Balsillie's got nothing on Eugene

Photo courtesy wikipedia and http://www.horse-races.net

(alternate headline: "Oh thank God, something happened")

Pretend Hamilton Predators owner Jim Balsillie has cited Senators owner Eugene Melnyk as a case of questionable character among NHL owners.

I suppose ol' Jimmy is using the "but if 'Gene gets one, I should get one too!" defence. But if he's looking at Melnyk as an example of a questionable owner, he won't find ammunition, at least as far as the NHL is concerned.

We're accustomed to terrible professional sports owners here in Ottawa. Ones who threaten to move the franchise on an annual basis, forget to give players their cheques, or suggest that women remove clothing during games as a ploy to boost attendance. Compared to these morons, Melnyk is a saint, and Balsillie's mudslinging will fall on deaf ears in Canada's capital.

I get your point, Jim. NHL owners are not flawless - Melnyk is under investigation by governments in both the United States and Canada for his part in alleged illegal activity when he was CEO of drug-maker Biovail. But when it comes to the Senators, Melnyk has been everything the franchise could have asked for (unless you asked him to fire Bryan Murray two years ago). Melnyk even spearheaded the campaign to bring the World Junior Championships to Ottawa last year.

Melnyk took a financially troubled franchise, and injected not only money and stability, but a will to win and an aggressive attitude, while maintaining community ties and generally improving the franchise (in all ways but the win column, recently).

I think that Canadians are generally in favour of having another NHL team within its borders. We are the originators of hockey, and still its most passionate fans. Not only does Hamilton deserve a franchise, but so do Quebec City and Winnipeg. Undoubtedly, a new team in Canada would flourish, but Balsillie's taking his anger out on the wrong targets.

When it comes to bashing the franchise decisions of the NHL, he'll find great support amongst frustrated Canadian hockey fans. But if his sights are set on Melnyk, Jim should aim to become like Melnyk (who should have proven to be a great ally in Balsillie's struggle to become an NHL owner), and not his opponent.

Steve Yzerman is a hero and Dany Heatley's a wimp

Yzerman continues to demonstrate why he was a great captain for more than two decades in Detroit. He arranged a press conference so that Dany "speak no evil" Heatley could finally explain to the fans and reporters why he went all loco and demanded a trade out of Ottawa. It will be good for both Team Canada (who are better off with Heatley), and the Senators (who may be better off without him).

Listen to this:

“It has to be addressed. We’ll get it done. Obviously, it will be a hot topic for one day. Everybody get it out of the way. Everybody ask the questions that need to be asked. Dany, answer those questions. And everybody move on.”

I'll give you one guess who said that. Clue: He's a hero (and has a scary eyeball).

PS: I think it's safe to say that Heatley won't be traded in the next 48 hours (two weeks ago).

Sens Army Blog news update

Hey folks,

After a minor surgery, posts on the website have been limited recently. Mostly to No Habs No! letters, which are certainly fun (and one for Dion Phaneuf, which will completely avoid any mention of sloppiness, seconds, or anything of that nature, will be forthcoming), but are lacking in the depth readers expect.

Although not analytical, here is at least a run-down of the most recent Sens' news to keep you abreast of the issues:

• Android Volchenkov kills Thomas Vanek. Okay, 'kills' is a strong word, but Vanek's likely out for a month after Volchenkov shot him in the face. With a puck.
• Ryan Shannon contributing. He looks good... will it last? Here's to hoping.
  
• Dany Heatley disagrees with coach Cory Clouston. But then, mere hours later...
• Dany Heatley agrees with coach Cory Clouston. Fabricating stories, and then reporting on the response to said fabrication, is a great way to sell papers.
• Clouston running the Sens ragged in practice. Good?
  
