The Backhander Feb. 6 - Vacation Bound

Note: I’ll be out of country on vacation for a week so Black Aces will be back around the 15th or the 16th of February while I’m getting inebriated in the sun without an internet connection. In my head I’m already on the beach but I thought I’d get in a few words before I head out.

***

The Senators next three games at home are all winnable – Carolina, Winnipeg and Buffalo – before they go into Pittsburgh on a back-to-back next Wednesday. If they could get those six points, or even 5 out of 6, Ottawa will have a comfortable cushion on a playoff spot that will offset some expected dry spells without Jason Spezza in the lineup. It’s a certainty the Senators will lose games directly because they don’t have Spezza driving the offense. He’s that important. But if you get on a roll here at home and beat the teams you should, it really gives this team breathing room while they wait for #19. They could lose 3 or 4 games in a row later this month and still be alive. Carolina will be tough but Ottawa has better luck with them in Kanata than they do in Raleigh. The Jets straight up stink on the road, even though they stole one in Ottawa last January. The Sabres are a mess right now and Ottawa always plays them well. Six points is not out of the question.... Which makes you wonder if Ben Bishop is going to get one of those games. My guess is he gets the Jets on Saturday but or maybe even Buffalo on Tuesday which would allow Paul Maclean to save Craig Anderson for the Penguins the next night...

Strange how hockey fortunes go. Peter Regin was given a chance as a second line centre and looked intimidated and ineffective in two consecutive losses against Carolina and Montreal. Next game he gets dropped to the fourth line and starts making great plays, resulting in two assists and an increase in shifts and ice-time. Is it a coincidence or is it the sudden decrease in pressure? Whatever it is, it’s working. I doubt Regin will get another chance to play in the top-six until the Sens lose a game or two and the chess pieces are moved around, but there’s nothing wrong with having a playmaker on your 4th line going against the opponent’s worst defensive pairings. There’s a really good hockey player hiding in Regin (remember Sidney Crosby praising him a few years ago after their last playoff meeting?) but we’re all still waiting for him to appear. I don’t know why I’ve spent so much time talking about him this week Regin is an interesting guy. You get that gnawing feeling that even if he doesn’t prove himself and the Senators let him walk this summer, he’ll show up somewhere and be a top-six guy eventually..... Nice to see Daniel Alfredsson back. It took him a few weeks but he’s been dangerous for the last two games and was the best player on the ice against Buffalo last night – or was it Erik Karlsson who deserves that status? The scary thing is Karlsson thinks he hasn’t played his best game yet. Imagine if he played in Toronto or Montreal? There wouldn’t be a bigger name in hockey right now.....

.... Thank the hockey gods that we get to witness at least one or two franchise train wrecks every years. It’s kind of a nasty thing to say, but it’s undeniably fun to see a team like the Washington Capitals collapse, the same way a lot of fans surely enjoyed Ottawa’s own disaster zone a few years ago. I don’t want to see someone like Adam Oates lose their job, but it’s fascinating how once great teams can fall on such hard times. It wasn’t that long ago that Alex Ovechkin and Mike Green were the hip kids of the NHL. Now they’re openly ridiculed with non-D.C. fans cheering on every loss, wondering how far it can go before all hell breaks loose. I know that when I read out of town hockey news, I’m immediately checking out the Washington, Buffalo or Philadelphia papers ahead of anything out of San Jose or Chicago. There’s not much to say when a team’s going good, the same way I find it harder to write about Ottawa after a win than it is after a loss (as you can see by this slight piece of fluff today). There’s a lot of people kicking Ovechkin and Green on their way down, but if Pittsburgh was similarly struggling, there would be a lot of sympathy for guys like Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. The reason? The Caps stars struck fans as cocky, even arrogant. The same can’t be said for Crosby and Malkin who have always appeared more humble.... Speaking of fallen stars, it’s hard to watch Tyler Myers play hockey nowadays. The Sabres, and their long suffering fans deserve a better fate than seeing their future franchise player come unravelled like that. Lindy Ruff has to get that kid back on track or he’s going to finally lose his job. Even Ryan Miller can’t bail out a defense that’s playing that poorly.

See you folks next week.

The Backhander – Feb. 4th... Regin Wasting Opportunity... Refs Wasting Our Time

What would Ottawa give up for a chance to trade for Ryan O’Reilly? No one is even suggesting Ottawa is considering such a deal, nor Colorado who seem intent on playing hardball with the RFA as Montreal did with P.K. Subban, but if he does become available he’s the type of player Murray would love to have here. Most GM’s would feel the same way. Would you deal Mark Stone as part of that package? Most fans would instinctively scream “Nooooo” because parting with prospects and draft picks is seen as treason nowadays, but Murray had a lot of success with Kyle Turris, a player who was locked in a philosophical or personality clash with his previous coach in Phoenix, Dave Tippett. Not much difference with O’Reilly except that it’s over money this time..... Tough to see Peter Regin struggling to create offense when he knows this may be the biggest opportunity of his career with Jason Spezza out. In the last two games he’s looked timid and frustrated, even pedestrian. Stats aren’t everything, but his are downright ugly. 9 games, 0 points and 41% in the faceoff circle. He does have 15 shots, good for 8th on the team but then you look at guys like Chris Neil (23 shots) and Erik Condra (20 shots) and wonder why Regin doesn’t have more. He had a chance to shoot on a 2-on-1 against Montreal on Sunday but forced a pass back across the ice which was picked off. You could feel his confidence derailing into the side of a building on that play. Time for a change on that second line? Maybe Stephane Da Costa gets a chance in that spot, but it’s not clear where he’ll play until Maclean addresses the media about it. My guess is Regin gets a little more time.... On the positive side, even after 2 losses in a row, Daniel Alfredsson is looking better. It might have been his best game against Montreal on Sunday and he was all over the puck. Takes a while to get those old bones warm, but once he’s at the level he can get to, expect some goals to come on the powerplay....

