Putting the screws to Boston

Normally, I wouldn't even bother mentioning an expert's poll, but it's the long weekend and apparently there's not a lot of news out there. So here it is: If you hadn't heard, everyone's favorite barometer for analysing their hockey team has ranked the Ottawa Senators 24th in their preseason preview. I've posted the original article by TSN below and in a break from the norm, I'll post my comments in italic font.

OTTAWA SENATORS

2008-09: 36-35-11 (11th in the East – Out of Playoffs)
General Manager: Bryan Murray (3rd Season)
Head Coach: Cory Clouston (2nd Season)

Ok. Maybe it's been awhile but did Ottawa actually finish with an above .500 record? Maybe in his second year behind the bench, Clouston can turn water into wine.

What They Did In The Off-season:

In the Senators' case, it might be more apt to call this, "What They Did Not Do In The Off-season," because everything surrounding the Sens revolves around the team's inability to trade disgruntled sniper Dany Heatley. While the team was able to sign the enigmatic Alex Kovalev and re-sign both Chris Neil and Brian Elliott, Ottawa will be unable to truly move forward until Heatley is shipped out of town.

What they did not do in the off-season. Hilarious. I hope TSN paid Jay Onrait well for contributing eight words of intended humour to this piece. Okay, I rescind that comment since instead of penning "massively overpaid to retain Chris Neil" TSN just wrote re-sign. Much appreciated fellas. Now if only we could truly move forward...

GM Bryan Murray thought he found a suitor in the Edmonton Oilers, but Heatley scrapped the deal despite the Oilers' attempts to woo the two-time 50 goal scorer.  Rumoured three-way deals involving the Sharks, Canadiens and Wild never materialized and Heatley will likely be forced to report to camp - run by Clouston, the very coach that Heatley publicly criticized.  Should this transpire it will be a very interesting season in the nation's capital.

When is it never an interesting season in the nation's capital? Even though the team has been mediocre for a couple years, there's been a disproportionate amount of drama following this team. For the last two seasons, being a Sens fan was akin to following an afternoon soap opera. What? Ray Emery threw Christoph Schubert off the Champlain Bridge? Tune in tomorrow for more Days of Our Senators. Seriously though...much of the drama stems from what the media sensationally blows out of proportion and it's no wonder why other fans hate us. They view us as an extension of the local media.

Biggest Issue Facing The Team:

Until the situation is resolved, the Heatley non-trade is going to hang over the team like a dark cloud.  Even if he does show up at training camp, what type of mood will he be in?  How will his teammates deal with a player who has acted as though his concerns are more important than those of the team?  And perhaps most importantly, how will Clouston deal professionally with a player who has already undermined his authority and questioned his abilities as a head coach?

That's a great gift idea for the Senators store -- A Dany Heatley mood ring. Purple means you dislike your employer.

When Heatley returns to camp next weekend, the players will accept him back with the caveat that he has to produce. If he can't produce, it'll only be a matter of time before players begin to resent his presence as their repeatedly asked by reporters how they feel about the situation. And who's TSN kidding, Clouston will deal with him professionally by justifiably giving Dany a diminished role. Or he could give him a larger role in hopes of raising his trade value and consequently lose all credibility with the rest of the team. Talk about a potential conflict of interest if Dany doesn't play well.

Make no mistake about it - the franchise realizes how valuable an asset that a perennial All-Star like Heatley is. That being said, you can excuse them for not panicking and making a move that will return them nickels-on-the dollar for their investment. While it's unlikely that they will be able to acquire a player as talented as Heatley, the team sees this as an opportunity to jump start the rebuilding process and wants to make sure they get it right.

Jumpstart the rebuilding process? Someone should alert Bryan Murray. If this team was really convinced that they needed a rebuild, they never would have flipped a late 1st round pick for Chris Campoli and Mike "Give Me Money And I'll Play Anywhere, Even Edmonton" Comrie.

The Senators do have one factor working in their favour - Heatley will likely be motivated to perform this season to ensure himself a spot on the Canadian Olympic team.  "The Heater" has been one of Canada's top players at the International level for the last five years and saves some of his best performances for the world stage. 