• Speaking of Clouston, one thing I hadn't noticed but is certainly noticeable: New ice time allottments. Nick Foligno (20:29) played more than any of Heatley (19:43), Jason Spezza (19:40), or Daniel Alfredsson (19:27) against Buffalo. And Brendan Bell (20:30) played more than Volchenkov (18:16), Jason Smith (20:05), and Chris Phillips (19:54). Is it a good idea? Well, they won, and Foligno and Bell each had a role in the win.
• Chris Neil is out for two weeks with a lacerated calf (on his leg, not a baby cow). Questions abound as to whether we'll see him in an Ottawa uniform again, or if he'll be traded.
• Shean Donovan should be back on Wednesday, according to the above-linked story. Alex Picard won't be yet, but may be soon.
  
• Carrie Underwood will be alone on Valentine's Day. But would like Mike Fisher to make her a home-cooked vegetarian meal. Why the hell do I know this?
• And holy shit, MLS soccer in Ottawa? About Eugene Melnyk's bid, the MLS commissioner said, "It’s highly unlikely and almost inconceivable that with a stadium deal in place we would not grant an expansion team to Ottawa." I didn't think it was likely.
  

Hartsburg fired; pattern emerges

Something had to give, but I think that Bryan Murray and Eugene Melynk made the wrong decision. Craig Hartsburg was hired at the beginning of this season and was meant to symbolize a fresh start for the club. The Sens knew they were taking a risk on Hartsburg, and he was not hired from within. Hartsburg was not haunted by the previous failings of the club, right? Think again.

This season, for which the team was reimagined and re-tooled, is beginning to look at lot like last season, with one notable exception--less wins. When John Paddock was fired mid-way through last season, we were led to believe that he was the problem: the big line was overworked and the goalie situation was mismanaged. Well, look at where the Sens are now and I think we can examine the variables and see that the players are the problem. Why does it take two coaches to establish this fact?

Another factor, I believe, is that Bryan Murray thinks he's a better coach than those he's hired. Apparently, the man is far from reluctant to take over the coaching duties. After all, the reason why Murray came to Ottawa was to be the coach, only after Melynk fired Muckler was Murray convinced to pick up the GM responsibilities.

Sigh. The team is going no where, and the coaching switches are only serving to reenforce the worst aspects of the organization: scapegoating and hesitation. Arrogant comments from Melnyk last week serve only to illustrate how Murray and Melnyk are missing the point with this firing. Martin Gerber had three years of failure in Ottawa before being sent away, why did Hartsburg only get 48 games to prove himself? (Kind of off-topic, but I can't help but make this connection.)

This is a desperate move from Murray, and the variables are continually being narrow from this point in the season onward. If it's not the coaching, and it's not the players, then who's left? Murray's painted himself into a corner, and it's only a matter of time before the firing squad turns to him.

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.

The Rumour Mill: Goodbye, Gerber

Reports in the Ottawa Sun (although the link is to the Calgary Sun) are that the Senators are trying to trade Martin Gerber (good luck), and will be waiving the veteran goaltender if (read: when) they can't unload him through trade. I think it would be amazing if Bryan Murray could actually get an asset in return for Darth Gerber, but I think the waiver wire is the most likely situation, if these rumours have any merit.

And, if these rumours do hold water, then you've got to wonder about the timing. The Senators have lived with Gerber's inconsistency and fragility for the last two and a half seasons, and I don't think anyone actually believes that Brian Elliott will right the Senators' ship for a miracle comeback into contention. So why not ride out Gerber's contract, and save owner Eugene Melnyk a bit of money? It seems to me that something is amiss, and I would venture a guess that GM Bryan Murray has a big trade in the works, or knows that a team will claim Gerber on waivers or re-entry waivers.

Should the latter happen, it would be similar to the Ilya Bryzgalov situation last season. (With the one difference that Bryzgalov was a goaltender with a relatively high value, and Gerber has a ridiculously low value.) After guaranteeing Bryzgalov ice time and seeing J.S. Giguere take the reigns as the number one, Ducks GM Brian Burke was unable to trade Breezer so he sent him through waivers, where he knew that the Phoenix Coyotes--most likely among others--were waiting to claim him. Perhaps the same unspoken deal is in the works with Ottawa, which would serve to take at least some of Gerber's $3.7M salary off the books.

