Sens' Face Versus Kings' Face

Original post date: Sunday, November 4, 2007

On Friday, October 2, 2007, Jason Spezza (24) extended his contract with the Ottawa Senators until the 2014-2015 season. Translated: $49M for 7 years. The Sens have also locked up Daniel Alfredsson (34) until 2011-2012 and Dany Heatley (26) until 2013-2014 ($45 for 6 years).

Spezza – Has been only with the Senators since 2002-2003. He has logged 256 games while going 83-183=266. He is +63 with 163 PIM.

Alfredsson – Has been only with the Senators as well, for him, since 1995-1996. He's put in 794 games and is 300-47=778. He's an impressive +130 over these 11 years and has accumulated 355 PIM.

Heatley – Played 3 years at Atlanta and has been with the Sens since 2005-2006. In 366 career games, he has accumulated 188 goals, 216 assists (=404), is a plus 31, and has 306 PIM.

The line has already proven that they can produce and the Ottawa Senators has now told us that these three guys are the official future of their organization. Let's take a look at the Kings' future guys. As I write this, I have thought about who the Kings have shown to be their top boys. Once the league takes notice of this team that is near the top the Pacific Division, who are the faces they will look to? According to Robitaille (while speaking at H & HH), it's Brownie, Kopi, JMFJ, and Bernier. So let's take a look.

The Kings have started in this path by signing Brownie for a 6-year contract for $19.05M. In 206 NHL games he has gone 38-51=89 with 163 PIM. We'll just ignore his plus/minus.

My boy Anze has played in 87 games and going 25-50=75. This center has only 28 PIM. Plus/minus? What's that? But the Kings had better lock him up soon for an extended contract because I really couldn't bear to see him in any other jersey.

JMFJ is a new rookie who I will definitely be keeping my eye on. In 20 games he's gone 1-1=2. 36 PIM and a better plus/minus than the first two Kings mentioned. I see Jack growing immensely this season. He's surrounded by veteran defensemen and I bet we're going to see a noticeable difference in his playing from now to the end of this season.

Jonathan Bernier – Why do I get goose bumps whenever I hear or read his name? Because I'm a nerd and because I have put more hope than I'm comfortable with in his future. I was so sad when the Kings sent him away, but ultimately it was for the best. The boys weren't protecting him and it would have been severely damaging to his development in becoming the fucking awesome goaltender that will soon emerge.

These four guys obviously do not make up the single top line like the Sens, but they are looking to create a solid foundation for this organization to grow on. Our top line? Did the arbitration kill Cammy's shot at a long-term contract? Perhaps. But, he IS the top goal-scorer as of this writing (11). But another thing to point out about Cammy is that he's 25 (he has the same exact birthday as I do down to the year, CRAZY), and the other boys are 22, 20, 20, and 19, respectively. Fro has also been moved around in this mix; at 25 he's a solid contributor as well. But Cammy and the Fro aren't considered part of this emerging flash and dash from the Kings.

The Senators' future versus our future. Is it even comparable? What say you?