Apparently we were nominated for best hockey blog. I'd be pretty happy, if it weren't for the fact that SLC from Five For Smiting was egregiously omitted from the list of nominees.

Voting commences tomorrow, so please vote for us and vote often. (Because we value things like non-tangible Internet awards.)

Follow the link.

Also, it's too bad that Colin Jeffrey's BeLeaf website joined Bloguin recently. I'm sure he would have been a shoo-in for The Belinda Stronach Award for biggest turncoat or the Award for relying upon the use of the first person plural. Make sure you show him some love Sens fans.

Attention Readers:

I've done some minor tweaking to the website to help make it a comprehensive source of information and discussion regarding your favorite hockey team.

Here are some of the changes that I've made:

1. On the top menu, you will notice that there's a new Menu heading called Stats, Standings and Roster -- From this menu, you can click and access Ottawa and Binghamton's statistics, roster and standings without having to leave The 6th Sens website.
   
2. Under the About menu heading, I've posted a link to our Twitter account and have moved our Email Us link to its own top menu heading.
3. By using the Email Us link, you'll be able to use our website to email us directly without having to go to manually open your personal email. I can't stress enough that I'm trying to build a good forum for discussion here, so I can't encourage you guys enough to email me with your thoughts, suggestions, ideas, opinions, trade scenarios, anti-Leaf sentiments, whatever. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and I can make a mailbag feature a weekly/bi-weekly event to look forward to.
   
4. I've moved the Search function to the right-hand side of the website. The feature is self-explanatory, if you want to search the site's history or comments for a term/player, just type that term into the text box and click enter.
   
5. I've made some recent additions to the The 6th Sens website directory on the right-hand side of the page. Apparently, I've maxed out the number of Senators websites that I can list. In other words, if you want your site listed in the future, you'll have to meet some criteria (talent, frequently updated, etc.). If you can prove that, I may have to bump someone else from the list via some friendly competition.
6. In regards to the comments after pieces, I've noticed that people aren't responding as frequently as they used to at our old website. Anyways, to clarify matters -- You do not need to register at Bloguin to leave a comment. You can still leave anonymous comments that protect your identity, so have at it.

Also, if you have any suggestions, concerns or suggestions, please don't hesistate to fire us an email.

Thanks.

When Steven Stamkos was drafted first overall by the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2008, he had the weight of the organization on his shoulders. Even though he was drafted by Tampa, everything that he did following the draft was under the microscope. Not only had the Lightning centered a marketing campaign around the young forward, he made the team's roster out of training camp and because he was the number one pick, he was expected to contribute immediately. When he didn't, pundits like Pierre Maguire were quick to shit on the Lightning organization and describe their concern for how his situation could stunt his development. He should be returned to junior so that he can play at the World Juniors. And no, just because TSN owns the broadcast rights do I have any selfish reasons for wanting to see him there.

Of course it didn't help matters that the Tampa organization was in a bit of a clusterfuck. Quarrelling owners, Barry Melrose brought his mullet back behind the bench, only to be fired just 16 games into the season. For hockey fans, watching these events unfold were like watching that Rob Scuderi hit on Jason Chimera. It was ugly, but it was just something that you couldn't take your eyes off of.

So when Melrose was fired, assistant coach, Rick Tocchet was given the reigns. One of the first things that he did was change the way the organization had handled Steven Stamkos' development. Instead of playing in back-to-back games, Tocchet would make Stamkos a healthy scratch for the second game and encourage the 18-year old to do two things: One, work on his strength and conditioning in the gym; And two, to study and take notes from the pressbox so that he could learn the NHL game.

"At times I definitely saw myself being pushed around or not winning as many battles that I'd like to win," Stamkos said. "It's a big difference coming from junior (and) playing against men now. It's a big adjustment, but in the second half I worked with our strength and conditioning coach. We got a program going and I got stronger and faster.

"Sometimes I have to realize that I'm still young and still growing into my body and I still have years in front of me. You don't want to go too fast. It's a gradual process, but I needed to get stronger to play in this League." ~ Steven Stamkos, via NHL.com

It seems like a pretty straightforward formula -- Time at Gym = Increased Strength = Increased Confidence = An Edge That Professional Athletes Need

"The work paid off. In junior you could get by on your skill, but here there are so many skill players and you have to have a combination of things to be a successful player. You don't realize that coming in, but I definitely realize that now."

