Early in the season, I openly questioned whether it was diligent for the Senators to squander the first year of Karlsson's entry-level contract as the undersized rookie gets acclimatized to the North American style of hockey. At the time, I augmented my argument by alluding to the combination of: his inexperience; his size; and the organization's ability to let him adjust to pro hockey in the AHL without losing a year off of his contract. I reasoned that because of these factors, allowing Karlsson to develop at the NHL was the wrong move to make because I didn't believe that he could be a serviceable improvement over incumbents like Chris Campoli, Brian Lee and Alexandre Picard.
I was wrong.
Erik, while I'm not willing topublicly decree that you will be the next Alfredsson within five years, I will say this. Not only have you surpassed all expectations with your recent play, I've learned a valuable lesson. I will never bet on the likes of Campoli, Picard and Lee again. (Ed. note: Annointing another Alfredsson is ridiculous and borders on heresy at the Church of Alfie. Searching for the next one is as innane as an NBA fans search for the next Michael Jordan. There will never be another Alfredsson for this organization. Never.)
Rekindle the Rivalry With More Of This
More On Phaneuf
I'm a bit empathetic for Flames fans. Sens fans are cut from the same cloth. We thought we'd get more for Heatley as well. (As an aside, has anyone checked in on Pierre McGuire to see if he's come out of his coma now that he has an opportunity to see Dion on a daily basis in Toronto?)
The 6th Sens Podcast
If you haven't listened to it yet because it was buried in this weekend's news, I'd encourage readers to check out the podcast that we recorded last week featuring Neate Sager of Sun Media and an inaugural Senators fan favorite, Darcy Loewen.
Universal Cynicism
According to Erin Nicks, the Senators have a goaltending controversy because Brian Elliott is Brian Elliott and it's only a matter of time before the other shoe drops.
Brian Elliott may know how to keep the ball rolling, but he certainly didn't start it. That distinction belongs to Mike Brodeur, with his two victories over Montreal and the Rangers in mid-January.
Elliott was then handed the keys, and told not to crash. So far, he's been doing better than expected.
And what does this have to do with Martin Gerber? Well, it would appear like his predecessor, Elliott does not handle pressure with the greatest of ease. However, bring him into an already positive situation, and he'll perform as desired.
Maybe it's just me or maybe it's because it's just a case of the Monday morning blues that I'm having trouble grasping Nicks' assertion that there is a goaltending controversy in Ottawa. Now that Elliott can add the NHL's Second Star of the Week to last week's First Star on his mantle of accomplishments, there's no controversy. The Senators are going to ride the hot hand and stick with Elliott until he falters. When/if that happens, Clouston will give Leclaire an opportunity to reclaim his number one job.
Like the goaltender controversy argument, I don't really understand the hatchet job that Nicks performs by stating that Elliott does not handle pressure with the greatest of ease. In the past year and a half, when the hell has Elliott ever played in a pressure cooker of a game?
The closest he has come to a pressure situation was when Mike Brodeur started this winning streak after the Senators had lost four in a row and fell ill. In coming off of the flu and being thrust into a situation in which his work was going to be measured with Brodeur's short-term success, Elliott had to step up and perform so that his job security wouldn't be questioned.
When will pundits finally give Elliott credit for what he's done throughout his hockey career? Whether it's been Wisconsin, Binghamton or Ottawa, Elliott's development has improved at every level that he has played at. Instead of giving credit to Eli Wilson or feeling compelled to shit down Elliott's throat for overachieving, give credit where it's due. I can't actually believe I'm citing Don Brennan to articulate a point but, he's making saves. The kind of saves he's supposed to make. Sure, he might not be the entertaining, athletic netminder that Pascal Leclaire was supposed to be but Elliott has been able to limit something that he can control -- the number of soft, deflating goals that have become the norm in Ottawa.
Instead of focusing on if/when the wheels are going to fall off the Brian Elliott bandwagon, maybe a bigger concern should be whether or not the Senators are peaking too early.
Another Enigma in the Senators Stable
Playing without their best offensive players for a long stretch (and maybe that was critical to the advancement of the cause), Ottawa has come together. There is visible effort. There is passion. There seems to be a joy about their successes. And with the return of their captain and their talented but enigmatic centre, they are on an eight-game winning streak. Doesn't seem to matter who plays goal. Doesn't seem to matter who plays with whom. What does seem to matter to the players is that they break a sweat on every shift and that they pick themselves up after a loss. ~ Mike Milbury, failed GM and analyst for CBC
Alfredsson For Selke Consideration
Thanks to James Mirtle's work at the Globe & Mail, he has provided some statistics to objectify what Senators fans see on a regular basis. Instead of relying upon the use of plus/minus to determine who is a good defensive player, Mirtle makes use of three measures -- quality of competition, goals against at even strength and goals against on the penalty kill -- to characterize Daniel Alfredsson as one of the elite two-way players in the NHL. As a baseball fan who appreciates how sabermetrics have altered the landscape for evaluating players, it's fantastic to see that hockey has started to move beyond some flawed statistical interpretations of the game.
