Ottawa Senators

B-Sens preview 2010-11

August 20, 2010

Andy Veilleux, your newly-assigned B-sens reporter, here. Let’s jump right into the action. Defense: The defense may not look exceptional at first glance, but there are a few names that stand out. Brian Lee and Derek Smith will look to continue their strong performance, and personal development, this season. Smith put up an incredible 51 points, but was an abysmal -25 on the year. Lee, if he doesn’t find himself in an Ottawa sweater, will be expected to be the top defensive-defenseman for the club. Geoff Kinrade put up a respectable 27 points, with a +27 rating. The B-Sens will look for him to continue contributing offensively, while being defensively responsible. Let’s not forge...

Senators in good form for 2010-2011

July 30, 2010

Andy Veilleux

2 Comments

The Sens should bend the Leafs over again this season, now that they've resigned Regin, who is checking Kaberle in this photo. UPDATE! Sens have signed Campoli to a one-year, $1.4 million contract... Looks like he'll occupy that sixth spot, as I speculated below It was expected the Senators wouldn't be making any blockbuster signings following their pick up of Sergei Gonchar, and so far, that expectation has been true. The senators did, however, make many small, and some key, resignings, which will impact the club positively in the coming years. The Senators recently signed QMJHL 2009-2010 MVP forward Mike Hoffman, 20, and Swiss national forward (who scored two goals, and put ...

Sens make a big splash on first day

July 2, 2010

Andy Veilleux

1 Comment

The Senators opened up the first day of free agency in a big way by signing uber-offensive defenceman Sergei Gonchar. With the signing, it is clear the Sens may be heading back to their high-flying, high-scoring ways of their past. This offense-heavy strategy brought them tremendous success in the 2006-2007 season, when they fell only three wins short of taking home the Stanley Cup. Gonchar bring a rocket of a shot to the blue-line, and will increase the Sens' struggling power-play unit, which rank in the lower third in the league last season. Expect Kovalev to score a few extra goals and add a few extra assists on the power-play next year. It's doubtable Kovalev will live up to his $5...

The State of the Sens 2010-2011

June 29, 2010

Andy Veilleux

4 Comments

Goaltending: When the Ottawa Senators Acquired 27 year-old Pascal Leclaire at the trade deadline two seasons ago, many fans were optimistic he would be the answer to their goaltending woes. In short, he wasn’t. His figures from last season are frightening; only 34 games played, with 12 wins, 14 losses, 2 OT losses, .887 save percentage, and 3.2 GAA. Not even a master of public relations could make that look good. He had flashes of brilliance last season, especially in the playoffs, but he will have to be much more consistent if Ottawa hopes to compete this year. Luckily there’s another ‘tendy’ in Ottawa who had a great season. Brian Elliott, a 25 year-old goaltender from...

Kovalev out for Playoffs

April 10, 2010

George Prax

0 Comments

According to TSN, Senators forward Alex Kovalev will miss the entire Stanley Cup playoffs with a torn ACL. The Russian forward suffered the knee injury Thursday night in a game against the Tampa Bay Lightning, which the Sens, already having clinched a playoff spot, lost 4-3 in overtime. Kovalev will require surgery to repair the damage, which he's scheduled to receive within two weeks. This, of course, means that Kovalev will miss the entirety of the Senators playoff run, no matter how long it goes. The injury requires rehab time of three to four months. Upon being interviewed on the matter, general manager Bryan Murray didn't sound all too disappointed, saying that Kovalev "wa...

Cullen to Ottawa for Picard and 2nd

February 12, 2010

George Prax

3 Comments

The first big deal of the day sees the Ottawa senators trade for veteran centerman Matt Cullen from the Carolina Hurricanes in return for young defenseman Alexandre Picard and a second round pick. Bob Mackenzie has confirmed the trade via his twitter account. The deal comes on the heels of a Bryan Murray contract extension announced this morning at a press conference. The deal could seem costly for the Sens, who, while in constant need of depth up front, lose an excellent young defenseman in the process. Twenty-four year old Picard has 4 goals and 11 assists in 45 games with the Sens this year, with a -2 rating, and has constantly improved every season he's spent in the league since ...