..... It seems a shame that in order for Guillaume Latendresse to get back in the lineup it will likely mean Kaspars Daugavins sits. There’s just something about the energy Daugavins brings on that fourth line which makes you want to see him play most nights, but that’s not going to happen..... Cam Ward is killing me in my hockey pool. Every year I pick a dependable goalie and every year that goalie falls apart in the first few months, putting me miles behind the pack. Last year it was Ryan Miller. Why didn’t I pick Luongo?..... Timing is everything and it’s unfortunate for Ottawa that Spezza’s injury and Jakob Silfverberg’s growing confidence are intersecting. The two struggled a little playing with each other for the first time but it would have been interesting to see if the chemistry started growing once Silfverberg got more comfortable, which seems to be happening now. The team can’t score but Silfverberg looks like he’s starting to get a feel for the games and would have figured in on two Ottawa goals on Sunday if it weren’t for the worst blown call of the year. The league is erring too far on the side of caution and it’s screwing with the brains of the refs. The spirit of the goalie interference penalty is to protect them from forwards crashing the net as a tactic for goal scoring and causing severe injuries like Grant Fuhr suffered when Nick Kypreos bowled him over on purpose in the 90’s. It’s not there to call off goals on minor technicalities such as a slight bump, and especially not to allow Carey Price to skate out of his crease, bump a forward like Silfverberg and have a perfectly good goal disallowed. We’re getting into soccer and basketball territory here and it’s downright sickening to watch. This is not just an isolated blown call. This is the mindset of a league that’s been bullied by whining goalies like Ryan Miller and battered by the press for violence and as a result we see ref’s blowing their whistle at almost anything. You’ll see it more this season and Ottawa won’t be the only team victimized by it....

.... Gotta admit, I had some real doubts about Montreal. Rookie GM, bringing back Michel Therrien and playing hardball with P.K. Subban. So far it’s all worked out and they look like a different team. They’re tough, they can skate with anybody and their goalie might be the best in the league. They look like a playoff team to me..... This lack of scoring and Spezza’s injury are doing a pretty good job of masking Ottawa’s real need, which is still on defense. Patrick Wiercioch, Andre Benoit and Mark Borowiecki have done a decent job back there but on most nights they’re just surviving, although I think Benoit has been the best of the bunch. When Sergei Gonchar went down with the flu, you could see the strain on the pairings which resulted in Erik Karlsson trying to do a little too much and the power-play looking noticeably weaker. And I don’t think Paul Maclean really feels Borowiecki in particular is ready to be a regular, by yanking him in and out of the lineup. This team would look much better with one more veteran back there and Mike Lundin doesn’t strike anyone as the solution, although it’s wrong to write off a player who hasn’t even tied his skates yet. Kurtis Foster would have been a nice addition to this team when he was available but that ship has sailed. Mark Eaton anyone? It’s not as if there’s a whole swath of veteran defenseman available for Bryan Murray to pick up, but there were a few immediately after the lockout. There’s no panic now, but that can change rather quickly.

The Pocket Rocket - Henri Richard

11 Stanley Cups in 20 seasons. That's over .500.

Insane.

The Backhander - Jan. 30

Paul Maclean saying he “hates” Peter Regin as a winger seems a tad harsh, but refreshingly honest. Most coaches speak in codes, especially about strategy. Maclean really let it all out there. If I was Regin, I would make damn sure I died trying up the middle, because if the coach puts you back on the wing at some point, things probably aren’t going too well. ... There’s just something about both Jim O’Brien and Mika Zibanejad and the way they skate that makes them stand out. Both of them have so much size and power but they’re not truly filled out yet physically, so they seem knobby-kneed and a little out of control, like some kind of horse let loose on the ice. At times against the Caps, Zbad seemed like a giant among Smurfs. My pal says he looks like Marian Hossa when he was around that age and that when he learns to protect the puck like Hossa, he’ll be unstoppable. I think he’s right on that one. Sometimes I think of Scooby Doo though when I watch him pinballing around and those big legs scrambling. He was easily the best player on the ice against the Caps outside of Craig Anderson. As I said on Twitter, the only way he goes back to the AHL now will be over Paul Maclean’s dead body. He wanted him to stay last year. I doubt he’ll have the same fight with Bryan Murray now. Just open the gate and let the big dog run wild for a few weeks and see what happens. Maybe he’ll find a hidden treasure in a spooky old haunted amusement park ... O’Brien just keeps getting better and better. When he’s at full speed going over the blueline he looks strong enough to carry five players on his back. He’s certainly smiling a lot more now too. He always struck me as over-serious and sullen, but struggling to make the NHL after being a 1st round pick might do that to the best of us. Looks like he’s arrived now, at least as a third or fourth liner with speed and size. Nothing wrong with that....

... Another strong game from Erik Condra against the Caps. He’s living up to the reputation of the number 22 in Senators history. Chris Kelly and Shaun Van Allen would do a Wiser’s slow clap of approval if they happened to be sitting on a sofa and sipping drinks next to the Senators bench last night. The tradition continues... I hate that I just shilled for Wiser’s like a little punk but I think that ad has now crossed the line into “Where’s the beef?” territory – ie. part of our everyday vernacular. I hope the copy writer who actually came up with that idea is himself sitting on a pile of cash and sipping a nice Bourdeaux in the South of France somewhere.... Erik Karlsson, unsurprisingly, leads the Senators in shots with 22. Next on the list? Chris Neil with 15. I will spare you my usual gushing on Neil, but Sportsnet capturing him on camera cajoling his teammates into a better effort while sucking wind on the bench after another hard shift was great television. It’s hard to believe that just a few years ago people were talking about him possibly leaving town. If Cory Clouston had any idea what he was doing, he would have had a loyal soldier in Neil. Instead, Clouston let him rot on the bench. What a shame.... Keith Jones on NBC last night said he liked the increase in fighting this year and had no problem with fights off the opening faceoff. As a longtime NHL player, Jones understands the motivation behind it. While most journalists and commentators shift uncomfortably when the subject comes up because they don’t want to come off as barbarians in today’s buttoned-down environment, Jones was genuine about it and didn’t try to soften it up for the viewers. Again, good television. ...

