$%@! The Worlds!

This has been making the rounds of the blogs but I thought I might jump on as well in case anyone missed it.

One of the most brilliant and hilarious You Tube videos I've ever seen, especially the bit about Spezza's bachelor party.

Thanks to Tweedy for pointing it out to me.

Messy Divorce In Bytown

Amidst all the screaming and self-righteous indignation, we finally get a reasoned and logical take on the Heatley situation from Ken Campbell at the Hockey News who has the balls to infer that maybe Murray could have handled this situation a little better than he did:

"Before any trade was made, Murray could have forced Heatley to waive his no-trade clause unconditionally.....

There would have been nothing preventing the Senators from telling Heatley to write a letter to Central Registry pre-approving a trade to any one of the other 29 teams. No letter to Central Registry, no trade. Simple as that."

He's got a point. Murray approached the trade with Edmonton from a position of weakness, probably just hoping that negative public opinion would force Heatley to accept.

Heatley was well within his rights to not only ask for a trade, but to use his no-movement clause as is spelled out clearly in his contract. It doesn't make him morally right, but it makes him technically right, if you know what I mean. When you take the emotion out of it, the argument doesn't seem as unbalanced as many make it out to be.

I took a lot of heat (pun definitely intended) for saying much the same thing, but as Campbell points out, the contract Heatley negotiated in "good faith" gives him all the power in this situation, like it or not.

"First, he asked for a trade. Well, anyone from a minimum-wage plug to a 50-goal scorer has the right to do that.

He invoked his no-trade clause when a deal he didn’t like became available. That’s another right he has, one to which he and the Senators agreed when they consummated a six-year, $45 million contract extension a couple of months after the Senators went to the Stanley Cup final in 2007. The ubiquitous “no movement” clause is a classic team-killer that will undoubtedly be a major element in the next round of CBA negotiations, but the fact remains it was negotiated in good faith by both sides.

So it’s a bit of a stretch for anyone to believe the Senators might have a basis for a grievance because Heatley put them in such an untenable situation. "

With all that being said, it looks like Heatley's reputation has hit the terminal point around the league. What looks legit in a contract doesn't always matter to a tempestous fan base and a traditional old boys network around league offices who aren't exactly sympathetic to anyone who carries an NHLPA membership card in their wallet.

Kovalev Shocker

This signing really caught me by surprise.

Of all the free agents this off-season, Alexei Kovalev would have been near the bottom of the list of players I expected to sign in Ottawa.

Yet, it's strangely brilliant.

As has been widely reported, fans of the Habs had just completed a "protest" outside the Bell Centre in Montreal to try and force Bob Gainey to resign the skilled Russian.

Now Murray has what will surely be a motivated player in the lineup to terrorize Carey Price and his band of merry midgets for at least 6 games in the regular season.

But what does it all mean?

Is this a sign that a Dany Heatley trade is imminent? Does this mean that Murray is going to take less for Heatley?

I'm not a capologist but this signing puts Ottawa over the 56.8 million cap.

Kovalev will eat up 5 million per year for the next two seasons in both actual paid salary and in cap space.

According to NHLSCAP.com, the Senators cap number is now at roughly $57,545,833. To get that number I subtracted the listed salaries of Cody Bass, Ilya Zubov and James OBrien, three players who will have a hard time making this team.

But that also doesn't include Brian Elliott who needs a new contract and the possibility of Erik Karlsson making the team (in which event one of the 7 current defenseman would be out of a roster spot, eliminating their respective salary).

If Murray could somehow convince Heatley to reverse his trade request and make peace with Cory Clouston, Ottawa will have plenty of firepower to rack up huge offensive numbers.

Even without Heatley, you could probably pencil in Kovalev beside Jason Spezza and that would still be a formidable line on any team.

If you were to pick someone who has almost as good a shot as Heatley, you'd have to put Kovalev into the argument. While Heatley is all power, Kovalev is pure finesse and can put pucks into corners or through goalie's legs before they've even realized he's about to shoot.

But there's a downside too. Kovalev has an unfair reputation as a guy who is streaky and sometimes disinterested. People seem to think that because he has such great skill, he's not allowed to have off games like other players do.

And if there's anything we've learned about Ottawa fans, they are greatly distrusting of skilled, superstar players. They won't find much to like about Kovalev unless he and Spezza really find some chemistry right away. If not, both will have huge targets on their backs to join the likes of Chris Neil, Chris Kelly and whoever else the fans decide they've had enough of.

But this is a good day for Murray. No matter what happens with the Heatley saga, he has ensured that he is not wasting the supreme passing talents of Spezza.

To have a visionary on the ice like number 19 without someone to one-time his passes is like having a nice car with no wheels.

Heatley or no Heatley, Ottawa will still be able to score goals.

Heatley Still Salvageable

Now we have to answer the once unthinkable question:

Is it possible for Dany Heatley to play for the Senators again?

And the answer is, of course, yes.

If Alexei Yashin could do it, Heatley can definitely do it.

While I still think there's a deal out there for Murray to make at some point, it's now a real possiblility Heatley will still be in the red and black.

Many comparisons have been made between the Yashin and Heatley situations, and those comparisons are valid, but is Heatley’s demand worse than what Yashin did to the team earlier in the decade?

No. Yashin’s was worse. Much worse.

For one, Heatley is a popular player among his teammates. Even Chris Neil, who was the most vocal in his disappointment, said Heatley was well liked. Yashin clearly was an outsider in the dressing room during his final year with the team.

Two, Yashin refused to honour his contract. There are no indications from his agents or from the player himself that Heatley will go as far as that. Anything beyond that is pure speculation.

Three, Yashin was a repeat sinner. When he held out in 99-00, he had already put the organization through the ringer a few times with contract holdouts.

Heatley did request a trade from Atlanta but that was, as universally agreed, an understandable and probably necessary request due to the tragic car accident Heatley was involved in. That request had nothing to do with hockey but with trying to get on with his young life. I don’t think bringing up that tragedy is fair game in this context. Others will disagree, such as Citizen writer Hugh Adami, who currently exploited that situation to a sickening degree, but I still think it’s in bad taste.

And as anyone who even remotely follows the NHL knows, players demand trades all the time due to both hockey and personal reasons.

Chris Campoli is one such player on the Senators roster who demanded a trade due to hockey reasons. Yet Ottawa fans aren’t calling him a “despicable” person.

Heatley is also not the only high-profile player to request a trade.

Chris Pronger did it in Edmonton.

Mark Messier did it in Edmonton.

Patrick Roy did it in Montreal.

Eric Lindros did it in Quebec City.

Pavel Bure did it in Vancouver.

Jaromir Jagr did it in Pittsburgh.

And now Heatley has done it in Ottawa. And his reasons aren’t any more shocking than the others before him. To call him a “despicable” person for doing so is completely out of line.

Yes, you should be angry with him and you should let your voice be heard, but don’t act like Heatley is doing something no one has done before.

Bryan Murray and Eugene Melnyk gave him the no-movement clause in good faith and Heatley simply exercised his contractual right to refuse a trade to Edmonton. Guaranteed contracts, the likes of which Heatley and every NHL player have were fought for by generations of players who formed the NHLPA to protect themselves against owners like James Norris and corrupt agents like Alan Eagleson (who was also, unfortunately for many, the head of the PA as well).

Heatley’s contract is valid and so is his no-movement clause. If he doesn’t want to go to Edmonton, he doesn’t have to. If you don’t like it, blame Bryan Murray and Eugene Melnyk for giving him that option.

I realize my position on this will not be very popular but those are the simple facts. Burning a player in effigy, literally or figuratively is just not relevant to the situation.

If Dany Heatley has to eat crow and come crawling back to the Senators, he will still be able to play at a high level and eventually the fans will put aside past problems and get behind the team.

They did it when Yashin came back in 2000 after they got their boos out of the way the first few games.

And despite everyone going completely apoplectic over this thing, there is a chance Heatley could once again pot 50 goals for the Senators.

