Special K is here to stay!

Erik Karlsson is likely staying with the Ottawa Senators for the rest of the season, after playing his 10th NHL game last night in a 4-3 SO loss to the Boston Bruins, and kicking off the first year of his entry-level contract.

It's a rather surprising move. Many believed that Karlsson would spend the year in the AHL improving his game, and keeping his pay off the Sens' books. I believe a combination of factors led the team to make this decision and start the clock ticking on the talented Swede's second contract.

Why now?

Karlsson has been doing well in Binhamton, I see from his stats. Eleven assists in 12 games puts him among the team leaders (though most of the Baby Sens have played 20+ games). It looks like his level of talent deserves to be in the big leagues. (Looking down the rest of the B-Sens roster, I see a lot of long-ago Ottawa draft picks... most will turn out to be AHL lifers. Ouch.)

Recent wins may have emboldened Sens management to 'go for it' this year and bring Karlsson along for the ride... and by 'it', I mean 'making the playoffs'. Playoff prospects are looking good at the moment... let the good times roll.

Giving K-Mart (more nicknames?! Yes!) the opportunity to learn from the organizations' best defencemen may prove a valuable learning experience. If he's the best offensive defenceman in Bingo, he's not developing that aspect of his game.

What about our former golden boy?

And Brian Lee? Well, he has fallen down the depth chart for sure, but he's still on a two-way contract and could still prove to be valuable for the Senators down the road. Don't count him out yet. Many have said that he's likely to be traded in coming weeks, but the Sens don't have a ton of cap room ($1.9-million according to nhlscap.com) to accept new contracts.

WTF Jersey

PS: Did anyone see the Baby Sens' Thanksgiving jerseys? I think we have a new winner for Worst. Jersey. Ever. The bad-ass Senator guy is wearing a pilgrim hat! WTF!

Gerber a... boost? In Binghamton?

Okay, maybe that title is a little bit harsh. There has never been any issue with the personality that Martin Gerber brought to his teams. He just hasn't been consistent or reliable enough on the ice. But still, it is interesting to see that his demotion to the Binghamton Senators has helped that team compensate for their loss of an AHL All-Star (Brian Elliott) and maintain their presence in the AHL's playoff race.

According to an article in the Binghamton Press & Sun Bulletin, Gerber has, indeed, been a pretty valuable addition to the B-Sens--particularly in terms of leadership. His statistics certainly haven't been mind-blowing, with a record of 6-5, one shutout, 2.57GAA, and 0.920SP. Still, his devotion to the game and to his new team appear to be pretty valuable to his teammates. From the story:

Indeed, for the man who opened last fall as the No. 1 goaltender in Ottawa, little has gone according to plan this season. But in a potentially prickly situation - a $3.7 million goaltender, assigned to Binghamton 24 days ago after a disappointing season in the NHL - he has continued to make a smooth transition onto his new team.

"It's been awesome," said goaltender Jeff Glass, whose locker sits next to Gerber's at the Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena. "I've never once heard him complain, or argue. ... From the second he came down here, he was asking questions about what place we were in. And he really joined with this team, and jelled with this team.

[...]

The Ottawa Sun also reported last month that "it's almost a certainty" Gerber will join the Swiss national team for the International Ice Hockey Federation's World Championship, which runs April 24 to May 10 in his native Switzerland. The AHL's regular season ends April 12.

Asked Thursday if the World Championship is indeed in his plans, Gerber said: "The plan is to make the playoffs here, and go deep there. That's the plan. And you know, whatever happens after that, I haven't really thought about it."

[...]

"It would be easy to pack it in," he said. "But you're a professional, and you want to play hockey after all. And there's certain stuff in hockey you can't control. And there's people involved who make decisions, and all you can do is put your best effort out there. And hopefully you get to a point where it's good enough to play where you want to play."

