Chris Neil Too Valuable To Lose

We're not getting much analysis from any of the Senators regular beat-writers lately, so we have to turn to Fluto Shinzawa of the Boston Globe whose weekly column is a must-read (plus he manages a gargantuan column full of primo stuff when there is little-to-none of any real hockey news).

His take on the pending unrestricted free-agency of Chris Neil is refreshing and, in my opinion, completely on target:

"One of the more interesting UFAs-to-be is Ottawa tough guy Chris Neil, due to hit the open market next summer. Neil, currently earning a mere $1.1 million, has a rare skill set - thumping, skating, shooting - that makes him a pleasure to watch (and a beast to play) when he's healthy and on his game. Hard to find comparables for Neil; there are so few like him. The Senators would be wise to re-sign Neil, who should at least double his salary."

-Boston Globe

Neil doesn't get a lot of love from Senators fans or bloggers lately and I'm not sure why (other than the fact that they want everyone traded at some point during the season). He's everything you'd want in a third line player and the team really missed his toughness when he was out for most of March with an injury.

The addition of Jarkko Ruutu shouldn't make Neil expendable. If anything, the team needs more guys like Neil and adding Jason Smith to the backend was another good decision by Bryan Murray.

There's a reason that Detroit added guys like Darren McCarty, Dallas Drake and Aaron Downey to complement a player like Tomas Holmstrom.

The seasons, and particularly the playoffs, are long and hard. Having a guy like Chris Neil who can do so much more than fight is an invaluable asset to any team. The Senators have had a long history of failure when they didn't have enough toughness on their roster.

Murray should do the right thing and get Neil under contract before another core player slips away from this franchise.

Now We're Truly Bored

The folks over at Icethetics have pointed out a site where you can create and customize your own jerseys, ie - come up with some ridiculous Senators jerseys and email them to all your bored friends.

Just go to this page and click on the Online Customizer box on your right, and start making your very own ugly jerseys, such as these horrific (yet quite entertaining) examples posted on Icethetics.

There's a way to incorporate real logo's (someone describes how to do it in the Icethetics comment section of that post) but I'm much too afraid of my wife catching me doing something else completely useless on my day off, so I'll pass for now.

Regardless, no one can come up with anything uglier than that St. Louis jersey that was actually proposed and almost approved before Mike Keenan had to start choking team executives to bring them around to sanity.

The worst third jersey that made it onto a real NHL player's shoulders were the 95-96 Anaheim Mighty Ducks abominations which sported what the Icethetics guys call the worst logo in NHL history.

They also had the brilliant idea to use that "Mighty Duck" sporting every NHL team sweater, just to "freak you out". Hilarious stuff.

You can check out the Penguins, Flyers, Stars, etc. They haven't gotten around to the Senators yet, but you can bet that baby will be on my computer background for the rest of the season.

Ruutu Has A Lot Of Tikkanen In Him

It's going to be a fun year in Ottawa with Jarkko Ruutu in the lineup.

In this clip, Ruutu gets talking to a Montreal player on the bench during a TSN broadcast and they have to repeatedly kill Pierre McGuire's microphone during the ongoing play because the F-Bombs are flying left and right.

This doesn't hamper McGuire's enthusiasm for Ruutu though - McGuire ends the clip by saying "Actually Gord, I have to tell you he's a cerebral guy. He's a very, very smart guy."

I'm pretty sure Ruutu starts his monologue with the Montreal player by saying "Hey retard!".



How about a video of Ruutu knocking out former Senator Petr Schastlivy during a Russia-Finland matchup in 2007. Somehow, Schastlivy was the captain of that Russian squad.



Jarkko's "Finnish Sign-Language".



Ruutu crushing ex-Senator franchise defenseman Wade Redden.



I remember watching Esa Tikkanen in the eighties with the Oilers and later on when he was with the Rangers and the Capitals. Ruutu plays the game exactly the same way. Many will tell you that Tikkanen was an important part of those latter day Oilers teams. His four Stanley Cups and 5 Cup Final appearances attest to that.

Karlsson Playing With The Mighty Hedman

Ottawa's latest first round pick Erik Karlsson is playing on a defensive pairing with Victor Hedman for Team Sweden at this week's USA World Junior Evaluation Camp in Lake Placid.

So what's the big deal?

Some say Hedman is now considered ahead of John Tavares for the 2009 NHL Entry Draft.

Yes, Hedman is that good. Many are comparing him to the likes of Chris Pronger with the skill set of Nicklas Lidstrom.

"One prospects website, Hockey's Future, talked to a senior NHL scout who said he'd have no hesitation telling his team to pick 6-foot-5 Swedish defenceman Victor Hedman ahead of Tavares."

