Senators Look Lost Against Leafs

What a mess.

The Senators have now dropped 5 games in a row to the Leafs dating back to last season but the loss tonight was a new low in what is quickly becoming a tradition of playing terrible when featured on Hockey Night In Canada in front of a national audience.

We get to hear cliche opinions about the Senators reinforced by nodding analysts like Glen Healey who have seen this Senators style all too many times.

Like Jason Spezza giving the puck away behind his own net for a crucial first goal. Like Alex Kovalev floating around the ice barely touching the puck. Like the Senators being pushed around (until they decided to fight back in the third period).

One we haven't heard before is the Senators are too slow, but that seems to be the case so far this season. It's only been two games (on back to back nights no less), but the Senators look completely unprepared to compete.

That's the basics of it. They look slow, they look disorganized and they look dispirited. Pascal Leclaire gave them a chance in the first game against Buffalo but even he couldn't keep his woeful team in the game tonight.

What are the reasons?

You could point to a few likely suspects. A ridiculous pre-season schedule of 8 games which included a back-to-back on a Friday and Saturday night against the Rangers last weekend which forced the team to play mostly veterans two nights in a row, something that should never have to happen in the meaningless pre-season.

Then they were taken to a military boot camp for team bonding, but which, as Sun columnist Don Brennan pointed out, consisted mostly of brutal physical endurance tests for the sake of team bonding. Fine.  The players seemed to enjoy it, at least publicly.

Then Spezza pulls his groin shortly after and the lines get thrown out and reassembled. They go into their first game without much practice in the new combinations, and it's not much of a surprise that the best line was the only one they kept together - the third with Chris Kelly, Chris Neil and Jarkko Ruutu.

Watching the first two games, it simply looks like the team has no legs. They have zero jump and they can't execute special teams play.

The fact that they have to go right to Washington and do it again on Monday night may be a blessing or a curse. It doesn't give them much, if any practice time (with Sunday likely being a day off) but it at least offers them an opportunity to forget about the Toronto-HNIC debacle rather quickly.

There is no need for Senators fans to start inundating call-in shows with panicked phone calls demanding firings and benchings and trades. The team will get better. They have too many quality players and a smart coaching staff for that not to happen. But it really puts them in a bad situation against a Washington team that just went out and put up a 7 spot on the New Jersey Devils tonight. The Senators will be hard pressed to avoid going down 0-3 to start the season.

Obviously, we won't be going through the motions of offering you the Black Aces Senators Three Stars of the night.

Enjoy your Sunday and Happy Thanksgiving.

Leclaire In Fine Form Despite Loss

A well deserved loss by the Senators tonight in the home opener, as they were unable to keep up with the fleet footed Sabres after the first period.

This game was most notable for two obvious reasons: one, a preview of life without Jason Spezza was a gloomy scenario, especially if he was ever out of the lineup for a significant period of time (or traded like he could have been this past summer). And two, Pascal Leclaire threw off a poor training camp just like he said he would, and played a near-incredible game.

It was a loss, but the play of Leclaire made it feel like something was salvaged, or at least promised in the near future.

The Senators still have to be concerned with their play in their own end. The Sabres completely controlled the home team down low and unfortunately highlighted what life is going to be like without Anton Volchenkov and Andy Sutton. Leclaire was the only reason the Sens had a shooter's chance in the waning minutes.

The good news is the Senators are right back at it in Toronto on Saturday night.

Black Aces Senators 3 Stars

1. Pascal Leclaire
2. Daniel Alfredsson
3. Jarkko Ruutu

Honourable mentions: Milan Michalek and Sergei Gonchar.

Notes: Eugene Melnyk let it be known in a radio interview today that the Senators were finally getting a much needed new scoreboard for next season, just in time for the first ever All-Star game in Canada's capital city. Clearly the fans and a few columnists (most notably the Sun's Don Brennan) put on enough pressure to accelerate the organization's plans to purchase a new one down the road. Just this summer, the Senator's were downplaying the need for the new item, saying that fans were more concerned with the quality of food concessions in the Kanata rink, but now it looks like they've changed their tune a bit. It shows the organization is willing to listen and try to give the fans the best experience possible. But that's always been the hallmark of Melnyk's tenure here (not that it wasn't that way with Rod Bryden, but finances were more of a challenge back then and the arena was still new). And it's not just the big stuff, like scoreboards. Fans cried out when they replace the beloved Sens theme at the start of games with canned mainstream rock, and the organization reversed the move partway through the season. They even changed the ugly socks brought in under the new Reebok uniform system and brought back the real stripes. The Senators may make some mistakes off the ice from time to time, but they aren't too stubborn to bow to the fans wishes.....

....I wonder how many Rogers subscribers were in disbelief when they went to watch the game in HD and found only a baseball game for the first 10 minutes or so? They were showing the game on standard definition on channel 27, but the HD feed was nowhere to be found. Not on Sportsnet Ontario and not on Sportsnet East (blacked out!!). There was even a shot of Bryan Murray in his box next to a widescreen TV that was showing the baseball game, undoubtedly tuned into what was supposed to be the Senators match. After a while, the game was switched onto the Ontario channel, but it makes you wonder.

Would this ever happen to the Toronto Maple Leafs? Of course not. Trying to watch an Ottawa Senators game on television in Ottawa is sometimes a 50/50 proposition. Good job Sportsnet. Who was asleep at the Sportsnet controls in downtown Toronto, Bill Watters?

Senators Can't Get Ahead of Goaltending Story

Cory Clouston didn't create the current "goaltending controversy" by any means. So far, he's been handed a couple of lemons but still managed to propel this team into the playoffs last season.

Clouston didn't go out and tell these guys to be maddeningly inconsistent. The goalies only have themselves to blame for the chaos they've created.

But....

How much has Clouston really helped the situation by playing coy over who his starting goaltender will be in the season opener against the Sabres?

Coaches have long enjoyed pulling their little power trips over the media when it comes to naming starting goalies (and injuries and line combinations and just about everything else you can name), but it could be said that Ottawa's particular situation now calls for a firm, clear and rock-solid show of support for Pascal Leclaire, this team's purported number one goalie (for lack of a better term).

If Clouston had come out on Sunday morning and said "Leclaire is our guy going forward. I don't care that he had a rough pre-season. I believe in him, the management believes in him, his teammates believe in him", then at least a damper would have been put on the constant speculation concerning the goalies in the short term. It would have been a story, but not nearly as contentious as it's turned out to be since the end of camp.

In this age, coaches have to be aware of the P.R. side, as distasteful as that may be.

Clouston may think he is exerting control over the situation by playing cat and mouse with the media, but really he is letting the story spiral out of control. Just google Leclaire's name and go to the news section and read the headlines. It's a long list with nearly every reporter pestering Leclaire because Clouston won't spill the beans.

If someone were to say it's not a distraction, they would be lying.

