Don't Know What You've Got 'til It's Gone: The Joe Corvo Story

When the Ottawa Senators traded Joe Corvo and Patrick Eaves to the Carolina Hurricanes in February of this year, the deal seemed like a good one. The Sens got rid of an unhappy defenceman and an injury-prone forward while acquiring Cory Stillman and Mike Commodore; both tough players with Stanley Cup experience.

Now, it appears, the once appealing trade has gone sour. Stillman left Ottawa and signed a contract for $3.5 million with the Florida Panthers. Commodore went to the Columbus Blue Jackets. So how does one rate the deal now? Not very well.

The irony metre has been cranked up yet again in Canada's capital as Bryan Murray is now on the market for a "cheap" puck-moving defenceman. Someone who can put some points on the board; someone to anchor the powerplay; someone with a contract in the area of $2.5 million per season. Mr. Murray, you are looking for someone named Joe Corvo.

Corvo signed a four-year contract with Ottawa in 2006 to be an offensive defenceman, and, I suspect, a complement to, or replacement for, Wade Redden. Now, Redden is gone, and so is his backup.

A name being heard around Sens circles is Frantisek Kaberle. Let me fill you in on this guy: the 34 year-old native of Kladno, Czech Republic will earn $2.2 million for the next 2 seasons. He had 22 points last year and 44 in 2005-06 playing 80 and 77 games in those seasons(missing 55 games in 06-07 due to shoulder surgery). Corvo had 48 and 37 in his past two seasons.
In summary, he is older and doesn't score as much as Joey C.

Another possible acquisition is San Jose's Kyle McLaren. He had only 11 points last year and will become a UFA at the end of the upcoming season after a season at $2.5 million.

I guess the Corvo trade couldn't be seen as a salary dump, since the Sens are now want to acquire similar (or worse) players at a similar salary.

My verdict: You screwed the pooch on this one Murray. The Corvo deal depended on you retaining either Stillman or Commodore for the upcoming season (at least). Failure to do so has left the Sens spinning their wheels in this offseason searching for the pucking-moving defender that was on the roster less than 6 months ago.

Retrospective: The Commodore/Stillman deal

It's been about a month and a week since the Sens traded Patrick Eaves and Joe Corvo to Carolina for Cory Stillman and Mike Commodore. Both teams were looking for different things in the trade, and all players involved serve different roles. I'll hold off on judging the winner of the trade until after the playoffs, and maybe even after another season, but it seems for now that all players are settling in well. Here are statistics since the trade:

• Corvo: 15GP, 6G, 9A, 15Pts +6, 4PIM
  
• Eaves: 9GP, 1G, 3A, 4Pts, -1, 2PIM
  
• Stillman: 17GP, 2G, 12A, 14Pts, -5, 8PIM
  
• Commodore: 17GP, 0G, 0A, 0Pts, -8, 20PIM

Right now, it looks like the 'Canes have won the trade. Especially after that embarassing 5-1 loss were Corvo scored thrice plus an assist and Eaves added a goal. Even before that, though; they have gone 10-3-1 since the deal, for a .670 winning percentage, and Corvo has made a huge impact on the powerplay. And, while Eaves missed some time due to injury, he appears to be assuming a role on the third or fourth line.

This trade wasn't made for "right now", though. We won't really know the true value of Stillman and Commodore until the playoffs. Stillman, while playing alongside Daniel Alfredsson and Mike Fisher, helps form what many say is the best second line the Sens have ever had. When (or if) the going gets tought for the top line in the playoffs, he will be a valuable asset. As a point-man on the powerplay, he brings some offensive perspective and allows Alfredsson to play down low in the zone. His experience and presence in the dressing room are also intangibles people are giving a lot of value to, so I won't discount them.

Commodore, it is obvious, has struggled the most since the trade. When play tightens in the playoffs, though, his size will become that much more important, and his sluggishness will become less noticeable (or at least that's the hope). Most of all, his ability to throw a big check at some forwards gives Ottawa a nice complement to Anton Volchenkov and Chris Phillips.

Although time will tell, I'm hoping that the trade works out more for Ottawa than for Carolina. I wish Corvo and Eaves all the luck in the world, except when they're playing against the Sens.

A win-win trade: Sens acquire Commodore and Stillman

As Ben noted, the Senators traded up-and-down offensive defenceman Joe Corvo and injury-plagued young winger Patrick Eaves to Carolina for defensive stalwart (but offensively challenged) Mike Commodore and injury-plagued winger Cory Stillman. Both teams seem to have assessed their current positions, and made the change to head in a new direction.

In Ottawa, it's been well-documented that the recent slide was a result of defensive gaffs, and unloading Corvo might cut down on those. By replacing him with the younger Commodore, there's another physical defenceman who can make opposing forwards pay and also plays a responsible style defensively. While there's a definite loss of offence from the defence--Corvo was a big part of the powerplay, not to mention his even-strength abilities--the addition of Stillman may offset that.

