Five Thoughts for Friday
What's on this Sens fan's mind this week? The countdown to the NHL regular season, Crosby's non arrest and the Bobby Ryan watch.
While it wasn’t the busiest week in the off-season, Sens fans have a lot to be excited about. We are officially in the home stretch, folks! Hockey season is just around the corner!
1) The home stretch
August is finally over! The kids are back in school, the summer is slowly fading and the NHL season is not far away. We are still a month away from puck drop, but this month promises lots to look forward to for Sens fans.
A sure sign that hockey is not far away, tickets for this season’s Ottawa Senators games go on sale today. If you were looking for something to get you a little more excited for the upcoming season, this is it.
The Senators Rookie Tournament is also quickly approaching. Fans will get a glimpse of what’s to come in the future from September 13 - 16 in London, ON. The list of 24 rookies features many high-profile forwards such as Curtis Lazar, Matt Puempel and Shane Prince. Fans will also get a chance to see defencemen Fredrik Claesson and Ben Harpur. We will even get a look at the future (after the future) of our goaltending in Chris Driedger and Andrew Hammond. For a full list of players and schedule, check out the Sens website.
2) Crosby not arrested
If you live in Ottawa, or anywhere else, you probably heard about the non-story of Sidney Crosby’s arrest this week. First, QMI Agency (the Ottawa Sun) reported that Crosby had been arrested in Ottawa. A moderate media storm ensued. Then, Ottawa Police shot down any and all rumours about Crosby being brought into custody. Then a media storm ensued over the fact that there was no arrest in the first place.
These are the things we talk about in the off-season.
3) Could Ovi and Gino go back to Russia?
Don’t panic! This is not an actual issue. But it is still September, and we don’t have much to talk about. Adam Proteau of The Hockey News wrote about the chances of Alex Ovechkin and Evgeni Malkin pulling a Kovalchuk and heading back to the NHL before their careers here are over. While Proteau basically indicates that it’s unlikely, but not impossible, he brings up a number of good points regarding Russian players in the NHL.
In addition to families and loved ones pulling them back, tensions between Russia and basically the entire western world could be key factors in Russian players choosing to head home.
Hockey is not immune to politics, and eventually the events in Russia could affect the league’s relationship with its Russian players. It’s not an issue now, but it’s certainly something for fans to keep in the back of their minds. After all, what would the NHL be without our beloved Ovi and Gino?
4) Bobby Ryan watch
Update: Bobby Ryan has not re-signed with the Senators!
Ok, there was no big news on the Bobby Ryan front this week. But he did come back to Ottawa to begin training for the regular season. Upon his return, he told the media that he's looking forward to being more active in negotiations. He also said how much he is looking forward to playing with Kyle Turris and Clarke MacArthur. Ryan seems very hopeful that something will get done.
By all accounts, Sens fans should see this as very positive. Clearly, Ryan wants to stay here (or at least he says he wants to stay here). He has given no indication that there are any troubles with contract talks yet. While we can’t breathe a sigh of relief yet, it sounds like we are on the right track.
5) Revisiting trades
This week on Silver Seven, we looked at the Nick Foligno trade for Marc Methot. The folks at Senshot discussed the Bobby Ryan trade, and what it looks like one year later. Discussing winners and losers of trades is a favourite past time of most hockey fans. This got me thinking about some of the best and worst trades in Senators’ history. Worst is always more interesting, so let’s have some fun with that.
If you could take back any trade in modern-day Senators’ history, which one would it be and why?
