Silver Nuggets: Truth and Lies
"The first duty of every Starfleet officer is to the truth, whether it's scientific truth or historical truth or personal truth! It is the guiding principle on which Starfleet is based. And if you can't find it within yourself to stand up and tell the truth about what happened, you don't deserve to wear that uniform!" - Captain Picard
According to Captain Picard - the only freshman to ever win the academy marathon - there is no such thing as sporting truth. That's good news for the Ottawa Senators who have spent the calendar year providing inconsistent, misleading, or outright false information about player health and organizational strategy.
The question remains, does it matter? Obviously as a hockey blogger and Sens fan, I would love to have accurate information on injuries. As someone who loves the team, I would love to get to the bottom of what happened with Alfie or hear an accurate articulation of why Mika Zibanejad was sent down. Despite the fact that I want to know these details, keeping me in the loop is not integral to running the Senators.
What is important is that there are open lines of communication between management and the players. I want to know why Mika got sent down, but what's most important is that Mika knows why he was sent down. Thankfully, Paul MacLean excels at communication. During a critical juncture of the 2012 playoff push, he held a meeting with team veterans and spent the session listening to his players. According to Erik Karlsson, "He's got a good feeling for when to talk to you and when not to, and what to say at certain points". I suspect not much is going to change with the way the team communicates in public, but as long as they keep those lines of communication open behind closed doors, the team will be fine.
Sens Links:
- Nichols provides Sens Panic Power Rankings [6th Sens]
- Sens vs. Kings: game preview [SenShot] [Inside the Senate] Will Jason Spezza play? [Senators Extra]
- Mark wonders if Mika Zibanejad should sue the Ottawa Senators [Silver Seven] and urges us not to panic about Jason Spezza [Silver Seven]
- Bobby Ryan isn't like Dany Heatley according to Ian Mendes [Senators Extra] He's under the microscope [Le Droit] He's coming in lukewarm? [SensNation]
Travis Yost looks at high event hockey [Yost] - Stephane Da Costa hopes to stick, Craig Anderson sympathizes with Jonathan Quick [Senators Extra]
- Jean-Gabriel Pageau on his first trip to California [Le Droit]/
NHL/Hockey Links:
- Fantastic read on the Patrice Bergeron's career path [New England Hockey Journal]
- Dan Saraceni with a wonderful piece about the Flyers naming Slyvester "Hockey Balboa" Stallone head coach [Lighthouse Hockey]
- Don't like Eugene Melnyk? It could be much worse, Ed Snider could own your favourite team [Broad Street Hockey]
- Jose Lile talks Dallas' unorthodox tactics [Defending Big D]
- Cam Charron's take on the Jake Gardiner trade speculation [The Leafs Nation]
Examining Washington's defensive breakdowns [Japers' Rink] - With Detroit no longer in the same division as Chicago, Greg Boysen looks at the Blackhawks' new/old rivalry with the Blues [Second City Hockey]
- An examination of Winnipeg's faceoff struggles [Arctic Ice Hockey]
- Something for each team to worry about after the first week of play [The Hockey Writers]
- Mike Stromberg tells Devils fans not to panic yet [In Lou We Trust]
- Q&A with former Sens prospect Stefan Noesen [The Hockey Writers]
- An early take on the Oilers up and down start to the season [Copper & Blue]
- Cam Charron tackles Tortorella and shot blocking [Canucks Army]
- Canucks win in Cory Schneider's return [Nucks Misconduct]
- J.J. from Kansas continues "Getting to Know the CBA" with a look at Articles 24 & 25: international hockey, endorsements, sponsorships, and licensing [Winging It In Motown]
- Um so Tomas Hertl is kind of a big deal [Fear the Fin] [Puck Daddy] He scored a goal of the year candidate last night [Puck Daddy] [Backhand Shelf] Don't worry, the "No Fun" police are already on the case [The Hockey Writers]/