Binghamton currently sits in fourth place in the East Division with 66 points, six ahead of fith-place Philadelphia. As the top four seeds in each division make the playoffs, they are currently sitting pretty in a playoff spot for the first time since 2005--but with another 25 games left in the season, Gerber and Glass are going to have to keep their games in top notch form if they're going to hold onto that playoff spot.

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.

Workin' on a dream: Sens 5, Flyers 2

How many good things are going to come out of Binghamton this season? Cory Clouston appears to be making a significant difference in the approach this team takes to their games. Brian Elliott is playing unbelievably well. Brendan Bell is quarterbacking the powerplay like no one else has this season. Ryan Shannon, along with Nick Foligno, is making a second line into an actual second line. Brian Lee is solid defensively, and can move the puck up better than any other defenceman. Is this what a farm team is supposed to offer?

Starting in nets, this game could (and likely would) have been completely different without Elliott. He played out of his mind hockey, stopping 34 of 36 shots including plenty of good opportunities. Ottawa was massively outshot (36 to 23) on the night, but Elliott was up to task. One of the two goals he allowed was off an unfortunate rebound, but his defencemen gave him no help on the play. And Mike Richards scored on a breakaway; anyone could let that guy's shot in.

Of course, Bingo callups didn't do everything for the team. The CASH Line played a large part in the win, as well. Although I didn't get to see the whole thing, Dany Heatley responded to criticism with two goals on four shots and three hits, if you'll believe it. He was named first star as a result. Jason Spezza had a goal and an assist, and Daniel Alfredsson also had one assist.

Secondary scoring kicked in with the rest, with Foligno scoring what turned out to be the game-winner (and what looked like the easiest goal in the world) and Antoine Vermette actually scored, his third in six games, on a solid solo effort cutting to the net (Vermette added an assist, to boot).

So, incredibly, the Senators have now won three in a row (first time this season), and are 3-1-1 under Clouston. Elliott is (knock on wood) undefeated on the road. Still 14 points back of a playoff spot, but it's nice to see some good effort on the ice.

Schubert and Smith scratched against New Jersey

According to the Ottawa Sun, both Jason Smith and Christoph Schubert are going to sit out tonight's game in favour of younger, more offensively-minded teammates. With tonight's game coming against the young and speedy New Jersey Devils, it looks like coach Craig Hartsburg is trying to fight fire with fire.

Although Schubert is probably used to the whole benching thing, Smith was visibly disappointed, the story said:

"Obviously surprised and disappointed," said Smith, who was clearly frustrated after today's morning skate. "You become a player in this game to play games and to help a team have success."

With Android Volchenkov returning to the lineup, Smith was benched in favour of (relative) youngsters Alex Picard, Brian Lee, and Brendan Bell, all of whom have significantly more offensive upside than the wily veteran. Hartsburg's mentality, the story said, was that the d-corps needed to balance the defensive defencemen (Chris Phillips, Volchenkov, and to an extent Filip Kuba) with the more offensive ones. (Can I take a moment to gloat about predicting there could be a reasonable chance Smith would sit out yesterday? Kthanx.)

Although Smith is justified in his frustration, at least he knows he won't be missing too much time. At $2.6M, he's making too much money to sit on the sidelines for an extended period, and the Senators will have to decide soon which of Bell or Lee will be sent back down to Binghamton. The B-Sens need as much defensive help as they can get to keep their playoff hopes in good standing. (In other news, Martin Gerber will be assigned to Binghamton to [hopefully] help out their goaltending situation. Good luck to him; honestly, I wish him the best.)

Schubert, on the other hand, has little reassurance. The Senators went out of their way to re-call Peter Regin from Binghamton today, which is why Schubert is sitting. He is, once again, left to wonder not only about his place on this team, but his place in the league in general. Schubert definitely has a lot to think about in this off-season, and a lot to discuss with GM Bryan Murray (if he's not talking to him already). (I'll also note that I correctly predicted Schubert would be the odd man out with Regin called up, thank you very much.)

