Sunday, January 20, 2013

Hockey is back!...

Hooray, hockey is back! I kept the afternoon clear, made sure the were the requisite number of snacks, and had the drinks on ice. 3PM came around and I got on the sweater, flipped the channel to CBC, and settled in for the afternoon.

And you know what?

Meh, that's what.

Maybe it was the fact that the broadcast started at three, while the puck was dropped at 3:35. Maybe it was having to watch the LA Kings Stanley Cup love fest. (Which they have totally earned, by the way, I just don't want to have to sit through it myself.) Maybe it was having to watch the Jets introducing their team to the home crowd.

Maybe it was the early goal given up by the Senators. (Totally not Anderson's fault, by the way. We knew this defence would give up goals, and that is what they did on this one. And the two posts in the first.)

But put it all together and I wasn't engaged.

Hockey is back, I'm just not sure I care yet.

Which isn't good news for Monday, because I have a ticket in section 109 for the home opener.

(Also, free beer at the home opener. Not sure this is a good idea. In fact I think it is a terrible idea. But since I don't drink I'm not exactly an unbiased commentator on that part.)

Random thoughts from today's game (which are totally worth half what you paid for them):

  • Is it just me, or were the senators unable to hold on to their sticks? Seems like everyone was dropping them.
  • First penalty call of the night: legit. But only if the officials keep calling penny-ante stuff like that. Which I don't ink they will.
  • Kind nice to see goalie give up some soft goals for Turris and Michalek. Remember a couple of years ago when the Senators threw over 50 shots at him and he shut them out?
  • Only real difference between the Jets and Senators tonight: Ottawa did a better job of capitalizing on Jets errors. Other than that, the game was as bad as I thought it was going to be. Wait a month for everyone to shake off the lock-out rust and the game will be much better to watch.

Saturday, January 12, 2013

2012-2013 Preview


Screen-grab from Facebook, because I'm lazy.

My prediction: no playoffs, but no lottery position either (if there even still is such a thing in the new CBA world).

Update: nobody pointed out that I should have written "2012-2013". Stupid new year.

Thursday, January 10, 2013

Burke Fired -- Instant Reaction

With ten days to go before the season starts:

And frankly it continues to get weird, since promoted former-deputy-and-not-temporary GM Dave Nonis is pretty much going to keep doing what Burke was doing.  Which is good from a short-term perspective -- there's no sea change expected nine days before the puck drops on the shortened season and makes it perhaps slightly less insane (say top five instead of top three).

But from a long term perspective it is trouble, because the last four years have not exactly yielded any success beyond periodic beatings of better Senators teams.

I've long wondered why the Leafs were so chronically bad. I didn't think that Burke was the idiot that the last four years have made him out to look like, even though his decisions have been head scratching at times.

But then I don't think like a lot of hockey fans. I don't think that Roberto Luongo would be the solution to the Leaf's goaltending issues because the main problem with the goaltending is the rest of the team playing in front of the goalies. I guess that's a rant for a different blogger.

I'd say that for the Leafs, it isn't possible to make things worse any more -- but I've been proven wrong on that time and again.

Monday, January 7, 2013

Amnesty Targets History

So I lost the good fight on amnesty clauses -- I guess it was too attractive a dumb idea to not get tapped. Teams will get two amnesty buyouts each -- one this year and one next.

Which brings us to this article listing potential amnesty targets for each team.

What gets me is that if you read down the list, it reads like a whos-who of Ottawa Senators history:
  • Marian Hossa in Chicago
  • Anton Volchenkov in New Jersey
  • Alexi Yashin in Brooklyn New York
  • Wade Reddin in the other New York
  • Dany Heatley in Minnesota
  • Martin Havlat in San Jose
I suspect if you look at it, you'll see more Senators alumni on that list than any other team.

Man, those glory days were something, eh?

And really, who on today's roster is going to attract the same kind of reminiscing?  Spezza?  Yes.  Karlsson?  Absolutely.  Alfredsson?  Without a doubt.  And after that?... does anyone seriously think we are going to be remembering the glory days of Colin Greening?

It was fun while it lasted.  Now we're just trying to not be Toronto.