Pieces falling into place for Sens' head coaching hire

Everywhere I look, I see another clue towards the impending hire of a head coach for the Ottawa Senators within the next few days. And it's not only rumours in the Ottawa Sun suggesting that "the Senators could have a new coach by the end of the week"--although that is a pretty obvious sign.

The one thing I noticed today? TSN.ca is reporting that the San Jose Sharks have found a new head coach, former assistant of the Detroit Red Wings Todd McClellan. This is interesting because an article in the Sun suggested that if Peter DeBoer was interested in the Sharks job, it was "his for the taking". My thinking is that perhaps the Sharks were told DeBoer was off the market, so they took the next best thing.

DeBoer was one of three candidates that Sun article said remained in the running, along with Bob Hartley and Craig Hartsburg. He went to Barbados to speak with Sens owner Eugene "Huge Eug" Melnyk today. Even though TSN is saying it's just a "continuation of the interview process", it seems like a pretty expensive step to do with someone who's not the far-and-away favourite to be hired.

So I await the announcement of Peter DeBoer to be the sixth all-time Ottawa Senators coach. I am predicting it happen in a news conference at 3:00 p.m. on Friday afternoon, but don't take that as a guarantee. Or anywhere close to it; it's speculation, and nothing but. If it happens as I predict, though, I expect Hockeybuzz to come knocking.

Front office shuffle (but not the big one)

Ottawa Senators lifer Randy Lee was recently promoted from conditioning coach to director of player development, a fitting promotion for a guy who seems to have done a swell job at keeping the Sens in shape. Physically, at least. Hopefully Adam "The New Guy" Douglas is as much of a hardass as Tyler Arnason suggested (although not directly) Lee was.

The promotion of Douglas means that Lee will be able to focus more on keeping track of players' development, and where they can be slotted in the organizations' depth chart. Good, whatever, just do what you have to do.

More importantly, though, is that this might have something to do with an announcement about the hiring head and assistant coaches. I might be reaching at straws, but often times front-office work is done in groups. So we'll see how the hiring process goes.

Obviously, Ron Wilson is out of the picture (and just as well). Suggestions that GM Bryan Murray made on the Team 1200 a couple of weeks ago were that he wasn't speaking with anyone who hadn't been fired yet, so John Tortorella and recently-relieved Marc Crawford are doubtful. That leaves a few names, but often mentioned as the front-runner is Bob Hartley.

Hartley's got a few things going for him. He's a local product, which is something Bryan Murray has shown he likes. He's a hardass, and Murray said he was looking for someone who'd keep his players accountable. He's bilingual (I think?), which is a bonus, but remains important in this city. And he might be friendly with Dany Heatley. And he's won a Stanley Cup.

Over at Black Aces, Jeremy Milks brought up the possibility--thanks to speculation from Bruce Garrioch--that Murray may be looking to hire two guys, maybe Hartley as a head coach and either Peter DeBoer or Craig Hartsburg as his assistant coach. I'm not sure about this for two reasons:

1. Why top coaching prospects DeBoer and Hartsburg would accept an assistant's position in the buyer's market that is head coaching in the NHL right now.
2. Why Hartley would want to work in front of a pretty big name, if it meant he might be training the guy who would take his job in a couple of years.

But it's all speculation at this point. I hope something happens soon, though, I'm getting bored.

Wow. CTV is an asshole

I've purposely not commented on the CBC HNIC theme song because, as well all know, HNIC has always been a Leafs-centred franchise (at least until April).

But, I must comment. Wow, CTV, what dickhead thing to do. You stole this iconic song right out from under the nose of the network that made it famous. That's the NHL equivalent of submitting an offer sheet to Marc-Andre Fleury this summer, and getting the guy.

I believe that the CBC will be fine with a new theme in 2008-09, but CTV's actions were conniving and evil. They stole the Olympics from CBC with a better bid, and they did the same with this song. Who will be claimed next by this acquisition machine?

Mark my words... BOB COLE.