Competition for a spot on Canada's very exclusive roster will be fierce and Heatley cannot afford to miss any time or sulk through the first month. Otherwise, he'll be doing what so many others will come February – watch the Olympic hockey tournament from the comfort of his couch.

Exactly. Why would Heatley give a fuck about what happens in Ottawa? All he cares about is wearing the Leaf on the front of his jersey. Enjoy watching Dany Heatley play himself off of this team for the next little while Sens fans.

Player to watch:

The Senators made possibly their most important pick-up at the trade deadline last season when they brought in Pascal Leclaire with the hope that he would take over the No. 1 netminder's spot this season.

In a town that eats starting goaltenders alive, Leclaire is seen in some circles as a potential savior. It might be a lot to ask of a player who has a grand total of one season in the NHL as an unquestioned starter under his belt. Granted, in that one year (2007-08) Leclaire was excellent on a sub-par Blue Jackets team that saw him post All-Star type numbers that included nine shutouts, a 2.25 goals against average to go along with a .919 save percentage.

Ottawa's not a town that eats starting goaltenders alive. It's a city that's notorious for bringing in goaltenders on the cheap. Lalime, Tugnutt, Rhodes and even Hasek were all brought in earning pennies. Consider the turnover and mediocre results as a necessary correlation for not spending the bucks to bring in a legitimate number one.

The problem is that Leclaire has a difficult time remaining healthy. Losing 48 man-games to an ankle injury last season is one thing, but Leclaire is constantly harassed by smaller, niggling injuries that sideline him just long enough to make consistency a real issue.  If the Sens are to be without Heatley's scoring punch, they will be more dependent than ever on goaltending to keep them in games. A lack of consistency in this department will doom them to another disappointing season, something that fans in Ottawa can certainly do without.

Ouch. I'm reeling after this humbling exercise in informing of us how shitty our goaltending situation has been and could possibly be this year. Wait...we still have the golden boy, Brian Elliott right?

This Just In

According to the Ottawa Sun, Dany Heatley has bought a plane ticket to Ottawa. Awesome, expect Off the Posts blog updates to describe other menial garbage like Dany's bowel movements. To borrow a phrase from Alex Rios, "Who Gives a Fuck?"

“It would be the best scenario for everybody, but if it was that easy then something would have already been done." ~ Daniel Alfredsson

Wow Dany, I guess you really should have returned Daniel's call in the offseason. Maybe someone should alert JP Barry and Stacy McAlpine to check on Dany and see if he's gotten up off of the canvas after the Captain laid down this barb.

Even though Alfie says it's not a big deal that he never had a conversation with Heatley in the offseason, today's media scrum with Alfie was anything but a glowing endorsement for Dany.

Let the fellation of words for Alfie's leadership commence...

...now.

Go Blue!

No, I'm not as excited for tomorrow's Michigan versus Western Michigan NCAAF game. Instead, I'm noticing Bryan Murray's intrigue in acquiring a number of Wolverines. First it was the drafting of Louie Caporusso, then it was the rumored Heatley for Jack Johnson trade scenarios, then it was the vetoed acquisition of Andrew Cogliano. Well, add another to the list as today, Murray acquired Jason Bailey from the Anaheim Ducks for Shawn Weller.

Besides being a Wolverine, Bailey also joins the likes of Randy Robitaille, Shean Donovan, Alexandre Picard and Corey Cowick as local products who've been acquired by Bryan Murray. That's quite the elite group, no?

Rookie Tournament

Hat tips to Peter from Silver Seven Sens and to RTWAP of the Ottawa Prospector for posting the Senators roster for the rookie tournament. Since it's Friday night, I've decided to purge the information straight from the Prospector's site. (Great job with the text formatting RTWAP. It's so organized.)