It would take a massive P.R. campaign by Cyril Leeder and Bryan Murray (and even spurned rookie coach Cory Clouston) to rehabilitate Heatley’s image, and at least a sincere apology from the player himself, but it can be done.

If it could be done for Yashin, who was a much worse problem, then it can be done for Heatley if need be.

Now bring on the hate mail…..

Neil and Murray Come To Their Senses

A Canada Day hangover prevents me from getting too deep into this, but...

Getting Chris Neil signed was the right move for Ottawa and at 2 million for 4 years, the contract is barely above the NHL average.

The fact that Toronto added the likes of Mike Komisarek, Colton Orr and Garnett Exelby made the re-signing of Neil a priority for Ottawa.

In fact, the Senators could still use some more muscle but Murray can't do much until he sorts out that Heatley thing....

Heatley Does Ottawa A Favour By Rejecting Mediocre Oiler Deal

Perhaps, despite all the furor and moronic name-calling (by over reactive writers like Don Brennan), Dany Heatley has actually done Ottawa a favour here by rejecting this terrible trade with Edmonton.

Much like everyone is snickering over how Glen Sather fleeced Montreal's Bob Gainey by unloading the Gomez contract while getting the likes of Chris Higgins and Ryan McDonagh back in the deal, there would be a few hidden smirks with the idea of Murray getting Dustin Penner back from Edmonton.

Penner has been a colossal flop in the City Of Champions and is believed to be out of shape and mentally soft. His size is certainly appealing but Murray would be better off by signing Erik Cole on the market today without having to give up a 50 goal scorer for Penner. That's not to say the player that Murray drafted can't turn his career around, but do you really need to take that chance right now, with the franchise defining trade of Dany Heatley?

The other players in the deal are bonafide prospects, but no one is predicting them to be in the elite category. Cogliano could score 30 goals one day but he is small. Smid is an interesting player who will still get better but he would have already been on his third team if the deal had gone through. He's at best, a second pairing defensive defenseman.

I'm not saying it would have been the worst deal possible, but Murray should be getting something better than Penner in the Heatley deal, no matter the trying and exhausting circumstances.

The real tragedy of the day will be when Chris Neil signs in Toronto, paving the way for the Senators to become one of the softest teams in the league.

With the other bruisers that Burke is inevitably going to sign, Neil and company are going to come into Ottawa's rink and kick the living shit out of them 3 times a year, and do much the same in their own building.

To let a heart and soul player like Neil who actually wants to be in Ottawa, possibly go to your biggest rival down the highway simply because you're squabbling over a couple hundred thousand, is completely unforgivable in this humble scribe's opinion.

The descent into mediocrity continues in the nations capital......

***

Two separate pieces today by Don Brennan of the Sun and Hugh Adami of the Citizen are so over the top in their feigned outrage that they make fools of themselves, rather than make any reasoned arguments why we should be calling another human being "despicable".

Adami even goes the route of interviewing Dan Snyder's father, a crass and exploitative tactic which is simply a chicken shit way of invoking the tragic car accident as a viable tool for a personal attack on the 28 year old without doing it in a direct manner.

The Adami article makes me want to puke.

Small town, small-minded journalism at its worst.

Congratulations To Pittsburgh

The Penguins deserved to win.

They were hungrier and overall a better team than the vaunted but tired looking Detroit Red Wings. While many will be focusing on the juicy Marian Hossa storyline, the real story is a guy like Sidney Crosby being shut out of all the major awards this season but willing his team towards the most important piece of hardware.

That picture with his father above says it all. For all the grief Crosby takes by fans who call him a "whiner" etc., this is why he's the best all-around player in the NHL and will continue to be for a long, long time.

Overall, it was a great post-season for the NHL despite the annoying distraction of back-door "owner" Jim Ballsilly and locally, the bizarre trade request by Dany Heatley.

There's nothing better for a league when its biggest star wins a championship.

We'll be back when there is more Senators news to report on.

Enjoy your summer, hosers.

More Heatley Fallout

In the post below I described the scenario of Dany Heatley not getting along with coach Cory Clouston as "bizarre", but Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun was correct and got the scoop before anyone else as far as I can tell.

According to TSN, who have filled in some of the details, Heatley was particularly upset with his minutes being reduced and being demoted to the 2nd power-play unit:

"The veteran forward became unhappy with his role in Ottawa last season, especially after the Senators made a coaching change. Heatley discussed his concerns about what he felt was the limiting of his ice time, and his shift from the first power-play unit to the second unit with head coach Cory Clouston in the Senators end of season meetings.

Both sides agreed some time away would help remedy the situation. So, the issues were left to settle while Heatley represented Canada at the IIHF World Hockey Championship.

Heatley returned and continued to consider his future before finally approaching Senators management with his trade request."

Many in the media are going to accuse Heatley as putting himself before the team, but this type of conflict happens all the time in the NHL - usually behind closed doors.

Star players don't like to see their minutes drop, I don't care who they are. But it often doesn't escalate to the point where a trade is demanded.

So I'm going out on a limb and guessing that there is a little more to this than just ice time.

Heatley has taken significant heat from the local media (particularly from the Team 1200 radio station which has been nearly rabid in their attack) and his attitude seemed to sour quite quickly. He was often defensive, if not outright surly during his infrequent relations with the media and you could really sense that this young man was somewhat unhappy.

It's unfortunate because Heatley is an elite talent and the Senators are going to be worse off without him.

But if he wants to leave, Murray has to deal him. He risks poisoning the already negative and chaotic atmosphere around this suddenly flailing organization even further.

With Stanley Cup hopes getting dimmer (which is probably not making Daniel Alfredsson very happy) the Senators find themselves in full continental drift at this point in their history.

With loyalty and tradition being casually tossed to wither in Kanata farm fields (uniforms, logos, theme songs, coaches and players), the Senators aren't too far away from a permanent state of mediocrity (although they are lucky to have passionate and caring fans, even if emotion tends to make them over reactive at times).

Bryan Murray is a respected hockey man who deserves some further rope, but even he might be starting to wonder what the hell is going on with this once stable and proud franchise.

Heatley Headed Out?

More bad news for Ottawa (though many will be cheering that another star player is going to leave town).

Dany Heatley, as reported, wants out of Ottawa and the reasons are not exactly clear, although Bruce Garrioch says that it is because Heatley does not get along with new coach Cory Clouston. That sounds bizarre to me but we don't yet know the truth.

Perhaps he simply wants to win a championship, which Ottawa is now seemingly farther from than ever.

Yet Bryan Murray has an opportunity here to at least re-stock his depth and possibly pick up a promising prospect.

But make no mistake. Losing Heatley and his dependable, and often spectacular, goal scoring is going to hurt this team. You are simply not going to be able to replace his 40 – 50 goals in a trade.

It's not going to happen.

Trades like the Heatley for Marian Hossa deal are extremely rare. Yet Murray might (ironically) be able to persuade a top talent such as Hossa to return to Ottawa with the cap space he clears out in any move.

If Heatley is moved for an even higher draft pick (like Colorado's 3rd so Ottawa would be in a position to draft Matt Duchene), then players like Hossa, Martin Havlat, Mike Cammalleri, Marian Gaborik and Jay Bouwmeester would become affordable, but with no guarantees any of those would want to come to town.

Murray might look to San Jose where GM Doug Wilson has already said he is not averse to shaking up his playoff weak team, which could make players such as Patrick Marleau, Milan Michalek and Jonathan Cheechoo available.

Can you imagine Heatley playing with Joe Thornton?

Sickening huh?

That combination could be what San Jose needs to get over the top. Heatley has proven to be an excellent playoff performer after tying for the scoring lead in the 2007 post-season.

While we wait to see what Murray does, things look completely chaotic (as usual) in Bytown.