It's entirely plausible that Clouston doesn't want to lock himself in by making a statement like that in case Leclaire truly s**ts the bed and he has to turn to Brian Elliott. But in this case, it's clearly a time for a coach to take on some of that pressure instead of loading it onto both Elliott and Leclaire who constantly get hounded with questions of when they expect to play.

If Leclaire were to bomb, Clouston would have some egg on his face, but sometimes a coach has to take on that responsibility. All signs this summer had pointed to Leclaire being the guy. They brought in Rick Walmsley, his former mentor and he was the last goalie in standing in the playoffs for the Senators after Elliott tanked under pressure. Clouston says the organization has a plan and they are sticking to it.With both Leclaire and Elliott having identical sub-par training camps, it seems strange to think the "official plan" could have been altered based on early performances in meaningless games.

Where's the confidence? Even if you have to fake it, sometimes a coach who goes to bat for a player can make all the difference.

While Leclaire has been weak so far in his career as a Senator, he still needs that one shot he was robbed of when injuries derailed his season last year.

That all being said, I would be shocked if Clouston went with Elliott in game one.  Meanwhile, the goalies are fed to the wolves for a week because he refuses to reveal "the plan".

It all seems so unnecessary.

***

While it likely won't make much of a difference in the big picture, the sudden turnabout in the Senators plans with David Hale came as a bit of a shock today.

Everybody assumed Hale had made the team, especially when he was scrimmaging with partner Matt Carkner while Brian Lee subbed in as a forward (usually not a positive sign if you're a defenseman).

Then he gets waived today, apparently with intentions to place him in Binghamton.

Why the reversal? Or was this the plan all along? It's understandable GM Bryan Murray doesn't want to pay Lee's one way contract only to have him sit in the press box, but if Hale was a better fit on that defensive pairing than Lee, it still surprises me Murray couldn't make the numbers work, especially such a small amount.

What remains is that this kid has gotten yet another chance, even though he was once again the eighth best defenseman in camp (including Kuba, who is obviously ahead of Lee even if he barely touched the ice).

How many lives does Lee have? He's bigger this year and that might help him. But let's say there's a bit of a stink to this transaction. Hopefully the reporters close to the team can get to the bottom of the story in the next couple of days.

I'd be interested to hear the explanation.

Uni Talk

A very thorough and detailed rundown of all the NHL uniform changes this season can be found here at Paul Lukas' column on ESPN. Well worth the read if you're a uni-obsessive fan like myself.

The new Sabres third jersey is a winner (except for the "throwback" numbers on the back with the cross-stitching), and they did a great service to their fans by going back to the old logo for the main uniforms, but you have to wonder why they stuck with the dark navy blue on their regular sweaters instead of the classic royal blue. A missed opportunity, but the Sabres have never missed their chance to screw their uni's up in the past.

Maybe next year the light bulb will go off in the Senators office and they will realize the fans don't want a cartoon character as their logo, but a return to the classic logo and normal horizontal stripes on their jersey's.

But don't hold your breath.

Here's an NHL sweater I think is really underrated. Looks great on TV too.

Goalie "Crisis" Rolls On

I was lucky enough to take in my first Senators game of the season tonight, and I was witness to a wild affair at the venerable Kanata rink between the home side and the New York Rangers. So wild that I limited my intake to two cold ones because I didn't want to leave my seat for a second. On the entertainment meter, the needle was buried in the red for most of the night.

Seeing a third and a fourth liner both get hat tricks in the same game was one thing, but watching the momentum shift from one team to another as each goalie gave up hope despairing goals was another.

I can't sit here and say everything is going to be all right with Pascal Leclaire. I have no idea if it will be. He was bloody awful tonight. But I stand by my assertion that Leclaire has to be in the Senators net nearly every night for the foreseeable future in order to finally stop this maddening goalie turmoil that just won't go away.

The guy is healthy. Let him play. Hold your nose when necessary and watch for the signs that he is getting better. Because if Cory Clouston panics now and puts Brian Elliott in to start the season, this is never going to go away.

Call me crazy, but I saw some good things from Leclaire tonight on my perch right behind him in the cheap seats for two periods. I thought he rebounded fairly well in the third period after the colossal fold job he pulled in the second.

For laughs, I put on the post-game show and awaited the flood of panicked callers. Yet they were reasonable compared to co-host Mike Eastwood who sounded like he was available to put Leclaire on a bus to nowhere himself if asked to. He will certainly have a lot of people who agree with him when he says Clouston can't possibly go to Leclaire for the home opener on Friday. Can't say I really blame the fans for worrying.

But you can't bury Leclaire because of a bad pre-season. The importance of these games will fade so quickly by puck-drop on Friday that folks will wonder how they got so carried away. It happens every year. The games get blown out of proportion because it's the first hockey a starved city has seen since early June. People lose their minds when they can't find the pre-season game on TV. Hockey pools are ravaged by panicked fantasy players dropping blue-chippers and picking up the latest walk-on tryout AHL'er who scored two power-play goals in some obscure neutral-site arena that's still named after a real person and not some mega-corporation.

Thankfully, the real games start now and everyone can walk away from the ledge. If the crappy goaltending continues for the first 5-10 games, then, yes, panic.

***

News that both Milan Michalek and Chris Neil had to leave the game for "precautionary reasons" doesn't sound so scary in print, but from my vantage point, Neil skated to the bench on one leg and had to be helped down the hallway by one person on either arm. It didn't look good. I didn't see what happened to Michalek but it may mean that Ryan Shannon may get a chance earlier than he thought. Shannon was great tonight, along with Nick Foligno and, of course, Chris Kelly and Zack Smith, the hat-trick brothers. David Hale also impressed and continued to play his quiet, responsible game in a pairing with Matt Carkner.

Soon after the game, news also hit that Jared Cowen had been sent back to Spokane in the WHL for the year (and can only be called up on an emergency basis). He had one outstanding game in the pre-season but seemed a tad behind the play in all the others. The only surprise is that GM Bryan Murray didn't give Cowen the chance to at least practice with the team for a while to get a little longer taste, but I don't think many pundits will be questioning this move at all.

The real tricky moves will be when Filip Kuba returns from injury near the end of October or later. That's when a decision might have to be made on the continually underwhelming Brian Lee who, it looks like, lost his job on the top-six again to another seasoned vet on a two-way contract - this time David Hale. Last season it was Matt Carkner.

Lee is clearly on his last legs in this organization. If he couldn't do it this year, when is he going to be able to do it?

He's only on this roster as a seventh defenseman because Cowen proved to be not ready and Kuba snapped his twig. Lee hasn't been terrible. He's just been Brian Lee.

By the way, the crowd was great tonight at the rink. It was far from capacity, but they were loud and more than made up for the rows of empty seats.  For all the convenience of watching games at home in HD, nothing still beats the experience and atmosphere of walking into that arena and seeing it in person.

Leclaire Needs To Play

Is it conceivable that goalie Pascal Leclaire could be shunted aside for Brian Elliott yet again, all because of a so-so training camp?
If Cory Clouston's quote is any indication, then, regrettably, yes.

