Written by Graeme Nichols | 01 February 2009

I'm not too sure how many people will remember this but shortly after the All-Star Game, in one of his blogs, Bruce Garrioch wrote this:

"The finish of the all-star weekend means the trade deadline is just around the corner. The Sunday column is going to be a must-read now." ~ Bruce Garrioch, Off the Posts

Well, the first Sunday is upon us so let's see what ol' Boo Boo has to say.

• Martin Havlat and Chicago are discussing an extension. Apparently Bob Gainey might be found crying if this comes to fruition since it means that Gainey will have failed to land 99% of the players that he's been interested in acquiring.
• Teams are lining up to talk to Bryan Murray about Chris Neil. The asking price is expected to be a 2nd round pick.
• Zetterberg has tremendous character and both Hossa and Franzen want to remain in Detroit.
• Vesa Toskala is on the block while the Thrashers are trying to move Colby Armstrong, Mathieu Schneider and Marty Reasoner. (Marty Fucking Reasoner!)
• Brian Gionta is available. Ditto for Alexander Frolov.
• Weight, Guerin and Comrie are available.
• Shean Donovan has attracted interest. (Sweet. I can't wait to see what kind of player Ottawa would get back with a 6th or 7th rounder.)
• More Gainey news, apparently, he's feeling the heat. I guess that Georges Laraque signing in the offseason hasn't worked out. Tough titties.
• The Flyers are interested in bringing Peter Forsberg back. (Obviously written before Forsberg addressed the Swedish media and said that he wouldn't not be returning to the NHL this season.)

Nice Bruce. Nothing makes Sens more flaccid than a vague Shean Donovan rumor. It wasn't exactly what I had in mind. Must-read journalism is more along the lines of this Ottawa Citizen piece.

Points, Points, Points, Points:

As our Ottawa Senators were embarrassed by Alexander Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals this afternoon, a quick glance at the standings shows that for Ottawa to reach the 94 point threshold, they're going to need 53 of the remaining 68 available points. In order to do so, Ottawa's going to have to win at an astounding clip of 78%. This team needs a Denis Gauthier elbow upside the head to put them out of their misery.

But hey, there is a silver lining, with yesterday's win by the Islanders, Ottawa's only 6 points of out last place and 2 points out of second last place. Layoffs = better odds for a lottery pick!

Eklund Reaffirms That Ottawa Is Fucked:

The Senators will move Vermette and talks with the Kings over Spezza are
definitely heating up. the source went on to say that..."The Senators are
selling and apparently the Hurricanes are very interested in Vermette. The Canes
have been making several buyer calls over the last few days..." ~ Eklund, Hockeybuzz

So let's check the scoreboard, after today, Vermette, Donovan, Spezza, Kuba and Neil have all generated some interest.

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