Here are a few words and phrases I collected from print, online and broadcast late Tuesday night and early into Wednesday morning after the Ottawa Senators were shut out (again) by the Florida Panthers.
‘Blueprint for success.’
‘Playoff-hardened.’
‘Clutch.’
‘Smothering.’
‘Team identity.’
‘Another level.’
‘Pack mentality.’
. . . And just in case you’ve been living in a galaxy far, far away for the last six-plus months, we’re referencing Florida here, not Ottawa.
Just so there was no confusion.
There’s also zero confusion that Ottawa – a loser of all four encounters with Florida this season – is light-years away from mimicking any of the Panthers’ above-mentioned swagger-for-success. But before we go ahead and bury the hatchet too deep into the neck of the Senators, let’s highlight what makes the Panthers tick and tock and where Ottawa could possibly follow in the upcoming ‘light-years away.’
Team identity has been bandied about quite a bit the last few weeks. Florida’s is quite well documented. Funny because I was looking at my Hockey News yearbook from just four seasons back and the team gathered there doesn’t resemble the current product one iota.
After up close and personal roster-examination, the identity of Florida in 2020 was, um, vague. There wasn’t a ton of ‘smother’ in the games of Mike Hoffman, Evgenii Dadonov, Frankie Vatrano, Keith Yandle and even Jonathan Huberdeau. All the above were key players for Florida that season; plenty of zippy talent but not much in the ‘pack mentality’ department.
‘Playoff-hardened’ wasn’t an appropriate label for this bunch, which lost to the Islanders during the 2020 COVID-19 induced qualifying round.
During the next two seasons (and off-seasons), general manager and former player agent Bill Zito laid some very impressive groundwork in forming what you see today.
In 2021, Zito traded for defenceman Brandon Montour from Buffalo for a third-round pick; two days after that springtime move, Zito collected Sam Bennett from Calgary for a second rounder; and later that summer, Sam Reinhart came calling from the Sabres in exchange for goalie Devon Levi and a first-round pick (Jiri Kulich).
All those moves were considerable. None though shaped the Panthers more into what they present today than the one made on July 22, 2022.
(And I think I kind of know that you know where we’re headed here, you know).
Huberdeau, MacKenzie Weegar, and a first-round pick went to Florida for a fourth-round pick and some plug named Matthew Tkachuk.
The Panthers moulding doth meld. Bingo.
(And I think I kind of know that you know where we’re headed PART II here, you know).
The Senators have kind of, sort of, maybe . . . started the same procedure, just ass-backwards. They’ve already got their Tkachuk, which they did first. It’s simply the remaining pieces that need to fall into their laps.
Simply?
Well, not so much.
There’s some work to be done. Loads.
You think Brady, who turns 25 before next season rolls around, doesn’t sit around at night after another gut-kicker of a loss and wonder what it’d be like to have a Bennett or a Montour or a Reinhart to rely on?
Ottawa fans who say they can’t wait to see what Brady Tkachuk can do in a post-season are correct in summing it up like this – it’d be just plain fun.
But while Brady certainly plays with a ‘pack mentality,’ problem is, he doesn’t have the pack to go with it.
You’re up to the plate next, Steve Staios.
THOUGHT, SEEN AND HEARD: Florida stuck and rubbed it in Ottawa’s face all year long and Ottawa’s response is to dress Zack MacEwen, Bokondji Imama, Mark Kastelic and Parker Kelly Tuesday night. MacEwen got dusted in an early scrap, the rest of the gang did nothing . . . The more I watch Kastelic the more I wonder about his purpose . . . Ottawa’s grittiest guy Tuesday: Mathieu Joseph . . . The besieged Joonas Korpisalo was actually pretty damn good Tuesday . . . If Florida does end up facing Toronto in the opening round (it looks like it), unless the blessed Buds can bring back Dougie Gilmour and Wendel Clark: ugh . . . When I cast an eye back to those Pat Burns-led Leaf, successful clubs of the early 1990s, I remember my old friend Peter Zezel. The guy would give you the shirt off his back. What a great family too (ah, those nights at the Scarboro Tavern, which Pete’s uncle owned) . . . Concerning is the only word to describe Arber Xhekaj who ended his second straight season with shoulder surgery . . . BTW, say “shoulder surgery” 10 times quickly . . . Montreal destroys Philly 9-3 Tuesday night. The Flyers, who hung in there through 70+ games, have faded out of the picture . . . Breathe easy Hab fans, Juraj Slafkovsky is not the second coming of Jesperi Kotkaniemi . . . Hey, did I ever tell you the story about the time Montreal could have drafted Brady Tkachuk over Kotkaniemi? . . . Time to reevaluate the 2020 NHL draft as being absolute robbery by Ottawa. Alex Lafrenière (No. 1 overall, 27 goals, 29 assists this season), Quinton Byfield (No. 2 overall, 53 points this year) and Lucas Raymond (No. 4 overall, 26 goals, 38 assists) have enjoyed breakthrough seasons . . . Speaking on drafts Part III, was there ever a better pub than Montreal’s The Carb in the Alexis Nihon Plaza? . . . True deal: Many of Les Canadiens would head over to The Carb for a greasy lunch after morning practice at The Forum (right across the street) back in the late 1970s and early 1980s. I saw you there, Guy Lapointe.
OTTAWA SENATORS WEEK AHEAD:
Thursday, April 11: Ottawa at Tampa (7 pm)
Saturday, April 13: Montreal at Ottawa (7 pm)
Monday, April 15: Ottawa at NY Rangers (7:30 pm)
Tuesday, April 16: Ottawa at Boston (7 pm)
Season ends
thegrossgame@yahoo.com