“I’m going to reiterate: Whichever goaltender steps up, we’ll go with. They both, at times last year, did it, but not consistently enough to start at camp and say, ‘This guy is our go-to-guy’ right off the bat.
- Ottawa Sun

It's a bland, blanket statement because almost any coach would say the same thing. You can't bury Elliott because he's here to play some games as well and you want fierce competition between your goalies.

But privately, when Clouston is shooting the breeze with GM Bryan Murray, if he's really considering just handing the reins to whomever is playing better at any moment, or even the old classic "win and you're in" model so disastrously used by the team just a few seasons ago, then the Senators will be headed for another uneven nerve-shattering season where goaltending dominates the discussion.

Leclaire needs to play. A lot of games. He needs to be thrown right back into the net after a tough loss even if he looked like Martin Gerber out there. If Clouston is even having a dream about hockey, Leclaire needs to be in the nets. Leclaire needs to be told he's going to be given some time, some rope, and some patience to become the goalie most believe he can be. He needs a couple of months to sort out his game with his new/old goalie coach in Rick Walmsley.

Clouston is a stubborn guy, and seems to have an affinity for Brian Elliott, a player he had some success with in Binghamton. Fair enough. Elliott has been good at times, but mostly just serviceable. It's hard to believe he has the ability to reach the highs that a healthy and confident Leclaire can. Fans were given a hint in the late stages of the first round last season against the Penguins when Leclaire rose to the occasion and became the team's MVP for a short period of time.

Not that I'm advocating keeping Leclaire on the ice while the Titanic sinks. If Leclaire can't get it together after a certain period of time, then Elliott deserves the shot. If that fails, bring in the kid, Robin Lehner. That's the natural order of things.

But privately, away from the microphones, you have to hope that Clouston is still intent on giving Leclaire the chance to run with it for awhile in the early going.

Or else it's going to be "deja-vu all over again", as Yogi Berra once put it.

Sens Pre-Season Jumps The Shark

As expected when the Leafs are in town, tonight's umpteenth pre-season tilt turned into a fairly decent gong show at times with various Leaf players taking runs at Daniel Alfredsson, Erik Karlsson and fragile netminder Pascal Leclaire.

The main positive the Senators can take out of this game was that they were far from intimidated. They responded with fights and goals and even Alex Kovalev dropped the gloves with Francois Beauchemin and actually held his own (or held on for dear life).

It shows the undeniable spirit of Kovalev who is wrongly labelled as passionless. There's a reason why his teammates love him. He's strange, wildly unpredictable, and allegedly "the most interesting man in the world". Beauchemin gave him a chance to walk away and even the linesman jumped in before Kovalev pushed him away and forced the fight to happen. He took a few good shots when his sweater got yanked above his head but he probably rose in esteem among Senators fans who were watching.

Yet, if I was Cory Clouston, I would have been cringing every time the Leafs started the forecheck. There was a lot of important players on the ice tonight for the Senators and the tone was set early when Mike Komisarek crushed Alfie in the corner. Sure, Milan Michalek did the right thing by jumping onto Komisarek, but it didn't do anything to calm matters.

The Leafs are a young group with nothing to lose, a bunch of hungry players trying to make an impression on GM Brian Burke by running guys through the boards. The NHL pre-season is a nice appetizer to the real thing but nobody wants to see important players injured in meaningless games.

It's money that drives teams like the Senators to cram in as many pre-season games as possible (Ottawa playing eight, just one shy of the maximum nine) but for most veteran NHL players, they don't need more than three to get ready nowadays.

Clouston has been very good about not overplaying the veterans but with another back-to-back this weekend and with some more roster cuts on the way, some of the big names are going to have to play both nights, a situation that shouldn't be necessary in the pre-season.

Eight games to decide who gets the last spot on the fourth line and who gets to be the sixth and seventh defenseman. Seems like overkill.

But if you think the NHLPA is complaining, remember that these games feed into the overall NHL revenues which lessens the amount the players lose in escrow payments to the league at the end of the season.

So it comes down to the fans and their ability to sit through a mini-marathon of meaningless games that somehow get much less meaningful by about the fourth one.

Tuesday night's match against the Sabres tested this scribe's patience to the point that he began to watch this video over and over again in a kind of delirium. Wake me up on opening night.

Gimme Pizza (Slow Version)

Cowen Finally Making Some Noise

Maybe Jared Cowen makes this team after all.

I already had him back in junior hockey after the first pre-season game confirmed what I saw in the rookie tournament: a gangly kid who looked lost in all three zones.

Two games later, I'm not so sure anymore. To me, he's been the most improved player on the team since the start of camp. Last night against the Habs in Kanata, Cowen looked like an NHL player to me. Or at least close to it.

He made a few errors later in the game, but he finally started using his size and looked like he knew what to do with the puck for a change.

Now, I don't know what's happened with Eric Gryba. He had a great rookie tournament, opened a lot of people's eyes, but the team has only played him in one pre-season tilt so far, and when Ian Mendes interviewed GM Bryan Murray, Gryba's name wasn't even mentioned when the GM was listing the candidates to fill that one vacant spot on the blueline.

Reading the tea leaves, it sounds like Gryba is headed to Bingo. That leaves Cowen, Brian Lee and vet David Hale fighting for that sixth spot. Maybe two make it if the Senators keep seven defenseman like they have in the past.

I think it's a toss-up now deciding who gets it. During the telecast last night on Rogers, they showed a scrum with coach Cory Clouston who seemed to hint that possibly Hale could be the frontrunner. No one asked specifically about Hale, but Clouston volunteered the information and seemed to zero in on Hale in his comments, talking about his experience and solid play.

To me, this team needs Cowen and/or Hale more than they need Lee. They have a lot of guys with similar skill sets to Lee but only one guy, Matt Carkner, who is going to provide steady physical play. Hale is a known commodity. He's not spectacular at what he does, but he's not going to hurt you unless he takes a lot of penalties.

So now Cowen is the real wild card. Can he keep improving? If so, he looks like he may be the guy, especially with the knowledge that he would have to go back to junior if he doesn't make the team. Some say another year of junior would do him good. Some say he could develop best against better competition.

Either way, I've sure wasted a lot of virtual ink on what is going to be a marginal position in the big scheme of things.

But it proves one thing. This Senators team is on the right track if everyone is only worrying about who's going to be the sixth and seventh defenseman.

A good sign.

Patriotism Run Amok

Canadian hockey snobbery apparently has no bounds.

"Nationally, 53 per cent of the respondents in a survey commissioned by the Montreal-based Association for Canadian Studies said they agreed with the idea that Canadian-based NHL teams should have a minimum percentage of Canadian players."

- Ottawa Citizen

Could you imagine if these cave-dwellers (in some fantasy Harper-land) actually had their way? Sorry Peter Regin, you can't play this year because you're not a Canadian. So that means you make the team this year, Francis Lessard.

Ridiculous.

