In a recent series, TSN‘s been airing a few interviews in which Bob McKenzie sits down for lengthy one-on-one sessions with NHL general managers and this afternoon, the network published his interview with Bryan Murray.
It’s a great interview that I would love to embed within this blog post, but for whatever reason TSN only allows people to watch the interview exclusively through its videohub. The jerks.
The interview itself is pretty candid, so you should definitely check it out in its entirety here.
The transcript of the interview can be read below. As always, my added thoughts are in bold.
On whether he’s been able to figure out what went wrong last season…
“Well I don’t think our training camp was great. I think maybe we were too comfortable. It looked to me that the year before, we had a lot of injuries and a number of the key guys didn’t play very much, (last season) we came to camp with the full group. Maybe we thought we were going to be better than we were going to be and certainly we didn’t compete at the same level, there’s no question. So maybe there was a comfort in the stars were back and the other guys didn’t have to work quite as hard.”
There’s probably something to this, coupled with the insanely difficult Western Conference road trip to start the season or stupid personnel decisions (ie. the inane decision to teach Mika Zibanejad a lesson by sending him to Binghamton) that explains the Senators sluggish start. If the Senators really had this let down because their complimentary guys — who filled in quite capably in 2012/13 during the lockout shortened season, I might add — entrusted the team’s returning key players to torridly start producing and carry this team, well, then they were assuredly disappointed. Karlsson struggled in the wake of his divorce and the departure of his closest friend. Cowen looked like a beer leaguer masquerading as a NHL player. And the much ballyhooed scoring line of Michalek/Spezza/Ryan was absolutely atrocious early on. I’m pretty sure Kris Humphries’ marriage to Kim Kardashian lasted longer and had more chemistry.
On whether he’s sat down with Paul MacLean to ensure that they don’t have a repeat of last year…
“Well at the end of last year, we had a long, intense meeting with all of management and the coaching staff. This year, actually a week ago, we’ve had a sit down again to review what we talked about, but to also have some objectives going forward – starting with training camp and starting with the first visit we have with our players. There’s no question we’ve got a plan that we think is going to be or allow our players to be more productive.”
The Plan is as follows:
1) Get the puck to Erik.
2) ???
3) Playoffs.
On any specifics about what they’ll tell their players about this year…
“Well I think the first thing that we have to get back to is playing right. I don’t think we played defence at all last year. A lot of people blamed our goaltending, but I don’t think our defensive corps were any good. I think each and every one of them took a step backward. I don’t think we were focused at all on preventing that type of thing and we weren’t disciplined. I thought our penalties were far too high. Our goals against were far too high. Our shots against every game were far too high. The focus has got to be on getting back to the team game and the team game starts by playing defence.”
This is the first time that I’ve seen management come out and explicitly crap on the team’s blue line like this. For the most part, last season’s lack of success was a by-product of a bad schedule, poor two-way play, a lack of compete, a lack of discipline, poor leadership and an inability to beat the crappy teams following inspiring wins over better clubs. Interestingly, despite this assessment by Bryan Murray, the organization is bringing back the same defensive core. I suppose there’s some good justification for that. There’s hope that an offseason to train will net positive gains for Erik Karlsson. It doesn’t make sense to sell a young player like Jared Cowen when his value is so low and with Patrick Wiercioch, his underlying numbers show that there’s some good talent there. Cody Ceci is still developing and will look to build on his rookie campaign. Barring a stalemate in contract negotiations, Marc Methot is the lone talented veteran defenceman on the back end. Mark Borowiecki joins the team on his one-way deal. Expectations for a defensive defenceman like Eric Gryba were low, but he was pretty consistent last season and he seems more than capable of being a sixth or seventh defenceman. I’ll come back and talk about Chris Phillips’ situation later on.
Discipline was a major problem for the Senators last season. No team in the NHL took more minor penalties than the 379 that Ottawa took. For comparison’s sake, San Jose took the fewest with 247. As a team that was willing to send a message to Mika Zibanejad by demoting following their training camp, it was equally disappointing to see the organization not punish or send messages to players who were completely incapable of staying out of the box. Yeah sure, a lot of the penalty problems stem from the team’s ineptness or inability to escape its own defensive end, but Matt Kassian also inexplicably dressed for 33 games and the Greening/Smith/Neil trio was used regularly in late game situations and never shelved for their undisciplined play. I’m all for sending messages and being demanding of your players, but it needs to be done consistently.
Paul MacLean said in a media availability at the end of last season that the team needs to cut the number of penalties it takes this season. It’s a message that it needs to get through to its players.
