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Google Kurelic: No. 2 DE talks Buckeyes, Wednesday visit; Myers the WR? - 247Sports

Kurelic: No. 2 DE talks Buckeyes, Wednesday visit; Myers the WR? - 247Sports
via Google News using key phrase "Buckeyes".


Kurelic: No. 2 DE talks Buckeyes, Wednesday visit; Myers the WR?
247Sports
What's next for the Buckeyes? Make sure you're in the loop -- take five seconds to sign up for our FREE Buckeyes newsletter now! Grimes committed to Ohio State in August over scholarship offers from Florida, Florida State, Alabama, Georgia and Miami.

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Google Penn State awaits word on linebackers as No. 2 Buckeyes loom - USA TODAY

Penn State awaits word on linebackers as No. 2 Buckeyes loom - USA TODAY
via Google News using key phrase "Buckeyes".


Penn State awaits word on linebackers as No. 2 Buckeyes loom
USA TODAY
During the open weekend, they watched as Wisconsin nearly toppled the Buckeyes (6-0, 3-0 Big Ten) on Saturday. But the Nittany Lions will need to use their own approach to stop Ohio State's fourth-ranked scoring offense backed by the third-ranked ...
Penn State linebackers may return vs. BuckeyesYork Daily Record/Sunday News
Penn State linebacker returns never likelier than Saturday247Sports

all 48 news articles »


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Google College football | Top-25 highlights: Clemson survives North Carolina State in OT -...

College football | Top-25 highlights: Clemson survives North Carolina State in OT - Columbus Dispatch
via Google News using key phrase "Buckeyes".


College football | Top-25 highlights: Clemson survives North Carolina State in OT
Columbus Dispatch
The Buckeyes rolled up more than 500 yards in total offense against Western Michigan, but Urban Meyer still sees room for improvement. Tim May and Bill Rabinowitz talk about that game and Ohio State's upcoming Big Ten opener against Indiana.

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Google Meyer and Buckeyes return to Penn State - Williamsport Sun-Gazette

Meyer and Buckeyes return to Penn State - Williamsport Sun-Gazette
via Google News using key phrase "Buckeyes".


Meyer and Buckeyes return to Penn State
Williamsport Sun-Gazette
Meyer also had a lot to say about the Buckeyes' last trip to Beaver Stadium, a very surprising game that saw the Lions come back from 17-0 down to force overtime before losing in double-OT, 31-24. That PSU effort came against a team that eventually ...

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Google Ohio State vs Penn State preview: No. 2 Buckeyes put road streak on the line - UPI.com

Ohio State vs Penn State preview: No. 2 Buckeyes put road streak on the line - UPI.com
via Google News using key phrase "Buckeyes".


Ohio State vs Penn State preview: No. 2 Buckeyes put road streak on the line
UPI.com
Two years ago, quarterback J.T. Barrett and defensive lineman Joey Bosa helped the Buckeyes get out of town with a double-overtime road victory before a raucous white-out crowd. Barrett turned in a gutty performance after suffering a sprained MCL ...
Ohio State football | Jack Looks Back: Buckeyes thoroughly dismantled Nittany Lions in '96Columbus Dispatch
'We don't lay down for anybody' - why the Buckeyes say they're hard to beat: Doug Lesmerisescleveland.com
Penn State awaits word on linebackers as No. 2 Buckeyes loomUSA TODAY
Landof10.com -York Daily Record/Sunday News -ESPN (blog)
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Google Penn State linebacker returns never likelier than Saturday - 247Sports

Penn State linebacker returns never likelier than Saturday - 247Sports
via Google News using key phrase "Buckeyes".


Penn State linebacker returns never likelier than Saturday
247Sports
Even if Penn State's recovered 'backers do get to battle the Buckeyes, there's likely to be a rotation with current starters Manny Bowen, Brandon Smith and Cam Brown. When defensive end Evan Schwan came back after a brief injury absence, he was limited ...

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Google Penn State linebackers may return vs. Buckeyes - York Daily Record/Sunday News

Penn State linebackers may return vs. Buckeyes - York Daily Record/Sunday News
via Google News using key phrase "Buckeyes".


Penn State linebackers may return vs. Buckeyes
York Daily Record/Sunday News
2 Buckeyes, who are favored by three touchdowns in Beaver Stadium. Cabinda, a junior, led the team in tackles last season and was set to call the plays again from the middle linebacker spot. He played only in the opener against Kent State, his left ...
Penn State Nittany Lions vs. Ohio State Buckeyes PreviewVictory Bell Rings
Buckeyes preparing for raucous environmentYoungstown Vindicator
Ohio State facing the Big Ten's best running back: An appreciation for Penn State's Saquon Barkleycleveland.com

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Google Buckeyes release hype video for ESPN Showdown with Penn State - 247Sports

Buckeyes release hype video for ESPN Showdown with Penn State - 247Sports
via Google News using key phrase "Buckeyes".


Buckeyes release hype video for ESPN Showdown with Penn State
247Sports
This week, with Ohio State and Penn State set to kick-off, the two schools each had to develop a hype video for the match-up, which was released on social media, where fans can then vote as to which program's is better. What's next for the Buckeyes?


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LGHL Ohio State leads all schools on SI’s Midseason All-America Team

Ohio State leads all schools on SI’s Midseason All-America Team
Matt Tamanini
via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


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Five Buckeyes were named to the team, but there is one glaring omission.

“LB - RAEKWON MCMILLAN, OHIO STATE, JUNIOR

The former five-star recruit has blossomed into one of the nation’s best defenders in his third season with the Buckeyes.”


-SI Staff, SportsIllustrated.com


Ohio State leads all schools with four selections to the Sports Illustrated Midseason All-America Team. The Buckeyes are represented by guard Billy Price, center Pat Elflein, linebacker Raekwon McMillen, and safety Malik Hooker. Also, quarterback J.T. Barrett leads the second team, behind Louisville’s Lamar Jackson, the list’s only unanimous selection.

While you could make an argument that Curtis Samuel deserved the second team all-purpose slot over Stanford’s Christian McCaffrey, the real snub of SI’s list is the unforgivable omission of Ohio State’s all-world punter Cameron Johnston.

The Aussie is one-tenth of a punt per game away from leading the country in punting average by nearly a full yard. His 3.5 punts per game is barely behind the 3.6 required for eligibility. Johnston has averaged 50.8 yards over his 21 punts this season, which is particularly impressive considering that the Buckeye offense is not often buried deep in its own territory.

So, while most Ohio State fans would prefer that Johnston never even had to step on the field, there is an odd confidence in knowing that a team’s punter is equally adept at booming one for 70 yards (which he did against Wisconsin) or downing one inside the 20, which he has done on more than 57% of his punts this year. I, for one, am hoping that come season’s end, he is sitting at exactly 3.6 punts pg.

“So much for inexperience being a problem at Ohio State. The Buckeyes are up and running again without any signs of slowing down, replacing a record-setting draft class and a huge batch of early departures while continuing to win.”

-Austin Ward, ESPN.com


Expectations are always high come football season in Columbus, but as fall 2016 approached there was an unusual amount of uncertainty surrounding the Buckeye football team. Yes, the Ohio State coaching staff has recruited as well as any in the country, but whenever you have to rely on as many new starters as OSU is this year, it can be a bit daunting.

So, to see young players like Malik Hooker, Marshon Lattimore, Noah Brown, Jerome Baker, and Nick Bosa making significant contributions is gratifying. However, as Ward points out, not everything has been perfect for the Bucks this season. Coming off of two games where things did not go as planned for the passing game, head coach Urban Meyer said on Monday that the team’s receiving corps still needs to get better.

“It's a work in progress with a bunch of young receivers,” Meyer told the assembled media, “and they have to continue to work at it.”

Currently, No. 3 Michigan is giving up the fewest passing yards per game in the country (113.7) by more than 19. So, as you start to look forward to a potential meeting of unbeaten rivals in The Game, Barrett and his WRs will likely need to be more productive against Jourdan Lewis and Jabrill Peppers if they want to claim a spot in the Big Ten Championship Game, and likely the College Football Playoff as well.

“Barkley is 31st in the country, and sixth in the Big Ten, in rushing, but we think he's the best back in the conference. You don't have the kind of game he had against Ohio State last year by accident.”

-Bill Landis, cleveland.com


Not only did the Buckeye defense give up its first rushing touchdown of the year against Wisconsin, it also allowed a season-high 236 yards rushing, including 166 to Corey Clement. Enter Penn State’s Saquon Barkley. Do you remember him? Last year he gorged the Ohio State defense for 194 on the ground.

So far in 2016, Barkley only ranks as the sixth most productive back in the Big Ten, with 97 yards per game, but the Buckeye coaching staff knows that he has the potential to bust games open.

Meyer called him a “first-rounder,” and while he apologized for the “coach speak,” said that no matter what defensive coordinators Luke Fickell and Greg Shiano whip up in terms of a gameplan, the key to slowing down Barkley will be to finish tackles, something that the defense didn’t do all that well against Wisconsin.

“You won't stop him,” Meyer said, “but minimize the impact the running back has on us.”

Before their open date last week, Barkley ran for 202 yards against Maryland, and earlier in the season went for 136 against Michigan, which currently has the ninth best rush defense in the country.

Coming off of an emotional win against Wisconsin, if the Ohio State defense is not prepared to contain Barkley, it could be another big day for the Penn State sophomore.

“I wanted to call this category a push due to the early-season playmaking of the Buckeyes, but the struggles that several of the back seven defenders had against Wisconsin in comparison to Michigan’s complete dominance against the same team makes it unrealistic to say the two teams are on even ground at this stage.”

-Josh Liskiewitz, Pro Football Focus


The beauty of sports is that neither past successes nor failures impact a team’s present circumstances. After the 2014 season, Meyer refused to call his team the “defending champs” because it was a different mix of players, so the new group had nothing to defend.

In that vein, this year’s Michigan Wolverines appear to have overcome the stigma of their 13-2 record against Ohio State in the past 15 years to become the media darling to win this year’s Big Ten title. No doubt there is increased talent in Ann Arbor thanks to mercurial head coach Jim Harbaugh, however, few on the Wolverine roster have proven to be able to produce under the extreme pressure of a big-time game. Until they do, that is tough to count on.

Liskiewitz gives Michigan the edge in four of the position groups that he graded, with the Buckeyes only coming out on top in the offensive line and quarterback comparisons. However, he does admit that in many cases (secondary and defensive line) the Wolverines get the edge because of depth and OSU’s inexperience.

While no Buckeye fan ever likes losing to Michigan in anything, since there are still more than five weeks before the Maize and Blue travel to Columbus, it might not be a bad thing to have analysts and pundits heaping extra pressure on an untested Wolverine team.

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Google Penn State awaits word on linebackers as No. 2 Buckeyes loom - Columbus Ledger-Enquirer

Penn State awaits word on linebackers as No. 2 Buckeyes loom - Columbus Ledger-Enquirer
via Google News using key phrase "Buckeyes".


Penn State awaits word on linebackers as No. 2 Buckeyes loom
Columbus Ledger-Enquirer
During the open weekend, they watched as Wisconsin nearly toppled the Buckeyes (6-0, 3-0 Big Ten) on Saturday. But the Nittany Lions will need to use their own approach to stop Ohio State's fourth-ranked scoring offense backed by the third-ranked ...

