Based strictly on their record and the standings, the Ottawa Senators continue to be a long shot to make the Stanley Cup Playoffs. But their underlying numbers, not to mention their current four-game winning streak, continue to suggest that if any team is capable of making a late, crazy run, it’s the Senators.
But GM Steve Staios is almost out of time to decide what his strategy will be at the trade deadline. Yes, March 6th is still over a month away, but thanks to the Olympic break, the Sens have only six games remaining before the deadline.
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“I think they are trying to do something there in Ottawa,” Sportsnet analyst Elliotte Friedman declared on Tuesday on the 32 Thoughts Podcast.
“I have a theory on what they’ve been trying to do, but it’s something I have to check because I have a meter of, okay, they were mad at me a couple of weeks ago. I’ll just let them calm down before I make them mad at me again.”
The word theory generally suggests little more than speculation. But as one of hockey’s top insiders, Friedman’s theories are generally borne out of good information extracted from his sources around the league.
But the Senators may not be inclined to agree, at least not at the moment.
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When Friedman says the Sens were mad at him a couple of weeks ago, he’s almost certainly referring to a podcast comment he made during the Linus Ullmark social media controversy that erupted during the goaltender’s personal leave of absence.
Shortly after news of the controversy broke last month, Friedman commented on the situation, imagining what he would do if he were a player in Ottawa named in a rumour like that.
“I am walking into the organization, and I’m saying, ‘Get me out of here. I did not sign up for this.’ And especially if my family was involved, I would say, Get me out of here right now. That is too much. I did not sign up for that.”
Naturally, that was an easy clip to grab, and even his employer’s social media team ran hard with it.
However, if you listen to the full conversation on the podcast, Friedman actually appears to be trying to support the Senators and the manner in which they chose to react to the rumour. He was trying to outline how important it was for the organization to let the players know they had their backs, and he provided an example of what he believed would happen if they didn’t come out with their fiery statement to reject the rumour.
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But even in full context, the Senators surely didn’t appreciate the remarks for a couple of reasons.
For one, the last thing the Senators needed after years of mismanagement under the former regime is a top NHL insider putting such a vivid, negative image out into the NHL universe. Getting people to imagine star players marching into Staios’ office and barking, ‘Get me out of here,’ isn’t great for business.
Secondly, no NHL player in any city would ever hold their team or their market responsible for an anonymous social media post. Pro athletes aren’t always rocket scientists, but they all understand how the internet works.
Meanwhile, Friedman’s theory on the Senators’ current trade deadline strategy apparently threatens to make the team mad at him again, which is intriguing.
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While he’s not saying exactly what his theory is, he does think the Sens’ goal differential, as opposed to those of other non-playoff teams in the East, might make them a more credible comeback threat and thus, possible buyers.
“You look at the teams that are out of the playoffs right now, as we wake up on Tuesday morning in the Eastern conference, the third best team, Columbus, who’s made a great run of it under Rick Bowness, they’re minus five. Washington is plus 12, and they’re right there, Ottawa is plus seven.
“Everybody else, Florida, Toronto, Philly, Devils, Rangers, they’re in the double digits minuses. I think they are trying to do something there in Ottawa.”
We won’t have to wait long to see if Friedman’s theory is right or whether he’s annoyed the Senators again.
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Steve Warne
The Hockey News
teve WarneThe Hockey News
This story is from The Hockey News Ottawa. You can visit the site here or click on one of their latest articles below:
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