Five Thoughts for Friday: We Have Liftoff

The season started last night, and I have five thoughts. A couple residual ones from before last night's game, but still, five real-hockey-related thoughts.

1. Unconvince Carter

Carter Yakemchuk essentially did what he had to do to earn a spot in the opening night roster, leading the team in points during the preseason with 7 points (2 goals, 5 assists) in four games, but he still didn’t quite convince management, getting sent back to the Calgary Hitmen. Now, Steve Staios seems like a man who is patient and committed to his plan, not making any trade deadline moves before overhauling the roster this summer and waiting until the price came down to still get his goalie in Ullmark, as examples. So Yakemchuk was likely always going to eventually be sent back to junior, even if he'd scored 50 points in 4 preseason games. The theory is that anyone can look hot for four games, you don’t let a small sample size override your long-term vision.

I argued a lot that the Sens should let him stay with the club, practice with the club, and get into a couple home games where Travis Green controls the line changes before sending him back to the WHL, knowing what he has to work on to turn pro next year (or at the end of this year?). After all, the Sens did this with Thomas Chabot in 2016-17, keeping him up, getting him into a single NHL game, before he went back to junior. A more obvious example of a Senator staying in the NHL when he probably should’ve gone back another year was Curtis Lazar in 2014-15, who played 67 games in the NHL. Now, the easy argument to be made in these cases is that both players were a season after their draft years, so it was deciding if they were going back to junior for their draft+2 seasons; even as a 7th-overall pick, it’s unusual for a team to keep a player up for his draft+1 season.

I think the bigger reason though is the Ottawa Senators franchise’s position. In the fall of 2014, the Sens had failed to make the playoffs, and they needed a reason to convince fans to come to games, so Lazar was offered up as young, new, shiny, and exciting. Similarly, training camp in 2016 was coming off another year of missed playoffs, and Chabot offered hope for beleaguered Sens fans. Fast forward to 2024, and although the Sens have missed the playoffs 7 years in a row, there is hope among fans, with a new owner, GM, coach, and starting goalie. They don’t need to offer a young player as a reason to come to games to start the year. And honestly, that’s probably for the best, not putting the pressure of engaging fans on the shoulders of a player too young to be permitted to be sent to the AHL. He'll be thriving in the NHL soon enough.

2. Ull's Well That Ends Well

We were hit out of nowhere with a Linus Ullmark extension on Wednesday. Seriously, there were no rumours, no leaks, no nothing that this was coming. That is super refreshing. After years of Pierre Dorion seeming to negotiate through the media, with routine leaks that the team had offered a stubborn player a reasonable offer at market value, it’s nice to have a GM who just negotiates with a player’s agent and nobody spills any beans. Yes, it probably makes the jobs of Sens journalists a little more boring, but the benefits from organizational secrecy heavily outweigh the drawbacks. I’m OK with articles that read less like gossip columns in exchange for players having a more positive opinion of playing in Ottawa in general.

As for the extension itself? The money is big, but I kind of assumed it would be. Ullmark is a season removed from winning the Vezina, and he wasn’t going to settle for less money than he believes he’s worth. Unlike the Matt Murray extension of yesteryear, someone would’ve actually offered Ullmark this kind of money in free agency. I’m happy to see it’s only a four-year extension, because he will be 36 when the deal is over. I kind of assumed it would be $8M for 6 years, so this looks better from a team standpoint. It does show that Steve Staios is committed to an Ullmark-led Sens team, so if the team falters this year, it’s likely other big-money players who are getting shipped out this summer. With Mathieu Joseph, he’s already shown the willingness to attach a pick to a player to just get rid of them. Could he do that with Norris or Chabot next summer if the Sens struggle yet again? It remains to be seen, but, I think it’s likely. Ullmark is the longest contract signed by Steve Staios (ELCs and Michael Amadio being 3 years each), so this is the first player we can say he sees undoubtedly as his guy.

Oh, and Ullmark looked stellar last night. So, just five more years of that please.

3. Power Loss

Alright, time for some hockey thoughts. I was all ready to praise how good the powerplay looks after the first one, and then they fell off sharply on number two. At first, they looked confident, like they expected to keep the puck in the zone and get chances and score. They weren't looking to force pucks on net from the point through blocks. They were passing, getting in tight, and looking for rebounds. Mike Yeo's influence on the powerplay seemed to put Daniel Alfredsson to shame from last season. (Sorry Alfie. I still love you.) Then the next powerplay looked off, sluggish, and slow, and the Sens couldn't get any zone time. It's like the team remembered all the things that made them struggle last year, and then started doing them again. The third PP was better, with the Sens maintaining possession, but not getting any dangerous shots. The first one at least gives me confidence that the coaching staff can get something good out of this team's talent.

But hey, speaking of struggle, it's nice to see Stü get that opening goal considering he had one powerplay goal all of 2023-24. Hopefully a sign of a big offensive season to come (and a sign that last season's wrist issues are a thing of the past).

4. Going Ham

I'd assumed the battle for the third right-hand D spot was between JBD and Guénette (and maybe Yakemchuk and Addison), so I was more than a little surprised to see Travis Hamonic get it. But I've been thinking about it, and after watching him last night, I don't mind it. NKB made a great point a couple weeks ago that Hamonic seems to still have very good hockey sense, he's just a step slower than his prime. If he can recognize that difference and adjust, he can be a useful player. Also, last season the ossue was when injuries forced him into playing 20+ minutes a night. If the team just needs him to play 13 a night, he shouldn't be overexposed. And as a veteran presence, he can hopefully have a settling effect on Tyler Kleven that a younger partner like JBD won't. Sure he had one very long rough shift in the third period last night, but the whole team turtled, it's unfair to blame one guy. I'll be shocked​ if he gets into 80 games this season, but if he can tread water in 50 games and teach Kleven how to be a good pro? I'll consider that a huge success I didn't see coming.

5. Immaculate Vibes

The phrase immaculate vibes gets thrown around a lot, but I think in this case it's justified. The fans came to the arena pumped, they welcomed the players loudly, they cheered exuberantly for each goal, and they really spurred Ullmark on late in the third when he was holding them in the game. I can remember opening nights when Eugene Melnyk got a tepid welcome, or the one where Sergei Gonchar and Filip Kuba were booed by their own fans. It's only been one game, but there's a real sense of excitement and it was a super fun game to watch.​​ Everything from Baby Tkachuk to Ullmark's red carpet hat to the cheers at Alfie’s introduction to the cheers at the final horn was great. I know I was lukewarm about this season, but screw it, I'm ready to let loose and get excited for this team. Go Sens Go!