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The Backhander – Wild Night In Kanata Has Everyone Arguing

Let’s not call it a gong-show, but Monday night’s Sens-Bruins game was a pretty wild affair and a lot of issues came up that had people arguing into the morning. Here’s a stab at 3 of the big ones:

On Daugavins shootout attempt: Loved it. I’ve been a fan of the shootout since it was introduced in 2005 (in fact, I’d love to see it extended to 5 shooters per side) and every so often you get a memorable moment like this. It was a ridiculous save by Tuukka Rask, one of the best of the year. That puck was stopped by a skate blade on the goal line. It doesn’t get closer than that. You kind of feel for Daugavins because he knew if this crazy move didn’t work he’d be hearing about it from everyone. I’m sure the Bruins had something nice to say on his way back down the ice and Daugavins even said he felt “like a fool” in the room afterwards. He shouldn’t. He came as close as anyone to winning that hockey game and if anything, it just adds to his strange charms as a hockey player. He’s got the bark after the goals, and now he’s got this on his permanent record. Coach Maclean was laughing about it afterwards, so don’t expect any repercussions. Maclean’s answer when asked what he was thinking during the attempt – “buckle up” – was probably the funniest thing he’s said all year. And he followed it up with “but he’s Latvian, so I never know what’s going on.” The fact that Daugavins felt comfortable enough to try a move like that probably says more about the coaching staff and the great atmosphere they’ve created around this hockey club than it does about Daugavins. Half the guys in the league would love to try something like that during a shootout but their coaches would be waiting at the bench to choke them if they did. Not Maclean. Something tells me he was very happy to get that single point against the best team in the Eastern Conference. Those single points in OT losses have been vital for Ottawa this year as they struggle to keep bodies in the lineup. Take away those 5 OT points and Ottawa is tied with Winnipeg for 9th in the East.

On Neil – Kelly collision: People calling this an intentional knee by Neil don’t know what they’re talking about. This wasn’t a case of Kelly trying to avoid a hit and Neil sticking out his knee to catch him – which is what a kneeing penalty is in the first place. The two collided and Kelly’s knee buckled. It could have just as easily have been Neil lying there in pain if he wasn’t more braced for the hit than Kelly was. To hear some Senators fans vilifying their own player was pretty sickening. No one felt worse about it than Neil and you could see that on his face. It’s a tough game and people get hurt all the time. Doesn’t mean there was anything dirty about it.

On the Visor Instigator Rule: There’s a big uproar about this seemingly obscure rule because Ottawa’s been dinged twice in a row, first with Chris Phillips and now last night with Patrick Wiercioch. In both cases, the players did the right thing stepping in and fighting for a teammate. That’s what tight teams do. The fact that they didn’t stop to think that they were wearing a visor just means they acted on instinct and didn’t hesitate – another positive sign. In both cases, the Senators killed the extra two-minutes so no harm done. As for the rule itself, it does seem unfair but you have to remember that it was put in place because visors are certainly dangerous in a fight, especially if one gets cracked or if it cuts someone’s hand open. The tradition was that fighters would remove their helmets anyways because nobody wanted a broken hand, and it was a respectful thing to do in the situation. That respect level has gone by the wayside and a lot of fighters are more concerned with getting the first shot in rather than making sure it’s a fair scrap. To be honest, I don’t really know the solution to the visor rule, but something’s got to give if the league wants everyone to wear protection out there. Fewer enforcers in the league means that more non-fighters find themselves in spontaneous scraps, and a lot of those guys are wearing visors (smartly). We’re going to see more and more of this if guys like Phillips and Wiercioch have to be the ones to fight the battles. People love that enforcers are going extinct, thinking that fighting is following them out. On the contrary, it just means that other guys are doing the fighting even though they really shouldn’t be.

And finally... could you have picked two guys who needed a goal more badly than Guillaume Latendresse and Kyle Turris? Latendresse’s goal celebration was something out of primal scream therapy. That was a lot of frustration, anger and tension being exploded into the glass after that beauty deke in the first period.

The Backhander - Grim Scene In Sens Loss Sets Off Another Dead-End Fighting Debate

It’s somewhat rare to see someone actually get knocked out in an NHL hockey fight, but that danger is always there when 200 pound men start punching each other in the face. Just ask Nick Kypreos. And last night we all saw 6’5, 230 pound Leaf enforcer Frazer McLaren drop 6’3, 204 pound David Dziurzynski with a vicious blow to the chin, resulting in the Senator lying face down on the ice with trainers rushing to his side. It was ugly. No question about that.

