During the Senators' inaugural season, the Ottawa Citizen used to run a feature called Capital Punishment that measured the ineptness of Ottawa's team against the worst NHL team ever, the 1974-75 Washington Capitals. A team that went 8-67-5, surrendered a record 446 goals and lost 37 straight on the road. Like Ottawa bested that Capitals mark with a stalwart record of 10-70-4, I'm predicting that they'll win tonight too. Here's my prediction that ran in the Citizen.

Senators 4, Capitals 3

Having won three in a row and obtained points in their last four, Ottawa puts its winning streak on the line against a Washington team that has the most goals and most points in the Eastern Conference. That being said, the Capitals will be playing their third game in four nights and their roster is riddled with more injuries than a typical McDonald’s junior manager face is riddled with acne. Need names? Semin, Fleischmann, Morrissonn, Poti, Jurcina and Gordon are either out indefinitely or are doubtful for tonight’s game. With these injuries, the team’s been forced to rely on their blend of inexperienced callups and stars to carry the load. As talented as he is offensively, Washington can’t afford to have Mike Green log over 31 minutes of icetime against the Leafs without some kind of residual effect against the Senators. This is a tired, worn-down team that Ottawa needs to take advantage of.

To read the rest of the Ottawa Citizen's prediction panel, click here.

Here are the lines for tonight's game:

Michalek-Spezza-Alfredsson

Foligno-Fisher-Neil

Ruutu-Kelly-Cheechoo

Regin-Winchester-Shannon.

And Elliott's in nets ce soir.

Also, thanks to a reader, Tim and I will be at the game tonight and hopefully I'll be able to provide some details from our experience at SBP. If you're headed to the game, fire us an email.

Redundant alert! Redundant alert!

Eric Duhatschek of The Globe and Mail has cast the first of what's likely to be an infinite amount of commentary regarding Dany Heatley's first game in Edmonton since he employed his NTC to void a trade to the Edmonton Oilers that would have landed the Senators Ladislav Smid, Andrew Cogliano and Dustin Penner.

For the Oilers, Penner’s emergence as a bona-fide power forward softened the blow a little: His 25 points are not far off Heatley’s total of 28. Considering Penner earns about half of what Heatley does ($4.25-million as opposed to $8-million), Edmonton may be better off without him.

None of that changes the fact that rabid Oilers fans have long memories. The boo-birds are already warming up; the reception, for Heatley, at Rexall Place, is expected to approach Pronger-ian heights of displeasure.

Apparently rabid Oilers fans are the ones who can recall the Pronger and Heatley trade scenarios. Who can blame them really? If my organization traded the greatest player of all time to Los Angeles for Jimmy Carson, I'd probably be in a perpetual state of apopletic shock as well.

Kudos to the Oilers fan for practicing their booing though. At least they'll finally have something other to do besides go to the West Edmonton Mall.

In all fairness to Heatley though, he didn't actually do anything wrong. When he asked for a trade, his NTC essentially became a limited movement clause which allowed him to list of all the teams that he'd accept a deal to. In hindsight, it's actually hilarious to recall that Edmonton was so low on Heatley's esteemed list, that he would have rather preferred to return to Ottawa.

I do find it really odd that Duhatschek wouldn't go all in and mention the Hallowe'en costumes that Penner and Cogliano wore for their team function. If you're going to be the first to trumpet Heatley's arrival in Edmonton, take the time to work all the angles so that you beat your rivals to the punch and leave them no options.

Sunday Night Rumours

So first there's a Bleacher Report that Alexandre Picard and Ryan Shannon could be on their way to Chicago for Cam Barker and now Sens Chirp is echoing their sentiment.

I realize that some may champion Barker as a defenceman who could help an ailing power play and I'll concede that moving Picard and Shannon isn't necessarily a lot to give up. However, at a $3.5M pricetag, isn't that too much money for a one-dimensional, defensive liability who has never been anything more than a 5th or 6th defenceman in Chicago? And more importantly, hasn't Ottawa already roll the dice on two similar players in the past in Campoli and Picard?