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LGHL Will Purdue consider another Ohio State assistant in their coaching search?

Will Purdue consider another Ohio State assistant in their coaching search?
Colton Denning
via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


usa-today-9276211.0.jpg

We discuss Purdue’s head coaching opening, the Wisconsin game, and more on our latest podcast.

Is there anything in college football more emotional than winning a road night game against a top-ten team? Even if not, Ohio State’s comeback win over Wisconsin provided as many twists and turns as we’ve seen in a Buckeye game since Urban Meyer took the head coaching job in 2012. The Buckeyes’ big win wasn’t the only big news of the week, however.

On this edition of Hangout in the Holyland, Matt and Colton break down not only Ohio State’s big win, but also other stories around college football, including:

  • Purdue’s new opening at head coach, why hiring another Buckeyes assistant wouldn’t be a wise idea for the Boilermakers, and where they might look for their next one.
  • A (now-dated) discussion about Big XII expansion, and why we thought Cincinnati joining the conference wouldn’t have meant a ton for the Buckeyes. While it’s a moot conversation now, you can listen to our thoughts on a hypothetical situation that’s never going to happen!

After that news, the guys look back to the Wisconsin game, give the Badgers credit for playing well, talk about being impressed with another big road win, and Colton praises the play of J.T. Barrett.

Finally, they wrap the show up with a small Penn State preview, why they think Ohio State might lose, and why they hate the Nittany Lions so much.

You can find the podcast on our iTunes page, and we strongly encourage reviews, comments, criticisms, etc. to help us deliver the best possible audio product. The more we hear from you, the better we can make it. We’re also on Soundcloud, the SB Nation podcast page, and you can subscribe via RSS on your Android and Windows Phone devices here.

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LGHL Finally pushed to The Edge, Ohio State showed championship-level resiliency

Finally pushed to The Edge, Ohio State showed championship-level resiliency
E.L. Speyer
via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


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The Buckeyes weathered the storm that derailed their season a year ago.

There is perhaps not a sport where prognostication feels more futile or random than college football. It’s just too hard to say how a young kid in his fifth start will react in the hostility of a Camp Randall Stadium. Of course once that athlete becomes a known commodity, he’s off to the NFL.

So instead we cling to the history and tradition of coaches and programs, the constants in a world of yearly roster turnover, as we try to anticipate what’s to come.

It’s why we assume Nick Saban will contend for a national title on a yearly basis, even if we can’t name three players on his team. It’s why we fear Penn State will give the Buckeyes a run for their money this weekend in the frenzy of a Happy Valley white-out, even if an early 20-point spread says otherwise. Previous experiences guide our foresight.

With that in mind, the story of how Wisconsin ended Ohio State’s perfect season seemed to be written by halftime Saturday night. The offensive deficiencies that plagued the Buckeyes last season against Michigan State had resurfaced. J.T. Barrett was just 6-of-14 passing heading into the break, down by 10. In truth, the margin could have been wider.

And even after the Buckeyes clawed back in the second half, didn’t it feel like the they would eventually fall in familiar fashion? Ohio State never trailed Michigan State last year, but when the chips were on the line the defense could not stop the interior run, and the Spartans killed the final 4:07 of game clock to win on a field goal as time expired.

Wisconsin football. Tie game. Three minutes and fifty-seven seconds on the clock. It seemed as if the Badgers were destined to repeat history on its final drive of regulation Saturday night, after Ohio State struggled to defend the run for nearly four quarters.

Instead the Ohio State defensive line dug in, forced a punt, and sent the game to overtime.

Dating back to August, 2016 was dubbed as the season of The Edge. The coaches promised that there would come a time when their talented but young roster would face a choice; fold in a high-pressure, uncomfortable situation and be ordinary, or cross the imaginary line that separates the average from elite.

Halting the Badgers’ last drive was just one of few times that the Buckeyes looked anything but ordinary in the face of season-altering adversity in last Saturday’s 30-23 overtime win over Wisconsin.

After getting gashed for more than 300 yards in the first half, the Ohio State defense responded by forcing Wisconsin to punt on its opening drive after halftime. Barrett immediately drove the Buckeyes into the red zone, looking to quickly cut into the Badgers’ lead.

And then a brief monsoon rained down upon the field, as if the weather from last year’s Michigan State game had come back to haunt the Buckeyes too. Barrett threw a terrible interception in the downpour, returning momentum to the home side.



It must have been deflating for the defense to trot back onto the field. A Wisconsin score at this juncture would have likely put the game away, but even the possibility of a sustained drive spelled trouble for the Buckeyes. Against a program with the history and reputation of shortening games with grueling, grinding possessions, the defense could have easily folded. Instead, the Silver Bullets forced a quick 3-and-out. Barrett then redeemed himself with a clutch 13-play touchdown drive on the following possession.

Dontre Wilson could have given up on the program. The once prized recruit has had a tumultuous four-year campaign in Columbus. As a freshman in 2013 he played more than almost anyone in his freshman class. As a senior he is one of just a handful of holdovers from that class not currently playing in the NFL.

Dropped passes, fumbles and foot injuries have underlined Wilson’s career to a point, and when he nearly gave the game away on a muffed punt in the third quarter, it would have been excusable for the staff to place Wilson on the bench. Instead, the team maintained faith in the speedster from Texas, and he responded with a 43-yard fourth quarter snag along the sideline, the defining moment of Ohio State’s game-tying drive.



In many ways, Ohio State had to score a touchdown on its opening drive of overtime. Settle for a field goal, and Wisconsin wins the game with a touchdown in the following frame. Had the game reached a second overtime, Barrett would have been tasked with leading the offense straight into the teeth of Wisconsin’s raucous student section.

Twice in extra time penalties forced Ohio State to play from behind the sticks, and on both occasions the Buckeyes responded immediately with chunk plays to return the drive to a convertible distance. Then, on a pivotal 3rd-and-2, Meyer finally broke tendency, forgoing the quarterback run for a beautifully executed play-action fade.



Wisconsin appeared primed to respond with a touchdown of its own, moving the ball to the Ohio State four yard-line in two plays. The defense held firm from there, not giving an inch on first, second or third down, before putting the game away with a walk-off sack.

In a game that at its worse resembled the most painful loss of the Meyer era, it was appropriate that Ohio State’s biggest win of this season ended in identical fashion to the 2014 victory over Penn State, which helped jump-start the Buckeyes’ championship run two seasons ago.

In that game Ohio State overcame bouts of poor offense, an ill-timed interception, and the frantic Penn State crowd to eek past the Nittany Lions in double overtime. The game culminated with a Joey Bosa sack on the last play of the game. Tyquan Lewis was credited with the game-ending sack Saturday night, but Joey’s little brother Nick wasn’t far behind.

During yesterday’s press conference, a reporter commented that the Buckeyes were outplayed, and perhaps fortunate overcome Wisconsin. Meyer didn’t deflect. If anything, he was happy with how things played out.

“That’s going to happen, and i’m kind of glad it did,” he said. “Not every fight is going to be tilted one way.

“We did get out-played. I wouldn’t say we got out-toughed. They didn’t out four-to-six us, or out-effort us. I’d much rather have it that way in that kind of game for the development of the team. “

The 2014 mid-season gut check against Penn State taught a young team how to win in the face of adversity, keeping the chase for a national championship alive. Wisconsin similarly pushed Ohio State to the edge, and the Buckeyes responded.

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Google 'We don't lay down for anybody' - why the Buckeyes say they're hard to beat: Doug...

'We don't lay down for anybody' - why the Buckeyes say they're hard to beat: Doug Lesmerises - cleveland.com
via Google News using key phrase "Buckeyes".


'We don't lay down for anybody' - why the Buckeyes say they're hard to beat: Doug Lesmerises
cleveland.com
But in 60 games with the Buckeyes, Meyer has coached one game in which Ohio State could have lost with almost zero surprise. That would have been to Alabama in the 2014 playoff semifinals. (Ohio State won.) Every other game, at least once they started ...
Ohio State football | Buckeyes better for surviving tough test, Meyer saysColumbus Dispatch
B1G awards race tracker: Hard-fought road win keeps Buckeyes on topESPN (blog)
Michigan Keeping Tabs On Rival Buckeyes As 'The Game' NearsCBS Local
PennLive.com -Black Shoe Diaries
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LGHL Depth chart unchanged as Ohio State prepares for Penn State’s White Out

Depth chart unchanged as Ohio State prepares for Penn State’s White Out
Matt Tamanini
via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


614932630.0.jpg

Buckeyes healthy heading into prime-time game in Happy Valley.

depth_chart1.jpg



No one ever said that going undefeated and winning a Big Ten and National Championship was going to be easy. Last Saturday, the second-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes overcame an early double-digit deficit to knock off the No. 8 Wisconsin Badgers in Madison to maintain their unblemished record.

Heading into one of Happy Valley’s infamous white-outs on Saturday, head coach Urban Meyer said in his Monday press conference, “We have another tough task, a team that's 4-0 at home…. (I) wish they saved the white outs for other games, but I guess they used it for our game. It's one of the top five atmospheres, again, in college football.”

After setting the Ohio State record for most touchdowns accounted for, J.T. Barrett remains atop the quarterback depth chart, as he will for the entire season, barring injury. After a rough first half, Barrett rebounded well, throwing for 226 yards and a touchdown, in addition to rushing for 92 and two scores. Backup Joe Burrow did not play for the second week in a row.

At running back, Mike Weber had the lowest output of his young career, accounting for just 46 yards on 11 carries. However, he seemed to provide a spark of toughness to the offense in the second half that proved he was capable of competing against the toughest of Big Ten defenses. Weber remains the co-starter at RB with Curtis Samuel, who is also listed as a co-starter at H-back. Like Weber, Samuel notched only 46 yards rushing on 12 carries against the Badgers.

The starting wide receivers remain as they were in previous weeks. Noah Brown OR Parris Campbell at the X position, with Terry McLaurin OR James Clark at Z, and Corey Smith OR Johnnie Dixon also listed as starters. Austin Mack and Binjimen Victor are the third-string options at the X and Z respectively. While still not reaching the statistical heights of the early season, eight Buckeyes caught passes in Madison, including Brown who hauled in the eventual game-winning touchdown in Overtime.

The H-back spot remains unchanged with Samuel OR Dontre Wilson slotted to start. While Wilson netted only one yard rushing on Saturday, he did come up with one spectacular 43-yard reception. Samuel led the team with six catches and 58 receiving yards.

The tight end spot is firmly locked down by Marcus Baugh with A.J. Alexander listed as the backup. Baugh caught one pass this week for 29 yards last weekend.

The offensive line starters are listed as Jamarco Jones, Michael Jordan, Pat Elflein, Billy Price, and Isaiah Prince (from left to right). Jones, who missed a few plays after a non-contact injury to his ankle, is expected to be 100% for the trip to Penn State. The line gave up two sacks on Saturday.

On the defensive side of the ball, Sam Hubbard OR Jayln Holmes and Tyquan Lewis remain listed as the defensive end starters. The backups at defensive end are Nick Bosa OR Jonathon Cooper, though Bosa’s playing time is increasing week-to-week. In the middle, Michael Hill anchors the defensive line alongside Dre’Mont Jones who replaced Tracy Sprinkle. Davon Hamilton is listed as the co-starter with Jones. Wisconsin quarterback Alex Hornibrook was sacked four times on Saturday, none more memorable than on fourth down in overtime when the entire defensive line seemed to meet up to seal the victory. Rashod Berry moves from a backup linebacker spot to backup defensive end this week.