Makes you wonder what Dziurzynski was thinking by taking on a bigger and clearly superior fighter like McLaren. Well, it’s actually not that hard to figure out. McLaren allegedly asked him “to go” and Dziurzynski obliged, partly because he wants to do whatever it takes to stay in the NHL and also because he found himself in a bad situation where backing down from a challenge would have made him “lose face”.

Such is life when a team like the Senators, without a real enforcer since Matt Carkner departed for Long Island, faces a team like the Leafs with a couple of guys looking to justify their role and give their team a lift. If Ottawa had signed or at least replaced Carkner with a similar player, chances are Dziurzynski doesn’t have to fight in that situation. He may have wanted to anyways and there’s nothing you can do about that, but generally an enforcer like McLaren won’t fight a regular, smaller roster player if there’s a guy like Carkner on the other team. That’s the way it works. Or supposed to anyways. McLaren doesn’t want to be known as a guy who takes on a smaller player and would have challenged Carkner in that same situation last year. But the problem is that there’s no natural partner for him on the Senators. So he asks Dziurzynski to go and that’s what you get sometimes – a mismatch that results in a sickening injury. You could tell McLaren felt bad about it and looked upset heading to the box as Dziurzynski lay there.

And then you look at it from the Senators perspective. All year they’ve watched their star players fall to injury and been outmatched physically at times because Zack Smith and Chris Neil aren’t fighting as much because their team needs them on the ice. Facing their biggest rival, a young AHL’er like Dziurzynski wasn’t about to back down even though he must have known he was in tough against the big Leaf. This also resulted in Neil having to fight the bigger Colton Orr (Carkner's former sparring partner), and even though Neil got the better of him in a close one, the Leafs ultimately win because Neil goes off for 5 minutes and that’s not a fair trade for a player like Orr.

Often, playing an enforcer just evens the odds up. If the two tough guys go at each other, they cancel each other out and the game goes on. In this situation, Ottawa lost both Dziurzynski and Neil, two guys who actually contribute points and quality minutes. The Leafs didn’t really lose anybody who would make much of a difference. So like it or not, employing an enforcer can really take some pressure off your team and serve as a deterrent. Sometimes it can actually lead to less fights, if you follow the argument to its logical end, or at least mismatched fights that lead to ugly scenes like we saw last night in Toronto.

In the end, Dziurzynski made his own decision and knew the risks. All players do. That’s why most of them don’t fight. It’s extremely hazardous. If you relate it to the visor debate, some would say that the league should just take it out of the player’s hands and ban fighting (and legislate mandatory visors, which I support wholeheartedly). Yet time after time, players share a much different view than the guy pushing a pencil for a living. They take all the risks, they want the choice. They keep saying they don’t want mandatory visors. They also keep saying that fighting is part of hockey and useful in certain situations. They’ve never wavered from this and show no signs now, even though player safety is pretty much the only issue we hear about on a daily basis.

It always comes down to fans and media thinking they know more about the game than the players do. That’s all it is. How else do you explain the chasm in opinion? The public can’t understand why anyone ever has to get hurt in a game, yet the players don’t even think about it. It’s just an accepted risk that they gladly take on for millions of dollars.

Take the emotion out of it and that’s what you come to realize. At some point there’s nothing left to argue if the guys who actually take the risks don’t have a problem with it.

Notes

.... Dziurzynski was credited with 3 seconds of ice-time last night. I don’t know if that’s a record but if it’s not, he’s only 2 seconds off of it..... Somehow Kyle Turris wasn’t credited with any giveaways on the stat sheet last night, which only proves how stat guys don’t always get it right. He had at least two blatant ones that I can recall but it felt like a lot more. Another tough night for #7. If it wasn’t for his faceoff ability, some of his recent games would have been a complete wash. If anything, it gives the fans a new appreciation for what Jason Spezza brings to the team when he’s healthy. Even when Spezza has a bad game by giving up the puck in the offensive zone, he’s creating 3 or 4 chances a period. Good news is that it sounds like he’s going to be back sooner than many thought. That’s going to give Turris a lot of room out there and a lot less pressure, which should naturally lead to goals. Hopefully it’s not too late for the Senators by that point..... Erik Condra only racked up 11 minutes and change of ice-time against Toronto and it’s been like that 3 out of his last 4 games. Yet he always seems to be on the puck or creating havoc out of nothing. I’m no coach, but you’d like to see Condra around the 15 minute mark most nights, even when there’s not a lot of penalties to kill. Somehow, Condra ended up a +2 last night, leading the team. The last game against Toronto on Feb. 23 he was +3. He hasn’t had a game yet this year where he was any worse than -1. ... Congrats to good guy Ray Emery for setting an NHL record with 10 straight wins to start a season. Nobody deserves it more... And finally, RIP to Stompin’ Tom Connors. One of my most treasured pieces of vinyl is the Stompin’ Tom Live At The Horseshoe Tavern in Toronto. I always thought of him as a modern Canadian Woody Guthrie. Have a drink for him next time you get the chance. I know I will.