Is Bryan Murray doomed to make the same mistakes? Or is he going to continue to field a cut-and-paste blueline until Cowen and Karlsson are ready for full-time duty next year?

Frankly, the deal doesn't make sense. Ottawa can't take on Barker's salary without moving more salary out and Chicago's not going to diminish their team without going exhausting other possibilities first. (Ie. moving Brent Sopel.) Similarly, is Murray in fact in a place to miss on his next deal? Obviously his hands were a bit tied with the Heatley deal, but is there pressure on him to win his next deal outright?

If Chicago covets expiring contracts, I'd humour them with an offer featuring Volchenkov, Shannon, Picard and more to land one or both of Seabrook and Sharp.

Remember this?

What about this?

And this?

Since the lockout ended, Ottawa's apparently ran roughshod over the Sabres to a record of 20-6-4, that includes 5 wins last season. (Ed. note: Thanks for doing the research Wayne Scanlan.) A season that we can all agree sucked colossal balls.

Anyways is the norm, here's my prediction for the Ottawa Citizen's panel, if you're interested in checking out the rest of the esteemed consortium of Senators writers, follow this link. Here's what I had to say....

Senators 3, Sabres 2

People can talk all they want about how Ottawa's rivalry with Toronto has deteriorated but for me, Ottawa's rivalry with Buffalo has replaced whatever bad blood was lost with the Leafs. Between Pominville and Alfie's playoff clinchers, Emery's fights with Biron and Peters, Ruutu biting Peters' finger and then Adam Mair whining to Luke Richardson about how gutless Ottawa plays, this rivalry has reached epic proportions. Working in Ottawa's favour is that Buffalo arrives into town during a week in which they played their worst game of the season on Wednesday, a 6-2 loss to the Panthers, and they also played last night against Boston. Granted, it may not help Ottawa's cause that their lineup won't feature Donovan and Kovalev, but AK-27's detractors can rest easy knowing that after Kovie's strong performance against the Penguins, he was due to be MIA.

Okay, so granted, Ottawa will be without Donovan and Kovalev. On the surface, that's a big deal. However, via some Twitter speculation from Ian Mendes and Chris Stevenson, the consensus is tthat Patrick Lalime is likely starting for Buffalo. (Note to Senators shooters: wrist shots from the top of the left circle. Aim five-hole.) If there's anything we've come to realize with Lalime after numerous playoff lapses against Toronto. It doesn't matter if Buffalo may have the stronger lineup on paper. Lalime is the ultimate equalizer.

Here are the forward lines as provided by the official Senators Twitter:

Michalek-Spezza-Alfredsson

Foligno-Fisher-Shannon

Ruutu-Kelly-Neil

Cheechoo-Regin-Winchester

I still find it a bit interesting that Alfredsson isn't playing with Fisher this game to balance the scoring a bit more. Especially, in Kovalev's absence. If Fisher somehow winds up with a point or two tonight, he may be for realz.

According to Puck Daddy, the 2005-06 Senators were the third best team of the decade not to win the Cup. Agree or disagree?

Last night I was at the Senators versus Flightless Birds game and it represented the first opportunity I've had in awhile to watch an NHL game from the 100 level. Amazingly, the seats I had added a bit of nostalgia since they were right behind where my late father had his first pair of season's tickets at the Palladium/Corel Center. I used to love the seats in section 109 when I was younger, being situated in the corner of the visitor's end, it was the location where Alexei Yashin used to set up on the powerplay. Even at a young age, I used to love and appreciate watching the subtleties of Yashin's work with the puck along the boards. It was like watching a basketball player work the low post. By putting his back to his defender, Yashin effectively used his size to shield the puck before using a pivot to sidestep the defender, come out from the corner and roof the puck short side over the goalie's shoulder. It was moments like these that allowed me to overlook the fact that Yashin was always susceptible to some bad representation from agent Mark Gandler. (Ed. note: Or is it bad representation when an agent can elicit a $90M offer from Mike Milbury and the Isles? Or is this just another nail in the coffin for Milbury's Islander legacy?)

Anyways, I digress. It was nice to be back and sitting in a familiar location so here's an account of my in-game experience last night.

