Alfie out at least a week

NOOOOOOOO! Thanks a lot, Dany Heatley. Because of your snapshot to Daniel Alfredsson's jaw, the captain is expected to miss at least 7-10 days before having another x-ray to determine the status of his injury. Way to go; I'm calling on you personally to step it up in Alfie's absence.

Josh Hennessy was recalled from Binghamton to fill out the roster, and Chris Kelly will play right wing on the top line with Heatley and Jason Spezza.

The Sens have five games over the next 10 days, so if Alfie stays out that whole time it's a pretty big blow to the Sens' last-ditch playoff push. But hey, what can you do?

Now, back to the 36-hour Obamathon...

Alfie's might miss time (updated)

Although we had an injury scare with Daniel Alfredsson taking a Dany Heatley wrist shot to the face yesterday, he returned later in the game. He apparently had x-rays of his jaw after the game, but expectations are that he won't miss any time.

So we should be able to breathe easily.

EDIT: Actually, according to Binghamton Senators beat writer Michael Sharp, Josh Hennessy has been recalled from Bingo in the event that the captain isn't able to play Thursday against the Vancouver Canucks. I don't have an update on the injury, but Hennessy's recall seems to indicate it's like he'd miss at least one game.

At least the B-Sens are winning

The Binghamton Senators are now 4-0-1, with four wins and a shootout loss in their first five games. They are tied for second place in the league, just a point behind league-leading Hershey Bears, with a game in hand. And they're winning games with a pretty strong defence, too, with just nine goals against in the five games (or about 1.8 per game).

Goaltender Jeff Glass is second in the league in both goals-against average (1.00) and save percentage (.960), although he's only played on game, and started Brian Elliott has been extremely strong, fifth in goals-against average (1.68) and sixth in save percentage (.940).

Defencemen Brendan Bell and Tomas Kudelka have four and three points, respectively, and the defence will only get better if Brian Lee is down there for a little while.

Secondary scoring has become primary scoring, as Zack Smith, Ilya Zubov, and Ryan Shannon are outscoring Denis Hamel and Josh Hennessy--the latter two were last year's leading scorers.

As described so well by the big man in B-Sens land Mike Sharp, Bingo's enforcers are protecting their skilled players: Mixed martial-arts veteran Jeremy Yablonski (who I'd love to see up here for a game) pummeled Tim Conboy after the Albany defenceman kneed captain Hamel (who, unfortunately, is expected to miss 3-4 weeks after the event). And then to add insult to injury, Smith dangled around Conboy to tie the game in the third period, and then won it in overtime--make them pay physically AND on the scoreboard. Genius.

How come the Binghamton Senators seem to have addressed all the problems the Ottawa Senators seem to be dealing with right now?

At least it's reassuring that prospects like Elliott, Glass, Smith, Zubov, and Kudelka, along with guys like Mattias Karlsson and Peter Regin are developing as expected. They may be called on for help sooner rather than later.

On the farm: Bingo starts 2-0

With a 2-1 shootout victory over the Toronto Marlies followed by a 3-1 win over the Rochester Americans, the Ottawa AHL-affiliate Binghamton Senators are off to a 2-0 start on the year. Thanks in large part to goaltender Brian Elliott, who's stopped 66 of 68 shots (a .970 save percentage) so far this year.

Newly-acquired forward Ryan Shannon (1G, 1A) and defenceman Brendan Bell (2A) are tied with the 2008 third-round draft pick Zack Smith (1G, 1A) for the team-lead in points with two apiece. Josh Hennessy and Ilya Zubov each have one goal, while Bell and captain Denis Hamel scored in the shootout victory.

Disgruntled forward Alexander Nikulin is back practicing with the team, although it is unclear if and where he fits into a strong forward lineup for the B-Sens. Rumours are that some team(s) are interested in his skill, if only they could be assured SputNik would remain in North American rather than return to his native Russia.

Centre Peter Regin has returned from his concussion, and is slotted at centre with Hennessy and Hamel on the B-Sens' top line. According to Binghamton beat writer Michael Sharp's blog, the depth chart looks like this:

Hamel-Regin-Hennessy
Zubov-Smith-Shannon
Mauldin-Bass-Bois
Yablonski-Weller-Johnson
Nikulin, Daugavins

Project Hennessy: To be continued

I didn't expect to see it happen, but the Senators' brass have decided against ending the Josh Hennessy project and re-signed the centreman to a two-year two-way contract. I haven't found financial terms of the deal yet, but I can't see it being worth any more than the $565K Hennessy made last season.

Although he'll have a chance to make the NHL squad in training camp, Hennessy will likely re-join the Binghamton Senators for the third season in a row, with a few mid-season call-ups if the big team runs into injuries. In 152 AHL games over the last two seasons, Hennessy has scored 49G and 59A for 108P total.

