Sens Roundtable Question 2

Below is the second segment of a round table discussion I was asked to take part in by Tony Mendes of Senshot blog, who wrote and put together this post.

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With the 2011-2012 NHL season quickly approaching, the minds behind a few of the best Ottawa Senators Blogs on the interweb have gotten together to answer the five major questions going into this season.


Last week, we took a look at the future of Daniel Alfredsson and if it was time for him to be moved. This week, we take a look at the future of a few current Sens and if their time in a Sens jersey should come to an end for the betterment of the team going forward. So without further ado, here is question number two of our Sens blog round table.

With the rebuild still in process, it’s to be expected that more bodies will be shipped out of town. Who will (or should) be traded first: Milan Michalek, Peter Regin or Nick Foligno?

Here are the thoughts from the best Sens blogs on the net:

Here's Stephen from SensTown and you can follow him on Twitter here.

To me this one is a no brainer, it's Nick Foligno. You have to look at the potential each player has and where they will top out at. MilanMichalek has proved that when healthy, he's one of the fastest players in the league and can pot 20-30 goals and is very valuable on the PK as well. Plus you can't discount that he was the valuable piece we got from the Heatley deal and trading him so quickly would make it look like they're admitting it was a failure.

Peter Jensen, I mean Regin is a bit of a head scratcher. I'm still not quite sure what happened last year. How did a guy with such potential put out so little? It looked like he was going to be a breakthrough player for us and it just never happened for some reason. Still at his age and with his super cheap contract, I'm definitely not ready to give up on him yet. I still think he can be a top 6 guy, perhaps he just caved under the weight of expectations last year. I look for a much more productive season from the Dane.

And on to Nicky boy. I feel bad for wanting to ship him out of town, but it's the reality of the NHL. To me he doesn't have a role on the team or even in the league really. I'd much rather have his brother Marcus, who will be tearing us up for years to come as a member of the Sabres. Nick doesn't really do anything well and he's endearing because he clearly tries so hard, but he's clumsy, very slow and not particularly good at any role. He's not talented enough to play top 6, but he isn't a fast enough skater or rough enough to really make an impact in the bottom 6 either, which makes him expendable to me. Hopefully we're able to unload him before the rest of the league realizes he shouldn't even be a full time NHLer probably.

It's too bad because he seems like a great guy and he definitely works very hard, he just doesn't have it.

Here's Peter from Silversevensens and you can follow him on Twitter here.

I don't think any of these players "should" be traded at all. But if a deal comes along that contributes to the rebuild more than the player in question would, then we make that trade. It depends on which one is sought after, and what we're offered in return.

Here's Nichols from The 6th Sens and you can follow him on Twitter here.

Well, if one of the three have to go in the name of the rebuild, Milan Michalek would probably net the highest return out of those three names.  Mind you, like Nick Foligno, he’ll enter the season with a lot of job security. He’s a relatively productive top six forward who’s finally healthy and the organization will need his cap hit to stay above the NHL’s cap floor. Unlike the other two players, Regin’s role on this team hasn’t been set in stone and as such, he’s the likeliest of the three to be moved first. He’ll enter camp vying for the second line center role with Stephane Da Costa and possibly Mika Zibanejad. Regin has teased fans with some offensive promise but unfortunately,  he just hasn’t done anything consistently enough to warrant much of a return on his own. It’s for this reason that I’ve written about how prudent it would be for the organization to afford Regin every opportunity to be the second line center and succeed. If Regin can put together a moderately successful campaign, he’s the perfect candidate to be packaged in a deal (with perhaps a Nick Foligno type player) to fetch someone with a higher ceiling.

Here's Dave from SensChirp and you can follow him on Twitter here.

I think there is a market, albeit a small one, for each of the three guys you have listed. All three are young and still have their best years ahead of them but are coming off sub-par seasons. Of that group though, I would have to say Regin is the most likely to be shopped.Regin will have a shot to take that second line centre role in camp this year but if he can't fill that void on a consistent basis, you have to wonder exactly where he fits in moving forward. With Zibanejad poised to assume the roster spot on line two (perhaps as early as this season), Regin seems to be the most expendable. With that said, I expect Regin to be one of the guys that has a big bounce back year. He never really seemed to see eye to eye with Clouston and a fresh start under Paul MacLean could be exactly what he needs.

Here's Jeremy from Black Aces  and you can follow him on Twitter here.

I think Regin and Michalek are safe for now but Foligno is an interesting case because this will be his fourth full season (he split his first season between Ottawa and Bingo) and, according to the cliché, it should be his breakout year. If he doesn’t produce early on, he could be in trouble. You get the sense that the organization expected him to challenge for a top-six spot but he’s already been surpassed by a guy like Bobby Butler and they also brought in Nikita Filatov for that same reason. The first thing they should tell Foligno is to stop trying to stickhandle over the other team’s blueline every shift. He’s a giveaway machine when he does that. That stick should be on “auto-dump” so he can use that rangy physique to cruise the front of the net like a shark looking for garbage goals. Instead of trying to play like Spezza, he should look to a guy like Brad Marchand in Boston. Get meaner, go to the net and show up big in the playoffs if you get the chance. Foligno has great character but he needs to find a proper role under the new coach if he’s going to stick around for the long haul.