... Mark Borowiecki had a tough game last night and that may not be a total surprise after the great press he was getting for his inspired play against the Pens on Sunday. My guess is he was a little nervous trying to live up to all that sudden attention and it got away from him in the early going against Washington. I thought he rebounded nicely in the 3rd period and got back to making simple physical plays in his own end. He’ll be fine.... You have to wonder if Maclean would like a mulligan on having Patrick Wiercioch on the ice in the final minute protecting a one-goal lead. When Zack Smith couldn’t clear the zone, the puck ended up on Wiercioch’s stick and he seemed to panick and threw it right onto the stick of a Cap in the slot for a point-blank chance. It didn’t even faze Anderson. He shut it down and that was the game right there.... As of this writing, it wasn’t clear if Anderson would get the start tonight against the Habs but after what happened the last time Ben Bishop took over on a back-to-back, I would be shocked if Maclean tried the same strategy and played Bishop. But you have to play him sometime... And finally, when is the Maclean moustache joke going to get old? I thought we got it out of our system the first year. Now it’s just snowballing. We have people purposely sitting behind the coach now wearing fake ‘staches so they can have their faces on Sportsnet for five seconds. If I was Maclean I would shave it off because clearly the fine people of Ottawa just can’t handle the very idea of it. It will become lamer than the Green Men in about five games. Or maybe I’m just a grumpy old bastard and should let people have a laugh. What do you think?

The Backhander: A Few Quick Game Day Notes

A nice piece of writing by the Citizen’s Wayne Scanlan on Ottawa’s defense prospects going forward:

“A few years down the road, as the prospects mature, the Senators envision a large, physically imposing defence corps, with Erik Karlsson, of course, dancing among the giants.”

That paints quite the picture, although it brings to mind Karlsson in an elf outfit somehow.

... Gotta say I’m looking forward to the day Eric Gryba gets his shot to play in Ottawa. I thought he looked ready a few training camps ago, but it sounds like that’s just happening now. Ottawa has had a lot of “elves” on their third defense pairing over the years, not necessarily in size (Brian Lee was a pretty big man) but more in their style of play. Chris Campoli, Brian Pothier, Alexandre Picard and Tom Preissing. They could all skate and make plays but in the end, didn’t really make their mark and were considered disposable. A guy like Gryba, much like Matt Carkner before him, will provide an unmistakeable presence back there if he can manage the jump and get comfortable. As they say it, it takes different ingredients to bake a cake. Too much of the same kind of player can get a little tiresome to watch ...

... It’s a tough business. The clock is already ticking down on Guillaume Latendresse and he’s barely had a chance to get in shape. Although some would say that’s his problem in the first place. The reality for Latendresse is that Mika Zibanejad is knocking on the door and the organization would gladly throw over a lot of people in order not to impede Zibanejad’s progress. Same situation for Mark Stone when he's deemed ready. If it means eating a little crow on a no-risk free agent signing like Latendresse, the Sens will gladly make room for their strong group of forward rookies. In the meantime, Zack Smith and Colin Greening are doing a much better job at providing size and toughness on the top two lines whenever they’ve gotten a chance to. Latendresse still seems to be in a fog right now. Chances are, Latendresse will find his wheels and start getting a few goals here. Injuries will provide him that lineup spot as long as he can stay healthy himself, but if it comes down to him and Zibanejad, all things being equal, the Swedish rookie will get the nod. Nobody wants to see another Jonathan Cheechoo scenario in Ottawa, so Latendresse needs to start making a difference soon ....

... I’ve heard some complaints about the quality of hockey so far this season and I’ve seen a few bland games myself, but in theory, shouldn’t these games be more high scoring and exciting if a lot of the stars are in shape (from playing in Europe) while the lower-end guys struggle to get back in game shape? Truth is, the smothering systems and ridiculously huge goalie equipment can overcome any kind of adversity you throw at the game. I still can’t believe how much this league coddles the goalie fraternity and lets them subvert the spirit of the game. Someone needs to implement a good old fashioned scorched earth policy and shrink these goalies back to at least early 90’s size. It might not make too much of a difference on a behemoth like Anders Lindback or Ben Bishop but it will certainly add some goals to the game. I don’t care how many times people say they love 1-1 ties as long as they’re well fought. High scoring hockey is just better. Hopefully we see two pretty high octane teams in Washington and Ottawa open it up tonight.

Patience With Silfverberg Will Pay Off For Maclean and Spezza

There was a moment about halfway through Monday’s game between the Panthers and the Senators when I started wondering how soon Colin Greening would be back on that top line instead of the much heralded rookie Jakob Silfverberg. It seemed inevitable to me as I got caught up in the minutia of the game.

The new setup just wasn’t working. Silfverberg, the Senators latest draft steal, looked indecisive and wasn’t finding those open areas on the ice that Jason Spezza can always deliver a saucer pass into. After a game and a half, I thought I could see a change coming.

Then the kid actually scored his first goal in the third period on a classic Spezza dish into the slot.

Wrong again, Mr. Milks.

Any time a coach makes a change to what was considered a strength the previous season, there’s going to be doubts.  Greening, who has been pushed down the depth chart by Silfverberg and Guillaume Latendresse, had a productive run on that top line last season, scoring 17 goals, providing size along the boards and in front of the net. But now he’s on the wing with Zack Smith and Chris Neil, a line that basically puts most of Ottawa’s forward grit and size in one package.

So far, it’s worked out well because the Senators go into Florida Thursday night 2-0 on the season, but the top line has only produced two goals while the second unit centred by Kyle Turris has done the bulk of the offensive work.