Here's the roster:

Goaltenders:
Shane Connelly (Wisconsin - WCHA)
Robin Lehner (Frolunda Jr. - Sweden)

Defencemen:
Paul Baier (Portland - AHL)
Collin Bowman (Kelowna - WHL)
Erik Karlsson (Frolunda HC, Boras HC - Sweden)
Geoff Kinrade (Michigan Tech - WCHA, Norfolk - AHL, Tampa Bay - NHL)
Mat Robinson (Las Vegas - ECHL, Alaska-Anchorage - WCHA)
Craig Schira (Vancouver - WHL)
Kyle Wharton (Johnstown - ECHL, Syracuse - AHL)

Forwards:
Jason Bailey (Bakersfiled - ECHL)
Erik Condra (Notre Dame - CCHA)
Keegan Dansereau (Swift Current - WHL)
Kaspars Daugavins (Binghamton - AHL, Mississauga - OHL)
Jordan Hale (Brandon - WHL)
Michael Hoffman (Drummondville - QMJHL)
Casey Lee (U. of Saskatchewan - CWUAA)
Matt Lowry (Brandon - WHL)
Jim O’Brien (Seattle - WHL, Binghamton - AHL)
Brett Parnham (Oshawa - OHL, Rochester - AHL)
Peter Regin (Binghamton - AHL, Ottawa - NHL)
Zack Smith (Binghamton - AHL, Ottawa - NHL)
Brandon Svendsen (Idaho - ECHL, Bowling Green - CCHA)

While many fans will be drawn to the recognizable names like Karlsson, O'Brien, Smith, Lehner and Regin, I'm looking forward to hearing about Erik Condra and Michael Hoffman. Oh, and if you're wondering where prospects like Patrick Wiercioch and Louie Caporusso are, don't fret. They're unavailable to play because of NCAA stipulations that would rob them of their collegiate eligibility had they participated in this tournament.

Another day, another barb from Eugene Melnyk criticizing Jim Balsillie. Welcome to the new Battle of Ontario, where one billionaire rips on another in an effort to stay relevant and grab headlines. It's just depressing that since 2004, the Battle of Ontario has faded more than Justin Pogge's worth. What was once a fierce and bitter rivalry has been reduced to catatonic levels. (Think the sixth season of the tv show 24.) It's not that I've lost interest in the two teams, it's just that the spark's no longer there. It says something when a Martin Gerber start against the Senators can't pique my interest.

Obviously there are a myriad of reasons for this turn of events. For starters, you can blame the NHL. Instead of letting rivalries develop through playoff matchups or on-ice incidents,the League opted to take the initiative and oversaturate division matchups by forcing inter-division rivals to face each other eight times a year. (Note: This scheduling problem has since been remedied.)

You can also blame the lack of bad blood between the two teams. Since their last playoff victory, the Leafs have purged their roster of the veterans that personified our hate. Darcy Tucker? Gone. Mats Sundin? Gone. Tie Domi? Gone. Mark Bell? Gone. Bryan McCabe? Gone. Gary Roberts? Gone. (Even that first round victory over Roberts' Penguins in '07 rang a little hollow.)

As the salary cap era has fostered significant roster turnover, Daniel Alfredsson has essentially become the only activeplayer who's unequivocally loathed by the other team's fanbase. And it fucking sucks. I didn't realize how much I missed hating the Maple Leafs until I saw this commercial on CBC advertising their new fall program Battle of the Blades.

Did Belinda Stronach walk by the set when Tie's vignette was being taped? Why the fuck is he puffing his chest out like that? Ah, maybe he's trying to fit in with the new Leafs mantra of toughness?

Thanks for rekindling my hate Tie. I appreciate it.

Crown His Ass

I was thinking, is there a more obvious early dark horse candidate for the Jack Adams Trophy than Cory Clouston? I mean really, assuming Heatley comes back and the team somehow manages to return to the playoffs, what other coach has a team with more adversity or uncertainty facing it than Clouston?

I almost feel like a bad person for deriving pleasure from the fact that Jason Smith formally announced his retirement today. When my favorite memory of a player is the penalty killing and shot blocking skills that he displayed in a lackluster 1-0 loss to the Los Angeles Kings, it's pretty telling. Besides, I shouldn't feel too bad. The organization has already given the man some perks. Just last year he received two gifts from the organization -- his $5.2M, 2-year contract and a painting from a local artist that commemorated his 1000th game and celebrated a lengthy career. Smith retired after 15 seasons, 1008 games and having his name be mentioned synonymously with words like: warrior, grizzled, veteran, leader, grit, and Gator.