No one knows if Chris Neil, one of the heart and soul players, will sign (or if his heart is even in Ottawa anymore). Reports about Mike Comrie returning are conflicting. Jason Smith may or may not retire. Even President Roy Mlakar may be out the door.

And finally, the Big Three will be officially split up without an elite sniper for Jason Spezza to feed pucks to. Kind of makes the lack of a true number one defensman a minor problem compared to this.

So what is really going on with this team anyways?

My only concern is that Ottawa is slowly turning into Edmonton East, an organization in constant upheaval where nobody really wants to play anymore despite past glories.

To be honest, it's not surprising that Heatley wants out after everyone calling him a bum and a lazy player for the past two seasons.

Stay tuned for more when we hear more....

Pre-Draft and July 1st Notes

The hockey world is buzzing with the story that Ray Emery is about to sign with the Philadelphia Flyers and Bryan Murray made some very interesting quotes to Philly.com writer Tim Panaccio:

“He didn’t have many problems on the ice other than there was a little stretch when he didn’t play as well as he had been playing for us,” Murray said. “He’s a good goaltender. He’s a good athlete. He had issues where he tried to do more off the ice than he should have done.”

Would Emery be a sound investment for the Flyers? Murray was very direct on the matter.

“Well, he wasn’t in Ottawa because he was scrutinized so much,” Murray replied. “He missed a plane in Ottawa and every media person knew about it and wrote about it. When you are late for practice, we have 30 press guys in the stands with TV cameras going. They see that happen."

Another anonymous GM had this to say:

“Every person deserves a second chance and this guy has cleaned up his act,” the GM said. “Tell me you haven’t done something bad when you were younger and got a second chance? Why should Emery be any different?”

For those of you who have followed this blog over the past two years knows that I've always been a big Ray supporter - and that hasn't changed a bit.

This is a great move by Philly and I suspect Emery will continue to play great, carrying over from his All-Star season in the KHL.

Senators Notes

Bryan Murray has made some good moves since admitting defeat and firing Craig Hartsburg.

Among them was hiring a great coach in Cory Clouston who believes in a modern puck-possession game, getting a franchise goalie in Pascal Leclaire and signing 1st round pick Erik Karlsson in hopes of getting the slick young blue-liner into the lineup next season.

But some pitfalls remain ahead.

On paper, the defense still isn’t good enough.

To be considered a contender, you need a clear cut number one guy back there and Ottawa doesn’t have one, no matter how highly you rate Filip Kuba.

For the Senators, it should be Jay Bouwmeester or a similar player through trade - or bust.

Without an upgrade on the blueline, this team should still be good enough to make the playoffs but there is no way they can be considered an elite team anymore. Maybe they get lucky like Carolina and go on a sort of Cinderella run but that's all anyone can hope for at this point.

Yet Murray seems content with his defense core:

"I think our defence is more than adequate now. It's very different than it was at the beginning of last year. We've made our commitments to four or five of them and if we can sign another we will, but my focus is to get a good forward."

He's right. It is more than adequate. But it's not that great either. Murray is in a tough spot due to the cap but if there is even a glimmer of hope to get someone like Bouwmeester, even at a Brian Campbell-esque contract, he should go for it with all the resources he has.

***

According to the Ottawa Sun, Chris Neil is a lot closer to re-signing in Ottawa than he was when the season ended and that's positive news, if only to avoid Neil donning the Maple Leafs sweater this coming year.

With Brad May teetering on retirement and some money to play with under the cap, getting Neil in the blue and white would be a no-brainer for Burke. The signing would significantly weaken the toughness of their divisional rivals and add a player with a ton of playoff experience to their roster.

With Burke in the same cozy division, this is not the time for Murray to be taking chances with the Senators toughness. Already, Ottawa is the softest team in the NHL outside of Buffalo.

Nobody is going to be afraid to come into Ottawa’s building if Murray doesn't sign Neil or replace him with a suitable player. It’s hard to believe that not long ago, the Senators were probably the toughest team in the NHL with the likes of Zdeno Chara, Brian McGrattan, Neil and Mike Fisher getting in opponents faces. Now only an injury prone Fisher remains. If Jason Smith can't return from his knee injury, this team will get run over every single night.

And if someone mentions Cody Bass as the answer to everything, I might lose my freaking mind. He's got heart, but he's not the same type of player that Neil is. Not by a longshot.


NHL Notes

The arrogance of Canadian hockey fans is astounding. We feel it is our divine right to demand that Gary Bettman bow to the wishes of Jim Ballsillie and let him move the Coyotes out of Phoenix and into Hamilton.

Yet these same fans cry and moan that the NHL didn’t do enough to keep the teams in Quebec and Winnipeg. Moving a franchise, no matter where, is heartbreaking for the fans. People in Canada should recognize that and feel some sympathy for loyal Coyotes fans who are going through an uncertain time right now.

If Ballsillie succeeds in his precedent setting back-door style bid, that will lead to all sorts of problems, such as a billionaire deciding that the Senators or the Oilers might look better playing in Las Vegas or Houston.

Letting outsiders decide where the NHL can locate its franchises is sheer lunacy and a terrible omen for Canadian hockey fans. Love him or hate him, Gary Bettman is on the side of stability and reason in this battle.

Hamilton may be a great market for a team, but they should get in line like everyone else.

Second Round Picks

As you may have noticed, there has been an almost complete lack of activity on Black Aces for the past month. We will be back with full Senators coverage whenever there is anything important to talk about but for now, after two years of almost daily blogging, I’m simply enjoying the playoffs and recharging my batteries. Right around the draft, Black Aces will be in full swing again or if anything big happens in the Senators world.

But first we need to get some predictions in. With our usual guest from Blood Red Army, here’s how we see the second round unfolding.


Boston vs. Carolina

Black Aces: Boston
Blood Red Army: Carolina

Washington vs. Pittsburgh

Black Aces: Pittsburgh
Blood Red Army: Washington

Detroit vs. Anaheim

Black Aces: Detroit
Blood Red Army: Detroit

Vancouver vs. Chicago

Black Aces: Chicago
Blood Red Army: Chicago


What was the best series of the first round?

Black Aces: Washington vs. New York
Blood Red Army: Chicago vs. Calgary

Who was the MVP of the first round?

Black Aces: Evgeni Malkin - Pittsburgh
Blood Red Army: Jonas Hiller - Anaheim

Which star player performed the worst in the first round?

Black Aces: Daniel Briere – Philadelphia
Blood Red Army: Evgeni Nabokov – San Jose (although there were many others)

Biggest moron of the first round? John Tortorella, Sean Avery, Donald Brashear, Daniel Carcillo or Montreal fans?

Black Aces: John Tortorella (He should be embarrassed by both his interactions with the fans and the media. Much like Ron Wilson, he thinks he invented hockey. Yet I’m glad he’s around for entertainment purposes.)

Blood Red Army: Montreal fans (Biggest morons in the WORLD)

Which first round team is most likely to blow up their roster for next season?

Black Aces: Montreal (duh)
Blood Red Army: Montreal

***

Our first round predictions can be seen here.

The score was:

Black Aces: 5
Blood Red Army: 4

Oooh so close. Sorry B.R.A. (yes that acronym spells BRA ... loser)

Although I picked Montreal to beat Boston. Brutal.

Who Stays? Who Goes? Who Knows?

Here's a quick look at the Salary Cap numbers of the Senators going into the summer.

I've broken the players into 3 separate groups as you can see below.

