Thoughts in Bold: Dorion speaks on TSN 1200 yesterday
In a weird season like this pandemic shortened one, there probably would be no better time for the general manager of the Ottawa Senators to jump on ‘In the Box’ on TSN 1200. Injuries, the opportunity to sign prospects and undrafted free agents out of college and the approaching trade deadline create a good number of topics for Pierre Dorion to discuss.
If you are unfamiliar with the format of this post, it is straightforward. I have transcribed all of Dorion’s thoughts. Following each of his reflections, I’ve included my own thoughts which are highlighted in bold.
To listen to the full interview, you can use the embedded media player at the bottom of this post.
On the process of Anton Forsberg to Ottawa and cleared to practice…
“Yes, obviously when we picked up Anton on waivers, he was thinking about driving to avoid the quarantine. And then, obviously, we follow every rule and regulation, we found out that even if he drove directly from Winnipeg to Ottawa – which would be a full day drive, 24 hours or so – he would still have to quarantine. Even though, technically, he was going from a bubble to a bubble. So, then we looked at situations. I spoke with Bill Daly. Dr. (Mark) Aubry spoke with Dr. Winna, and if we charted a place – because he was going from a bubble to a bubble and not in contact with anyone within Canada – we were told that he could just join our team immediately. So, we went ahead and did that. We’re happy he’s on the ice with us today.”
When the Senators claimed Anton Forsberg off waivers, in the team’s official press release, Dorion said, “He’s a goaltender who’s athletic and positionally sound. His addition should prove beneficial for us.”
I doubt Dorion realized how much foreshadowing he was doing, but the Senators were fortunate to put in the claim when they did because of the injury to Joey Daccord. With Forsberg in tow, it then became a question of how quickly they could get Forsberg onto their roster.
To put things in perspective of how desperate they were, the team chartered him a plane. Unlike many of the other top prospects at the World Juniors, Tim Stützle flew commercial and had to quarantine seven days before touching the ice in Ottawa.
Getting Forsberg into the lineup immediately was paramount because of their mounting injuries. It would not be fair for the team to rely exclusively on Filip Gustavsson and Kevin Mandolese to carry the ball until the likes of Marcus Hogberg and Matt Murray return. Mandolese is just 20 years old and he only won his first professional game yesterday against the Toronto Marlies. The 22-year old Gustavsson has played parts of three professional seasons in North America that included making his NHL debut this week. Together with Mandolese, the two have combined to play 71 career games split between the AHL and NHL levels. That is not a lot of experience to rely upon, so there is that justifiable urgency to get Forsberg onto the roster.
So finally, after the failed trade negotiations centred around moving the 1993 first overall selection to the Quebec Nordiques, the Senators have finally acquired a Forsberg.
Forsberg was the seventh-round pick (188th overall) of the Columbus Blue Jackets in the 2011 NHL Draft. In terms of career highlights, Forsberg won gold at the U20 World Junior Championships. He has also appeared in two AHL All-Star Games while winning the Calder Cup for the 2015-16 season with the Lake Erie Monsters. Forsberg’s spent parts of six seasons in the AHL and it is where he has had the greatest level of individual success. This performance has not manifested itself at the NHL level yet, however. In 48 NHL games spanning six seasons, Forsberg has posted a record of 12-25-4, a save percentage of .901 and a 3.22 goals against average.
The highest number of games he has played were the the 35 appearances he made with the Chicago Blackhawks during the 2017-18 campaign. That totally actually led the Blackhawks during an injury and inconsistency-plagued season for the organization. In every other season in which he has played, Forsberg has appeared in one to five games per season.
What do we know about Forsberg’s 2017-18 season?
According to Evolving-Hockey.com’s data, Forsberg’s goals saved above average (-3.5) and goals saved above expected (-4.69) metrics were both underwhelming.
On whether the injury to Joey Daccord helped influenced the decision to charter a plane for Forsberg…
“If he was going to drive, he was going to drive and he was going to leave this morning, I believe, or he was going to fly commercially the next day. So, we were looking during the game through the evening at options and then, of course, the Daccord injury happened. And it’s an added expense, and I went to my boss and he said, ‘Just get it done.’ I think the reply I got was, ‘That’s great,’ when we knew we could get it done.”
