Sens TV posted the above video yesterday showing GM Bryan Murray answering questions about the team's success and its intentions for the NHL trade deadline. For the purposes of this blog entry, I've cherry picked the parts of the interview that I thought were interesting and relevant. The rest can be heard by watching the video itself. As always, any comments that I have concerning one of Murray's answers will be in bold.
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As much I looked forward to last night’s ‘meaningful’ installment in the Battle of Ontario, the one game on Ottawa’s six game road trip that I am most interested in is Kyle Turris’ return to the desert on January 24th.
Despite having published a number of posts that conveyed the point that as a young player who had produced some promising offensive results proportionate to his limited role1, Turris was exactly the kind of underappreciated player that the rebuilding organization should be targeting in a trade, I’d still lying if I said that I could have foreseen the kind of success that he’s had thus far.
In the fifteen games that the center has played with the Senators, the team is 11-2-2 and he’s developed some nice chemistry with Daniel Alfredsson tallying 3 goals, 11 points and an equally impressive +11 rating. Based off of his 0.733 point per game production since joining Ottawa, if you take that number and multiply that over the course of a full season, Turris would be in line for a 60 point season. That’s not too shabby for a 22 year old center whose game and physical maturity still have room to grow.
no commentsFrom TSN's James Duthie (@tsnjamesduthie):
The recognition of Alfie as an All-Star Game captain has been somewhat of a foregone conclusion since he was announced as one of three three starting forwards for the game itself back on January 5th. The decision to select the Big Z was relatively unforeseen. With the amount of buildup for a potentialy extension of the Battle of Ontario, those who had hoped Dion Phaneuf would be named as the other captain will be disappointed.
According to the NHLPA's website:
The Captains were selected by their fellow NHL All-Stars and will lead the team selection process during the 2012 Molson Canadian NHL All-Star Player Fantasy DraftTM on Thursday, Jan. 26. As captains, Alfredsson and Chara also will set their team rosters for the 2012 Molson Canadian NHL All-Star Skills CompetitonTM on Saturday, Jan. 28, and wear the “C” during the 2012 Tim Hortons NHL® All-Star Game on Sunday, Jan. 29."
The NHL All-Star teams are now designated as Team Alfredsson and Team Chara. Team Alfredsson will wear the white Reebok NHL All-Star jerseys, helmets and socks, with red trim throughout and red gloves and pants. Team Chara will wear the dark blue jerseys with royal blue trim, navy blue helmets, gloves and pants and navy blue socks.
The snub of Phaneuf shouldn't come as a shock. He has a wealth of experience to draw upon when it comes to being slighted by his peers.While the lack of a Leafs captain shouldn't diminish the game's experience, the possibilities and dynamics that should affect the Fantasy Player Draft are plenty.
Will Chara pick any Vancouver Canucks? Assuming that he gets the first selection, will Alfie stand by his word and select Erik Karlsson? If Dany Heatley is named as the injury replacement for the Minnesota Wild's Mikko Koivu, would Alfie select him? (And to take it one step further, assuming that Alfie wound up with Spezza, would they reunite the line that carried them to the 2007 Stanley Cup Finals?)
Amazingly, the fun has already begun. When asked earlier today on whether he'd select former teammate Phil Kessel, Chara replied, "I don’t know. We’ll see how it goes. Somebody has to go last. I don’t know if they’ll have a car for him or something else . . . we’ll see how it goes.”
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Apparently Andre Petersson is not the only Binghamton Senator to be officially recalled by the parent hockey club, just moments ago, the Ottawa Senators officially announced that defenceman Mark Borowiecki will also join the team in Toronto today. With Brian Lee not starting the trip with the team because of an undisclosed lower body injury, Borowiecki, like Petersson, will provide some insurance in the event of another injury. As Ian Mendes mentioned on Twitter however, Paul MacLean acknowledged that both Petersson and Borowiecki will get an opportunity to play and make their respective NHL debuts.
Borowiecki, a local product, was Ottawa's 5th round selection (139th overall) in the 2008 draft. Through 42 games with the Baby Sens, the rugged blueliner has 3 goals, 15 points and a +3 plus/minus rating.
For those of you who are social media inclined, you can follow Borowiecki (@theborocop) and Petersson (@petersson20) on Twitter. no comments
As we joked about on the last episode of the podcast, as the Senators have made the ascent up the Eastern Conference standings, the enthusiasm amongst the fans and players has been palpable. In fact, things have gone so well Eugene Melnyk’s absence from the Toronto airwaves has been conspicuous.
Well, no more! With an appearance on The Fan 590’s Sportsnet Tonight with Jeff Sammut, the Euge is back baby!
So grab your seatbelt and buckle up, we’re going all the way with this transcript. As always, my thoughts are in bold.
no commentsPer his Twitter feed (@rosenrasande):
Some may question the reliability of such a report but with the Senators hosting Winnipeg tonight and then heading on a six-game roadtrip that takes them out west to California and Phoenix, the timing of such a promotion is likely precautionary. With Petersson in the fold, it protects the organization in the event of an injury and in a worst-case scenario, will allow the organization to avoid playing shortmanned.
As Ian Mendes (@ian_mendes) just Tweeted, Ottawa is not carrying any extra forwards at this point, look for a call-up tomorrow. Petersson a candidate.
For those wondering, Petersson is Ottawa's 4th round pick (109th overall) from the 2008 NHL Entry Draft. In 30 games for the Baby Sens, he has 12 goals, 13 assists and is a +2. According to Joy Lindsay, Petersson's been en fuego of late: tallying four goals and seven assists in his last six games.
Update: 3:30pm
The Team 1200's Steve Lloyd has confirmed the Swedish report and Ros has followed up by tweeting that Petersson will fly directly to Toronto tomorrow to meet the team prior to their game against the Leafs. Ros could not confirm that Petersson would actually draw into the lineup, but if he does get the opportunity to play, it will be his NHL debut.
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With the Senators in the midst of a hot streak that has seen them go 10-1-2 since the acquisition of Kyle Turris, what better time to record another podcast? Joining me this week was @creecher1200 (if you haven't already, I highly recommend giving him a follow on Twitter) and Francois (via telephone).
As always, you can subscribe/download/stream the episode or entire catalogue of episodes from Itunes. Or you can download the file by right-clicking and saving this file. Or you can simply stream the episode below.
If you have any questions or comments about the podcast, please leave us some feedback in the comment thread below. Thanks for listening, we hope you enjoy the show.
Here is the tracklist for the show: M83 Midnight City; and Mogwai San Pedro.no comments
Following Saturday night's game in Montreal, Hockey Night in Canada personality Cassie Campbell Tweeted the following:
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