But here’s why coach Paul Maclean is going to stay patient with Silfverberg:

The way Spezza plays, he needs the kind of winger who has the potential to read his sometimes zig-zag mind. Milan Michalek is a little different as he’s mostly an up and down winger who goes to the net with an above average set of hands. You could put Michalek on any line and he’d play the same way and not have his stats hindered too much. But when you plug a Dany Heatley or Daniel Alfredsson onto Spezza’s wing, you have a different type of dynamic at work.

Both Spezza and Heatley have elite hockey sense (regardless of what you think about #15, it’s undeniable) and knew a split-second before anyone else what Spezza was thinking and got into the right spot on the ice. That’s not an easy thing to do and it’s not something you can really teach.

Obviously Maclean sees in Silfverberg a player with elite hockey sense and those kinds of guys don’t come around very often. The short-term might be a little tough but Silfverberg is the “type” of player Spezza can work with and have the most success. That’s why the Nikita Filatov experiment was tried last year as well. It’s probably a carryover from Maclean’s Detroit days, where Hockey IQ was valued above all else. Greening, as good as he is, is not exactly in that mould.

Maybe, with that one goal late in the game on Monday, there’s a bit of a spark between Silfverberg and Spezza now. The rookie Swedish winger will likely get a long rope in the early going to see if that chemistry can build. Even if he doesn’t start piling up the goals right away, Silfverberg still needs to start converting those Spezza feeds into actual chances. That’s where the trust will build up and once that’s there, the points will come in droves.

Silfverberg was a slow starter in the AHL as he got accustomed to the league. The NHL is an even bigger step but the biggest challenge for Silfverberg is going to be learning how to play with Spezza, not the physicality or the speed of the game.

And my best guess is he’ll do just fine.

Sens Rolling The Dice With Rookie Defenders

For the Ottawa Senators, it’s nice to be on the other side of controversy right now. For all the goaltending doubts, the concern over the youth on defense and the standard opening night fears, the Senators calmed their fans down considerably with a lopsided victory in Winnipeg.

For Jets fans, their handwringing has only increased. According to Hockey Hall Of Fame writer Roy MacGregor, a lot of people in the ‘Peg already feel disillusioned – and that’s in a market where the honeymoon has just begun. Even the champagne is still bubbly.

With old pal Alexei Kovalev back in town with the rising Florida Panthers, some Senators fans may be reminded of some recent bad history and feel comforted that those days now seem so distant. For the most part, they are.

Yet the path to the Senators downfall is pretty clear, even to casual observers. And it’s not the goaltending (refreshingly).

It’s the defense – a top heavy group that’s thin and inexperienced once you get past the top four. What would happen if another D-man went down to injury? Or two? That’s not an unrealistic scenario. In fact, it’s likely, especially in a compressed schedule.

When you look at teams that have traditionally had success in the playoffs, they have depth and experience on defense, with people ready to step in when injuries strike.

Los Angeles refuted that theory last season when they had two greenhorns in Alec Martinez and Vyacheslav Voynov playing all 20 games in the Kings march to the Stanley Cup. Martinez wasn’t really a rookie, having played 60 games in 2011, but the point is made.

So it can be done, but you have to think Ottawa is going to address this issue with a trade before we get into the nitty gritty of the schedule in February.

Losing Jared Cowen was a big blow but the trade for Marc Methot looks to have filled that void in the short term. Methot is stable, experienced and big enough to protect his new partner Erik Karlsson. He’ll be a big part of this defense for years, especially with Sergei Gonchar likely leaving after this season.

The next pairing of Gonchar and Chris Phillips is a coach’s dream second duo. They’re both leaders and capable of playing big minutes in all situations.

Everything after that is a crapshoot – mind you sometimes a roll of the dice pays off handsomely. And it could again. But is Ottawa really going to contend with two rookies, Patrick Wiercioch and Mark Borowiecki, along with AHL journeyman Andre Benoit when games get ramped up and they have to battle the Penguins, Bruins, Rangers and the Flyers?

I have my doubts despite Wiercioch looking like he’s ready to play some games and Borowiecki on track to be a Chris Neil clone on defense. Mike Lundin may help when his finger heals but he doesn’t exactly have the reputation of being battle hardened veteran. Those Eastern Conference playoff rounds were tough, mean and bloody and they’ll get harder with Rick Nash barreling down the wing and Sidney Crosby and Nathan Horton seemingly healthy again. Despite the Flyers losing their first two games of the season, they look dangerous and well-rounded. The Rangers and Bruins play harder than anybody and the Penguins are lethal offensively.

The Senators just can’t match that pedigree despite having the reigning Norris Trophy winner and a deep crew of forwards who can score a lot of goals. That top-four on D looks good when healthy but breaking in two rookies could soon turn into three and it may not even stop there. There just doesn’t seem to be any insurance and that’s a dangerous way to drive.

Youth on a hockey club is great and exciting for the fans, but when it gets ugly out there – and it will – you win with veterans. You win with guys who send their dentists Christmas cards and can actually grow playoff beards.

Bryan Murray, an old vet himself, surely knows this and will move when the time is right.

Underrate Craig Anderson At Your Peril

Why is everyone so anxious to give Craig Anderson the boot?

That might be overstating the facts but the sentiment is out there amongst the Ottawa Senators fans. They see Robin Lehner and Ben Bishop tearing up the AHL and are quick to believe they’d do the same in the NHL.

To them, Anderson is old news. Yesterday’s paper. The guy who hasn’t played all year.
Be careful what you wish for.

It’s very easy to get caught up in the wayward throes of “prospect porn”, as the hip kids like to call it, because there’s no excitement factor around veterans anymore. It’s ingrained in the hockey culture now. Most fans look forward to the Entry Draft more than they do the Stanley Cup finals. Vets are already associated with failure and impatient fans always sense the solution is just one draft pick away. Hence the fretting when picks are moved for real bodies. People freak out.