Stillman offers veteran presence and brings some offensive depth--which Bryan Murray has made no qualms about seeking. In playing beside Mike Fisher, Stillman will bring something to the second line that has been missing, and will make our second powerplay unit reasonably respectable. Not to mention the Stanley Cup rings both new guys bring, evidence of their abilities. Even though Eaves is a price to pay, his injury problems have made it difficult for him to keep any sustained offensive numbers. Also, with Chris Kelly and restricted free agents like Andrej Meszaros and Antoine Vermette, it would have been difficult to re-sign Eaves.

Even though both Stillman and Commodore are unrestricted free agents after the season, neither is making a lot of money this year, and it's possible we could get a bargain like that again.

For some reason, I don't think that Murray is done adding players to this team. I have a feeling another top-six forward could be on the way.

Done deal: Corvo, Eaves shipped out

I'll let TSN.ca do the legwork:

Sources say the Senators have acquired defenceman Mike Commodore and forward Cory Stillman in exchange for defenceman Joe Corvo and forward Patrick Eaves.

Commodore and Stillman are scheduled to become unrestricted free agents on July 1. Stillman had to agree to waive his no-trade clause to go to Ottawa.

Eaves is a restricted free agent at the end of this season. Corvo has two years remaining on his contract, paying him $2.75 million per year but with a salary cap hit of $2.625 million.

Seems like the Sens tried to accomplish two things with this deal: loading up on experience before the playoffs and dumping Corvo's salary. It often seemed like that guy was gone after his first season in Ottawa.

Good on Bryan Murray for having some balls and getting a deal done.

The Rumour Mill: The Hockey News weighs in

Now, it's true that I've given my fair share of criticisms to The Hockey News, but the most recent issue (Vol. 61, No. 18, Feb. 12, 2008) has explored the possibilities of the upcoming trade deadline, and I'm going to go ahead and explore them because they involve Ottawa acquiring Marian Hossa and Darcy Tucker, two players who could be valuable additions to a playoff run.

Let's start with the biggest name: Hossa. THN has Antoine Vermette and Patrick Eaves going to Atlanta in this deal, but I think that might be a pretty high price for someone who will likely only be a rent-a-player due to cap restrictions. Perhaps one of those names in combination with a higher-round draft pick or a key prospect, such as Alexander Nikulin, it's a possibility. The prospect of complementing our already stacked offence (at least when we're not riddled with injury) makes me seriously consider Vermette and Eaves, though. I think Hossa would fit nicely alongside Jason Spezza and Dany Heatley, and a second line could include either Vermette or Eaves--whoever isn't involved in the deal--with Daniel Alfredsson and Mike Fisher.

That takes us to the Tucker acquisition. Most Sens fans hate the Mother Tucker, but I've come around a bit. I hate Gary Roberts waaaaay more, although that may have something to do with the Pittsburgh series last year. Going towards the Leafs would be Ilya Zubov, which seems like a reasonable price to pay. Tucker would be a nice complement to a third line with Chris Neil and possibly Dean McAmmond, a speedy line with grit and some offensive upside. The only possible problem is that Tucker has three more years at $3M each, which might be tough for GM Bryan Murray to swallow.

And some of the trades that other teams are rumoured to be taking part in.

The biggest deal of the deadline: Mats Sundin to Vancouver for Ryan Kesler, Alex Edler, and a conditional first-round pick. Which seems like a price the Sens could match, if the interest is there--which it has to be, considering Sundin's value. One of Vermette, Eaves, or Chris Kelly plus Brian Lee and a conditional first-round pick. An established player, a better-than-average defensive prospect, and a first-rounder if we make it to the finals. Plus Kelly is a Toronto native, so there you go. It seems like a high price, and if Sundin is just going to sign back in T.O. afterwards it might be, but if the Sens can talk him into a three-year, $12M deal to play with Alfie--a pipe dream, I know--then it might be worth it.

On defence, there's L.A.'s Rob Blake going to San Jose in exchange for Lukas Kaspar. Kaspar is a decently sized left-wing prospect, but this deal seems like a steal for the Sharks. If the last few games are any indication, the Sens need defensive help. Desperately. While I may be biased, I think Sens LW prospect Nick Foligno is a stronger asset that Kaspar, and could command a pretty penny if the team were to trade him--but I don't want to. Instead, the idea of trading Josh Hennessy and possibly another asset, such as C Igor Mirnov or LW Shawn Weller, the possibility of having a top-four D corps of Anton Volchenkov, Chris Phillips, Andrej Meszaros, and Rob Blake with Joe Corvo and Wade Redden as powerplay specialists makes me drool.

And while goaltending is probably a section of the roster that will stay as it is for this season, one thing seems certain for 2008-09: Either Ray Emery or Martin Gerber will no longer play for the Ottawa Senators. Both parties have requested the starter's position, or to be traded. Which means this team will likely need a backup for next season. And why not pick one up now, in case the injury bug gets to the Sens' crease. Apparently--according to THN, of course--Dan Ellis of the Predators is only worth a second-round pick, and that seems a pretty reasonable price to pay for a solid backup who won't raise a stink if he doesn't get a chance at starting.