The linebacking corps continued to be a strong unit against Indiana. Raekwon McMillan remains slotted in at middle linebacker. Surrounding him are outside linebackers Chris Worley and Dante Booker OR Jerome Baker. Booker, who is dealing with an MCL sprain, did not play against Wisconsin, allowing Baker to lead the team in tackles with 13. Joe Burger and Craig Fada are the backup LBs.

At cornerback, Gareon Conley is the starter on one side and Marshon Lattimore OR Denzel Ward on the other. At the safety position, Damon Webb and Malik Hooker remain the starters. Erick Smith is listed as the backup to Hooker, while Jordan Fuller is the backup to Webb. Conley pulled down his second interception of the year against Wisconsin, and could have (should have?) had a second, if it were not for the replay official.

On special teams, senior walk-on Tyler Durbin continues to be the starter for both kickoffs and field goals as Sean Nuernberger recovers from a groin injury that forced him to miss most of camp. Durbin had his biggest day as a Buckeye in terms of field goals, connecting on all three attempts (25, 40, and 31 yards), raising his season total to a perfect 8 for 8, and he is currently 38 for 39 in extra points.

Senior Cameron Johnston remains as the team’s punter, which is no surprise considering he is one of the country’s leading Groza Award candidates. His four punts against Wisconsin averaged 53.8 yards, including one of 70 yards. Though he is short of the minimum 3.6 punts per game to be eligible for the honor (he is currently at 3.5), his average of 50.8 yards per punt is the best in the country.

At punt returner, Dontre Wilson OR Corey Smith OR Curtis Samuel are all in play, but, as he has for most of the season, Wilson handled all three of the punts in Madison, though he was not as sure-handed as he had been previously. On kickoff returns, Dontre Wilson OR James Clark OR Johnnie Dixon are listed as starters, although Parris Campbell was again the only one to return a kick last week. The long-snapping duties are given to Liam McCollough, and Johnston holds on kicks.

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BTN Audio: Listen to your Big Ten coach’s Week 8 teleconference

Audio: Listen to your Big Ten coach’s Week 8 teleconference
BTN.com staff via Big Ten Network

Each Tuesday morning during the Big Ten football season, the 14 Big Ten football coaches hold a Big Ten teleconference with reporters from around the country. We post the audio for each segment of the call here.Filed under: Audio Tagged: Teleconferences
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tBBC Guest Post: @StefanWolejszo looks at Cody Ceci’s contract situation

Guest Post: @StefanWolejszo looks at Cody Ceci’s contract situation
TDS Staff
via our good friends at Buckeye Battle Cry
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here



OTTAWA, ON – APRIL 26: Cody Ceci #5 of the Ottawa Senators looks on prior to a face-off in Game Six of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals against the Montreal Canadiens during the 2015 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Canadian Tire Centre on April 26, 2015 in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The Montreal Canadiens eliminated the Ottawa Senators by defeating them 2-0 and move to the next round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images)



Over the past few months, I’ve received a few guest post submissions from the criminally underrated and underfollowed Stefan Wolejszo (@StefanWolejszo). I don’t know why you wouldn’t be, but if you’re a Sens fan (or even if you’re not), give him a follow on Twitter.

Like the blog title states, in his latest piece, Stef examines the Cody Ceci contract situation and makes a case for what kind of terms Ceci should be in line for. It’s a great read that encapsulates the problems that Ceci’s next contract present to the organization.

So without further ado, here’s Stefan:

The Ottawa Senators were faced with two major RFA contract negotiations this summer, and when Mike Hoffman and the team agreed to a new four year deal attention immediately shifted to Cody Ceci.

The Senators are rumored to have had several offers on the table along the way, but the team now appears to be favoring a two year bridge deal with a reasonable dollar figure attached to it. For their part, Ceci’s camp reportedly proposed a six-year deal with an AAV around $4.25M.

As is always the case with RFA negotiations, teams can opt to pay a higher price now to lock a key part of their team in to a favorable deal now, or they can pay less now and risk having to pay through the nose in the next deal. There are plenty of examples of both good and bad RFA decisions. For example, Senators fans will remember how locking Jared Cowen in to a deal with term worked out (and it could have been much worse), while Montreal’s decision to bridge PK Subban led them to open up the vault two years later. The trick is identifying players the team should build around, and are worth long term investments, while avoiding long and expensive contracts on marginal talent.

Although he will never be as polarizing a figure as Patrick Wiercioch, who was the analytics versus eye test poster child, it is clear that there is some disagreement about what Ceci is actually worth. Fans into hockey analytics often point to Ceci’s underwhelming metrics (particularly his “Rel” numbers) and cite this as evidence that Ceci has far from established himself as a legitimate second pairing defender. On the other hand, Ottawa Senators management seem to have a much higher opinion of Ceci, and based on the fact that his name came up as a key piece that Tampa Bay was asking for in return in a rumored Jonathan Drouin trade last season it appears that other teams also regard him highly.

I think the truth is in somewhere in between these two positions.

The issue is that in order to accurately assess his value all of our numbers have to be put in the right context so that we avoid punishing or rewarding him for things that out of his control. With the end goal of highlighting contextual factors that can lead to over- or under-valuing Ceci, this article will be broken down into three components. The first will focus on the larger context of Ceci getting his opportunity to stick with the big club, the second will look at numbers that suggest Ceci is very valuable, and the third will focus on metrics that highlight red flags in Ceci’s play.

When everything is put into context it seems that establishing Ceci’s actual value is far from a cut-and-dried process.

Cody Ceci Gets his Chance

Things seemed to look bright for the Senators following the 2012-13 lockout-shortened season. In that campaign the team battled through key injuries and adversity to make the playoffs and oust the Montreal Canadiens in the first round. Those were heady days for Senators fans, and the team looked as though it was on the brink of something special.

In the victory over their hated rivals fans witnessed clutch goaltending by Craig Anderson, stellar play from Erik Karlsson (who is still better when he is on one leg than 99% of the D playing in the league), and Paul MacLean’s epic trolling of the Montreal players, coaching staff, and fans. Sure Daniel Alfredsson’s “probably not” response when asked whether the Sens could come back in the second round series against Pittsburg rankled a few fans, but in the end that comment could easily be dismissed as stoic realism.

That optimism ultimately fell like a house of cards that was built outside on a windy day. In the summer of 2013 Daniel Alfredsson opted to sign with the Detroit Red Wings amid rumors that the Senators presented low-balled a contract proposal to their long-serving captain. The Senators brought in Bobby Ryan hot on the heels of Alfie’s departure, but his 23 goal 48 point injury plagued season underwhelmed some fans. Jason Spezza became the captain after Alfie left, only to find that the barbs many fans reserved for him throughout his career became especially sharp after he took on this new role. A wildly inconsistent start to the season led to a portion of the fanbase to loudly call for Robin Lehner to assume the role of starting goaltender, but the team continued to pile up losses when he had the net following an injury to Craig Anderson.

Shortly after the season ended Paul MacLean, who had awarded the Jack Adams (coach of the year) Trophy the previous summer, was held out to dry as management accused him of not listening to his players and losing the room. Many fans also turned on MacLean due to frustration and bitterness as a result of being fed a steady dose of the Greening-Smith-Neil (GSN) line. The 2013-14 had many lowlights and precious few highlights.

In the midst of that winter of discontent, with Mark Methot sick and Jared Cowen serving a suspension, Cody Ceci was called up from Binghamton and given his first opportunity to show what he can do in the big leagues. Ceci provided one of the most memorable moments of the season when he scored his first NHL goal in OT versus the St Louis Blues on December 16:


Within a short amount of time the team started to float out that Ceci “stabilized the defense,” which was puzzling to some. Leading up to Ceci’s promotion the team was actively shopping for a defenceman that could help turn the tide after a sluggish start to the season. At that point in time questions surrounding the team’s internal budget dogged the Senators.

Fans, who were still feeling the sting of Alfie’s departure, were left swearing under their breath when respected hockey figures like Bob McKenzie publically discussed how any move the Senators made would have to be “dollar in – dollar out” because the team could not afford to add salary despite being near the bottom of the league in spending. Fans were left wondering whether Ceci was objectively good, or if he was simply good enough so long as he was playing under a cheap entry level contract.

The Argument that Ceci is Very Valuable

Cody Ceci was selected in the first found, 15th overall, in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft. Although he was the 9th of 13 defensemen taken in the first round, his 205 games played ranks 4th most among defensemen in his draft class behind only Morgan Rielly (236), HampusLindholm (236), and Jacob Trouba (211). Rielly is currently on a 6 year $30M deal, Lindholm is unsigned but his contract is expected to be in the $5M per year range, while a leaked contract demand showed Trouba initially asked for an eight-year deal valued over $56M. Given that Ceci has played almost as many games as the players it seems likely that he would see himself just under that category of value, so his initial ask for what works out to an AAV of about $4.25M over a six year term makes sense.

Games played” is an interesting stat because it can be both a measure of skill and a measure of a team not having better options in their system. One approached to figuring out whether he earned his games played is to look at his production.

Production of Defencemen from 2012 (>100 GP)

Draft Position Drafted By Player GP G A Pts PIM PPG
6 Anaheim Hampus Lindholm 236 23 69 92 108 0.3898
5 Toronto Morgan Rielly 236 19 73 92 54 0.3898
9 Winnipeg Jacob Trouba 211 23 49 72 151 0.3412
22 Pittsburgh Olli Maatta 165 16 41 57 46 0.3455
15 Ottawa Cody Ceci 205 18 38 56 38 0.2732
2 Columbus Ryan Murray 160 9 40 49 58 0.3063
7 Minnesota Mathew Dumba 152 19 25 44 63 0.2895
60 New Jersey Damon Severson 123 6 32 38 54 0.3089

The above table shows the production of defensemen from the 2012 draft class who have played in more than 100 NHL to date.

Ceci’s 56 points is ranked 5th in this list behind Lindholm, Rielly, Trouba, and Olli Maatta. There appears to be a gap between the group that includes Lindholm, Rielly, and Trouba and the next tier has Maatta, Ceci, and possibly Ryan Murray.

In terms of contract Maatta signed a six deal with an AAV of $4.083M while Murray signed a two year bridge deal with a $2.825M AAV. For the sake of keeping apples and oranges separate, it is important to note that UFA years are more expensive than RFA years, so long term contracts that buy UFA years will typically cost more than bridge deals where players are still in the RFA years at the conclusion of the deal. Based on raw point output it appears that Ceci should command a shade over $3M per season on a bridge deal or an AAV just under $4M on a long term deal.

The Argument that Ceci is Not Very Valuable

The problem with using raw numbers is that external factors sometimes cloud the analysis.

For example, in the table I used in the last section Ceci was shown to have the 5th highest point total of the defensemen in his draft class. However, his high point total may simply reflect the fact that he played a lot more games than many of the players we are using as comparables, and the fact that he played many more games than most of his cohort may simply be a function of the Senators having limited options to fix their porous defense within a fixed budget.

