The SBP Archives - Your less than frequent dose of SBP!

Zdeno Chara

Games Played - 39, Goals - 7, Assists - 18, Points - 25, plus/minus - 20, Penalty Minutes - 100

When the opposing team's best player is on the ice, so is Chara, which pretty much sums up how important he is to the Ottawa Senators. He's not the quickest, but still tremendously agile for a man his size. His long reach and booming slap shot give him and edge over most D in the league. More than likely, Ottawa won't be able to retain both him and Wade Redden as their contracts are up this season. Chara will be given priority to stay.

Grade: A

Chris Phillips

Games Played - 39, Goals - 1, Assists - 10, Points - 11, plus/minus - 19, Penalty Minutes - 66

A former 1st overall pick, he's solid but unspectacular. Perhaps on a different team (and not having a 6"9 defensive partner) he could be given more of a chance to shine, but he's still dependable on the penalty kill and he steps up in big games.

Grade: B

Wade Redden

Games Played - 30, Goals - 7, Assists - 26, Points - 33, plus/minus - 21, Penalty Minutes - 36

Sens fans love to use Redden as their whipping boy when the team struggles, but it is unfounded. Redden's one weakness is that he doesn't play much of a physical game, but he excels everywhere else. He puts up numbers, he plays big minutes, he can keep the puck in the offensive end and has the best outlet pass in the league. Team Canada made a correct choice.

Grade: A-

Anton Volchenkov

Games Played - 38, Goals - 2, Assists - 5, Points - 7, plus/minus - 11, Penalty Minutes - 20

The perfect defensive partner for Wade Redden, he throws big hits and doesn't mind getting his nose dirty. He is ineffective on the powerplay and doesn't have the best pure skill, but he is solid and you're not afraid to put him on the ice for a big penalty kill.

Grade - B+

Brian Pothier

Games Played - 37, Goals - 1, Assists - 15, Points - 16, plus/minus - 16, Penalty Minutes - 39

This guy drives me crazy. Some nights he has the game of his life, other nights he's asleep at the switch. Some games he's throwing hits like nobody's business, but at the same time bobbling the puck whenever he's handling it. Other nights he's rushing the puck and making perfect passes, but then he plays soft and gets crunched by the opposition. He needs to find his identity and develop it.

Grade: B-

Andrej Meszaros

Games Played - 40, Goals - 3, Assists - 14, Points - 17, plus/minus - 25, Penalty Minutes - 28

More credit is due to the Senators scouting staff, this kid just came out of nowhere and is playing some great hockey. He'll be playing for Slovakia at the Olympics and he'll be picked for the all-Rookie team after the season is finished. Most defencemen develop later in their careers, but here is clearly an exception. The only drawback I can see is his inexperience, but since he's a number 5 defenseman that really isn't an issue right now.

Grade: A-

Christoph Schubert

Games Played - 25, Goals - 2, Assists - 1, Points - 3, plus/minus - -2, Penalty Minutes - 22

In fairness, he's been asked to play forward most of the time because of all the injuries Ottawa has sustained, but no question he is clearly the healthy scratch when everyone else is good to go. It's his first year in the league so I shouldn't be too hard on him, but I haven't really seen anything to make me think he can be full time NHLer.

Grade: C

Forwards tomorrow.