Here's my next prediction: Regin won't be up here for too long unless the Sens make a trade (involving a forward) soon, and one of Lee or Bell (likely Bell, as unfair as it may be) will be assigned to Binghamton after tonight's game/test or within the week.

Regin re-recalled from Bingo

After a good showing in his NHL debut, the Senators have brought Danish phenom (can we call him that yet?) Peter Regin back from Binghamton.

It seems like a bit of an unusual move, considering two players (Chris Neil and Android Volchenkov) will both be returning fro minjury tonight, but Bryan Murray has said that he's interested in finding out what, exactly, his minor-league prospects have to offer in the big leagues.

With Regin drawing in, there will be a scratch on forward. It might be Christoph Schubert, who wants to play defence anyway, so he seems somewhat likely. Regin might also look good alondside Dean McAmmond and Jarkko Ruutu on an exciting and speedy fourth line. Or maybe there's been an injury that I haven't heard about yet.

We will see soon enough. It's nice to see Regin getting rewarded with another shot in the bigs, though.

D-Day for Gerber (UPDATED)

It's finally here: The day we figure out just what is going to happen to Martin Gerber. He and Sens GM Bryan Murray are expected to sit down today and has out his options, because returning to the Ottawa Senators isn't one of them.

It remains to be seen if playing in the NHL at all is one of them, either. Apparently, as reported in the Calgary Sun, the Calgary Flames may be looking at Gerber as a possible backup and insurance policy for workhorse goaltender Mikka Kiprusoff, but that's certainly not a done deal--and it remains to be seen how it would be done (whether through trade or waiver-wire acquisition) if it is to be done. A few other teams have been rumoured at time to have interest in Gerber, so it's possible that if Calgary GM Darryl Sutter is actually interested, he could make a trade rather than run the risk of another team nabbing Gerber on re-entry waivers before Calgary gets the opportunity. The good thing for another team picking Gerber up on re-entry is that the receiving team would only face a cap hit of one-half of Gerber's remaining salary, an estimated $750k.

If there's not interest from other NHL squads, there's still the possibility of Gerber being 'loaned' to a European squad, which would at least get his salary off the books for the Senators.

And technically the AHL is still an option, but it seems unlikely. Owner Eugene Melnyk has said that he won't play major-league salaries to minor-league pro players, and one assumes the Gerber situation to date has been a one-time, short-term exception to try and get Gerber's salary unloaded. And Sens brass, including Tim Murray, have at least suggested that they wouldn't force Gerber to play in the AHL. Still, with an uncertainty in Binghamton's goaltending situation, fans would likely choose Gerber over their current situation.

Whatever happens, it's finally over. It might seem harsh for Sens fans to be celebrating, but I'd be willing to bet that Martin Gerber is more than ready to end this chapter of his professional hockey career and begin the next one himself.

UPDATE: Listening to Gord Wilson on the Team 1200 this afternoon, it sounds like Gerber is highly unlikely to head to a European team because they are so late in their season. Combined with the apparent fact that a trade with whichever GM is interested would include receiving the same cap hit as we'd be sending away, and the fact that Michael Sharp quoted Ottawa Director of Hockey Operations Brent Flahr as having said that re-entry waivers aren't an option for the Senators right now, maybe it's more likely that Gerber will be headed back to the AHL.

Senators in the All-Star Games

Given that there were two Ottawa Senators-system players combined in the NHL and AHL All-Star Games (Dany Heatley and Mattias Karlsson, respectively), it should be pretty easy to give you a run-down of their play so far in the combined All-Star Weekend for the two leagues.

First off is the Ottawa Senators representative, Heatley. He was in two events in the SuperSkills event, Accuracy Shooting and the Elimination Shoot-Out. Although he was about as successful in the Elimination Shoot-Out as he is in regular-season shootouts (that is to say, not very), he did much better in the Accuracy Shooting event: He went 4-for-4 on the first series of shots, good enough to bring him into overtime against Evgeni Malkin (who Tim Thomas still claims didn't hit all four targets in the first round), but Malkin won it in the end.