The former, however, seems a mite more likely. It's no secret that Murray is thirsting for a trade to shake things up, and there is similarly no secret that in the new NHL, you have to trade salary for salary. Rumours have circulated that the Sens are courting the Columbus Blue Jackets in a trade, and that the Edmonton Oilers may be interested in both Jason Spezza and Mike Fisher; that seems to be the most scuttlebut in terms of potential suitors.

If I were a betting man, I would think that Ottawa is getting a goaltender in return from whichever team they trade with. If Gerber is dumped, I don't see the Senators running with a one-two punch of Elliott and Alex Auld in nets, especially considering the season Elliott is havign in the AHL, and the long-term development plan that would have Ells join the big team next year if everything goes well. Ottawa has been mentioned as interested in Chicago's Nikolai Khabibulin in the past (including a hilarious two-for-two goalie-swap rumour around this time last season), and the 'Hawks seem to be running a 1A/1B scenario with Khabibulin and Cristobal Huet right now. The positive thing about Khabibulin's $6.75M salary is that he's on the last year of his contract, meaning Ottawa could sign, recruit, or otherwise acquire a starter in the off-season, but picking up that kind of salary would mean Ottawa would likely have to dump one of their larger salaries (the likes of Jason Spezza at $7M per year, Dany Heatley at $7.5 per year, or Mike Fisher at $4.2M per year). Daniel Alfredsson ($5.4M per year) isn't likely going anywhere, and most other contracts aren't big enough to make room for Khabby. So it's a matter of whether or not it would be constructive to trade Spezza, and whether you can convince Fisher or Heatley to waive their no-movement and no-trade clauses.

(Can I make one quick trade proposal? Yes, I realize that it's an excercise in futility and won't likely pan out at all, but hear me out: After Gerber is waived, Heatley and Christoph Schubert to Chicago for Khabibulin, Brent Seabrook, Kris Versteeg, Ben Eager, and Chicago's first-round pick in 2009. Hello, rebuild.)

In light of increasingly uncertain economic conditions, I do have a feeling that most GMs--Melnyk included--would like to pare down their payroll, especially when it comes to long-term contracts. It might be difficult to find someone willing to take on one of the Sens' bigger ones, but it seems obvious that even without economic uncertainty, the so-called 'Tampa Bay Model' of building around your big three forwards doesn't work without solid defence and reliable goaltending. So in the event of a trade involving one of the Senators' bigger stars, the return may not be market value, but it will come along with the intangible benefits of lower long-term expenditures--in light of the real-world dollars Melnyk would be spending and of with an eye towards a possibly lowering salary cap--and the freedom to devote a larger percentage of the salary cap to defence or goaltending.

If Gerber is on his way out of town, he will be far from the most popular player in Senators history. Although I did defend him at the beginning of the season, he has gained (and, in all honesty, has largely earned) a rap for allowing untimely goals and having a fragile psyche. Still, his statistics will bear out a much more reliable goaltender than he was in reality:

1. 49-36-8 record, fifth all-time Senator goaltender in wins
2. 2.76 GAA, ninth all-time among Senators goalies with 25 or more GP
3. .908 SP, fourth all-time among Senators goalies with 25 or more GP
4. 4 shutouts, seventh all-time in Senators' history
5. 52.7% winning percentage, sixth all-time among Senators goalies with 25 or more GP

So goodbye, Gerber, and good luck next season wherever you're playing (my money's on Switzerland).

The Rumour Mill: Front office shuffle

After the Journal de Montréal wrote a speculative story about Sens owner Eugene Melnyk replacing GM Bryan Murray with Hockey Canada President Bob Nicholson and axing coach Craig Hartsburg in favour of Pat Quinn, everyone in the mainstream media seems to have picked up on it despite the fact that it was, at the outset, speculation. It's been picked up in the blogosphere, too, but that's too be expected.