On being whether a budget team can not only compete for a playoff spot but contend for a Stanley Cup with the teams that spend to the cap…
“Well I think we’re a budget team without a doubt. We have to get everybody to play really well. I think evaluation on the part of the scouting staff and management is really important if you have that type of team. But certainly Eugene Melnyk has made it very clear to me and to our team that (if) we get well into the season and we look like we’re a good hockey team and a contending hockey team to make the playoffs and maybe go a little bit, that he will spend at that point in time. But I think the logic for us is that we did go to the cap for a couple of years, we probably made a few bad decisions with free agents. It didn’t work out and I think we’re trying to be a little more astute in what we do with development and drafting, obviously.”
Hinting that ownership, under the right circumstances, will add to payroll to make the team more competitive hasn’t been done before, right? I certainly don’t blame management for protecting its owner and boss, but hey, maybe this will finally be the year the organization backs up its words.
On what the loss of Alfredsson and Spezza has done to the identity of this team…
“Well it certainly has hurt. Losing Daniel Alfredsson was a big loss to us. We really felt that we were fair to him in the offer and it didn’t work out. I’ve talked to Daniel a number of times since and he just wanted to have a look at a different situation. (He) obviously thought Detroit was a place where he could feel comfortable with the number of Swedes they have there and that he would have an impact, which I thought he had, and they would be a contending team. And again, it didn’t work out for them, but losing him was a big loss, there’s no question. Jason Spezza hasn’t been happy really for a couple of years in Ottawa. I think the finger pointing sometimes at him was a little harsh. We all thought Jason was a quality player (and) a big point getter for us. But maybe it was time for him and maybe it was time for us to make the next step and try and get another player to play that role or a variety of players to play that role. I think we’ll find the solution and we think Jason will do well in Dallas. We think we’ll do well with the group we’ve got.”
If Jason Spezza hasn’t been happy in Ottawa for years, why hold onto him during the “rebuilding years” allowing for the opportunity that he get hurt (he had a second back surgery since the Senators committed to their rebuild in 2011) or hold onto him beyond the point where his value was highest? Granted, as much as the reasons outlined for moving Spezza go back to 2011 and the reality of him playing in a Senators jersey beyond his current contract never really made sense, the Senators preferred short-term results. Now I can’t really admonish the return for Spezza now without seeing how prospects like Nick Paul or Alex Guptill pan out. Maybe that second round pick will net a stud or maybe it can be used to move up in the draft and secure a more projectable talent who also has a higher ceiling. There are a ton of variables left before we can properly assess the Spezza trade, but the assets that they received are years away from the NHL. With the bulk of a roster that’s cheap and affordable, whatever assets they grabbed for Spezza years ago would be closer and ready to produce in the NHL now – a time when the organization is trying to be more competitive.
On who’s going to be the next captain of the Ottawa Senators…
“That’s a good question, I get that all the time. We haven’t determined that yet. We know that we have three or four outstanding candidates. We have to make the right decision if we make a decision in that area. It may well be that we’ll go with three ‘A’s this year and appoint one of them as sort of the senior guy. I think a captain is really important, but I also think a core of four or five guys at least that relate to the coach, help with the players, is just as important.”
If the Senators were committed to giving the captaincy to a transitional veteran like Chris Phillips (he’s only committed to the Senators for two more seasons), it sure doesn’t sound like it. With today’s announcement that the Montreal Canadiens have elected to roll through this season alternating four alternate captains, maybe that makes Ottawa’s decision to follow suit a little easier.
On whether Kyle Turris has more pressure this year because he’ll get the tougher matchups…
“I think Kyle will handle it, but you’re right. I think he’ll have a more difficult time when they play the number one pair of defence against him on a regular basis or the number one checking center, but we think (Mika) Zibanejad is going to make a huge step this year. He looks big and strong coming into the little bit I’ve seen of him so far in the skates that we’ve had. Getting David Legwand, a veteran guy that probably hasn’t maybe scored the points that I know Nashville thought he was going to get, but has been a good and honest player in the league. We’ve a couple of other kids that we think can step up. We think Zack Smith can play a more prominent role than he’s played. So yeah, we lost the big guy in the middle and we’re not discounting that. That’s a big loss for us, but we think that we have a couple of guys that will handle it. If it’s Kyle that has to face the number one guy, then Zibanejad will face the number two guy. I think it will work out, maybe not as quickly as we’ll want, but it will work out.”
