Silver Seven Mailbag: Play-off Push Edition

You asked questions, lots of them in fact, and we're back today with some answers. Most were about the Ottawa Senators, but some were about the PWHL, sports media, and some of them were just delightfully weird.

There were a few recurring themes: are the Sens' play-off chances in jeopardy? What should Steve Staios do at the Trade Deadline? And what should the Sens be trying to do with their draft picks? If we didn't directly answer your question, it's likely because it was in a similar vein to one that's covered below.

Let's get into it:

Since we are currently on a long losing streak, would it be time to hit the panic button or not? - Darius

The good news is that most of Ottawa's remaining games are at the CTC, where they play their best hockey against stronger and weaker teams alike, and of their 10 remaining road games, only 3 (Florida, Toronto, New Jersey) are against teams in the Top 3 of their division. It would take 3-4 more consecutive losses for me to hit the panic button. – Shaan

If the Senators do make a bigger move involving a first round pick, who would you rather see also included in the package: Ostapchuk or Halliday? – Northbadman

I would be very hesitant to move a first round pick considering the Sens' prospect pool is incredibly thin and they're already beind made to give up a first rounder in the next few years because of whole Dadonov fiasco (more on that below!). If I was moving a prospect in a deal though, Ostapchuk would be easier to let go for me as he profiles as a fourth line player who can potentially play on the third line if all goes well. Maybe I'm being hasty, but I think we've got a good idea of his ceiling.

Meanwhile, Halliday is proving to be a very talented AHL player who has the potential to be a good depth scoring option. Ostapchuk is already in the NHL, so he has that in his favour, but Halliday's skillset and production in the NCAA and now the AHL give him a higher ceiling. – Trevor

Given JBD is likely to be healthy by the deadline and Matinpalo is unlikely to clear waivers at this point, which one would you keep? And would a team like Florida (5 left shot D and 1 right shot) part with a meaningful asset to get one of them (e.g. a forward or something we can flip for a forward)? -Wes

It really depends on your definition of meaningful: a trade with a divisional rival is always tricky and it would certainly take more than JBD/ Matinpalo to extract anything of real worth. Florida's right side is thin, but the two defenseman you've mentioned aren't likely to garner more than a middling pick at best.That being said, between the two, I am more comfortable parting with JBD – I've liked his play more this year than in the past but it doesn't seem like his potential is going to be much higher than what we've seen. – Nada

Julian McKenzie or Alex Adams? Who’s done the better job of filling Mendes’ shoes? – Caleb

I've been enjoying both of their work, for different reasons. Julian was already an established hockey media personality when he took over the reins from Ian at the Athletic, so I had a pretty good idea of what we were getting. Julian's always level-headed, and I appreciate his willingness to write about the ups and downs without sensationalizing things. He's clearly a professional, and I have a lot of respect for someone who clearly cares about his craft the way that he does.

Alex, on the other hand, has come out of seemingly nowhere and delivered high quality content on numerous occasions throughout the season. He doesn't write like a hockey writer, and I mean that in a good way. His deeper dives have often approached their subject from unconventional angles, and I've enjoyed Alex's unique perspective.

Maybe it's not the answer you were looking for , but I feel like Sens fans are lucky to have both writing about the team. – nkb

Is there a chance that the pick we owe Vegas can be nullified? I seem to remember that happened before, but if we see Vegas as an aggrieved party, I also can’t see how the NHL could say to them: "Sorry, nope, you dont get that pick." Unless Vegas doesn’t get that pick, and we simply lose it? -ottawabob

So what happened is that Ottawa will have to give up a first round pick in this or next year's draft, but it does not go to Vegas—it simply ceases to exist. The Devils ran into a similar situation with Ilya Kovalchuk when they got a first round pick taken away and then given back for cap circumvention. So is there a chance the penalty could be voided? Yes, but at this time it does seem unlikely as the whole thing was a pretty big embarrassing fiasco for the league.

In my opinion, Andlauer would be smart to wait and see if the league will budge next season but I don't love the chances of that happening. It's a ridiculous situation overall that didn't even hurt Vegas at all and if I were Andlauer and Staios, I'd be peeved as well considering it didn't happen under their watch. At the very least, it's a poor reflection on prior management. – Trevor

You’re the GM, what one deal do you make at the deadline? -Mikeec67

Being wary of the impending loss of a 1st-rounder along with a lack of valuable prospects outside of Montgomery, Halliday, Ostapchuk and the GOAT – I mean, the YAK (none of whom I'm trading at this point), it's hard to see the Sens winning a bidding war for a Jason Zucker or Kyle Palmieri. Instead, I'm calling Chicago about Ryan Donato, a less established and cheaper forward, albeit with an impressive 37 points in 53 games. Also Pat Maroon. We could use Pat Maroon on the 4th line. He's got 3 cups; that's a lot of Cups.

