News & Notes: 3 Friedman Thoughts On Ottawa

This week's 30 Thoughts continued a run of Senator related missives from Elliotte.

Let’s take a look:

"1. Obviously, the biggest debate in Edmonton is what goalie the Oilers should chase. They are at 49 contracts, so signing a free agent or trading a draft pick for a player  completely eliminates roster flexibility. Brian Elliott makes sense, but St. Louis may not be interested in taking salary in return. Is it worth giving up an asset to get someone (Elliott, Ryan Miller) who is unrestricted after the season without trying to sign them first? Ottawa probably wouldn't trade him, but Robin Lehner would be a perfect target."

Although his 2.61 save percentage isn’t eye-catching, relative to the way that his team has performed in front of him – allowing 97 shots in front of Lehner over the past two games – his GAA should probably in the fours or fives. At even strength, he boasts a save percentage of .938, and while shorthanded, he has a ridiculous .971 save percentage – good enough for a total save percentage of .948. 

Like Friedman says, the Sens probably won’t move Lehner. Suffice it to say, he’s been one of the few bright spots in an Ottawa's lineup, with the rest mostly playing like shit . And should Robin continue to shine, his numbers will inevitably lend itself to the discussion of when the Sens should entertain the thought of moving Craig Anderson instead.

I simply can’t see the Senators giving up on the youth, potential and the more cost-efficient option; especially having invested so heavily in his development.

For years, Lehner has essentially been groomed for the number one starter’s position. As one of four goaltenders to win the Calder Cup as a teenager not to mention being named the Calder Cup playoffs’ most valuable player, Lehner has earned the label as a guy who can compete and win. For the Sens, it was just a matter of getting Lehner the development and NHL experience necessary to feel comfortable moving other assets to make room for him.

As we saw last year, Lehner’s play necessitated the Ben Bishop trade but it remains to be seen whether his play will make the organization consider moving Anderson, who’s signed through next season. To do so would mean sacrificing the organization’s greatest strength to address another weakness. And as a veteran goaltender who has more of a track record, what Anderson can fetch in a trade may not be too far off from what some team may be willing to pay for Lehner’s potential.

Management has stuck with Lehner through the ups and downs, and are reaping the benefits now. This is not the goalie to trade.

"2. Lehner, by the way, said he is down 18 pounds from his playing weight when Binghamton won the 2011 Calder Cup. He was 245 pounds then. He's now 227 and still looks huge. He was great last weekend, making 92 saves in less than 24 hours in San Jose and Anaheim."

😉

"5. Back to Ottawa: is one of the reasons it is giving up so many shots because of hybrid icing? Blues coach Ken Hitchcock says it's possible. "Teams that played puck pursuit and knew they'd win races don't have the same advantage," he said last week. "If you're a step behind now, it's a dead play… turns into a faceoff at the other end." He named the Senators and Bruins as teams that often won those races. (In an interview with The St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Hitchcock also named Chicago.)"

Having gone through the play-by-play, I’m not buying much of what Hitch is saying.

Here’s a summary of all the icings thus far:

October 4 @ Buffalo – 9 icings

October 5 @ Toronto – 9 icings

October 9 @ Los Angeles – 1 icing

October 12 @ San Jose – 8 icings

October 13 @ Anaheim – 9 icings

After tallying the numbers, we get the following information:

Senators in the Defensive Zone Following an Icing:

Senators in the Offensive Zone Following an Icing

With these results it's very hard to say Hitchcock's theory explains any of Ottawa's struggles with shots against. If anything, Ottawa's been more efficient and had more success following an icing call.

Instead, blame Ottawa's inability to stay out of the box – which in turn, disjoints offensive play and taxes the best defenders. The Senators have spent about 24 minutes more shorthanded than they have on the power play, worst in the league.