The sentiment was shared by more than one Ottawa Senators fan leaving Canadian Tire Centre after their home opener:
“It’s going to be a long season.”
That the Senators are 0-2 after dropping the first two games of the season to the Toronto Maple Leafs and New York Rangers is not exactly shocking. The Leafs and Rangers have high aspirations while the rebuilding Senators are looking past this season to a time when they can be competitive.
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Still, the manner in which Ottawa was outdone by the huge disparity in skill in those losses, 5-3 in Toronto and 4-1 at home to New York, was illuminating.
“I didn’t know we were going to be this bad,” some fans said.
And: “where is the D.J. Smith factor? I thought this team was going to get by on hard work and hustle, perspiration and perseverance, etc. etc.?”
Smith called out his team after they gave up three special teams goals, including one shorthanded, against New York as former Senators centre Mika Zibanejad essentially embarrassed his ex-team.
By Sunday, Smith and GM Pierre Dorion had already changed the roster, sending rookie Drake Batherson and 22-year-old forward Filip Chlapik — who didn’t dress against the Rangers — down to AHL Belleville.
By Monday, the Senators had called winger Vitaly Abramov, then traded for forward Vladislav Namestnikov from New York for minor league defenceman Nick Ebert and Ottawa’s 2021 fourth-round pick.
Namestnikov was a third-liner for the Rangers but will easily slide into a top six spot with the Senators. The quick, six-foot winger/centre will wear No. 90 for Ottawa, and become the fourth Russian on the roster.
Abramov, another Russian who had a strong camp with the Senators before suffering a concussion and getting demoted, was back from Belleville and joined the NHL squad in a grinding 50-minute practice with few breaks.
The addition of Namestnikov, who had 11 goals and 31 points in 78 games last season, means someone will have to sit out against the St. Louis Blues on Thursday.
For the Rangers, dealing Namestnikov, 26, clears up $4 million in cap space (New York retains about $750,000 of Namestnikov’s salary) and provides an opportunity for one of their prospects.
Ottawa gets the pending free agent as a tryout for the year, upgrading their forwards, and can likely flip Namestnikov at the deadline for a pick if they choose. He was a 20-goal scorer for Tampa Bay in 2017-18, and was productive with the OHL’s London Knights, where he played with current Senators centre Chris Tierney.
The trade was another reminder that Smith and Dorion haven’t been pleased with the showing after two games.
“For 20 guys, we didn’t work at a level we need to compete on a nightly basis,” Smith said after Monday’s skate. “It’s not that our effort was horrible – we have to outwork the other team.”
Sounds easy, but it’s not.
As Smith noted: “The other team is working hard too.”
Bingo. Guess what happens when a deeper, more skilled, better-paid NHL lineup works as hard as the Senators?
That’s right. They win most nights.
In the dying moments against the Rangers, who among us didn’t look for Mark Stone to do something miraculous to tie the game late and force overtime? If not him, then Erik Karlsson or Matt Duchene might have been the hero.
New team, fewer stars, mostly green prospects down on the farm in Belleville. No heroes emerged Saturday, as much as Thomas Chabot and Brady Tkachuk tried to be that guy.
It will take time.
Meanwhile, the Senators have tickets to sell and have to generate hope some way. Their best bet is to have some of their best players show progress and a ray of light towards the future. Tkachuk, with two goals in two games, is part of that hope, but there must be more. Adding Namestnikov shows they will try to improve their lineup where they can.
It’s early. But with the Blues here Thursday, and Tampa Bay on Saturday before a road trip to Las Vegas, Arizona and Dallas, it could get late early in Ottawa.
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Batherson, Chlapik reload
After a so-so camp and two middling starts, Batherson was visibly losing confidence at the NHL level.
“It’s better for him to get some games in down there, get some confidence, start shooting pucks,” Smith said. “His work away from puck was better, but he’s an offensive player.
“He will get plenty of reps down there and work his way back.”
Chlapik played pretty well against Toronto, earning an assist, but was an innocent bystander versus New York.
Abramov earned a spot
By all accounts, Abramov was so good in the pre-season and rookie camp he deserved to make the Senators initially. But a fluke concussion set him back, and he played his first game with AHL Belleville on Saturday — a 4-1 loss to Toronto — oly to get recalled the next day.
“You never know what can happen,” Abramov said. “Hopefully I can help the team win.”
“I thought he outworked everyone (in camp),” Smith said. “He scored in every rookie game, in practices. Just worked. Worked. And he’s got speed.”
Smith has already declared Abramov will play Thursday. He also let it be known that there will be call-ups, and demotions, all year long based on merit. Highway 401 will get a workout by Senators players and staff this season.
“I think that will create some really good competition down there and it will also keep people on their toes up here,” Smith said.
“There’s young people coming for your job all the time. That’s just the way it is in sports.”
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White at red dot: ‘My worst game ever’
It’s not news that young centres need time to get good in the face-off circle. In his first full season (2018-19), Colin White ranked 84th in the NHL, winning 47.4 per cent of his draws. Not horrible.
But by his own admission, he struggled horribly against the Rangers, winning just two of 17 faceoffs or 12 per cent.
“My worst game ever,” White said. “I had a little bit of a thumb issue going on. I kept trying to win but I wasn’t really changing anything so it was kind of dumb on my part.”
By that he meant, his thumb was so sore he was basically trying to claw his way to a face-off win and it wasn’t working.
“It’s tough. I was losing my mind out there. I was getting mad,” he said. I had to work on it (Monday at practice), it was on my mind all weekend.”
As a team, the Senators were just 33 per cent on draws. Zibanejad ate them up at 82 per cent. Tierney was Ottawa’s most reliable face-off man at 60 per cent, winning six of 10. Smith feels he has enough veterans that the numbers will balance out. The Senators had a good night in Toronto. White was 53 per cent, eight of 15.
Revolving door on Line 1
Another game, another audition for the right wing position on the top line. First it was Connor Brown with White and Tkachuk. In game two, Bobby Ryan gave it a try. Before it was over, veteran journeyman Tyler Ennis was in the spot, and could get another turn Thursday.
“Different guys will get chances, and eventually someone will stick,” Smith said. “For now, it’s Ennis.”
