the year or two after the lockout.
You would think any system could develop Ouellet, but how many second year forwards could develop a 17 goals in 64 games scorer. Fair point about home grown forwards, a lot of picks were traded, but a lot also underperformed or were busts, Alexeev, Svitov and Brule anyone? But now we dont solely draft russians, but insteard BPA the success has gone up, in fact a future line to watch in the future could be Cunti-Stamkos-Tyrell (thats the dream anyway)
Edit: Also fair point about the cap spending as well, most fans are rather anxious as to what Koules will do with the cap and hope it will be higher rather than the cap floor as some are predicting . So if you want to help Tampa, Oren Koules and OK hockey go and buy saw all of them (is it 4 of them right) now. Then maybe just maybe our top 6 forwards for next year arent Hlavac reincarnations or other bargain bin selections, but instead Rolston and Malone
Tampa went into the crapper because they lost their goalie. If they make Khabbi one of their Big Three instead of three forwards, I think they're still in legitimate contention the last 3 years.
You get a cookie.
Tampa had cap space, they lacked a bona-fide #1 goaltender, and then fell into financial trouble before they could fix it with a big name. Now we're taking risks on Smith and Ramo.
I do see one parallel between Tampa and Ottawa--the current state of their prospect pool (most recent HF rankings #29 and #26 respectively). Although Tampa's about to make a big upgrade in theirs.
Paying the big 3 isn't the key reason for Tampa's current state. IMHO, a much bigger reason is Tampa's scouting/drafting/development system failed to provide enough cheaper young talent to offset the big salaries and let the team field a full quality roster on their budget.
Not predicting in any way the impending demise of Ottawa, but I imagine fans of the team would really like to see improvements in their prospect pipeline the next few years.
Ottawa has its problems, but they are absolutely nowhere near Tampa Bay status, and they shouldn't be compared as such because of the perception that they have one line and then are completely medicore.
. So if you want to help Tampa, Oren Koules and OK hockey go and buy saw all of them (is it 4 of them right) now. Then maybe just maybe our top 6 forwards for next year arent Hlavac reincarnations or other bargain bin selections, but instead Rolston and Malone 