- Sportsnet

"But nothing Hedman does this week will impact his stock too much. He already has proven to many scouts that he is a potential franchise defenseman. Hedman is a mobile, 6-foot-6 defenseman who already is drawing comparisons to NHL standout Chris Pronger. At 17, he was playing full-time for MoDo in Sweden’s Elite League, a rarity in a league considered to be not that far removed from the caliber of the NHL. This season, he will see even more ice time with the senior team.

Hedman can already dominate a game with his brawn, skill set and hockey smarts. He is already far ahead of any other player for the No. 1 ranking among draft-eligible Europeans."

-NHL.COM

Having Erik Karlsson on a pairing with Hedman is surely making the Ottawa scouts very proud. They went a little off the board for this guy who was underrated mostly due to his size.

A big showing by Karlsson at the WJC's here in Ottawa around Christmas will only sweeten the deal for fans worried that there is no legitimate number one puck moving defenseman in the system (with apologies to Brian Lee who may be that number one guy after all is said and done).

Emery Tells All

Simply a must read article from Scott Burnside at ESPN on Ray Emery. In fact, it is by far the most informative piece of work on the subject by any journalist since Emery went through the hell that was his 2007-2008 season.

Virtually every question is answered and Ray is brutally honest at some points.

"Emery's reputation was as a man who hung out with a group on the fringe. Rockers, rappers, party people. He liked that crowd, and they liked having him around.

"I was running around here and there, girls and this and that. A lot of kind of bull---- around me," he said. ...

"I don't think that I was any different than a majority of other guys that have played or are playing who are my age as far as that goes. But I really put myself out there. I made it so all eyes were on me." ...

Former teammate Mike Commodore's seat was next to Emery's in the Sens' dressing room after the team acquired the defenseman from Carolina before the February trade deadline. He went out with Emery a couple of times and noticed how people watched him closely.

"He's tattooed up. Everybody knows who he is. He couldn't get away from it," Commodore said. "Everybody's eyes were all over him." ...

He said the stories about Emery are wildly exaggerated.

"Honestly, I like Ray," Commodore said. "Ray Emery's a good guy. And it went right around the room. I wasn't the only guy that liked him. He wasn't a distraction at all."

-ESPN

Senators Logo: Ranked 26 Out Of 30 - THN

In case anyone missed the Hockey News recent ranking of NHL Logo's, you can visit that link here.

Perhaps surprising to some (and not to others), the Senators are in the bottom 5 of the league wide rankings, just ahead of the Ducks, the Hurricanes, the Sabres and the Lightning.

That's a pretty vicious beatdown.

Personally, I'm not sure how the Avalanche, the Predators, the Thrashers or the Canucks ranked ahead of the Centurion but alas...

It's too bad the Ottawa organization doesn't understand what every fan already knows:

The original 2-D logo has always been the best and will always be the best.

You could put a cartoon pile of steaming dog shit on the front of an Ottawa jersey and people will still buy tickets and merchandise. So why the need to experiment with something that was already working?

The 3-D logo introduced back in the late 90's was cool for about two weeks, then it just became creepy. The new redesign is much better but it's still awkward looking and not befitting a franchise that once existed in the NHL's formative years ... and dominated.

For proof, just click here and visit the NHL's home page. The 30 team logo's lined up along the top border are miniaturized and the Senators logo is completely indecipherable. Why? Because it's way too complicated and not pleasingly shaped. Virtually every other team logo in that lineup conveys that simple idea that needs to be expressed: ... identity.

Ottawa's does not.

So why not stick with the classy and now historic 2-D logo?

That boat has probably sailed but you can still hope that Roy Mlakar takes note of these types of things.

Goalie Changes Don't Go Far Enough

Here's a shocker:

The committee formed to come up with ways to reduce the ridiculously large NHL goalie equipment has made a half-assed decision to make only minor changes for the upcoming season.

They're tinkering with the "flaps" on the knee pads and "reducing the clavicle protector".

Ostensibly, the clavicle protector includes the shoulder pads (cap protectors) but the league is not exactly being clear on that. In fact, they are refusing to give an exact measurement change thus far. That's strange considering that the number one problem are those enormous shoulder pads. Nothing is being done to reduce the size of their gargantuan catching gloves.

Could this be because there are three active goalies on the committee and only two current forwards, while ex-tenders Garth Snow and Jim Rutherford sit in the GM's chairs?

To be fair, the committee does include two great goal scorers - Dallas co-GM Brett Hull and Ottawa's own Dany Heatley. The knee pad being reduced will open up more room in the "5-hole" area but players trying to pick corners will still be hitting mile high shoulder pads which allows goalies to rely on simple positioning rather than athletic ability to stop pucks.