But when’s the last time a true number one goalie coming off a great season was booted for an unproven rookie? It doesn’t happen. At least not before a game has even been played.

Craig Anderson was the best goalie in the organization last year and stabilized the position, leading to a playoff berth. He’s now a respected veteran in the league and will have plenty to offer in a shortened season when every single game is cranked up to double-pressure.

Are fans really that eager to see the Senators experiment with Lehner when a playoff berth could be on the line in just a matter of weeks? That’s not to say Lehner wouldn’t be able to handle the pressure and the workload, but there is still nothing out there that suggests to me Anderson won’t be the number one goalie, at least in the short-term.

It’s easy to see a day when Lehner and Bishop are the duo in net for Ottawa but what’s the rush? The main goal is to make the playoffs – the only goal – and playing Anderson is surely the best way to get there right now.

If Anderson falters for more than five games, then maybe that crease opens up and one of Lehner or Bishop gets on a roll. But there’s no reason to think we’ll get to that point.

I can’t fathom why fans should have lost any confidence in Anderson as a starter over the summer. Lehner and Bishop’s play has been encouraging but until they prove it at the NHL level, I’ll take Anderson as my starter every day of the week.

Melnyk Claims Underdog Role Again, But 2nd Round Is Minimum Goal

Ottawa Senators owner Eugene Melnyk sat in front of a room full of reporters during his first press conference of the season on Sunday and, smiling almost mischievously, said "We are a quiet, quiet favourite. We're still positioned as the underdog."

Was it real modesty or a conscious effort to damper expectations for an already lockout weary fanbase? If you put yourself in Melnyk's place, or President Cyril Leeder's seat, you might be able to understand why they would want expectations to be low going into an abbreviated season.

One, the underdog role worked miracles last season.  Two, season tickets are understandably down in numbers (although Leeder said they sold 100 this week) and the last thing the Senators need is a fanbase expecting a long playoff run only to get a mediocre 48 games. If you piled up all the free or discounted hot dogs the Senators are giving away this season, that still wouldn't cushion the blow of a disappointed, already fickle ticket buying public here in Ottawa.

No... the way to go was safe. Stick to the talking points from last season and hope the dominoes fall in the same pattern. Melnyk, in front of the entire Senators training camp roster who stood en masse at the back in workout shorts and t-shirts, even positioned his team as a lower-payroll club, saying "we can't keep up with the Goliaths", yet in a roundabout way, confirmed the money would be there at the trade deadline if GM Bryan Murray wanted to add some players.

It was a public relations exercise, like all these season opening conferences are, but it's not too hard to see through the fog.

Publicly, the Senators remain humble. Internally, and this is my best educated guess, the Senators feel they jumped a year in their "3-year rebuilding plan" and will be very disappointed if they don't reach the second round of the playoffs.

How could they not be?

They have a Norris Trophy defenseman in Erik Karlsson. A Jack Adams finalist for the coach of the year in Paul Maclean. They have goaltending depth the rest of Eastern Conference would envy. They are strong down the middle with Jason Spezza and Kyle Turris, overloaded on the wings and their best prospects are either fighting their way onto the team or leading their AHL affiliate to a possible championship season in Binghamton.

Sure, the defense is depleted on the bottom pairing but they have plenty of cap space or tradeable prospects to address that as soon as they need to.

So why are we throwing around the word "underdog" as frequently as Valley boys say "eh"?

Check that. It's probably just Melnyk. I think if you polled most Senators fans, they'd say a second round appearance is the bottom line this season.

Now, if the Senators fail to get there, it doesn't mean that the bottom drops out of this thing. In just 48 games, a lot can go wrong. One key injury can destroy a team because there's no time to claw back after a bad couple of weeks. And you can bank on a lot of injuries this season due to so many back-to-back games.

If they fail to make the playoffs, Paul Maclean is still safe. Bryan Murray probably has his job until he decides he doesn't want it anymore. The core of this team is signed and committed to the organization for bad or worse. But I don't buy the "underdog" bit anymore.

Clearly, this Senators team is ready for the next step. This might be their last with Daniel Alfredsson in the fold (although I think he'll play next year) and all this extra rest should pay off in a playoff run that will start after about 50 games instead of the usual 80.

Melnyk may tell us he's being patient, but that little grin and glint in his eyes tells me he thinks he's got a winner here.

The poker game continues....

Predictions: The Fool's Game

It’s never too early or too late for predictions.

Here we go, pals.

Ottawa Senators Predictions

Finish in Eastern Conference: 5th

Get past 1st round in playoffs: Yes

Leading Scorer: Jason Spezza

Most surprising player: Marc Methot

Comeback player: Zack Smith

Slow starter: Chris Phillips

Fast starter: Milan Michalek

Doghouse candidate: Guillaume Latendresse

Rookie defenseman to crack roster first: Mark Borowiecki

Trade for a defenseman early or wait and see: Early

Trade bait: Ben Bishop

Division team Ottawa will have most trouble with: Boston

Division team Ottawa will dominate: Buffalo

Is this Alfie’s last season: Nope. At least one more.

Rest of the NHL

Stanley Cup winner: Pittsburgh Penguins

Stanley Cup finalist: Los Angeles Kings

Will Bettman present Stanley Cup? No

Who will: Wayne Gretzky

Art Ross: Sidney Crosby

Surprise teams that stumble out of the gate (East/West): New York Rangers/Los Angeles Kings

Surprise teams that charge out of the gate (East/West): Florida Panthers/Edmonton Oilers

Most underrated team: Carolina Hurricanes

Most overrated team: Detroit Red Wings (breaks my heart to say that – I’m a long-time Wings fan)

First coach to get fired: Joe Sacco (Colorado)

Surprise team to make the playoffs: Buffalo Sabres

Surprise team to miss the playoffs: Minnesota Wild

First Brendan Shanahan video: Second day of the season

Fans Will Come Back Crazier Than Ever

Hockey's back.