Here's Tony from SenShot and you can follow him on Twitter here.

I think this year will most certainly see one of these players shipped out for either a young prospect with potential or for draft picks to help with the rebuild. Out of the three players, Milan Michalek is a name that is recognizable around the league and would garner the biggest return. Now entering his seventh NHL season, Michalek has yet to break through and dominant on the ice. With all the tools to be a speedy, power forward in the league, Michalek just hasn't been able to put it all together, especially here in Ottawa..

What Ottawa needs in this rebuild is some more high draft selections to be able to stock the prospect cupboards. With Michalek's reputation around the league and the package that he has, Michalek could easily nab a first round draft pick from a team in need. Just like the Mike Fisher deal last season, Michalek is a good player, but just not on a rebuilding team.

Michalek has never fit in on a line with Jason Spezza. Expect for the first 20 games in a Sens uniform, Michalek has never been able to perform consistently. I think if the Sens get off to a good start, and if Michalek is rolling, I say sell as high as you can on him and get the biggest return possible.

As for Peter Regin and Nick Foligno, I think the organization has more options with these two. Regin could also be used as a winger if he can't cut it as a centerman this season. And Foligno could be used as a centerman and is still a good bottom six winger. These two are also easier to control as they won't command high salaries next off-season.

Tune in next Wednesday for Question Number Three where we discuss the Sens hoisting this year's All-Star festivities.

www.blackacesottawa.com

A quick housecleaning update: Black Aces has a new domain name at http://www.blackacesottawa.com/, but you will still be directed to the new address if you are using the old http://www.jeremymilks.blogspot.com/ route. (There may be some temporary issues with the new domain name in the first few days as everything switches over.)

Other than that, I look forward to another year of blogging about the Senators and the NHL, and getting called an "a-hole" by certain people for some of my views on the topic du jour (ie; fighting, hitting, Gary Bettman, and my love of the shootout).

And I don't care what the new Winnipeg jerseys will look like. They can't possibly be nicer than that ol' beaut above.

Just An Idea

Love the idea of changing the power-play rules which currently allows short-handed teams to ice the puck without a stoppage in play, but I totally understand concerns that blowing the whistle for a face-off every time this happens could really slow things down.

Just to throw something out of left field that I think no one has mentioned yet:

What about adding 20 seconds to the power-play every time the short-handed team ices the puck, but instead of blowing the whistle, the power-play team goes back to retrieve the puck, but that 20 seconds is automatically added to the power-play on the score clock as soon as the referee indicates it has crossed the line? Now, I have no idea if that is technically possible to do on the score clock, but what it would do is penalize the short-handed team while still keeping the play alive.

If a team insists on icing the puck while short-handed, a two minute minor could carry on for four minutes which would inevitably lead to a goal in a lot of cases. Presto. More goals, the flow of the game is maintained and short-handed teams are no longer allowed to ice the puck which has stuck in the craw of many observers for decades.

Call me Gary.

Sens Roundtable Question 1

Below is the first segment of a round table discussion I was asked to take part in by Tony Mendes of Senshot blog, who wrote and put together this post.

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With the 2011-2012 NHL season quickly approaching, the minds behind a few of the best Ottawa Senators Blogs on the interweb have gotten together to answer the five major questions going into this season.


With the storied career of our captain coming to an end this season or the next, should Ottawa trade DanielAlfredsson this year to a Cup favourite and give him a chance to have his name on Lord Stanley?

Here's what the best Senators blogs got to say:

Jeremy from Black Aces,

"I don't think the player himself, the management or the fans have any appetite to say goodbye to Alfredsson. Too many people are already writing his hockey obituary but Alfie could play another three seasons if the team starts to win again and it remains fun for him to stick around. If Mark Recchi can do it, a guy like Alfie with a similar stocky physique and drive to compete can do it too. His value to this team far outweighs any kind of compensation they would get from another team that wouldn't be able to guarantee a Cup to Alfie anyways. Those types of moves never seem to feel right anyways. Ray Bourque may be the one example where it truly worked but that was more like a fairy tale than any kind of template for other stars in the waning years of their career. I bet Mike Modano wishes he retired a Dallas Star instead of being an odd fit in Detroit this past season."

You can follow Black Aces on Twitter here.

Stephen from SensTown,

"This is a tough one to answer. It really depends on what perspective you want to take. He only has a few years left and clearly we will not be winning the cup in the time remaining in his career and I think many of us would like to see him have another shot at winning the ultimate prize, because lord knows he deserves it. But on the other hand, it would be awfully tough to see the captain in any uniform but ours wouldn't it? And really he's one of the only reasons to come out to watch a game at the moment for many (not myself). He's one of the few "stars" along with Spezza and Karlsson that people instantly recognize and want to lay down their money to see.