Most Likely To Stay

(Player followed by Cap Hit - not actual salary)

Dany Heatley - 7.5
Jason Spezza - 7.0
Daniel Alfredsson - 4.875
Mike Fisher - 4.2
Jarkko Ruutu - 1.3
Nick Foligno - 0.850
Shean Donovan - 0.625
Ryan Shannon - Restricted
Jesse Winchester - 0.550

Chris Phillips - 3.5
Filip Kuba - 3.7
Anton Volchenkov - 2.5
Brian Lee - 1.275
Chris Campoli - 0.633

Pascal Leclaire - 3.8
Brian Elliott - Restricted

Total Cap Hit: (Roughly) 42 million

Possible Trade Bait

Chris Kelly - 2.125 (most likely will stay but would be moved if the right deal came along)

Christoph Schubert - 0.883 (Schubes days as a Sen are over)

Jason Smith - 2.6 (Senators will find no takers for his salary but this may be a blessing in disguise - Smith is a warrior who will be valuable come playoff time)

Alex Picard - 0.8 (I have no idea how Murray feels about Picard but I'd bet he goes)

Brendan Bell - Restricted (He will be cheap and useful - he stays)

Alex Auld - 1.0 (I think he's gone but what do I know)

Total Cap Hit: (Roughly) 7 million

If none of the players on the above list are moved, the total cap hit for next year will be 49 million. That doesn't take into account the salaries due Ryan Shannon, Brian Elliott and Brendan Bell. Shannon will probably make close to 1 million so that at least brings the cap hit to 50 million.

If the NHL's salary cap is in the mid 50's as expected, the Senators will have about 3 to 4 million to possibly entice one or both of the following players who are unrestricted. That won't be enough unless they cut costs elsewhere (such as shipping out Schubert, Picard and Auld)

Unrestricted Free Agents (May or may not be back)

Mike Comrie
Chris Neil

If recent failed negotiations are any indication, Neil is probably gone and Murray has already expressed his disappointment in Comrie for his lackluster play.

The problem is that the Senators desperately need two players just like Neil and Comrie (when they are on their games).

Letting both of those players go significantly weakens the Senators on both offense and in the toughness department. But does Murray want to spend the money?

Hopefully Murray learned his lesson when he went cheap on his defenseman after trading both Wade Redden and Andre Meszaros (again, I'm not saying he should have kept those specific players, but he should have replaced them properly...don't freak out Redden haters).

Sometimes you have to overpay players to keep them from going elsewhere and Neil is probably worth the 2 million required to keep him, especially if you can cut the fat elsewhere on the roster (and especially if the Leafs are going to try to sign him).

Comrie on the other hand is more of a gamble. He has hip issues and his career seems to be on a downward spiral ever since his glory days with his hometown Oilers. He's not worth the 4 million he made this year but he might be a bargain at 2.5 if he retains his form.

It could get interesting this summer due to the fact that Jesse Winchester somewhat outplayed Chris Kelly in a similar role, and he did so at a bargain price. Yet I still feel that Kelly has a lot to offer and by all accounts, he is one of the most popular teammates in the room. His playoff experience can be a big asset to the Senators who are not (and should not be) in a rebuilding mode.

Casting away too many veterans, such as Kelly and Jason Smith could come back to haunt them.

Besides, 2 million is basically the average player salary in the NHL. People get up in arms over 2 million dollar third and fourth line players, but really, that's the cost of players in this league nowadays.

If you can augment that with cheap but effective youngsters, you can remain comfortably under the salary cap and have success that way.

But it would also make a lot of sense for Murray to sacrifice some players such as Kelly and Neil in order to bring in a proper power-play defenseman.

If you're going to weaken your toughness and depth, do it at the expense of someone who will have a major impact on your team.

Obviously, Jay Bouwmeester leads the pack but other unrestricted defenseman who may interest Murray are Mattias Ohlund, Nick Boynton, Phillipe Boucher, Francois Beauchemin, Derek Morris, Jaroslav Spacek, Jordan Leopold and Martin Skoula.

Trade-wise, well take your pick.

Who knows what Murray could get on the trade market. Could Sheldon Souray be available? What about Cam Barker?

Deja Vu

Did you ever notice that the Over The Edge show never interviews players on the Senators?

Their excuse is that the Senators practice during their time slot, but maybe they have a little more humility than we expected. They spend the better part of the year questioning the players manhood's but don't have the guts to talk to them face to face. Fair enough.

They spent the whole show today continuing their extended campaign to run Dany Heatley out of town by playing a benign clip of the player saying he had an up and down year. Apparently the problem is that Heatley knew his stats off-hand and in Kulka and Versage's minds, that is proof that Heater is not a team player.

I'm getting a little sick of commenting on these two radio jocks but at what point does their personal attacks against Heatley and Jason Spezza completely poison the Team 1200's business relationship with the organization?

The Senators are selling a product to fans and are allowing the Team 1200 the luxury of paying to broadcast the games. When the Team 1200 promotes antagonistic attitudes towards the players day in and day out regardless of the facts and against all good taste and balance, how soon does the day come when the Senators go shopping for another radio outlet to broadcast their games?

There is an expectation of criticism when a team or a player does poorly, but where do you draw the line?

Kulka and Versage go beyond any sense of fairness and balance in attacking Spezza and Heatley day after day based on faulty logic and reasoning.

Only when enough people stop buying tickets to the games to watch a bunch of "spoiled rich hockey players", thanks in part to the incessant diatribes of the Over The Edgers to hate their team, will someone like team president Roy Mlakar wake up and smell something rotten with their business relationship with the Team 1200.

***

A disaster looming?

The notion of Chris Neil going to the Toronto Maple Leafs as an unrestricted free-agent would be a total pie-in-the-face to Bryan Murray and the organization who should have gotten Neil under contract a long time ago.

Letting a heart and soul player go is one thing. Letting him go to your biggest rival is unforgiveable. Murray has painted himself into a corner here knowing that Brian Burke has all the money in the world to poach the toughest player the Senators have ever had.

Just give Neil the 2 million and get it over with. He's worth it off and on the ice.

Prediction Time

The Senators are toast but that doesn't mean the world stops.

The playoffs are here and that means some hardcore hockey watching until the marathon ends in early June.

For the annual playoff predictions, I've brought in fellow Senator blogger Blood Red Army to help with the picks.

There are a lot of ex-Senators out there trying to win the Stanley Cup, such as Marian Hossa in Detroit, Antoine Vermette and Mike Commodore in Columbus, Zdeno Chara in Boston and Wade Redden in New York.

Anyways, enjoy the games. I know I will.

Eastern Conference Matchups

Boston vs. Montreal

Black Aces: Montreal
Blood Red Army: Boston

Washington vs. New York Rangers

Black Aces: Washington
Blood Red Army: Washington

New Jersey vs. Carolina

Black Aces: Carolina
Blood Red Army: Carolina

Philadelphia vs. Pittsburgh

Black Aces: Pittsburgh
Blood Red Army: Philadelphia

Western Conference Matchups

San Jose vs. Anaheim

Black Aces: Anaheim
Blood Red Army: San Jose

Detroit vs. Columbus

Black Aces: Detroit
Blood Red Army: Columbus

Vancouver vs. St. Louis

Black Aces: St. Louis
Blood Red Army: St. Louis

Calgary vs. Chicago

Black Aces: Calgary
Blood Red Army: Chicago

Stanley Cup Finalists:

Black Aces: Calgary vs. Pittsburgh
Blood Red Army: San Jose vs. Carolina

Stanley Cup Winner

Black Aces: Pittsburgh
Blood Red Army: Carolina

Conn Smyth Trophy Winner:

Black Aces: Marc-Andre Fleury
Blood Red Army: Cam Ward

Playoff Scoring Leader

Black Aces: Evgeni Malkin
Blood Red Army: Patrick Marleau

Biggest Playoff Flop

Black Aces: Boston
Blood Red Army: Detroit

Comrie On The Move Again?

Has Mike Comrie suddenly become the "Dead Man Walking" of the Ottawa Senators?

Quietly, Comrie has begun to disappear into the lineup, playing marginal minutes on the third line and being fairly invisible on the power play.

Comrie hasn't had a point since March 22 against the Rangers (He got one tonight). That was 8 games ago.

Before that Ranger game, Comrie had gone 5 matches without a point. So that math is now 2 points in his last 13 games. In total he has 7 points in 19 games as a Senator.