Depending on how he flew, some digging into private jet charter travel estimates from Winnipeg to Ottawa revealed that the organization likely spent upwards of $10,000-$15,000 to get Forsberg here. It’s not chump change, but when you see the organization volley two-way contracts between Ottawa and Belleville during this revenue-starved season, the money saved can be reallocated to emergency expenses like this one.
On updating the health of Joey Daccord...
“No, I think I can give you an injury update on everyone today if you want one. Daccord, it’s going to be long-term here. He’s going to be out for a while.”
Devastating news for a player who was earning his roster spot in Ottawa. Obviously without knowing the severity of his injury, we won’t know how quickly or how well Daccord may bounce back. A major surgery could impact how the Senators plan on handling their goaltending situation in the offseason. My inclination is that the Senators should protect Daccord in the expansion draft and leave names like Matt Murray (prohibitive contract value), Marcus Hogberg (ineffective play) and Filip Gustavsson (young and unproven) exposed. Hogberg is a restricted free agent who will need a qualifying offer for the Senators to retain his rights, but if the Senators elect to move on there, they may need to dip into the market to acquire a goaltender if they have hesitations about giving a guaranteed spot to Daccord following his injury.
Considering how much the goaltending market will be saturated with talent because of the Seattle expansion draft, that is not a bad thing.
On Colin White’s health status…
“Colin White’s day-to-day. He actually finished a practice in a non-contact jersey, but I think that was more of a power play/penalty killing thing. He would have been in red because they were the power play, so he’s day-to-day. He’ll be back, if it’s not on Monday, it will most likely be Wednesday or Thursday.”
Colin White keeps escaping serious injury and that’s a good thing. Last week it looked like his season may be done because of an ugly crash into the endboards after he lost an edge. This week, he left Wednesday’s game with an apparent shoulder injury after taking just one shift in the third period.
For a player enjoying such a productive campaign after struggling to endear himself to the coaching staff last season, White’s recovered well and looks like a more confident and assertive player.
On providing more clarity on Joey Daccord’s injury…
“Let’s just say it’s a while. I don’t want to put a timeline on it, but there’s a good chance… the timeline that I was given… we’ve just got to wait a day sometimes for the swelling to go down to make sure, but (he’s done) most likely for the season.”
The opportunity afforded to Anton Forsberg is a pretty unique one. It is not often that a team has its goaltending depth decimated by injury. As an impending unrestricted free agent, a good showing with the Senators down the stretch may afford him the opportunity to land another contract and stick in the NHL.
On the health status of the other goaltenders such as Marcus Hogberg and Matt Murray…
“Both skated this morning. Murray is week-to-week, but had a good day today. Hogberg…we’re hoping… and he knows he’s going to do a conditioning stint in Belleville by the end of the month.”
Out of all the Senators’ goaltenders, Hogberg’s career is at a crossroads. I touched upon it earlier, but given the sheer volume of goaltenders who will be made available in trade later this summer, Hogberg needs to show the Senators that he’s capable of being an NHL goaltender to earn a qualifying offer. Even if he offers glimpses of talent, due to the volume of talent available, he may not even be able to find a guaranteed one-way NHL contract if he hits the open market.
On conditioning stints and whether the club ever considered using one for Christian Wolanin when he was not playing regularly…
“Yes, but at the same time, he would not need waivers to go on a conditioning stint. But at the same time, we had the long trip out west. We thought about it. It was something that was a very quick discussion, but when we’re talking about conditioning stints, Anton Forsberg will play tomorrow for Belleville at 3 pm.”
Forsberg gets the start as the Belleville Senators go for their first back-to-back wins this season. Kevin Mandolese was reportedly fantastic in making 41 saves for the B-Sens yesterday.