I suppose it would also depend on what the return of an alleged trade would bring in. I imagine we would be quite shocked at what we'd get in return for someone his age. In my opinion it wouldn't be worth it and we keep him here to finish his career as a Senator. The only way you consider really moving him is if you're getting a top end young player in return (won't happen) or if Alfredsson goes to management and asks out for one final shot at Lord Stanley.

I'd REALLY like to see him remain a career Senator but I feel he's earned the right to finish his career how he wants and would wish him well if he wanted out, no matter how hard it would be to see him in another jersey."

You can follow SensTown on Twitter here.

Nichols from The 6th Sens,

"Speaking strictly from an asset management perspective, it would probably be the most logical course. Ottawa’s a rebuilding organization that probably won’t be in contention by the time that Alfie hangs ‘em up. With two seasons left on a relatively cap friendly contract and assuming he’s healthy and contributing, this would be the season when he’ll have the highest trade value. (As opposed to trading him next season.) Oh, if only it was this simple... but it’s not. Alfredsson is a selfless captain who is the face of the franchise and a staple within this community who seems destined to take on some organizational role once his playing days are over.

Will they trade Daniel Alfredsson?

Regardless of how often the TO media advocates the benefits of moving Alfie, probably not. Unless, barring some change of heart, the captain privately approaches management and requests to be dealt. Ownership has already gone to great lengths to indicate that he won’t be moved and it’d be a PR disaster if they were the ones to ask him if he’d be interested in moving on."

You can follow The 6th Sens on Twitter here.

Dave from SensChirp,

"This is a question that I plan to dodge until the moment I am given no other choice but to consider it. As I'm sure is the case for many Sens fans, the thought of Daniel Alfredsson in another team's uniform just doesn't register for me. He has been the face of this franchise for so long and his #11 will one day hang in the rafters at SBP. Alfie has a spot with this franchise as long as he wants it and that includes his career after hockey. With all that said, if the Sens were out of the playoff picture, Alfie was healthy, the return was there AND most importantly, Alfredsson asked to go elsewhere, then I guess Murray has to consider it. For all Alfie has done for this city and franchise, he has earned the right to call his shot. Gut feeling says he wouldn't ask for a trade though."

You can follow SensChirp on Twitter here.

Peter from Silversevensens,

"I'm not sure we can say for sure Alfie's career will end before two seasons are up, but I'd agree with the general consensus that if it's up to the captain if he wants to get dealt. I don't think he's got any desire to, though, so I don't think he's going anywhere."

You can follow Silversevensens on Twitter here.

Tony from SenShot,

"With only two more years left on Alfie's current contract, and with injuries beginning to pile up, Sens Army needs to come to the realization that we are witnessing the end of our beloved captain's career. Alfie is still an impact forward and can still produce at this level, and it's safe to say that he is not hanging on too long, a la Rob Brind'amour.

But with Ottawa in the midst of a rebuild, Ottawa is a few years away from even thinking about contending. If Ottawa were to consider trading their captain, I think it is done as a favor to Alfie. He will never ask for a trade, and I think it may be on the organization to approach Alfie about joining a new team. I don't think any Senators fan will think anything less of Alfie if he is shipped to a contender to have a greater chance to get his name on the Cup.

The other issue at hand here is the fact there could be a lockout at the end of this upcoming season. With the CBA set to expire next summer, this may be Alfie's last chance to play in the league, as well as for the Cup. If there is a lockout, I see Alfie and a number of other older players retiring instead of sitting on the sidelines training until the lockout is over.

With all this in mind, I don't believe Alfie will be traded this year. However, if he were to be traded, I would not feel any ill will toward him or the organization. It would be hard, but I would cheer for whatever team Alfie suits up for as he pursues his first Stanley Cup."

You can follow SenShot on Twitter here.


Tune in next Wednesday for Question Number two where we discuss the future of a number of players.

It's Still Okay To Be A Fight Fan

"We've reached a crisis of faith for some fans that have admittedly enjoyed fights for the entirety of their hockey lives, but who now are having second thoughts.  

But for other fans — and I count myself among them — the brain injury epidemic is a product of an inherently violent game.

I'll never apologize for being pro-fighting. It's the game I grew up with, and I've always felt that players enter the NHL accepting that it's part of the gig"
- Greg Wyshynski, Puck Daddy Blog

The above quote from Puck Daddy today was somewhat of a revelation to me, in light of the spirited but civil back and forth I had with Peter Raaymakers of Silver Seven yesterday after I wrote a piece defending fighting in the NHL as a sort of response to an earlier piece he posted on his Silver Seven blog about the human toll that fighting can take on the players who bravely fill that unenviable role.

Much like the rest of the hockey community, a debate about fighting never really seems to change people's minds on either side, and I remain convinced that fighting is not only a vital part of the entertainment package the game provides, but that it's an essential function in hockey, an often brutally physical sport where star players need protection and room to ply their skill in a league full of fourth liners looking hack and whack their way to the next paycheque.

Yet to take that view today is somewhat of a humbling experience, with the latest press crusades against violence in hockey creating an atmosphere where admitting that you enjoy that aspect of the game is perhaps something that you should either hide or be ashamed of.

