Via KK, MarketWire reports that the Ottawa Senators have traded defenseman Lawrence Nycholat for Right Winger Ryan Shannon.
What does this mean for the Sens? On the plus side, Shannon went 27GP, 5-8--13 for .481P/G, playing 3rd and 4th line minutes. He also happens to have won a Stanley Cup, with the Ducks. You're forgiven for not remembering him though, as he didn't play in the Final against us.
He did play in the other three rounds, appearing in 11 games, with a contribution of 6PIM. That season, he did nearly as well as this one, scoring 2-9--11. Only that was in 53GP, for .208P/G, hardly comparable performance. It'll undoubtedly take some time to see where this spry young lad will fit in (and at 5'9 and 175lbs, this 25 year old is definitely spry), but my guess is that the Sens didn't feel they had anything but excess on defense, and his one-way contract made sense to dump. While the Binghamton Sens will miss the 12-37--49 he contributed in 77GP, for .636P/G, with guys like Bell, Carkner, Lee, Kudelka, and Karlsson, I imagine it would indeed have been that contract that set Nycholat apart. I do with him luck with Vancouver, just as I wish Shannon luck in contributing to one Sens squad or the other, without any injuries I hope.
Showing posts with label Nycholat. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Nycholat. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Senators Off Season Needs, Part 2
A whole month now passed, and barely a trickle of excitement has come for us loyal Sens fans, the most die-hard of us who unlike our sport don't take a vacation from our passion. A whole month, and apart from the relief we feel at the re-signing of Christoph Schubert, Ray Emery and Chris Kelly, and a few other signings, the only significant move was the trading of Peter Schaefer to the Boston Bruins for Shean Donovan.
This leaves us wanting more, and with the team needing more. This off-season, we've lost Mike Comrie to the New York Islanders, Tom Preissing to the Los Angeles Kings, and Oleg Saprykin has signed with CSKA Moscow. That leaves three holes in the roster. If one trusts the Sens web roster, it would seem that Donovan will likely replace Schaefer's spot on the bench, and perhaps Lawrence Nycholat will play more regularly with the loss of Preissing. However, as the roster still lists Oleg Saprykin, we can't be sure how trustworthy it is, keeping in mind how often the Sens website is slow to update, although they were quick to put Kelly back on after their announcement this morning.
That still leaves two holes at forward, and with only 4.97 million in cap space, finding more replacements is the daunting task facing Brian Murray. To guard against potential long-term injuries, Murray would like to keep some cap space free, so that he could make a move similar to the one that brought Comrie to us when our ranks were depleted with injuries last winter. As well, while he did not pursue any playoff rentals this past season, keeping additional cap space open to pursue that option this upcoming season might tighten Murray's pursestrings even more.
With Paddock and Murray's similarities, we might expect that Schubert will again see a majority of his games played on the wing, filling one of the two holes up front, and leaving Nycholat to take permanent hold of the last spot on the third defensive pairing. As for the front end, it will take Murray some creativity to pull out an additional forward or two. His current roster and cap troubles mean that Brian McGrattan might see a significant increase in ice time over last season. This would also fit with Murray's trade for Donovan, with both he and Grats able to toughen up the Sens, who seemed completely battered throughout their series with Anaheim.
At the moment the Sens have six right wings, four centres, and one left wing. If Schubert were to move up to left wing again, Paddock would just be able to ice the needed twelve forwards and six defensemen. With only 6 million, this would be an ideal time to look to the Binghamton Senators for a few extra players. While few blinding stars appear on their roster, previously called up players like Danny Bois and Joshua Hennessy, Bingo Sens with NHL experience such as Michal Barinka and Nicholas Dimitrakos, or other prospects on the roster might be called up and given a chance to prove themselves.
As the Ducks proved to us in the finals, it helps to have many youngsters who provide a big punch while only taking a nibble at the salary cap, like Ryan Getzlaf (25-33--58), Dustin Penner (29-16--45) and Corey Perry (17-27--44), each less than a 0.75 million dollar cap hit. Only time will tell if we can find the same kind of diamonds in our Binghamton Senators rough proving ground.