But will the fans find their love of the game again anytime soon?

Does the tin man have a sheet metal cock?

NHL fans don't lack passion, especially when pints are involved. Here's a few of my favourite examples of fan insanity over the years.

Anaheim fan brawl over Niedermayer stick:



Beer vs Flames



First game back in Winnipeg



Tie Domi vs Philly nutjob:



All-time classic Bruins vs. Rangers Milbury shoe beating



And finally, the loudest the crowd in Ottawa Senators history - Igor Kravchuk's goal to bury the Devils in '98.



***

The real reason Senators fans will return with money in hand?

You get to see this guy play again in your uniform. It's worth it. Enjoy it while it lasts.

Changes

The lockout is killing me. And you've probably noticed that it's killing this blog.

I’m not shutting it down. But it's going to change for a while, even if the lockout ends.

When the game went quiet, I needed something else to do. I started a new writing project as a sort of experiment and it’s advanced to the point where I want to spend more and more time on it – enough time that it’s forcing me to make a choice about what Black Aces is going to be going forward.

Basically, it's going to be more casual - no more post-game writeups. No more running to the computer when someone is made a healthy scratch or when I read a column that that pisses me off.

Blogging for free is a young man’s game. In order to keep an audience, you need to post daily, be endlessly obsessive about the minutia of the game, nurse a completely fabricated and inflated sense of importance and have the stamina to do it all without getting paid a dime for any of it.

After 5 years of doing that here, and 3 more in the early part of the decade on the old Black Aces website, I no longer have any need to get into those arguments about contracts, fighting, CBA negotiations, concussions, Twitter, Don Cherry, or anything else. It’s all just noise. The fact that I immersed myself in it for so long and still somehow love the game is mind-blowing to me.

I still plan to keep posting whenever the urge hits me but I made a promise to myself that it’s only going to be about the things I enjoy, and those things are largely the same as when I was a kid. The memorabilia, the personalities, the legends, the tall-tales. To me, that’s the good stuff.

I want to be able to watch a hockey game without having to rush to the computer to tell everyone what I thought about it. There are enough people doing that, some of them very well.

If you’ve been coming here for a while, I really thank you for reading and letting me know what you think. I’ll still be here. But I’ll probably be posting pictures of old hockey programmes instead of pleading with Bryan Murray to re-sign Matt Carkner.

I still say they should have gotten that done. And before that, Anton Volchenkov too.

How do you let that guy walk?

See, it’s hard to stop.

Great Gretzky Vintage #3

"Eat your breakfast and don't forget your lunchbox." When my mom said this to me every school morning, she was talking about these things. A little Aspartame never hurt anybody... I don't think. Found these pics on Ebay where a Gretzky fan could spend 25 grand on cardboard we used to throw in the garbage on a weekly basis in the 80's.

Kids Say The Darndest Things

Remember the days when the Ottawa fans used to be a little hard on poor Antoine Vermette for missing so many golden scoring opportunities? I found this old gem in my pictures folder and decided to blow the dust off of it.

Even the coaching staff used to ride him hard, once pulling him off the ice at practice on trade deadline day just to get his heart racing a little.

If you took a straw poll, a lot of fans would love to have this guy back in Ottawa. One of the most natural, quickest skaters the Senators have ever known, and one of the most likeable personalities.

Smart move by Phoenix to rescue him from Columbus last year.

Great Gretzky Vintage #2 ... Mr. Big

When I was a kid in the early 80's, I would consume anything that had The Great One's image on it. Pro Stars Cereal, Neilson Instant Chocolate Milk Mix, Malted Milk, and of course, the grossest of them all... Mr. Big chocolate bars.

Gretz added a wholesome image to junk food wrappers, but in a time when people smoked in grocery stores - even your grandma - Mr. Big's didn't seem so bad for your health back then.

Gretz took his sponsorships seriously. He wasn't shy wearing a Mr. Big golf shirt next to his hockey hero and one of the greatest of all-time, Mr. Hockey Gordie Howe.

Get 'em into you, kids.

Great Gretzky Vintage #1

There is no end to Gretzky memorabilia. I love this stuff.

Stan Mikita's Donuts

White Lightning...The Great Lost Hockey Movie

I was doing a search for the old Burt Reynolds movie White Lightning from 1973 and stumbled across this beauty of a movie poster for White Lightning from 1953. And I thought I'd seen all the hockey movies.

The plot synopsis from IMDB is a doozy:

"The Red Devils, a professional ice hockey team, owned by Jack Monohan, is in the midst of a long losing streak, due to bribes being accepted from gamblers by the star player. When the team is joined by cocky Mike Connors, a boyhood friend of Jack's, they begin to regain their former winning ways. Mike becomes a star who cannot be stopped, but is disliked by his teammates becuase of his selfish play. Jack tries to keek Mike away from his sister Margaret, who is in love with him, which leads to a bloody fight between the two men. The angry Mike accepts a bribe from gambler Rocky Gilbratar to throw the big final game. But during the game, an appeal from a young boy who idolizes him, Davey, sets Mike on the right road, and his unselfish play helps win the game."

Being both a movie geek and a lifelong hockey fan, it's incredible to me that I've never even stumbled upon this at some point.

I can't even dig up a trailer for this thing. But Lee Van Cleef (from The Good, The Bad and The Ugly) stars as a character named Brutus Allen. I wonder if that's a player or a gangster? I can't really picture Van Cleef on skates but I'd like to imagine him sneering at a faceoff and spitting snuff tobacco out the side of his mouth onto the lily white ice.

Let's Rehash This Idea

Of all the important issues that need to be resolved during this colossally boring labour war, let me throw one out there that I can guarantee nobody is talking (or caring) about during negotiations.