On how he would assess this team through the first half of the season…
“Well, no it wasn’t a pleasurable start. I can tell you that. For the fans, for us and I think for the players, it is not exactly what we envisioned as a team. But, I think as the season has gone on, we’ve gotten better. I think the first-quarter of the year, we were 2-11-1 and I think in the second-quarter of the year we went 7-7. I think we’re 1-2-1 in the third-quarter of the year and I would argue that if we had a bit of luck or maybe not run into maybe the hottest goalie in the league, our record in the last two games would be better. So obviously, from a mid-year point or a bit past mid-year’s (point of view), I think we’re finding our consistency. I think when you talk to people around the league and when I talk to GMs or opposing coaches, everyone will tell you that we’re a hard team to play against. It’s not an easy two points. It’s a year where there’s been some development by failure. I think this is a growing year. We all feel that we’re learning a lot. We’re learning to win. We’re learning to play the right way. I think learning to play the right way comes with learning to win. We’ve become a harder team to play against and obviously that doesn’t come overnight. I think our blowouts are sometimes have been a result… we haven’t got saves. Goals have been going in bunches it seems at times. But overall, I think we’re really happy with the progress of our younger players and I think that’s key for us to be where we want to be next year.”
This season was perhaps one of the most intriguing in recent years simply because it allowed for such a great opportunity to evaluate and analyze the philosophy, evaluation skills and player development of the organization. It is no secret that the Senators’ success this season has largely been a function of the play of the team’s young forwards. Brady Tkachuk, Josh Norris, Tim Stützle, Colin White and Nick Paul have helped carry this team. They need a little bit more help, but it’s an encouraging group of young players who have enjoyed some great individual success respectively.
On the backend however, the growth and development has not been as significant. For as great as Erik Brannstrom and Christian Wolanin look moving the puck, it seems pretty clear from their usage and being repeatedly scratched from the lineup that their defensive shortcomings are a sore spot for the coaching staff.
Most fans understand that both players have their defensive flaws. Neither player will ever be mistaken for a bruising defenceman who punishes the opposing players with slashes or crosschecks in front of the net. They defend differently. They rely on gap control, active sticks and anticipating plays rather than dominating one-on-one board battles or physically imposing themselves. What fans have a problem accepting is that the players that the Senators have added on the blue line who are physical and impose themselves aren’t competent defenders either.
Additions like Erik Gudbranson, Josh Brown and Braydon Coburn have been the team’s worst defenders, but Gudbranson has been entrenched in this lineup as a regular. Part of that may stem from the organization’s decision to anoint him as a captain, but the trust that the coaches have in him is not commensurate with how he has performed as a sub-replacement level player.
I don’t question that Gudbranson may be a great teammate and presence within the dressing room. He certainly comes across as a well-spoken and charismatic guy in media availabilities, but the emphasis on the intangibles that we routinely hear be preached by the organization fuels concerns that the organization will look to bring Gudbranson back.
In looking at what Ottawa signed or acquired in the offseason, the best value came in the form of the less heralded signings of Artyom Zub and Austin Watson. Most of the veterans that the team brought in – Erik Gudbranson, Matt Murray, Josh Brown, Evgenii Dadonov, Cedric Paquette, Braydon Coburn, Alex Galchenyuk, Austin Watson and Derek Stepan –have essentially flamed out. Fortunately, the majority of these players weren’t on long-term deals, but the team wasted a lot of draft capital and cap space acquiring inconsequential sub-replacement level talent.
Whether the organization intended for these players to be stopgap solutions we’ll never really know. It’s easier to say in retrospect, but they were sold to the fans as insulators to protect the young players’ development and make the team more competitive. It has not been all bad, however. Zub’s been a revelation as a defensive defenceman and has helped provide some stability while the team waits for Jacob Bernard-Docker and Jake Sanderson to graduate. His integration into the lineup should have come sooner, but at least he looks like a viable right defensive defenceman for the foreseeable future who should complement Thomas Chabot. Austin Watson has also been markedly better than I anticipated and at least in the case of Dadonov, although he has underperformed, he hasn’t hurt the team. I believe there is enough luck-based evidence to suggest that there’s more underlying production to be had.
I’ve been beating on the drum for a while, but in tearing down the roster, it was inevitably going to be easy for the organization to acquire young players and supplement the pipeline of prospects. The pressure was always going to be on Dorion and company to demonstrate that they have the ability and wherewithal to make smart decisions to supplement their young core.
