Written by Graeme Nichols | 30 March 2009

There's an interesting Q & A by USA Today's Kevin Allen featuring the Sens GM, Bryan Murray. In the interview, Murray addresses the team's goaltending, the Chris Campoli trade (Is it just me or is it seeming less and less likely that Mike Comrie will be coming back?), Craig Hartsburg's failure, and this interesting excerpt about the upcoming draft:

If you don't make the playoffs, this late season strong showing will actually hurt because it would put you out of the John Tavares sweepstakes. Do you think about that?

Murray: I think getting Tavares and (Viktor) Hedman would have been great because they are franchise-style players. But this little run gives the organization some credibility and the fans some hope. That's why we want to keep winning.

Does this run alter your thinking about offseason moves?

Murray: We had won about three in a row, and my head scout Pierre Dorion came back from a scouting trip and told me, "I'd better go see some different guys." So he flew over to Europe to see a guy who is later in the draft.

Did he like the player he saw?

Murray: We think there might be another defenseman who could better than Hedman. He's not as ready, but we think he could end up being better.

Who is that?

Murray (chuckling): I can't tell you.

All Things Binghamton

According to the Ottawa Sun, the Senators 2007 First Round pick, Jim O'Brien, will be joining the Baby Sens for their stretch drive. Since his Seattle Thunderbirds were eliminated from the WHL playoffs, O'Brien's inclusion will not prevent him from returning to Seattle next season as an overager.

According to the Denver Post's Mike Chambers, he puts the odds at 50/50 that Patrick Wiercioch could leave DU to join Binghamton. While Chambers has heard that Ottawa's putting pressure on Wiercioch to turn pro, this pressure could coincide with rumors from Sweden that Mattias Karlsson is having thoughts of returning home to play in the SEL. (You might want to brush up on your Swedish before clicking on that link.)

Cory Clouston Candor Pt. I

Clouston hasn't been impressed with D Chris Campoli. "He wants to impress and he's had some very good games for us and it's no different than anybody else. He was a guy who had opportunities to shoot the puck and didn't. He jumped in the rush and the reads weren't exactly the right reads." ~ Courtesy Bruce Garrioch, The Ottawa Sun

Rick Tocchet Reminisces About His Glory Days

The Tampa Bay Lightning head coach was upset with the Senators forward in the third period of Sunday's game, when he felt that Ryan Craig was submarined on a hit by Ruutu.

"Craig's had two knee operations, so I don't think that was professional," Tocchet said to reporters after the game. "I have a suit on so I can't do anything about it. I wish I didn't have a suit on."

On Monday afternoon, the Senators agitator fired back at Tocchet, saying that the head coach of a last-place club should be concerned with other things.

"If I can get the coach rattled, it's a huge compliment to me," said Ruutu. "Maybe he should pay attention to his club. There's a lot more to worry about in his organization than me." ~ Courtesy, Ian Mendes, Sportsnet

It's a bit ironic, here Tocchet is calling Ruutu unprofessional on the ice but Jarkko took the high road off the ice. In fact, Tocchet's fortunate that Ruutu wasn't a legal authority in Operation Slapshot. While Tocchet plead guilty to gambling on hockey, the biggest difference between Tocchet and Rose is that Rose was actually good enough to get tossed out of the HOF. Eat shit Rick and please don't use your Tony Soprano connections to put a hit on Ruutu.

Cory Clouston Candor Pt. II

RW Dany Heatley scored his 35th goal of the season, but there are concerns about his play. "Sometimes with a guy like (Heatley) it's a little bit of confidence. He's trying to do too much," and coach Cory Clouston said. "It goes back to the less is more sometimes. It's not from a lack of effort and it may appear that way sometimes. He's trying to do too much. He's trying to beat guys 1-on-1 when maybe it's not the right time to do it. He's not trusting his shot at times and he's not driving the net. Sometimes when you don't have the confidence and you are struggling a little bit (it happens). Instead of looking like you're working hard, you almost look like you are flat-footed at times." ~ Courtesy Bruce Garrioch, The Ottawa Sun

Oh, and Glenn Kulka Got Knocked the Fuck Out

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jrWAiKP1JyE&hl=en&fs=1]

Update: I'm not sure why the Kulka video link isn't working. But click here to watch it.

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