So how can we assess the extent to which Ceci has earned his spot and games played? A good place to start is with points per game (PPG), which is in the last column in the previous section. Although Ceci is 5th in total points among defensemen in his cohort who have played more than 100 games, he is dead last in that group of eight players in PPG. Players like Lindholm and Rielly have set themselves apart from the crowd, while Trouba and Maatta form the next rung in the quality ladder. Ceci’s PPG is a bit below Mathew Dumba, who just signed a two-year bridge deal with an AAV of $2.55M.

Getting contracts right is really a matter of using the right metric.

If Ceci’s point total is used the team would be ok with giving him just above $3M, but if a standardized production rate is used the team should limit their offer to Ceci to and AAV of $2.5M or less on a two-year bridge deal.

Of course other factors are at play, and being a good defensemen is not exclusively about putting up points.

Sometimes toughness is valued among defensemen and teams are willing to pay for big players who like to rough it up on the ice. Trouba’s value, for example, is based in part on his physical presence. Considering the Penalty Minute totals from the table in the previous section it is safe to assume Ceci is not that type of player. Another way to look at quality of defensemen is to look at possession and goal differentials to see if they are helping or hurting the team when they are on the ice. Based on data from hockeyanlaysis.com, in his career to date when Ceci has been on the ice the Senators have produced 47.8% of even strength shot attempts (CF%) and 48.6% of even strength goals (GF%).

This is not stellar.

Ideally you want your top pairing to be above 50% in those numbers, and you understand that your bottom pairing is likely to get buried now and again (otherwise they would be top-four instead of bottom pairing). The middle pairing should be around 50% or just above in both shot attempts and goals.

Ceci’s underlying metrics appear to be damning.

In fact, his Rel numbers are commonly much worse. However, a note of caution has to be made here because some of Ceci’s metrics take a bigger hit than most players in the league due to contextual factors that have nothing to do with his play.

In particular, Ceci has (from an analytics perspective) had the misfortune to play on the right side behind Eric Karlsson. The fact that they play on defense and on the same side leads to an important contextual factor that has to be taken into account.

In his career Ceci has logged over 3000 minutes, but only 71.26 of those minutes have been with Karlsson.

In fact, since he came into the league Ceci has logged more minutes with Ryan Dzingel, Cory Conacher, and Nick Paul, than he has with Karlsson.

So why does this matter?

It matters because Karlsson’s metrics are all through the roof, and Ceci has the disadvantage of not being able to pad his stats by being on the ice with the best defensemen on the team. Also, when players are not playing with Ceci they are most often going to be playing with Karlsson, who often plays more than 30 minutes a night, so the “drag” Ceci appears to be having on players is somewhat exaggerated.

We should know up front that players will do better with Karlsson, and that should not be an indictment of Ceci’s skill. For this reason I think the fairest way to interpret how Ceci is doing is to stick with CF% and GF% and set aside trying to drill down deeper into relative numbers unless you have some way in mind that is fair to Ceci (David Johnson, founder of Hockey Analysis and Puckalytics, is an excellent resource for this type of question).

Conclusion

The Ottawa Senators are in a tough spot with Cody Ceci.

Based on his numbers it appears he was rushed into the league, and playing a lot of games has potentially influenced his contract demands. There is something to be said for expecting to get paid like a $4M defensemen if you are asked to play, and have played, the type of role associated with this level of pay. But at the end of the day Cody Ceci is not a $4M defenseman.

In fact, a compelling case can be made that he not even a $3M defenceman.

The end result in the ongoing contract negotiations will leave us with two competing factors that need to be pulled apart and debated. The first is it will provide some insight into the types of numbers the team is using to assess player value. The second is the contract will shed light into the premium the Senators were forced to pay to keep Ceci in the fold because there is currently a lack of great options behind him.

As I see it the over/under for evaluating how good a deal this will be is $2.5M (assuming a two-year term). I am guessing the deal will be bigger than that and shake down at about $6.25M total over two years. Even at that rate it would not be a horrible deal because at 22 years old Ceci is in his statistical prime.

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tBBC Pierre Dorion Speaks: Hoffman extension, Ceci megotiations, the blue line being set

Pierre Dorion Speaks: Hoffman extension, Ceci megotiations, the blue line being set
TDS Staff
via our good friends at Buckeye Battle Cry
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Senators general manager Pierre Dorion appeared on TSN 1200 last week to discuss the announcement of Mike Hoffman’s four-year contract extension with the Senators. The interview ran on the Wednesday, but I didn’t really have a chance to listen or go through it until this evening.

Rather than let Dorion’s comments disappear into the ether, I figured I’d talk about them now. Besides, it’s the beginning of August and I’m guessing most of you aren’t really interested in commentary on the Senators’ announcement of an extended corporate sponsorship with Mattamy Homes.

So without further ado, the full interview can be heard at the bottom of this post and here are my thoughts in bold.

On whether Mike Hoffman’s deal was a difficult one to finalize and how he settled on the structure of the deal…

“I wouldn’t call it difficult. Time consuming, for sure. This is definitely something that we’ve been working on for quite a while. After we got our coach named, it’s been probably the number one priority that we’ve been working on besides the draft. So this is something that both sides, I think, are fairly happy with. We’ve got Mike Hoffman, I think in the prime of his career, signed at what we feel is a good number and we’re ready to move forward. The second part of your question was how we got this (structure) is that obviously the first year is an RFA number, a restricted free agent number, with an arb(itration) number and after that, we bought, we feel we got three years of UFA numbers at which point Mike could have just walked away (from).”

When the terms of the deal were revealed, I was stunned that Hoffman did not get more money. Given his even strength production rates, the one-year remaining of team control, his impending arbitration hearing and the fact that the Senators did not have any in-house alternatives who are even close to replicating what he can bring to the table, I can’t believe that Hoffman’s representation didn’t get more money out of the Ottawa Senators – especially since Hoffman hasn’t exactly been utilized very well over the past two seasons. I guess I just expected these circumstances to create a situation wherein Hoffman took the Senators for all that he’s worth on the open market.

On how important it was to get this deal done before Mike Hoffman’s scheduled August 4th arbitration date…

“We felt that it was important to get it done, just so that we could avoid arbitration. We wanted to keep Mike here long-term. I think we’ve said that from the get-go that our goal was to try and sign Mike. And we knew if we went a second time to arbitration, this would probably create some conflict and the chances of us signing him long-term after the arbitration process could have been more difficult. So I think we came to an understanding earlier this morning and we feel that we got the player in his prime and we’re anxious to see how he is going to do with Guy Boucher as his coach.”

Considering how close Hoffman’s arbitration hearing was, I wonder how many trade offers or inquiries Pierre Dorion fielded on Hoffman.

On the relationship between Guy Boucher and Mike Hoffman…

“Oh, I think it’s a pretty good relationship from talking with… having not spoken with Mike directly except for a few times since the end of the season or actually, maybe once since the end of the season. But, (in) talking with Guy and talking with Mike’s agent, everyone’s pretty positive that we’re going to get a very productive player under Guy and someone that’s going to help us score goals. We’ve invested a lot of time in Mike Hoffman and to have a chance to lose him when he’s in his prime would be something that would be really detrimental to the organization. Getting him signed now to a longer term contract where he can just focus on helping us win and score goals is something that’s really beneficial.”

It could have been worse. It’s one thing to lose a guy in his prime, it’s another entirely to lose a guy for a nothing and have him to develop into a productive player elsewhere. It’s a good thing that Hoffman cleared waivers in September of 2013, otherwise we’d be talking about him like he was Pavol Demitra – another gifted offensive player who got away without anything to show for it.

On whether Guy Boucher is going to see Mike Hoffman in a more positive light…

“I don’t think there’s really much point to talk about what was done in the past, but I can tell you, in talking about the future with Mike here and with having Guy, I think there’s going to be a lot of communication. He’s coached this player before. The one thing is, you’re not getting a player that won’t know how to handle adversity or certain situations that a coach puts him under and I think this coach knows how to push the right buttons with Mike. Mike really had the breakthrough year with Guy when (he) was coaching in junior. A lot of things are different from junior than in the NHL, but I think having coached a player and having known the player can only help our organization and Mike to reach really his true potential.”

Armed with a new contract, expectations are going to rise for Hoffman, but given his previous even strength production, the bad luck that he had last season that comes with leading the league in hit posts and crossbars and how his role might expand under Guy Boucher, it’s not unreasonable to believe that Hoffman is capable of scoring 30-plus goals if he can remain healthy.

On Derick Brassard being a better fit than Mika Zibanejad because he’s a pass-first centre…

“I’m going to… we’re going to leave up who… whomever plays with whom, we’re going to leave that up to the coach. I think that’s for them and that’s probably one of the (most fun) parts (of the job) for a coach is deciding line matchups. But, whomever he decides to play with whom, if he goes back to (Mike) Hoffman, (Kyle) Turris and (Mark) Stone – which was one of the better lines in the first two months of the year in the NHL – or if he decides to put (Derick) Brassard up there and he puts (Bobby) Ryan… it’s up to him to decide what he wants to do. But having Derick Brassard, who’s a left-handed (shot) and more playmaking-type centre compared to a shooting centre like Mika, I think just adds other options to our top-six or top-nine forwards.”

I’ll talk about Ottawa’s left wing situation a little later on, but one of the things that will be interesting to watch in training camp is which centre he pairs his right wingers with. The prevailing belief is one that sees Derick Brassard flanked by Bobby Ryan, but with both players profiling as playmakers, it remains to be seen whether they can gel. Ryan’s had some fleeting moments alongside centres like Kyle Turris and Mika Zibanejad, but it’s never really felt like he’s clicked or had significant chemistry with any centre since he’s been here.

Mark Stone’s so smart and talented, there’s no fear that he can’t find a suitable match, but considering how much Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Zack Smith improved alongside Stone, the concern lies in how much worse that duo can be if they’re forced to play alongside a historical production and possession drag like Curtis Lazar or Chris Neil. The last thing the organization wants to see is the third line struggle out of the gate like it did last season, but the cost/benefit analysis of where to slot Stone is going to weigh heavily on the minds of Boucher’s staff. It’s one of the reasons why I was hoping that the organization could go out and sign a cheap alternative like Lee Stempniak. Right wing alternatives like Lazar and Neil just aren’t good enough and in the event of an injury to the top-six, Ottawa’s depth is really going to be tested.

On Mike Hoffman having long-term security for the first time in his NHL career and whether it’s different for him now knowing that he doesn’t have to prove himself any longer…

“Well, that’s exactly it. I think we’re looking for Mike Hoffman to come through and be even better for us. I don’t think Mike and a lot of people here in our organization feel that Mike has reached his true potential. I think at times, when guys are playing for contracts, they cheat and they just try and score goals. We want Mike to score goals, but play the right way – the way he did earlier in the year. I think later in the year, he was just looking to score goals instead of playing the right way. So I think in Mike’s case, he’s a very proud player. He thinks he can be a very dominant player when you talk to Mike. It’s not a cocky arrogance. He’s just confident in his abilities night in and night out. So I think that can only help this organization and Mike Hoffman to be the better player he can be and to help us win as many games as we can.”

On the surface, the numbers certainly support the position that Mike Hoffman got worse as the season dragged on.