But let's be realistic. This article was fun to write, and I hope it was fun to read (and comment on; let us know who you think the Sens need), it's completely speculative. And probably completely unrealistic. But it's better than writing about another Sens loss or another fight in practice.

Sens lose an ugly one

That was a pretty ugly game to watch. The Sens ended up losing 4-2 to the Capitals, the fourth loss to Washington in the fourth and final game between the two in the regular season.

There were a lot of players who just had off-games tonight. No defenceman had a good game, and Luke Richardson and Joe Corvo had particularly bad games. Even Chris Phillips and Anton Volchenkov didn't seem at their best, although they managed to keep Alex Ovechkin relatively quiet (at least for a while). Wade Redden, who scored a goal for the Sens, and Andrej Meszaros weren't bad, but they were nowhere near where they need to be for the Sens to play as they can.

On forward, there were few bright spots. Jason Spezza did not look like he should have been playing; I'm concerned if he wasn't completely healthy why management would allow him to play at all considering he lucked out the first time, but might not be as lucky if there was another hard hit thrown his way. Tough to say it, but Daniel Alfredsson looked a little off his game, as well, and those two are going to have to find a way to offset the loss of Heater.

On a happy note, however, Ilya Zubov had a decent game. While he wasn't amazing, he looked a lot more comfortable than Alex Nikulin in his first NHL game, and his defensive coverage was very good. He even threw a few good hits. Patrick Eaves looked comfortable in his first game back, and hopefully his game picks up where it was when he was injured way back.

I've got to give credit to John Paddock for scratching Randy Robitaille tonight, what seems to me as an overdue move. He gave extra ice time to Dean McAmmond (that one's for you, Mike!), who responded with a tip-in goal and played a surprisingly physical game, including a solid hit against Mike Green.

Unfortunately, without Brian McGrattan in the lineup, Donald Brashear appeared to enjoy the freedom he had around the ice. Even if Grats played the 4:33 that Cody Bass played tonight, it might have limited the liberties that Brashear took with some Senators players, including Mike Fisher at one point after a whistle. Not that Bass had a bad game--he actually played well considering his ice time--but a heavyweight like McGrattan does serve a purpose.

But hey, it was only one game. One thing I take out of this game if that the Sens are nowhere near filling the void left behind with the loss of Heatley from within, and Bryan Murray might be in tough to pull a move similar to the Mike Comrie trade from last year.

Post-script: I'm listening to the post-game show on the Team 1200 right now, and I have to wonder why these hosts are even doing this. It seems obvious to me that they have no patience for fans calling in an expressing their opinions, and they flat-out don't like listening to what fans say.

Heatley's out 4-6 weeks

According to TSN.ca, the injury Dany Heatley suffered last night against the Red Wings in an awkward collision was a separated shoulder, meaning the All-Star winger could be out up to 4-6 weeks. Shit.

Patrick Eaves is almost back from his separated shoulder, more than seven weeks after it happened. These injuries are all so different and unpredictable that it's difficult to draw parallels between two instances, or to offer a concrete timeline. Hopefully it's shorter rather than longer, though.

Volchie's return, and other roster juggling

Public domain photo from flickr user kaatiya

If I'm going to berate players when they are doing things wrong, it's only right that I congratulate them when they turn their act around. And, while it's still early in his awakening, Ray Emery has certainly been doing the right things to get back into John Paddock's good books. After a lack of any visible commitment or work ethic earlier in the season, Rayzor's been regularly attending practices on time for the past week, and was the first player on the ice for Wednesday's optional practice. (As an aside, what's with Sens players taking snowmobiles to practice? Not that it's not completely boss, but both Emery and Daniel Alfredsson have done so in the last week.)

Meanwhile, Martin Gerber has been doing everything necessary to get himself into Paddock's doghouse. Allowing ten goals in less than four periods is one thing, but when you begin criticizing the coach you're asking for it. After allowing three in the first period of Tuesday's game against Washington and being pulled, The Gerber suggested that he's not getting opportunities to redeem himself, and that Paddock's tactics were folly.

First off, The Gerber had the opportunity to redeem the seven goals allowed in Saturday's game by getting the chance to start the next one. How many opportunities do you want? This is the second time this season The Gerber's complained about getting pulled, and the guy so many fans are loving as an all-team guy is quickly tarnishing his reputation. But maybe he's just being competitive, which is fine.

Anyway, this might mean a little juggling in the crease, as Emery should probably get the opportunity to start on Friday against the Sabres.

Speaking of Friday against the Sabres, Anton Volchenkov will be back. Which means there's an extra defenceman. Or, if Christoph Schubert moves up--and it appears he will--then there's an extra forward. Which, according to Paddock, is Nick Foligno, and he has consequently sent the 2005 first-rounder back down to Binghamton.

