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| think it comes down to myself as a general manager giving him a better rotation to work with |
| I am very excited to start contributing to the TSN website on a regular basis with blogs and columns about the Ottawa Senators. In this space, I will be writing new and unique pieces about the team that you wont be able to find anywhere else. So naturally, in an attempt to come up with a fresh topic about the Ottawa Senators, I am going to start with a piece about their goaltending. Bet you didnt see that one coming. With Craig Anderson sidelined due to a neck injury, Robin Lehner has stepped up and seized the moment with a pair of much-needed wins for the club. Lehners performance in those two victories has many Sens fans suggesting that his time has arrived to be anointed the teams No. 1 netminder. Ottawa fans are so conditioned to not having one reliable goaltender; they almost dont seem to know what to do with two of them. But before you start thinking this situation has the potential to become a full-fledged goalie controversy, there are a few things you need to remember. The most important factor in the Ottawa crease is the contracts that both netminders have - specifically Anderson. There are 23 goaltenders in the NHL who have a bigger cap hit than Andersons $3.18 million contract, making it arguably the leagues best deal for a netminder. If he was healthy last season, Anderson would have been the favorite to win the Vezina Trophy and his performance in the playoffs against Montreal cemented his status as a legitimate No. 1 goalie. To put this in perspective, Anderson has a lower cap hit than both Devan Dubnyk and Ondrej Pavelec. When the Vancouver Canucks were in the midst of a goalie controversy last year with both Cory Schneider and Roberto Luongo, the biggest catalyst for that storm was the latters ridiculous contract. The Canucks were spending more than $9 million in their crease and it seemed counterproductive to have one goalie making more than $5 million to be sitting at the end of the bench on a regular basis. The same thing happened in Pittsburgh last spring, when Marc-Andre Fleurys contract suddenly looked like a white elephant on the payroll during the playoffs when he lost his job to the more economical Tomas Vokoun. But in Ottawa, they are spending only $4 million combined on the position when you factor in Lehners $850,000 salary for this season. There is no financial element that would push Ottawa to a tipping point this season. Lehner is set to become a restricted free agent in July, but the club would still hold the hammer in those negotiations. When Bryan Murray signed Anderson to his four-year deal back in the spring of 2011, the consensus amongst Ottawa fans was that it was a great contract - except most of them didnt like the fourth year tacked on at the end. Ironically, that fourth year is the best thing that could have happened to the club, because now it buys them another year to figure out their long-term plan. If Andersons deal was set to expire this season, there would have been more pressure to try and either trade him or sign him to an extension. But now, Murray can let this situation breathe knowing he doesnt have to face a real pressure point until after this season at the earliest. Last season, the Ottawa general manager was forced to deal a goaltender because Ben Bishop was set to become a restricted free agent and the club knew it could no longer keep its three-headed monster in goal. That was a very real pressure point, since they did not want to lose Bishop as a restricted free agent - nor did they want to go through the exercise of signing him to a new contract only to have to turn around and trade him. That was a real pressure point for Murray and one that he doesnt have to deal with this season. Some fans are now suggesting Murray should have moved Anderson at the deadline last season and hung onto Bishop and Lehner, since he likely would have received more for the veteran netminder. But at the time Anderson was the most proven and stable goalie of the bunch and his contract was extremely reasonable for a No. 1 goaltender. And that last sentence remains true today: Of the three goaltenders, Anderson remains the most proven of that trio. The best parallel to the Anderson-Lehner situation could be the one that played out in Boston with Tim Tomas and Tuuka Rask. Those two goalies shared the crease for three full seasons and while it did get awkward at times, they did win a Stanley Cup in that situation. Thomas eventually orchestrated his own departure out of Boston, but that was after three full seasons of sharing the crease with a young prospect. Two capable netminders can share the workload for an extended period of time before something has to give. Were not anywhere near that point in Ottawa right now. The other thing to consider is that injuries can always play a factor in the goaltending equation. Its a long season ahead and both Lehner and Anderson could be heading over to Sochi to represent their countries in February. And if Sens fans have learned one thing over the years, its that when their goalie heads overseas for the Olympics, he doesnt always come back healthy. Asics Gel Lyte iii Black . PAUL, Minn. Asics Gel Lyte III Snowflake . After dropping their final six games of December, the Wild opened the new calendar year with four consecutive wins. Following a loss to Colorado on Saturday, Minnesota rebounded the following night to blank Nashville 4-0, but then had the tables turned on them Tuesday. http://www.asicssneakers.de/asics-noosa/asics-gel-noosa-tri-9.html . Kyle Denbrook, a soccer player from Saint Marys University, took the CIS male athlete of the week honour. Stanley, a fourth-year business administration student from Charlottetown, scored both goals in a 2-0 win over Dalhousie on Friday and tallied again in a 1-0 win over Saint Marys on Sunday. Asics Gt-2000 Herren . With his new coach and six-time Grand Slam singles champion Boris Becker watching him during an official match for the first time, Djokovic appeared tentative early against the Slovakian player, who often appeared content to keep the ball in play. Asics Gel Lyte iii Sale . -- The Bishops Gaiters are showing they belong among the countrys top varsity football teams.TORONTO -- Wasted season or expensive experimental test run? The much-vaunted 2013 Toronto Blue Jays returned to the drawing board after a season rife with underachieving closed Sunday. Questions abound after the dismal campaign. "We got off to a slow start and