Via the invaluable Corsica.Hockey, here are Hoffman’s five-on-five numbers from October through December contrasted with what he did from January through the rest of his season:

5v5 GP G/60 Pts/60 Rel CF% Rel SF% Rel GF%
Oct. through Dec. 34 1.37 2.86 4.45 3.03 21.8
Jan. through Apr. 44 0.63 1.68 1.18 0.95 -8.28



As the numbers clearly show, his production rates fell noticeably and when he was on the ice, with the exception of the Senators’ relative GF%, the Senators were still better with him on the ice than off. Granted, his relative numbers definitely took a hit in the second half of the season.

Looking a little deeper into his splits, it’s not like the Senators’ Corsi for or against rates or shots for or against rates jumped markedly.

5v5 On-Ice CF/60 CA/60 SF/60 SA/60
Oct. through Dec. 55.21 57.45 28.73 32.83
Jan. through Apr. 56.58 58.57 29.54 32.37



Whether Hoffman was truly guilty of cheating in the defensive end to create more offence is a matter of watching the games and breaking down the video. The numbers however portray a situation in the Senators gave up a similar volume of shots and shots on goal when Hoffman was on the ice.

To account for the massive swing in relative goals for percentage however, one just has to look at the luck-driven statistics to see what ailed Hoffman in the second half: the team’s shooting percentage and save percentage when Hoffman was on the ice at five-on-five took a massive nosedive.

5v5 On-Ice Sh% SV% PDO
Oct. through Dec. 12.55 93.94 106.49
Jan. through Apr. 7.09 91.59 98.68



After the first-half of the season that he had, it was natural to expect some kind of regression in the Senators’ on-ice shooting percentage, but coupled with the Senators’ goaltenders making fewer saves behind Hoffman, I can’t help but wonder if this is a classic case of results-based analysis in which Dorion romanticizes Hoffman’s overall performance in the first half of the season because he benefited from having greater luck.

I can understand the desire to make Hoffman a better all-around player by publicly describing his shortcomings as a player, but this seems like an instance where the organization has an easier time celebrating Hoffman’s overall performance when the results are there. For as much as we can discuss cheating within the defensive end, maybe it’s just as easy to: 1) question whether Hoffman pressed more as he approached the 30-goal plateau; 2) mention the number of times that Hoffman rang pucks off the iron; or 3) describe how the Senators’ rash of top-six injuries contributed to making the Senators and Hoffman easier to match up against.

On where things are going in the Cody Ceci negotiations…

“I think on Cody, it’s more… we’ve talked many situations. We’ve talked from one-year to six-year deals and we don’t seem to agree a lot on where we’re going, but I still feel very confident that he’ll play for us when the season starts. He’ll be here when training camp starts. It’s just there’s different types of deals coming out of entry-level (contracts) and here, we just want to make sure that we do what’s right for Cody (and) for the organization. We want to pay him fair value, but at the same time, we have got an idea of what Cody can be, but it could be even better. We want to make sure we’re fair towards him, but we’re fair towards the organization.”

Precisely.

Unfortunately for the Senators, they’ve lacked quality right-handed defensive alternatives which has put them in a situation wherein they have had to rely on Ceci to play a top-four role that he wasn’t quite ready for. Just because Ceci’s played top-four minutes on what’s been a high event/bad defensive team these past few seasons doesn’t mean that he should be paid commensurately to what a top-four defenceman makes on a good team.

Through the past few seasons, Ceci’s been a nominal top-four guy and few stretches of hockey alongside Patrick Wiercioch in 2014-15 and Dion Phaneuf in 2015-16, he hasn’t played at a high enough level for me to be comfortable with the idea of giving him a long-term contract.

At the risk of potentially costing the Senators a few more dollars down the road, I believe the Senators should give him a year alongside Dion Phaneuf to really flesh out what they have.

On whether previous long-term contracts that the organization have handed out before fuel a concern for giving one out to Cody Ceci…

“Nope. It’s a very simple answer: no. A lot of other contracts that were done, they were done… you guys know that once Tim (Murray) left, Bryan (Murray) was very kind to let me handle a lot of these negotiations of contracts. Everything ran through Bryan and it’s something I enjoy doing, but what’s done in the past, we can’t control. But we’re looking more for the future and if we feel that giving a long term to a player is the right thing for the organization and for the player, we’ll definitely do that. But at times, I’m more of the old school (mentality): let me see what you can do when, not when we’re a bad team. Let me see how good you are when we’re a good team and then we might look at giving you (a) long-term (contract). You guys are smart enough to read between the lines on this comment.”

Irrespective of whether a team is good or bad, a general manager should always be looking lock up a team’s best assets to cost-effective deals that give the organization the flexibility to allocate and put its remaining resources to use.

On Clarke MacArthur’s status and preparation for the coming season…

“I think I’ve alluded to this a few times. With Clarke, he could have played last year at the end of the year. He could have played. In the last week, he was cleared to play three or four games. I don’t want to be wrong on the exact number of games that were left, but he was medically cleared to play. We just felt, why take the risk? We weren’t going anywhere. A few more months of rest and hard training would be the best thing (for him). He’s one-hundred percent (healthy). He has had a great summer. He’s texted me a few times. He’s so anxious to start the season. If he’s there, our top-six forwards or top-nine forwards, I feel very comfortable with them being top-nine guys that could (get us into) the playoffs. So he’s going to be coming in. It will be interesting. He took a few hits last year in practice at the end when he was going full out and he didn’t have a non-contact jersey. So we feel really confident that Clarke’s going to be able to play and give us a good year. Sometimes you have those years where things don’t go your way and that was the case for Clarke, but I think he’s a high-character human being and a high-character player and we expect big things from Clarke this year.”

Even though I love Clarke MacArthur as a player, it would have been difficult to watch any member of the organization have to go through what he did last season.

Granted, he brought some of that onto himself by failing to disclose his concussion symptoms, but that’s a systemic problem brought about by hockey’s culture of hiding injuries – something that Gabriel Landeskog wrote about in a recent post for The Player’s Tribune.

For MacArthur, he probably wanted to get into a game down the stretch, so that he could clear that hurdle and ease his mind as he headed into the summer offseason, but even if he did, it’s going to be hard to watch him play and worry that he could be just one hit away from walking away from the game.

On recent moves reflecting a change to bring significant experience into the dressing room and whether that coincides with the impetus for this team to win now…

“Yeah, exactly. I’m tired of hearing (that the team is a few years away). Sometimes we’re a bit biased on the team that we have and maybe I’m too optimistic. I’m telling our fans, ‘Just look and see what we can do.’ But bringing in these people, these people aren’t coming in… Chris Kelly isn’t coming in here just to ride out his career. He’s coming in here to try and help us win. Derick Brassard knows the players in the league. He’s a big hockey fan. He looks at our team on paper and says, ‘This is a good hockey team.’ When we acquired Dion Phaneuf, it wasn’t so he could just play games and see where it goes. It’s for us to have that winning mentality and that’s what we’ve tried to do here. Ever since I took the (GM) job, I said, ‘I’m not looking at really improving our top-six forwards.’ I think we’ve done that right now in adding Derick Brassard and him taking the spot of Mika (Zibanejad). But at the same time, we’ve improved where I’ve felt we needed to improve, which was our character and leadership, helping to improve our penalty killing. So those are things that we’ve targeted more than just looking at bringing in a top name, because, I think on paper and I think with this coaching staff, we definitely have a playoff team.”

Derick Brassard sounds like he’s angling for a future in management.

It’s interesting hearing Dorion mention how he wanted to improve the team’s penalty kill unit. Last year, the Senators had one of the worst shorthanded save percentages in the league and compared to its recent history, the Senators allowed more shorthanded chances and shots.

CA/60 SA/60 SV%
2015-16 102.5 (25th) 59.2 (T-28th) 84.44 (29th)
2014-15 96.2 (15th) 53.6 (19th) 88.63 (8th)
2013-14 90.5 (7th) 52.7 (18th) 86.67 (T-23rd)
2012-13 90.4 (12th) 54.7 (26th) 92.49 (1st)



If there’s a saving grace, it’s not like the Senators have much room to get any worse, but as Scott Cullen pointed out on TSN in his write-up analysis of the Brassard/Zibanejad trade however, Zibanejad was one of the team’s better performers last season when killing penalties.

Hopefully a new coaching staff can help identify and remedy the issues otherwise, the last hope will be for the team’s goaltending to mask the PK unit’s underlying problems again.

On what he believes is the biggest question mark is on the team heading into training camp…

“I’m anxious to see how our special teams have to be better. To me, that’s one thing. I think that’s the biggest thing for me. Last year we were 27th and 29th in special teams and I hate to put a bit of pressure on our coaches, but that’s why we hired them. If we’re in the top-10, how many more points (in the standings) is that going to be? Does that automatically put us in a playoff spot? I think that’s probably the biggest key. Cutting our scoring chances against is another thing that I’m looking forward to. As far as player personnel, obviously Clarke will be a big question mark – how he reacts when the season gets going and when he handles a few hits. But, that’s one thing that I’m pretty positive about. (Do) you know what intrigues me the most? How our coach is going to juggle these lines. We pretty much know how our defence pairings are going to be. We pretty much know that (Marc) Methot is going to play with (Erik) Karlsson, (Dion) Phaneuf is going to play with (Cody) Ceci and (Mark Borowiecki) will play with (Chris) Wideman unless someone likes a (Fredrik) Claesson, (Michael) Kostka, (Ben) Harpur, (Pat) Sieloff or (Andreas) Englund comes in and challenges for (Borowiecki) or Wideman(‘s spot). But how will he play with our forward group? Who will he play with who? Who will he match up? Will he put (Curtis) Lazar back on right wing? Will (Chris) Kelly maybe play with (Jean-Gabriel) Pageau and (Curtis) Lazar if Lazar is on right wing? Where will Zack Smith fit in? Those are the things that probably excite me the most.”

It’s not some throwaway comment, the inclusion of “Cutting our scoring chances against is another thing that I’m looking forward to,” is great because it is evidence of what analytics the Senators rely on to track performance.

On a completely different note, it’s impossible to know whether the exclusion of Thomas Chabot from the third pairing conversation was intentional or an oversight, but good lord, it’s hard to imagine a team that is dead set on competing for a playoff spot is willing to roll with Mark Borowiecki as a regular.

On being excited to see what Mike Hoffman can do if he gets a bigger role on the power play…

“That’s a great point. When we did the interview with Guy, the first time it was just myself for about four and half hours, but the second time, it almost went eight hours or just under it. We started at quarter to one and went to about quarter to nine and (he talked about) how he was going to use Mike Hoffman on the power play and that was really appealing to me. Now it wasn’t the reason why we hired him, but how Mike Hoffman’s power play production will go up under the way that Guy wants to have him on the power play. So that’s another thing that is really exciting.”

More Hoffman power play production? Yes, more of that please.

Over the last two seasons, Hoffman has struggled to produce points with the man advantage, which is weird considering the ease in which he comes across them at even strength. Considering his skill set, it’s odd, so hopefully this is simply a matter of usage and philosophy which can bring out the best in Hoffman.

http://proxy.autopod.ca/download/podcasts/chum/186/44742/jul27dorion.mp3

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tBBC Breaking: Hoffman inks 4-year extension worth $5.1875 AAV

Breaking: Hoffman inks 4-year extension worth $5.1875 AAV
TDS Staff
via our good friends at Buckeye Battle Cry
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here




Leave it to Elliotte Friedman to break the news and provide Senators fans with something to celebrate on a quiet Wednesday in July:


Hearing OTT signs Mike Hoffman to a four year deal. $3.8M next season, then three years at $5.65M

— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) July 27, 2016

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I’m not going to lie, there were some days over the past two seasons when I truly believed that Mike Hoffman would not be an Ottawa Senator for the long haul.