Cody Bass remains with Ottawa, though. While Foligno is more effective offensively, Bass plays the fourth-line role better than Foligno, so that might be why the BassMaster remains in the bigs.

Apparently Patrick Eaves is getting close to returning, anyway, so Bass might be sent to the farm pretty soon.

Fisher out for a few games

Turns out the oblique-muscle strain Mike Fisher sustained in the Sens' 7-3 victory over the Atlanta Thrashers is serious enough to keep Fish the Dish out of the lineup for at least a few games. According to the Ottawa Sun, he's not going to travel with the team through Boston and Atlanta and thus won't be back in the lineup for at least a week. At least he'll have time to recover from the dental work he's having to repair the chiclets he lost after Scott Walker's headbutt on Dec. 12.

The Sens, as we all know, are already missing Patrick Eaves and Anton Volchenkov, and I remember reading that Brian McGrattan is questionable if not doubtful for Tuesday's game against Boston.

If McGrattan is able to play, it makes it easy for John Paddock; he'll likely keep Cody Bass up with the big team (and maybe move him up, because JP seemed to be pleased with the work of BassMaster) and play Grats on the fourth line. If not, count on another call-up from Binghamton.

Prior to deciding on Bass, Paddock mentioned that his other options were Niko Dimitrakos, Ilya Zubov, or Alexander Nikulin. If the trend we've seen continues, someone other than Sputnik will likely get the chance. Zubov has a better offensive upside, but Dimitrakos likely plays a more defensively responsible style. While I'd like to see Zubov get a chance, I would lean towards NiDi getting the call and subsequent limo drive. Since the B-Sens game scheduled for Hershey tonight has been postponed until later in the week, whoever is called up will probably come straight from Bridgeport to Ottawa tomorrow, once the roads clear a bit.

Alfredsson's injured? This can't be happening.

Turns out El Capitano's groin injury will keep him out for at least one game. At some point in the overtime period against the Penguins on Thursday, Daniel Alfredsson aggravated his groin and is stated as day-to-day. Head coach John Paddock says it's highly unlikely Alfie will play against Philadelphia on Saturday.

Hopefully Randy Robitaille is ready to return from his back injury, because it's going to be a while before Patrick Eaves can return. Apparently my previous statement of 2-4 weeks for Eaves might have been optimistic, and apparently it could be twice that much. Too bad for him, too, as he's been playing some of his best hockey.

If Ropes Robitaille is unable to return, someone will have to be recalled from Bingo. Nick Foligno, who is averaging a point a game in Binghamton after a two-assist game yesterday, seems the most likely callup, but I've been surprised before.

Also, Martin Gerber will be starting once again on Saturday. Even though he played a bad game on Thursday, it would seem Paddock wants to give The Gerber an opportunity to redeem himself before he gives Ray Emery a shot to run with the starting job. Given his 13-3 record, I would say that The Gerber has earned the opportunity.

Eaves convicted under Murphy's Law

Of course it was only a matter of time. Patrick Eaves has been playing the best hockey of his career, getting points and serious ice time, and then he separated his shoulder the Wednesday's 4-2 loss to the Sabres. Apparently the timeline is 2-4 weeks. Anything that can go wrong will go wrong, but hopefully Eaves is back soon and continues playing like he has been this season.

One opportunity that comes from this unfortunate circumstance is for Nick Foligno, who I understand is already on his way back to Ottawa from Binghamton. After two assists in three games for the B-Sens, Foligno got his feet wet in the AHL; maybe he'll play out of his mind to try and avoid more bus rides.

It's unknown whether or not Randy Robitaille will be back in the lineup against the Penguins on Thursday as he's still day-to-day with a hand injury. Hopefully it's not too serious.

EDIT: Correction: Apparently the Sens have called up Alexander Nikulin instead of Foligno. Holy shit. This is awesome, if also unexpected; I guess John Paddock wants to keep everyone on their toes. It also might be an attempt to give more offensive punch, rounding out the second line with a little extra offensive ability (if Nikulin plays that high). I'm excited to hear SputNik's next blog entry!

Another winning streak begins

Just two days after a dismal effort against the Maple Leafs, the Sens bounced back to defeat Montreal 4-2 on Monday night. Awesome.

After a slightly-less-than-usual delay for pre-game ceremonies honouring Larry Robinson, Ottawa and the Habs had another very exciting game for spectators to watch. If these two teams meet in the playoffs, it will be an incredible series.

Most Senators had good games, but special mention goes to Dany Heatley. His second effort to get Jason Spezza the puck on the Sens' second goal was what good players have to do to become great players. Heater also broke his eight-game scoreless streak, and probably could have scored three or four goals if he could hit the net. Three points in the game for both of those guys, a few more games like that and Heatley will be right up at the top of the point- and goal-scoring races.