Brought in as a seasoned veteran who was renowned for his leadership and for playing a game tailored for the postseason. When he signed in Ottawa, I thought the organization overpaid for his services. However, I could kind of understand the reasoning to bring in Smith as a stabilizing presence for a dressing room that was regularly questioned by pundits during the Ray Emery era. Unfortunately for Sens fans, we never got to see Smith shine during the playoffs. As the Senators stumbled through the campaign, Smith's season was prematurely ended when he injured his knee.

Smith said that he wasn't forced out the door and I tend to believe him. With his bum knee and contract, I think Smith came to the realization that even if he came back, he faced the likelihood of being waived or eventually winding up in Binghamton. Besides, the writing has been on the wall or in quotes in the local rags. Since late last season, the organization has been fellating Erik Karlsson with verbal love and now the organization has no qualms in sliding Karlsson into one of the 5th or 6th defensive slots.

With Smith's retirement, the Senators are now approximately $1.47M under the salary cap. Even with that room, there's no one significant on the open market who could help on the blueline. So assuming that Dany Heatley isn't dealt for defensive help before camp, the Senators will have Karlsson, Christoph Schubert, Brian Lee and Alexandre Picard battling for the last two spots. Considering that Schubert's never really proven himself to be a favorite of Murray and Lee has played some significant minutes in the past two seasons, the last spot really comes down to Picard versus Karlsson.

Frankly, I think Karlsson has to make the team for Bryan Murray's sake.

Whether it's fair or not, Murray's tenure has been highlighted by some shrewd moves, some controversial signings and a losing record. Short-sighted fans will blame Murray for the team's fall from grace, the one thing that many can agree upon is the strength of Murray's drafting. If the team doesn't perform at a competitive level, the ability to watch the Crown Jewel of Murray's tenure might be the only saving grace that he'll have.

Leclaire's New Mask:

I was searching the Senators webosphere ce soir and came across some images of Pascal Leclaire's mask over at The Universal Cynic. Check them out.

After that quasi-press conference / fan therapy session the other day, there's some genuine concern amongst Sens fans. If Bryan Murray can't receive an equitable return for Dany Heatley, how's Dany supposed to return  and manage be productive in lieu of the circumstances? How can he can he reasonably be expected to repair and mend his relationships when the fans and media who are calling for his head?

Here's step one for how Dany can reintegrate himself into the dressing room:

And when he's not making pottery with Clouston (Come on Cory, loosen up!), he can be found on the beach playing volleyball with Don Brennan - Goose and Maverick style! High-five!

You have to give the Sens brass credit, if I was trapped on video for an hour fielding calls from season's ticket holders, I'd have a difficult time refraining from rolling my eyes or stifling a laugh.Rarely under these circumstances do callers flatter the organization with verbal fellatio. Instead, they allow for ticket holders to voice their concerns or to demonstrate their hockey IQ by proposing trades or free agents signings that would have been ideal.

Here were the highlights of today's event (and as is the norm, my comments will be in bold.)

- Some fan was disappointed with the location of SBP. They were also irked by the amount of time it takes to leave the parking lot. Yawn. Redundancy. People have been complaining about the location for years. If you really need to know why the site is where it is, please read this article by Bruce Firestone explaining the logistics behind the decision. That being said, I've never really understood the way the parking lot was designed. For instance, why are the roads that feed into the arena so close to the building? If the lots had been designed with the roads on the perimeter, fans wouldn't have had to cross these streets and perhaps the process would be more fluid. But if you really hate sitting idle in the parking lot listening to retarded fans call into the post-game show, head into either of Bert's Bar or Frank Finnigan's and have a beer and reminisce about how Ottawa blew their opportunity for a Cup when they lost to the Devils in Game of the Eastern Conference. By the time you're done cursing one of Havlat, Rachunek or Redden, the parking lot traffic will have subsided.