Keep in mind that this is someone who a combined 56 goals across the last two seasons and has proven to be one of the game’s most prolific even strength scorers.

Looking at the last two seasons worth of data via HockeyAnalysis.com, of the skaters who played more than 2,000 five-on-five minutes, only five players had higher goals per sixty rates than Hoffman’s 1.17. The names above him — Vlad Tarasenko (1.28), Tyler Seguin (1.21), Patrick Kane (1.19), Corey Perry and Alex Ovechkin (both at 1.18) read like a who’s who of NHL elite goal scorers and Hoffman belongs in that same conversation.

Using the same criteria above, Hoffman’s the fifth-highest rated five-on-five producer. Averaging 2.37 points per sixty minutes of five-on-five ice time, only Vlad Tarasenko, Sidney Crosby, Jamie Benn and Patrick Kane have averaged more.

Yet despite this kind of production, it never really felt like the organization was that enamored with Hoffman.

From seeing his ascent up the lineup in Paul MacLean’s last days to being relegated to the depths of the lineup by Dave Cameron during Ottawa’s miraculous 2015 playoff run, it was hard to ever really feel comfortable believing that the Senators organization had bought into what Hoffman brought to the table.

Blown coverage, missed assignments and careless decisions with the puck inside the defensive zone often contributed to Hoffman being benched or receiving a diminished role under Cameron and in each of the past two years, the organization went out of its way to play up the fact that Hoffman’s scoring had a tendency to dry up when the games became more important.

Rather than focus on the vitally important things that Hoffman does well like driving shot volume and goal production, the organization and the media poked holes in his game, explaining the risks in giving Hoffman a long-term deal.

As a small market club that had been burned in the past by giving out term to undeserving players who rode the coattails of Ottawa’s skilled guys, maybe the organization felt obligated to get a deal that it wouldn’t regret.

Today, they got the right deal.

Sure, I suppose some can make the argument that because Hoffman asked for $3.4-million in arbitration last summer that some balance for compromise should have existed with the Senators offering him a long-term deal that carried a slightly higher average annual value than what Hoffman’s representatives filed with the arbitrator.

At the same time, there is the possibility that Hoffman was so confident in his ability to replicate last season’s numbers, he took the one-year deal out of arbitration knowing that a strong 2015-16 campaign would mean a larger payday down the road. In fact, in February of 2015, Hoffman even admitted to the Ottawa Sun‘s Don Brennan that he was not particularly interested in pursuing a long-term deal.

Without being privy to last summer’s contract negotiations, it’s impossible to know how far along discussions of a new long-term deal ever got between the two parties. Until either side really lets us in on how that process unfolded, it feels unfair to contrast the money involved now with the money that could have been saved had the organization signed Hoffman last summer.

Even if you feel that this did cost the Senators a little bit more money, here’s an affirmation that this is still a team-friendly deal:


Dorion: “I actually hugged Randy Lee today”

— Steve Lloyd (@TSNSteveLloyd) July 27, 2016

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Given the circumstances and the fact that Hoffman’s camp had all of the leverage in these negotiations, I want to hug Pierre Dorion too.

Other Hoffman News and Notes:

  • Hoffman will now be reunited with former junior coach Guy Boucher and provided that Hoffman’s even strength production rates continue to be strong, I’m curious to see how much Boucher and his power play expertise can boost Hoffman’s production further. To date, Hoffman hasn’t exactly put up the kind of power play numbers that are commensurate with his talents and skill set.
  • According to the media’s conference call, Mike Hoffman’s contract comes with a ten-team no-trade clause that kicks in next summer.

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tBBC What DeKeyser’s Contract Means for Ceci

What DeKeyser’s Contract Means for Ceci
TDS Staff
via our good friends at Buckeye Battle Cry
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here



Red Wings re-sign Danny DeKeyser. Six years and $30-million.

— James Mirtle (@mirtle) July 26, 2016

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This morning the Detroit Red Wings and restricted free agent Danny De… Christ what did he just sign for?!

That is a staggering amount of cash for a player who has failed to establish himself as a defensive or offensive defenceman in each and every one of the four seasons that he has played in during his career.

DeKeyser has only tallied 14 goals and 75 points in 234 career games and his career highs for goals and points in a season are eight and 31 respectively. Since he has never demonstrated that he’s been a consistent offensive producer, one would imagine that the metrics would portray DeKeyser as a shining defensive example, but even there, the numbers leave something to be desired.

Throughout DeKeyser’s career, his relative shot generation, relative shot suppression and relative possession numbers have been mediocre.

So what could help account for the fact that DeKeyser got such a lavish contract?

Well, to Detroit, he’s a known commodity who finished second on the Red Wings in average ice time per game with 21:48. Mixing in the fact that he only had one more year left of restricted free agent status probably helped, but if anything, it looks like DeKeyser is cashing in on the fact that he had a career year in terms of goals and primary point production.

Dominic Galamini’s Own the Puck website and its excellent ‘Hero Chart’ tool provide a great visual aid to depict how DeKeyser performed on the ice and in going through DeKeyser’s history, the production rates noticeably spiked from his career history.



Jeez, I wonder why those production rates spiked?

Oh, it probably had something to do with the fact that his shooting percentage was 11.1-percent last season – which was almost two and a half times higher than his previous career high. The boosted goal totals were luck driven.

But wait, this is a Senators blog, so why is any of this important?

Well, even though DeKeyser is four years older than Cody Ceci and again, had only one-year left of restricted free agent status (hence putting more pressure on the Red Wings to extend DeKeyser beyond this forthcoming season), it’s hard to ignore the similarities between their underlying numbers.

Again, using Own the Puck‘s comparison option in the ‘Hero Chart’ tool, it’s easy to see the similarities in the underlying numbers.



In my end of the year post eulogizing the 2015-16 Senators, I discussed the praise that Ceci received for his improved performance once Dion Phaneuf stepped into the lineup.


“Here is a look at how Ceci fared at five-on-five before and after the trade (note: the following numbers are courtesy of War On Ice):

G/60 Pts/60 CF% PDO PSh%
Oct-Feb 9th 0.2 0.9 42.1 101.6 5.0
Feb 10th onward 0.6 1.0 48.0 103.7 12.2

Ceci’s numbers unquestionably improved across the board and from an eye-test perspective, Ceci was noticeably more assertive with the puck and jumped into the play more aggressively than he has at any other point in his career, but it’s impossible to not to look at his personal shooting percentage and believe that Ceci benefitted from some pretty good fortune.

Delving a little bit deeper thanks to the Puckalytics.com’s ‘Super WOWY’ tool, this pairing shared the ice together for 217:38 of ice time generating 48.5-percent of the shot attempts. The duo was on for 61.5-percent of the total goals, but you don’t have to look further than Ceci’s individual shooting percentage or the fact that Ottawa’s goaltenders stopped 96.18-percent of the shots when they were on the ice to realize that luck factored heavily into this pairing’s success.”

Like DeKeyser, Ceci’s production benefited from a massive spike in his shooting percentage that more than doubled his previous regular season high.

The concern for Senators fans is a situation wherein Ceci is overcompensated like DeKeyser was for an uptick in offensive production that will difficult to consistently replicate.

Granted, there’s something to be said about locking up Ceci to a long-term contract that could save the organization more money down the road provided Ceci has a very good 2016-17 season. Given the circumstances however, I would be incredibly wary, if I’m Senators management, about handing over a long-term contract to a player who has demonstrably been a nominal second pairing defenceman for two years now. It’s not his fault that the organization rushed him into this role, nor is it his fault that there aren’t any in-house alternatives to compete for his spot or push him further down the depth chart, but at the same time, I’d be really hesitant to commit big dollars and term to a player on a leap in faith believing that Phaneuf has reformed Ceci’s game.

While the risk is there that the Senators could lose out on some savings long-term, I believe the risk of overcompensating Ceci is too great. Last year’s small sample size isn’t enough. A one-year bridge deal that allows the organization to better assess how he can performance he can turn in alongside Phaneuf is preferable for a small market franchise that literally cannot afford to paper over mistakes. (As an aside, if the Senators locked up Ceci, in theory they could always elect to buy out his contract at one-third the cost before Ceci turns 26-years old, but given the contracts that Ottawa shipped out to land Phaneuf’s albatross of a deal, it’s obvious that buy-outs are a last resort for the organization.)

If there’s any consolation to these Ceci negotiations, it’s that the Senators do have a history of squeezing their RFAs to get favourable deals. After this morning’s DeKeyser announcement however, you couldn’t really blame J.P. Barry or Ceci for feeling pretty damn good however.

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tBBC Pierre Dorion Speaks: Zibanejad/Brassard, Hoffman/Ceci RFA negotiations

Pierre Dorion Speaks: Zibanejad/Brassard, Hoffman/Ceci RFA negotiations
TDS Staff
via our good friends at Buckeye Battle Cry
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here




After pulling the trigger on what’s unequivocally the biggest trade that he’s made during his short tenure as the Ottawa Senators’ general manager, Pierre Dorion joined Ian Mendes and Lee Versage on TSN 1200’s ‘The Drive’ yesterday to give his explanation for why the organization dealt Mika Zibanejad and a 2018 second round pick to the New York Rangers for Derick Brassard and a 2018 seventh rounder.

The interview isn’t entirely trade-centric, it also delved into providing updates on the RFA contract negotiations of Mike Hoffman and Cody Ceci, so it’s well worth listening to it in its entirety. To stream the audio for it, you can use the embedded media player at the bottom of this post.

As always, my thoughts are in bold.

On when the seeds were first planted for a Mika Zibanejad trade to the Rangers…

“Well, Jeff (Gorton) and I started this when, I think, the first phone call when he phoned me to congratulate me (on being named as the new general manager of the Ottawa Senators). Jeff and I have known each other for many years from his days as a scout with the Bruins, assistant GM and then when he moved on to the Rangers in a similar position that I had and then he went on to be an assistant GM and GM, so we’ve had a long history together. So he just phoned me to congratulate me. We talked about both of us replacing legends and then we started talking. I said, ‘Glen (Sather) and Bryan (Murray) never made a deal,’ and I said, ‘How about you and I make a deal?’ I threw some things out and he came back and we started at that point in time on my first week on the job.”

From this response, it sounds like Dorion was the one who targeted Brassard and initiated the talks to acquire him – which is interesting, because with the new hockey operations department structure and the addition of two full-time employees who deal with analytics, Dorion specifically targeted Brassard for a reason, which he explains below.

On what he likes about Derick Brassard and what he can bring to the lineup that it previously lacked…

“Well, our team for the last (few) years hasn’t had a left-handed playmaking centreman. I think with Derick, we’re getting a top-end forward who can generate offence on a consistent basis. We’re bringing in someone who’s in the prime of his career at 28 years old. We’re bringing in someone that, I think, has had playoff success in the last… especially in the 2015 playoffs where the Rangers went to the Conference Final. I know I talk a lot about getting into the playoffs, but I want us to have a team once we get into the playoffs that can compete at that point in time. It just felt, I know we gave up a good player in Mika, but as a group, we just felt that this was really a positive step in the right direction to make us better right away.”