Earlier this summer, I penned a piece detailing how Kyle Turris has essentially stepped up and met every challenge that the Senators have put before him. Given his acumen and skill, I don’t see any reason to start doubting his ability to manage playing against the opposition’s best defence pairing either. My favorite takeaway from this Murray comment is that it sounds like the organization will give Mika Zibanejad the first opportunity to be the team’s second line center. Although this probably means that David Legwand will get less ice time and lesser quality offensive linemates (thereby negatively affecting the kind of production rates that he posted playing with the likes of Craig Smith in Nashville), I’m ecstatic to see the organization value Mika’s development. I would love to see the organization roll with a kid line and give him Hoffman and Stone as wingers (or even Bobby Ryan if MacLean wants to split up its top line), but I’m expecting Michalek to start the season with him instead.
On whether it’s possible a Legwand, Zibanejad or Zack Smith could move to the wing…
“It’s very possible. Very possible. There’s no question that our numbers may force us to do that, but at this point, I think we have four good centers.”
Five or six capable ones if you include Jean-Gabriel Pageau and/or Derek Grant.
On what has to happen for Bobby Ryan to say that he wants to stay in Ottawa long-term…
“The impression I get from Bobby and his people or his agents is that he does like Ottawa. He liked, for the most part, living there, being on the Ottawa Senators, the environment, (playing in a) Canadian city, all those good things. He wants to play more minutes. He wants to be more prominent in the core of good players. Early on, and I’m not sure why this happened, but he didn’t play more than 16 to 17 minutes in a lot of games early. He had an issue with that. He talked to Paul (MacLean) and myself about that last year. By doing that, he felt that he wasn’t one of the guys to go to. I think part of that is because we took a lot of penalties. And Paul kept trying to get the right people on the ice to keep us in the game. First of all, one of the things that you asked me early on, we have to be a more disciplined hockey club and that will allow Bobby Ryan and the good players to play more minutes. But I think Bobby Ryan’s role has to be added to as well. I think he can be a penalty killer. I think he can play more on the power play. I think if we do that for him, he’ll do a lot for us and we’ll have a better time or chance of getting him signed.”
In fairness to MacLean, Bobby Ryan started the season on a line with Michalek and Spezza and that line was quickly split up. Not surprisingly, Ryan had more success playing with more responsible linemates who dominated the opposition from a puck possession standpoint.
Ryan averaged 16:52 per game last season and maybe that number could have been higher if: a) he wasn’t suffering from a hernia surgery that he suffered in November; b) he averaged more than 12 seconds of shorthanded time per game; or c) played for a team that didn’t have discipline issues.
Or maybe it’s all a smoke screen and this Ryan “role” thing is just a smoke screen for a player who’s dead set on not passing up an opportunity to test unrestricted free agency for the first time and hit a home run on the open market. I couldn’t blame him for that.
Ryan did lead all the team’s right wingers in average ice time however and he did have success playing on the team’s best line. Moreover, for a guy who wanted to play a bigger role, Paul MacLean admitted in a recent interview that he talked to Bobby about taking on a bigger leadership role this season saying that Ryan was quiet within the room because he was new to the organization. Being new to the organization maybe affected his utilization and role, so maybe there’s room to grow his roles with this team.
Whatever the case, his desire for more minutes and more responsibility is a dual-edged sword. On one hand, it could help the Senators retain him. On the other, it could just inflate his numbers and make him that much more marketable come July 1st.
On the success of development in Binghamton and whether he is that eager to take a junior eligible prospect in Lazar and put him in the NHL…
“Well I think players always earn the right when they play well. If Curtis Lazar comes to our camp, plays through the preseason and maybe if even we’ll keep him for a few games early on to find out (if he’s ready), but if he deserves it, we’ll have to put him on the hockey team. That’s always been my philosophy- that players earn the right. We’re just judges sitting up in the stands watching and the guys that earn the right deserve it and we’ll put them on the team. Curtis certainly appears like he’s had a great summer. He’s bigger, stronger and he competes like hell. I mean, there’s no question we need that kind of character on our team.”
And if he makes the Senators out of training camp, Murray’s going to have to move another body to accommodate him. With four quality NHL centers and the likes of Mark Stone, Bobby Ryan, Alex Chiasson, Chris Neil and Erik Condra on the right wing, the Senators will have to move another body to make it work. With this glut of players, one has to wonder whether it was that prudent to bring in another right winger in Alex Chiasson who congests the situation and may not be a great long-term fit. ( Note: Chiasson was reportedly sick for the bulk of last season and I’m downplaying his upside because of some lousy underlying numbers on a good Dallas team. Hopefully I’m proven wrong and he’ll be a good player for the Senators. It’s also important to note that I’m a mark for Erik Condra and yes, for the same reasons that I like Mike Hoffman, I also may be overvaluing what Mark Stone is capable of.)