As for the actual All-Star Game, Heatley was on a line with Marc Savard and Alex Ovechkin--pretty good pedigree. (I thought that Savard would end up with about 40 assists playing with those two shooters, but he only got three on the night.) Heatley had one of the Eastern Conference's 11 goals on the night, and no assists. Nothing like his first-ever All-Star Game, but Heater still has 6G, 3A, 9P in three all-star games--and, more than likely, more to come.

Down in Worcester, MA, the AHL All-Star Game had its Skills Competition today, and will have the actual All-Star Game tomorrow. Karlsson also played in two events, the Hardest Shot and Breakaway Relay competitions. Again, not much luck on the breakaway, but Karlsson did have the hardest shot on the PlanetUSA Squad at 94.5MPH, but two players from Canadian squad had harder ones (Cody Franson of the Milwaukee Admirals at 95.4MPH and Derek Joslin of the Worcester Sharks at 98.6MPH) so he lost the event. Still, the PlanetUSA squad won the Skills Competition (should I be happy about that?) and awaits the All-Star Game tomorrow night at 7:00 p.m. (which Canadians can watch on TSN and Americans on... well... various networks).

Only one constant in Bingo this year: Success

About a week ago, Bingo beat writer and blogger Michael Sharp documented the adversity through which the Binghamton Senators have, somehow, successfully navigated to get off to their best start in franchise history: Then 21-12-6 (48 points), now 23-13-6 (52 points). He offered a list of some of the things the team has overcome (directly quoting Sharp):

• "Brad Isbister, sold to B-Sens fans as a potential top-six forward here, opts to head to Switzerland, rather than report in training camp.
• "Second-year center Alexander Nikulin, last season's third-leading scorer, and another top-six guy entering the season, threatens to return home to Russia if he is not traded. Eventually, he gets his wish, getting shipped to the Phoenix organization the same day he walks out on the B-Sens.
• "Second-year center Cody Bass, while playing on recall with Ottawa, is lost for the season with a shoulder injury.
• "Rookie forward Kaspars Daugavins chooses to return to juniors in late December. He had just three points in 23 games, but he'd been playing on a line with Josh Hennessy and Ryan Shannon just before his decision.
• "This first half has featured 14 call-ups to Ottawa, most recently goaltender Brian Elliott, an all-star and arguably the team's first-half MVP. It doesn't appear he's returning any time soon.
• "Eight players have missed at least eight straight games with an injury down here. That doesn't include Shannon, who missed time with a concussion while on recall with Ottawa.
• "Brendan Bell and Brian Lee, two top-four defensemen for Binghamton, appear to be sticking in Ottawa. Bell has been there since Nov. 16. Lee has already logged 18 games with the big club.
• "The schedule was ridiculous in November, with two stretches of seven games in 10 days. One stretch included a lengthy trip to Newfoundland and Prince Edward Island. And both came amidst a period of heavy injuries and call-ups."

Although it's not confirmed, it sure looks like Elliott will be in Ottawa for the rest of the season, and one of Bell or Lee will more than likely stick around, as well. Binghamton coach Cory Clouston has taken his fair share of criticism, but he's got to be commended for keeping this team rolling. And Sens GM Bryan Murray and Assistant GM Tim Murray both have to be commended for, at least to date, re-stocking the Senators minor-league pro depth.

Gerber to be waived

According to reports on Bingo blogger Michael Sharp's blog, assistant GM Tim Murray has said that Martin Gerberwill be put on waivers today, available to any teams interested.

"We've sent out a memo to the other teams saying he was available. And he'll go on waivers (Thursday), and then we'll just have to see what happens there. If he doesn't get picked up, he's going to have a meeting with Bryan (on) Monday or so, and then we'll have to make a decision."

This may mean that GM Bryan Murray knows of at least one team that may be interested in picking up Gerber from the waiver wire, but it definitely means that Brian Elliott has passed his first test with the Ottawa Senators in the NHL; Tim Murray said "he's no longer an American Hockey League player as of now" and that Elliott won't be playing in the AHL All-Star Game.

