Is Shastlivy going to be the 13th man?

I wonder if Martin is intending to keep Shast as the 13th man once Fisher gets back. The upside is that he should be healthy when they need him and will always be available if the team needs a "spark". The downside is obviously that he'll never reach his potential.

On an aside, I don't get why everyone here loves Schaefer so much, he has done nothing yet production-wise. He's a good role-player but if he isn't going to produce 10-40 at the minimum I say chuck him and just play Vermette.

I wonder if Martin is intending to keep Shast as the 13th man once Fisher gets back. The upside is that he should be healthy when they need him and will always be available if the team needs a "spark". The downside is obviously that he'll never reach his potential.

On an aside, I don't get why everyone here loves Schaefer so much, he has done nothing yet production-wise. He's a good role-player but if he isn't going to produce 10-40 at the minimum I say chuck him and just play Vermette.

Where is the blatent bias against Schaefer coming from? His game is clearly not point production, as he brings fast legs, above average vision and top notch boardwork. If nothing else, the perfect plug on a line looking for a catalyst. Obviously, if things work like they did last year and he sticks with a line of Havlat and Spezza, I think the point production will come by the ton. I just see thru the point production, and look to what he adds to the players around him, thats all. That said, I think he's put some good plays together and had some shining moments thus far, but, similar to the rest of the team, hasn't found the groove quite yet. I have a feeling that he'll "find that groove" with Spezza and Havlat. How could he not? That line is pure insinct. Very excited to see this line against Wash.

As for Schast, the man I had (have? hmm...) such good word for seems non-existent right now. It could be revealed throughout the course of this year, that he is the type of guy that needs an Alfredsson to get him going. I know, I know, who doesn't?! But what I'm saying is that unless he's got someone creating the opportunities for him to finish, he'll be rotting away on the 4th line. He does have good wheels, and his biggest asset is that sharp wrist shot that he can get off from just about anywhere, other than that though, he doesn't dig or doesn't show that he can create the opportunities for himself. Regardless, 5 games into the season is a little premature to be on his case or anyones, for that matter. Let us shake off that untimely California road swing and get in the groove with some east coast games. Get these guys some rhythm, some lines and some chemistry and then we'll see who's going to show their true colours. I am still optimistic about Schastlivy, but I'm afraid he's going to need some help to bring his potential out. That is going to take some chemistry and routine, rhythm. One thing for sure is being bumped from 3rd line, to 1st, back to 4th isn't going to do much for the guy, I'm afraid.

Also, as much as he's shown he's got the wheels and positioning on NHL ice, Antoine Vermette is going to have to get the foreseen boot back to the AHL at some point sooner or later. Probably more sooner than later. The kid has played great, but he's gotta be eating up time in AHL to get himself more confidence. I read in the paper this morning that Van Allen said he's still nervous out there. Though this doesn't exactly jump out at you, it is quite apparent, as often he looks too quick to make a decision. Eating up time in the AHL would only help alleviate this.

I wonder if Martin is intending to keep Shast as the 13th man once Fisher gets back. The upside is that he should be healthy when they need him and will always be available if the team needs a "spark". The downside is obviously that he'll never reach his potential.

On an aside, I don't get why everyone here loves Schaefer so much, he has done nothing yet production-wise. He's a good role-player but if he isn't going to produce 10-40 at the minimum I say chuck him and just play Vermette.

Vermette would have trouble getting 10-40 right now in the NHL, so I don't see why Shaeffer's gotta get that to keep his spot, especially when his work along the boards and his work-ethic in general help secure himself a spot on this team.

As for Schastlivy, I don't want him to be the 13th man once we at full strength. I think we need a pure offensive threat from the left side on this team, and Schastlivy's the only guy that can provide that. I love the shoot-first, ask-later approach that he has, and it makes him a good fit for some of our top lines.

Personally, Van Allen should be the guy who sits when we're at full strength. He adds an important dimension on the fourth line, but putting Fisher in that spot gives us a little more skill in that area. We're likely not going to be healthy the entire season though, so everyone's going to get a chance to play.

Someone in the pre-season mentioned jokingly that we could afford to give every player on the team rotating 2 week vacations and it's actually starting to sound like a viable idea.

I understand that Schaefer's value goes beyond his point production, but if at the end of this season he doesn't reach 10-40 playing with the linemates he has, it would be silly to keep him, IMO. I would much rather see Vermette up there. Then again if it comes down to Schaefer Vs. Varada I would probably go with Schaefer.

A beautiful problem, isn't it.

I think who sits will depend on the opponent.

If we are playing a softer team, I could see Neil sitting. Otherwise, I think Van Allen should sit. Really, when guys are healthy, he's not a PK guy (Hossa, Fisher, White, Schaefer are 4 guys), because he lacks speed. He's a great fourth line center, but I think with our depth, he isn't necessary.

I don't see Schastlivy sitting unless he's slumping. He plays strong two-ways, and has the best scoring potential of our "natural" left wingers.

I'd like to think that Van Allen will hit the press box when the lineup is healthy. He's taken some AWFUL penalties so far.

If all 13 are healthy, then I'd opt to do a bit of a rotation, with Van Allen being the main guy to sit. Neil and Schastlivy might also get a game off here and there (Neil when it looks like the team won't have a bonafide enforcer in the line-up).

Schaefer has already scored 15+ many goals in the NHL on several occassions, so I'm not sure why his upside has all of a sudden been dropped. He's also one of the better penalty killers on the team. I'm not sure why they continue to play Vermette on the PK - he has struggled up there.

I haven't seen any of the Sens games but i've listened to most of them and I hear Schastlivy's name quite a bit in most games, like he gets a few good scoring chances but also works hard on the defense side as well. I don't know exactly how good of a two way player he is, but just from listening it sounds fairly good. And of course he does have a good shot. I wouldn't worry about him, may not be scoring but neither are a lot of players in the NHL (Shanahan for instance :rant: ).

I agree with rotating the 13th forward. Honestly, how many games can we actually expect the entire lineup to be healthy for? 30?

So sit Van Allen for a few games, as well as Schastlivy and Neil. At the end of the season, guys like Alfie and Havlat will be sitting with "the flu", so it really won't amount to too many games missed for any one player if it is rotated.

Van Allen takes another stupid penalty and it costs the Sens. I'm not looking at any stats, but I'm sure he leads the team in PIMS.