Brian Lee sent down, Erik Karlsson recalled
by DarrenM on Nov 27, 2009 12:15 PM EST
28 comments
Mere minutes after posting that Silver Nuggets that questioned who will be sent down to make room for Anton Volchenkov, the Senators answered the question by sending Brian Lee back to Binghamton. More surprising, though, is that Erik Karlsson was called up. (link)
From the sounds of it, Volchenkov will not be ready for gametime tomorrow against the Bruins, which is why the team still needs another defenseman. But why is Erik Karlsson getting the call-up when it means the team will be burning off a year of his entry-level contract if he plays? I realize that Bryan Murray said that he didn't care about the ten game marker for ELCs, but I just assumed he was lying. Didn't everyone?
This becomes more confusing because, if you ask me, Brian Lee has actually been playing good hockey as of late. He's been tougher on the puck, had some nice passes, and strong rushes. Sending him back to the AHL while promoting Karlsson is only going to infuriate Lee, who is probably sick of constantly changing his address.
Karlsson has 11 points in 12 games with the Binghamton Senators, all assists, including three assists in a game last night.
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How mad do you think Lee is right now? Either at himself or at the team… can’t imagine he’s at all happy.
Also, please refrain from mentioning Kopitar or Staal in here, as its a bit too predictable.
Silver Seven: the Daniel Alfredsson of Ottawa Senators blogs.
by DarrenM on Nov 27, 2009 1:38 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
Imagine we drafted Kopi...
Oh, sorry. Just finished reading it.
Honestly, though, Lee has been doing respectably, although not amazingly, so I’m surprised about that. Still, he’ll be big in the late-season push, I bet.
by PeterR on Nov 27, 2009 1:46 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Surprised with the timing, but not that it happened
I did figure Karlsson would get another chance with Ottawa this season, though.
by PeterR on Nov 27, 2009 1:39 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
GUH... ZUH... WHA?
I have things to say about this. Angry things! I need some time to find my words…
by Mark Parisi on Nov 27, 2009 1:43 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
This seems like a bad move for the future of the team. Why anger Lee and waste a year on Karlsson’s contract when he’s still adapting to the NA game? 11 points in 12 games…. 3 assists last night…. this feels like a move I see in my hockey pool, where one mediocre player has a career night and the next day everyone tries to jump all over him. It’s reactionary and rarely pays off in the long-run.
by skullfisher on Nov 27, 2009 2:24 PM EST reply actions 1 recs
Rec'd
I agree with you completely, but then again, I haven’t watched Karlsson play at all. Maybe the Ottawa scouts and coaching staff really feel he’s ready. But yeah, I think that it’s a questionable move.
Then again, I thought Carkner was a questionable move and that’s turned out to be a great decision.
Silver Seven: the Daniel Alfredsson of Ottawa Senators blogs.
by DarrenM on Nov 27, 2009 2:43 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Good point. I haven’t read anything about Karlsson down in Bingo other than his stats, and there are a lot of intangibles involved when it come to defensemen. Maybe – hopefully – he’ll surprise us.
by skullfisher on Nov 27, 2009 3:27 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
I don’t like the call up myself. It looked like Karlsson was really finding his game in the AHL, I’m not sure why Murray felt the need to interrupt that development and burn a year of his contract in the process. He either really liked what he saw from Karlsson or really didn’t like what he saw from Lee. My money is on the latter.
by Mark Parisi on Nov 27, 2009 4:29 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
I’m assuming BM has some over-arching master plan at work here, but on the surface this just looks odd, if not plain stupid.
Can we take this as BM having completely given up on Lee? Is there any other way to take it? I could go through the arguments about Karlsson’s play before he was sent down; not rushing his development; not starting his contract, but it’s Lee I’m more interested in. I just dont get it.
Cannot play with 'em, cannot win with 'em, cannot coach with 'em. Cant do it.
by Andrew J on Nov 27, 2009 2:42 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
Me neither,
here’s what Clouston said, though:
“He’s got to go down and recapture his game. He’s got to be dominant.”
Silver Seven: the Daniel Alfredsson of Ottawa Senators blogs.
by DarrenM on Nov 27, 2009 2:45 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Hm. Hard to say what he’s expecting to see in Lee’s game that he hasnt seen already. He’s getting better in his own end which is the most important thing. Once he gets comfortable back there you’d imagine that his offense would start to come on a bit more.
I wonder how much say Clouston had in this. The quote kind of feels like vague interview talk, but maybe he just doesnt like his game. Picard and Carkner have been good, but I feel like some games they were stealing minutes from Lee, undeservedly so. But thats just me.