There are a few options right now for Gerber. First, obviously, he could be picked up on waivers, or possibly re-entry waivers, by another NHL team. Alternatively, he could pass through waivers and return to the AHL, but that doesn't seem like a real possibility given Tim Murray's comments on Sharp on the Sens ("Let's worry about that when we get there. There's so many different things that could happen. And that's a very good possibility obviously. Europe's a possibility also. So, I think we just cross that bridge when we get there"). Finally, an arrangement could be made between the Senators and a European team, wherein that team would have the rights to Gerber for the rest of the season in exchange for some compensation, likely just paying the rest of Gerber's contract.

In his three-game AHL "conditioning stint", Gerber allowed seven goals on 108 shots for a goals-against average of 2.37 and a save percentage of 0.935 and had one shutout (a 3-0 win against the Philadelphia Phantoms).

With Gerber seemingly gone, the Binghamton Senators will likely move forward with Jeff Glass as the starter and Mitch O'Keefe, recently called up from the ECHL's Elmira Jackals, backing him up.

1. Glass (for Bingo): 13GPI, 3W, 7L, 2OTL, 41GA, 3.63GAA, 348S 0.895SP
2. O'Keefe (for Elmira): 24GP, 13W, 9L, 1OTL, 71GA, 3.09GAA, 579S 0.891SP, 1SO, 2A

Unfortunately for Binghamton fans, neither of the above-mentioned goalies have very impressive statistics. Still, Glass was a third-round pick (89th overall) in 2004 and has won the CHL and WHL goaltender of the year awards in 2004-05, and won the gold medal with Team Canada in the World Junior Championships that same year. I guess you could say he's got a lot or potential to live up to.

(Special thanks to Rob Glass of Binghamton's WHRW-FM 90.5 Radio for bringing this to my attention.)

Regin back to Bingo

The Ottawa Senators announced today that centre Peter Regin has been returned to the Binghamton Senators of the AHL. He should be in action tonight when the B-Sens host the Philadelphia Phantoms (farm team of the Philadelphia Flyers).

It's unclear at this moment whether or not Regin will be re-recalled after the All-Star Break, but it will likely depend on the injuries to Shean Donovan and Chris Neil. Whatever the case, however, Regin was certainly capable in his 10 minutes of play, and deserves another shot in the NHL.

The Sens' press release also listed the only four Danish-born players to have suited up in the NHL prior to Regin:

1. Poul Popiel (Boston Bruins, 1965-66)
2. Jannik Hansen (Vancouver Canucks, 2007-08)
3. Frans Nielsen (New York Islanders, 2006-07)
4. Mikkel Boedker (Phoenix Coyotes, 2008-09).

Gerber: Why a conditioning stint?

As Ben reported, Martin Gerber has been assigned to a two-week conditioning stint in the AHL. Is that just a polite way of saying that he's not only played himself out of starting, but right out of the NHL? I think that it might be a little something more than that.

According to Binghamton Senators beat writer Michael Sharp, Sens GM Bryan Murray said the following about the decision to send Gerber to the AHL:

"The plan is to get him playing again," Murray said. "Obviously we take Brian Elliott out of Binghamton, it affected them. It gives him a chance to be important on the team. Obviously to get ice time. And then we will do what we have to. If we have to put him on waivers at some point, because there's no trade value or interest, we can do that. And then we'll decide on the loan based after that."

Gerber's trade value is negative right now. We'd probably have to throw something else in the mix to dump his contract, and receive next to nothing in return. There are, however, teams that may be interested in acquiring his services for some asset, if Gerber dominates in the AHL. If The Gerber Effect rings true, then he should be good in the AHL; he's got nothing to lose.

Elliott may be recalled for change's sake

The Ottawa Senators have recalled may recall goaltending prospect Brian Elliott from Binghamton in an effort to shake things in town. Elliott's had a good year in Bingo: He's among the league's top ten in goals-against average (2.31) and save percentage (0.926), was the AHL's player of the month for December, and will be the starting goaltender for the AHL's Canadian All-Star team.