As Wyshynski said above, you should never have to apologize to anyone or hide the fact that you enjoy fighting in the NHL. It's okay to hold the view that the NHL is about entertainment and not about reflecting the strict moral standards we have to live by in our regular everyday working life. It's okay to cheer for two grown men who are heavily compensated financially for what they do, to fight for their teammates, their team and their fans. Even if a player gets hurt in a fight, that's no reason to hang your head in shame for your supposedly "barbaric" tastes. Players know the risks. They don't have to do it. Many don't and get by just fine. Others thrive in the role. Some are affected negatively. They buy the ticket and take the ride.

On the other hand, there is no reason not to be civil on either side of the fighting debate. For as long as there's been fighting in hockey, there have been people opposed to it and they have a valid point to make as well. In the next few seasons, I predict this issue will be at a fever pitch and there will be plenty of pressure on the league to reduce injuries from fighting, even if that means banning it outright.

That's an issue for another day. But while it exists in the NHL, there is no reason not to enjoy it if that's a part of the game you like. Listen to the arguments from both sides, but never hang your head in shame over it.

I certainly won't.

Fighting Should Remain Part Of The Game

For well over a century, violence in hockey has been debated hotly by all participants in the game – the players, the owners, the media and the fans. For most of that time, the debate has centred on the fighting aspect of hockey but in the last ten years, and in particular the last two or three, most of the debate has been about "head-shots" and the concussions that have plagued the sport.

For those of us that follow the game closely, there's no need to get into another discussion about concussions in particular. They're bad for the player's health. They're bad for the game. Unfortunately, in a contact sport, they're here to stay, if somewhat lessened by new rules that are too recent to properly gauge the overall effect.

To me, the interesting phenomenon is how quickly the quest to "clean up the game" has gained traction amongst the game's most rabid fans (from bloggers to Twits to phone callers on radio shows), while that same sentiment has largely received a luke-warm response from those directly involved in the sport, ie; the players and the owners.

For years, the press, led by The Hockey News (who have been beating the drums about reducing fighting and concussions in hockey since at least the 80's under several different managing editors) seemed to be on an island of public opinion, ignored by fans who flocked to the rinks to see teams like Broad Street Bullies and the Big Bad Bruins, and ignored by the players who grew up thinking there was no other way to play the game.

Now that has changed somewhat. The mainstream press is almost uniformly appalled at on-ice violence despite accusations that an "old-boys network" at mainstays like the CBC relies on violence for ratings. The "Don Cherry mentality" basically survives with the namesake alone in the mainstream punditry, with odd exceptions like Mike Milbury, who was known to wield a pretty good shoe when beating the crap out of fans at Madison Square Garden. It seems the press has done a good job selling their message because a clear majority of interactive fans also feel that hits to the head during what was once a normal function of the game – bodychecking – can no longer be tolerated and there are now some respected voices strongly advocating a blanket ban on hits to the head, which will ultimately mean fighting will be disallowed in hockey. That's not a conspiracy theory. That's just logic.

For years the "anti-fighting forces" (for lack of a better term) in the press were getting nowhere by simply advocating a ban on fighting in the NHL. Fans loved it, the players felt it was integral to the game and the board of governors were completely silent on the subject.

But now instead of opposing fighting outright, opponents have found a back door into public opinion, and that's hits to the head. With medical research finally catching up to what was once the black-hole of information on concussions, the harmful of effects are there for everyone to read ad-nauseum during the hockey season.  Like anything else, once the negative effects of something are shown clearly to the public, the public will demand that something be done about it.

It's hard to find an opinion now in the "hockeysphere" that prefers the NHL maintain the status quo on hits to the head, and over the next few years you'll begin to see that in regards to fighting as well.

Now on the other side of the game where the owners and the players reside, opinion is not as movable.

The NHL was essentially forced to institute the head-shot rule simply because the press and the fans were in a frenzy that was beginning to overshadow the game itself.  Don't mistake that for a change of heart. It was a move made out of necessity to try and put the focus back on the ice, not with just the players well-being in mind. There have been some strong voices within the NHLPA clamoring for heavy penalties on dangerous hits but not as many as you would expect if you read the first page of the Globe and Mail sports section everyday which was transformed into a de-facto medical journal for all of 2010-2011.

Now if you bring up the subject of fighting in the NHL, you'll find even fewer players advocating the end of it. In fact, you'll find many more voices arguing for the abolishment of the instigator penalty and an increase in fighting. That's likely because they feel the instigator penalty protects the "super pest" type of player who can go around delivering dangerous hits without fear of facing the consequences from his fellow players.  We've heard it all a million times.

Clearly, the appetite for reducing violence in hockey, whether we are talking hits or fights, is at a near maximum level in the press and amongst the fans (to a slightly lesser degree), but it is only starting to  gain traction amongst the people actually involved in the game on the ice and in the boardrooms.

Which brings me to my ultimate point here.

