Bryan Murray
- Peter: E
What has he done to warrant a passing grade, so far? Nothing. Still, I'm not prepared to fail him, because he hasn't made any trades that would be negative long-term just to shake things up. And I'm pretty sure he'll make a deal at some point by the trade deadline. - Garrioch: D+
- Peter: E
He came in saying he would hold people accountable. He hasn't. He tried to institute a defensive system, but it didn't work consistently. Still, this team has gone through plenty of coaches, so he can't be the only problem. - Garrioch: D+
- Peter: F
Nothing to warrant a passing grade. At least he was a good team player, but he's not even doing well in the AHL right now. Nice guy, but no. - Garrioch: F
- Peter: B-
He came in to be the backup. He was a good backup for a while. Then he was a good starter. Then he lost his groove, probably because he played too much, and now he's an unknown backup. Hopefully he'll be a good backup, but he's been one of few bright spots (at times) on this team. - Garrioch: C-
- Peter: Unknown
He's doing well so far. We'll have to wait and see how he does in other chances he may get to give him a real grade, though. - Garrioch: N/A
- Peter: D+
Phillips is trying to jump into the rush, and his defensive game is suffering as a result. As a shut-down defenceman, you expect better than a team-worst -19, even if he is consistently playing against the opposition's top scorers. He's a number-3 defenceman playing as a number two, which isn't really putting him in the position to succeed. I actually think his offensive game is better than many gave him credit for, he just has to balance that with the good defence needed from him. - Garrioch: C-
- Peter: D-
Schubert's an effective fourth-line forward. Schubert is not an effective NHL defenceman. He needs to either completely rehaul his defensive game, or he needs to get the picture and realize that his best chance in the NHL is at forward. - Garrioch: F
- Peter: C
Picard hasn't been consistent enough. He's shown signs of great physicality, with some big hits, and signs of great offensive ability, with nice passes and five powerplay goals. He's also had plenty of giveaways, though, and weak defensive coverage. - Garrioch: C-
- Peter: B-
Although Bell has been scratched quite a bit recently, he has actually seemed pretty reliable in my opinion. He's not going to blow anyone away defensively, but he's good enough, and his offensive abilities--especially on the powerplay--make up for any defensive deficiencies. - Garrioch: C
- Peter: A
I don't know why, but I like this guy a lot. He may have some defensive flaws, but he's a good skater, and he can keep a player in check even if he's not going to throw many bodychecks. He looks good on the powerplay, and would be nice to keep around for next season if the price is right. I mean... he's fourth on the team in scoring (1G, 23A) in fewer games than most others have played, gobbles up minutes, and is a team-leading +11. - Garrioch: B-
- Peter: D
Smith has definitely struggled this season. His lack of speed has made him especially vulnerable to speedy forwards, and he's been caught flat-footed on far more than a few occasions. He was never expected to be a top-four defenseman, but he hasn't quite lived up to expectations. - Garrioch: D+
- Peter: C+
It's been a pretty short stint so far for Brian, but he's done well enough alongside Chris Phillips on the team's first defence pairing. He can appear a little soft at times, but he's usually pretty good on his check, and can skate well with the puck. - Garrioch: N/A
- Peter:B-
Volchenstein has been pretty close to his normal self. It must be getting harder and harder to order Soviet-era replacement parts for our shot-blocking robot, because he's missed a fair number of games due to injury, but he'll be back. You'd better believe he'll be back. - Garrioch: C-
- Peter:B+
Alfredsson is awesome. Still, you can see that he's slowing down as the season goes on, and I'm pretty sure it's because he over-exerted himself earlier in the season trying to compensate for lesser-skilled or lesser-motivated players he was playing with. He's still got some tremendous skill and the ability to control the play, but I hope his fatigue doesn't make him vulnerable to a dangerously dangerous injury. - Garrioch: B-
- Peter: C+
Over the last 10 games or so, Spezza has played some of the best hockey of his career. He's still committing giveaways, sure, but they're fewer and farther between, and his backchecking has been... well... existent, which is something pretty new. He's been skating hard - Garrioch: C-
- Peter: D
Heatley has had an off-year, and his statistics ar edemonstrating that. Then again, just about every Senators' player has had an off-year, so he's nothing unusual. Still, after the payday that made him the highest-paid player in Senators history, and his claims for wanting to be a leader and subsequent assistant-captainship, Heatley has to give a lot more to this team. And he has to take fewer stupid, useless, frustration-induced penalties. - Garrioch: C-
- Peter: B+
Although Ruutu wasn't expected to be a huge offensive presence, it may have been hoped that he would offer a bit more than he is (3G, 9A, 39G) and would be a third-line contributor. Still, he's on pace for a career-year in assists and points, his physicality and pestmanship have been as-advertised, and his penalty-killing prowess is an added asset. - Garrioch: C-
- Peter: B
Again, it would be nice if Deaner would put up more points. He's still only making $925k, though, and he brings defensive responsibility (he's +2 on a team with very few plus-players), solid penalty-killing, and plenty of positive energy when his line gets on the ice. - Garrioch: C+
- Peter: A-
I don't see how much more you can ask of a fourth-liner making $600k, especially after he just took a 30% pay cut to stay in town. Sure, it might be nice if he could put more points away, but he's done incredibly well in limited ice-time, and his line regularly creates momentum for the team--just what's asked of them. - Garrioch: C+
- Peter: B-
Although Neil is on pace for his second-worst offensive season in his career, he's doing one thing that few other players have done in the face of offensive struggles: Using physicality to try and turn the tide. He's had (I believe) eleven fighting majors so far, and he's thrown some decent hits to boot. It's still not good enough, but at least it's something. - Garrioch: C+
- Peter: D+
Similar to Neil, Fisher has continued playing physically despite doing next to nothing offensively. The difference between the two, though, is a lot of expectations, and about $3.1M and another few years on the contract. There's no doubt that Fisher is playing as hard as he can, and his streaky nature will probably mean that the points will come, but I can only grade based on what I've seen from him. It hasn't been pretty. - Garrioch: D+
- Peter: D
Pretty much the same as Fisher, except Vermette is only making $2.75M. He's trying to sell himself as a bona fide second- (or first-, if you want to listen to him) line scorer, but 14P in 43GP doesn't get you that kind of status or paycheque. - Garrioch: D+
- Peter: C
Another player who was given a long-term contract and big-time pay raise to be a part of the team's core, but just hasn't kept pace. Kelly was never really counted on for offence, though; he brings intangibles, like defensive responsibility and great penalty killing. He hasn't disappointed with the other two, but he's still got to put up more points. - Garrioch: D+
- Peter: C-
Foligno's a fun kid to watch, and he works hard, but he's struggling a bit. Even given some time on the second powerplay unit, he hasn't put up good numbers, and he's a team-second-worst -17 on the season. He's still young, though, and hasn't had much help from his veteran teamates nor linemates, so I'll give him the benefit of the doubt. - Garrioch: C+
- Peter: C+
Winchester has been responsible defensively all season, and has produced--albeit humbly--pretty consistently. He doesn't look like the offensive producer our general manager wanted him to be, but Winchester definitely looks like an NHL player. He may be more of a third-line checker than a second-line scorer, though. - Garrioch: C-
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