Meanwhile, after a half-decent streak for Alex Auld, Ottawa's two goaltenders have been... not good. Auld and Martin Gerber have averaged 4.27 goals against (including empty-net goals, granted) in the last 11 games, and Ottawa's record has been 2-8-1.

Will Elliott help? Maybe. Will he answer all of our problems? Shit no. Will getting thrown into the fire help Elliott's development? Time will tell, but I doubt it.

Ruutu gets two for teething, Carkner recalled

Sens' superpest Jarkko Ruutu was suspended two games by the NHL for biting the finger of Sabres enforcer Andrew Peters on Tuesday night. Apparently if someone sticks a finger in your mouth, you've just got to take it? I don't really see why people are so outraged about this thing. Sure, it's a weird-ass thing to do, but let's get serious here: Far worse infractions have gone unpunished.

Anyway, as a result, the Sens have recalled Matt Carkner from Binghamton. Although Carkner has been playing defence for the B-Sens, I'd guess that he'll be playing wing on the fourth line when he's in Ottawa. He played forward in training camp, serving as an enforcer. On the plus side, Carkner is a point-per-game player in the NHL (one regular season game, one assist).

Elliott, Karlsson named to AHL All-Star squads

According to Binghamton Senators beat writer Michael Sharp, goaltender Brian Elliott and defenceman Mattias Karlsson will take part in the AHL All-Star Game. Elliott was named starter of the Canadian squad, while Mattias Karlsson (not to be confused with Erik Karlsson, who's back playing in Sweden) will play defence for the PlanetUSA squad.

Another question: Will any Ottawa Senators play in the NHL All-Star game? I'd say the best chances are for Daniel Alfredsson and Filip Kuba, but we'll see soon enough.

Fight card: B-Sens v. Crunch, Dec. 19, 2008

Holy shit. I don't usually do fight cards for Binghamton Senators games, but this is just pure insanity. Thanks to the anonymous commenter who brought it to our attention, with two of the AHLs best heavyweights going head-to-head.

Jeremy Yablonski v. Jon Mirasty, 20:00 second period:



Verdict: Neither? Both? Draw? I don't know. I can hardly imagine how either of these guys can be said to have 'won' the fight, since they both probably lost ten pounds throwing all those punches, and maybe 10% of their brain cells from receiving the others. I counted 60 punches thrown from Yablonski, and 64 thrown by Mirasty. Sure, only a small percentage of the throws actually landed, but holy shit, these guys are crazy.

That wasn't the only fight of the B-Sens/Crunch game, but I couldn't find videos of the Trevor Hendrikx v. Danny Bois fight, but it probably wasn't as exciting. Instead, here are some videos of legendary Yablonski bouts, starting with a 19-second mixed martial arts victory (the guy's a YouTube legend):



And a friendly-fire battle between Yabo and Chris Neil:



And finally, Yabo jumping Toronto Marlboro Kris Newbury and then indiscriminately throwing punches at whoever skates by:



So... when is Yablonski going to make his debut for Ottawa?

New lines released: Bass up, Lee down, Zubov out

According to Sportsnet, the Sens have released line combinations for the Sens' game Friday against the New Jersey Devils:

Vermette - Fisher - Alfredsson
Foligno - Kelly - Heatley
Ruutu - Spezza - Neil
Schubert - Bass - Donovan

According to the same report, Ilya Zubov will not be making the trip because his work visa has expired (how does a professional hockey team let that happen?), Jesse Winchester has an upper-body injury and didn't travel with the team, either, and Dean McAmmond is close to returning after a bout with pneumonia that has kept him out of the lineup for nine games. Which is why Christoph Schubert is dressing as a forward, and why Cody Bass was recalled from Binghamton.