It’s been proposed before by a few people, journalists and players, but surely this is an idea whose time has come. The players should slip a clause in there that the Stanley Cup is no longer presented to the winning captain by Gary Bettman. It’s just getting too ugly to continue. Nobody wants to see a player unwilling to shake Bettman’s hand at the most photographed moment of the year.

If there is a Stanley Cup awarded in June (or July) of 2013, let it be Wayne Gretzky, Gordie Howe, Jean Beliveau or Mark Messier who hands the trophy to Daniel Alfredsson (yes, that’s me being clever).

Let Bettman come out with the microphone and get booed but let him announce that Wayne Gretzky is going to present the Stanley Cup and you instantly turn an awkward moment into something everybody involved in the game would be happy with. The person presenting the Cup has to be a past winner and that’s the only criteria. You might say it’s tradition that the Commissioner (or in the past, the President) gets to do the duty but it wasn’t that long ago when Gretzky himself started the tradition of all the players sitting at centre ice for the Cup photo right at the peak of celebrations. It wouldn’t be long before it would seem weird that we once let the Commissioner pass the greatest trophy in sports.

To get more legends involved, do the same thing with the Clarence S. Campbell  and the Prince Of Wales trophies to the winners of the East and West.

It’s the smallest thing in the world right now, but the payoff would be bigger than many can imagine.

In the meantime, I’ll be watching Youngblood until this thing blows over.

Black Aces Vintage: Bodycheck Magazine Vol. 2

I just got a new bundle of these old mags and right on top was a cover shot of Erik Karlsson on a mint 1995 issue of Bodycheck (above).

It was, of course, just Stan Neckar pretending to wail on a red guitar on the Barrymore's stage during a colossaly awkward photo shoot. But don't get too comfortable. That could be Erik if the lockout drags into December. Remember that Kiss dress-up photo from last year? He's prone to these episodes.

After going through the stack of Bodycheck's ranging from 93-93 to 95-96, I picked some of the more interesting highlights (click on image for full size). Here we go:

Darcy Loewen cover: The Billy Ray Cyrus/Garth Brooks effect was still in full swing approaching the mid-90's, and Loewen wore a duster jacket with pride. Guaranteed this cover was shot with the ladies in mind. Loewen has a shiner from one of his many scraps that the fans loved in the early Civic Centre days.

Texas Connection ad: Good lord. Sometimes I think people dressed worse in the early 90's than at anytime in the 80's. Because everyone dressed like this back then, right? Not surprisingly, this store was located in Carp, where most of my family is from. My dad could have been in this photo and nobody would think he was out of place.

Rick Bowness ad: At least Bowness had the smarts to stick to athletic gear.

Alain Vigneault: He's come a long way from being the assistant coach on one of the worst teams in NHL history to being the head coach on one of the most hated teams in history.

Dennis Vial poster: A lot of these Bodycheck magazine were mercilessly cut up so these posters could go up on bedroom walls. Vial is basically forgotten nowadays but he was the Sens PIM leader until Chris Neil came along. His scraps with Buffalo's Rob Ray are the stuff of legend.

Hey, whatever happened to the discounts at Future Shop? Remember the days of off-white computers? They're all nice and yellow now.

Alfie cover: Who would ever have thought this skinny kid with the aw-shucks smile would turn into who he is today? He thought he'd play a year or two and then head back to Sweden. He looks greener than Erik Karlsson ever did if you ask me.

But when he threw on the old Darth Vader blacks and the rounded helmet, he had that "Swedish Grit". Man, those uni's still look great today.

Bruce Garrioch: The way we were. For all the grief Garrioch gets from the bloggers and insanely rude Ottawa Sun commenters, he was there covering the team every day when there were barely 20 games a year on television and the bloggers were watching Inspector Gadget. And he's holding the old paper bible before the days of Cap Geek and Hockey Database.

Steve Duchesne cover: In the days when the internet was this amazing new thing, there were many photo-ops like this with a surfboard and a computer, ala "Surfing The Net".  Judging by the crowd in the back, it looks like this was done during a game, which is really strange. Duchesne was a natural hambone. My mom loved him.

And finally, remember these ads? Remember those old LOEB pizza's your mom used to throw in the oven before Sens games? This brings it all back. He's in his Stan Neckar pose.

Black Aces Forges On

A few people emailed me recently wondering if Black Aces was kaput. Nope. We'll be going again once the games start up and I don't have to invent storylines (at least not as many as I do during the regular season).

The truth is I went for a couple of consolation beers the day Matt Carkner left the Senators for Long Island and those two beers quickly turned into a baker's dozen, and then a week long bender around Bytown's more classier joints. Unfortunately for all involved, this was not the end of the long, humid nightmare.

A week later I was spotted in Helena, Arkansas working as a hotel dishwasher under the alias Kid Galahad.  After a brief spell in a Mobile, Alabama jailhouse for various crimes on a golf course (pictured above), my family was able to extradite me to Canada where I've since been recovering at home watching the entire Knight Rider series on this new thing they invented while I was away called Netflix.

My B12 levels are returning to normal and I'm looking forward to another year of Black Aces once the lockout ends.

Yes, Matt Carkner is gone, but the ego-driven world of hockey blogging must continue, and I'll be there like I have been since 2007, still blaming the rest of you for running Ray Emery out of town.

Sens Tread Water On UFA Day ... Methot Deal Looks Like A Winner

As July 1st rolled along into the afternoon, the Ottawa Senators began bleeding free agents, losing role players like Zenon Konopka (Minnesota), Matt Carkner (Long Island) and Filip Kuba (Florida) to big money deals that they couldn't or wouldn't match.

Coming back in much cheaper UFA deals were a couple of injury plagued, hard luck stories in winger Guillaume Latendresse and defenseman Mike Lundin.

The biggest deal of the day for the Senators was the trade of popular but inconsistent winger Nick Foligno for hard-hitting defensive defensman Marc Methot of the Columbus Blue Jackets.