It also looked like Spetzky is back in game form now, after taking the last two games to readjust to the pace. Good to see, and I'll bet Heatley and John Paddock are both pretty relieved.

Alfredsson got dropped to what is now line 1B, along with Antoine Vermette and Mike Fisher. That'll be a great line, Alfie and the Fish play well already, and once Vermette gets a feel for how they'll play, we could have a bona fide second scoring line. Unless Paddock goes back to the old formations, or throws Fisher on the top line with Spezza and Heatley.

Chris Neil had his best game of the year, scoring a goal and an assist. He's played pretty well in most of the last few games. If he keeps working that hard--and gets some time on the top line--he should have a chance of matching or breaking his career-high 33 points from 2005-06.

Finally, Patrick Eaves continued on his streak of great games and is making it harder and harder for Bryan Murray to consider trading him. Eaves seems to be the most likely roster player to be traded aside from one of the goalies, but he seems to be getting closer to the role the Sens had hoped he'd fill when he was drafted. And if that happens, there's no need to find another top-six player; we'll already have one.

And then there's Martin Gerber. Made key saves at key times, and if Ray Emery wants a shot at giving The Gerber a run for the number 1A spot, he's really going to have to kick some ass on Wednesday against Buffalo or Thursday against Pittsburgh, whichever of those he plays in. Most think that start will be against the Sabres on Wednesday, bringing with it the potential of a rematch against Andrew Peters. Given how pissed Rayzor seems to be after losing the starting job due to injury, maybe he'll boil over. I hope not, though, he's got enough to worry about with goaltending.

In other news, Alfredsson is second overall in voting for the 2007-08 All-Star Game. Which is great. Unfortunately, the write-in campaign for Martin Gerber isn't going so well, so go and vote! There is a link to the voting website in the lineup tracker on the left side of this page.

I can't believe Toronto shut us out

What can I say, really? I mean... the Sens were due, and there was no way Ottawa was going to finish with an 80-2 record. But still... to get outplayed by the Maple Leafs is pretty embarassing. Especially when no one can score, and Jiri Tlusty gets a goal against the Sens.

Martin Gerber didn't look great, especially on the aforementioned goal by Tlusty--it looked like he was just too lazy to go across the net and try to score. Look for The Gerber to bounce back Monday or Wednesday, or whenever he plays. Unless Ray Emery plays well on Monday, then also plays Wednesday... then The Gerber will get the chance on Thursday, likely.

Once again, Daniel Alfredsson had a good game, but not the best of the year. Not to suggest he played poorly, but the bar has been set so high that even a just-barely-dominant game is below average on the Alfie scale.

Some of the best Sens were Mike Fisher, who had a solid physical game and played well when he was with Heatley, and Patrick Eaves, generating chances and bothering Vesa Toskala in what was probably Ottawa's best scoring chance in the third period.

Meh, we'll get them next time. And we'll smoke Montreal, Buffalo, Pittsburgh, and Philly next week and forget all about this loss to the Leafs--until February, that is, when we next play against Toronto.

Point: Trading Ray Emery could make the team better

Ray Emery is not what the Senators need right now. I don't see the Senators' future goaltending situation being all Emery, all the time; he just doesn't strike me as a full-time stopper. I don't think Martin Gerber is a long-term solution, either, but they are about equal at this point, so why not deal the guy with the higher market value?

Even though we're basing this entire discussion on the musings of a writer whose predictions seldom if ever come true. It is worth discussing. If a package of Emery, Patrick Eaves, and a prospect (apparently Josh Hennessy being the most likely) in exchange for a new, cheaper backup and a top-six forward, awesome. I would actually be most concerned about Eaves, playing he best hockey of his career, than I would be about Emery.

Don't get me wrong, last year Emery was awesome in the playoffs. He was certainly one of the Senators' best players along the run. And he could be awesome again, but there are serious concerns with his ability to take criticism or accept demotion. And let's keep in mind that even Jim Carey won the Vezina Trophy once. Last year, Gerber was the perfect backup, accepting Emery's promotion for the best of the team. He spent the off-season working on his skills, preparing to come back at the top of his game and win back the number one spot—something he accomplished.

Emery, on the other hand, is rumoured to be just pissed off, and it's affecting his play. If it starts affecting the team, then it's not worth it. He's been reported leaving practice early and is refusing to speak with the media. If he wants to play, he's going to have to play better than he did against Atlanta or Washington. Although he played alright against the Caps for the start, he let it go at the end with a few weak goals. Plus, while I'm not privy to the entire story, and I'm not so ridiculous as to suggest players should never play sports aside from hockey, his most recent baseball-related injury might reflect a carelessness that would not benefit this team.

