Senators need a scorer in Yashin's absence - Nexei Yashin - Ottawa Senators hockey team - Brief Article

1998-99 RECORD: 44-23-15 (1st in the Northeas0; lost to Buffalo in Eastern Conference quarterfinals.

FIVE-YEAR RECORD: 136-185-55 (.435, ranks 22nd in NHL in that span).

FOOD NEWS: The Senators have perhaps the best group of defensemen in the NHL--Igor Kravchuk, Wade Redden, Jason York, Sami Salo, Janne Laukkanen, Chris Phillips and Patrick Traverse. They are capable of moving the puck with a good outlet pass, which allows the forwards to get the puck on the move. The addition of forwards Rob Zamuner and Kevin Dineen should address the character question, which emerged when the Sabres swept the Senators in the quarterfinals last spring.

BAD NEWS: C Nexei Yashin and the Senators are in a contract dispute, and he's currently in Switzerland, where he is training with a team coached by Russian Olympic coach Vladimir Yurzinov. Yashin is not honoring the final year of his contract unless he gets a two-year extension in the $23 million range. Yashin's 44 goals will be hard to replace because the Senators are not deep at the center position. Vaclav Prospal was the club's second-line center last season, but he had only 10 goals and was often on the bench. Radek Bone the third-line center, went through a long holdout before signing. Ron Tugnutt has emerged as the No. 1 goaltender, but questions remain about his ability to perform well in big games. The Senators also will attempt to improve their special teams play. The team ranked 15th in power play-goals last season. Without Yashin, it will be difficult to improve in that department.

WORKING OVERTIME: Under coach Jacques Martin, the Senators have pared their goals-against average from 2.81 to 2.15 the past three seasons and managed to boost their offense. But with Yashin out of the lineup, the team will have to concentrate on allowing even fewer goals. The Senators need someone on the blue line to do a better job of quarterbacking the powerplay unit. Kravchuk had only three goals, although he received most of the playing time, and that's not acceptable. Redden and a healthy Laukkanen could get more lime on the blue line.

SEE A DIFFERENT GAME: On defense, the Senators use their speed to put pressure on the puck. While one member is doing the angling, another is moving to cut off the most obvious lane for an outlet pass. When the Senators are playing well, you will see opponents take less than three strides with the puck before moving it. The Senators then use their good speed to create turnovers.

AFTE 82 GAMES: The Senators, even without Yashin, should be a playoff team in the Eastern Conference. Although no one can replace Yashin, the team should expect increased production from a player such as Marian Hessa. He missed the first quarter of last season because of knee surgery but is showing signs of being a standout player.

GRADING OUT

COACHING        A
FORWARDS        B
DEFENSEMEN      A
GOALTENDERS     B
SPECIAL TEAMS   C
FRONT OFFICE    C

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