All in all, it was a fairly cheap but exciting day at the shopping mall for Bryan Murray, but did the Ottawa Senators get any better?

No, they didn't. In fact, they got worse. Not terminably worse, but they lost a lot of character and toughness and only brought in one player - Methot - to balance out their losses in that area.

It's not all bad news, and depending on how you view the game, you may think the Senators vastly improved on July 1st just by subtraction alone.

Konopka didn't seem to hurt much because of the glut of young forward the Senators have. He was a rock in the playoffs with his faceoff ability and a willing fighter all season long, but he'll be more missed by reporters looking for a good quote and likely in the dressing room than he will be on the ice.

Filip Kuba was already a goner the second the Senators fell to the Rangers in the first round and the fact that he received 8 million over two years in Florida likely justifies the Senators moving on quickly. Kuba was never a fan favourite but he did have chemistry with Erik Karlsson and was a quiet contributor to the young Swede's Norris Trophy win in June.

Carkner leaving town hurt a little bit. The local boy who made good was strangely low-balled by the Senators with a one-year offer, basically pushing him into the marketplace where he got a surprising 3 yeard deal with the Islanders that had every one-note sarcastic blogger and tweeter in an uproar. I say good for Carkner. He deserves a break after fighting his whole professional career to make it to the big leagues. That deal sets his family up for a long time and gives him a place to play where he'll be properly appreciated.

Other than money, it's hard to think of what turned the Senators off of the popular defenseman. Maybe it was his knee - you'd have to think it was - because it's hard to believe the Murray's would turn their back on a player who they not only raised from the ashes of the AHL but who seemed to be a pivotal personality on the team. It's not a stretch to belive that Carkner would have singned a two-year deal for a paltry 1-1.5 million before he hit the open market. Instead the Islanders, who always have to overpay for free-agents to sign with their team, blew the market for Carkner wide open with a contract that Ottawa would never agree to.

I'm not saying Ottawa should have given Carkner 3 years at that price. But I'm saying Ottawa should have at least offered a reasonable 2 year deal for a defenseman that has always provided value well above his pedigree. Chances are the hometown boy would have jumped at a two-year deal and never looked back. Coulda, shoulda, woulda... it's history now. Losing Carkner won't derail the Senators rebuild. But it doesn't feel right all the same.

But let's look at the good news here, because Bryan Murray just didn't doze through the first day of free-agency.

The Good: Trading Foligno to Columbus for Marc Methot.

Doing a little research on the 27 year old defenseman, most people seem to agree Methot was an underrated player on a very bad team. He doesn't score goals or play the power-play like the departed Kuba, but he's dependable, large at 6'3" 227 pounds, and is known for a few devastating hip-checks he delivered to guys like Patrick Kane and Kris Versteeg. He's a better skater than Carkner, plus he's a local kid which brings a certain kind of marketing appeal for the suits at the Kanata rink.

Methot will likely be the 4th or 5th defenseman, either playing with Karlsson or on the last defensive pair with someone like Mark Borowiecki or the newly acquired Lundin. The fact that Methot is signed for three more seasons is a nice bonus as well, considering that Foligno needed a new deal.

Having to trade Foligno was a shock to some but if you'd been watching, you could have seen something like this coming a mile away. Foligno never truly found a role on the Senators and despite having good stats this past season, he was still shuffled around from line to line, often ending up on the fourth unit and being a spare part. It just never happened for Foligno and it wasn't surprising to see him part of a package to strengthen their weakened back end. There are just too many forward prospects in the organization and not enough defenseman. Someone had to be dealt and why not a player who clearly needs a fresh start? Foligno fit the bill perfectly and now Latendresse, Mark Stone, Mika Zibanejad or Jakob Silfverberg will get their chance to be a top-six winger.

The So-So: Signing Mike Lundin. He's cheap at 1 year. He's got some size and skating ability, but there doesn't seem to be any pizzaz there either on the ice or off. Team 1200 personality Shawn Simpson described Lundin in a nasty little tweet: "Lundin can give quality minutes. Smart D zone coverage. Ok size. No offense. Works hard, not hard. Zero personality." Whatever. Lundin doesn't need to be a clown juggling bowling pins for him to be an assett to this team. He just needs to be healthy and consistent, something he hasn't really been able to do in his NHL career so far.

The Bad/Ugly: Signing Guillaume Latendresse.

Okay, I don't really mean Ugly, but it fit with the theme, you know? Latendresse was called out by the Wild for being lazy and showing up to camp out of shape. He has some major injury issues, including a recent concussion. Right away the caution flags go up. But Murray didn't give away the farm for the troubled winger. The Wild chose not to give Latendresse a qualifying offer and Murray scooped him up for a one year, 1.2 million deal that's a big drop from his salary as a member of the Wild.

It's a risk that could pay off if Latendresse can recapture that magic he had as a rookie with the Habs and during his first spate of games in Minnesota where he was rifling pucks into the net every other night. He also needs to show up at camp like a brick shithouse to quiet any doubts about his fitness level. I'm guessing he does that seeing that this could be his last chance before finding himself a journeyman.

It was a long day for the Senators but not necessarily a great one. I really like the Methot deal and will watch like the rest of you how Latendresse and Lundin turn out.

One thing for sure is that Ottawa may be a little less fun to watch in the meantime. Guys like Carkner and Konopka provided a certain kind of entertainment and personality that made last year's team so likeable, even to outsiders. When Carkner pummelled Brian Boyle of the Rangers in retaliation for Karlsson getting his head caved in, the entire Senators team seemed to come together and would have won that series had it not been for a few unlucky bounces in Game 7.

Life goes on and that's the business of hockey. But those kinds of players give the fans and the team something that the stats could never really explain. The so called "intangibles" that moneyball stat-nerds can't seem to comprehend for the life of them.