• The assembly that gathered around the Penguins' bench during pre-game warmups was massive. Ironically, none of the Pittsburgh fans that I saw were under the age of 35. Now, if you're under the age of 35 and root for Pittsburgh, odds are you cheer for the team because of two reasons: one, the Lemieux/Jagr era was riddled with success when you were younger or you're a Crosby/Malkin fan. Translation? You're a front-running son of a bitch.
  
• On the opening shift Ottawa dumped the puck into the Pittsburgh zone where it was retrieved by a Pens defenceman. The gentleman in front of me, who resembled Murray from Flight of the Conchords, used the opportunity to yell, "Come on Spezza, hit somebody!" and flash a Bob Saget-like grin to his friend to let him know that he had cracked a joke. I was going to politely informed the guy that it was an outdated fad to hate on Spezza, but stopped short when I noticed that he was single handedly trying to keep the jean jacket trend alive.
  
• Pittsburgh scored on their first shot on net. Without missing a beat, my girlfriend turned to me and asked, "What did you predict for the panel?" When I replied with "5-1" she made a face that Crosby would make if he found something other than the Stanley Cup lying in his bed.
• Matt Carkner's goal to tie the game at one was the culmination of an insanely dominant shift wherein Ottawa's second line of Foligno, Fisher and Kovalev had possession of the puck in the Pittsburgh zone for more than ninety seconds. Even though Kovalev didn't register a point on the evening, I thought he was arguably the best player on the ice for Ottawa. He's still not shooting the puck as often as I'd like to see, but his passing and puck control was phenomenal last night.
• At the first intermission, my girlfriend and I went up to the concourse to fetch more beer. To our amazement, the guy standing in front of us at the concession line had a perm.
• If I were to tell you that Ottawa would get consecutive goals from Chris Kelly, Chris Phillips (x2) and Jonathan Cheechoo, raise your hand if you would respond with a comment telling me that I'm crazy?
• Immediately after the fifth Ottawa goal, a small Pizza chant had started. Oddly enough, it wasn't coming from either of the Sens fans or the pressbox, it was emanating from those fucking front-running Penguins fans. I shit you not.
• So let me get this straight, Matt Cooke blatantly knees Shean Donovan and potentially ends his season, but Alexandre Picard receives the only penalty on the play for slashing? And then Matt Cooke assists on Pittsburgh's subsequent powerplay goal? Beyond ridiculous.
  
• Chris Neil took issue with the Cooke knee and fought Eric Godard because Matt Cooke would never back up his own actions. After a rather even tilt from my vantage point, Neil showboated with the patented raising the roof celebration. My. Night. Was. Complete.
• After the game, I left SBP's main gate to find that it was raining outside. My heart went out to that man with the perm.

For the first time since moving into the Air Canada Centre 10 years ago, the NHL’s richest franchise confirms that it has been unable to lease an unspecified number of the facility’s 152 luxury suites for Leafs games this season.

Yet the team does not believe this is the first sign that fans are growing weary of the product.

“We’re certainly aware of the tipping point theory,” Richard Peddie, president and chief executive officer of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, which owns the team, said yesterday. “We have not experienced it. But listen, winning is the best thing you can possibly do. People want to be entertained, but they want to be entertained and win. We know we’ve got to turn things around, and we will." ~ Robert MacLeod, The Globe and Mail

Apparently truculence isn't as entertaining when the team's not winning. Uh-oh.

Last night's spirited win had everything that you could ask for from an entertainment perspective. Numerous fights, Mike Fisher's two goals signified that the 50-60 point season cocktease is officially underway, fans jumping back aboard the Pascal Leclaire bandwagon when he stonewalled the Leafs during third period that was reminiscent of Jacques Martin's we're up one goal, let's sit on the lead era.

If Ottawa's going to be anything more than a middle of the pack team this season, they're going to have to play with more desperation than they've had when the team has had the lead in the third period. This team isn't good enough where it can afford to blow leads and lose points to Eastern rivals like Boston, New Jersey, New York and Toronto. Hopefully they develop a killer instinct soon.