- Another fan voiced his concern with Ottawa's salary cap situation and how decent players have been signed at an affordable rate.The fan really thought that Travis Moen would have been an ideal compliment to Chris Neil. Because Ottawa's depth chart isn't filled up enough with third or fourth line players. Besides, he's too affordable. Remember, this is an organization that overpays to bring in character role-players.

- Bryan Murray apparently is also contemplating instituting a self-imposed deadline for moving Dany Heatley. The reasoning behind the decision is that he wants to give fans and his coaching staff some finality to the assembled roster so that the organization can move forward. There may be some truth to these words, but I don't think there's any question that Murray's posturing here to encourage the other 29 GMs around the League to pony up their offers.

- Eugene Melnyk addressed the media afterwards. Interestingly, he alluded to how the Heatley situation has really handcuffed the organization from making some other moves. In the following Youtube clip, he discusses how the Sens missed out on an opportunity to move up at the Draft. With the Murray gag order in effect, this is a rare instance into some credible trade information. (E5) (H/t to James Gordon at Hockey Capital for the video link.)

 - According to the Sun, Bryan Murray also left the decision of removing Heatley's Assistant Captaincy to Cory Clouston. He did however say, “To me leadership is the people who wear the ‘A’. And I would suggest probably Cory and Dany would mutually agree that this hasn’t been the case so far.” Amazingly, this Sun article also uses the words drop dead and Heatley in their headline. Coincidence? I think not.

"Do I want to bring in a Dany Heatley with all that baggage? It might work. But I don't think we're in a position where we can afford that. ... Maybe a change of environment and he grows up. But my point is, do we need to take that risk right now? It scares me.

If your core is established and they've proven they can win, it's different. I think you can take that swing. I don't think we're in that position yet. Because if we're wrong, [Anze] Kopitar and [Dustin] Brown and [Drew] Doughty and these guys lose control. He becomes the room and then you have a huge problem. And he's not going to be controlled by them. That leadership group is not strong enough yet to deal with a guy who can change your team. I'm not saying those kids can't do it. It's still in the formative stages. I don't need to put that burden on them.They've still got to perform and go to another level." ~ The Cowardly Lion from The Wizard of Oz -- LA Times

Actually, the above quote should be accredited to the gun shy LA Kings General Manager, Dean Lombardi -- Who made this comment when asked about the prospect of acquiring Dany Heatley. Now, I can understand that the Kings brain trust have done their due diligence regarding Heatley's past. Ron Hextall's already gone on record saying that the Kings organization has beliefs that Heatley's had problems with a number of coaches dating back to his Atlanta Thrashers days.

"Look at this player's past. I'm going to spell it out as nicely as I can. He was in Atlanta, had an unfortunate (automobile) accident there and asked to be traded. OK, given the circumstances -- there was a young man killed -- I can live with that.

"He goes to Ottawa. He's on a pretty good team. They go to the finals. He signs a big contract. Bang. All of a sudden now he's got to be traded again. 'Not only do I have to be traded, I have a no-trade clause. I want to pick where I'm going to go.' Well, there are some issues there.

"He had his problems with his coach in Atlanta. My understanding is that he had problems with Craig Hartsburg at the start of last year in Ottawa. And he had problems with Cory Clouston.

Three coaches he's had a problem with. That raises huge red flags for us."

Okay. I get it. There's some inherent risk bringing in Heatley into the current dressing room. Especially with a young group of prospects who've accomplished sweet fuck all. Why bring in a player whose maturity has been questioned when you're waiting for your own core to mature and develop?

Instead, Lombardi and co. are completely willing to bring in an older, less productive but equally as expensive winger in Ryan Smyth.

Which makes recent comments by former King, Ray Ferraro, all the more interesting:

"First of all, not only have I been in the (dressing) room, I’ve roomed with Dany. I know him really well and the people that are talking that he’s toxic don’t know (expletive)! They don’t know anything about him"

It seemed to open up a can of worms for Ferraro. "There’s all kinds of rumors about Dany off the ice." He thought about his words carefully. "Everybody does whatever research they do but I’ve known Dany for over ten years now. He had to mature. Absolutely he did and he’d be the first guy to tell you that he had to mature."