So I don't believe we're realistically talking about a major upgrade, more of an improvement on the depth forwards. I'd offer 3rd-round picks in 2025 and 2026, along with Angus Crookshank, who could use a new opportunity with a rebuilding team, for both forwards. I could also be persuaded to upgrade one of the 3rds to our 2027 2nd so long as Chicago throws a 7th back to us. – Shaan

What do you think of this for all star weekends while alternating all-star and international play?
A) Bring back the draft! The fans of each NHL team vote on which players to make available for the draft (one for each skills competition in addition to whomever they think is the best player) and then the All-Star team Captain needs to choose one player per nhl team.
B) All-Star Skills (I love the skills competitions. Think fastest lap, hardest shot, accuracy shooting, some type of obstacle course… and the goofy breakaway challenge). Each win gives 2 “goals” to their division.
C) All-Star Tournament. 4 divisions play one 10 minute 3 on 3 game against each opponent, most culminative goals wins the weekend. I’m not sure if this will improve defence or eliminate it altogether.

I feel like if the all star weekend is scrapped, we’ll be complaining that we a generation of fans who never got to see Bedard take part in a accuracy shooting competition the same way we’ve never seen McDavid at best on best. – Caleb

I totally agree with the idea, especially regarding wanting the skills comp to stick around in some capacity. Only having an All-Star game every two years would mess up the stats about All-Star appearances for players, but the "1 player per team" requirement has already done that, so I don't really care. My only amendment is that I think the draft should be the way it was before the divisional format. Players get named to the ASG and then the captains choose their teams, and those are the teams that compete in the game. And no rules about who the players can select! – Beata

Love your team. Your captain is an asshole – Keon

That's why we love him so much ;) – Nada

Looking specifically at our 2nd round pick last year, do you see any changes in scouting for the upcoming draft? – Northbadman

I think more so as a result of Ottawa's regular season play, and less so at previous draft habits, the scouting staff need to focus on players with raw scoring talent. This team has demonstrated that they can play defence and now we can focus on the organizational dearth of pure goal-scorers. I don't believe there'll be a chance in staff, but a change in priorities to meet current needs is well warranted. – Owen

Who will be the first PWHL player to have their number retired? - Jack

If you're talking about the whole league, the easy answer is Marie-Philip Poulin. I don't think I need to explain that one. There are good players who are closer to retirement, but none who I can see having their numbers retired. Hilary Knight could get it first mainly because she'll probably retire first, but given that there was drama with her and the Boston Pride, I don't know if the city will be as eager to hang up her number as Montreal will be with MPP. If we're talking just Ottawa, I think we're a very long way away from that, but I could maybe see Jenner getting the honour as the team's first captain, assuming she sticks around for her whole career. Maybe one day! – Beata

I have three, actually. 1) Can we have chat forums? Too often do interesting discussions and subjects disappear and become forgotten whenever new topics get created.

2) Can we have the ability to privately message other users?

3) Also, can you (or we) organize a Senators watch party in Ottawa? At least one each season, and maybe others if they make the playoffs? It might be a fun way to connect in person with other fans in the region.

Thanks, and keep up the great work. – Hashek

I feel like it's cheating to sneak three questions into one, but I'll let it slide this time.

To answer your first two questions about website functionality, our current commenting tool is called Hyvor – we use it because it has great moderation tools, integrates seamlessly with Ghost (our site's host) and is (relatively) inexpensive. At this time they don't offer chat-type features, but we'd definitely be open to exploring them if they did.

As the play-offs get closer, though, I expect we will do more open threads, and just generally have some areas for folks to hang out and talk Sens hockey. So hopefully that helps with some of what you're talking about.

Lastly, I'm not sure that Silver Seven has ever done a meet-up. That could be cool! If the Sens really do make the play-offs, we'll definitely think of something to mark the occasion. Stay tuned. --nkb

Thanks to all of you who sent in questions, and if you didn't get yours answered this time, there's always next time!