I can’t confidently say that they proved they can do that. Their best moves were their least expensive ones and their most expensive ones – both in opportunity cost or money and term – were their worst. The team cannot continue to invest in players over a longer term who don’t move the needle. For an organization that is trying to earn the trust back of its fans, it cannot rely on the growth of its kids alone. The process has to improve with it, but I can’t confidently say that it has. The front office is small. Their investment in scouting and analytics leaves a lot to be desired and without that growth, the ability to mitigate mistakes and target market inefficiencies shrinks.
On how he would evaluate the play of his goaltenders this season…
“It needs to be more consistent. We’ve seen at times, guys play well – Murray, Hogberg play really well. Joey (Daccord) is a small sample size. I think when he’s been called in to play, he’s played great. But, I think we definitely to be more consistent. It can’t be a night where we’re great and then another night, every second or third shot is going in.”
One of my favourite local sports writers (@taoofstieb) had an awesome thread about how meaningless the words ‘consistent’ and ‘inconsistent’ are. In essence, he referred to them as lazy sports cliches.
“It’s a statement of varying outcomes and not of quality of play, or more to the point, a greater understanding of WHY a player is playing poorly.”
Would it have made sense for Dorion to use a radio interview as an appropriate platform to get into a nuanced discussion as to why his goaltenders, and especially Murray, have struggled mightily? Maybe not. Perhaps that is a conversation best served to be held behind closed doors with the goaltender and his coaches. At the same time however, it’s hard to listen to analysis that concludes that a player simply has to be more consistent. It does not shed any light whatsoever.
On whether he has been surprised with Matt Murray’s inconsistent start to his career in Ottawa…
“You know what, with Matt, we’ve seen some great games. We’ve seen some, what I would call, elite goaltending. And we’ve seen some games where I think he knows he could have been better for us. I think there has been an adjustment coming to another team. That’s not an excuse, it’s just sometimes it’s facts – the adjustment of who’s playing in front of you, different systems, and all these things. We still have a lot of faith in Matt. He can’t be a goalie that at 26 years old or 25 years old or whatever he is, has won two cups and have the pedigree that he does (and write him off). He’s a proud guy and he’s a competitive guy. I thought of late, he found a bit more consistency. But, I think he knows he’s got to be better, but I think the whole team in front of him knows that they need to be better.”
And there’s the public vote of confidence in Murray. Dorion’s right to point out that at Murray’s age and with his track record of success, there is a still an opportunity for him to find what made him successful in his first few seasons in the league. Similarly, he is never going to publicly dump on a player that he acquired for a valuable asset or handed a four-year $25 million contract to. At the same time however, the further we are removed from those years, the more his recent downturn in performance over the last few years may deter people from believing that this version of Murray embodies the new norm.
Murray’s reputation as a technical goaltender whose mental fortitude carried him through his first few seasons. As he played more games, it is easy to wonder whether the book is out and advanced scouting has helped to identify holes in Murray’s game. Relative to his peers, he’s not the most athletic goaltender around. He relies on angles and positioning to increase the odds that the puck finds him. At times, it is easy to wonder if he plays deeper in his crease hoping it affords him extra time to react to shots.
On the theme of the season being the development of the young players and how impressed he is with certain players…
“I think on Zub, you’ve got to give a lot of credit to our European scouts… or actually, our pro scouts also went there and also liked him. Peter (MacTavish) went there and loved him. I was kind of like the last guy to see him live and we were all impressed with him, including myself. He was a good player in the KHL, but you never know with those guys. There’s a lot of guys who’ve come from the KHL at whatever age and they just can’t play in the NHL. But, one thing about Artyom is that he’s competitive. He’s great defensively and he’s got great gaps. He boxes out the way that D.J. (Smith) wants to be. Anytime you tell him something, he can adjust his game to it. So, you can tell his hockey IQ is really high. He’s quiet, but I think he’s been a pleasant surprise. I wouldn’t say it’s something that we expected, but we expected him to be in our lineup at some point in time, but the adjustments that he’s made have been good. It’s unfortunate for him with no exhibition games, it’s tough to tell when you’re playing against your own players and your own organization. As far as the other guys, Jimmy (Tim Stützle), as everyone calls him, has been sensational. He’s had some really great moments and he’s had some moments where, at times, he has to be better in his own end. Overall, we’re not paying him to check. He’s not here to check. He’s here to produce offensively and he’s definitely done that. And if you look at Josh Norris, I think Stützle is two in rookie scoring and Josh Norris is three. He’s another guy. He’s been really good. Now, he had a little lull for a while, but that’s to be expected with younger players. They’re not going to be your best players night in and night out, but Josh has definitely delivered. He’s a really mature human being and he skates well. He’s producing offensively and at times, he gets matched up against the other team’s best matchup centre, so it’s not always the easiest thing. I think with Drake (Batherson), I think we all knew the talent that Drake Batherson had. It’s a learning process for him. We know a lot of people wanted us to bring him up last year or two years ago when he was tearing up the American (Hockey) League. We just felt for his development, the best time was to come here when he was fully ready to contribute offensively and that’s what he’s doing now. I think it’s a process with certain players are more ready earlier to jump in the NHL. Like Josh Norris, we felt was ready a year earlier probably than Drake. It all varies with the prospects that you have in the lineup.”
