Ottawa at the trade deadline

The Ottawa Senators have made quite a few trades at trade deadlines in the past, and few have had any affect on the playoff run for that year. Here's a run-down of the trade-deadline acquisitions (or just about trade deadline) since 1998 for the Senators:

2007: Won CQF over Pittsburgh, Won CSF over New Jersey, Won CF over Buffalo, Lost SCF to Anaheim

• Oleg Saprykin (02/27/2007): Cost us a second-rounder, and was a decent contributor. He scored one clutch goal in the playoff run, which is all you can really ask of a fourth-liner.
• Mike Comrie (01/03/2007): This was a steal of a deal for Alexei Kaigorodov, although his playoff production dipped. He would be fun to see again, on a line with the much-improved Mike Fisher and Daniel Alfredsson.
• Lawrence Nycholat (02/26/2007): Was scratched throughout the playoffs, this was a depth move. Nycholat could still be an NHL defenceman in 2008-09, though, and has a one-way contract that says he will be. Cost Andy Hedlund and a pick.

2006: Won CQF over Tampa Bay, Lost CSF to Buffalo

• Tyler Arnason (03/09/2006): Bomb! Virtually nothing in the regular season, scratched in the playoffs, and left the next year. Brandon Bochenski and that second-round pick this deal cost us would have scored more points.
• Mike Morrison (03/09/2006): Claimed off waivers, Mikey Mo was an insurance plan. He's got a wickedly nicknameable name, though, so this acquisition was a success.

2004: Lost CQF to Toronto

• Peter Bondra (02/18/2004): As much as Marian Hossa loved his childhood hero coming to town, Bondra did nothing in the playoffs. The players lost in this deal (Brooks Laich and a pick) aren't significant, though, so it's not so bad.\
• Greg de Vries (03/09/2004): Looking to boost the veteran presence and defensive awareness, this trade was ugly. It cost us Karel Rachunek, who I maintain is an NHL defenceman, and Alexandre Giroux, who isn't an NHLer. De Vries wsa gone the next September.
• Todd Simpson (02/04/2004): Scratched throughout the playoffs, Simpson was a depth player for whom the Sens got rid of perennial disappointment Petr Schastlivy.

2003: Won CQF over New York Islanders, Won CSF over Philadelphia, Lost CF to New Jersey

• Bryan Smolinski (03/11/2003): Smokes came over for Tim Gleason, stuck around for a few seasons (102P in 171GP) and helped a bit in the 2003 playoff drive (9 points). He was one of Muckler's decent deals, but was shipped away for cap reasons.
  
• Vaclav Varada (02/05/2003): A Muckler love-in brought in VV for Jakub Klepis (who hasn't blossomed into the player he was thought to be, anyway). Varada played a few more seasons, 117 games in total, but he wasn't tremendous. I can remember one goal of his, in game 7 of the 2004 playoffs against Toronto.
  
• Rob Ray (03/10/2003): "Future Considerations" brought him in, and he did nothing. He played six games the following year, and scored a goal. He was a backup to give Ottawa some toughness.

2002: Won CQF over Philadelphia, Lost CSF to Toronto

• Juha Ylonen (03/15/2002): One of the strangest deals John Muckler pulled off. Ylonen scored five points in seven games over the run, but he didn't make a difference when it mattered. Against the Leafs, Andre Roy (who the Sens traded for Ylonen) might have made a difference physically, but hindsight is 20/20 (plus there were rumours of off-ice controversy surrounding Roy). More importantly, the sixth-round throw-in pick was used for Paul Ranger, who wouldn't be too bad right now.
  
• Benoit Brunet (03/16/2002): Cost next to nothing, and got some playing time in his one season. Nothing wrong with that.

2001: Lost CQF to Toronto

• Curtis Leschyshyn (03/13/2001): Didn't matter in the playoff loss, but was a valuable veteran in future seasons with the Sens. Played 200 solid games over four seasons for the Sens, plus he only cost a third-round pick.
• Mike Sillinger (03/01/2001): Might have been good for the dressing room, but he didn't do anything in the playoffs and moved onto Columbus the following July.

2000: Lost CQF to Toronto

• Tom Barasso (03/14/2000): Cost us Janne Laukkanen and Ron Tugnutt, but wasn't able to cure the Sens of their Leafs woes. A risk was taken, and it was a terrible failure.

1999: Lost CQF to Buffalo

• Ted Donato (03/20/1999): Did nothing in the playoffs, but cost nothing, and was turned around to bring in Patrick Lalime the following June.
• Nelson Emerson (03/23/1999): Scored four points in the four-game series loss to Buffalo, so he wasn't a bad pickup.
• Bill Berg (11/27/1998): Not really a deadline-deal, he was traded for Stan Neckar and scored 4 points in 44 regular-season games. The epitome of a disappointment.
  

1998: Won CQF over New Jersey, Lost CSF to Buffalo.

• Vaclav Prospal (01/17/1998): Acquired for Alex Daigle in a pretty good deal for the Sens. He didn't do anything in the playoffs that year (and very little in future years), but he played a few more years and scored 111 points in 213 games for the Sens.
  
