Written by Graeme Nichols | 12 January 2009

I realized three things this weekend:

1) A last second trip to Montreal when you're trying to recover from a sinus infection is a bad idea. Regardless, of how much fun you have, it's a bad, bad idea.

2) Ray Lewis scares the shit out of me. Watching him give the Ravens a pre-game speech is one of the most intense things I've ever witnessed. If I'm Eugene Melnyk, I'm paying for Ray Lewis to take hockey lessons so he can join next year's blueline corps. And I'd give him the Captaincy for the sole reason that no one would screw the pooch under his watch.

3) The Brian Elliott bandwagon has come to town and while he played well, his arrival couldn't spark any emotion or flair from a hapless Senators squad. I realize the sample size is small, but if a rookie goaltender's strong performance isn't enough to inspire the troops, then the troops need to be changed. At this point, I don't even think Jack Bauer would stop Murray from blowing this team up.

According to a Chris Stevenson article this morning, GM Bryan Murray is going to sit down with members of the organization in the next couple of days to discuss the direction of the club on and off the ice. Needing 62 out of a remaining 84 points, I think it's safe to assume that Murray's and the rest of the Senators braintrust knows which direction the team is heading in. However, in these meetings, it's critical that management identifies which players are worth holding onto for the future.

Speculation is that Gerber will be placed on waivers with an eye toward sending him to Binghamton to take Elliott's spot, but no action is likely until Murray sits down and talks with Gerber, likely today. ~ Chris Stevenson

Not surprisingly, Martin Gerber looks like he'll be the first casualty from the current roster. I can't say that I'm disappointed, from a defeatist perspective, I thought he was the Senators' ace-in-the-hole for getting a lottery pick.

Hitchcock Likes Spezza

A team that would love Spezza is Columbus. The word is Ken Hitchcock believes he can transform the struggling centre into the next Steve Yzerman. Hitchcock worked with Spezza at the world championship in Quebec City last spring. ~ Bruce Garrioch, The Ottawa Sun

Apparently Hitchcock's prepared to move up to the Big Leagues. Previously, the only transformations he's had experience with is turning sugar into fat. But seriously, the constant Spezza rumors have left me wondering whether there's something underneath the surface that we as fans don't get to see. Despite a number of his teammates underachieving greatly, it's always Spezza's whose name is most often referred to.

Fisher Fact

Another interesting tidbit from yesterday's Garrioch column is that Mike Fisher's NTC only lasts until the end of the 2009-2010 campaign. His frontloaded contract definitely won't look as bad once that clause expires.

Ottawa Smartening Up

New York Rangers defenceman (and ex-Senator) Wade Redden was booed every time he touched the puck at Scotiabank Place tonight, which was a departure from the somewhat warm reception he received his first game back. Maybe they were saying Boooo-urns?

Either way, it was about as loud as the boos the Senators heard on their last power play in the third period of another shutout loss. ~ James Gordon, Hockey Capital Blog

Maybe the rumblings have to do with fans realizing that a Redden trade at last year's deadline could (would?) have expediated any rebuilding process that the team has to go through to turn their fortunes around?

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