Are Sens older than GM thinks?
“I hear the implications all the time. That’s bull. We’re an average aged hockey team.”
Senators GM Bryan Murray cringes when he hears his team described as “old” or “too old.”
“This is not an old hockey team,” he roared, during his state of the franchise address last week. “I hear the implications all the time. That’s bull. We’re an average aged hockey team. There are a couple of older players on every team as I look around the league.”
Average? Not exactly. According to nhlnumbers.com, the Senators are the 7th oldest team in the NHL with an average player age of 28.2 . The age of the roster as of Oct. 25 is 28.3) And, if defencemen Filip Kuba and goaltender Pascal Leclaire were healthy, the average age would leap to 29.2 making the Senators the 4th oldest team in the league.
Age is relative, of course. Rosters change almost daily, changing average ages. The entire league, though, with an average age of 27.8, is trending younger. The youngest team is the L.A. Kings at 25.5. The Detroit Red Wings are oldest at 31.
Canada’s teams ranked in age?
1. Calgary, 29.4
2. Ottawa 28.2 (older when healthy)
3. Montreal 28.0
4. Vancouver 27.9
5. Toronto 26.4
6. Edmonton 26.1
Any of these can change as players are added and deleted, but to call the Senators one of the oldest teams in the NHL is not as far off as Murray might think.
Look, I’m 40, out of shape and an armcharir GM. I’d probably keel over if I tried to skate with Alfredsson, let alone Crosby. *I’m* old for the NHL.
The Senators aren’t “old”, but they’re getting to that point where a lot of their key contributors are getting long in the tooth. I don’t think it’s reasonable to expect this team to both make the playoffs AND go deep (3rd round + ) this year or in the foreseeable future.
It’s all well and good to say they are well-trained, fit and so on…but an extra two to three months of hockey…not just “Aaah it’s Thursday against the Panthers” hockey, but really high-stakes, high-intensity, not going to happen. That’s why it’s critical to phase out your 30+ players and replace them with either rookies or young men like a Kessel, a Regin, a Doughty, an Ovechkin, a Burrows that have those legs, that stamina, etc.
I mean, I like the Sens but teams coming into or playing against Ottawa aren’t going to pull out lawn chairs and play Lawrence Welk for the Senators…they’re just going to skate them into the ground, bring a quick forecheck and pummel them. It’s a pitiless thing to say, but it’s true.
I’m just going to enjoy the games and not expect anything anymore.
As James Dutchie said (Yeah, I know it’s Duthie, but everyone loves donuts. I bet James does too!) the Senators are one of “The Others”, not good enough to contend, not bad enough for a top 5 pick.
I don’t envy the GM, current or future, that has to deal with this (somewhat self-imposed) mess.
“Another dark night for fantasy leaguers who took # Jason Spezza in the pool.”
Gonchar is killing me, my pool takes into account +/- and PiMs.
Please ask him for some even-strength goodies and a couple of game misconducts, I need the points!