obviously it continued the entire year," GM Alex Anthopoulos said by way of understatement. The season opened April 2 with a home sellout of 48,857 fans at Rogers Centre for a 4-1 loss to Cleveland. Fast forward to Sunday and only two players -- shortstop Jose Reyes and catcher J.P. Arencibia -- remained in the starting lineup. And Reyes missed some 66 games inbetween with an ankle injury while Arencibia came into the season finale batting .195 with 21 home runs and 147 strikeouts in 473 at-bats. It seemed fitting that prior to the ceremonial first pitch Sunday, the PA system played "Pick Up the Pieces" by the Average White Band. The Jays finished last in the American League East at 74-88, compared to 73-89 last season when they finished fourth in the division. Fan Appreciation weekend closed out with an exciting but failed comeback in a 7-6 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays before a loud crowd of 44,551. Despite Sundays six-run rally, its has a been a rocky road for the Jays -- and a long long way from the optimism of spring training. "Its an exciting season. Everybodys seen the moves," star outfielder Jose Bautista said back in February. "All the bodies are here now. Its all on us now to perform. "We love that challenge and we have a confident, good group of players together. I think were going to go out and have a lot of fun and hopefully we remain healthy. If all that happens, the season should take care of itself. We should be in the playoffs and hopefully the World Series." Manager John Gibbons was slightly more circumspect back then. "We expect to win some things this year ... Weve just got to step up and answer the bell and fulfil those things. But that wont be easy. Theres a lot of good teams in the league." Owner Rogers dug deep into its expansive wallet to fund the new-look Jays, with the 2013 opening day roster coming in at a season salary cost of US$119.3 million (up from $83.7 million) the previous year. The expected starting rotation -- R.A. Dickey, Mark Buehrle, Brandon Morrow, Josh Johnson and Ricky Romero -- cost $46.75 million alone. It went south quickly, finishing with a combined 30-36 record -- with Dickey and Buehrle accounting for 26 of those wins. "I never would have expected the rotation to be the weak link on this team coming into the year. I would probably have said the bullpen was the area we were most exposed in," said Anthopoulos. Johnsons 2-8 season came at a cost of $13.75 million. Anthopoulos hardly mentioned the big right-hander Sunday, which suggests a qualifying offer might not be forthcoming. He did speak optimistically of Morrow making a return, however. The Toronto GM said he expects to learn his payroll number in October, although the figure will be fluid with case by case re-evaluation. "Were certainly not going to go backwards, from that standpoint," he said of the salary total. "Well continue to move forward." In his end-of-season media meeting, Anthopoulos kept returning to stability of starting rotation, or lack thereof. "Right now we have (pitching) voluume.dddddddddddd The question is is the quality of that volume enough? .... Were going to look to improve, no doubt about it. We have to." For Anthopoulos, even with great everything else, the team wasnt going to get to the playoffs with the kind of starting pitching it got this year. The Jays starting ERA (4.77 going into play Sunday) ranked 29th in the 30-team majors. And it seemed somehow fitting that pitching coach Pete Walker made a trip to the mound after just two outs in the first inning to speak to Todd Redmond, with a reliever already warming up in the bullpen. The bullpen was far better on the season, ranking 10th in the majors with a 3.39 ERA. Toronto ranked 16th in hitting in the majors, with a .252 average prior to Sunday. The team ranked fourth in homers, with 185. In addition to shoring up the starting rotation, help is needed at second base while the verdict may be out on catcher. And the team needs depth. Its bench was threadbare many games. Injuries certainly cost the Jays. Bautista, Edwin Encarnacion, Melky Cabrera, Brett Cecil, Maicer Izturis, Johnson, Morrow and Colby Rasmus, almost a third of the opening day roster, finished the season on the disabled list. Some of the injuries were of the rare or freak variety. Doctors found a benign tumour on Cabreras spinal cord. Pitcher J.A. Happ was sidelined after getting hit on the head, injuring his knee as he toppled. Rasmus exited after talking an accidental ball in the face from a teammate. The season also started on a disconnect with players missing a chunk of spring training due to the World Baseball Classic. Anthopoulos has decisions to make. He said the team will likely look to improve via trades more than free agency, saying the available menu does not look that strong. He said he has bullpen assets that could be used in trades. Nothing seems off the table. "No one has a no trade clause," the GM noted, adding "If we can improve in any area ... well look to do that." The team has options on Adam Lind, Mark DeRosa, Munenori Kawasaki and Casey Janssen. Topics up for discussion include what can be done to reduce the injuries that have ravaged the team the last two seasons. Also whether anything can be done to improve the artificial turf before the plan to replace it with natural grass is put into place. On the plus side, Gibbons will return as manager with a vote of confidence from Anthopoulos. "His in-game (management) is outstanding. Thats always been a strength of his. I think it comes down to myself as a general manager giving him a better rotation to work with." Ryan Goins and Anthony Gose showed like they belonged in the final weeks of the season. And Toronto has a choice of arms when it comes to fifth starters and beyond. But while there is an upside to those pitchers, says Anthopoulos, theres isnt a level of certainty. And there was a buzz about the team, with Kawasaki becoming an unlikely fan favourite for his quirks and occasionally timely hitting. Season attendance at the Rogers Centre was 2,536,562, up 436,899 from 2012. "Support has been great ... Whats been proven to everybody is this is definitely a baseball town," said Anthopoulos. "It has tremendous interest in the game." The question is what will the team need to do next year to keep the fans coming back? cheap nfl jerseys cheap jerseys cheap jerseys cheap jerseys cheap nfl jerseys wholesale jerseys ' ' ' |
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posted on: 12/09/2015 05:17:25 AM
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