Whether Ferraro was protecting an old friend or genuinely sticking up for him, he weighed in on what went wrong. "He had a terrible year last year because he wasn’t in shape. He signed a 50 million dollar contract in the summer and he kind of went on the “Summer of Dany” I called it. He had a lot of fun and he was going to ballgames and he was a half a step out of shape when he got to camp and so he had a terrible year." ~ courtesy Matthew Barry, Hockeybuzz

If this isn't the single best quote from the summer, I don't know what is. Dany Heatley's not toxic, he was just fat. Last year's problems had nothing to do with coaching, they had to do with a high caloric intake. Tits!

Seriously though, what are the odds that Dany Heatley becomes a disruptive presence in his next team's dressing room following this shitstorm of an offseason? Frankly, I'd think they're significantly less than the odds that Ryan Smyth, a 33 year old with a lot of mileage, will regress from his perennial 60-point form and become nothing more than an overpaid role-model.

So don't be passive Lombardi. Like the cowardly lion, you don't need to look for courage. You have the wherewithal and resources to make a deal that can help you and Ottawa. Please, just do everyone a favour and make Murray an offer. Or inherit the risk of watching Heatley suit up and torch you as a member of the San Jose Sharks.

Lately in Ottawa there's been this heightened sense of angst regarding Dany Heatley. Since his press conference, I've noticed a trend that fans are perhaps taking the Heatley news just a little too personally. Perhaps the biggest proprietor of this sensationalist movement is a fucking Bruins fan that masquerades as a beat writer for the Ottawa Sun. Yes, it is the great Don Brennan who is vehemently demanding that Dany be stripped of his assistant captaincy. And like a bunch of Film Actors Guild members from the movie Team America World Police, some Sens fans are listening to him like he's Alec Baldwin and are banging their fists on the table while yelling "Rabble, rabble, rabble" in unison.

It's the latest turn of events -- fans bitching and moaning about the fact that the organization hasn't removed his letter. Can we not just have a little bit of faith in the organization's management and coaching staff to do the right thing here? Or is all that good will that Cory Clouston built up at the end of last season already gone? The man obviously deserves some credit. Anyone who wants to have an eye-to-eye conversation without a stool so that he's not only getting looked down upon literally and figuratively, deserves some. And why diminish Heatley's value further when Murray's still working the phones in efforts to trade him? Are fans this short sighted?

Besides, it's not like removing his letter will mean anything. I wouldn't put it past Dany to follow in the footsteps of that trailblazing Roberto Luongo and wear an A on his helmet. (Not unlike Captain America.)

More Sensationalist Drivel?

Kovalev, who spent the last four seasons the Habs, said he decided to accept the deal with the Senators because they were the only team outside of Montreal to offer a two-year deal.

“We couldn’t get any better offer from anybody else,” said Kovalev. “Ottawa was kind of the last choice for us. If we didn’t sign, we were going to end up someplace else for one year.” ~ The Ottawa Sun

So Ottawa was Alexei Kovalev's last choice, out of the two teams that offered 2-year contracts. For the life of me, I cannot comprehend why this is newsworthy material. Granted, Sens fans are a little thin-skinned right now and perhaps deservedly so. However, Kovalev stuck it the Montreal Canadiens and spurned his former team for their division rivals and the Sens are a better team for it.

Like it or not, Ottawa's not going to the most sought after destination for free agents and that's not meant to slight our city. It's simply the truth. Assuming that all money is equal, free agents typically want to play in relative anonymity where it's warm. And since Ottawa has seemingly lost their perennial contender status as an elite team in the NHL (fuck you Johnny Mucks!), it's difficult to lure talent to this team without overpaying for services. So even though Kovalev signed because of the money and length of term, it's important to recognize the fact that despite all of his off-ice bullshit, Dany Heatley would rather return to a hostile environment here than play in Edmonton. Now that says something.

Note: If you want a Trade Brennan T-shirt or want to check out the other merchandise, check out The 6th Sens Store.