The most interesting comments here are Dorion’s reflections on Stützle. Obviously, Jimmy is enjoying a successful offensive campaign and it has been fantastic watching his confidence grow as he has adjusted to the league and his teammates. Thanks to some of his highlight reel goals and assists, it is easy to dream on that kind of talent when he’s more physically mature and the team around him improves. With that said, eventually there’s going to come a time when the expectations surrounding his defensive aptitude will grow. In his first season when he’s adjusting to the league and his defensive responsibilities on the wing are small, showing no concern now is fine.
On the Senators’ long-term depth chart however, there is a glaring hole at the 1C position and Stützle is a player many are hoping can fill that role. In the modern NHL, it seems incredibly difficult for teams to win a Stanley Cup without having a productive first-line centre who also has a strong commitment to playing well defensively.
Many analytics websites demonstrate that Stützle’s defensive contributions have been lacking. They are not at a point where they are not outweighed by what he brings to the table offensively, but it is definitely something to keep an eye on moving forward.
I love the Senators’ depth down the middle and having some strong two-way talents like Shane Pinto and Josh Norris down the middle helps guard against the possibility that Stützle may be better served on the wing, but if the Senators eventually want to groom Stützle for that centre role, he’ll not only have to improve defensively, but he will have to get consistent reps.
For a team that should grow organically and only get better, finding reps for Stützle as the team gets better around him and the results of the games matter more, might get tougher. That is what makes Stützle’s development one of the greatest stories to watch unfold over the next year or two.
On where the organization is at in determining whether Tim Stützle is going to play centre…
“I think he can play any of the three forward positions. We saw him play right wing with, I think, Josh (Norris) and Brady (Tkachuk), a few games ago. We know he can play left wing. I know D.J. (Smith) tried him at centre the game against Edmonton where we were getting blown out and it seemed to be a lot for him right now. It seemed to be a lot for him right because on the wing, you don’t have as many defensive responsibilities compared to centre. We want our centre a bit lower than some of the other teams for the little ‘pop out’ play. So, I think at a certain point in time, I think D.J. will try him. Let’s just see how things develop. Let’s not put a definite answer on that. I don’t think he’s played centre for the last two years if I’m not mistaken. So, I think there will be an adjustment. When you’re smart like him, I think you can play anywhere. I don’t think it’s going to hurt him, but I think we want to do the best thing for his future success and our future success down the road.”
If the Senators take a best player available approach to their draft, I wonder if they would be comfortable taking another centre. I have already touched upon their depth, but if adding another top-end player to their mix affords the organization the opportunity to keep Stützle on the wing, that may not be a bad thing.
On the University of North Dakota’s prospects and how close some of those prospects are to joining the organization…
“I’ve talked to all four family advisors previous to them starting the playoffs… or actually, it was a bit earlier in the year because I didn’t want to bug them. I said we’d call all four to see where they are in their progress, but right now, their focus should be on one and only one thing. I texted all four of them two days ago after they won the NCHC championship and just said, ‘The NHL will be here for a long time. Focus on one thing: winning the NCAA’s.’ We want winners in our organization and I think that’s the best political answer I’m going to give you.”