Nobody seems to be able to give a reasonable answer as to why the trappers need to be so big. The majority of the catching glove is not even protecting any fingers. It's basically like being allowed in the nets carrying the lid of a garbage can as part of your equipment. They could cut that beast in half and it would still adequately protect the goalie's digits.

Regardless, any change in this area is positive but they certainly could have been more daring. It may sound unreasonable and totalitarian, but isn't it time the league steps in and makes these decisions without any input from the goalies?

All they've shown is that they want to protect the status quo. They've been spoiled enough.

Crosby On The Hossa Defection

The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review runs a great interview with Sidney Crosby today on the occasion of his 21st birthday later this week and resumption of training after a heartbreaking loss to Red Wings in the Cup final.

For a superstar, and a player who has long been in the spotlight, Crosby gives surprisingly honest and interesting interviews. Most star players are masters of saying absolutely nothing of import or value in concise 15 second soundbites.

In the piece, Crosby doesn't outright condemn Marian Hossa's departure for Motown but you get the impression that he's not pleased with his decision

"Q: How did you react upon learning Marian Hossa would not re-sign with the Penguins?

A: I was pretty surprised. He told me that he really enjoyed it in Pittsburgh. He loved the team and the city. He never had one bad thing to say.

Q: Have you spoken with Hossa since he signed with Detroit?

A: We've played phone tag, but I haven't talked to him yet. I thought he liked it here. He was great to play with. It's too bad.

Q: What is your reaction when a former teammate that played alongside you in the Stanley Cup final says another team gives him a better chance to win the Stanley Cup next year?

A: To be honest, if you look at (the Red Wings), they haven't lost anyone. We came within two games, but they won, and they haven't lost one guy. Maybe on paper they have the best chance to win the Cup and, in his mind, that is what he thinks. If you ask anybody else, that's the way it looks. I'm not mad at him or anything like that. That's just the way it is.

Q: Do you derive any extra motivation from his comments?

A: We have enough motivation in the fact that we came that close and didn't win. Whether he said that or not doesn't matter. "

- Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

Plus, if you read the whole interview, you get to find out what kind of booze The Kid likes.

PS: It's not a classy beverage by any means.

Ottawa's Future No. #9

Louie Caporusso is a pretty small guy - 5'9, a buck ninety. But this kid can flat out skate and score (as well as scrap) and the Senators might have stolen him at 90th overall in 2007. He never skated in the OHL but put up some big numbers in the OPJHL before playing at the University of Michigan last year with the Wolverines.

Currently, Caporusso just participated for Canada in the World Junior summer camp here in town where Pierre McGuire said he is a longshot to make the team but he's generated some strong press nonetheless.

According to GM Bryan Murray, Caporusso is about two years away from the NHL but some have compared the nifty #9 to Mike Comrie. The guys over at Sens Army have a more in-depth feature on Caporusso which they ran back in March and the Wolverines home site has a good Q & A with Louie:

"» On who he likes to watch ..."I like Mike Fisher (of the Ottawa Senators) a lot because of his heart. He goes on 90 percent work, and 10 percent talent and that is unbelievable. He is not the most talented guy, but he goes all out every game. That's what it's all about. Talent will only get you so far because at the end of the day, if you want to win and be a champion you have to go to work. I just love people that play like that.

» On being picked by the Ottawa Senators in the 2007 NHL Draft ..."That was probably one of the best times of my hockey career if you include getting into Michigan. I wasn't at the draft. I think Ottawa really liked my character. In my interview they really liked the way I spoke. I told them, 'If you don't take me you're going to regret it.' I think they understood that. Then they took me. On that day I was pretty excited. It was almost like I was in a dream."

-MGO Blue

According to the Senators website, Toronto born Louie's favourite NHL team is the Buffalo Sabres!?!

"It Moved" - George Castanza

It was one of those days.

The hockey world has been frozen like Han Solo in The Empire Strikes Back, mouth agape and stored in some back room when ...

All hell broke loose.

***
Kevin Lowe is out as Edmonton GM (shuffled to the nice, clean and Brian Burke-less President of Hockey Operations role) while ex-Canuck backroom wonder boy Steve Tambellini is hired to run the first season of the Daryl Katz era.

It's strange because this move seemed to come out of nowhere even though changes in ownership often means upheaval in all areas of the team (see Tampa Bay). In fact, K-Lowe was just starting to recoup his once stellar reputation with some positive commentary from the media after taking some major hits after last summer's Thomas Vanek and Dustin Penner fiasco's.

Now Tambellini finally has a prime job after being rumoured for every open position out there for the last 5 years ... who'd have thought it would be in Edmonton?

