Historically teams that go on long playoff runs struggle early in the season. Kyle Turris doesn’t think the Ottawa Senators will be a team that happens to.
Everybody has heard of the Stanley Cup hangover. It’s something that happens nearly every year to the team that wins the Cup. They’ll start off the next season slower than would be expected. As a team that won a championship previously they should still be expected to be a good team. Most times they will sort things out as the season goes, but the start can be a little rough. However, this doesn’t just happen to the team that wins. It’s common for all teams to make it deep into the playoffs to experience struggles early on he season. This is because the deeper you make it in the playoffs the less time the players have in the offseason to train. They aren’t able to do as much strength and speed training that gives them a good base for the season. The Ottawa Senators could fall into this category.
Avoiding A Slow Start
Kyle Turris doesn’t believe the Sens will be a team that struggles out of the gate. In an interview he talked about how having a shorter off-season can affect the player’s training plan. However, he says that just because it’s condensed doesn’t mean it will be any less effective. In fact he thinks the Sens could perform better in the regular season next year because they’ll be in their second season with Head Coach Guy Boucher. Being with him for a full year, the team won’t have to go through the growing pains of learning the new system. Therefore the Sens will be able to perform better earlier in the season.
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Wrap Up
A slow start after a strong post-season performance is common in the NHL. The condensed off-season can be problematic for the training schedule. However, Kyle Turris does not think it will negatively impact the Ottawa Senators. A year of experience with Guy Boucher should make for a stronger regular season.