The signing retains the services of one asset we received in the Martin Havlat trade, along with 2008 second-round pick Patrick Wiercoch and I think Michal Barinka is still technically a Sens prospect.

The Sens also re-signed goaltending prospect Jeff Glass to a one-year, two-way deal earlier in the week. It is, according to NHLScap, worth $550k.

B-Sens flatten B-Habs 7-1

The Ottawa Senators might have lost their latest game against the Montreal Canadiens 7-5, but that didn't stop the Sens' AHL affiliate to give the Hamilton Bulldogs a good beating Wednesday night.

Brian Elliot stopped 39 of 40. Josh Henessy, who's been having a relatively quiet season down in Bingo (quiet enough to not get recalled by the big club), had four goals and one assist, while Lawrence Nycholat also had a five-point night.

Nycholat is having a very productive season, at least offensively. He's currently third on the team in scoring, with 12 goals and 36 assists in 69 games. Denis Hamel is the team's leading scorer with 31 goals and 52 points in 59 games.

Alex Nikulin scored two goals and set up another in the Hamilton win Wednesday. He's fourth on the team in points, while fellow Russian prospect Ilja Zubov has 15 goals and 22 assists in 69 games in his first year in North America.

The Binghamton Senators are currently trailing Hershey by two points for the final playoff spot in their division.

The Rumour Mill: Khabibulin and Ruutu

I don't like reporting on rumours from HockeyBuzz.com. But this one, by Kevin Lee, is too funny too pass up.

The idea is that the Sens would send Ray Emery, a prospect, and a second-round pick (the same pick the Sens acquired in the Martin Havlat trade) in exchange for Nik Khabibulin and Tuomo Ruutu. While I wouldn't mind Ruutu, I seriously doubt that GM Bryan Murray would look to Khabibulin as an answer to the team's goaltending problems. Especially with Khabby's injury problems, as described on Black Aces quite well.

It would just be funny if Emery was packaged with Josh Hennessy and the aforementioned pick for Ruutu and Khabibulin because it would be like trading Havlat and Emery for Ruutu, Khabibulin, and Tom Preissing. Which seems like a solid deal to me.

On the farm: Bingo picks up steam

While the Ottawa Senators have lost two in a row, Binghamton had a perfect weekend and has now won two consecutive. On Friday the B-Sens won 4-3 over the Norfolk Admirals and they followed that up with a 3-1 win over the Rochester Americans.

Matt Kinch opened the scoring against Norfolk and Tyler Donati scored the game-winner late in the second period. Defenceman Brian Lee and winger Niko Dimitrakos both recorded two assists, and Brian Elliott stopped 39 of 42 shots to record his sixth win of the year.

The next night, Josh Hennessy scored the game-winner and added two assists in the 3-1 victory over Rochester. Elliott was in nets again, and stopped 31 of 32 while Larry Nycholat also moved up the team scoring chart, netting one goal and an assist.

Binghamton is now 15-12-4 and tied for third in the East Division of the AHL. Denis Hamel is now tied for second in the AHL with 17 goals. Top scorers for Binghamton, as of Dec. 23, 2007:

1. Denis Hamel: 28GP, 17G, 8A, 25P
2. Lawrence Nycholat: 31GP, 5G, 18A, 23P
3. Josh Hennessy: 30GP, 10G, 12A, 22P
4. Ilya Zubov: 31GP, 7G, 14A, 21P
5. Alexander Nikulin: 25GP, 5G, 14A, 19P

Point: Trading Ray Emery could make the team better

Ray Emery is not what the Senators need right now. I don't see the Senators' future goaltending situation being all Emery, all the time; he just doesn't strike me as a full-time stopper. I don't think Martin Gerber is a long-term solution, either, but they are about equal at this point, so why not deal the guy with the higher market value?

Even though we're basing this entire discussion on the musings of a writer whose predictions seldom if ever come true. It is worth discussing. If a package of Emery, Patrick Eaves, and a prospect (apparently Josh Hennessy being the most likely) in exchange for a new, cheaper backup and a top-six forward, awesome. I would actually be most concerned about Eaves, playing he best hockey of his career, than I would be about Emery.

Don't get me wrong, last year Emery was awesome in the playoffs. He was certainly one of the Senators' best players along the run. And he could be awesome again, but there are serious concerns with his ability to take criticism or accept demotion. And let's keep in mind that even Jim Carey won the Vezina Trophy once. Last year, Gerber was the perfect backup, accepting Emery's promotion for the best of the team. He spent the off-season working on his skills, preparing to come back at the top of his game and win back the number one spot—something he accomplished.