Not only is Comrie not making a case for himself to stay near his current 4 million salary, he's making himself an also-ran in the unofficial "Comrie or Neil" sweepstakes.

Bryan Murray may only have the money to sign one of Comrie or Chris Neil and right now, it's a no-brainer. Neil is the guy.

Just take a look at tonight's physical match in Montreal. Neil was noticeable all night long in a game that was as close as the Senators will get to a playoff atmosphere. Comrie was tiptoeing through the tulips.

It's clear that Ryan Shannon has outplayed Comrie and has gained the trust of Cory Clouston. That's why Comrie is treading water on the third line.

Comrie is an excellent player at times and he still has a lot to offer a team like Ottawa, but right now it doesn't look like his head is into it. I'm not saying he's pouting at the minutes he's getting, but he's also not proving Clouston wrong by playing his way back up the charts.

I'd expect Murray to look elsewhere to park Eugene Melnyk's money next season. The feeling is likely mutual.

***

Larry Brooks of the NY Post makes a great point about the overblown hullabaloo surrounding Sean Avery's comical Slapshot act with Bruins goalie Tim Thomas:

"Excuse me, but Milan Lucic sticks out his leg and injures a defenseless Nik Antropov by going knee-on-knee midway through the second period on Saturday, and it's Sean Avery who should be suspended for kind of stupidly using his stick to tap Tim Thomas on the back of his helmet during a TV timeout?

The absence of context is the crux of the issue here, just as always. Headhunters such as Chris Pronger and Gary Roberts, who historically injure opponents, are routinely deified, notably by the sanctimonious brigade north of the border, but Avery, who has never hurt anyone but himself, must be banned for the good of the sport? "

To be honest, it's getting a little tiresome listening to the morality brigade trying to kick Avery out of the NHL for even the mildest of incidents.



What Avery did to Thomas was hilarious and solidly in the long NHL tradition of the pest.

The self-righteousness of the punditry when it comes to Avery is getting stale. They complain the game doesn't have enough personalities yet they hammer down every nail that dares to rise up from the grain.

One minute they love Alex Ovechkin and his wild celebrations, the next they want him humiliated for celebrating too hard.

And Brooks is right. The hockey media establishment in Canada thinks they own the game and deem themselves the ultimate arbiters of taste and behaviour. They haven't seen an outrageous personality like Avery before and they don't like it (yet they forget the likes of Eddie Shack and Tiger Williams were almost equal the morons of a guy like Avery. Williams once did the same thing except it was to Scotty Bowman's head when he was on the bench watching the play down the ice. True story. Look it up.).

They try to pin the blame on Avery for the Dallas Star's lost season but in reality, it was not having a healthy Sergei Zubov and Marty Turco playing the worst hockey of his career that led to their downfall.

They've been rid of Avery for a long time now but they completely faded down the stretch on their own.

So save the morality lessons and let the kid goon it up. It's fun to watch.

Hunting Season Begins Anew

The character assassination of Jason Spezza continued unabated today on the typically obnoxious Over The Edge radio show after a month of silence on the subject.

The reason for the renewed bile spewing from the blathering duo of Kulka and Versage came from Bryan Murray's comments that the Senators best players had to be better.

No shit.

But like they always do, the Over The Edger's take any open door they see and pry it wide open in their attempt to run the amiable but young superstar out of town for strange reasons that can only stem from personal dislike.

Because if they were strictly talking from a hockey perspective, trading Jason Spezza is a moronic notion.

You have zero chance of winning without a true offensive number one center. There's no argument against that. Nobody is going to trade their current number one center to Ottawa for Spezza simply because they already have one on their roster. Those teams, like Ottawa, are looking for a goalie, a defenseman or a winger. Ottawa might be able to trade Spezza for a good power-play defenseman but who is going to be their top center? If you think Mike Fisher or Mike Comrie can fill the same role, you're dreaming.

Yesterday, the Over The Edger's had nothing to say about Spezza because the team has been going good under coach Cory Clouston's new system and the Big 3 are turning things around as well. But today, now that Murray singled out his best players in what was simply a general statement that was already obvious, the defamation game is back on for the bumbling duo. In the course of two sentences, Spezza is now enemy number one again.

All because these clowns don't have any better material for their pathetic radio show.

It's funny because I was never even that big a fan of Jason Spezza but listening to the constant garbage being bandied about which is full of untruths and cliché assumptions has brought me to his side wholeheartedly.

People with as little hockey knowledge as Kulka and Versage just grab some obvious subjects and beat it to death as a replacement for real insight into the game and the team. Their take today was that Todd White could do a better job as the Senators number one center simply because he has more points than Spezza.

The problem with their argument is that it exists in a vacuum. They don't take into account any other factors, such as the coaching change. Every player under Craig Hartsburg was underachieving, including Spezza. Now that Clouston is in charge, the whole team is playing at their normal expected levels, including Spezza.

Rational thinking would lead us to conclude that this trend will carry over to next season, meaning a big season out of the Big 3, including Spezza.

Yet rational thinking is not the forte of the Over The Edger's. Nothing will get in the way of their prolonged campaign to run Spezza out of town. Dany Heatley is not far behind.

I have no problems with people criticizing Spezza, because he does need to be better.

I have problems with intentional campaigns to discredit player's reputations based on nothing more than a lack of hockey knowledge, a treasure trove of worn out clichés and personal animosity.

Senators Miss For First Time Since 96

With the uninspired loss tonight against the playoff hungry Panthers, the Senators are now officially eliminated from the post-season for the first time since 1996.

Just to bring you back to that era:

Jean Chretien was the Prime Minister Of Canada.

Jacques Martin was still rocking a moustache.

Patrick Roy had just been traded to Colorado.

Steve Yzerman's leadership abilities were being called into question.

Tiger Woods was just about to turn professional.

Wayne Gretzky was a St.Louis Blue.

Daniel Alfredsson was a rookie.

Wade Redden had yet to play a game for Ottawa.

Steve Duchesne was already the best defenseman in Senators history after only 62 games (with apologies to Norm Maciver)

Nick Foligno was 8 years old when the Stanley Cup was won by the Colorado Avalanche. His dad, Mike, had only been retired for two years.

***

Here's a prediction: If Ottawa fans didn't like Andrej Meszaros, they aren't going to like Chris Campoli. Their games are pretty similar but Campoli doesn't have the physical element that Meszaros brought to the table. Good luck, Chris, but the Ottawa faithful are going to eat you alive a year or two from now.....

Shaun Van Allen is a man of few words, an interesting characteristic for a TV color man, which Vanner has been doing off and on for Sportsnet during the Senators games with Dean Brown. But in a way, it's kind of refreshing, even if it takes Brown off his guard occasionally. There was a moment before the opening faceoff when Brown cued up Vanner but the ex-Senator took about 5 seconds to sum up what he wanted to say and the dead air clearly caught Brown by surprise. Some guys would take that opportunity to go on and on about the useless "Keys Of The Game" but Vanner is more like Hemingway - direct and blunt......

I know that Chris Kelly has been wearing 22 for a long time now, but I can't help but think of Van Allen whenever I see that number on a Senators jersey. I'm getting old I guess....

For the record, in my previous post I mentioned that the emergence of Nick Foligno and Ryan Shannon might convince Bryan Murray that he should be spending whatever money he has on his blueline, and I mentioned Jay Bouwmeester as a possibility.

I actually don't think that's a likely scenario but it won't just be a money issue. If Bouwmeester wants to sign with Ottawa, Murray will have no second thoughts about moving money around to accomodate him.

Players like Bouwmeester are rare and Murray would probably have no trouble parting with any combination of Chris Campoli, Mike Comrie, Chris Kelly, Alex Picard, Alex Auld or Jason Smith to make room.

That being said, I don't see Ottawa having a better chance than anyone else of signing Jay other than Florida......

The last time Ottawa switched coaches in mid-season (with someone who wasn't the GM at the time) was during the 95-96 season when Jacques Martin took over for Dave Allison (who took over for Rick Bowness just a month or two earlier).