Where does this need to scrub clean a traditionally rough and tumble sport come from? Are the motives purely a desire to protect the well-being of the athletes? I often doubt that motive. Most fans were on the side of the owners during the last lockout and were clearly not concerned with the well-being of the players when the subject came to money or their work conditions. In the current climate, NHL players are more often despised for the money they make than they are celebrated for the entertainment they provide. You can't be concerned about the players one minute and not give a crap if they have guaranteed contracts the next. Yet many do. I find that absurd.

Is the impulse to make the game cleaner stem from people not liking real violence in their entertainment? I think that's legitimate and I can see how that can be a concern, especially in a family environment. Hockey has always been violent and occasionally players will step outside the boundaries of what is considered acceptable, creating an impression that the next Marty McSorley incident is just around the corner, despite the fact that these acts are extremely rare. Some people like the artistry of the game and not its counterpart physical aspect. Fair enough.

But how far does the NHL have to bend to please this demographic? Depends on who you ask. If the majority of fans want fighting out of the league, you can be sure that fighting will eventually be banished because, like all things, it comes down to money. The day the NHL can't make money off their current product is the day they change the product.

Yet that day hasn't come. In fact, that day will probably never come. The NHL is raking in record revenues and just signed the biggest television contract in its existence. And that is with the heavy stigma it already carries - that stigma being that the fans and the press constantly bad mouth the product to the point where it has become an obsession. No other major sport has so many people calling for constant change to the very fabric of the game. Yet the NHL survives and thrives in a hostile environment created by what should be their biggest supporters. That's a significant achievement. Most governments can't do that.

Clearly, with the advent of blogs and other social forums, there are more voices than ever expressing their opinions on the game, both educated and ignorant. Yet each voice believes they are right. Who should we be listening to? The people who actually play the game or the people that pay to watch it (99.9% of whom have never played at the NHL level or even close to it).

There is a sentiment out there that somehow the fans should have more say in the game because they are the ones that shell out the money. How many times have you heard people say "We pay their salaries"?

For one, that's faulty logic. The owners pay the players. Fans simply buy the product, just like they buy Coca-Cola or dog food at the grocery store. You don't hear consumers saying they should have a say in the policies of Coca-Cola. It's ridiculous to think it's any different with the NHL. The fans, despite their comforting allusions, have no ownership over the business of hockey.

However, the basic principles of capitalism still apply here. If you don't like the product, don't buy the product. The result will be that the business changes its product or it goes out of business.

Ultimately, fans will decide if fighting stays in the game or not when they vote with their wallets. So far, the verdict is that the game stays pretty much the same because it's making money hand over fist.

Here's a humble suggestion from this scribe: Enjoy the game for how it is today. There are ample amounts of both skill and physicality that make the game completely unique amongst the other major leagues. Fighting will always be debatable but is it really worth getting rid of completely, especially the spontaneous bouts that come from passionate competition?  There is such a thing as protecting the heritage and fabric of a game that has existed in an exciting form with both skill and fighting longer than any of us have been alive.

Times change and so do attitudes, but we are, after all, talking about entertainment here. Nobody is putting a gun to someone's head and saying they have to go on the ice and fight. Players take on this career of their own free will and they are heavily compensated for the risks they take, even fighters. There will always be a human toll in a contact sport. There's a human toll just by going to Dairy Queen on a Sunday afternoon. These are the risks that athletes take when they want to be paid by a professional team. It's not like someone gets to the NHL and says "Whoa, I could get punched in the head? Nobody told me about this!"

Why do we feel the need to regulate the game to such a degree that we take nearly all the danger away from the sport? Isn't that part of its appeal in the first place?

I for one do not look forward to the day when the NHL is so spit polished that Gordie Howe wouldn't be able to recognize it.

Yearbook Time Machine

Within the next couple of weeks the newsstands will be filled with all the various NHL poolie and yearbook magazines, and info-starved hockey fans will drop 10 bucks per magazine without a second thought, myself included. In fact, I've collected a sickening amount of these mags over the years and I took a quick peek at a few of them tonight and pulled this 97-98 version of the Sports Forecaster, featuring, then as now, a Toronto Maple Leaf on the cover for the Ontario version - Felix Potvin was just beginning to play out the string of his Leaf career, soon to be replaced by Curtis Joseph. The Sports Forecaster was a mag ahead its time simply because they gave scouting reports on most regular players on an NHL roster, something the Hockey News and the official NHL Yearbook didn't do back then.

Seeing that this is largely a Sens-centric blog, here's a look at the Senators section. You might see a few familiar names, as well as a few that you've either never heard of or completely forgotten about. Of course, the 97-98 season would end with the Senators winning their first ever playoff series (against Martin Brodeur and the Devils, causing coach Jacques Lemaire to resign from the team for the first, but not the last time.) and then go on to lose to the Washington Capitals in the second round. The Caps would go on to lose to the Detroit Red Wings in the Stanley Cup Final. (Click on photos to enlarge)

There's a lot of great stuff in this book, such as the debate over who was the NHL's best player at the time, between what they called "The Fab Four" - Jaromir Jagr, Paul Kariya, Eric Lindros and Peter Forsberg. Only Jagr will play in the NHL this year. The other three were forced to retire from injury (that season, Kariya would take that all-time cheap shot crosscheck to the face by Gary Suter).