Not having a left-handed playmaking centreman posed a problem for the Senators, but I’d be a little apprehensive in labeling Brassard as a top-end forward who can generate offence on a consistent basis. As I laid out in a blog piece earlier this morning, it’s not like his even strength production rates are as impressive as Zibanejad’s, a player who’s almost six-years younger than Brassard.

In fact, if you look at Dorion’s reasoning, albeit, he may have simply neglected to mention the analytical justification behind the deal, he mentions handedness, playoff experience and production and Brassard being in the prime of his career at 28 years old.

Of course, none of these things really tell the story of how Brassard projects moving forward, but Dorion and his staff believe that “this was really a positive step in the right direction.”

The thing is, Brassard turns 29 in September before the season even begins and even with a cursory knowledge of prime-age analysis, it’s pretty well common knowledge at this point that most hockey players enjoy their most productive years between 22 to 27 years of age. What we saw over the past two seasons is probably as good as it’s going to get for Brassard and now that he’s in Ottawa away from Rick Nash and Mats Zuccarello, the challenge for him will to fulfil the expectations of maintaining that 50 to 60 point production while demonstrating that he can play a better two-way game than Zibanejad – at least until prospects like Logan Brown or Colin White are ready to assume his role.

On the exchange of draft picks and why the organization felt it had to give up a second rounder…

“Well, for us, the price was significantly higher when Jeff and I started talking. At the draft, if anyone would have stood around, Jeff and I just sat at their table while everyone had gone back home and we talked for about 40 minutes and at that point in time, the asking price was significantly higher and we talked for that 30 or 40 minutes just at their table with everyone in their suite. We just felt that what they were asking (for) didn’t make sense, but we understand at this point in time, we both agreed that Derick was better than Mika and giving up a second rounder is not something we’d like to do and it’s in 2018 and a lot of things can change from now to 2018. It was just a price to pay and at the same time, we get a pick back. People say it’s a seventh rounder, but I have faith in our scouting staff that maybe at the end of the day, that seventh rounder will be better than the second rounder we would have taken.”

Giving up a young centre who still has upside and the significantly better draft pick for the cost certainty of Brassard as a second line centre as the team is trying to compete is a pretty significant gamble that could rear its ugly head as early as next season. Not even Dorion’s half-hearted attempts at glossing over this exchange of picks by explaining how far away 2018 is or by playing up his scouting staff’s ability to find late round gems are enough to quell some very reasonable concerns.

Then again, when you’re running a franchise whose year-to-year mandate is to reach the postseason and host some playoff games so that you can fatten the owner’s bottom line, you probably don’t give two shits about the thin margin of error that you’re operating under or wasting too much time thinking about the bigger picture.

On the timing of the deal and whether the Senators wanted to wait until after his July 15th $2-million signing bonus was paid…

“No, I was just stalling him. We talked about it over the course of the last week and then we said, ‘Why don’t we think about it over the weekend?’ To me, the money didn’t have a thing to do with it. It was more about, you know, I’m happy that we saved $2-million. It allows us to do more moving forward, but to me, it was more about a hockey deal than anything.”

According to the New York Times’ Larry Brooks, this story is just a bunch of spin:


Which is why it is odd that Ottawa general manager Pierre Dorion has felt the need to spin it to make himself and the Senators look better by saying he stalled on the trade long enough so the Rangers would be on the hook for the $2 million bonus owed and paid to Brassard on July 15.

The Post has learned that is not the way the deal — first hatched in a conversation between Blueshirts GM Jeff Gorton and Dorion on the draft floor in Buffalo on June 25 — went down.

Sources report the Rangers agreed to pay the $2 million only if Ottawa would add a 2018 second-round draft choice into the mix. When the cost-conscious Senators agreed, the deal — though not finalized until Monday morning — was done. The Blueshirts sent a 2018 seventh-rounder the other way to complete the trade.”

In other words, the New York Rangers essentially bought that second round pick for the cool price of $2-million.

I don’t really blame Dorion for spinning this tale when a large sect of the fan base gets their gist of Senators news from the local newspapers or local radio, but for the fans who getting as much information and analysis from a variety of other outlets or alternatives, Dorion’s comments are so transparently disingenuous.

From the get-go, this situation reeked like one in which the Senators moved a higher draft pick in exchange for the Rangers picking up the tab on Brassard’s signing bonus, but here we are.

Why the organization and Dorion continue to believe that they operate in this protected media bubble in the year 2016 is beyond me, but it’d be better for Dorion to say nothing than repeatedly state the opposite of what’s going on, but he can’t. It’s like he has this compulsive desire to cover his owner’s ass whenever he speaks publicly.

On what else those cost savings can be applied to and whether it gives the organization more flexibility to reach an agreement with a Mike Hoffman and/or Cody Ceci…

“Well, it gives us flexibility to do a lot of things. But at the same time, we didn’t control the fact that Allan Walsh got a frontloaded deal for Derick Brassard two years ago. We can’t control the fact that the Rangers paid $13-million in the first two years of a five-year, $25-million deal. The reason we did this deal is to make us a better hockey team and if it allows us to do other things, even better. That was our thinking behind it when we were talking. You know, I said, ‘I’ll just stall bit a few more days,’ and then stall a few more days. The asking price went down and when we felt that we could make a deal, we went ahead and did it.”

Except that the New York Rangers were the team that leveraged this July 15th deadline and suckered the Senators into moving their second round pick.

On drafting Mika Zibanejad and at what point he lost a bit of faith in him and decided that he’s an asset the organization could part with…

“No, I don’t think you’re… I don’t agree with your comments here, just for the simple fact that I never lost faith in Mika. We’ve never lost faith in Mika. Our coaching staff was excited to have the chance to coach him. This was more about what we got in return. We’re not going to be able to get Derick Brassard for a seventh round pick in (each) of the next three years. We have to give up something (to get Brassard). So there was never a loss of faith in Mika. You know, it was a tough phone call today to Mika. You’re part of… you’re maybe the person that is the most responsible for drafting him at that point in time – the person who’s seen him the most. You’ve gone through, if you think (about) how many years now that you’ve been with a player, I think it’s six years that we’ve been with the player. Pardon if I’m off on years from the time that we’ve drafted him to today and from there, you just… you’re kind of like moving on in another direction. It was not about losing faith in Mika, it was about making our team better.”

Saving a few million down the road isn’t going to cut it alone, there’s going to be considerable pressure now on the team and Brassard to be better. The whole premise of the deal from Ottawa’s standpoint is that they’re getting the “better player” right now and he will just conveniently happens to cost less money down the road. If Brassard’s performance don’t measure up however, the organization’s going to face more criticism than what its getting right now.

On it looks like he is trying to surround his younger core with more leadership and if that’s the case, on why is it necessary…

“I think that’s very fair. I think that’s a good point. From day one that I’ve been GM of the Ottawa Senators, I’ve said, ‘I’m happy with our top-six forwards.’ I’ve said that publicly and I’ve said that privately. I’ve said, ‘For us to get better, we have to improve our role players and we have improve our leadership.’ Even though I’m happy with our leadership, we can never have enough leaders. And through what we’ve done since I’ve taken over (on) April 10th with our management group, hiring the coaches we have, targeting certain people that we wanted to bring back – one of them is Chris Kelly, targeting left-handed centremen – Derick was definitely someone that we targeted, not just for his playing ability, but all the other intangibles that he brings. When you find out a lot about Derick Brassard, you talk to Mark Stone and you ask him what type of guy he is, you find out a lot of positive things on how he could fit into your room. It’s a direction that we’ve wanted to go (in) from day one since I’ve taken over this role. Things, pieces, aren’t put in place all together. They’re put in one-by-one and that’s what we’re trying to do here: one-by-one putting in pieces where we feel comfortable where we can compete to make the playoffs and once we get into the playoffs hopefully… not hopefully, but once we get into the playoffs then we can challenge against some of the better teams.”

Even though the addition of Chris Kelly helps create a buffer between the parent roster and a number of younger prospects who may not be ready to contribute now, I’m still a bit apprehensive when it comes to the state of the bottom-six forwards. I’ve written about it before in great detail, so I won’t rehash too many of the details now, but if Zack Smith and Jean-Gabriel Pageau are removed from Mark Stone, it’s going to be interesting to see how much their performance drops. Some natural regression in Smith’s game was bound to happen anyway, but as we saw at the beginning of last season when Pageau was anchored by wingers who struggled to transition the puck up ice and sustain pressure in the offensive zone, his game suffered considerably.

I know in the interview that Dorion referenced Mark Stone as a reference for Brassard, but I’m assuming he meant to say Marc Methot, who spent a number of seasons playing with Brassard in Columbus.

On projecting out and how he envisions the the centre ice position shaking out in Ottawa…

“Well, I think (it’s a) good problem to have. Of all the picks… I’ll go on the record and say and I’ll probably regret this, of all the picks that we’ve made over my course of all the years in Ottawa, probably the most exciting we made, our fans will say it will be Erik Karlsson, but in our last two years, taking Logan Brown this year and taking Thomas Chabot and Colin White, I know we’ve added blue chip prospects to our organization. I know we’ve added top-six forwards one day when they’re physically and mentally mature, a top-four defenceman or even better than that to our organization, so having a lot of centremen is a really good problem to have. Guys that play centre can move and adjust to the wing very easily compared to wingers moving back to centre. So if we have too many good players, that’s only a good problem to have.”

Recency bias probably plays a large role here, but it’s reasonable to claim that Anders Forsberg’s pleas for the Senators to trade up and draft Erik Karlsson probably saved Bryan Murray’s job. For as much as I like the White, Chabot and Brown picks, Karlsson’s selection altered the course of this franchise and I’d hate to think of how dark the days would have been without this generational talent in the lineup.

On which player he expects to gain the most from the addition of Brassard to the roster…

“Oh, I’ll throw five names at you. I will say Bobby Ryan or Mark Stone because they’re both right wingers and whoever plays with Derick will (be fed) the puck more on his forehand from Derick’s forehand. Or if it’s a power play situation, Erik Karlsson. Or, I’ll even throw Mike Hoffman, Clarke MacArthur or Zack Smith’s (names out there). So I think a lot of players can benefit playing with Derick Brassard. I know our fans don’t know him as well as we do, but I can tell you, I was very excited to make this deal today and I think our management group was elated. I think the happiest person of them all is our coach. He actually said a few nice things about me today.”

Now Brassard played predominantly as part of an all left-handed line with Zuccarello and Nash, so it will be slightly different distributing the puck to his current right-handed alternatives, but what’s interesting is that by going through Brassard’s scoring logs last season, he only assisted on three of Rick Nash’s 15 goals last season and of those three goals, only one came was via Brassard’s primary assist. Compare that to Zuccarello, who manned the right wing, and Brassard assisted on 10 of Zuccarello’s goals. Maybe that’s something or maybe it’s nothing, but when Brassard is being relied upon to improve the performance of his right wingers – which, given the struggles Zibanejad had gelling with Ryan — I’m hoping that asking for improvement here isn’t too big of a stretch.