Clouston Throws Open Door For Lehner

In a very significant quote (scored by the Sun's Don Brennan), Sens coach Cory Clouston layed it right on the table by saying if rookie goalie Robin Lehner keeps playing as well as he has, it could force the organization to keep him in the NHL at the expense of one of their established goalies (ie; Brian Elliott).

Here's the quote from Brennan's article:

"If he keeps playing the way he did (Tuesday) night, it would be pretty hard to not have him here... That obviously gives us opportunities to do different things, but that's a question to (GM) Bryan (Murray), that's not a question to me. ... I mean, he can't do anything more than he did last night. So we'll play it game by game, and if he forces us to do something we never maybe envisioned at the start of camp, then that's a positive thing for us and the organization. That gives us a lot more depth in a position that obviously is very, very important."

Sure, writers and talk-radio hosts have danced around the subject but I don't think anyone really suggested that Lehner had a realistic chance at staying in the NHL this year.

Yet there it is in black and white, straight from the coach's mouth.

Lehner supplanting Brian Elliott is now a possibility. Queue the goaltending controversy.

And that controversy won't be doused by Elliott's tepid performance tonight in Toronto in his first action of the season (rebounds continue to haunt him). But... insert cliche here: "it's only the pre-season". Yadda yadda yadda. You know the routine. You can't bury Elliott because of one bad game in training camp. Anyone who does so is really jumping the gun.

But if Clouston is liking what he sees in Lehner (and who wouldn't, with his second stellar training camp in a row despite still being a teenager), you know that the heat is going to be on Elliott big time. They're not going to toss Pascal Leclaire and his contract aside and go with two really young goalies.

Sure, it's a small fire, but Clouston just threw a little more gas on it. Get out the marshmallows.

***

As for the loss against the Leafs, not many fighting for a roster spot overly distinguished themselves for the Senators.

The exception would be Cody Bass, who played a helluva game tonight and firmly put himself back on the radar for this season. After going through some injury problems which kind of made him the forgotten man last year, Bass stepped on the ice tonight on a search and destroy mission, and reminded everyone what kind of wrecking ball he can be. It's going to be very hard to crack the lineup for Bass (he'd have to surpass Zack Smith somehow, an unlikely proposition) but he let everyone know that he's going to be an option for a call-up if someone on the bottom two lines goes down.

Jared Cowen had a solid night and looked much better than he did during the first game in Toronto on Tuesday. Maybe he's just starting to get comfortable now. You can see glimpses of what he can do, but it's like a wavering radio signal that keeps going in and out. If he can put it together quickly, maybe he still has a chance to stick. When he's cruising out there, his head is like a shark fin, poking out above everyone else (5 bonus points if you got that LL Cool J reference).

As for pure entertainment, the chaos was provided by 230 pound enforcer Francis Lessard who had a jaw dropping 324 penalty minutes in only 59 games for the San Antonio Rampage last year. And Lessard went on a rampage of his own in the first period. He was fighting, bleeding, hitting, spitting, falling, flying over the boards into TSN analyst Pierre McGuire and basically acting like a complete maniac with nothing to lose but a few more teeth. It was like watching Eddie Shack in a Senators uniform. Fantastic.

And speaking of entertainers, I forgot how much I enjoy seeing Jarkko Ruutu flying across the ice and coming late into a  scrum, grabbing someone in a bear hug and yapping in their face, even making the refs want to take a swing at him.

Lehner Handles The Leafs

Sometimes pre-season games can be fairly dull but the tilt in Toronto tonight was actually worth watching, and not only because it was the first Senators hockey since April.

The Senators romped past the Leafs largely thanks to some offense by veterans like Chris Neil, Nick Foligno and Chris Kelly, but the best player on the ice for both teams was easily rookie goalie Robin Lehner.

He was Ottawa's best goalie in camp last season and it looks like he's going to defy the odds and make a case for himself again this season, starting with a shutout against the Senators biggest rival. Nothing will endear him to management and to fans more than that.

As for those few Senators fighting for a roster spot, not many made a major case but no one seemed to really hurt their chances either.

Roman Wick looked good to start the game but was a non-factor the rest of the way. Corey Locke played well and got a nice goal and a couple of points. You can guarantee he'll be a call-up at some point this season if a top six guy goes down to injury. Zack Smith played his usual game, tough and smart, but I wouldn't really say he's fighting for a spot. He should be a lock to make the team in October.

Not many negatives in a 5-0 shutout, but Jared Cowen didn't look very good, continuing his underwhelming play from the rookie tournament. He made a nice play at one point by jumping up into the play and going to the net for a scramble, but watching him turn around in his own zone and behind his net is like watching a sea liner change directions. Right now, he's at least two steps behind the play. He'll benefit from another year in junior and be just fine because of it. There's no reason to worry about Cowen's future.

Both David Hale and Brian Lee played somewhat average but they still have lots of time to impress in the pre-season. You have to give credit to Lee for attempting to fight Christian Hanson, the son of the legendary Slap Shot goon Dave Hanson. Lee's heart was in the right place but he got destroyed in a matter of seconds with Hanson finishing it off by slamming Lee's face into the ice. Not a pretty sight. Lee should probably stick to his stickhandling in future games.

The boys are back at it tomorrow. And I am trying not to get sucked into over analyzing pre-season games. But I guess we can make an exception for the first one...

On Lee... Part Two

At the risk of being accused of picking on poor Brian Lee, I have two questions for you:

Even with Lee playing at his maximum potential, is he the type of guy you want in your top six going forward through 6 months of the race to make the playoffs, and then nearly 3 months of the brutal grind of the Stanley Cup Playoffs? Likely that won't be the case anyways once Filip Kuba returns from injury, but the question is useful for the purpose of looking at a player like Brian Lee objectively.

Do the Senators really require the services of another offensive defenseman whose offensive skills are below those of Sergei Gonchar, Erik Karlsson and Chris Campoli?

Jason York of the Team 1200 (himself a past offensive defenseman) made a great point this afternoon when he said that Lee will never be effective as a 5th or 6th defenseman because too often that pairing faces the other teams grind lines, guys who chip the puck in the zone and then try to run the defenseman through the boards a few seconds later.

He's got a great point. Lee is a make or break kind of defenseman. He either plays on the power-play and a top pairing or he's not going to help you much because he's not a physical rearguard and will quickly wear down over the course of a season, never mind the onslaught that is the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Just look at the kid's frame. He's not that kind of player. Never will be. Teams like the Philadelphia Flyers will eat this kid alive if given the chance. It may seem unfair to make these kind of assumptions, but it's just common sense.

The Senators lost two fistfuls of toughness when Anton Volchenkov and Andy Sutton both unfortunately walked this summer. The Senators have gone quickly from having perhaps the meanest defense (with Matt Carkner in tow) to having one of the softest in the league in a matter of months.

That sensitive balance will really seem off with Brian Lee parachuting into the lineup mostly based on the fact that he has an ill-advised one-way contract. There's got to be a better way.