Just like Cory Clouston, Martin instituted a whole new system and the team began to turn things around. It didn't get them into the playoffs in 96 but they made it the next year. Is history about to repeat itself next season?.........If there's a broken stick during play, Jarkko Ruutu is the guy you want to have on the ice. During a 5 minute span late in the second period, Anton Volchenkov broke his stick and Ruutu didn't hesitate for a second in handing over his lumber (both are left-handed shots). Then a few plays later, Ruutu broke his own stick but dove headfirst into the slot to take away a great scoring chance from a Florida forward. It's been a disappointing year for a lot of Senators but I think Ruutu has been great all season long......

Chris Neil passed Alexei Yashin on the all-time Senators games played list with his 505th contest tonight........Dude, I paid $384 dollars to a dentist today, for what amounted to 45 minutes of plain old cleaning. Is it me, or is the dental industry completely out of control? Someday soon, dentists will start buying NHL teams (see how I linked a petty personal complaint to hockey to make it perfectly relevant on a hockey blog....).......$384 dollars? Total madness I tell you. But that's still not as crazy as the premier episode of the Osbournes Reloaded that I casually witnessed tonight. Ozzy is now the host of a variety show in front of a live studio audience. I will call it now - this will go down as the worst show in the history of broadcast television - next to the NHL Awards of course (see kids, I tie it all in....)

***

A big salute goes out to Brian Kilrea, whose coaching career came to a stunning end tonight when the Ottawa 67's lost to the Niagara Ice Dogs in overtime of Game 7.

If I was brave enough, I'd post an Anne Murray song for you.

But I'm not that brave....

Foligno Key To Summer Plans

With the emergence of Nick Foligno as a legitimate scoring threat, Bryan Murray's job might have just gotten a lot easier over the summer.

If Murray can get Mike Comrie and Ryan Shannon under contract for a reasonable amount, the Senators clearly already have a proper second line that can score goals.

And that equates to money that can be spent elsewhere, such as a real power-play quarterback (Jay Bouwmeester anyone?).

One of the bonuses to Foligno's breakout season is that the young winger has also started to use his size when going to the net. At 6 feet and 192 pounds, Foligno isn't exactly a power-forward but he has the potential to be a good compliment to Mike Fisher – a guy who can score and run you over at the same time.

Murray has already mentioned that he wants more size in his forward ranks. Even though he will probably be unavailable, a player like Erik Cole would be the perfect fit for Ottawa. Given that there aren't too many players like that out there (no one wants to take on Dustin Penner's contract), Ottawa may have to look to a player like Foligno to grow into that role.

Under the salary cap, it's always cheaper and better to have a draft pick fill a vital need than to go out and shop for a player on the free market to do the same thing.

Strictly in that sense, Foligno might be the Senators most valuable player right now. He's signed for next year at only $ 785 000.

That's the right player at the right price if I've ever heard of one.

***

You know that scoring is still a problem in the NHL when it looks like there will only be one 50 goal scorer this year.

Given Alex Ovechkin's talent and drive to do anything to score, it looks rather bad on the league when all he can muster is 53 goals so far.

If Ovie has trouble reaching the 60 goal mark, nobody else has a chance in hell to put up huge offensive numbers.

The problem is that the goalie equipment is still too large and the NHL is moving at a snail's pace to reduce it thanks to the huge influence of the goaltending fraternity who have had the league by the balls since the mid-90's.

Because the coaching is so good now, the game will never return to the stage where players will challenge Wayne Gretzky's or Brett Hull's goal scoring totals in a single season, but the NHL should have at least five 50 goal scorers per year and one or two in the 60 range.

The one true way to spike viewership in non-traditional hockey markets, and thus increase revenue, is to crank up the offense. The NHLPA should overrule the petty concerns of their minority goaltending group and force the issue because the player's salaries are tied to overall league revenues under the CBA. It's in the players best interests to increase scoring and the only way to do that is bring back the skinny pads of the 70's and 80's.

The notion that shrinking the size of protection endangers the safety of the goalie is laughable. The materials used in modern equipment can probably stop bullets, let alone pucks. The bulk is only there to block the net, not protect the player.

Carolina 2, Ottawa 1 - Stick A Fork In 'Em

Like everyone else with Rogers Cable, I was shut out of watching this game tonight.

What can I say? Tough loss.

Combined with Montreal's win over Atlanta and Buffalo's win over Florida tonight, the Senators are virtually done. As expected, it was too much to ask for a team to be perfect down the final stretch and doing that on the road became even harder.

Ryan Shannon scored another goal to keep his successful audition for next year going strong.

***

On the Team 1200 pre-game show they were talking about how ex-Ottawa players, such as Joe Corvo, and more recently, Antoine Vermette, seemed to blossom when they were traded to a less traditional hockey market that provided far less pressure to perform under.

That got me thinking about how noteworthy it really is that players like Daniel Alfredsson, Jason Spezza and Dany Heatley have been able to put up fairly consistent offensive numbers while playing in the pressure cooker that is Ottawa.

And it's not like they've been given an easy ride. Alfie got used to playing under fan demands to trade his butt out of town for many years and now Spezza and Heatley are going through the same thing. The media and the fans in this town can be downright cruel and no doubt it would be easier for a player like Spezza to go play in Miami or Nashville where fans aren't screaming bloody murder over a turnover when he's trying to make a play to help his team win.

While their numbers are naturally off this year due to playing more than half the season under the ultra-conservative Craig Hartsburg, the Big 3 have been excellent under pressure for a long time now.

Alfie has had point totals of 103, 87 and 89 since the lockout and will probably finish around 80 this season.

Heatley has goal totals of 50, 50 and 41 since the lockout and he will be close to 40 goals when it's all said and done.

Spezza has dropped off quite a bit this year after posting point totals of 90, 87 and 92 in that same time frame. He'll be lucky to finish with 75 points this year, but as the youngest of the Big 3, he still has the most potential to cash in a few 100 point seasons down the road.

All three players have also proven themselves beyond a doubt in the post-season as they led the Senators to the Stanley Cup final in 2007 with all three tying for the playoff scoring lead.

While it might be fun sport to constantly pick on these guys when the wins aren't piling up, you can't make the claim that they crumble under the pressure of playing in a hockey market.

I'd bet you wouldn't be able to say the same thing of a few superstars around the league who only have to face one or two microphones at the end of every game.

Alfie and Spezza in particular never seem to hide from the media when things are going wrong. Heatley is a bit more reticent and seems to have a shorter fuse with stupid questions but it never seems to affect him on the ice.

Spezza often gets derided for just being himself, which is kind of a goofy, happy-go-lucky guy. People hear him chuckling on the television and assume that he doesn't care. People want him to be as stone cold serious as a Steve Yzerman or a Mark Messier, even though he's just 25.

But it's also refreshing to hear a player not just spout the typical mantras over and over again. Spezza seems to like talking to the media and often has something interesting to say. It doesn't mean he isn't a competitor on the ice.

***

A lot of people still don't understand the whole salary escrow account that the players are forced to pay into as part of the last CBA negotiations. This article points out that the players are having a whopping 22.5 percent withheld this year.

"The players are have 22.5 per cent of their cheques deducted and put into an account with J.P. Morgan until the league determines what the actual revenues from this season have been. Once decided, the players will then be getting some of that money back, but the whack to their bottom line is expected to be substantial.

"Our best estimate at the moment is about 13 per cent will be what the players will eventually lose," says (NHLPA boss Paul) Kelly ...

Still Climbing

The Senators continued their improbable run towards a still distant playoff spot tonight in New York (9 wins out of their last 10) and with their hard fought 2-1 victory, the numbers are starting to give more than just the die-hards a sliver of hope.

Here's the new math:

The Senators are now at 74 points and have jumped over the Leafs for 11th spot in the East.

