Get your priorities straight

With NHL free agency starting at noon (ET) Sunday, the Ottawa Senators have some decisions to make. It's tough to interpret the lack of news regarding Ray Emery as anything but bad, but it is only one of a number of tough choices that GM Bryan Murray will have to make in the coming days.

As an opinionated (and somewhat informed) fan, I now present to you what I believe the Senators should do to maintain or improve the team for next season.

1. Trade Wade - The Sens need the cap space to retain certain players and to make any sort of waves in the free agent market this summer. Wade Redden was lame all of last year, and as much as we love the guy, Ottawa shouldn't wait until the trade deadline to cash in on him.
2. Re-sign Rayzor - I'm not saying Ottawa should keep both Martin Gerber and Emery, but if given a choice, any sane person would pick the goalie the Sens rode to the Stanley Cup finals. Emery's agent has been stirring the pot, saying that a couple of teams intend to sign offer sheets for him (but don't trust agents).
3. Power Forward - Watching TSN today, a commentator suggested that the Senators are interested in acquiring Bill Guerin as a free agent this summer. I couldn't agree more! This would be a major improvement for the Senators in scoring, leadership and size. Do it. Do it. Do it.

I'm sure a missed a whole bunch, but these ideas have stuck with me for some time. Feel free to add your own comments and ideas.

Gerber's better than the alternative

Would it be so bad if Martin Gerber returned for another season? Considering the price that Ray Emery may command this summer in restricted free agency, Gerber may be the only constant that the Senators have right now. (Constantly mediocre, some would say).

I remember watching Gerber in the first game of last season against the Toronto Maple Leafs, he put Raycroft to shame in a solid outing with several spectacular saves. It may simply be that Gerber must have a return to form. Not giving him the time to re-shape his game may be a decision the Senators regret.

Despite the playoff success, Emery is still a wildcard and is not a proven long-term solution for the Sens. We may look back at this time next year and be in the same situation with an Emery/Kelly Guard goaltending combo.

Bryan Murray, trade the guy if you can, but don't take some crap back. We've got no one waiting in the wings from the farm system this time. So if you mess up, there's no one to save the Senators next season. Gerber's an expensive backup plan, but he's better than the alternative - no plan at all.

Another entry draft has come and gone

The Sens made four draft choices over Friday night and Saturday morning at the 2007 NHL Entry Draft in Columbus, and Bryan Murray said he was largely trying to build up size, complementing it with a Russian prospect already playing in North America. The picks were as follows, formatted with round number, and overall number in brackets:

1 (29): James O'Brien
2 (60): Ruslan Bashkirov
3 (90): Louie Caporusso
4 (120): Ben Blood

Ottawa traded their fifth- and seventh-round picks, as well as a seventh-rounder acquired from Phoenix in the Oleg Saprykin deal earlier in the year, to Tampa Bay in exchange for the Lightning's fourth-rounder in the 2008 draft, which is supposed to be deeper in talent than this year's was. The sixth-round pick was previously traded to Washington for Lawrence Nycholat this past February.

Sappy's big return?

Speaking of Saprykin, the Ottawa Sun has reported that former GM John Muckler tendered the winger a qualifying offer of just over $1M before he was fired. Apparently, if Oleg goes to arbitration he could earn "a reward of over $1.8 million". I don't know how Garrioch got that figure, but if arbitration awarded that it would be ridiculous. Apparently Murray is trying to move him.

McAmmond now officially sticking around

Speaking of things Muckler started before he got fired, the two-year contract extension he had tabled to Dean McAmmond was made official on Friday. In celebration, I shaved a playoff-era, McAmmond-esque mohawk into my head. The terms of the deal are supposedly $900K for 2007-08 and $950k for 2008-09. Here's hoping he retires as a Senator.

Sens Fever still in the capital

Taking the OC Transpo downtown a few days ago, I noticed some wicked Senators graffiti near the Bay Street station. If you get the opportunity, be sure to check it out. Here's a sneak peak, it's a pretty wicked piece of artwork.

Remember the good old days?

Do you remember when the Senators used to suck? When we didn't make the playoffs? It was a long time ago, more than ten years.

We used to get all the top picks. Somehow we got the first overall pick 3 times between 1994 and 1997, which we used to select Brian Berard, Chris Phillips and Alexandre Daigle. What should this teach us? That first picks don't tell the story of a team, and that the Senators have been smart in alot of other areas, such as scouting and trades. With their 29th of the first round this year (victims of their own success, I suppose) the Senators chose James O'Brien from the University of Minnesota (what TSN says about him).

I don't know the guy, but judging by his name I would say that he's a blue-collar worker. His nickname could be "Jimmy", but I'm going to change it to "Conan" because he's a warrior. Also because I love Conan O'Brien.

It's just a bummer to have so many months of the Senators, even extending past the playoffs to the Murray/Muckler exchange. Now, I've had to wean myself off the Senators news and onto insane speculation.

I really thought we'd hear some rumors before the trade deadline, but we got nothing. So, I think that means Wade is sticking around for another season... at least the girls like him.

I think I just threw up a little bit

It's all about the Leafs, isn't it?

As soon as the Senators drop their old (and I do mean 'old') GM, John Muckler, reports are coming out of a number of media outlets (TSN, National Post) that the Leafs could use a man of his talents. Last time I checked with Gary Bettman, there are 30 teams in the NHL. I don't think I have to remind hockey fans that a lot of these teams suck.