***
The next mindblow is Scotty Bowman leaving the Red Wings to join division rival Chicago ... after stating all summer long that he had no intention of leaving the Mike Illitch fold. Puck Daddy's Greg Wyshynski has some great analysis on that move.

"For Detroit Red Wings fans, there's a sense of anger on display over on Abel To Yzerman that's reminiscent of Eric Mangini's departure to the New York Jets: The notion that a championship team just lost a key member of its staff to a division rival, and that he took his institutional knowledge of his former franchise with him.
(Let's just hope Mike Babcock doesn't go out and buy a camcorder to complete the Pats/Jets comparison.)

No one's saying that adding Scotty Bowman to the front office puts the Blackhawks on the level of the Red Wings. But adding that level of insider insight will certainly add a bit of intrigue when the two teams meet. It's a great day for Chicago hockey."

- Puck Daddy

He also points out that reporter Andy Strickland reported this story in June but only got grief for it from everybody.

***
The stories keep rolling in...

Eric Lindros and Kate Hudson an item? What? Does anyone give a shit? The answer is probably yes.

***
Patrick Roy's 19 year old kid was charged today for delivering an out of control ass-kicking to Chicoutimi goalie Bobby Nadeau this past season and then serenading the stunned crowd with a few middle-finger salutes while his coach/father Patrick watched proudly from the bench.



The dude is also a "musician". The assault charge can only help his cred right? He kind of reminds me of J-Rock from the Trailer Park Boys but with less talent.



***
Of more concern to Ottawa hockey fans, Antoine Vermette finally signed a contract that he probably could have gotten two months ago. At two years and just over 5 million, it's a good deal for both sides.

If Vermie can finally break out and score some important goals for a change, he can snag a bigger paycheque in only two years. For the Senators, the kind of money they are shelling out will be worth it even if Antoine stays at the same mediocre level he's at now. He's a valuable penalty killer with some potential to light the lamp starting this season. If he can't blossom this year, his draft year reputation as a poor man's Simon Gagne will have been a little over amplified in retrospect.

Maybe Vermette pushed the Senators to the brink of arbitration as payback for that joke that Bryan Murray played on him a few years ago on trade deadline day when he was pulled aside at practice and made to believe he'd been moved. Now that was a classic.

Here's a few Vermie "classics" to remind everyone of his skill and potential.









The Vermette signing leaves the Senators at approximately 6.5 million short of the cap limit. They still have to sign reticent defenseman Andre Meszaros who will need at least the same cash as Vermette to return. If not, he can hold out until December (after that he is ineligible to play in the NHL for the remainder of the season according to the CBA) or go play in the KHL in Russia where it is rumoured that he has a standing offer.

Regardless, Murray will have some available cash to play with during the season to bring in some talent on the blueline and hopefully in goal as well. As it stands, the Senators payroll is nicely balanced with six NHL forwards making less than 1 million.

That's two lines for less than 6 million.

Not bad at all.

***

One of the best reads so far this summer - Mark Moore's Hockey News article on the struggle between speed and size in the minds of NHL general managers.

"In my opinion, the most valuable player in the Ducks’ defeat of Ottawa to capture the Cup was Samuel Pahlsson, a small speedy defensive center from Sweden who most fans probably wouldn’t recognize if he showed up at their front door.

When Ottawa’s top line, featuring Daniel Alfredsson, was matched against him, they found a defender they couldn’t escape. Everywhere they turned, with his speed and agility, Pahlsson was there. Soon the Sens’ stars got frustrated, started gambling and turning the puck over, generating counterattacks and beating themselves."

- The Hockey News

***

Doing Lines .... Will Sweden Set Back The Senators?

Assuming the Senators re-sign Antoine Vermette, either through arbitration (hearing on Thursday morning) or through mutual negotiation ...

Assuming that whatever financial resources the Senators have left after that will be directed towards their good but somewhat shallow defensive depth ...

Assuming that there are no blockbuster deals between now and opening night in Sweden....

Here is what the Senators actual forward lines may look like in October ...

(Centre in bold)

Combo #1

Spezza – Heatley - Ruutu

Kelly – Vermette – Alfredsson

Fisher – Neil – Foligno

McAmmond – Bass – Donovan

Combo #2

Spezza – Alfredsson – Vermette

Kelly – Heatley – Foligno

Fisher – Ruutu – Donovan

McAmmond – Neil – Bass

Combo #3

Spezza – Heatley – Kelly

Fisher – Alfredsson – Vermette

McAmmond – Foligno – Ruutu

Bass – Donovan – Neil

Combo #4

Spezza – Heatley – Alfredsson

Fisher – Vermette – Foligno

Kelly – Neil – Ruutu

McAmmond – Bass - Donovan

You may notice that only one of those combo's has the "Pizza Line" together but nobody truly knows what new coach Craig Hartsburg has in mind until training camp rolls around. Without many resources to add more scoring up front, you have to think that the big three will be split up in the early stages of the season.