• Pat Falloon (01/17/1998): Also brought over in the Daigle trade, Falloon did nothing and was gone at the end of the season.
  
• Per Gustafsson (03/17/1998): Cost an eighth-round pick, played nine games, then was gone. Inconsequential.

That's all I can think of. Let me know if I forgot any, and I'll update. The bottom line is this: Ottawa has rarely, if ever, made a trade at the trade deadline that has made a difference in the upcoming playoff run. If Bryan Murray can do so this year, awesome. I have a feeling some move has to be made, though, because this Senators team is similar to (or slightly worse) than last year's on paper, while chief opponents such as the Anaheim Ducks and Detroit Red Wings appear to have gotten better.

Sigh... another win for Ottawa...

I'm just kidding, these wins will never get old.

In what was the first game I was able to watch in its entirety--I missed the first three thanks to unfortunately-timed classes and weddings/wedding preparations--I was treated to a strong performance. Well, a strong two periods, anyway... that third period wasn't quite as strong.

You know who played well all game? Martin Gerber. Good for you, Gerbinator, make it as hard as you can for Bryan Murray to decide what to do once Ray Emery comes back from his injury. And for the record, I hope you are actually expecting a new Sens-themed mask, because I love it when goalies get new masks.

Also, no matter what Ben says, Andrej Meszaros has improved since last year. While Wade Redden has also improved, there were a few moments where Meszaros bailed him out--although Reds bailed out Mesz a few times, too, so they're even.

You know who impressed me most, though? Chris Kelly and Antoine Vermette. What an incredible synergy these two have... my goodness. And somehow Chris Neil almost manages to keep up with them when they're in the same line, forming perhaps Ottawa's most consistent and certainly the most energetic line in tonight's game. These two will also not make Murray's off-season very easy.

You know who was alright? Luke Richardson. Not nearly as slow as I would have thought, and he played over 12 minutes of ice time without a mistake that I remember.

Oh yeah, and the CASH line did alright. Three assists for Jason Spezza, a goal and an assist for both Dany Heatley and Daniel Alfredsson. Not a bad night, I guess.

Also, I'm sure Sens fans can forgive me for cheering when Karel Rachunek got an assist. I liked him when he was here, and was devastated when we traded him for *shudder* Greg deVries. Maybe we'll re-sign him if we have to move Joe Corvo this off-season--although I like Corvo, too.

So, 4-0 to start the season. Not too shabby.

Leave Us Alone TSN!

All I have heard on TSN for the past few days following the NHL trade deadline was that the Sens should have been more active in the trading market and that Muckler's open refusal to give up any players on his roster was not only a mistake but could cost us dearly come playoff time.

At the end of the day the only guy we picked up was Oleg Saprykin who is on pace to break 40 points this season... for just a 2nd round draft pick. Sure this guy isn't going to be heading to next year's all-star game but he is a solid 3rd or 4th line winger and we didn't have to break up anyone on our roster to get him. However my point here isn't whether or not Saprykin was a good pick up, I'll leave that for someone else to tackle... instead what I'd like to touch on is why I support staying the hell away from giving up roster spots for rental players, simply based on our past experiences and the lack of... success... they've brought.

Please indulge me for a moment as we take a trip through memory lane, below are a our trade deadline deals from the past years and an explaination of how the player performed for the rest of the year and during the playoffs....

2000 - Sent Ron Tugnutt and Janne Laukkanen to Pittsburg for Tom Barrasso.
(Barrasso went 3-4 in the final 7 regular season games and 2-4 in the playoffs.)

2001 - Brought in Curtis Leschyshyn & Mike Sillinger for 3rd round pick.
(Sillinger had 7 points in 13 final regular season games, and 0 pts in 4 playoff games.) (Leschyshyn had 5 points in 11 final regular season games, and 0 pts in 4 playoff games.)

2003 - Traded Jakub Klepis to Buffalo for Vaclav Varada.
(Varada has 8 points in 11 season games and 6 pts in 18 playoff games.)

2004 - We acquired Greg de Vries from the Rangers for Karl Rachunek & Alexandre Giroux.
(de Vries had 1 point in 13 regular season games and 1 point in 7 playoff games.)


2004 - Acquired Peter Bondra from Washington for Brooks Laich and 2nd round draft pick.
(Bondra played 23 season games with 14 points and had 0 pts in 7 playoff games.)


Of 6 players acquired at or near the trade deadline, arguably only one really went on to perform for the rest of the season AND the playoffs! (Varada)

So really TSN, your going to have to excuse MY interruption so I can tell you that, as a Sens fan, I don't give a crap that Muckler wasn't willing to deal our players. History shows that the chances of bringing someone in who will make a real difference for us come playoff time, someone who isn't used to our players, our routines or our coaching style... just doesn't pay off in the end. I have no idea if Saprykin is going to help us out, but frankly my hopes lay on the shoulders of the players who carried our team through the tough beginning of the season and who are going to carry us far into the playoffs!


For Sens Army Blog, I'm Kyle.

(Take that TSN!)