So before you jump on the "yeah JFJ sucks, but Muckler would help!" bandwagon, just remember that there are a ton of teams where the GM is useless compared to John "The Gargoyle" Muckler, and ol' Mucks is going to look at the whole league (for at least a week) before choosing his next destination.

I think this is just sensationalized journalism, based on pure speculation and wishful thinking on the part of the Toronto media. Also, it's just another pleasant reminder that the Leafs don't just want to be like the Senators, they do, in fact, want to be the Ottawa Senators.

Big news day: Muckler out, Murray up, McAmmond sticks around

It's been made official: John Muckler was fired on Friday, June 15, 2007. Bryan Murray was hired to fill the General Manager position on Monday, June 18, 2007. There will be a number of interviews, no doubt, to fill the now-vacant Head Coaching position. Names being thrown around include head coach of the AHL's Rochester Americans Randy Cunneyworth, former New Jersey Devils head coach Pat Burns, and current Ottawa Senators Assistant Coaches John Paddock and Greg Carvel. Also announced is that there will be someone hired soon in either a Director of Player Personnel or Assistant General Manager, possibility that Bryan Murray's nephew Tim Murray will be the man there.

In other news, Muckler apparently signed a two-year contract extension for Dean McAmmond, and Murray spoke with M.C. 'Ammer's agent that his contract will be honoured. Terms to be disclosed, and it's still 'all but finalized', but retaining D-Mac is a another big plus to start the Senators' off-season.

Other big possibilities could come in free-agent signings. According to the Team 1200, Murray is looking to make the team bigger, more physical, and add veteran(s). Hopefully that doesn't mean Gary Roberts is coming to town--Murray seems to be interested, though--but other names have been mentioned. The Alexei Yashin rumour was probably (and hopefully) just Mark Gandler trying to make news, he's not the kind of size or experience the Senators need. Brendan Shanahan is unrestricted and could be huge to the first or second lines--good size, experience, leadership, and scoring ability--depending what our future head coach decides to do with the CASH line. Comign off a season where he made $4M, though, Shanny may be a little pricey. From Carolina, Ray Whitney is a good name; he's no Shanahan, but he's a good leader, not quite as big as Shanahan, but is cheaper a few years younger, and can still get points. Martin Gelinas has been mentioned in the past, but his consistency is an issue (although his big-game play may be enough to counter that).

Anyway, speculation is moot, we'll see what happens. My pick would be Shanahan is there's enough money, and if not I'd go with Whitney, but we'll see what Murray decides on.

The speculation ends this afternoon

The Senators have called a press conference for today, June 18th at 1pm.

It seems more likely that Bryan Murray will become the Senators GM, and he may or may not also be the coach for the upcoming season. An alternate scenario has Assistant Coach John Paddock assuming the Head Coach duties. I've heard that Paddock has been considered by several organizations for their open Head Coach positions.

Senators' President Roy Mlakar is a strong Muckler supporter - will he sever his ties to the ol' Gargoyle (Muckler) to keep his job? Or is he on the way out as well? This could be the end of the Senators conservative 'build through the draft' philosophy. It could be a whole new franchise mantra if all the speculated changes take place.

Also keep in mind that Senators Owner Eugene Melnyk gave all the Senators' top brass a vote of confidence near the beginning of the season.

Let's just sit back and watch... it should be an interesting afternoon for Sens fans.

Housekeeping in the front office?

According to the Ottawa Sun today, the Ottawa Senators may announce as early as Monday that General Manager John Muckler has been fired. The reason has not become clear, but I'm sure there are many theories.

Ottawa fans have had a love/hate relationship with Mucky-Mucks for a while; at the start of 2006-07, when the team was doing poorly, many were calling for his head stating that he was too old and didn't know the new NHL well enough.

When he didn't pick up Gary Roberts--who proved to be meaningless anyway--and instead acquired Oleg Saprykin--who turned out to be a pretty good addition--many people were once again saying he'd lost the golden touch that brought five Stanley Cups to Edmonton.

But after a season with the Senators making it farther than they ever had before, with Muckler-era acquisitions like Jason Spezza, Dany Heatley, Dean McAmmond, Joe Corvo, and Tom Preissing having significant contributions to the team's playoff run, why would Mucks be fired now? Especially given the fact that he's only got one year left on his contract, anyway.

A friend of mine suggested maybe Muckler was actually entertaining the thought of bringing Alexei Yashin back to the Senators. While that would certainly be grounds for dismissal, it's not as likely as some other possibilities.



Obviously, the long-term plan is to gift-wrap the General Manager position for Bryan Murray whenever he wants it. The success the Anaheim Ducks, largely choreographed by Murray when he worked for that organization is proof enough of his abilities. Bob McKenzie of TSN suggested Murray may assume both Coach and GM duties, but, if I'm not mistaken, Murray has publicly declared that he wouldn't want to or be able to do both. There goes that.

Other key NHL management news may be important to consider: the Boston Bruins recently fired Dave Lewis, meaning there's a vacancy at the Head Coach position. Ottawa Senators coach John Paddock has been remoured as a desirable replacement, as he's well-respected across the league and would no doubt like to be a Head Coach once again. Given Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli's knowledge of the Senators' organization, this seems all too likely.

Obviously, Melnyk and Co. would love to keep Paddock for as long as possible. I would assume the original plan was to move Murray up to GM once Muckler's contract had expired, and allow Paddock to jump in as head coach, but Boston knocking on Paddock's door threw a wrench in the spokes. So perhaps Melnyk's hand was forced. Muckler seems like the type who, when offered to resign or be fired, would insist on getting fired instead of quit somethign he's apparently having so much "fun" doing.