Cannot play with 'em, cannot win with 'em, cannot coach with 'em. Cant do it.
by Andrew J on Nov 27, 2009 3:15 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
I can see this
Lee might never be dominant, but he was a lot stronger during the stretch run last year. I think the insinuation is that if Lee’s going to get his shot, he’s going to have to work harder than anyone else for it.
by PeterR on Nov 27, 2009 5:18 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
I really don’t think there’s any other way to take this. Lee, Picard, and Campoli are all RFAs at the end of this year, and the team will almost certainly already have Phillips, Volchenkov, Kuba, Karlsson, and Carkner on the blue line next year. That doesn’t leave a lot of open spots.
by Mark Parisi on Nov 27, 2009 4:27 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Especially with Cowen expected to jump in – it leaves no spots.
Silver Seven: the Daniel Alfredsson of Ottawa Senators blogs.
by DarrenM on Nov 27, 2009 4:34 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
My worry with Cowen coming up so soon
Is that Murray will let Volchenkov walk. I hope that’s not the case, but physicality is the highlight of their games.
by Mark Parisi on Nov 27, 2009 7:17 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
I don’t think Murray will think Cowen can jump in that quickly. He usually errs on the side of caution, as he did with Elliott/Leclaire and with Campoli/Kuba/Picard/Lee/Karlsson.
by PeterR on Nov 27, 2009 9:14 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
rec'd for simplicity and elegance
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by DarrenM on Nov 27, 2009 3:00 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Head scratcher
Scratching the old bonce on this one!! Listening to the team 1200 they had the voice of Bingo on who mentioned offensively EK was a great, but defensively still learning. The kid also needs to put on some mass/muscle on to learn and protect himself on the physicality of the NHL.
If EK gets creamed by a big guy (especially on the west coast trip) Murray is gonna take some deserved flack.
Thankfully we are starting to see Campoli pick his game up (though not to a standard of giving up a 1st round pick).
Sens chirp a few days back said we were talking to hawks about Cam Barker…I hope so!!!
by Eado on Nov 27, 2009 5:55 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
If EK gets creamed by a big guy
This was what I liked least about him through the first nine games. He’d see a big hit coming and jump out of the way. While this saved him from getting crunched, it also resulted in him turning the puck over.
by Mark Parisi on Nov 27, 2009 7:19 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
I guess this means Campoli is on the outs too when Volchenkov comes back, so Karlsson will be playing with Kuba. Which begs the question, will CC still play Picard and Carkner 20+ a night at the expense of their third best defenceman?
I dunno, this probably isnt as complicated as I think it is right now but it’ll be interesting to see how it all shakes down. One thing’s for sure, Kuba-Karlsson wont be getting Lee-Campoli minutes, and the difference has be to made up somewhere.
Cannot play with 'em, cannot win with 'em, cannot coach with 'em. Cant do it.
by Andrew J on Nov 27, 2009 7:06 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
Well, we don’t know if it will be Kuba-Karlsson, although I have to imagine it will be. And I’m not so sure Campoli is the first to get scratched above Picard.
I really have no idea how it’ll all end up. Clouston and Murray have to figure something out, that’s for sure.
Silver Seven: the Daniel Alfredsson of Ottawa Senators blogs.
by DarrenM on Nov 27, 2009 7:12 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Sure seems like a trade must be in the works, doesn’t it?
by Mark Parisi on Nov 27, 2009 7:16 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Rightly or wrongly CC seems to love playing Picard big minutes, so that’s what I base that comment on. Might be musical chairs for the next little while though.
Cannot play with 'em, cannot win with 'em, cannot coach with 'em. Cant do it.
by Andrew J on Nov 27, 2009 7:31 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
agreed
Silver Seven: the Daniel Alfredsson of Ottawa Senators blogs.
by DarrenM on Nov 27, 2009 7:58 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
With A-train back shortly (ish), I still dont like EK being brought back.
Do we have no other defenceman in Bingo that could have come up until A-train was back, if they were that unhappy with Lee?
by Eado on Nov 28, 2009 3:10 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
You can be sure EK wasn’t brought into Ottawa because of a shortage of options; wasting a year on his entry-level contract would be far too high a price to pay if all they were doing was teaching Lee a lesson. He was brought back to Ottawa because the Senators wanted to see how he’ll do and how well he’ll adjust after a month in the AHL.
by PeterR on Nov 28, 2009 3:43 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
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