SensBlogCon update 1

MacLaren's restaurant and pool hall on Elgin in Ottawa
June 21 - 8pm

Attendees include:
Ben and Peter from Sens Army Blog (of course)
Shredder of Sens Underground fame(how come Ben and Peter don't have cool nicknames?)
Sherry the sassy curator of Scarlett Ice (I'm more suave than sassy)
Don reppin' the Sens side of Battle of Ontario (The Sens know the greatest battles are fought within)

(your name here!)

Go to the facebook event, or leave a comment on this post to let us know if you're going to show up!

More announcements to come this week.

Badass mofo on his way?

John Tortorella is one mean motha-shut your mouth-but I'm talkin' about Torts! Then I can dig it.

The man with endless anger was fired earlier today, which should fuel talk of Torts coming to the Senators.

With discipline (reportedly) an issue with the Senators, a real hardass like J.T. ("I'm bringing angry back") could create an interesting dynamic with the dressing room.

PS: Those 50% of people who vistit the Sun website, AND believe that Jason Spezza will/should be traded... I CAST THEE OUT!

PPS: "John Tortorella of the Tampa Bay Lightning poses for a portrait during the 2002-03 NHL Awards at the Convention Centre on June 12, 2003 in Toronto, Ontario." ...or... the next James Bond?

Sens sign C Peter Regin

As publicized on the Senators' official website over the weekend, the Sens have signed Danish centreman Peter Regin to a three-year, entry-level contract. Regin was drafted in the third round of the 2004 NHL Entry Draft, 87th overall.

Turns out I missed the fact that Regin was another Senators player or prospect (on top of Dany Heatley, Jason Spezza, Martin Gerber, and Kaspars Daugavins) playing in the 2008 World Championships that just finished. He scored two goals and had an assist in Denmark's six games played, good for fourth in team scoring. He had six points in the 2007 World Championship.

Apparently he's got some big fans somewhere, because he's got a pretty thorough Wikipedia profile for a prospect who hasn't played an NHL game.

According to HockeysFuture--the self-proclaimed #1 Online Prospects Resource (it probably is)--his overall offensive skills are impressive, and he might be worth the time and resources that the Senators will probably have to put into his development. HF says not to count on him cracking the lineup this season, though, no matter how weak the team might be at centre if either (or both) of Antoine Vermette or Chris Kelly leave via trade or free agency; he apparently needs some time to adjust, and will probably benefit from some time in Bingo.

If he does go to Binghamton, the B-Sens will have three offensively gifted European centremen in Regin, Alexander Nikulin, and Ilya Zubov. This signing might mean that one of the latter two, both Russian playmakers, might get a long look for the big squad in 2008-09, or that the team is ready to give up on one of the Sputnik or Zubov Experiments. Time will tell.

We'll also have to see what kind of draft picks the Sens make at the 2008 NHL Entry Draft, which happens to be in Ottawa. Speaking of which, Ben and I would like to invite all friends and fellow bloggers (preferably friendly) to SensBlogCon '08. Check out the Facebook Event page to sign up for the get-together, which is June 21 at McLaren's (on Elgin at McLaren) from 8:00 pm until whenever.

Draft here, then draft beer

I finally fulfilled a year-long dream: I am organizing an Ottawa Senators Bloggers Convention.

The facebook event is now created, thus making the event both official and legally binding.

If you want to get in on the fun, join the event. If you run a blog, post a link to it on the event page.

Sure, some learning and networking might occur, but it's mostly about badmouthing Garroich... unless he attends.

JOIN THE EVENT.

From the "missed the boat" file...

The only version of Emery you'll see in Ottawa in the future... NOW AVAILABLE!

Kind of a cop-out on the helmet, Mr. McFarlane. A limited edition version featuring the short-lived Mike Tyson helmet could have sold for literally dozens of dollars on eBay. Oh yeah, Garrioch reminds us that Emery can be bought out once the playoffs end.

The real question: With Emery gone, does the Sun still need Bruce Garrioch?

PS: Wow, Mats Sundin is a dick. Refusing to be traded,then leaving as a UFA? That's the sort of thing that could cost a certain Swede a statue in downtown Toronto.