But then again, maybe Lee has the training camp of his life. If he does, I'll be the first to admit I was wrong and congratulate him for it. Yet, I just don't see Lee suddenly morphing into an effective NHL defenseman over one summer of training.

With camp in its initial stages, it's way too early to tell what will happen, but with Kuba gone for close to two months, the Senators have an opportunity to fast track one of two potentially tough defenseman: Eric Gryba and Jared Cowen (or turn to David Hale who has some decent NHL experience). If they both flop in camp, then let's bring Lee on with a vengeance. We at least know Lee can play an NHL shift and give you 10 somewhat average minutes a night. But you have to think if one of Gryba or Cowen shows the slightest hint of being ready (my money is on the 22 year old, 6'4, 220 pound Gryba) that Murray will find the room to add that salary to his roster.

Maybe I'm wrong. If I am, I know my readers will certainly let me hear it. I've been wrong before and I will be again. I was once really high on Lee's prospects, as a lot of us were after that great playoff series he had in 2008 against the Penguins. He looked like Wade Redden's heir apparent at the time.

Maybe that's the problem. He still reminds one of Redden, but not the Redden we all knew in Ottawa.

Sometimes Nightmares Come True...

Filip Kuba destroyed his leg today during the first on ice session at Senators training camp and according to the Sun's talk with Coach Clouston, he may not be ready to play for a while.

That means Brian Lee's chances of making this team just got a lot better. The horror, the horror...

It could also mean Erik Karlsson gets paired with Matt Carkner again, a combination that seemed to work well at times last year (purely my own speculation).

It's funny how one guy going down on that back end all of a sudden shows how fragile that blueline really is. One more serious injury to one of their top two and it's "good night Irene", as they say.

If there is any compassion in this world, perhaps Eric Gryba or maybe even Jared Cowen outplays Lee by a mile and forces Bryan Murray to eat that one-way contract of Lee's.

If rookie camp was any indication, Cowen doesn't look very ready to me. Both Gryba and Patrick Wiercioch outplayed him but then again it's only rookie camp. It would be an interesting story if the Senators found their much needed grit and toughness from Gryba and not the much heralded Cowen this season.

New Scoreboard... Older Alfie

When Gary Bettman announced that Ottawa will host the 2012 All-Star Game, he might as well have announced these two unofficial, but sure-to-happen events:

1. Daniel Alfredsson is guaranteed to play at least the next two seasons so he can go out in style being feted by his home town fans in the league's mid-season celebration, before bowing out just before the next CBA meltdown,  and....

2. Eugene Melnyk and Cyril Leeder will finally shell out the 7 - 9 million it will cost to finally install an HD centre ice scoreboard to replace the 1987 RCA Home Model that now hangs by rusty steel wires from the rafters. This recent story at Off The Posts at least shows it is on Melnyk's radar, if not at the top of his list. But you can't really expect the Senators to stand pat with that creaky old model during the biggest showcase the team has had outside of the 2007 Stanley Cup Finals.

You can also bet on seeing some much needed refurbishing around the 15 year old Kanata rink. Nothing major, but you can see age creeping into the surroundings with some chipped paint here, some missing signage there. The outside of the rink has been looking a little ratty with some missing sponsor signs both on the front of the facade and the empty lawn signage along the Queensway.

It's still a great rink and serves the community well, but like all things, it could use a good touch-up.

As for Alfredsson, it's hard not to see him playing in that 2012 game, even if his play isn't on par with his usual excellence. While the fans get to choose the starting lineup by voting, as far as I know, the Commish can parachute a few players of his own choosing onto the roster to suit whatever marketplace they are playing in. It would be quite an ovation for Alfredsson when he steps on that ice and a great TV moment as well. There is no way Alfredsson doesn't play in the game unless he's in a body cast, and even then, someone will wheel him out to centre ice so the fans can go suitably nuts.

Bet on it.

Ryan Shannon's Days Are Numbered.... Remembering Hossa vs Quinn

I've been over it on paper again and again, and I keep coming to the same conclusion: Ryan Shannon is not going to crack this Ottawa Senators lineup.

Basically it comes down to six guys fighting to be on the fourth line:

Nick Foligno (a lock to make the team, possibly on a scoring line)
Jesse Winchester (also a lock)
Zack Smith (has shown he can play)
Ryan Shannon (had a down year but is cheap)
Bobby Butler (the wild card)
Roman Wick (even wilder)

If Bryan Murray decides to keep a 13th forward this year, then Shannon, a Stanley Cup winner, has a chance to stick around. After all, the guy will make a measly 625 grand on a one way deal, a huge boost to his chances on a team close to the cap. Yet Murray went out and got Butler for a reason. He was forced to pay him close to a million dollars on a one year, two-way deal after a competitive bidding process, and that's significantly more than Shannon, Winchester and Smith will make in the NHL this season. In one way, that hurts Butler's chances, but it also shows that Murray believes in him and wants him to be an impact player. You can't make an impact if you're playing in the AHL.

Even if Butler doesn't follow up a strong rookie camp with an equally impressive main camp, there's still Zack Smith in Shannon's way. Smith is a prototypical grinding fourth liner as opposed to Shannon, who is a guy who should be in an offensive role. Yet, there's no chance Shannon climbs over both youngsters Foligno and Peter Regin, let alone Milan Michalek for one of those top six spots.

It's hard to conceive how Murray won't opt for youth knowing that Shannon is a UFA after this season anyways. You could argue Shannon was only brought into the organization because of a major lack of talented youngsters coming up the pipeline. Now that those youngsters have arrived, is Shannon even relevant anymore?

Shannon is still a good player and can certainly help another team in the NHL. But it doesn't make sense to keep him in Ottawa if players like Smith, Butler and Wick are ready. We already know Smith is capable. Butler looks close.

I don't see Shannon surviving training camp. Maybe he'll prove me wrong.

***

It struck me as poetic justice that Marian Hossa raised his first Stanley Cup this past season after going to the finals three years in a row, while Pat Quinn saw his long coaching career come to an end in a disastrous season in Edmonton.

It's hard to forget the way Quinn viciously went after Hossa in the media after the unfortunate accident that caused Bryan Berard to be blinded in one eye near the end of the 99-00 season. Quinn seemed to insinuate that Hossa was a careless player and even repeated that claim years later after Berard had not only resumed his career, but had publicly forgiven Hossa for the unfortunate accident.

Both Hossa and Berard conducted themselves with class after a devastating situation, something that could not be said for Quinn in the days and years that followed.

Sometimes, the good guys do win in the end.

On Sweaters...

Just a quick thought:

Reading Bruce Garrioch's piece on rookie camp player Cory Cowick being excited to wear the Senators uniform for the first time today in London, it occurred to me that the actual NHL uniform is devalued somewhat when guys who have no hope of making the team are allowed the luxury of wearing the real sweater.