As someone asked me today, "what if the Senators lose their first 5 games of the season?", those plans might be scrapped in any sort of panic that ensues.

It's a great thing for the NHL to have the Penguins and the Senators opening the year in Sweden but it's not inconceivable that the long travel and out of the ordinary routine may effect the Senators in a negative way.

The Anaheim Ducks lost 4 of 5 after returning from England where they opened the season in a two game series against the L.A. Kings and only won 3 games in all of October.

The Kings lost 5 of 6 after the England romp before rattling of 4 straight wins to turn themselves around temporarily.

Nobody should be shocked if the same thing happens to Ottawa and Pittsburgh this October.

Havlat Deal Still Kicking

The Senators kept alive a remnant from one of the worst trades in franchise history when they signed Josh Hennessy to a two-year, two way deal today.

Hennessy of course came over from San Jose via Chicago along with one year wonder Tom Preissing and the now departed Michal (who?) Barinka for Martin Havlat a couple of years ago.

For me, Hennessy was the most disappointing player in last year's training camp where he looked slow and uninterested but he managed to have a decent year in Bingo with just over 50 points. Going into last season I was convinced Hennessy was going to earn a spot on the big club way before the likes of Nick Foligno and Cody Bass.

Couldn't have been more wrong on that one.

Perhaps the saving grace for the Senators will be the pick they got in the Havlat deal. They used that to grab Patrick Wiercioch in the second round this summer and earlier this month I wrote a posting on the young lad which you can check out here. This guy is getting some high praise from the people who have seen him play.

Yet, it's still hard to believe that John Muckler let Havlat go for so little.

Anyone remember 2006? The Senators had Havlat, Zdeno Chara, Dominik Hasek, Wade Redden and the same core they had last year.

Strangely, that seems like a decade ago. How did they not win it all with that freaking lineup?

Sens Third Jersey News

After a year where NHL teams were mandated to only have a home and away pair of sweaters, the marketing floodgates have opened once again with the introduction of "third jerseys" for the upcoming season.

None have been officially revealed but Toronto writer and author Howard Berger wrote an article describing many of the new sweaters from around the league, including an intriguing little piece on the expected Senators new design:

"OTTAWA: A dramatic change in the Senators’ third jersey will see a predominantly black uniform with the word “SENS” angled upward on the front. A fashionable red stripe will run from the arm pits, down the side of the jersey, to its base, where the stripe turns inward. A pair of narrow red and white stripes will adorn each arm, and the very bottom of the jersey. It’s quite a sharp design. "

- Howard Berger

That description is good news for those who were dreading the rumoured "gold jersey" that was making the rounds as a possible new design. The red and white stripes on the arm sound great but unfortunately there seems to be no hint of a return to the classic 2-D logo that the team sported for so many years.

To be honest though, the sweater I'm most looking forward to is the new "retro" Oiler jersey that Berger describes:

"EDMONTON: The Oilers are going back to their glory days with the predominantly blue jersey Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier et al wore on the road while winning five Stanley Cup titles between 1984 and 1990. Orange shoulder piping will re-appear, along with a broad orange stripe at the tip of each arm. Two white stripes flanking an orange stripe are on the arms and near the bottom of the jersey. The original round Oilers logo, with the orange oil drip and blue team name, is on the front."

- Howard Berger

It's hard to fathom a more boring jersey than the ones the Oilers wore last year. With a classic color scheme and a design worn by the greatest player the NHL has ever seen, how does that team not go back to their classic sweaters full time?

Another site worth checking out is the almost fanatical Icethetics blog (formerly NHL Tournament Of Logos) which has up to the date new third jersey news as well as a bunch of fan created designs which are good to while away the summer hours.

Of course, the best uniform site remains Paul Lukas' site Uni Watch. Essential reading.

.

***

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Of note: The Senators signed goalie Jeff Glass to a one year deal that swings both ways. Despite having a decent year (.913 save percentage) he is still behind Brian Elliott on the goalie depth chart.

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***

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Jay Bouwmeester re-signed for one year in Florida, perhaps disappointing some Ottawa fans who believed he might be headed here in some imagined trade scenario. While it's highly doubtful that Jacques Martin would hand the Senators such a gift, Bouwmeester is going to be an unrestricted free agent next summer at just 25 years old and will likely be traded at some point this season if a longer deal can't be worked out.