More importantly, they are now just 7 points back of the Habs for the final playoff spot with both teams having 10 games left in the season.

As we pointed out in yesterday's article, Saturday night couldn't have gone any better for Ottawa with Montreal, Florida and Buffalo, the 3 teams standing in the Senators way, all losing their games.

Ottawa still has to play their next 5 games on the road but thankfully have until Wednesday to get prepared for the Hurricanes in what will be another pivotal game (obviously).

Of the 3 teams Ottawa has to leapfrog, they only get to play Florida once and Montreal once, so that makes it all the harder to control their own destiny.

Montreal has a favourable schedule coming up with 6 of their next 10 at home and a few mediocre opponents such as Atlanta, Tampa Bay and the Islanders. They also go up against Buffalo next Saturday which ensures a setback in points for Ottawa.

Florida will split their last 10 games at home and on the road but face a tougher opposition in Philadelphia (twice), Pittsburgh and Washington.

Buffalo will split their last 10 as well but they also have to go through the likes of Detroit, New Jersey, Washington and Boston.

It's still bleak, but a little brighter than even yesterday.

Regardless, it at least makes the last 10 games worth watching and that's an improvement any way you look at it.

***

Larry Brooks of the NY Post has an interesting proposition regarding the annual draft lottery:

There should be only one boundary applied to the lottery and it's the one between making the playoffs and not making the playoffs. Every team that misses the playoffs should have a chance to get the first-overall pick in the draft under a variation of the formula that was applied to the 2005 post-lockout, 30-team lottery.

The NHL and NHLPA should amend the CBA and immediately to move to a 14-team lottery that would be weighted on two factors: 1) the number of consecutive years out of the playoffs; and, 2) the number of previous first-overall picks within a three- to five-year period.

Not only would such a system eliminate any questions of propriety down the stretch, it would create great anticipation and interest in the lottery.

Your favorite team misses the playoffs by a point, but still has a shot at the first-overall pick? You're watching the lottery.

***

Here's a great quote from referee Rob Schick (who just retired a few weeks ago) concerning players respect for referees in the 80's and the way they policed themselves on the ice:

"I remember when Brian Sutter was captain in St. Louis, he'd come up to me and say, 'Rob, did you get a look at that play?' Maybe a guy had been speared and back in the one-referee game, you only got small looks at everything," said Shick.

"I'd say something like, 'Sorry Brian, I didn't get a good look at that thing.' He'd say, 'No problem.' Then, the next shift the guy you thought might have done something was probably laying on the ice.

"They seemed to take care of things on their own."

***

I'm pretty sure that Jarkko Ruutu is the first Ottawa Senator to have his name chanted in an opposition arena with the suffix "sucks" attached at the end like he did tonight in New York. I know that Alfie gets booed in Toronto but I'm not sure those fans are intelligent or organized enough to get a syncopated chant going.

I'm assuming the "Ruutu Sucks" chant is from his days with the Pens when he would go up against the Rangers 8 times a year and 4 times at the Garden. Now that Rangers fans will only get to see Ruutu twice a year, they better make it count. For his part, Ruutu seemed to enjoy the attention and was rocking his head back and forth and pumping his fist a little.

He had a little harder time getting Sean Avery's attention late in the first. In a scrum, Ruutu was talking right into Avery's ear but the shit-disturbing Ranger didn't even take a glimpse. He was too busy re-acquainting himself with another former Atlantic division rival, Chris Campoli.......

Speaking of the Garden, the current version has been open since 1968 yet they still haven't found a way to light a hockey game properly. Perhaps it looks fine inside the arena, but on television, it's the darkest and murkiest arena in the league. Not only are the corners of the ice dark, but the whole section behind the net on both ends are seemingly in a shadow. Just watching the regular nightly highlights, I could tell for years that the game was at MSG before even seeing a blue uniform. It's sort of like watching the game through a haze of cigarette smoke. What gives?.......

How anonymous is Ryan Shannon (who scored the game winning goal)? The site where I check out the boxscores doesn't even have a picture of him. They gave him the first star but they had to use the Senators logo in place of his pic. That won't be a problem next year when everyone better be aware of the late-blooming offensive threat.

Movin' On Up

The hockey gods couldn't have handed out any better hand than the one they dealt the Senators on Saturday night.

First it was the hapless and soon to be Kansas City Islanders limping into Ottawa with major injuries, making them easy fodder for the relatively healthy and confident Senators.

Then just down the highway, the Leafs rolled over the Habs in what can only be another devastating loss for Bob Gainey and his staff.

In another strange twist, ex-Senator Antoine Vermette scored an empty net goal to help the Blue Jackets clinch the game against the 9th place Florida Panthers.

The topper was 10th place Buffalo losing another game, this time to the resurgent New York Rangers.

So the math goes as follows: Ottawa is now only 9 points back of the Habs for the last playoff spot with 12 games left to play and one in hand over Montreal.

It still sounds impossible but it's better than yesterday.

They are 8 back of Florida, 4 back of Buffalo and 1 back of the Leafs.

If they can pull off a road victory against the Rangers tomorrow night, we may have something to talk about here.

As for the game against the Isles, both Daniel Alfredsson and Brendan Bell continued their hot streaks with 3 and 2 assists respectively and Brian Elliott extended his franchise record to 8 straight games with a win as a rookie.

The power-play is starting to look like the old days with Filip Kuba and Bell playing really well on the points and of course, the blossoming of Nick Foligno into a semi-power forward with soft hands continues unabated. He got his 16th goal and those are starting to look like impressive numbers for a sophomore forward.

There was an interesting incident in the second period when Islanders rookie Joel Rechlicz layed a clean but questionably late hit on Chris Phillips. Mike Fisher immediately challenged Rechlicz to a scrap but didn't get an instigator penalty.

I happen to agree with the current sentiment out there that too many fights are started due to a perception of wrong-doing on perfectly clean hits. If you lay a guy out cleanly, you shouldn't have to fight every time.

Yet, there is some areas of grey here.

Are you supposed to let a rookie like Rechlicz take a hard run at a veteran leader like Phillips without consequence?

Yes, the hit was clean but I still think there's room to make a statement like Fisher did. If not, then it would be open season on star players from desperate rookies trying to make an impression.

Like everything in hockey, every situation is different. Maybe if it was veteran Brendan Witt cleanly hitting Phillips, there's no fight. But I think Fisher was justified in starting that scrap and you don't want to see that taken out of the game.

***

Bad apples? That's what Isles coach Scott Gordon called Mike Comrie and Chris Campoli to Newsday not too long ago as Sun columnist Don Brennan pointed out. Hasn't Comrie been called that a few times now? It's probably not true, but initial reputations are hard to shake in the relatively small world of the NHL. Comrie has always had this aura about him of the "rich kid" (his father founded The Brick chain of stores) and demanding a trade out of Edmonton, his hometown team, just added to that. Now that his personal life is in the spotlight due to dating a celebrity, those perceptions will probably persist. But he seems very popular with his teammates and plays the game hard and with a surprising amount of grit for his size. He'd be a great player for Ottawa next year if Murray can get his name on a contract.

***

Bucky Gleason over at the Buffalo News thinks the GM-Coach tandem of Darcy Regier and Lindy Ruff are headed for the unemployment line after this season is over, especially if the Sabres torrid slide leaves them out of the playoffs.

One mind-blowing statistic he notes is that there have been 129 coaches fired since Ruff took over for Ted Nolan in 1997.

One specialized group of NHL people will be hoping that the axe comes for Regier, for sure. The professional scouts of the hockey world were aghast when Regier fired the majority of his scouting staff and switched over to "video scouting" full-time for the organization in an attempt to cut costs. To my knowledge, the Sabres are the only team to have done this.