Not to be a grinch, but wouldn't the legit NHL sweater be more of a threshold if the rookie camp players wore different sweaters, something similar to the practice jerseys, in rookie camp games? And why not extend that to pre-season games as well?

That way, when you actually make it to the NHL and play your first regular season game, putting on that real NHL jersey really means something.

As it is now, even try-out players put on the jersey for meaningless games in September. It's like having two Stanley Cups - a fake one sitting in the Hall Of Fame in Toronto so people can get their picture with it and the real one touring around to various events. It doesn't feel right.

Plus, the team could then experiment with different style jerseys and even sell them to fans who would gladly pay for the kitsch factor of owning a rare but official Sens jersey with a different design. You'd have 3 different sets of sweaters. Rookie, Pre-Season, and Season Official.

Hell, let the rookies try out those super vintage jerseys like the one pictured above. Now that's a marketers dream.

Just a thought....

Senators Have Best Team Off The Ice

While it's bad news for Senators fans that Garry Galley is leaving the team's Sportsnet broadcasts to join Hockey Night In Canada full-time, his replacement, Hall of Famer Denis Potvin, isn't too shabby.

You can kind of look at it like the Sens losing Anton Volchenkov but gaining Sergei Gonchar this summer. You lose a young guy in his prime but you gain an experienced vet who's going to bring another dimension to the broadcast booth.

Well, that's a tad corny, but you get my meaning.

If you've had the pleasure of having the NHL Centre Ice package (and the displeasure of having to pay Rogers Cable a fortune for it), you likely have seen at least a few Florida Panthers games over the years (then again, maybe not - even NHL diehards likely watch the Panthers as a last resort) and Potvin was always a calm voice of reason during those telecasts for the large part of a decade. He was also pretty good at the often moribund NHL Network and their dreary highlight show On The Fly.

It's going to be interesting to hear the kind of chemistry he creates with lead play-by-play man Dean Brown. While Galley was more bubbly than Potvin will ever be, it may actually improve the balance a little because Brown tends to act like a colour commentator half the time with his dry humour and elongated stories while Potvin is more old-school and laid back. It should work fairly well in my opinion.

With Potvin coming aboard, Ottawa remains blessed with likely the top group of hockey related TV and radio personalities in the country. I've lived in each of Canada's four biggest cities in the past 15 years and Ottawa's current lot is still the best in my opinion. Toronto may have the quantity, but not many as likable as the Sens crew.

The best, in no particular order:

Ian Mendes (Sportsnet): It's rare for a modern analyst to be fair to a fault and actively try to present the players point of view instead of being comfortably cynical in their approach, yet Mendes achieves this with ease.

Dean Brown (various): Who doesn't like Dean Brown? His jokes may be corny, but he can call a mean game and knows way more about the NHL than he lets on. He's been around so long that we tend to take him for granted, but he's one of the best in the league at what he does.

Dave "The Voice" Schreiber (Team 1200): He's in a league with legendary Sabres play-by-play man Rick Jeanneret in terms of excitement while calling a game. When the Senators score, even your grandma knows about it (actually my Granny watches every single Sens game and loves Chris Kelly!).

Gord Wilson (Team 1200): He's been here with Dean Brown since the first modern day Sens game and he's one of the best when he gets really wound up. Of all the guys who calls games in this town, he's the one you can most likely picture having a cold one while he does it. He comes across as just really loving the game and is worth the listen just for him calling a big scrap on the ice. He makes it sound like Ali vs Frasier every time.

Steve Lloyd  (Team 1200): One half of the best radio show in town, the Healthy Scratches, and the host of the Sens pre-game show, Lloyd always seems equally comfortable holding court with big names like Bob McKenzie, jokesters like co-host Jason York, or the mixed bag of reporters who snipe at each other before Sens games on the Team 1200. I got on him a little last year for his non-stop coverage of "hits to the head", but he's probably the smartest of all the local hockey guys and is never boring to listen to.

Jason York (Team 1200): Who knew this dude would be so good? He doesn't seem to care too much and that's likely the secret of his success. He still has that player's locker room mentality where everyone gets a nickname and gets razzed a little bit. And then he'll come out with a totally reasonable and smart observation that only an ex-player could give the fans. I find he's almost always on the money with his analysis when he finds the time to give it. Don't underestimate Yorkie. He could go far and let's hope he doesn't ever change his laid back ways.

Honorable mention to John Rodenburg who seems to be a smart hockey guy but hosts a morning show that is traditionally more about comedy than sports.

Top 4 Priorities For Coach Clouston in 2011

It's been a rapid and somewhat painful drop for the Ottawa Senators from their once lofty perch near the top of the NHL's elite class.

Since their march to the Stanley Cup Final in 2007, the Sens have lost in the first round twice (both times to the powerhouse Penguins) and missed the playoffs once altogether. They've burned through a couple of ill-equipped coaches (John Paddock and Craig Hartsburg), a couple of starting goaltenders (Ray Emery and Martin "The Horror" Gerber) and one superstar winger (Dany Heatley).

Yet, last season provided a glimmer of optimism, chiefly from the play of future star (and Alfie replacement?) Erik Karlsson and the late, but inspiring play of goalie Pascal Leclaire in the playoffs.

The tough loss of Anton Volchenkov this summer was mitigated somewhat by the surprising acquisition of power play quarterback Sergei Gonchar and after a mini-squabble between Jason Spezza and the fans, it seems that the team's number one centre is staying in town for the foreseeable future with a healthy chip on his shoulder, looking to prove his army of critics wrong.

In short, there's a slight chance here that the Senators are actually capable of reclaiming their status as a legitimate Stanley Cup contender.

But coach Cory Clouston still has a lot of finessing to do. Most of the pieces are in place, with the exception of a real goal scoring winger. You can argue that the team may be soft on defense now (and I might argue that myself) and soft in goal, but at least the potential is there for success.

With that in mind, here's what I believe to be the top 4 priorities for Coach Clouston this upcoming season - the keys to turning this team from average to intimidating.

1. A bit too obvious - get the power play working again.

No brainer here. The Sens finished 21st in the league in power play percentage last season, despite having three of the most skilled guys in the game in Daniel Alfredsson, Spezza and Alex Kovalev. That shouldn't be the case after signing Gonchar and having a more confident Karlsson on the points. If you think about it, the PP could be downright scary for opponents this year. Even if Kovalev can barely skate this season, he's worth having around if he can learn to work with Spezza on the man advantage. The big problem was the loss of Heatley, a guy who was actually criticized in some circles because all he wanted to do was shoot. But that's exactly the mentality the Sens need on the power play now. Spezza and Kovalev need to shoot more instead of playing hot potato. With everyone on that top unit more attuned to playmaking instead of scoring, Clouston needs to insist they start sniping. Both Kovalev and Spezza have incredible shots. They need to use them more. The second unit will be a step down for sure, but there's potential there with Peter Regin and Nick Foligno, even though one of them, likely Foligno, will be hard pressed to supplant Milan Michalek in the regular formation. Which brings us to our second priority...