On how we would assess the goaltending situation and why he felt he needed to make a commitment to Anderson…
“Well, number one, we need two goaltenders in this league. We’ve had over the last three years a number of injuries to goaltending. I had to make a move to bring in Ben Bishop and then trade Ben Bishop because we got healthy again. I think you need two good goaltenders. I think Robin Lehner is ready to be a number one goaltender, there’s no question in my mind. He has to get some games under his belt and he has to do it on a consistent basis. We’ve had an up and down time last year with Robin a little bit, but we really like what he is. Craig Anderson, to get a deal done in this league at this time, you just can’t ask the guy to sign a one-year deal and then go away. We didn’t want to do that. Craig Anderson’s a good goaltender. He might be in the top half of the league certainly in goaltending at this point in time. I like the fact that we have two (goalies). I think Paul’s going to give the opportunity to the guy that plays the best or plays the most. And that’s all we can ask for. I think the two of them appear to get along very well at this point in time and if we have to make a move later on, then we’ll do it. But, we didn’t want to walk away from a good person and a good goaltender.”
Robin “number one goaltender” Lehner has a nice ring to it.
On Anderson’s contract not necessarily making him the de facto number one starter…
“We’ve made it very clear to both goaltenders: come in and play, whoever plays the best will be our goaltender in the next game.”
Except in back-to-back games on back-to-back nights, right Murray? That’s just silly.
On whether he expects Erik Karlsson to be that much better now that he has had a full summer to prepare…
“Yeah, I met Erik a couple of times now since he’s come back from Sweden. He looks terrific. He feels terrific. The Achilles tendon now, he felt at times last year that he wasn’t secure on it. He feels that it’s 100-percent back to where it was. He’s come back and he’s a grown up, young man right now. He’s a guy that has taken leadership as a very important thing for him. We’ve had talks at the end of last year – we didn’t like some of the games that a lot of our defencemen played. I think (pre-injury) Erik’s going to be back and he’s going to be our star without a doubt.”
Whether this season goes sideways on the Senators remains to be seen, but even if it does, my favorite reason for watching this team is the skill of Erik Karlsson.
On whether Karlsson’s the natural choice for captain…
“He’s a forceful guy. He’s an opinionated guy. He’s a talented guy. He is respected by all the players in our room. I think we just have to see now, can he take the step that we think he can get back to? I don’t think there’s a big hurry to put a young guy into a pressure spot at this time. But, we may well decide at the end of training camp that there is a need to do that and if we have to, we will.”
What’s the Bodog line on the Senators using three alternate captains before giving the ‘C’ to Karlsson next fall?
On whether the Senators would possibly move Methot if they can’t agree to a new contract…
“Yeah, I’ve made that clear to Marc and to his agent, Larry Kelly. We cannot afford to lose a player of his stature to free agency at the end of the year. We are going to start camp and Marc does have a year to play, as Bobby Ryan has. We are trying to get our core guys secured. We just don’t think we’re in the ballpark now right now of where Marc wants to be and there’s a possibility that (a trade) can happen.”
If the Senators are balking at handing out a reported six-years at $5.5 million, that’s defensible. It’s a large term to just hand out to a defensive defenceman. The odd thing for me is that the Senators were completely content to re-sign Chris Phillips to be the team’s third pairing left defenceman (or seventh defenceman) for two years at a cost of $2.5 million per season than re-allocate that money on a Methot raise (even if it’s just for one season) and probably cover the entire cost of Mark Borowiecki’s salary. I appreciate Phillips’ community involvement and intangibles. I also understand the PR spin and how the impact of Alfie’s departure created this fervent appetite for the organization’s first legacy player, but if you’re going to talk about the importance of being a smart organization when it comes to managing its limited budget, re-signing Phillips only to have to trade away a younger and better alternative to create space for a guy like Mark Borowiecki flies in the face of that.
On whether it’s possible that the Senators could move a defenceman because of the surplus on the blue line…
“Yeah, we have eight defencemen – eight NHL defencemen we think are good players (and are) ready to play. We can’t keep carrying eight all year. There’s no doubt about that. We do have other needs, there’s no question, so if there’s a fit somewhere, definitely. (A trade) is something I have to look at.”
If a trade is to be made, the two likely candidates are Eric Gryba and Patrick Wiercioch (NOOOOOOO!). The Senators already have four left shooting defencemen in Jared Cowen, Marc Methot, Mark Borowiecki and Chris Phillips, so it stands to reason that they may opt to keep Gryba around because he plays with a physical edge that Bryan Murray and the Senators brass seems to love.
Filling in the blanks, “The Senators will have a successful season if…”
“We work hard, play right and play more conscious on defence.”
On whether the Senators are a playoff team…
“This is a playoff team.”
And if they are a playoff team, it will make their decisions on Ryan and Methot all the more intriguing to watch as the season goes along.
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