I get that there are people who don't like the way Jason Spezza plays. But he's not a third-line player. He's been playing harder then I remember ever having seen him play before, but maybe this is just a sign for him to wake up and start generating--and capitalizing on--his own scoring chances. But playing him with Chris Neil? That's just not fair. Jarkko Ruutu can at least receive a pass, but I don't understand the idea behind putting Spezza with a couple guys who can hardly finish plays at all. If he is going to succeed, he's got to keep it simple: Send the puck to the front of the net, and hope that--if it doesn't go in on his shot or a deflection--Neil and Ruutu are right there to hammer home some garbage.

On defence, Anton Volchenkov is back from his injury. I guess they had to special-order some replacement pieces from Russia or something, because the robot had missed two games with his lower-body injury. As a result, Brian Lee is back to Binghamton after a solid two-game stint with the O-Sens.

I guess we'll see how it all works out. Hopefully one of the lines steps up and scores a freakin' goal.

Bass back to Bingo (again)

Not that Cody Bass did anything wrong while he was in Ottawa, but he's back to Binghamton of the AHL once again. He did an admirable job replacing Chris Neil while Neil was nursing his knee injury, but this team doesn't need them both on the roster, and Bass is a lot cheaper in the AHL.

Late last month he was sent down, only to be re-called for the next game in early December. I think this latest reassignment, however, might be longer-term, pending injuries. It looks like, at least for a little while (maybe until Dean McAmmond returns), Ilya Zubov is in the lineup to give a bit of scoring depth and a lot more speed. It's not likely very easy for B-Sens fans to swallow, but when the big team calls, the farm team can't hang up.

Smith and Lee recalled from Bingo

The Senators announced today that both forward Zack Smith and defenceman Brian Lee have been recalled from Binghamton as Shean Donovan and Alex Picard are both listed as doubtful for Saturday's game against the New York Islanders. Dean McAmmond is still out with his cold, so the Sens don't have any wiggle room on the roster (although the B-Sens have even less, with as many as nine regulars out of the lineup for their game Saturday to various injuries or callups.).

I have no idea what Picard's injury is at the moment, but Donovan has an upper-body injury, according to TSN. If McAmmond and Ryan Shannon are both still unable to play on Saturday, then Christoph Schubert will draw back into the lineup for the Sens, as a forward once again.

Although Smith has continued dazzling Sens' brass with his play at the AHL level, with a team-leading nine goals to complement seven assists in 21 games, Lee hasn't quite gotten back to the level he was playing at last season. That probably has a lot to do with not playing alongside AHL All-Star Lawrence Nycholat, but the Sens need big things from this kid.

The game on Saturday would be Smith's NHL debut. At 20 years, 7 months, and 23 days, Smith will be the youngest player to dress for the Sens since Nick Foligno's debut on Oct. 3, 2007 at the age of 19 years, 11 months, and three days. Youngest player to debut before Foligno was Martin Havlat (debut 2000-10-05 at 19Y, 5M, 16D) and before Havlat was Mike Fisher (debut 1999-10-02 at 19Y, 3M, 27D). Considering how long it took me to figure out that statistic, it wasn't at all worth it.

Richardson placed on waivers

According to an official Sens press release, veteran defenceman Luke Richardson was put on waivers today. Should Big Luke clear waivers, he will likely be assigned to Binghamton.

If I had to bet, I'd suggest that this is a housekeeping move to clear cap space. Given that Brendan Bell has given every appearance of being a capable NHL defenceman, and that both Christoph Schubert and Brian Lee are likely ahead of Richardson on the depth chart (and there may be other defenceman that are ahead of him, as well), the Sens are looking to take advantage of the two-way contract they have Richardson on.

Although this is conjecture, I doubt Richardson will get picked up by any teams, nor will he report to Bingo. He may simply retire, and the Sens will pay him his AHL salary and give him a front-office job as the eye-in-the-sky or defensive coach. But that's pure speculation at this point.

Is this a sign of an impending trade? Maybe, but time will tell. It appears just to be housekeeping at this point.