The similarities between Karlsson and Stamkos are striking. Both were criticized for their size and strength and defensive shortcomings and...

...as I write this, Erik Karlsson has just been sent to Binghamton of the AHL. Not that surprising really. Even though I felt that Karlsson had outplayed Campoli, his contract situation and the return of Filip Kuba from injury means that moving him to Bingo is an easier move for the organization at this time. Conversely, it also reflects the organization's belief that at some point this season, Karlsson's going to be able to help the Big Club, otherwise they wouldn't burn a year off of his entry-level contract. (Editor's note: As a commenter named Josh alluded to, this isn't true. Because of Karlsson's status as a junior aged European, a year on his entry-level deal will not be burnt if he plays professionally with Bingo. Provided he doesn't play in 10 games with his parent club, everything's fine. Nikita Filatov's a perfect example of this. Even though he played 39 games in the AHL last year, his 3-year entry-level deal is still in its infancy.)

Hopefully, Karlsson can get an increased workload and adapt to the North American style.

Hit me up with your thoughts in the comment thread.

Give me your opinion of the Erik Karlsson situation.

To have your opinion published here on The 6th Sens, use the contact form found under the About menu heading or just email us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Get them in quick.

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I purged these from Ken Campbell's piece over at The Hockey News. Here are two pieces of information that are interesting..

On Alexander Daigle: “What a beauty, that guy. He had all the tools, but no tool box to go with it. Dumb as a post – he didn’t get it.”

On former Rangers coach John Muckler: “I don’t know how guys like him keep getting jobs over and over again.”

Photo from the Ottawa Citizen

It's causing a bit of buzz right now, so I figured I'd draw attention to it: Erik Karlsson and Peter Regin did not attend practice today. Brent Wallace from TSN just tweeted that they are sick, which is almost certainly true. However, a lot of fans looking at the schedule have realized that this is quite convenient timing, so I'll explain why.

Speculation is running rampant with Karlsson missing practice because he has now played 9 games. If he is sent down to Binghamton or back to Sweden, then this year does not count as a year on his entry-level contract. Therefore, sending Karlsson down makes very good cap management sense for the Ottawa Senators, because it means that they could have a better Erik Karlsson next year (and the two years following) for the same price he's at currently. ~ Darren M., Silver Seven Sens

I did some digging around and found out that Don Brennan was discussing Karlsson on OTP. Here's what he had to say...

Have to admit, after Saturday's game against Boston I thought the Senators would be keeping Erik Karlsson around.
Now I don't.
Nobody has said anything, no decision will be announced until Tuesday or Wednesday, probably. But just by the way coach Cory Clouston was talking after practice this morning, I think they're going to ask their prized teenage prospect to go back to Sweden for another year of development.
They'd prefer to put Karlsson in Binghamton. Get him used to the North American lifestyle, the rink sizes and such. But by doing so, it would count as a year on his contract. I think they'd rather have that year when he was 22 rather than 19.
Karlsson has been the team's fifth or sixth best defenceman (depending on your thoughts about Chris Campoli) since Filip Kuba has been out. With Kuba almost ready to return, something has to give.
I'm betting Karlsson is heading back to Sweden and the Senators go to Brian Lee, who's playing in Binghamton, when they need another defenceman.

As Darren mentioned, it's convenient timing. Convenient timing indeed. But maybe not for the reasons outlined by the likes of Darren and Brennan.

If you had not noticed, the city of Ottawa is in a bit of a lull. The Senators hasn't played since Saturday night and their next game is on Wednesday. News has been sparse, although this has provided perfect timing for that 42-year old, Hep-C ridden, rock star porking Baywatch skank to get some headlines with some promotional work in the Byward Market.

Part of the problem has been that Cory Clouston compounded the problem by giving his players the day off following Saturday night's loss to the Bruins. Without the media providing a lifeline to what's going on, fans are starving for any kind of information -- be it line combinations, mundane player quotes, or which players are displaying flu-like symptoms.

Are fans reading too much into Karlsson's absence? Possibly.