The rumours we're hearing are the three aforementioned Senators being sent to the Los Angeles Kings in exchange for Jason LaBarbera and a forward, one of Dustin Brown, Alexander Frolov, Michael Handzus, or Patrick O'Sullivan. Frolov, because of his offensive abilities and his contract situation (this year and two more, averaging $3.5M each) is the most appealing to me, but also the least likely because of his value to the Kings and GM Bryan Murray's affinity for North American players over European ones. Frolov does, however, have a relationship with Sens d-man Anton Volchenkov and could make the introduction of prospects Ilya Zubov and Alexander Nikulin easier if and when those two join the big team. Brown is signed for six years, averaging $3.175M per year, which is a bit of a gamble. He's got 12 points in 16 games so far, though, so if it works, it would be great. That contract leads me to believe that LA has earmarked him as a significant part of the team's core for a while, so he wouldn't likely be moved. O'Sullivan only has six points this year, and is an RFA afterwards, so that wouldn't work long-term for the Sens. And Handzus, well… he's big, but he's old, not producing, and is making too much money. No deal.

If the deal were Emery, Eaves, and Hennessy for LaBarbera and either Brown, Frolov, or Mike Cammalleri (but don't count on Cammaleri), then I'd say take it. Even if it's for LaBarbera and O'Sullivan it might give the Sens the cap space needed to sign Peter Forsberg, if Foppa isn't calling it a career.

Check back in the next little while to see Ben's Counterpoint, where he'll try to explain why the Sens can't trade Emery.

Toronto is soooo bad

What an awesome game to be at. The Sen knocked the Leafs off their tree, raked them up, and burned the pile (by a score of 5-1). Unfortunately the referees issued Ottawa nine penalties for burning Leafs without a permit.

Let me start off by saying the reffing was abysmal. Just atrocious. Abominable. I mean... Mike Fisher got three penalties? Bogus. It was so difficult to watch Toronto commit infraction after infraction, and then Ottawa get called for borderline penalties.

But good teams find a way to battle through adversity, and the Sens not only killed 88 per cent of penalties, but also scored a short-handed goal off an incredbiel pass from Dean McAmmond to Daniel Alfredsson. Ottawa went 1-for-4 on the powerplay when Andrej Meszaros, who had a pretty good game, scored with a shot from the point.

First Star: Martin Gerber. Best player on the ice, bar none. His main criticism has been rebound control, but The Gerber had no problems with rebounds tonight. I was impressed many times, especially on a Leafs run in the second period, when The Gerber would simply absorb shots and hold onto them. The Gerber was huge in the second period, and ended up stopping 30 of 31 shots over the game.

Second Star: Patrick Eaves. Patty had what was probably his best game of the year, scoring a goal and an assist and setting up a bunch of other plays. Very effective for just over eight minutes of ice time, which was less than any other Senator.

Third Star: Daniel Alfredsson. Played well in all situations, killed some serious penalty time, and just worked. Kudos to the Sens fans in attendance, who not only drowned out the Leafs fans' boos of Alfie but also booed Mats Sundin whenever he touched the puck.

Honourable mentions go to Chris Phillips for shutting down the Leafs' big line, Dean McAmmond for being Dean McAmmond, Luke Richardson for his reliability in constantly increasing ice time (he played 12:28 tonight), Andrej Meszaros in his best game of the year, Antoine Vermette (12/17 in faceoffs), Anton Volchenkov (another six blocked shots)... I think this would go on for too long so I'll just say most of the team played great.

Not so great tonight was Joe Corvo. He played over 14 minutes which might have been too much for him, but he committed a few mistakes (two giveaways in the game, more than any other Senator). On a couple occasions tried to deke out a Leaf going into the corner, but just plum forgot the puck and the Leafs got it. He'll bounce back next game, though.

So the Sens are 13-1, setting the record for best start through 14 games (what a vague statistic), and are the best tem in the league so far. Roy Mlakar is on The Jim Rome Show tomorrow, and I'm pretty excited to hear it. And the Sens play Washington on Thursday, this game-every-other-day is almost too much after the one-game-a-week start to the season. Almost.

Sens' Impudence ruins Devils debut at Prudential Centre

Take that, New Jersey Devils team. We had no respect for your old Continental Airlines Arena, and we made its going-away party a loss to be remembered. And we, the Senators, picked up where we left off and pissed all over your opening-night party at the brand-new, state-of-the-art, almost-finished-being-constructed, terribly-iced, Bon-Jovi-ridden Prudential Center. The only thing more disrespectful would have been for captain Daniel Alfredsson to win the ceremonial faceoff, take the puck, skate down the ice, fire a slapper past Martin Brodeur, and then after the game to take Dorothy Brodeur out to a nice steak dinner and never call her again. But Dorothy Brodeur is a saint, and there wasn't enough time because the Sens only have four days to kill before next game. Compared to the week we've had to wait for this one, it'll seem like nothing.

The Sens were outshot 18-5 in the first period for another slow start, but Martin Gerber was good enough to stop a few pucks and keep Ottawa in it. Andy Meszaros scored in the second to give the Sens the lead, only to have Brian Gionta tie the game a short while later by banking a shot off Gerber's pad into Anton Volchenkov's feet and then into the net. Then Shean Donovan decided he liked the attention he got after a goal last game, so he scored again. And Big Fish Mike Fisher added a goal to make it 3-1, and the win was capped off with an empty net goal from the man himself, Alfredsson. Then he fell at centre ice, probably because Jon Bon Jovi ruined the ice with his pre-game concerts.