Thanks to a reader named Isaac for passing this Maclean's interview with Gary Bettman along. I've copied and pasted a small portion of the interview below that concerns MLSE and Eugene Melnyk's belief that the Leafs did in fact have a veto. I encourage readers to check out the rest of the interview. It's a must read.

Q: What about southern Ontario?

A: If we’re relocating, or if we decide to expand, then we’ll see who the applicant pool is, where they want to play, and it’ll get a very good, hard look. We don’t have this master list somewhere where we’ve ranked cities.

Q: Do the Toronto Maple Leafs in fact have a veto on another team locating in southern Ontario, as they claimed in a letter they wrote you that was submitted to the court in Phoenix?

A: They have the same vote as everybody else in the league. One-thirtieth. It’s a majority vote. They have no veto. That letter was a reservation of their rights, and it’s three or four years old. The fact of the matter is, we’re on record with the Canadian Competition Bureau, we’re on record in the proceedings in Phoenix. They do not have a veto.

Q: Are the Leafs on the same page as you on the issue today?

A: I believe they are. And even if they’re not, it doesn’t matter because they don’t have a veto! Even if they think they do, they don’t. Let’s be precise: relocation requires a majority vote [of NHL governors]. An expansion team, because you’re admitting a new owner, requires a three-quarter vote.

Before the Senators faced the Leafs in the second game of the season, I penned an article describing how Sens fans look forward to the Battle of Ontario as much as I would look forward to hearing Glenn Kulka read the phone book. Now there is statistical evidence to support the notion that the Battle of Ontario is dead. Yesterday, the Ottawa Senators announced today that fewer than 3,000 tickets remain for Tuesday’s 7:30 p.m. home game against the Toronto Maple Leafs at Scotiabank Place. Quick, somebody ask Neate Sager if this should be a condemnation of Sens or Leafs fans who no longer appear willing to pay premium package ticket prices to see two meddling clubs play.

And here's my prediction for the game ce soir...

4-1 Ottawa

According to one website, the Toronto Maple Leafs have a 1.7% chance to make the playoffs. Playing against an Ottawa Senators squad that has only won one game in regulation in their past 10 games, their odds of victory are significantly higher. Even though Saturday afternoon's shootout loss was a tough pill to swallow, Ottawa did play a complete game against the Rangers. That being said, predicting the outcome for a game that features two struggling goaltenders, Jonas Gustavsson Vesa Toskala and the return of Pascal Leclaire, is harder than figuring out how Leafs fans will cope when they hear the words, "And with the first selection, the Boston Bruins select Taylor Hall." At least the game should be fun to watch. Ottawa desperately needs a victory and we haven't had one of those sit on the edge of your seat with every shot that's taken against us games in awhile.

To view the rest of the panel's predictions over at the Ottawa Citizen, click here.

Remember that story that ran in the Ottawa Citizen on Sunday concerning the 10-year old boy who missed his first live NHL experience because his father never realized that the Rangers game had been bumped from 7pm to 2pm in the afternoon? Well the Citizen has printed a follow up to the story. Apparently Mattress Mart and the Senators organization have each provided Yehya Eldidi with a pair of tickets to attend future games, but not before his disappointment caused him to go to his bedroom and mimic the Sinead O'Connor SNL performance since he ripped up all his Senators trading cards and posters like they were pictures of the Pope.

If it becomes public knowledge that Eldidi ripped up any piece of paraphernalia that featured Alfie or his likeness, he should be tried for high treason.

Speaking of Alfie, Allen Panzeri wrote a nice article that reassures fans that Ottawa's beloved captain remain a Senator for life. Even if that means that he'll pass up an opportunity to win a Cup if Ottawa can't return to a contender status by the time that he's ready to hang them up.

“There are always a few teams where, before the season, you can say, ‘This team has a better chance than the others,’ ” he said, as the Senators prepared to face the Toronto Maple Leafs at Scotiabank Place on Tuesday night.

“But then again, you look at Pittsburgh last year. By Christmas, you were wondering if they were going to make the playoffs. They fire their coach — and then they end up winning the Cup.