And why would I think that? Because that's what Bryan Murray said.

"Whether he's here for every game or whatever this year, I don't know that, but 10 games won't be the trigger point. 10 games is not going to be the measure of Erik Karlsson."

Okay, so even if Karlsson does get sent back to the SEL, Bryan Murray technically wasn't lying -- 10 games wasn't the trigger point. Nine was/is/could be?

But in the meantime, couldn't we just analyse and dwell on the other shit that's going on? Or is it already tiresome to discuss Spezza and Cheechoo's inability to score? Or maybe it's boring to synonymously use the word enigma when referencing Kovalev's play? Or maybe fans feel content to just let Bruce Garrioch discuss the negative aspects of the season thus far.

Brian Campbell to Ottawa?

I was kind of shocked to see his name today in my emails and texts from sources. I will add some more possible destinations shortly, but the one aspect of all these sources that seems to be converging is that the Blackhawks are up to something bigger and trying to land a big-time scorer.

I am told that it is a pending UFA, so we may be talking about Savard or Frolov...however, Campbell is not the direct trade...he would go some place else...

As I am writing this, the first two possible teams that came through were Ottawa and the Islanders...

I am off to return some calls.

Word to the wise. If you get the swine flu, don't rush yourself back to normalcy. I am paying for that.

more to come . ~ Eklund

All I'm getting out of this is that Eklund has swine flu. (E5) The rest of it however, doesn't make any sense. Why would Bryan Murray ruin his team's depth and payroll structure to take on Brian Campbell?

Eugene Melnyk Launches Fundraising Initiative For Alpine Canada

The plan offers 3,000 special Alpine Canada memberships available via the website win2010.ca at a price of $100, which includes a two-year subscription to SRC (Ski Racing Canada) Magazine.

Members are also eligible to win one of over 700 prizes with a total value of more than $250,000, highlighted by an all-inclusive trip to the 2010 Vancouver Olympics.

Melnyk, the Canadian businessman and Ottawa Senators owner, bought the first 300 memberships for his family and friends.

All proceeds go directly to fund costs of national ski team athletes competing in Vancouver. ~ CTV Olympics

 

Last night was one of those games that you could spend hours micro-analysing and still not come away with a distinct conclusion as to what you had just witnessed. After two mediocre periods of nothingness, Ottawa overcame three deficits of 3-0, 4-3 and 5-4. The latter erased by a Chris Phillips goal that came with only 1.6 seconds left on the clock. The elation and disbelief that accompanied The Big Rig's tally was remarkable. I couldn't believe that the Senators had sent the game to overtime after Gary "fucking" Suter's kid nephew had scored at the 19th minute mark of the third. (An aside, I refer him as Gary "fucking" Suter because of that dirty, vicious cross-check that he laid on Paul Kariya. Not only did it hurt Canada's Olympic gold chance, I've always felt that between that and the Stevens hit, Kariya's never been the same.)

So when Shea Weber scored a powerplay marker with Matt Carkner in the box, my high disappeared faster than a Theo Fleury cocaine hit. (Sans helicopter ride to Atlantic City for some gambling at a Trump Casino. But you get the point.) Instead of being happy that the Senators came out of the game with a point, I am mind-numbingly headfucked that they didn't steal two from a beleaguered Nashville team that featured the horrendous goaltending of Pekka Rinne. Who consequently, did nothing to disprove the sophomore slump. Need an indictment of his play? I was actually confident that Ottawa could victimize the guy in a shootout.

Carkner/Picard

Not strong performance by either of these two last night. It's easy to shit on Picard because of his egregious mental and physical errors and the fact that he was benched for the third period, but why are some shitting on Carkner? It's not like he was the beneficiary of Picard's play in the first period. (An aside, if Picard was given credit for the goal and assist that he gave Nashville, his numbers wouldn't be that bad.)

Powerplay

Much has been made of the Senators early season powerplay woes and it was nice to see Chris Campoli chip in with a goal last night. It was a rare incidence of seeing the defence just blast a shot from the point with the other team guarding Spezza's patented backdoor/cross-ice pass.