Melnyk responded today, and his response doesn't really put anything to rest:

"Contrary to what is being reported today by the media, I have made no decisions with respect to any personnel changes within the Senators organization," Melnyk said in a statement released by the team. "Winning remains our No. 1 priority, and there is a collective focus by our management, our coaching staff and our players to deliver this to our fans."

He's not even declared his commitment to Murray and Hartsburg in the statement. Not that it means much, but all he said is that he hasn't made any decisions. That doesn't necessarily mean reports are premature, or fabricated.

Although I'm not going to say I'm against changes, I'm not sure how positive either of these changes would be. Nicholson doesn't seem like GM material, although other reports have Steve Yzerman stepping in as GM, which is a mite more intriguing. As for Quinn as coach, it won't solve the problem for this season, so hiring a 66-year-old coach to embark upon a rebuilding project might not be the best idea. Especially since he may have another option in Pittsburgh, which would likely include more immediate success.

Whatever happens is going to happen. I do think a big change is in the cards, and it won't likely be a minor player-trade, of the Antoine Vermette or Christoph Schubert variety. Or at least it won't only be that.

Alfredsson always loses when he bets against Canada

For the second year in a row, Daniel Alfredsson will attend an Ottawa Senators practice wearing Team Canada colours. Alfie made a bet with Sens owner (and World Junior mastermind) Eugene Melnyk regarding who would win the Canada/Sweden world junior hockey game. Being the loyal person that he is, Alfredsson picked his motherland of Sweden to win. Of course, he was wrong, and will sport team Canada colours at the next Ottawa Senators practice.

Also, big kudos to Melnyk for being ambitious enough to spearhead bringing the World Juniors to Ottawa. Everything went smoothly, and I expect this event, coupled with a successful draft last year, should be enough to land Ottawa the NHL All-Star game in the next couple years (though probably not a MLS franchise, sorry Eug).

Anyone who's been putting off watching the Sens should probably tune in to tonight's game against the Sabres on sportsnet...

In the words of the Buffalo News:

Ottawa has owned Buffalo for the past four years. Since 2005-06, the Senators boast a 16-5-4 advantage in the regular season. That includes a 5-2 victory in the only meeting this year, back in October when the Senators were reeling and the Sabres, though road weary, were rolling.
[...]
There are reasons for the folks heading downtown to be apprehensive. First, the Senators still have Daniel Alfredsson, Dany Heatley and Jason Spezza. In a combined 132 career games against the Sabres, they have accumulated 149 points. They struck for seven in October’s blowout.

So... is it too optimistic to say the Sens should win this one?

The Rumour Mill: Is Bryan Murray in trouble?

With all the calls from fans to fire Bryan Murray, you'd think he was already gone. But is it likely that owner Eugene Melnyk will fire the man he made general manager two summers ago? If things keep going the way they're going right now, I don't think it's unlikely--Melnyk isn't one to take a missed playoff lightly, especially since he's willing to spend to the cap to win. And, with Brian Burke now available and (apparently) looking to come to eastern Canada, there's a proven replacement available.

According to Scott Burnside of ESPN.com, Ottawa is one of a few options that Burke may have as he's looking for a new job. Here's what Burnside said:

"How would that be for irony? Burke's Ducks beat the Bryan Murray-coached Ottawa Senators in the 2007 Stanley Cup finals, a series that cost then-Ottawa GM John Muckler his job. Murray, who succeeded Muckler as GM in Ottawa and preceded Burke as GM in Anaheim, has his hands full in Ottawa with cap issues and depth of talent. Owner Eugene Melnyk is a mercurial sort, and Burke might be right up his alley. Again, not necessarily fair, but eminently possible for a team that looks to be life and death to make the playoffs."

Personally, I'm of the opinion that the problems with this team extend beyond signings that Murray has made, but I'm not sure how they can be solved. If nothing changes on the ice, though, something will have to change off the ice.