Of course, some honourable mentions go to Chris "the franchise" Kelly, and I want to let Volchenkov know that we don't blame him for knocking the puck into our own net. Patty Eaves had a good game, too, and he hit the post early in the game.

Look for Ray Emery to start next game against the lowly Atlanta Thrashers.

That ought to tide us over for a week...

Solid game for the Senators against the Panthers on Saturday. It was great to see that neither the previous layoff nor the upcoming layoff were so distracting as to lead to a shoddy effort. The team, although they started a little slow in the first, didn't let their upcoming trip to the Muskokas (the second one in two weeks) become a distraction.

A few notable season-firsts in this game: First goal for Shean Donovan, first points for both Brian McGrattan and Randy Robitaille, first point and then first goal for Christoph Schubert, and, of course, first win for Ray Emery.

Patrick Eaves had an outstanding game. He seems to realize that there is some serious competition, not only for ice time, but even for a roster spot. If he wants to stick around on this team, he'll have to continue this type of play to prove he's a second- or third-line player. He generated quite a few chances, played with an aggressive forecheck, and offered a dandy screen on Schubert's goal. He's also a class act; remember how he was the one Ottawa player standing guard around Dean McAmmond when Deaner was injured? Well, today, he was standing right by David Booth when he injured his neck, talking respectably to Olli Jokinen--probably about how he was reading to sick kids or old people in the hospital last night, or something.

Another player who impressed me was McGrattan. While he certainly looked a little tired in the third period--although he only played 5:16--he made stuff happen. He and his linemates, at the time Schubert and Donovan, had a great shift which ended up drawing a penalty on Ruslan Salei. A few minutes later, McGrattan sped down the wing like I've never seen him skate before, and got a decent shot on net. He threw a solid hit on Ville Peltonen, which also knocked the (terrible, terrible) referee over, which was a bonus. The best play, though, was when Grats entered the zone, dropped the puck for Schubert, and it eventually led to Donovan's goal. Great play; McGrattan obviously realizes he's got to add something to his game, and he's apparently been working on it. He wants that roster spot. I was disappointed he got little ice time in the third; does anyone else believe he might deserve more opportunities?

According to an NHL.com article I've heard about, McGrattan is trying to emulate Chris Neil in a transition from enforcer to power-forward. Well, Neiler had a strong game, too. He made all sorts of plays, including one Savardian spin-o-rama to get around the defence. I just wish he didn't have cement hands so he could score on a few of those. In 14:05 of ice time, he got 3 shots and 3 hits, to go along with an assist on Mike Fisher's goal (which opened the scoring).

As mentioned, Booth injured his neck when he was hit awkwardly by Anton Volchenkov. Although Volchie was assessed a 5-minute major and a game misconduct, I think it was merely bad luck. Booth was trying to cut in on Volchenkov, and the Soviet Hammer couldn't stop himself mid-check. I don't foresee any further discipline; Booth is apparently alright, Volchenkov has no priors, and he's known as a clean physical player. A note on Volchenkov's performance, it was very strong, as he'd recorded one hit, two blocked shots, an assist, and was +2 in only 9:22 before being ejected.

Nick Foligno was also hit into the boards awkwardly, and hurt his neck. He left on his own steam, but didn't come back into the game. The Team 1200 said he'll be fine, which is great news. I just don't understand why there was no penalty on Branislav Mezei for his hit on Foligno, while Volchenkov got 15 minutes for his hit. They looked eerily similar. For the record, it was and obvious accident, and Mezei was out of position seeing if Foligno was okay when Fisher scored only seconds after the hit.

Funny (although extremely stressful at the time) mistake by John Paddock after the Volchenkov penalty was over; because no one was serving the 5 minutes in the box, Paddock must not have noticed the penalty was over, and the Sens ended up playing short-handed for an extra 53 seconds. It was absurd... I tried getting a 'One More Player' chant going, but no one joined me. And for all my voice could muster (seriously, I've lost my voice), Paddock couldn't hear me. Finally, Daniel Alfredsson flipped the puck into the Florida bench to get a whistle, and get things organized.

Speaking of Alfredsson, he was amazing--once again. He scored the butter goal, making it 4-1. I won't write too much, because I'll be writing an entry sometime this week about Alfie. I've got to find something to write about in the week off.

Best player for Florida, aside from Tomas Vokoun: Jay Bouwmeester. He played pretty well, much better than I'd expected. I'll revoke my harsh criticism of Bouwmeester, for now, although I stand by my statement that The Hockey News' rankings were terrible.