“So, I can’t see that. You can never say never, what will happen in the future, but I don’t think that’s probable for me.”

Underwood Not To the Greater Almonte Area...

Apparently reports that Underwood will be moving in some of her stuff to Mike Fisher's residence are a bit premature.

Taking to her official fan club Web site, she wrote, "I read something recently that a certain someone and I were moving in together. This is beyond not true...just another example of people making stuff up out of thin air!"

Carrie's heartfelt dedication to the hockey player in the notes of her new album, but the country star says sharing a bedroom with someone who's not her husband just isn't going to happen. "Neither one of us would ever do that. I would never live with my boyfriend...not my style." ~ iVillage

If this news causes Mike Fisher to go in the tank like he's Rick Vaughn in Major League 2, fans and media will have a new lightning rod for criticism.

New Power Play Tactic?

In a great little piece over at Off the Posts, Bruce Garrioch discussed how Jason Spezza stayed on the ice at the end of practice to work diligently with Brad Lauer on one-timers from the slot. Whether Jason will employ this tactic on the powerplay is something to watch tonight, at the very least, Spezza's new office in the slot will mean that he'll be closer to Alexei Kovalev. Here's hoping the pair will feed off of each other's touch passing and can start filling the net.

In an article that ran in this morning's Sun, Bruce Garrioch detailed the historical ineptness of the Ottawa Senators' performance in shootouts.

There's actually an NHL team worse at shootouts than the Maple Leafs: The Ottawa Senators, who play host to Toronto tomorrow.

What a subtle backhanded comment. I wonder if he knew this article would also run in the Toronto Sun?

The problem isn’t new. While the club is 1-2 this season after Saturday’s 2-1 shootout loss to the New York Rangers, the Senators are ranked 30th, dead-last, since the shootout was put in place in 2005-06.

The Senators also appeared in the Cup Finals in '07. My memory is a little hazy from the Finals, so correct me if I'm wrong but did Ottawa ever lose a playoff game because of a shootout? I'm trying to figure out the premise of the article here, am I going to get enlightenment as to why shootouts from as far back as '05 have any bearing on this Senators team going forward? Hopefully this is going to be an article that details how often a good shootout record has helped a mediocre team inflate their point totals in the standings and detail whether or not these teams have had good playoff records. I won't hold my breath though.

With a 12-25 lifetime record, the Senators have won just 32% of their shootout games. The Leafs are 26th all time (16-26). On the other hand, the New Jersey Devils are tops, with a 36-18 record.

Weird. I never would have assumed that there's a correlation between shitty goaltending and a good historical shootout record. It's mind altering that the team with the best shootout record features a Hall of Fame goaltender.

To sum it up: Horrible. Certainly, no laughing matter.

To sum it up: I'm still confused. Why should fans care about a shootout record that's been tainted by years of mediocre Senators goaltending?

“I don’t know who is laughing. I know we’re not. We know it’s important,” said Senators goalie Brian Elliott. “Come the end of the year, those are the points that will keep you out of the playoffs. We’ve got a lot of the season left. Maybe we’ve got to practise it more, score some goals and make some saves.”

I'm not laughing either. After playing a complete 60 minutes and OT that they dominated, Ottawa scored with 2 of their first 3 shooters against Henrik Lundqvist but still lost. They deserved a better fate. But shootouts are just one aspect of a very long season, blaming the Senators loss on the shootout is as pointless as blaming the season on Chris Campoli's failed pinch on Marian Gaborik. It's just one microcosm of a very long season.

Like a lot of NHL teams, the Senators don’t work much on the shootout. They hold the odd breakaway competition, but you’d think a team with as much skill as the Senators have had over the years would have a better record.

Yes, because forward skill guarantees shootout results. Give me some numbers already...

Winger Alexei Kovalev, who had a weak effort Saturday against Henrik Lundqvist, is 11-for-31 lifetime, while captain Daniel Alfredsson is 10-for-29. Jason Spezza is 9-for-24 and Jarkko Ruutu is 8-for-18. Jonathan Cheechoo wasn’t among the seven shooters against the Rangers, but is 6-for-18.