My early assumption is that the Senators will aggressively try and convince Pinto, Bernard-Docker and Sanderson to join the team following their NCAA season.
On whether there is any update on Jacob Bernard-Docker’s health…
“The report I got is that he should be playing when they play their first game in the regionals.”
Bernard-Docker sustained a lower body injury one week ago in the team’s NCHC quarterfinal win over Miami (Ohio) when he crashed into the boards awkwardly. The Senators seem to be escaping the worst-case scenarios with these types of injuries lately.
On Shane Pinto and whether he’s the one UND prospect who has impressed him the most…
“No, definitely and I don’t want to take anything away from Tyler Kleven because he’s one guy that’s probably impressed me the most watching them play this year. How he’s come in as a freshman when he played at the World Juniors, but the other three are very close to the NHL.”
Klevens often seems like the forgotten prospect when discussing the Senators’ UND prospects, but he scored five goals and had one assist in his freshman season. With the graduation of a number of key prospects, Kleven’s role should only grow next season.
On how busy he is ahead of the NHL’s trade deadline…
“Well, there’s a lot of checking in going on and as you can see, there’s not a lot of transactions that have been made. For us, and the feeling I get, I think I’m one of the guys who talks to a lot of GMs. Contrary to other years where I was calling, more guys are calling me. I predict we’ll see a fairly quiet trade deadline. Not just for the Senators, but for the whole NHL just because of the landscape of everything. Just because it’s a buyer’s market this year compared to a seller’s market. Things can change quickly, but in talking to my counterparts, I get the feeling that we’re not going to see as many trades as we’ve seen in the past.”
The complications of the pandemic range affect isolation protocols and the available revenue of teams, but the Senators do not have a ton of desirable veteran assets to shed. Perhaps there are markets for players like Evgenii Dadonov, Erik Gudbranson or Chris Tierney, but most of these players are too expensive or have simply underperformed at a level that isn’t befitting of a good return. The most likely candidates to be moved are players like Ryan Dzingel and Mike Reilly. And as impending unrestricted free agents, I just don’t know if the return for rentals will be that significant.
The one thing that the Senators have going for them however is that they are one of the few teams that is assuredly out of the playoff picture. Knowing that, if they have the opportunity to move players well ahead of the April 12th deadline to a team that is vying for a playoff spot, they should be able to capitalize on the market.
On adding Angus Crookshank and whether there’s the potential to add any other reserve list players to the roster…
“For sure, for sure. Once Mads (Sogaard)’s season is done, we have talked contract and he will join Belleville. He’s playing in… I don’t even know how to say the name of the place, but he’s had a good year there. Whether it’s Roby Jarventie, Victor Lodin, (Eric) Engstrand, they’re all players that we’ve talked about all coming over next season obviously to play in Belleville. Those are guys that we’ve looked at. There are a few other guys in the college ranks that depending on (what) their status is, but for Angus, in watching him… I’ve got to admit, I didn’t see him live this year, but I’ve been watching how his growth curve has really significantly grown. We just felt that at this point in time, he had nothing left to prove to play college hockey. We don’t like to take players out a year before they’re going to be done. But, in his situation, for him to be the best NHL player with his skillset and his scoring ability and how harder he has become as an offensive player, we just felt that it was time for him to probably step into Belleville next year.”
Aside from having one of the best names in the Senators’ farm system, Crookshank had three productive seasons playing at the University of New Hampshire. Across 90 NCAA games, Crookshank scored 35 goals and 63 points. The Belleville Senators could certainly use an infusion of talent onto their roster, so hopefully he acclimates quickly to the AHL game and asserts himself as a prospect to keep an eye on.
On using the break in the schedule to use as an evaluation of Erik Brannstrom’s game by playing him in Belleville...