The Backhander – Silfverberg’s Frightening Shot... Turris’ Frightening Stats

Another game the Senators should have lost on paper and another game Ottawa managed to steal two points from. Unbelievable. I was sure the Canadiens were going to halt the Sens four game win streak on Monday night but every time I think this Ottawa team is due for a letdown, they grind another one out and leave the fans celebrating on their way back to a parking lot of frozen cars. And while they get a goaltending hero every night – this time it was Ben Bishop with 44 saves – one of the unheralded players always seems to come through. On Saturday against the Leafs it was the struggling Colin Greening. Last night it was Peter Regin in the shootout who left Carey Price on his back, wildly swinging for a puck that was already behind him. He also clanged the post just before overtime ended. And before that it was Dave Dziurzynski stunning everyone in the building, including Price, by putting a laser beam into the Montreal net without a deflection or anyone screening the Montreal goalie. It was old-school hockey, coming down the wing and burying one. Dziurzynski is a complete surprise. He’s big, he’s fast, he had 7 hits in one game against the Rangers last week, and now he has 2 goals in just 6 games. He looks like an NHL hockey player despite not having any kind of pedigree. He kind of reminds me of a smaller Brian Boyle or one of those horses from the WHL who end up in places like Anaheim or Dallas. I really wonder what happens if he keeps playing this well and the Senators get some forwards back from injury. It would be tough to send this guy down, but you also don’t want to take out Kaspars Daugavins, who seems to be the player’s very own team mascot. It’s easy to see how much the rest of the players love the guy. When you get Sergei Gonchar laughing on the bench, you know you must have some kind of charm going for you. They lost some character with Zenon Konopka and Matt Carkner but Daugavins is pretty good on his own. The barking after a goal might be the best secret celebration the rest of the league hasn’t caught on to yet. Maybe that’s because he doesn’t get to do it very often....

..... Forgive me another Mark Messier story, but when you talk about a guy getting a bench going, you have to talk about this one. In the late Peter Gzowski’s 1982 book “The Game Of Our Lives”, which follows the young Edmonton Oilers around for the entirety of the 80-81 season, he tells a story about Messier sitting on the bench and starting his own chant, “Here we go Oilers, here we go”, over and over again, until the rest of the team started in with him. Now imagine an entire Oilers bench, in the middle of a National Hockey League game, chanting “Here we go Oilers, here we go...” like they were a bunch of beer guzzling, Canadian-tuxedo clad fans in the nosebleeds. That story still blows me away. I can’t exactly imagine Jonathan Toews or Sidney Crosby doing that, but you never know nowadays with the Harlem Shake craze taking over sports....

..... 2 points in the last 9 games for Kyle Turris is a tough stat to carry around, especially when you haven’t scored a goal since January 25th against Tampa Bay, a stretch of 16 games. There’s no problem with his skating or his hustle (nobody seems to be trying harder than Turris out there) but he’s finding life hard in the Jason Spezza role, as anyone would. I’m not saying he needs a “reset” like Greening had, but maybe a game on the second or third line to get away from the other team’s best defensemen would allow him a little more room out there. Seems like all he needs is one to go in, and maybe a change of linemates would do that for him. Paul Maclean always has the option of Regin in the middle if he wants to shake up Turris a little.... With that being said, who needs to shake up a team on a 5 game win streak? But they were badly outplayed by Montreal and eventually that will catch up to them. They need Turris to create offense. Not like I needed to tell you that.... There was a little bit of handwringing over Chris Neil’s penalty late in the second period which led to Andrei Markov’s tying goal. Not a great call by the ref’s but some fans gave it to Neil anyways. How quickly they forget he made the beauty cross-ice feed to Dziurzynski for the Sens first goal. Neil is always going to take penalties because he has to play that way. The ref’s are always watching him and make reputation calls all the time. He more than makes up for any bad penalties with the work he does the rest of the game. He was credited with 8 hits last night, twice the amount of anyone on either team. He’s having another great year....

