Ottawa Senators Fans Vote, Are Afraid of Change

by DarrenM on May 11, 2009 10:36 PM EDT

Last week we linked to the Ottawa Sun's "You Be The Boss Survey," where readers were to vote on who in the Sens organization should stay or go. Well, the results are in. After a season that found the Ottawa Senators struggle to score goals, sink to the bottom of the Eastern Conference in points, and ultimately miss the playoffs, you would expect the team's fans would want heads to roll and major changes to this seemingly ineffective roster.

Not so, say readers of the Ottawa Sun.

In fact, out of everyone in the organization, there were only three people that fans want off the roster. One is goaltender Alex Auld, who finds himself as one of three goalies fighting for the starter position - 53.3% of those polled wanted Auld to be traded. The second is defenseman Jason Smith, whose $2.6 million per year contract is wanted axed by a whopping 70.1% of those surveyed. Close behind Smith was the oft-scratched Christoph Schubert - 67.9% of those polled wanted him out of the roster. Though no majority wanted to shake up the core of the team, Jason Spezza received the most dissatisfaction of the Big Three with just over 30% of those polled wishing he'd be traded.

But the poll wasn't only to find out whose play the fans didn't like - it was also there to indicate the players that exceeded expectations. According to fans, the biggest steals on the team were Nick Foligno and Ryan Shannon. 22.7% of readers felt that Foligno deserved a raise for his 2008-09 play, and 19.6% felt the same way about Ryan Shannon's 35 games with the Sens this season.

Perhaps most interesting is the apparent division amongst fans with regards to GM Bryan Murray. Though Peter obviously counts himself as a Murray supporter, only 52.2% of voters believed Murray had done a "good job" this season. That's in stark contrast to coach Cory Clouston, who received a near-unanimous 97.5% of possible "good job" votes.

It's very refreshing to see that the fans in Ottawa aren't calling for the heads of the entire organization to roll after such a dismal season, but it is still a bit puzzling that they are not wishing for more changes.

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Comments

Agreed.

I think it might be good to trade any of Auld, Smith, or Schubert, but that’s more to convert these assets into ones that might be useful to the team than it is a reflection of my dissatisfaction with their play—I actually liked them for the most part, Auld as a backup, Smith as some good grit and toughness, and Schubert in the fourth-line role he played well in at the end of the season.

On the other hand, I was disappointed in players such as Chris Neil—who needed a big rebound season after a disappointing one last year and responded with lesser production—and Mike Comrie—who fell to the third line without much of a fight while looking for a new contract in a city he apparently wanted to stick around in. Obviously it was disappointing to see players like Mike Fisher, Dany Heatley, and Jason Spezza’s point totals drop so far, but I am confident they’ll bounce back. With Comrie and Neil, though, I’m not so sure.

www.silversevensens.com

by Peter Raaymakers on May 12, 2009 10:55 AM EDT reply actions