Monday LNN: Now It's Real
How do the Sens respond to adversity?
Can you believe that the Ottawa Senators have played about 10% of the 2024-25 regular season already? I can't! It doesn't feel real. But, whether I like it or not, this season is now very much real. Ottawa's going through its first bout of adversity, having lost consecutive games in dispiriting fashion. 4-4 feels a lot different than 4-2, and while no one should feel the need to panic, it's a good reminder that nothing in the NHL is given to you. Are these Sens different from the last few years? It's time to find out.
Here's the latest from around the hockey world:
-The Sens announced this morning that they had signed Malcolm Subban to an AHL contract. That almost certainly spells bad news for Mads Søgaard in his recovery from injury.
-In his write-up of last night's defeat for Sportsnet, Alex Adams quotes Brady Tkachuk as saying that the Sens fell back into some "bad habits". A good team like the Colorado Avalanche are impossible to keep totally suppressed, but Ottawa did also have a hand in its own undoing.
-Shane Pinto will be missing for a while, as Travis Green declared him out "week-to-week" yesterday. As of this writing the nature of his injury is unknown, but anything that can be fairly described as "week-to-week" tends to be at least moderately serious. Fingers crossed for a return to full health for Pinto.
-Over at ESPN, Rachel Doerrie ranks the top 50 prospects currently outside the NHL. Carter Yakemchuk checks in at #15, and that's it for the Senators. Not the first time that this has been noted, but Steve Staios has some work to do to rebuild the farm system!
-The New York Rangers signed Alexis Lafreniere to a 7 year, $52.15MM contract on Saturday. The 2020 1st overall selection had a bit of a slow start to his career, spinning his wheels in the bottom six of a deep Rangers team, but has found his stride in the last 18 months and is off to a hot start this year with eight points in his first eight games.
-Sasha Barkov hasn't played since he injured his leg sliding into the end boards at the end of their encounter with the Sens, but he's finally slated to return tonight. Eight games is a chunk of time, but I'm frankly surprised he wasn't out longer because I thought he'd turned his leg to mush.
-And, lastly, speaking of the Finns, Pierre LeBrun has a lengthy feature interview with Jere Lehtinen over at the Athletic. Lehtinen, the decorated NHL retiree, is serving as the GM for Finlan's entry in the Four Nations Face-Off in February.