Too often I find that Ottawa's defencemen are willing to throw the puck up front and let the skilled forwards work their magic and creativity down low. Right now, Ottawa's powerplay runs like a NBA offence. It's all about giving the stars as many touches as possible to keep them satisfied. Unfortunately, I think Erik Karlsson's suffers a bit from this. Whether it's confidence, an inclination, or pressure to feed the puck to Ottawa's elite guys, Karlsson's not shooting the puck as often as I'd like to see. Even though last night's game was a bit of a clusterfuck, one of the few things that I appreciated in Nashville's game was the fact that their defence loves to shoot and can hit the net with consistency.

Eklund Has Swine Flu (E5)

According to his Twitter, the hockey rumo(u)r blogger is battling the flu. It's tough to believe him though. I mean, I checked TSN and neither Dreger or Bobby-Mac had broken the news first. Get well soon Ek.

Winchester to the AHL

As I had speculated, Cory Clouston announced at practice today that the Senators have optioned Jesse Winchester to Binghamton for a 2-week conditioning stint and will play tonight against the Syracuse Crunch. If you're a big believer that a trade is imminent, this 2-week period should serve as a window of opportunity for Bryan Murray to make a move and address the team's abundance of depth.

"For the simple fact that these reputation things just came out in the last three months," Heatley said. "I played seven years in the League and my reputation has always been good, I thought, with my teammates and everyone I played against. It's humorous that in three months, because of some people in Ottawa, all of a sudden your reputation takes a hit. So, no, I'm not concerned about it. I've said it before; everybody I have played with would say I'm a good teammate." ~ Dany Heatley via NHL.com

SunDoniB just noticed that 8 Sharks got more ice time tonight than Heatley, who had 0 shots on goal and was a minus-3. he can't be happy. #nhl#sens

No correlation here. Just coincidence. Honest.

Another gameday means another prediction as part of the Ottawa Citizen's panel. Here's what I had to say...

Senators 4, Predators 2

"If it bleeds, we can kill it." ~ Dutch (Arnold Schwarzenegger's character from the movie Predator)

It's tough to pick against the Senators when the Predators organization is bleeding profusely.

Heading into action last night's action against the Bruins, the Preds owned a 2-4-1 record -- Good for second worst record in the Western Conference. Combine an underachieving roster with some average goaltending and it's a recipe for disaster. Even Sens fans who are concerned with Erik Karlsson's defensive shortcomings, can appreciate the fact that he doesn't share Hamhuis or Klein's plus/minus of -7. Have I even mentioned that Jason Arnott has a significant arm injury that will keep him out of action?

To read the rest of the panel's predictions, click here.

 

photo from http://www.mrbiggs.com/illustration/illustrations/shredderman_nicknames_L.jpg

Here's what I'm liking thus far and I'll list the few. Let me know what you think...

• Milan Michalek -- M&M; With a fanclub called Michalek's Anonymous
• Jason  Spezza -- Imprezza; Spez Dispenser
• Jonathan "Machu" Cheechoo -- a play on the Peruvian tourist attraction
• Alexei Kovalev -- L' Enigma or the traditional AK27
• Mike "I Never Thought Carrie" Fisher "Was That Hot"
• Daniel Alfredsson -- Landlord; Alfie;
• Nick "Roots" Foligno -- Always pays respect to them...
• Peter Regin -- Marmaduke; Great Dane;
• Ryan Shannon -- The Runaway (in homage to Del Shannon)
• Jarkko Ruutu -- Fingers; Darko; Sharkko; R2;
• Chris Kelly -- Pedro for his resemblance to that character in Napoleon Dynamite
• Chris Neil -- Ginger; Dumb Penalty Face
• Shean Donovan -- Sloth for his resemblance to Sloth from the Goonies
• Matt Carkner -- Big Easy; The Shark; Steve Perry; MC Hammer
• Erik Karlsson -- The Tenant
• Brian Lee -- "Don't Hold Marc Staal Against Me"
• Chris Phillips -- The Big Rig
• Anton Volchenkov -- A-Train
• Chris Campoli -- Worth a 1st
• Alexandre Picard -- Jean Luc
• Filip Kuba -- Fidel; or "Where's the Uterus?"
• Pascal Leclaire -- sPaz; or his traditional Snoopy
• Brian Elliott -- The B Keeper