.

If anything, this paltry one year deal will only crank those rumours through the roof.

Nothing Doing

Things are a little slow in Ottawa these days and it's a good time to take a break from the rumours (and the facts). Here's a Top Ten courtesy of TSN which features classic slurs like "go have another donut you fat pig", "take your f**king paycheque and go home" and the all-time favourite, "F**k off!"

TSN's Top Ten Playoff Soundbites

Looking To Bingo For Scrappers

With the trade of Brian McGrattan to the Phoenix Coyotes, the Senators lost a big time heavyweight and an AHL record holder for penalty minutes.

Alas, they still have some muscle in the organization with Jeremy Yablonski freshly signed to a two year deal in Bingo and Matt Carkner coming on for similar terms.

Most people know what Chris Neil and Jarkko Ruutu can do as they've been in the league as regular players but Yablonski and Carkner are a mystery to those who don't regularly watch AHL hockey (or Mixed Martial Arts in the case of Yablonski).

Carkner probably won't make the top-six rotation on defence but he might stick around in a role similar to McGrattan's last season.

Sportsnet's scouting report on Carkner :

"Is a willing combatant who takes on all comers, and an excellent teammate. Can play a sound defensive role from the back end at lower levels. ...

Doesn't own enough skating speed to keep up with NHL forwards. May have to permanently switch to forward in order to earn a regular big-league paycheck. "

- Sportsnet

Here Carkner cleans out Drew Fata:




The 28 year old Yablonski seems like one scary dude and he is the most obvious candidate to take on the Donald Brashear's and the George Laraque's of the Eastern Conference should the Senators need that type of help. Somewhere along the long grind of the regular season which includes an 8 game road trip over Christmas (to make way for Ottawa hosting the World Junior's), Yablonski will probably get a chance to drag his knuckles on the NHL's pristine white ice.

If this scrap doesn't make you wince, you're taking too much Somonex:




He wins a clean one over Todd Fedoruk (who hasn't?) in his first NHL game with St. Louis:

Sather Puts Dent In NHL's Plans

With the relationship already strained between the New York Rangers and the NHL head office over a silly lawsuit that is ballooning out of proportion, Gary Bettman must be feeling extra pissed at MSG lately.

The NHL released their schedule today and confirmed that the New York Rangers would be taking on the Tampa Bay Lightning in Prague, Czech Republic opening day. The only problem is, Glen Sather let Jaromir Jagr sign in Russia instead of Manhattan.

There can be no doubt that Bettman chose the Rangers to play in Prague because Jaromir Jagr, the best player in Czech history, would create a buzz in his home country. It also helped that the locally popular Martin Straka was riding shotgun beside him. Now they're both gone and the only Czech's the Rangers currently employ are Petr Prucha and Michal Rozsival.

Not exactly must-see players.

With foresight, the NHL would have booked the Rangers to play the Senators in Sweden instead of the Penguins because the Rangers have two Swedish superstars in Henrik Lundqvist and Markus Naslund who would have rivalled the impact of Daniel Alfredsson in Stockholm on opening day.

The Prague fans may want to cheer for the marginally more Czech-like Tampa Bay Lightning who only got that way by accident because they signed half of the available free-agents this summer. The Bolts sport Filip Kuba, Radim Vrbata and Vaclav Prospal.

Jaromir Jagr they are not.

Maybe Sather and the suits at MSG like James L. Dolan didn't want to miss an opportunity to stick it to Bettman, even if it cost them the best player in the league over the past 15 years.

If this is even remotely true, that's dedication to screwing somebody over that even George Costanza could admire.

It's A Long Way From Regina

Nobody gets excited over the hiring of an assistant coach but Ottawa Senators fans might want to play close attention to Curtis Hunt. He's the guy being put in charge of the Senators defence core and he has a tough, almost herculean task ahead of him.

With rumours flying, Andre Meszaros still unsigned and players like Wade Redden, Mike Commodore and Luke Richardson out the door, no one knows for sure how the Senators defense will look on opening night in Sweden this October.

The only certainty is that they have to improve over last year's debacle.

Welcome to the circus ...errrr....Senators Mr. Hunt.

The Leader-Post out of Regina has a good story on Hunt who, as it turns out, seems to be an emotional and sentimental kinda guy:

"It was a little over four years ago when Curtis Hunt entered the VIP room at the Brandt Centre with a concealed hand nervously gripping one of his most-treasured childhood mementos.

Standing under the glare of the media spotlight, the newly introduced head coach of the WHL's Regina Pats eventually dug into his jacket pocket and revealed the mysterious keepsake -- an errant puck he had caught while attending a Pats game at old Exhibition Stadium way back in 1976.