..... Again, Jakob Silfverberg’s shot continues to amaze fans and horrify goaltenders. Smart move by Maclean to get him out first in the shootout. Price actually got his glove up in time but the shot was so hard and fast that the puck just barrelled over it. Maybe it was me but I thought Price looked a little spooked out by that. I know he’s a different type of player, but doesn’t watching Silfverberg remind you of when guys like Marian Hossa, Erik Karlsson and Martin Havlat started out in Ottawa? You would get these little glimpses of scary, scary skill from game to game and watch them slowly put it all together. That’s exactly what it’s like with Silver right now. It’s frightening to think of a power-play with Karlsson, Silfverberg and Mika Zibanejad a few years from now. Hell, maybe even Alfie will still be out there, still playing keep-away on the half boards.

Senators Season Verging Into Absurd, Surreal Territory

We’ve seen our share of gutsy teams in Ottawa since 1992, the year this team was reborn after an equally gutsy campaign by the expansion forefathers who heard “it can’t be done” more than most of us can remember. The 96-97 team with their little Buddha statues and sticks-in-the-toilet routine are still beloved by those who were there to see it.

The ’98 team who defied the “experts” and upset the heavily favoured New Jersey Devils in the first round were just as memorable. The organization soon morphed into a highly-skilled but Velveeta soft team that couldn’t handle the Maple Leafs when it mattered most, until Brian McGrattan KO’d Tie Domi and cured the existential crisis of thousands of neurotically damaged Ottawa fans.

Then there was last year’s group of kids, picked by most to be the dregs of the Eastern Conference. They somehow made it to the playoffs, but all it took was a never-ending rollercoaster of comeback victories, slumps, streaks, someone named Erik Karlsson, and ultimately, a Game 7 loss to the Rangers in the first round. But it was the most inspiring group of players to wear the Red and Black since the days of Steve Duchesne and Ron Tugnutt. They were more like a gang than a hockey team.

After last night’s strangely emotional win over the Rangers, with Craig Anderson’s year nearly destroyed by an out of control Chris Kreider slamming into his leg, this hobbled and broken team is clearly making the city proud.

You could hear it in the arena as the crowd tried to resurrect a stunned team in the immediate wake of seeing Anderson, their MVP, get carried off the ice on one good leg. You could see it when Ben Bishop dramatically waved off Kreider seconds after the victory was sealed. You could see it on Kaspars Daugavins’ face as he barked his way down the Senators bench after accidentally scoring between Henrik Lundqvist’s legs. The whole team was in genuine hysterics as the Kanata crowd went to gong-show levels. Even Paul Maclean allowed himself a little smirk, knowing his boys were about to “get away with one”.

Meanwhile, John Tortorella’s reddening face looked like a slapped arse.

He knew his team was beaten by a group of guys who simply wanted it more than the Rangers did. He could look down his bench and know that only Ryan Callahan played as hard as Daniel Alfredsson or Zack Smith did in that game. Other clubs will both admire and hate the Senators for nights like this. Everyone loves an underdog and knows that this organization is going through hell with these injuries, but it also makes them bad when their superstars get beaten by a bunch of AHL’ers named Dziurzynski, Gryba and Wiercioch. Who?

It’s strange to see so many headlines about Alfredsson possibly leaving town once the “inevitable” Ray Bourque syndrome comes into effect. What I saw from the captain was complete focus, and after the Jakob Silfverberg and Daugavins goals, a beaming smile, like the kind of smile a Dad would have on his face. I see a guy who loves his role on this team and in this city. I don’t see a guy who will jump ship even if the team starts tumbling down the standings. I know he says “never say never”, but I got my money on the never.

But is this all just a temporary dream... a group of players with their backs to the wall giving their one last defiant push before reality sets in? Maybe.

Maybe not.

I have to admit I thought it was over when Marc Methot tried to help Anderson up off the ice and the goalie collapsed like he was Mike Modano getting tipped over in a stretcher back in the 90’s (remember that?). Even before Anderson, I, like everyone else, thought the season was over after arriving at the Toronto airport from a week in Cuba without internet only to be greeted by a giant television screen showing me Karlsson’s Achilles tendon being severed over and over again. People brushed past me oblivious as I stared at that screen, my carry-on barely dangling from my fingers and my new tan draining back to white.