Re: Nicks attempt at hatcheting Elliott written by The Dutch Treat , February 01, 2010
Sadly, Nicks, who was once a good writer on the blogosphere and capable of thought-provoking pieces has devolved into the picture of bitterness. It began months ago with her LAMP (Look At Me Post) when she declared she was 'no longer a fan of the Ottawa Senators' because the team didn't make the moves she wanted to see. Since then, she has literally become the piss on the parade looking for any opportunity to slight the team and justify her decision to abandon it.
Is Brian Elliott "the answer", only time will tell. Those, like Nicks, who are waiting for the shoe to drop may be disappointed to see it never happen as Elliott has found a way to make the basic saves through improved rebound control and positioning. As long as he remembers to push the fundamentals, he will be fine. He will rarely be remarkable, but neither was Ray Emery on the Cup run. At this time, the Sens require adequate goaltending. He provides that. Will he become the true #1 of this team, only time will tell. But to attack him with the baseless argument that he can't handle pressure and comparing him to Martin Gerber of all goalies just shows Nicks' inability to separate her personal feelings of needing to be right that the Sens are bad from her writing. But hey, it's a free country, she's free to write whatever she wants.
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... written by Mark L. , February 01, 2010
greg millens laughter in the ruutu/phaneuf video is the best part!
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... written by Dave Young , February 01, 2010
I agree her schtick is getting old too. I dont even take it seriously anymore. Seriously someone who has nothing good to say after a nine game winning streak shouldnt have a link to a sens blog. I know she would say somehting like, "im not a sens fan, Im a hockey fan". Thats fine. Then stop writing so many shitty blogs about them.
As for Millbury, he's obligated to call Spez an enigma because he traded him and Chara for Yashin. Its called coping. The rest of his quote is fantastic and I agree with it. It doesnt matter who plays with who, everyone is in on the system and playing hard for each other and playing smart.
Calling Karlsson the next Alfie I agree is quite silly, but I see him as a big part of our organization for some time. He's played absolutely incredible hockey over the last little while, and is making Murray look like a genius for letting him develop here. But next Alfie? Thats not possible
Speaking of Alfie. I think he SHOULD get the Selke... the trouble is, with that award they just pick a forward and give it to him for 3 years or until he becomes irrelevant instead of actually looking hard at it statistically. (Jere Lehtinen, now Pavel Datsyuk)
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... written by Michael Fisher Portnoy III , February 01, 2010
I don't think Milbury is a failed analyst yet....
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Where is Mike Toth when you need him? written by Canucnik , February 01, 2010
Brian Elliott and I formally invite Erin to my basement for a game of shots...real pucks, 15ft, no pads, blocker and trapper only!!
Very good text about this post. Students try term paper writing service and buy an essay and written essays about this topic.
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... written by SensGrinder , February 02, 2010
I have never read a positive article from this nicks character, frankly i find the various blogs much more refreshing and actually providing info which i may not already know
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... written by MasterOfPuppets , February 02, 2010
Essay you write. Post you not buy essay. Essay not written by this like post. Go you english buy dictionary. Like cheap!
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Fans marking out for Karlsson written by Andrew , February 02, 2010
Karlsson has been good as of late, but holy shit some of the comments I've read about the Montreal game are bordering on insanity.
People are talking about the pass to Fisher on the OT winner like it was some kind of astounding hockey play and definitive proof that he belongs in the league: it was 3 on freaking 3 at the time, of course he had time and space to make a good play.
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... written by Nichols , February 02, 2010
Andrew:
Agree on fans who have marked out of Karlsson. The lauding of his OT pass has reached Redden'esque first pass levels.
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Bloguin is the revolutionary blog network specifically focused on helping bloggers get the most out of their websites. We're currently working on building a large network of online communities and hope to expand our blogging coverage to include a wide range of topics. 
The Bloguin Network allows advertisers to promote their products and services to our ever-growing number of visitors. We offer both site-specific ad placements as well as the ability to run a network-wide campaign. If you're interested in working with Bloguin to meet your advertising needs, please contact us.
The Bloguin Network is always looking to expand. We're specifically looking for blogs in the sports, entertainment, and video games field, but are open to adding any type of quality site.. If you're a blogger and interested in joining our network, please fill out our application form.
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Is Brian Elliott "the answer", only time will tell. Those, like Nicks, who are waiting for the shoe to drop may be disappointed to see it never happen as Elliott has found a way to make the basic saves through improved rebound control and positioning. As long as he remembers to push the fundamentals, he will be fine. He will rarely be remarkable, but neither was Ray Emery on the Cup run. At this time, the Sens require adequate goaltending. He provides that. Will he become the true #1 of this team, only time will tell. But to attack him with the baseless argument that he can't handle pressure and comparing him to Martin Gerber of all goalies just shows Nicks' inability to separate her personal feelings of needing to be right that the Sens are bad from her writing. But hey, it's a free country, she's free to write whatever she wants.