On another note, it might be worthwhile keeping an eye on how the Senators employ Brassard on the power play during training camp and the preseason. As a left-hand shot, the Senators may elect to use him on the right-hand half-wall where he can use his vision and distribute the puck.

On whether there are any updates on the Mike Hoffman situation…

“We’re working hard. I think they’re working hard to get a deal done and we’re working hard to get a deal done. We obviously would like to avoid a one-year arbitration (award). We want what’s best for our hockey team and our fans. The only good point and it could be a bad point: we know we have Mike Hoffman playing for us for at least one more year. But, we’re going to work at (getting him locked up to a contract extension). We all want to sign Mike Hoffman. I can’t say more than that. It’s been, again today, I talked with his agent. We’ve talked. He’s been a pleasure to deal with. We’ve had numerous conversations over the last few weeks from the draft on, so we’re working at it. We still have until August 4th and after that, we’ll probably have 48 hours if we still go to arbitration to get something done.”

One player who went through an arbitration case before coming to terms on a contract extension before the arbitrator made a decision was P.K. Subban, so if you’re worried about the Senators coming to terms on a new deal with Hoffman, there’s still tons of time to get this done.

On how contract talks with Cody Ceci are progressing…

“Real good talks with J.P. Barry on Friday and over the course of the weekend. We exchanged emails today, so we’re working on something. Whether it’s in the short or mid or long-term, we’ve got a few options on the table. (Cody Ceci and Mike Hoffman) will both be playing for the Ottawa Senators on October 12th.”

Gravy.

On making a deal for the now and believing that this team is close to contention…

“One-hundred percent. I wouldn’t have taken this job if I didn’t feel that we could be a contender now. I hear people that say, ‘Oh yeah, you guys are young. You’re going to be good in two or three years,’ and that’s not my thinking at all. Why can’t we be good now? We’ve been young and hungry. We’ve been the pesky Sens. Why can’t we challenge, first of all, make the playoffs and challenge some of the better teams? I really think that we’re going to surprise a lot of people once the season comes around and I think it has to do our personnel, I think it has to do with our attitude, I think it has to do with our accountability and I’ll even put a bit of pressure on our coaches. I think it has to do with our coaches too.”

It’s hard for me to look at the current iteration of the roster, with my concerns regarding their bottom-six and bottom-four defensive issues, and not think that this team will be anything more than a bubble team that may get into the first round of the playoffs, but ultimately needs to get lucky and get a favourable opponent to escape the first round. Projecting forward, to me, it feels like the organization really needs blue chippers like Logan Brown, Colin White and Thomas Chabot to pan out for this current core to really take a massive step forward and help this organization reach a higher level, but how many years will it take for these prospects to establish themselves and become productive players? Will the rest of Ottawa’s young core even be cost-efficient or still be around at that point? I don’t know, but these are kinds of nagging questions that I have in the back of my mind.

On whether he is still looking at adding a depth defenceman…

“Yes. Yes, but in saying that, if (Michael) Kostka, (Fredrik) Claesson, Patrick Sieloff are five, six or seven, I feel comfortable starting the season. There’s no doubt about that. I said in a few interviews over the past few weeks that Chris Wideman’s play at the World Championships really excited me. I think Chris, last year, played a bit tentative and didn’t want to showcase everything that we had seen from him in the previous year in the American (Hockey) League where he was a dominant, transitional, jump in the play, move the puck kind of guy. And I know it’s the American (Hockey) League, but a lot of players that have done it in the American (Hockey) League at a younger age can do it at the NHL level, so of course we’re going to look to add. Whether it’s through a trade again or through free agency, that might be one position we look at. I think we’re done up front once Mike Hoffman is – either his arbitration hearing is done or we’ve signed a contract there – I think we’re done there, but if we can add one defenceman, it would not be something that I would object to.”

If Dorion’s comfortable entering a season with Kostka, Claesson and Sieloff as his fifth, sixth and seventh defencemen, he’s probably alone on an island.

Like Dorion however, I’m a little excited for Chris Wideman’s sophomore season. Last year I found that he was in survival mode. After starting most of the early stretches of the season on the bench, once he got into the lineup, it was like he was afraid to make mistakes or play to his strengths. As a puck-moving defenceman, turnovers and mistakes are going to happen and last year, it just seemed at times like he played conservatively to the point where it worked to his detriment. I don’t know whether Dave Cameron’s presence played a part in how Wideman dumbed down his game, but I’m really hoping to see more from Wideman this season and hopefully, Guy Boucher is the coach who can bring out the best in him.

On how he feels now that the Zibanejad trade is the biggest one under his belt…

“You mean Patrick Sieloff for Alex Chiasson was not my biggest deal? For me, our management group, our coaching staff, I think even some of our players, think we took a significant step forward today. The pick is the pick. We had to give up something to get that player, but at the end of the day, I feel really confidently that this type of trade that we made today and what we’ve done since the end of the season is definitely putting us in the right direction to get back to our goal of making the playoffs.”

And if it doesn’t help put the Senators in a playoff position, there are going to be a lot more questions directed Dorion’s way.

http://proxy.autopod.ca/podcasts/chum/186/44547/dorion.mp3

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LGHL Ohio State baseball in the pros 2016 season review

Ohio State baseball in the pros 2016 season review
Ben Martens
via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


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The minor league season is over and the MLB playoffs are in full swing. How did former Ohio State players fare in pro ball this season?

Somehow, October is half over. The leaves are changing, the temperatures are dropping, and the baseball world has all eyes on the MLB postseason. It was a year of development, career breakthroughs, and in a couple of cases setbacks for former Ohio State ballplayers in the pro game in 2016.

The big news for the Buckeyes was the major league debut of right-handed pitcher Alex Wimmers, the first ever Ohio State player to win Big Ten Pitcher of the Year back-to-back and the second to in program history to be named a first-team All-American twice. Wimmers was a first round pick of the Minnesota Twins, No. 21 overall, in 2010, and after nearly six full seasons in the minors, was called up on August 26th.

In 16 appearances out of Minnesota's bullpen, Wimmers tossed 17.1 innings, allowing eight runs on 14 hits, posting a 1-3 record and a 4.15 earned run average. The 27-year old struggled with his command, though, striking out 14 while walking 11, and is not guaranteed a big league roster spot in 2017.

After Wimmers, the most successful former Ohio State player in the big leagues was outfielder J.B. Shuck of the Chicago White Sox. Bouncing between the Sox and Triple-A, Shuck appeared in 80 major league games, slashing .205/.248/.299 with four home runs, 14 RBIs, 27 runs scored, and three stolen bases. Much like Wimmers, Shuck will have to earn a big league roster spot in spring training, be it in Chicago or elsewhere in 2017.

Catcher Eric Fryer also saw major league action after winning a job with the St. Louis Cardinals in spring training. Fryer, 31, was a 10th round pick of the Milwaukee Brewers in 2007, and has bounced around a bit in his pro career. 2016 was no different, as the Cardinals designated him for assignment in late-June and he was claimed off waivers by thePittsburgh Pirates. Overall between the two clubs, Fryer had a .267/.336/.319 slash line with four doubles, 13 RBIs, and 19 runs scored in 60 games.

As was the case at the all-star break, the situation for Buckeyes in the minor leagues was far more exciting. In addition to Wimmers, several players progressed through their respective systems, and a few may get opportunities to make their big league clubs next season. Here's a look at how the MiLBers fared in 2016:

  • Brad Goldberg (Chicago White Sox): It's been quite a year for Goldberg, who made the jump from Double-A to Triple-A early in the season, earned a trip to the Triple-A all-star game, and finished out the year with a 3-5 record, 10 saves, and a 2.84 ERA in 50.2 innings pitched for the Charlotte Knights. He also played for Team Israel in the World Baseball Classic qualifying round, and picked up saves in the two deciding games played in Brooklyn to send his country to the WBC in Seoul, South Korea next March.
  • John Kuchno (Pittsburgh Pirates): Kuhno, a right-handed pitcher, struggled in splitting the season bouncing between Double-A Altoona and Triple-A Indianapolis, posting a collective 3-5 record in 38 appearances, with a 4.59 ERA in 84.1 innings of work.
  • Travis Lakins (Boston Red Sox): Pitching for the Advanced Single-A Salem Red Sox, the highest-drafted Buckeye in 2015 had a rough go of things in his first full pro season. In 19 games that included 18 starts, Lakins went 6-3, but posted an ERA of 5.93, an opponents' batting average of .299, and a 1.62 WHIP. It should be pointed out, though, that the Carolina League, which is home to the Salem ballclub, is a notorious hitter's paradise among the highest-scoring of all the affiliated minor leagues.
  • Jaron Long (Washington Nationals): Long, another right-handed pitcher, was released by the New York Yankees organization just before the season, and signed on with the Washington Nationals. He was promoted from Double-A to Triple-A in early June, but was demoted back to Double-A in late July and went on the disabled list in early August. Long finished the season with a 5-6 mark in 19 games (18 starts), posting a 3.20 ERA in 107 innings.
  • Corey Luebke (Miami Marlins): Luebke began the year with such promise, making the Opening Day roster of the Pittsburgh Pirates out of spring training. But he was shelled in nine relief appearances and ultimately released by the Bucs before signing a minor league deal with Miami. He made a total of 15 appearances running the gamut from Advanced Single-A to Triple-A, posting a 1.95 ERA and 35 strikeouts to just three walks in 24.1 innings.
  • Brett McKinney (Pittsburgh Pirates): Another righty in the Pirates organization, McKinney spent the entirety of the season with Double-A Altoona. Appearing in 44 games out of the pen, he posted a 2-2 record with a 3.90 ERA and better than a 2-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
  • Pat Porter (Houston Astros): Porter, a 15th round pick of the Astros in 2015, struggled in his first full pro season. Playing for Single-A Quad Cities, the outfielder slashed just .185/.286/.331 in 96 games, with 10 doubles, six triples, nine home runs, and 37 RBIs.
  • Ryan Riga (Chicago White Sox): A left-handed pitcher and 13th round pick in 2015, Riga, like Lakins, was promoted to Advanced Single-A in the Carolina League with Winston-Salem and got knocked around. He finished the year with 37 appearances (five starts) covering 76.2 innings and a 5.40 ERA.
  • Drew Rucinski (Chicago Cubs): Rucinski spent the entire season in the starting rotation for the Triple-A Iowa Cubs of the Pacific Coast League. He posted a 7-15 record with a 5.92 ERA in 28 starts, yielding a .301 batting average against and a WHIP of 1.48 in 155 innings of work. Rucinski had perhaps the greatest outing of his pro career back on May 28th, taking a perfect game into the seventh inning, and ultimately allowing just a run on three hits in eight innings of work.

Connor Sabanosh (San Francisco Giants): Sabanosh, a former co-captain for Ohio State, went undrafted but signed a free agent contract with the Giants in March. He was assigned to the Arizona Rookie League, where he slashed .265/.381/.324 with two doubles and six RBIs in 12 games played.

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BTN Week 8 primer: Wisconsin’s next tough test? At rival Iowa

Week 8 primer: Wisconsin’s next tough test? At rival Iowa
Tom Dienhart, BTN.com Senior Writer via Big Ten Network

Week 8 features all 14 teams in action in seven games. And all eyes will be on two games, one from each division that will go a long way in shaping the races: Ohio State at Penn State in the East and Wisconsin at Iowa in the West.
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