Yet these guys just keep at it, chipping away a period at a time. This is a case of stats not being able to tell you the whole story. It’s the intangibles - that near-mythic entity that modern hockey writers all too often spurn for cold hard numbers - that you have to follow if this team, this season, is to make any sense at all.

I don’t pretend to know how this team wins games anymore. I just enjoy watching it.

And I’m betting you do too if you’ve come here to read this.

The Backhander – Bald Heads...Bad Luck... Big Risks

A Senator who’s definitely growing on me – Patrick Wiercioch. I thought his last two games against the Devils and Islanders were the best I’ve seen him play all season. The guy wanted the puck and made plays out of his own end with some confidence. I don’t know exactly what it is, but I’ve sort of flip-flopped on him since his early start where I thought he was weaker than Andre Benoit and Mark Borowiecki. Maybe it’s his size that gives him a little more presence but I like him the most out of those three to have an impact the rest of the way. But then you have to look at Eric Gryba who played almost four more minutes than Wiercioch on Tuesday against the Islanders and had five blocked shots. It’s good news/bad news for the organization because if Erik Karlsson and Jared Cowen weren’t hurt, we might not have even seen these guys play a single game so far, but next season this blueline is going to be both skilled and tough – and hopefully healthy....

.... You have to think that GM Bryan Murray wishes he had played the safe hand and made a move for a veteran defenseman at the start of the season when Jared Cowen went down. There were questions about inexperience even then but Murray gambled a little bit without insurance and is now dealing from a position of weakness. If, God forbid, another Senator d-man went down in the next week or two, what the hell is he going to do at that point? Mike Lundin doesn’t look any better than Wiercioch or Benoit and there’s a long grind of games ahead of this banged up team. A minor deal to bring in a guy with over 200 games experience could help this blueline survive the next two months and just possibly hold onto a playoff spot (don’t laugh – it could happen). Nobody’s going to replace Karlsson but if they’re going with a “grind it out” philosophy the rest of the way, they’ll need more bodies back there. Sergei Gonchar is getting hammered every night along the boards (he's a definite target with Karlsson out) and if you lose him, say goodbye to whatever shred of hope this team has left. You can’t do anything about bad luck but enough is enough. Make a deal....

... Whatever happened to Guillaume Latendresse? Nobody even mentions him anymore. People will talk about Ottawa’s injuries and don’t say his name. He’s a ghost right now..... How is it that Colin Greening has 0 penalty minutes so far this season? For a guy his size to have 0 PIM’s makes you understand why the Senators coaching staff need him to get more involved. If you’re doing things right, you’re going to take a few unavoidable penalty minutes along the way. Not surprisingly, after being a healthy scratch a few games ago, Greening looks motivated of late and against the Islanders had 5 hits and a goal. The last time he had as many hits in a game was also the last time he scored a goal – January 27th vs Pittsburgh where he collected 6 hits. In 10 of his 16 games, Greening has been credited with 2 hits or less. This guy didn’t become known as one of the most fanatical workout machines on the team just to be a perimeter player trying not to make mistakes. He needs to string together some good games real soon.... Dave Dziurzynski, who got his first career goal against the Islanders on Tuesday, is wearing #59, not the most glamorous number. The only other Senator to use it was Erich Goldmann, who played in a single NHL game in the 99-00 season and was drafted out of Germany by Ottawa in 1996.... Speaking of German born ex-Senators, good ol’ Christoph Schubert is in the German league playing for the Hamburg Freezers. Schubert was +30 for Ottawa in 06-07. The guy could hit like a train too....