But the highlight here is the "Dirty Dozen Awards" which celebrate the worst in the NHL for the previous 96-97 season. It's interesting to note the tone here. This kind of ultra-sarcastic writing is really a pre-cursor to the hockey blog boom that would happen in the next decade, in particular the tone of the very successful blog Puck Daddy. It seems commonplace now, but you didn't really read stuff like this back then. The climate was a bit more stuffy in 1997 with all the hockey writing done by tenured hockey journalists who tended to save their best jokes for the bar after deadlines had been met. Now this style has pretty much become the norm as NHL personalities get roasted every day by the snarkiest minds you can imagine across thousands of blogs mostly trying to write in the same sort of modern hip style.

Of note here is the "Mel Bridgman Award" for worst general manager. This was named, of course, after the Senators first GM whose most famous quote will always be "Ottawa apologizes". This is great stuff if you remember the players and situations these awards refer to.

Wayne Gretzky's Rocket Hockey

Forgot all about this old beauty that's been collecting dust in my closet. When you get that metal puck going, it's insanely fast and crazy, as can be seen about 20 seconds into this You Tube clip.



The 80's ad. "Batteries not included because they're NOT NEEDED".

Hockey Hair Heaven

Every year when I get the new NHL Official Guide and Record Book, one of the first sections I turn to is the back of the huge tome where they have the index of retired players. The reason? Hockey hair heaven.

On every page of the index are a handful of old black and white player photos that were obviously picked by someone with an eye for classic hockey hair and in particular, 1970's era sideburns, moustaches and portraint shots where the player is just downright drunk, or at least heavily hungover, which was probably common in those years (see Vic Teal and Mike Amodeo below).

With the new guide coming out sometime in the early fall, my battered and well-read 2010-2011 version is soon to be put to pasture. But I've always wanted to do a post on these amazing old-school portraits and I finally got out the scissors and cut out a few strong highlights from this year's book (not as strong as years past but there are still a handful of classics). Among the notable names here are recent Cup winning Bruins coach Claude Julien with a wicked middle-part, Hawks coach Joel Quennville who looks exactly the same as he does now, Scot Kleinendorst, the older brother of Bingo Sens coach Kurt K., Oilers GM Steve Tambellini with a perfect feather and stache combo, as well as legendary Senators player Frank Finnigan with an even more legendary side-part and wave. My favourite though has to be ex-Wings goalie Vincent Riendeau with a haircut that looks like it was moulded in a sheet metal factory. Here they are, in all their faded black and white glory (click on images for bigger viewing size).

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Kovalev - Pure Gold

"My opinion of Ottawa journalists is that they don't watch hockey at all. When they fly with the team and go through the [metal detector] at an airport, their bags are filled with beer."

-     Alexei Kovalev speaking to Sovetsky Sport via Puck Daddy

That is truly one of the funniest things I've ever heard a hockey player say to the press, regardless if it's true or not.

Love him or hate him (and it seems this guy is almost universally loathed in Ottawa – but not by me), you have to give Kovalev some respect for being his own man, no matter what the situation, in a hockey world that generally frowns upon athletes with strong, stubborn personalities.

Seriously, this guy is incredible. His nickname in Montreal was "L'artiste", but some of the players in Ottawa liked to call him "The Most Interesting Man In The World" in tribute to that guy from the Dos Equis beer commercials.

Kovalev flies planes, he moonwalks for the fans, he used to collect Troll dolls, he throws coaches under the bus like they were nothing more than shoeshine boys, he tells the media and the fans to "get out of my head" and now he lays down an "Ottawa reporters are too busy drinking beer to watch the actual game" crack, which is sure to become legendary amongst the pub crawling, wing eating, beer guzzling world of NHL journalists who love nothing more than swapping these kinds of stories during long lonely nights in Buffalo.

On top of that, after telling the Ottawa press he wanted to retire a Montreal Canadien two summers ago, moments after signing with the Senators, he was at it again telling the Russian press that he wants to retire an NHL'er after just signing a two-year deal in the KHL.

Simply amazing.

You know, apropos of nothing, maybe the real problem with Alexei Yashin is that although he was a pretty good villain in this town, he was always boring. He always said the right thing in the minimum amount of words. In short, he was a robot. An evil, greedy robot who sucked everyones will to live within a 200 km radius of the Ottawa Valley.

But Kovalev isn't a robot. He's got that "too cool for school" vibe thing happening but when he's of the mind, he'll let it all hang out with some of the things he's willing to say. That's what villains are supposed to be like. They need to be more like the Joker, less like the "sweater-vest and smile" Stephen Harper.

It's probably no surprise that Kovalev wasn't shy about putting a few more knives in Cory Clouston's back, but perhaps the biggest reveal of the article on Puck Daddy was the Sovetsky Sport interviewer bringing up Sergei Gonchar by saying "I asked Sergei Gonchar what game model Ottawa had. The defenseman could only throw his hands up."

To which Kovalev responds "In two seasons I still couldn't understand the ideas of our coach Cory Clouston."

