SENATORS: A Week in Review is a weekly column looking back at the week in Ottawa Senators hockey written by OLMSports Dave Gross.
Feature photo Courtesy NHLI via Getty Images
Isn't it just so appropriate that the Ottawa Senators and Colorado Avalanche are going to be spending some significant time together in Sweden later this week?
Apparently they've been spending a considerable amount of time on the phone prior to this pending meet-up.
The teams will hook up Friday and Saturday in Stockholm before heading back to their respective homes.
With all the hullabaloo and rumours and build-up to a possible mega-swap between the two clubs (and Nashville, in a three-way swap), this could be fun.
And isn't it just appropriate that about two minutes before filing my column to my Ottawa Life Magazine companions Sunday, the would-be trade involving Matt Duchene and Kyle Turris gets done.
All that prognosis and analysis about why it would be a bad trade, and why it might be a good trade sent to the curb.
But let's progress.
It's called media; stuff happens, in a hurry.
The heavily reported three-team trade was apparently in the works up until this past weekend which would have seen Turris end up in Nashville, Duchene in Ottawa and top prospects and picks in Colorado.
At first blush, it seems like a pretty even mix-and-match.
Certainly for Ottawa and Nashville.
Both get top quality forwards still building towards the prime of their careers.
Everyone in Ottawa who closely follows the game knows what Turris brings.
A complete package?
For sure.
Speed, shot and smarts. He's not the biggest dog in the fight but he has that same wiry strength that guys like Michael Peca owned. Watch his work along the boards – positioning-wise there aren't a lot far ahead.
We know he needed a new contract and word is – through the CBC panel Saturday – that Ottawa owner Eugene Melnyk was reticent to hand out a big-term deal worth in the neighbourhood of $6.5 million per annum (According to Sportsnet, Turris immediately inked a six-year, $36 million US extension with the Predators).
Duchene, frankly, needed a new venue.
Period.
The Halliburton speedster's time with the Avalanche had come and gone. Ottawa was greatly interested, and has been for months.
But the bump in the road was with the Av's. GM Joe Sakic was asking for a bundle – top prospects and first-round pick(s).
So here's what Joe landed: An Ottawa first-round and third round pick, centre Shane Bowers, goalie Andrew Hammond; Nashville's 2nd-round-pick, defenceman Samuel Girard and winger Vladislav Kamenev (from Nashville).
It's great fodder for discussion and debate during the dark, grey and windy days of November.
Stay tuned.
This one is likely to be debated for months, maybe years?
NEWS, NOTES AND NOTIONS: Erik Karlsson detractors must love watching highlights of Ottawa's loss to Vegas this past weekend and the one to the Habs last Monday when he was -6. He was that bad . . . I'd be the first guy to bury the deal from last season that brought Alex Burrows to Ottawa (plus he landed a head-scratching contract extension), but he's been effective lately for an Ottawa club that sometimes drifts off the game plan . . . If there is any way to send afternoon games to the mortuary, get on it. The players don't like them 'cause they play hell with routine. The fans likely as well because the atmosphere is generally gloomy . . . Ottawa lost to Vegas for one simple reason Saturday: the Golden Knights wanted the puck more than the Senators . . . Head coach Gerard (Turkey) Gallant (one of my fave former Red Wings) has done a superb job keeping the expansion Knights competitive while dressing essentially their fourth-string goalie . . . This is becoming a broken record in this space, but if Toronto truly wants to compete at a higher level, you might want to consider trading some of that stockpiled group of young forwards for defensive help. This is a soft, turnover-laden bunch . . . Nice touch by the Ottawa 67's in honouring former all-star defenceman Brian Campbell last weekend. In the 67's Memorial Cup winning season of 1998-99, Campbell was pretty well unstoppable, forming a dominant blueline with another future NHLer in Nick Boynton. Campbell led the 67's in scoring with 12 goals and 75 assists for 87 points. After graduating to the Buffalo Sabres organization, it took the Strathroy native five years before getting a full-time shot with the big club, but when he did, he flourished and played more than 1,000 big-league regular-season games.
THE WEEK AHEAD:
Saturday, Nov. 10: Ottawa at Colorado (Stockholm, Sweden) 2 p.m.
Sunday, Nov. 11: Colorado at Ottawa (Stockholm, Sweden) 1 p.m.