.... The skinhead look has been somewhat rare in the Senators short history, but Andre Benoit and Craig Anderson are doing their part. Hey, Mark Messier, the most famous cueball in NHL history, is my favourite player of all-time so I’m not looking for a cheap joke here. But off the top of my head I can only come up with a handful from Ottawa’s past. Bryan Smolinski and Alex Auld come to mind right away. Actually, that’s all I can remember. I want to say Denny Lambert but I think he might have had hair when he was in Ottawa. Can you think of anyone else?.... On the other side, Daniel Alfredsson is doing a pretty good lion impression lately and Zack Smith and Karlsson can grow it too. But it’s tough to top the early 90’s Senators when they had Mike Peluso, Darcy Loewen and Dave Archibald among others following the dignified lead of Dougie Gilmour, Brett Hull and Jaromir Jagr.... Tough day for Lindy Ruff. Everyone knows this guy is a hell of a coach and the crap he had to endure in Buffalo with players leaving, ownership changing and bad signings would have destroyed a lesser man. Only a coach like Barry Trotz has a comparable record of keeping afloat bad teams over a similar period. Ruff’s greatest moment in Buffalo might have been the summer of 1999 at a team rally after the tough loss to Hull and the Dallas Stars when he concluded his speech with the two words “No Goal”. He was a hero after that. Now he’s the scapegoat. I’m usually not one to cry over coaches getting fired. In fact, I get annoyed when most pundits go immediately to the “it’s the player’s fault, not the coach” line. Sometimes it’s true, sometimes it’s not. I think Bryan Murray was right to fire all three of John Paddock, Craig Hartsburg and Cory Clouston. But in Ruff’s case it does feel weak. If Jarmo Kekäläinen is looking to start fresh with a new coach next year in Columbus, he’d be crazy not to go after Ruff.

More Ryan O'Reilly To Ottawa Rumours Begin To Fly

I think it was only a couple of weeks ago in this space that I speculated on why the Senators should be interested in Colorado RFA Ryan O'Reilly. Turns out they might be, according to Bruce Garrioch, and it makes sense. Who wouldn't be interested in O'Reilly? GM's fall all over themselves trying to draft guys with both high-end skill, grit and realistic captaincy aspirations. Not surprisingly, Garrioch says the asking price from Colorado is high. As will be the money O'Reilly will need on a new deal.

But do you actually part with someone like Mika Zibanejad? I pulled that name out of thin air but obviously Ottawa would need to part with at least one of their top prospects, so Zibanejad is worth discussing. In a way, a guy like O'Reilly, 22 years old, would be accelerating Ottawa's partial rebuild a little better than Zibanejad, 19, at this point (Zbad was a healthy scratch against NJ incidentally) because of O'Reilly's modest experience, not to mention stats. The Sens have some prime guys like Jason Spezza, Milan Michalek and Craig Anderson all in the 28-31 years of age range, a few older vets like Daniel Alfredsson and Chris Phillips who need to win NOW and a whole slew of rookies and under-25's who have yet to really make a significant mark in the NHL.

You could call that balance, or you could also call it a case of bad timing. Are the Senators trying to win a Stanley Cup now with Spezza, Anderson, Alfredsson, Michalek and Erik Karlsson (who is magically in his prime at only 22) or are they rebuilding with Jared Cowen, Jakob Silfverberg and Zibanejad et al? It's a bit of a balancing act for GM Bryan Murray who can't afford to waste the prime years of a special player like Spezza while he waits for a bunch of 19 year old's to gain experience (not that he has much choice at this point).

You only have to look at the deal Murray made for Kyle Turris last year (a trade I initially abhorred for the same reason a lot of people would be revolted by the thought of trading Zibanejad). He sends rookie David Rundblad to Phoenix for a guy with some similar experience to O'Reilly (but worse stats) looking for a fresh start. That little jump in age allowed Turris to play a big role immediately and helped propel Ottawa into the playoffs where they came within a few goals of advancing to the second round. Rundblad may still end up being the better player in the long term but the effect Turris had on Ottawa immediately can't be ignored.

I'm not saying Ottawa should definitely part with a prized prospect for O'Reilly, but if they do, the Senators could have a hell of a team next year as long as the injury situation doesn't repeat itself and Craig Anderson remains a rock back there.

Yet whenever someone like O'Reilly is available, you can predict about 29 different journalists from 29 different hockey cities will be writing an article linking the team they cover to the guy on the trade block. There's not one team, including Colorado, that doesn't need someone like O'Reilly. Even Boston, who has a dressing room full of O'Reilly's, would always make room for one more. It would be the same with Mike Richards, Gabriel Landeskog, Scott Hartnell or David Backes.

The chances that O'Reilly actually ends up in Ottawa are slim in part because Colorado will ask for the moon knowing that the Senators are desperate for healthy players and have more high-end prospects than most teams. Murray is a sensible guy. He will balk at anything that could potentially undermine the drafting effort he made since becoming GM in 2007.

Or will he?

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NOTE: I'm just back from vacation and still trying to clear out the cobwebs and absorb the mind-destroying news of Erik Karlsson's season ending injury. The posts on Black Aces will pick up as the week goes along and I get my family's 35 suitcases unpacked to my wife's exact specifications.

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.

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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.