If it's any consolation to Kovalev and Gonchar, nobody else could either.

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Ye Olde Bodycheck Magazine

I wouldn't say I'm a candidate for that Hoarders show just yet, but my wife keeps telling me I have way too much crap, and occasionally I'll pretend to sort it all out which basically consists of me opening a box and finding incredible stuff I haven't looked at in ten years and vowing to never throw it out while my wife drops f-bomb after f-bomb on me as I cower in the basement.

And recently I came across a small bundle of those old Bodycheck magazines, which was the official publication of the Ottawa Senators in the early years published by Jim Steel and had local trivia whiz Liam Maguire as one of their main writers. I believe at one point it was distributed by the Ottawa Citizen but was discontinued sometime in the mid to late 90's only to be resurrected some years later as a playoff-only magazine. To be honest, it's near impossible to find much info about it but if someone can fill me in on the history I'd like to hear it. (You can view a complete 2008 version here).

With the Senators about to embark on their 20th NHL season and planning a series of heritage events (including a jersey that they cruelly did not reveal at today's press conference), here's a quick look back at some of the more garish and dated highlights of the Bodycheck mag that filled the gaps in our Senators knowledge before the internet made us all a bunch of jaded know-it-all's.

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A cover from Alexei Yashin's rookie season in 93-94 which shows Mark Messier about to spear him in the groin. True story: I used to collect Yashin hockey cards almost exclusively and during the late 90's I lived in Toronto for a few years and became a regular at Legends memorabilia shop on King Street. I became pals with the guys working there but they used to tease me mercilessly for being a Yashin collector but I remained defiant, saying Yash was going to be one of the best players of his generation. Now those cards are completely worthless and I wonder if those guys still think back and have a good laugh at how much money I dropped on those damn things.

How many of you actually remember Dave Hannan? He played only 34 games for the Sens in 97 but was a bit of a big deal in town for a while because he won a Cup with Colorado the year before. The designer got a little cheeky there with the crooked K.

Before the Team 1200 (and its predecessor OSR), the games were on CFRA. Very strange to see the Expos and Rough Riders logos here. This town used to be a hardcore Expos/Rough Riders zone.

Back in those days the big prize among players was getting involved with a car dealership (as this beauty Mario Lemieux ad can attest). In fact, it's still a big thing today too.

Jacques Martin knew a hell of a lot about golf in his days with the playoff challenged Senators. That joke was super-lame and way too easy. I apologize.

Dave McLlwain deep into the early 90's Garth Brooks inspired look. He actually had a great season in Ottawa when he scored 43 points in 66 games in the 93-94 season and was one of only a handful of players to play for both the Leafs and the Sens (try and name the others). He ended up playing pro hockey until 2009 when he finished up in Europe. Not a bad career at all.

Bodycheck always had the full page posters which were on the walls of many a kid in the mid-90's. Can you believe how young Wade Redden looks here?

Bodycheck was not known for its wit but this pic gives a cool view of what it was like to play NHL hockey in the Civic Centre with that big half-wall on one side of the rink. I'm sure guys like Jeremy Roenick just loved to play against someone like Daigle. Total bloodbath.

Even Peter Sidorkiewicz had endorsements in this town. It's hard to explain just how excited this town was in 1992 to have an actual NHL hockey team again. Sylvain Turgeon was treated like a Hall of Famer wherever he went.

More Yash. Someday the Sens will wear a version of this sweater again. Mark it down.

And finally, the obligatory photo spread of the fans. Guess which photo should have been left on the cutting room floor? Or at least had a bra photoshopped in. Seriously, that's nasty.

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Brushing Up On History.... Sens Fans Finally Get The Gear They Want

As the Senators get ready to reveal a retro "Heritage Jersey" on Thursday, it reminded me that I've been hoarding a few interesting photos that a friend working for the Canadian Archives shared with me. Not many people actually take the time to check out the vast amount of photos and memorabilia collected in the Archives but here are a few Ottawa hockey related items that you don't see very often.

The Rideau Hall Rebels (Vice Regal Parliamentary Hockey Club) circa 1890 posing in a photographer's studio (the same room another picture featured on their Wiki page here was taken four years later). Note the tiger rug on the floor. This is the team Lord Stanley watched his sons play for and which gave him the idea for the Stanley Cup. Not too shabby.

The Glebe Collegiate hockey team circa 1938. I graduated from the same school 58 years later. Not...too....shabby.

Frank Finnigan hockey card (front and back) circa (1933-1934?) I don't have the exact date of this card but the Senators moved to St. Louis in 34 and the back of the card mentions the 32 season when he was on loan to the Toronto Maple Leafs. So that puts this card in a two year window right around 33 or 34. For the first time since then, the Senators will be donning their historical "O" symbol. #Nottooshabby.

The following two examples are not from the Archives, as far as I know, but I found these on the web a while back and can't remember where. Anyways, in the spirit of the thing, here's a couple more vintage Senators cards with the old sweaters. A little shabby.

And if you really want to go back.... we can't do without a Brad Marsh hockey card thrown into the mix.