"I still have that puck in my desk," Hunt said Friday after confirming he had signed a three-year contract to become an assistant coach with the Ottawa Senators.

... "He's going to work for an ex-Pat, which can never hurt," noted general manager Brent Parker, referring to Senators counterpart Bryan Murray, a former Pats' head coach. "We're extremely happy for Curtis, but on the other side of the coin we know we're losing a very good coach, a quality person and, for myself personally, a good friend. We didn't always agree on everything but we were always able to have good discussions and see each other's side of things. "

- Leader-Post

****

Has anyone noticed that in recent years, Ottawa's assistant coaches are almost never interviewed on team broadcasts or quoted in the beat writer's articles?

Remember the days of the Perry Pearn's, the Andre Savard's and the Craig Ramsey's? Those guys almost always had more to say than head coach Jacques Martin.

Before John Paddock became head coach, I don't think I can remember him ever being in front of a microphone talking to Dean Brown or Gord Wilson. Same with Greg Carvel and Ron Low.

Is it coincidence or a new organizational rule?

Hopefully it's a coincidence because Hunt sounds like a guy who can actually string together an interesting sentence or two.

Toth On Ray Ray

Doing my best to ignore the latest round of rumours until something concrete happens (Havlat, Havlat, Havlat...). In lieu of that, let me be the lone wolf to point out something of substance that was written today.

In case anyone missed it, Mike Toth over at Sportsnet came out swinging in defense of Ray Emery. Everyone is sick of talking about it but at least Toth says something new on the subject (and something I agree with .... surprise, surprise)

"So, besides unsubstantiated rumours, what grave sins has Emery committed?

He showed up late for some practices, was upset about not playing enough and had a few minor traffic mishaps. ...

The fact is, a lot of goalies hate practice and will do almost anything to avoid serving as a human target for a bunch of head-hunters armed with a bucket of pucks. Gerry Cheevers, for instance, was notorious for his creative excuses and tried everything short of delivering a "The dog ate my mask" note to the coach.

Regarding Emery pouting on the bench, coaches are always delivering that well-worn cliché about how they'd rather have a guy upset about not playing as opposed to someone who's happy about it.

And as far as adventures in driving are concerned, Emery isn't even in the same league as yours truly. Heck, a few days before getting hitched I ran a red light and totalled my car because of a nervous mind that was focused on walking down the aisle.

So, why are the rules different for Ray? ...

... there are lots of NHL'ers guilty of errors in judgement that had much more dire outcomes. Mark Bell, Todd Bertuzzi and Dany Heatley are just some of the players who have found themselves in various forms of hot water. However, they were all afforded a second chance in the blink of an eye and the last time I checked, none of them were receiving their mail in Moscow."

- Sportsnet

The Other Guy The Sens Drafted

Dog days of summer are here. That's a good time to catch up on a new Senators prospect who didn't get the local headlines that the charismatic first rounder Erik Karlsson did.

Patrick Wiercioch, an offensive defenseman picked in the second round by the Sens was once thought to be headed to Dany Heatley's alma mater in Wisconsin with the Badgers (who are coached by ex-Sen Patrick Eaves father) but is now going to play for the Denver Pioneers in the WCHA according to the Hockey News:

"The B.C. native was also happy to be selected by a Canadian franchise, especially one he sees himself playing for in the future.

“I think Ottawa is a good fit,” he said. “I’m an offensive defenseman, much like the first pick (Erik Karlsson).”

While Wiercioch had planned to spend the next few years in Wisconsin, the timeline likely doesn’t change for Denver, where he expects to grow his game at the proper pace and go pro when the time is right.

“Making the NHL is the No. 1 goal,” he noted. “If I feel I’m ready to make the jump, then I’ll be confident in that decision.”

-The Hockey News

The Wiercioch "signing" (letter of intent) was fairly big news in the college hockey world. Mike Chambers of the Denver Post followed the story closely:

"Wiercioch had a terrific second half of the season for the Omaha Lancers of the United States Hockey League, obviously impressing the Ottawa Senators, who selected him with the 42nd overall pick in June.

“We were well aware of his dramatic contribution to his team and their playoff season,” Gwozdecky said. “He really developed in the second half of the season. Sometimes it’s hard to project when a guy is going to be ready, but we think he’s ready and he’s bound and determined to play college hockey in the fall, and he’s going to be with the Pioneers. So that’s great.”

The commentary is this: Very nice late pick-up by the Pios. A kid of this caliber is so hard to find this time of year, and DU was fortunate to present the ideal opportunity for Wiercioch. Secondly, let’s just hope he turns out better than former NHL second-round D-men T.J. Fast and Keith Seabrook, who both bolted Denver for major-junior long before reaching their potential."