This leaves us wanting more, and with the team needing more. This off-season, we've lost Mike Comrie to the New York Islanders, Tom Preissing to the Los Angeles Kings, and Oleg Saprykin has signed with CSKA Moscow. That leaves three holes in the roster. If one trusts the Sens web roster, it would seem that Donovan will likely replace Schaefer's spot on the bench, and perhaps Lawrence Nycholat will play more regularly with the loss of Preissing. However, as the roster still lists Oleg Saprykin, we can't be sure how trustworthy it is, keeping in mind how often the Sens website is slow to update, although they were quick to put Kelly back on after their announcement this morning.
That still leaves two holes at forward, and with only 4.97 million in cap space, finding more replacements is the daunting task facing Brian Murray. To guard against potential long-term injuries, Murray would like to keep some cap space free, so that he could make a move similar to the one that brought Comrie to us when our ranks were depleted with injuries last winter. As well, while he did not pursue any playoff rentals this past season, keeping additional cap space open to pursue that option this upcoming season might tighten Murray's pursestrings even more.
With Paddock and Murray's similarities, we might expect that Schubert will again see a majority of his games played on the wing, filling one of the two holes up front, and leaving Nycholat to take permanent hold of the last spot on the third defensive pairing. As for the front end, it will take Murray some creativity to pull out an additional forward or two. His current roster and cap troubles mean that Brian McGrattan might see a significant increase in ice time over last season. This would also fit with Murray's trade for Donovan, with both he and Grats able to toughen up the Sens, who seemed completely battered throughout their series with Anaheim.
At the moment the Sens have six right wings, four centres, and one left wing. If Schubert were to move up to left wing again, Paddock would just be able to ice the needed twelve forwards and six defensemen. With only 6 million, this would be an ideal time to look to the Binghamton Senators for a few extra players. While few blinding stars appear on their roster, previously called up players like Danny Bois and Joshua Hennessy, Bingo Sens with NHL experience such as Michal Barinka and Nicholas Dimitrakos, or other prospects on the roster might be called up and given a chance to prove themselves.
As the Ducks proved to us in the finals, it helps to have many youngsters who provide a big punch while only taking a nibble at the salary cap, like Ryan Getzlaf (25-33--58), Dustin Penner (29-16--45) and Corey Perry (17-27--44), each less than a 0.75 million dollar cap hit. Only time will tell if we can find the same kind of diamonds in our Binghamton Senators rough proving ground.
Sunday, July 15, 2007
Senators Re-Sign Defenseman Lawrence Nycholat, Sign Right Wing Niko Dimitrakos
We can all wake up from the sleepy off-season we Sens fans have witnessed so far, because there's been some action. While the re-signing of green defenseman Lawrence Nycholat and signing of right wing Niko Dimitrakos is but a drop compared to the splashes of other teams, it is a good sign.
Nycholat only has 28 NHL games to his name, and at 27 he probably won't be filling the void left by Preissing. However, playing for the Rangers pre-lockout and the Capitals this season didn't give Nycholat as many defensive leaders to learn from as the Sens can offer. As Phillips and Redden have helped guide the younger set, Mezaros and Volchenkov, so too can they help to improve Nycholat. While his -3 rating over 18 games with the capitals last season was nothing to be proud of, he did manage 8 points, which if continued could help to offset the points we lost with Preissing.
As for Niko Dimitrakos, he could help to provide some more depth, perhaps in preparation for freeing up cap space by moving a forward, such as Schaefer.
Nycholat only has 28 NHL games to his name, and at 27 he probably won't be filling the void left by Preissing. However, playing for the Rangers pre-lockout and the Capitals this season didn't give Nycholat as many defensive leaders to learn from as the Sens can offer. As Phillips and Redden have helped guide the younger set, Mezaros and Volchenkov, so too can they help to improve Nycholat. While his -3 rating over 18 games with the capitals last season was nothing to be proud of, he did manage 8 points, which if continued could help to offset the points we lost with Preissing.
As for Niko Dimitrakos, he could help to provide some more depth, perhaps in preparation for freeing up cap space by moving a forward, such as Schaefer.
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