The great thing about the Senators introducing a Heritage jersey with the "O" logo is that on some nights, they can skate onto the ice in a sweater they can be proud of and that properly reflects the rich history of hockey in the capital city. Here's an easy prediction: It won't be long before they make the "O" logo and the barber pole jersey's a matching home and road combo with their current red sweater becoming their "alternate" jersey. It will all come down to money. If the new sweater sells like it should, the team will keep going with it, just like they did in Edmonton and Buffalo with their own nostalgic sweaters. There's a lot of young fans in this city but there are even more adult fans who don't want to walk around sporting a cartoonish logo on their caps and shirts. They want traditional gear that can match up with the Habs and the Leafs and the rest of the original six. Remember when they came out with those black, red and white barber pole scarfs a few years ago and how they couldn't keep them on the shelves? Everywhere you go in Ottawa you see people wearing the "O" logo on their ballcaps. It's a no-brainer for the organization to finally go with what the fans have been wanting for years, but it's also surprising that it took them so long to figure it out.

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More Secrets Revealed?

Some random notes from the dog days of summer:

The big news the past couple of days has been the Sens 3rd jersey leak from the Icethetics blog which shows a poor quality black and white "photocopy" of the complete uniform design (allegedly). If this is the sweater (and it sounds like we'll find out on Thursday from the Senators themselves during a media event scheduled), then it certainly has my approval. But something seems a little weird about the whole thing. Why would someone go to all the trouble to provide a crummy looking "photocopy" and not a colour version if they were going to all the trouble of leaking it? And if this was an official document handed out to alumni members straight from the team, where's the All-Star logo? Where's the stripes on the hockey pants? And haven't we all seen this template before? Looks like the kind of template anybody with Microsoft Paint could doctor. Now, it's probably a real leak and I'd be willing to bet it's the real deal, but until the Senators throw one on the table, I'll withhold my judgment....And that brings us to the other big mystery, and that's the fate of the new scoreboard for Scotiabank Place that was promised, denied, then promised again, depending on who you believe. The guys over at Sens Town dropped a tidy little scoop last week about that very scoreboard but we still wait for any official word from the team about it and when/if it might be installed. I find it truly bizarre how secretive the organization is about this issue. To be fair, they've put up a blanket denial whenever asked, but maybe Cyril Leeder should let everyone know exactly what's happening at Thursday's press conference just so everyone can stop trying to guess. If they can't put it in for this season, fine. Most season ticket holders will accept that if they know improvements are on the way down the road. If the illustrations provided are accurate, people should be pretty happy with the new look. Hopefully the guys putting it up aren't the same ones who built the Bluesfest stage…....Speaking of which, Cheap Trick just cancelled a show in B.C. because the stage was built by the same company who built the one that crumpled on top of them in Ottawa in July. Now I can understand Cheap Trick's point of view here, but are these guys so wildly popular right now that they can afford to just cancel shows like they were Oasis or Guns N'Roses in their brawling primes? As far as I know, no one had heard the name Cheap Trick for the past twenty years until their stage went el foldo. You don't hear about April Wine cancelling gigs do you? Or Loverboy? No, cuz they got bills to pay. And 17 fans to entertain…..

….The NHLPA should help out their future union members and try to force the NHL to ban these pre-draft interviews that have gone completely out of control. Now these kids have to fly to different cities like Ottawa and do on-ice workouts for teams that in all probability won't even be able to draft them. Only a few clubs are doing it right now, but what's to stop every organization from wanting to do the same thing? I realize it's not mandatory and a prospect can decline the invite, but if they do decline, they end up looking bad. It's borderline ridiculous when these guys are already put through the meat grinder at the Draft Combine. And if teams still insist on doing these, maybe they should refrain from dressing them up in official gear. No one wants to see pictures of Gabriel Landeskog wearing Sens equipment and practice jerseys floating around the internet for years. It's the NHL's own version of the "Dewey Defeats Truman" headline (well maybe that's pushing it, but you get my drift)….

…..I find it hard to believe the Edmonton Oilers didn't improve their goaltending over the summer. They have some good kids up front with star potential and some key veterans like Ryan Smyth and Andy Sutton to help them along. But those positives can be quickly cancelled out by terrible goaltending. Nikolai Khabibulin is currently spending 30 days in the slammer and his best years are well behind him in Tampa Bay and Phoenix. Devan Dubnyk is a former first round pick but he hasn't had a winning season since 2007 when he split time between the East Coast league and the AHL. It sounds like the Oilers have total confidence in Dubnyk and maybe they'll be rewarded for their patience like the Red Wings were with Jimmy Howard. Or maybe they sink this year because they can't keep pucks out of their net and guys like Taylor Hall start to get used to losing. Rebuilds are great, but at some point you have to start winning important games or you can start to tread water again. Just ask the St. Louis Blues or the Columbus Blue Jackets, both of whom recently hit the panic button in the midst of their own "rebuilds from hell". Maybe the Oilers have one more year of grace anyways, but losing will get old rather quickly even with the high profile draft picks that come with it…..

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