2. Turning either Regin or Foligno into a goal scoring winger.

I say "goal scoring winger" lightly because I don't believe either will ever approach the goal production of Heatley or Marian Hossa before him. But the Senators don't have the cash to go out and buy one, so either Regin or Foligno need to score more than 13 and 9 goals respectively. One of them needs to hit 25 goals this year, period. While Regin is likely the one to break through this season, don't count out Foligno. There's something rangy about the young winger that gives you hints he could be the kind of guy to pot 25 goals from within five feet of the crease. He did score 17 goals two seasons ago, so 25 is not out of the question if he can earn top six minutes. But in order to do that, Foligno either has to outplay Regin or Michalek (or rely on someone getting injured) because, likely, that third line is set with Chris Kelly, Chris Neil and Jarkko Ruutu. So it may be second line or bust for Foligno this season. In fact, if he doesn't turn it around, he may find himself on another team where he can get a proper chance. Other than Leclaire, Foligno is the guy who needs to play the season of his life in order to stay employed by the Senators going forward. Clouston needs to nurture the talent of Foligno. In my opinion, the young winger is worth the patience.

3. Making sure the vets are rested come playoff time

The Senators actually had a good shot at beating the Pens last season in the first round but injuries were just too much to overcome. Alfredsson aggravated a hernia playing at the Olympics but didn't help himself by staying in the lineup after the Sens clinched a playoff spot (although seeing him play his 1000th game was a highlight of the season). Kovalev was injured in a meaningless game in April and Filip Kuba was hurt late in the season as well. Of course, a coach can't really control who gets injured or not, but Clouston needs his veterans healthy going into the playoffs, and if that means sitting them down even when they say they're fine, then so be it (assuming the Sens aren't fighting for their lives for a playoff spot). Some of the Sens most important players are 35 and older, such as Alfredsson (37), Kovalev (37) and Gonchar (36). That's most of the first PP unit right there. Obviously they can't afford to have these guys either playing at half-speed or not playing at all. Key defensemen Chris Phillips and Kuba are not exactly young and invincible either. Detroit was able to win multiple Stanley Cups with older players in key positions so it can certainly be done, but luck and a little skillful managing will make or break the Senators year.

4. Play Leclaire even when he struggles

Yes, it's up to Pascal Leclaire to save his career by staying healthy and stopping pucks, but Coach Clouston needs to go to the wall for this guy as well. You could just sense Clouston didn't put his trust in Leclaire until he was forced to by Brian Elliot's poor playoff performance. Miraculously, Leclaire played lights out, giving everyone optimism going into this season. But be warned. It's not going to be pretty right from the get go. This is a goalie who has played a measly 46 regular season games since 2008. He still needs time to work his game out but he's not going to get there if Clouston keeps going back to Elliott, a goalie who Clouston seems to like, if only because he's familiar with him going back to their Binghamton days. Elliott has only proven to be a good backup goaltender so far in the NHL. He's good, but what's his real potential? You can see glimpses of Leclaire being an elite goaltender, but he needs the time and the starts to begin to get there again. The future in the Ottawa goal is either Leclaire or Swedish youngster Robin Lehner. Whenever Elliott plays, this team just seems to be treading water. It may be more stable, but it won't get you to shore.

Anyways, Black Aces looks forward to another great year of NHL hockey and we'll be updating more regularly once training camps commence.

Fan vs Athlete: The Lessons of Patrick Roy and Jason Spezza

I don't necessarily want to revisit the worn topic of Senators fans booing Jason Spezza, which boiled over to the point where a mutually agreed trade out of town became a very real possibility this past summer.

But there's more to this story than the local skirmish it caused. Something that goes to the heart of all spectator sports and the increasingly strained relationship between fans who feel entitled to express themselves freely (believing that money has bought them that imaginary right), and the athletes who feel entitled to work in an environment that's free from constant hostility (believing they've worked all their lives for that right as well).

It's extremely rare to hear an athlete admit that the reaction of the crowd has gotten to them. Modern athletes almost unanimously claim that booing fans don't bother them, that their inherent professionalism acts as a wall against any negativity thrown their way by the beer soaked inhabitants of the upper stands.

They almost always trot out the tired line that "fans pay good money so they have the right to do what they want".

But anyone with an ounce of logic can see the defense mechanism a mile away. Athletes are just as sensitive as the rest of us. Don't buy the line for a minute.

So do fans really have the right to say anything they want? How far does that extend?

The first relevant quote here is from Ken Dryden's famous book The Game:

I am a professional, paid to do my job no matter the circumstances. ... I do only what I can. And by buying a ticket, does a fan acquire a right that a fan in the street has not? Opportunity, yes; access, yes; but any greater right? Does he acquire license to abuse me any way he likes, to say what he won't say to anyone else, anywhere else? Is that what I'm paid for, like a lightning rod, to stand in the place of everyman and attract and purge the resentments from his life? Am I supposed to take it and feel nothing? Is that all part of the game?

Maybe, the author quoted below, Michel Roy, father of Hall of Famer Patrick Roy, puts it more plainly, but no less importantly:

There's a difference between criticizing an athlete's poor quality of play and vilifying the athlete. Some spectators, for whom hockey is a release, fail to make that distinction. They take revenge on a third party for frustrations they are suffering at the hands of a boss, a spouse, a teacher, a colleague, a friend.

The context of Roy's quote (taken from his excellent book, Winning: Nothing Else)  is from the 1995 trade of his son Patrick, from the Montreal Canadiens to the Colorado Avalanche. During that season, inexperienced coach Mario Tremblay seemingly had it out for Patrick from the beginning, which culminated in Tremblay embarrassing the goalie by not pulling him during a 9-1 drubbing at the hands of the powerhouse Scotty Bowman-led Red Wings (Tremblay also had a near hysterical hatred of Bowman from when he toiled under the legendary coach as a player for the Canadiens in the 70's). When Tremblay finally pulled Roy (and after the goalie had stood up to the jeers of the hostile fans by raising his arms after a routine save), all hell broke loose on the bench as the goalie marched up to Team President Ronald Corey and said he had just played his last game for Montreal.

The Montreal fans and the rookie GM Rejean Houle were all too happy to comply with Roy's impulsive wishes and the club even hired a public relations firm to skew the media message, making Roy out to be the bad guy, similar to what Peter Pocklington tried to accomplish with the Wayne Gretzky trade less than ten years earlier.

The fans, despite having watched Roy deliver two near-miracle Stanley Cups in ten seasons that were totally dominated by either the Oilers or the Penguins, had a love/hate relationship with the goaltender and opinion at the time was largely supportive of the trade, logic and loyalty be damned.

Of course, we all know how that turned out for the Habs and their fans (many of whom would be loathe to admit supporting the trade in a revisionist history lesson, much like Senators fans won't admit to wanting Daniel Alfredsson out of town during a slump early in the 2006-2007 season).