- Denver Post

Needless to say, this kid sounds pretty good.

Sugar Ray Leaves On A High Note

As most Sens fans already know, Ray Emery was on TSN's Off The Record tonight and answered the tough questions posed to him by Michael Landsberg.

Emery took responsibility for his difficulties this past season and refused to take shots at the organization or any former teammates. He even praised Daniel Alfredsson's leadership and revealed that Alfie had taken him aside on numerous occasions throughout the year to see what was wrong.

As Emery admits, he felt he shouldn't have lost his job as number one goalie because of his wrist surgery and didn't handle the disappointment well.

The media took it from there and made him out to be a rabid beast who roamed the Kanata wilderness hunting Ottawa's finest sons and daughters.

The truth is, Emery was one of the most interesting and dynamic athletes to ever to play in Ottawa and his presence will be missed by some (myself included).

He's off to Russia but he's too talented to remain out of the NHL for long.

The Senators might rue the day they let this guy get away, especially once the reality of a Martin Gerber and Alex Auld pairing sinks in during the dog days of the season.

As a sendoff, here's a quick video of Ray when he was still the darling of the fans and the media here in Bytown.

Bad Teammates - Introducing Ian White

There has been a lot of talk about "problem teammates" in Ottawa over the past year but that's a phenomenon that's as old as the game itself.

Guys like Tom Barrasso, Patrick Roy, Sean Avery, Dominik Hasek and Shayne Corson have all been vilified for various reasons by teammates over their careers but they all managed to have solid careers and in some cases, Hall of Fame careers.

But what really entails bad behaviour on a hockey team?

Gare Joyce might have the best example I've ever read.

In his excellent new book which I just finished, "Future Greats And Heartbreaks - A Year Undercover In The World Of NHL Scouts", Joyce talks to a Swift Current Bronco player named Brady Leavold who has some head turning tales about past teammate and current Toronto Maple Leaf, Ian White.

Here's an excerpt from Gare Joyce's book (which you can buy here):

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"The way Leavold describes it, a team is divided along the lines of those who are drafted and those who aren't and aren't likely to be. The players at the top of this caste system are those who are back in junior after having signed NHL contracts. Those players are the ones with chronic cases of entitlement.

"Ian White was the big player when I came here," he says. "He'd been drafted by the Leafs and he had gone to the world juniors. He was just going to do things his way. In training camp we were supposed to show up for fitness testing in the weight room at the rink, and we were all there in our gym stuff. He shows up in jeans and a cowboy hat. He didn't even take it off when he had to do the bench [press]. He did one rep and put the bar back on the rack and said, "That's all I feel like today.' He coulda done dozens of reps. And he gave it to the rookies, too. I was scared shitless. On the bus, I was afraid to even look around my first season. I sat near the front - all the veterans were in the back - and one time when I turned around White saw me and said, "What the f__ are you lookin' at?" After that I didn't look back the rest of the season. I'm a veteran now, I don't want to be like White was to the younger players. It doesn't mean anything to me."

White has since made it to the Toronto Maple Leafs' lineup but also into the headlines recently, first for a drunken-driving charge, then for driving with his license under suspension. The people least surprised by that news were the Broncos. White had asked [Dean] Chynoweth [head coach] if he could skate with the team before the Leafs' training camp, then proceeded to carouse around a town where news of that sort would get back to the Broncos' dressing room before he would. His farewell from the Broncos wasn't marked by a pre-game tribute but by Chynoweth tossing his equipment out the back door of the arena when White didn't show up for a practice and breached the coach's rules. The equipment lay unclaimed for several hours."

- Gare Joyce

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Redden's 8 Team Clause

Here's an interesting part of Wade Redden's new seven year contract with the New York Rangers as illuminated by the irascible Larry Brooks:

"It also seems Wade Redden needed a sweetener to take his $39M, seven-year deal. So the GM gave the defenseman the annual right to give management a list of eight teams to which he cannot be traded, and it will just be unfortunate if Atlanta should want him in a deal for Ilya Kovalchuk, won't it?

Brutal."

- New York Post

So Redden will have a list of 8 teams he cannot be traded to?

That's a very unique clause in an NHL contract, but more interestingly, who do you think those 8 teams are?

Is Ottawa one of them? Was the separation that painful for Redden and his clan?

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A new rule here on Black Aces is that whenever I quote Larry Brooks, I get to post one of my favourite videos of all time - the confrontation between Brooks and John "The Fonz" Tortorella. Listen closely for "Brooksie" telling Torts to "fuck off".



Expect a lot of Brooks quotes over the long, boring summer.