***

Does anyone else find it weird that Martin Gerber took no time in getting his helmet painted in Toronto Maple Leaf colours yet he went a whole year in Ottawa with a black helmet which the fans strangely rallied behind? The black wasn't the Senators black. It was the "trade me right f#*!ing now" variety of black.......Mike Commodore is having a great year in Columbus and with them on the verge of their first playoff spot, he's getting ready to don his familiar good-luck charm locker room bathrobe to go with his ever-growing red afro. Too bad we didn't get to see that last season in Ottawa. As this mini-interview shows, Commodore is still one of the great characters of the league.........

The collapse of the Montreal Canadiens has certainly taken some heat off the Senators in media circles hasn't it? Pierre Lebrun, one of the nicest and least controversial personalities in all of hockey, called the Habs "heartless" tonight on the Hotstove segment on Hockey Night In Canada. Those types of words were once exclusively reserved for the Senators but they are yesterday's news. But how about those Ducks? Just like Ottawa, they've been in a brutal funk ever since the 07 final. Yet no one has called them heartless. Playing in California comes with a get out of jail free card in a way..........

I have no problems at all with Alex Ovechkin's exuberant celebrations but he's probably blown his chance of any of the Tampa players voting for him when the ballots are passed out for the Pearson trophy...... The CBC is probably freaking out right now over the prospects of no Eastern Canadian team making the playoffs. That's a big hole to fill right in prime-time and the likes of Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby is not going to be enough to offset that loss. Yet, they may luck out with all three Western teams making it...........

And congratulations to Chris Neil, who scored a goal in his 500th career game, all with the Ottawa Senators.

Let's hope there's many more to come.

Sens Break Habs Curse

Unfortunately for Bob Gainey, the Senators refuse to die.

In what should have been a soft touch for the struggling Habs, the Senators came from behind (again) to get their first win of the season against Montreal in 5 tries.

And now the Habs are in deep, deep shit.

Carey Price looked horrible (again) and this loss might have finally put him in Gainey's shithouse after getting the benefit of the doubt for so long from his protective GM. They are going to have to turn to the relatively unknown Jaroslav Halak to help them get their heads straight before the season from hell truly comes to fruition for the centennial Habs.

If Price's stock is plummeting, rookie Brian Elliott's is surging. He now has the Senators team record for most wins in a row (7) by a rookie goaltender and not many would have predicted that just a month ago when some commentators were wondering if Elliott even had a future with the Senators due to his penchant for giving up bad goals and deadly rebounds.

Those issues aren't totally cleared up but they are certainly in the distant fog right now.

More and more, we are starting to see the Senators offense wake up from a year long hangover. Jason Spezza led the way with two goals and an assist while Daniel Alfredsson pitched in with a couple of points. Filip Kuba has continued his tear since signing that new contract and even Jarkko Ruutu put on a gong show with that ridiculous one-man circus goal he scored in the second period. If things don't turn around for Montreal, that might have been the stake in the heart for them right there.

With all that in mind, I should point out that Pierre Lebrun penned an article for ESPN showing what teams have the best records in just the second half of the season.

Ottawa is right up there in 7th place in points percentage through March 18.

For those of you who thought the players were the problem and not Craig Hartsburg, I think that statistic nullifies your argument.

Cory Clouston was handed essentially the same group of players that Hartsburg had and he has done a much better job - no argument there. Clouston has also had to deal with more injuries (and flu related illnesses) than Hartsburg did.

Everyone always goes on about how much power the players have nowadays with their big contracts but hockey is clearly a coaches game now and has been ever since Jacques Lemaire took an anonymous New Jersey team to a Stanley Cup championship in 1995.

Coaches are a bigger factor in how a team plays than the star players. If the system instituted by the coach is not up to par, you have no chance no matter who you have on your team.

Ottawa had a lot of weaknesses going into this system, particularly in goal and on defense, but that doesn't account for why Hartsburg watched while his team fell to the bottom of the league in goals for.

The one strength Ottawa had was speed and skill on the forward lines yet they played a system that had them sit back and wait for the other team to attack.

If the likes of Dany Heatley, Jason Spezza and Mike Fisher break the wishes of their coach by playing more aggressive, they're not team players.

Yet when their coach gets fired, they're called "coach-killers".

It was a no-win situation under Hartsburg but at least Murray had the conviction to admit another mistake and do what had to be done, no matter how unpleasant it was to everybody.

Murray could have went into a siege mentality and kept Hartsburg to try and prove he didn't screw up this past summer but instead he did what was best for the team, even if it made him look like a fool to the hockey world.

I think Murray should get some credit here, along with the accolades Clouston is getting.

But I'm not holding my breath waiting for that to happen...

***

If the Phoenix Coyotes do the expected and miss the playoffs this season, that will make it four seasons in a row that Wayne Gretzky was unable to clinch a berth as head coach.

With the team seemingly on the verge of another rebuild after dumping Olli Jokinen and Derek Morris, the odds of them making the playoffs next year don't look too bright either.

Gretzky is a smart guy and surely must know that GM Don Maloney doesn't want to be the "guy who fired Wayne Gretzky". So does Gretz take the honourable route and resign at the end of this season? Or does he stick around for more punishment?

This will be the 6th year in a row the franchise has missed the playoffs and 7 of the last 8 have ended the same way.

Probably the most incredulous statistic is that the Yotes haven't won a playoff series since 1987 (while still in Winnipeg) when they beat the Flames in the first round.

In the organization's history, they have only won 2 playoff series, both against the Flames. They lost 6 times to the Edmonton Oilers along the way. And you thought the Leafs had the Sens number.

In the big scope of things, has there ever been a worse NHL franchise than the Winnipeg Jets/Phoenix Coyotes?

***

It must be tough for Bob Gainey to watch the Vancouver Canucks cruising towards the playoffs with Mats Sundin in their lineup. Gainey struck out trying to woo Mats and instead opted to sign Robert Lang who incidentally might be headed towards retirement after getting his Achilles tendon sliced in half over a month ago.

Even if Lang was healthy, it's hard to believe he'd be able to stop this team from sliding further into chaos. As Gary Galley pointed out, these guys look rattled. There's so much extra pressure on this Habs team than there normally is and it doesn't look like the young guys are handling it. Alex Kovalev has been an easy scapegoat (Spezza can relate) but I think losing guys like Mark Streit and Sheldon Souray in consecutive years has hurt them more than anything. Ottawa can relate to that as well after they dumped every offensive defensman they had in the course of two seasons.

Both teams tried to correct the problem with the likes of Mathieu Schneider and Chris Campoli but it may be too late, even for the Canadiens. The only thing saving the Habs right now is that both Buffalo and Florida have been brutal of late.........

Speaking of Florida, they are now facing the worst possible scenario - getting nothing for Jay Bouwmeester AND missing the playoffs. Way to go Jacques.......Tonight was Chris Neil's 499th career game, all with the Senators of course. He has 1,286 PIM's to go with that......Don Brennan broke down what the Senators defense will look like next season and he has slots already filled by Phillips, Volchenkov, Kuba, Campoli and Smith. He also has some interesting thoughts on unrestricted free agent to be Brendan Bell.

"Bell will figure into the mix if his salary demands are in line with what the Senators might be prepared to do. For instance, accept a marginal raise but on a one-way deal, which is what he really wants. It'd especially make sense for the Senators if Karlsson, a similar type player, isn't quite ready for prime time.

At the rate Bell is going, the Senators might even be prepared to deal Picard to open up a spot for him."

Bell has now had two excellent games in a row and it will be interesting to see what Murray does here. From Murray's comments after the trade deadline, I got the impression that he wasn't done adding to his defense core. I still think he might be looking for a big piece back there but that will be difficult with the money already tied up in the position and Volchenkov needing a new contract soon.

I'll go one step further than Brennan and say that Picard's already played his last game with the Senators. ......... Just as I was thinking to myself that I hadn't really noticed Ryan Shannon in the game for the first time in a long time, he goes out and has a great third period - defensively. He showed some great hustle and guts by blocking a shot in the last minute near the blueline to clear the zone after the Habs were pressing hard. I'm running out of accolades for the little guy.