Roy went on to win a Stanley Cup that very season in Denver and added one more for good measure in 2001. The Habs meanwhile, never really recovered from the disastrous trade and the even more disastrous hirings of Houle and Tremblay (neither of whom had any experience in their jobs prior) to run the franchise. They are only now getting back their respect around the league after a Cinderella-like playoff run thanks to another red hot goalie, Jaroslav Halak, who they then turned around and traded to the Blues this summer. Oops.

The Montreal fans seemed to have learned their lesson and likely know what got away from them this time.

Perhaps down in Ottawa, the fans have pulled themselves back from the brink of running their best offensive player out of town, and maybe saving themselves ten years of grief looking for another one to replace him.

Money May Dictate Cowen and Butler's Chances

Just a few quick thoughts....

With the loss of defensemen Anton Volchenkov and Andy Sutton, many Senators fans may be looking to a big body like Jared Cowen to possibly make the roster to make that back-end look more imposing.

I'm not discounting the kid - he may very well surprise and beat Chris Campoli for a spot. But Cowen's salary is going to work against him.

If Cowen makes the team and hits all his performance bonuses, the Senators would be on the hook for all of his 1.295 cap hit. Even if he doesn't hit his bonuses, he'll be a cap hit of just over 900 grand. That's a lot of dough when you consider the Sens (according to Cap Geek) are less than a million under the cap as of right now.

If you look at the money side of it, newly signed David Hale might make more sense for the Senators this season. Hale is cheaper (675 grand) and is a fairly robust physical player himself. Even Brian Lee (the horror), currently on a one-way deal, is a potentially cheaper option, making under 900 grand for the year.

If you look at the forwards, the Senators signed the much sought after Bobby Butler out of the college circuit and it looked like he would follow in the footsteps of Jesse Winchester in being eased into the lineup almost right away. But Butler will make 900 grand in the NHL if he makes the team, considerably more than the aforementioned Winchester, Ryan Shannon and Zack Smith, the players he will be competing against for a roster spot.

If the payroll remains status quo, I don't like the chances of seeing either Jared Cowen or Bobby Butler on the opening night roster unless their play in training camp so impresses Bryan Murray that he is forced to move some salary out to accommodate them.

Hopefully for their sake, they make Murray's choice tough.

Cupcakes

The quiet, hot days of summer summon strange conversations and stories in the hockey world, allowing the fan to ponder things that wouldn't get a fraction of a seconds attention during the busy season.

And so it has come to this.

Cupcakes.

If you at all follow the blog Puck Daddy, no doubt you've heard the quirky story of a lady beating the odds and getting her homemade cupcakes past the iron fence of modern day sports concessions and into the dilapidated Nassau Coliseum in Long Island for Islanders games this upcoming season.

Who cares right?

Well, we here at Black Aces do. Not really, but the marriage of cupcakes and NHL hockey have given rise to a mass of Tweeters coming up with their own cupcake jokes, some of which, below, were posted on Puck Daddy:

#nhlcupcakes

Greg's post Thursday about the New York Islanders cupcakes sparked a bit of a to-do on Twitter. The jokes obviously came rollin' in, and made it an odd trending topic for a bit of the late morning.

Some of the better ones:

@DaveLozo: "The Sidney Crosby Cupcake — it doesn't matter if you like it, it's getting crammed down your throat."

@blogesalming: "The Eklund Cupcake: Convinces you you're eating a cupcake and turns out to be urinal cake"

@DownGoesBrown: "The LA Kings cupcake: Fans love it, but don't understand how the icing works."

@psykovike: "Calgary Flames Cupcake... The 'baker' doesn't give a damn if you like it or not... What do you know about cupcakes..."

@radioactivesmrf: "The Chris Mason Cupcake, it's better than it looks. It would have to be..."

@Kevin_Singer: "The Dany Heatley cupcake: demands to be made at another bakery because current one isn't putting it on the right shelf"

And the winner...

@dear_gravity: "The Phil Kessel cupcake: has one nut inside."

Pretty good stuff there (well, the Kessel one was a little much maybe).

But over a particularly long day at work, I started swapping cupcakes with our pal Blood Red Army, and soon the shelves were overflowing with ideas. I thought, what the hell, it's summer. I can do an entire post about cupcakes. So here's what we came up with during our Friday sun-addled afternoon, mostly Senators related and BRA's epic blast at Luongo included.

Enjoy (or don't). We did.


Blood Red Army: The Alexie Kovalev: If you're not careful, it'll disappear before you even get it in your mouth.

Black Aces: The Filip Kuba: No one even noticed it was gone from the bakery shelf.

Blood Red Army: The Rick Dipietro: You'll still be paying for it in 12 years.

Black Aces: The Jonathan Cheechoo: Like fruitcake, whatever appeal it had faded a long time ago.

Blood Red Army: The Jason Spezza: He'll make you sick as he passes backwards through you.

Black Aces: The Jacques Martin: Sugar free, tasteless and bland, but good for you.

Blood Red Army: The Joe Corvo: Will request to be moved to a Duncan Donuts or other generic store.

Black Aces: The Bryan Murray: So sour it makths you talkth lithke thisth.

Blood Red Army:  The Ray Emery: It's chocolate with a white, snowy-frosting.  (Ed.'s Note: Allegedly)

Black Aces: The Martin Gerber: Stank so bad they had to shut the bakery early in 2009.

Blood Red Army: The Roberto Luongo: Decent, but overrated and extra greasy.

Black Aces: The Zdeno Chara: WAY too much yeast.

Blood Red Army: The Erik Karlsson: So slick it'll pass through you before you can even say number 2.

Black Aces: The Cody Bass: Fell through the crack on the bakers shelf and left to rot.

Blood Red Army: The Jarkko Ruutu: Bite in quick before it bites you.

Black Aces: The John Paddock: You get three quarters through it and end up throwing it in the trash.

Blood Red Army: The Bill Muckalt: A year later you'll still be wondering what happened.

Black Aces: The Mike Comrie: Don't buy or sell - the recipe was fucked to begin with.

Blood Red Army: The Don Cherry: Warning - must be split open to allow hot air to escape before eating.

Black Aces: The AlexeiYashin: You can't afford it.

Blood Red Army: The Chris Chelios: You just can't get it to stay down.

Black Aces: The Anton Volchenkov: Shot so full of raisins you wonder how it stays together.

Blood Red Army: The Wade Redden: Slowly rotted from too much sugar. (Ed.'s note: Allegedly)


And a few more for good measure from Black Aces who evidently had more time to kill than BRA.

The Chris Neil: Free tooth inside every one.

The Matt Carkner: Who knew people would like a molasses cupcake so much?

The Andy Sutton: Leaves the experts confused - is it good or is it just another cupcake?

The John Muckler: White icing, full of bones and smells funny.

The Dany Heatley: Smells like chicken, tastes like chickenshit.

Dog Days Are Here...

Still the best video of the year.



I'm already getting nostalgic for Andy Sutton's brief, but memorable time in an Ottawa uniform. It's a shame he's not going to be back.