“I think with Erik Brannstrom, it’s something similar to Drake Batherson. Where Drake was last year, is where Erik is this year. We gave 20-something games last year. I forget the number. He showed us at times he could be an NHL player and at times, he showed us that he wasn’t ready. And I think it’s the same situation with Erik. Both guys are extremely talented. We’re not going to dispute that fact. Erik has high offensive IQ, he passes the puck well, he shoots it well and he can transition with his feet, with his brain and his hands. Where Drake was last year at times with his play away from the puck as a forward, it’s the same thing with Erik Brannstrom. It’s his play in his own end. It has to be better and he’s going to go down there and at some point in time, I’m sure we’ll call him back up. But, we just feel that he needs more time. We don’t want to rush these guys when they’re not playing well and since Christian Wolanin has gotten back in the lineup, he’s given us some really good hockey. You look at some of the passes he made through the neutral zone that gave Chris Tierney a breakway… how when we got 46 or 48 shots on net two games ago, him and (Thomas Chabot) were breakout machines getting the puck out every time on the tape. So, I think when you look at those things, Christian is playing better than Erik, but we know we believe he’ll be a really good NHL defenceman – definitely in our top-four – as we move forward. He just needs more time.”
If the Senators move Mike Reilly by the trade deadline, it will free up room for both Brannstrom and Wolanin to play in the lineup. Should Jake Sanderson graduate however, there simply is not going to be room for all four defencemen on the Senators roster. The presence of Sanderson affords Dorion the flexibility to move one of these puck-moving types to address another position of weakness, but there’s no guarantee that Sanderson will leave UND either. Being the younger player who has more upside and was viewed as the centrepiece in the Mark Stone deal, the Senators certainly have more invested in Brannstrom. At the same time however, he should hold more trade value for the same reasons I outlined above.
On Logan Brown’s status…
“Well, I don’t think Logan will play this weekend by the reports I got. We know Logan’s talent and we know Logan’s offensive upside. We want him to be successful and he’ll get his chance once he’s healthy again. He’ll definitely get his chance. If it wouldn’t have been for the injury, when we got back (from the west coast), D.J. didn’t know (he was hurt) at that point in time. He was going to play him with Stützle and Batherson. That was going to be a line and to give him a chance. Give him that 10-game segment to show what he can do. Night-in and night-out he gets, whether it’s between 12 and 15 minutes or 10 and 15 minutes, he’ll definitely get power play time… but, the injuries have set him back. So, once he gets back to being healthy, he’ll need to play again because obviously he’s been out for a few weeks. And then he’ll obviously get a chance up here.”
There is bad luck and then there is whatever kind of luck Logan Brown has. This season was supposed to be an opportunity for him to demonstrate what he can do playing meaningful NHL games with skilled talent and he has simply continued to struggle through a variety of minor injuries. Dorion’s comments were probably the most measured that I’ve seen when it came to discussing Brown’s upside and the opportunity to prove what he can do. Previously, I would have simply assumed that Brown is destined to be packaged in a trade, but it seems like the general manager recognizes the likelihood that Brown would provide greater value to the Senators playing than he would in a trade.
Pierre interjects to provide some thoughts on Filip Chlapik…
“People are asking about Filip Chlapik. I think at times, you’ve seen at times, you’ve got to listen to your players. People sometimes don’t know the underlying facts about certain situations. Hockey is a sport where it’s competitive, but it’s also about people. And Filip was having no fun playing hockey in North America and he was supposed to come on the (west coast) trip whether on the taxi squad or roster and he had no intentions (of coming). So, that’s one of the reasons why he asked for his outright release and that’s why we granted it to him. I think sometimes as much as it’s a competitive environment that we try and create, at times, you’ve got to think about people and their mental health. These aren’t easy decisions and that’s why we made that decision.”
I have no knowledge of why Chlapik asked for his release. Maybe he was homesick and simply wanted to be closer to his family and friends, but earning an AHL salary while isolating in the Brookstreet Hotel while confidence in yourself or this organization’s faith in you as a player would not have been easy. Doing that while watching sub-replacement veteran players draw into the lineup regularly at Chlapik’s would only have compounded the problem. I had faith in Chlapik’s ability to be a good depth player for the organization. To me, he was a victim of the early season personnel decisions that negatively impacted the team, but it always felt safe to assume that the organization simply viewed him as a tweener. It’s unfortunate because, like Rudolfs Balcers before him, it’s depth that the Senators lost for nothing. Hopefully he will have a chance to find another team in North America and prove what he can do.
https://autopod.isilive.ca/podcasts/chum/179/86771/Pierre%20Dorion.mp3