Who's the next Habs captain? Don't ask Jacques

Got an email from Fred at www.enroutepourlacoupe.com today, asking for some insight on Jacques Martin as a coach and who he's likely to pick as the next captain of the Montreal Canadiens.

I was still a (very) young man when Jack was coach of the Senators, and not yet blogging (or as it was known in the 90's 'wasting time') so I'm hoping you, the loyal commentors, can add your thoughts to what I've written and give Fred some perspective on Mr. Martin.

Jacques Martin, from what I can remember, was very much known as a 'laissez faire' coach in these respects.

When the Senators were gaining steam back in the late 90's, Martin very much focuses on defensive fundamentals. While this produced a team that was extremely successful in the regular season, and made C-caliber goalies look like A's, it was also ultimately his downfall.

Sure, the Senators would win games 2-1 or 3-2, and make the playoffs consistently, they lacked the flair and fight of a team destined for a Stanley Cup when he was coach. For example, Jason Spezza was and is a supremely talented player, but when the Senators first drafted him, Martin refused to play him consistently. He was a defensive liability, Martin would contend. Once Martin could instill that defensive responsibility, Spezza would play--that was the mantra.

I'm not sure what his years in Florida have taught him, but Martin had little to do with captain selections why he was in Ottawa. If anything, Martin merely capitulated to the wills of overbearing players when Yashin was named captain. In Daniel Alfredsson, of course, there was an obvious choice--a player of poise, character, and commitment--but again, I can't recall Martin ever making any grand statements of support or opposition for Alfredsson. (Martin, of course, was already gone during the dark days when the team considered trading Alfie).

To summarize, Martin is a soft-spoken coach who, I believe, will not be the determining factor when the Habs pick their next captain. In all likelihood, it will be whomever the players on the Canadiens roster show their support for.

In order for this player to last long as the Canadiens' captain, I would recommend that he emulate Martin--speak softly, think defensively, and never lose his cool.

Senators are taking on the Canadiens tonight. I'll see if I can ask yell "Who's the next captain?" at Jacques through the glass.

John Paddock the cretin?

I hated writing that title just as much as most Sens fans hated reading it. It's much easier to criticize an old man with some other, much-hated team than some old man with your favourite team. But with Head Coach John Paddock's recent comments, how can we think any differently? From the Ottawa Sun:

"I think there's some good penalties you can take," Paddock said yesterday. "I think there's good charging and the odd good elbowing penalty and stuff. I think there's nothing wrong with that.

"I think there's real good elbowing penalties. If you're playing in the playoffs and the other team's best player happens to get an elbow in the head, I think it's a good penalty."

Dammit, is this for real? In a way, I understand these people are paid to win, and that sometimes the common idea is that these are the things it takes to win. But it's not. Paddock went on to explain that when an elbow/charge takes the other team's best players off their game, the team has a better chance to win. Newsflash, John: When I pay money to go to a Senators' game, I'd rather see Alex Ovechkin play offense than play scared. I don't pay to see Chris Neil charge at him and risk breaking his neck.

Paddock went on to campaign for GM Bryan Murray to acquire Steve Downie, a move that might make me hate the composure of this team so much that I would have a hard time cheering for them:

"Every team likes those kind of players," Paddock said. "Do I think anything (Flyers rookie) Steve Downie has done so far this year is right? No. But I get a feeling there's 29 teams that would like him on their team, or in their organization."

I don't want a player like Downie on my team, or in the league in any capacity. Feel free to disagree with me (post any rebuttals in our 'comments'), but that's not the kind of hockey I want to see. Clean hits, sure, but charges, elbows, and suckerpunches? These comments are almost enough to make me wish Jacques Martin was back.

Almost.

Sens beat Sabres - what else is new?

I can't blame John Paddock for sticking with this Martin Gerber kid, he sure is looking good right now.

Darth Gerber made 29 saves to defeat the Buffaslugs. The Sens also got goals from Antoine Vermette (his 9th) and Wade Redden (his 5th), Alfredsson, Fisher, and Heatley.

Jason Spezza collected two assists in the win, and has now accrued 15 points in his past 7 games - simply remarkable. He truly is the play-making centre that makes everyone around him better. Can we put these facts in an envelope and send them to Jacques Martin circa 2002?

I didn't watch too much of the game, as family gatherings take precedence, but catching the third period reminded me how much I hate Buffalo Sabres play-by-play man Rick Jeanneret. His voice is like a wailing siren in the belly of a beached and diseased humpback whale, and I'm trapped in the throat, being forced to listen.

It also reminded me that Harry Neale does Sabres colour commentary, and lives in Buffalo - "Hockey Night in Canada - presented by Americans".

So the Sens are looking good at this point of the season, and I'm looking forward to kicking back and watching some World Junior Hockey Championship. In my opinion, it's the best hockey tournament on earth that doesn't end with a Stanley Cup.

Memo to Nick Kypreos: Eat my ass

Dear Nick Kypreos,

You know nothing about hockey, unless it's the Toronto Maple Leafs. When the Ottawa Senators declined an 'offer' from the Florida Panthers to acquire Gary Roberts, Kypreos declared that he had lost all respect for the Ottawa Senators. This is stupid for three reasons.

First of all, this implies that Kypreos had respect for Ottawa in the first place. I think we all know that his love-in for all things Maple Leafs is evidence enough this is not the case.

Secondly, it assumes that Florida was asking the same in return for Roberts from both Ottawa and Pittsburgh. Conspiracy theories are always fun, but I will reference Don Cherry as a citation for the following statement: Jacques Martin did not want to give Ottawa a major factor in the repeated defeats of the Martin-era Senators to the Maple Leafs. Why would Martin offer Roberts to the man who fired him (John Muckler) without trying to gouge as much in return as possible? Especially if the opportunity is there to trade him to Pittsburgh--at a time the Penguins looked to be Ottawa's first-round opponent.

Finally, Roberts wasn't the decisive factor. He pissed all Sens fans off, scored a few goals, threw some borderline hits (which probably should have been penalized if the refs weren't so sorry Roberts is such a poor skater), bitched at the refs constantly (once again, for some reason unpenalized despite the lack of a letter of his left shoulder), and apparently helped the young 'Burgh whippersnappers, but none of it really helped. The Pens lost the series.

In a related story, Oleg Saprykin didn't look like such a bad move, after all. This goes out to all the folks responsible for berating Muckler for this blockbuster (that means you, Ottawa Sun): Don't judge a move until you see what it's brought. Sappy played a solid game last night, and in game four, and probably should have had a goal or two in those matches. Furthermore, he looked like he was willing to take a hit once in a while, and has some darn good speed. Ottawa didn't need a slow old-timer to lead a team with solid internal leadership, they needed (more) offensive depth.

In an unrelated story, Anton Volchenkov might be my all-time favourite Ottawa Senators player. He is certainly giving Norm Maciver a run for his money. Let's take a look at his first-round statistics:

• Points: 4 (1G, 3A)
• Hits: 16
• Blocked shots: 14

What more can you ask for? His one goal was a game-winning goal, too... incredible. Game five was a testament to his toughness; after Roberts appeared to hit Volchie's elbow and bend it the wrong way, "the Big Defenceman" (Bob Cole's nickname for Volchenkov, as well as all other Ottawa Senators defencemen) barely missed a shift, and returned to play the last shift of a 3-0 game rather than staying in the dressing room on a precautionary basis. Still incredible.

Now... awaiting the second-round opponent. Stay tuned for a "Ottawa Senators Eastern Conference Semi-Final Opponent Watch" update later tonight.