And, in case you're wondering, Rayzor played well. When Ottawa started slow in the first, he kept them in the game; they were outshot 7-2 at one point, before pouring it on big time. He also made a solid glove-save, proving his wrist is in good shape. If not for Vokoun's 43 saves, though, this game would have been more of a blowout.

Who says you need to play 60 minutes?

The Sens got some outstanding goaltending from Martin Gerber and scored 3 goals in under a minute to defeat the New York Rangers 3-1.

One stand-out statistic for the Sens would be that Spezza and Alfredsson were -1, while Patrick Eaves, Chris Kelly, and Antoine Vermette were all +2. I guess that just describes how crazy this game was, and yet the Senators still pulled off the win.

Now that the Sens have a few days off, the hockey pundits will have time to come up with some speculative news about whether this team is somehow better than last year's, and whether Gerber can somehow reclaim the #1 spot.

Ray Emery intends to make the 'tender competition interesting after bouncing back from a disappointing loss for the 46-save performance, giving the baby Sens a 5-2 win over those tasty Hersey Bears.

Guess who's coming to town

What the hell are the Senators going to do this off-season? Sure, they made big changes upstairs, but the small ones on the ice have only kept the team roughly equal to the one from last year. The one that didn't win the Stanley Cup. And since so many teams, especially in the Eastern Conference (Philly, New York Rangers), have improved. And if Scott Niedermayer decides to return to Anaheim, the team that beat Ottawa last season has also improved. Here are a few of the remaining free agents that are rumoured to be considering Ottawa, or would be a good idea:

1. Peter Forsberg: I think he's on top of 30 'most wanted' lists across the NHL, and Ottawa's no exception. It would be great to see him playing alongside Daniel Alfredsson, but Forsberg will play where he wants--and that might mean a return to Colorado or Philadelphia.

2. Danny Markov: The Sens are stacked on defence, but if Markov wanted to play in Ottawa (and, according to http://www.hockeybuzz.com/, he might) I think John Paddock would make room for him by moving Christoph Schubert back to forward, or trading one of the six. People have been saying Joe Corvo's on the block for a while, but I'd rather keep him.

3. Mike Johnson: All off-season I've been pleading with Bryan Murray to bring in Johnson (pictured above, hitting Buffalo's Brian Campbell). Apparently he's not reading this blog enough. The bottom line is that MJ would be inexpensive, and he plays a solid style to fill out our third- or fourth-line. Albeit less effective than Mike Fisher, he plays a similar style. The more Fishers we have, the better.

4. Jeff Friesen: Maybe it's a risk, but as a fourth-line veteran who's won the Cup, it might be worth it. He wouldn't cost much. Plus there's the bonus that we're taking a Senator killer (see 2003 Eastern Conference Finals) off the market.

5. Anson Carter: An interesting option. He's pretty inconsistent, it seems, but he had a hell of a year with the Sedins. He could add a scoring dimension to Ottawa's second or third line, so that if the big line takes a night off we're not screwed.

6. Adam Hall: I don't know what to say about Haller... his effectiveness is limited, and we've got Chris Neil as a more responsible pest on our team. Still, he might be alright as a depth/fourth-line move.

7. Patrick Marleau: Marleau is still the property of San Jose, but apparently they've been shopping him around. One of the potential suitors is Ottawa, but I don't see what they'd want from Ottawa. There is cap room in San Jose, so it's possible they'd take Martin Gerber to back up Evgeni Nabokov, but then Ottawa would have no backup (aside from unproven youngsters). Other than that, there's still Corvo, and possibly Patrick Eaves (who's name has once again, for some unknown reason, been mentioned in trades). An interesting possibility, but unlikely.

The problem with this whole scenario, though, is that Murray could be waiting to give some prospects a shot to crack the lineup. Look for centre Josh Hennessy and wingers Nick Foligno and Danny Bois to push for roster spots. If they fail to impress, then count on Murray dipping into the free-agent pool to fill out the Senators' lineup.

Injuries finally catching up to the Senators?

Reports are coming out of tsn.ca that Dany Heatley may miss Friday's game against Montreal due to an ankle injury. This will seriously hurt his Drive For Five-ty. Mind-you, in the big picture, it's better that he be injured now and be prepared for the playoffs.

In more painful news, Patrick Eaves got a puck right in the ol' bag of pucks the other night against Boston. With Redden missing the last game, it seems that the Senators will have to call in at least one of their reservists. That mens that Oleg 'freakin' Saprykin will have to strap on the skates for Friday.

This has got to be Oleg's last chance to show that he's a playoff player. If he shows nothing tomorrow night then you might as well wrap him in bubble-wrap and ship him to his next team right now.

...and as much as it pains me to say this, it must be said: The Senators need Wade Redden. Ottawa has won only 6 of the 18 games that he has not played.

And I want to do a live blog for the Senators' second-last regular season game against the Pittsburgh Penguins. So if you're watching that game on Thursday, April 5th, then log on to this website and watch me (and hopefully my friends) comment in (almost) real time as the game occurs. Should be fun!