Emery, on the other hand, is rumoured to be just pissed off, and it's affecting his play. If it starts affecting the team, then it's not worth it. He's been reported leaving practice early and is refusing to speak with the media. If he wants to play, he's going to have to play better than he did against Atlanta or Washington. Although he played alright against the Caps for the start, he let it go at the end with a few weak goals. Plus, while I'm not privy to the entire story, and I'm not so ridiculous as to suggest players should never play sports aside from hockey, his most recent baseball-related injury might reflect a carelessness that would not benefit this team.

The rumours we're hearing are the three aforementioned Senators being sent to the Los Angeles Kings in exchange for Jason LaBarbera and a forward, one of Dustin Brown, Alexander Frolov, Michael Handzus, or Patrick O'Sullivan. Frolov, because of his offensive abilities and his contract situation (this year and two more, averaging $3.5M each) is the most appealing to me, but also the least likely because of his value to the Kings and GM Bryan Murray's affinity for North American players over European ones. Frolov does, however, have a relationship with Sens d-man Anton Volchenkov and could make the introduction of prospects Ilya Zubov and Alexander Nikulin easier if and when those two join the big team. Brown is signed for six years, averaging $3.175M per year, which is a bit of a gamble. He's got 12 points in 16 games so far, though, so if it works, it would be great. That contract leads me to believe that LA has earmarked him as a significant part of the team's core for a while, so he wouldn't likely be moved. O'Sullivan only has six points this year, and is an RFA afterwards, so that wouldn't work long-term for the Sens. And Handzus, well… he's big, but he's old, not producing, and is making too much money. No deal.

If the deal were Emery, Eaves, and Hennessy for LaBarbera and either Brown, Frolov, or Mike Cammalleri (but don't count on Cammaleri), then I'd say take it. Even if it's for LaBarbera and O'Sullivan it might give the Sens the cap space needed to sign Peter Forsberg, if Foppa isn't calling it a career.

Check back in the next little while to see Ben's Counterpoint, where he'll try to explain why the Sens can't trade Emery.

Guess who's coming to town

What the hell are the Senators going to do this off-season? Sure, they made big changes upstairs, but the small ones on the ice have only kept the team roughly equal to the one from last year. The one that didn't win the Stanley Cup. And since so many teams, especially in the Eastern Conference (Philly, New York Rangers), have improved. And if Scott Niedermayer decides to return to Anaheim, the team that beat Ottawa last season has also improved. Here are a few of the remaining free agents that are rumoured to be considering Ottawa, or would be a good idea:

1. Peter Forsberg: I think he's on top of 30 'most wanted' lists across the NHL, and Ottawa's no exception. It would be great to see him playing alongside Daniel Alfredsson, but Forsberg will play where he wants--and that might mean a return to Colorado or Philadelphia.

2. Danny Markov: The Sens are stacked on defence, but if Markov wanted to play in Ottawa (and, according to http://www.hockeybuzz.com/, he might) I think John Paddock would make room for him by moving Christoph Schubert back to forward, or trading one of the six. People have been saying Joe Corvo's on the block for a while, but I'd rather keep him.

3. Mike Johnson: All off-season I've been pleading with Bryan Murray to bring in Johnson (pictured above, hitting Buffalo's Brian Campbell). Apparently he's not reading this blog enough. The bottom line is that MJ would be inexpensive, and he plays a solid style to fill out our third- or fourth-line. Albeit less effective than Mike Fisher, he plays a similar style. The more Fishers we have, the better.

4. Jeff Friesen: Maybe it's a risk, but as a fourth-line veteran who's won the Cup, it might be worth it. He wouldn't cost much. Plus there's the bonus that we're taking a Senator killer (see 2003 Eastern Conference Finals) off the market.

5. Anson Carter: An interesting option. He's pretty inconsistent, it seems, but he had a hell of a year with the Sedins. He could add a scoring dimension to Ottawa's second or third line, so that if the big line takes a night off we're not screwed.

6. Adam Hall: I don't know what to say about Haller... his effectiveness is limited, and we've got Chris Neil as a more responsible pest on our team. Still, he might be alright as a depth/fourth-line move.

7. Patrick Marleau: Marleau is still the property of San Jose, but apparently they've been shopping him around. One of the potential suitors is Ottawa, but I don't see what they'd want from Ottawa. There is cap room in San Jose, so it's possible they'd take Martin Gerber to back up Evgeni Nabokov, but then Ottawa would have no backup (aside from unproven youngsters). Other than that, there's still Corvo, and possibly Patrick Eaves (who's name has once again, for some unknown reason, been mentioned in trades). An interesting possibility, but unlikely.

The problem with this whole scenario, though, is that Murray could be waiting to give some prospects a shot to crack the lineup. Look for centre Josh Hennessy and wingers Nick Foligno and Danny Bois to push for roster spots. If they fail to impress, then count on Murray dipping into the free-agent pool to fill out the Senators' lineup.