(via James Mirtle's "From the Rink")

Soccer: Don't hold your breath

Will Senators owner Eugene Melnyk's bid to add an MLS franchise to his Ottawa sports empire and simultaneously erect a sports mecca in a farmers' field in Kanata be successful?

Short answer: No.

Medium answer: Probably not.

Long answer: Courtesy Greg Daurio of 90:00 Soccer Magazine,

"Three Canadian cities submitted expansion applications last week (Ottawa, Montreal, and Vancouver). As I’ve said before, an expansion team in Canada is not only going to struggle like every other expansion team in recent memory, but it is going to make TFC that much weaker.

[...]

"That being said, people are all but giving Montreal a five star lock for this round of expansion. Montreal and Toronto are natural rivals in other sports, and Stade Saputo just needs to be expanded in order to make it MLS ready.

"It’s not quite that easy though. Stade Saputo was built on the cheap and would need a massive facelift to meet MLS standards, which wouldn’t necessarily happen overnight. Also, MLS is looking for a national television rights deal in Canada, and choosing a city a few miles up the road from Toronto isn’t exactly a national footprint to attract coast-to-coast viewers or sponsors.

"Ottawa is in an even worse position, tucked right between Toronto and Montreal, and lets be honest, if MLS chooses to put a team in Canada, it’s not likely that Ottawa is going to get chosen over either Montreal or Vancouver.

"Which brings us to Vancouver. Vancouver certainly gives MLS a broader Canadian footprint, and with Yahoo money involved, there is no questioning the wealth involved in the ownership group. The problem is the stadium issue. The Vancouver group is hoping to get approval for a waterfront stadium, but that has been caught up in red tape for years. In the interim, Vancouver has already signed a deal to play at BC Place, a gargantuan stadium that holds nearly 60,000 and houses artificial turf."

Sorry, Ottawa soccer fans, but don't hold your breath. What does this mean for Ottawa's great outdoor stadium debate?

Ottawa Senators: Soccer Edition

In his efforts to build a world-renowned sports empire to rival Maple Leafs Sports Entertainment, Sens owner Eugene Melnyk announced today his plans today to bid for a Major League of Soccer franchise for Ottawa. (It would complement his ownership of the Sens and the OHL's St. Michael's Majors). It may not be at the forefront of the minds of Sens Army, but it's pretty cool news.

The plans of the stadium are something else. The idea is to piggyback the 30,000-seat stadium onto the infrastructure that already serves the Senators, including the Queensway exit at Palladium (that is actually pretty far from where the stadium would be) as well as the parking lots (which barely serve the 20,000 Senators fans). As a resident of Kanata I like the location of the stadium, but that doesn't mean everyone will. Least of all city planners, who will have a wrench thrown in their transportation master plans for the future.

The stadium looks really impressive, though. It would, by MLS requirement, be a soccer-specific stadium, so the prospects are slim that any future CFL franchise would play there, too (although Melnyk didn't rule out the possibility). It would be across Palladium Drive to the east of the Scotiabank Place, and you can see a site map and other images here. The outdoor field appears to have seating along three sides, and a concert stage area at the other end--probably a great venue for post-game or independent summertime concerts (he just wants to bring the Eagles back). There would be a few outdoor soccer pitches beside it (to the east), and then beside them is the Bell SensPlex, a public-private partnership also owned by Melnyk's Senators Sports and Entertainment (are you seeing a trend here?).

Anyway, I think the idea is pretty cool. I'll let him figure out whether it's a shrewd business move, but he's done pretty well with the Senators so far, so I'd be willing to give Melnyk the benefit of the doubt.

Salary cap goes up $6.4M

Photo from sxc.hu

Apparently league revenues went up again last season, and the new salary cap is $56.7M, and the new salary floor is $40.7M. Funny note: after only four years, the salary floor is now higher than the salary cap was in its first year. Take that, small-market teams.

This is good for the on-ice product of teams like the Senators, where the owner(s) (Eugene Melnyk, in our case) have vowed to spend the maximum in order to ice the best roster possible. Teams such as Nashville, who set their own salary caps which are below the league cap, become the have-nots as the franchise disparity-gap grows wider.

If the league is making too much money, I have an idea: How about the Canadian teams, like our Senators, lower ticket prices a bit? It was a comment on the CBC article, and I have to say, it's a pretty good point.

I also have to wonder whether, as it becomes more apparent that the players may have won the most recent CBA dispute with the league, will we see yet another lockout, in this CBA negotiation or the next? I hope not.

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.

Crazy ideas be a-flying!

Bob McKensie: What went wrong in Ottawa?

Now the team can't rest all the blame on the on and off-ice problems around goaltender Ray Emery, but nevertheless, it was a big problem.

...how about they can't rest ANY of the blame on him for these playoffs. You can thank Murray for that.

The idea of trading centre Jason Spezza or winger Dany Heatley is tough, simply because their trade value has lessened coming off a bad season and bad playoffs.

Anyone who dreams of trading Spezza or Heatley better wake up and apologize - there's no way we could get a good value for them. No... actually, I won't even entertain the idea. Won't happen.

Allen Panzeri - The End

The Penguins outshot them 14-5 and had so many good chances that Gerber deserved a first-star nomination just for 20 minutes of work.

Mr. Panzeri, you are mad. No 20-minute effort can get a first-star award, just like a solid 20 minutes can't win you the game. Maybe we should just hand him a Stanley Cup ring for "great effort!"

Whether he was the sole cause of the malaise - and it would be foolish to suggest he was - Emery will be the first casualty. His contract will be bought out as soon as Murray is legally allowed to do it.

Extremely presumptuous. Most members of the media have agreed that Emery should be bought out. Thankfully, they are not the general managers of this team. Like Eugene Melnyk, I trust in Bryan Murray.

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.

When will we see a Bobby Orr Trophy?

I'm sick of seeing so many forwards win awards at the annual NHL Awards Ceremony. We've got 13 trophies that should be considered "individual" ones, and only one of those is earmarked for defencemen, the Norris Trophy. We've got an award for defensive forwards (the Selke), so why not award one for offensive defencemen?

This whole rant was prompted by an article by Don Brennan on Canoe that said Anton Volchenkov should have received a nomination for the Norris. Given the company he would keep with that nomination (Scott Niedermayer, Nicklas Lidstrom, and Chris Pronger were the three nominees), I'm not sure I'd rank him in that category. But if there were a Bobby Orr Trophy for best offensive defenceman in the NHL, I'd say Neidermayer would drop out of Norris nomination and Anton Volchenkov would definitely deserve a nod for best defensive defenceman in the NHL.

Other benefits of the Bobby Orr Trophy would be giving recognition to offensively gifted defenceman, such as Joe Corvo. I'm not sure Corvo is one of the three best offensive d-men in the league, but he's pretty damned good.

Plus, let's be realistic; goalies or forwards usually get the Hart, Pearson, and Conn Smyth, the last defenceman to win the Lady Byng was Edgar Laprade waaaaay back in 1950, and unless Bobby Orr himself is reborn we won't be seeing an Art Ross- or Rocket Richard-winning defenceman in the near future. The Bud Light Plus/Minus Award doesn't count as a real one. The Vezina, Jennings, Adams, and Selke are all for other positions.

That leaves defenceman to vie for one of the following:
Masterton: Berard and Daneyko are the only defencemen to win in the last 10 years
Calder: You can only win it once, and defencemen don't often get it.
King Clancy and Lester Patrick: Largely off-ice contributions.

So let's give Anton Volchenkov and his fellow awesome defensive defencemen their proper recognition and make the Norris a defensive award, with the new Orr award for offensive defencemen.

Ray Emery is alright

Apparently Ray Emery got in a car accident on the Queensway, but word on the street is that he's fine. No injuries, and if he missed the plane he'll get to Jersey even if Eugene Melnyk has to take his private jet and fly him there himself.