If you're going to present an argument that it's the Senators' forwards who have let this team down historically, you better present a clear case that the Senators goaltenders have historically done well in the shootouts. Where are the statistics that present the Senators' goaltending picture? Fuck Bruce, this is supposed to be your forte. Where is the patented inexplicable shitting on of the Senators goaltending? You're better than this.

I remember that Emery was so bad, I once joked that Ottawa should use Martin Gerber in a closer role. When there's a whistle with little time left on the clock, insert Gerber into the game late in OT so that he could give Ottawa a better chance to win. I also remember that Ron Wilson once tried this with Curtis Joseph, lost and was roasted by the Toronto media for it.

“We definitely have to practise it more,” said Alfredsson. “We don’t do nearly enough of that. Guys have one or two different moves and they can get to feel more comfortable. That’s something we have to do after practice and get a goalie to work on it with us.”

Maybe the Sens couldn't practice it a lot historically because Ray Emery was always the first one off of the ice? Just saying...

Ruutu says the goaltenders have a distinct advantage.

He believes most players only have a limited number of moves and the goaltenders study the tendencies. But it should both work ways. The shooters should also know the goaltenders’ weaknesses.

Don't shooters often know the goaltender's weaknesses? I think I heard the phrase, Ottawa's going high on Emery about thirteen dozen times during the Philadelphia game. Either Ottawa had the book on Emery or Pierre Maguire is a redundant master of the obvious.

“It’s all practise. That’s all it is. At the end of practice, do some shootouts and some breakaways,” said Ruutu, who missed on his attempt against the Rangers. “It’s not really magical. Obviously, when you face a goalie (like Lundqvist), he’s really good in shootouts.

Wait, what? When a team faces a really good goalie, he's typically really good in shootouts? Ruutu's laying it out there for you Bruce, it's right there! An open invitation to shit on the fact that Ottawa's goaltending has been terrible for the past four years and I can't believe you're not picking up on it...

“We were actually able to score two on him and then he stopped us. They’re big points. You can’t really look back at what’s happened in the past. The stats say that we have a 50% chance to win it. That’s why you have to practise it a little bit.”

And a thrilling conclusion...

Don Brennan asked a question in this morning's paper that bears an answer. Don wrote, Why, exactly, are people booing Redden?

Well, I'll step up and answer that considering that I'm the guy who regularly ran a feature called How to Lose a Wade in 10 Days. I'm the guy who ripped Ross McKeon for writing a piece that chose Redden as his Ottawa Senators representative for the 2008 All-Star Game.

The media praise of #6 makes me want to vomit. Read this Yahoo! column by Ross McKeon which says the Sen who should be going to the All-Star game is #6. Initially upon reading this article, I laughed at the ignorance of simply pointing to No-Trade's numbers. But upon deep thought, McKeon is definitely onto something. Who's game is better suited to the Mid-Season-Classic? Not only is defensive coverage blown, there's an unwritten rule that body contact is frowned upon.

I even once rewrote the lyrics to Edwin Starr's War to,

People are booing Wade Redden because on two occasions, his General Manager, Bryan Murray, approached him about the possibility of waiving his NTC. The first was during the 2007 offseason when Redden was asked whether or not he'd waive his clause to go to Edmonton. The second occurrence came in February of 2008 as the the trade deadline was approaching. Now remember, after starting the season on a 15-2 tear, Ottawa's season was going down the tubes and the team was at risk of falling out of the playoff picture.

Here are some of the exact details, courtesy of James Gordon from Hockey Capital,

One day after news leaked out that Redden had refused to waive his no-trade clause for a deal that would have sent him to the San Jose Sharks, the much-maligned defenceman reiterated his desire to stay and win the Stanley Cup in the nation’s capital.

“It’s been my desire for 12 years so it’s not going to change overnight,” Redden told a throng of reporters crowded around his locker-room stall. “We’re coming down the stretch here, it’s obviously exciting to get going to that and get our team going. That’s really where my focus is now.”

Asked point-blank if there were any circumstances that could convince him to change his mind, he said no.

“Like I said, I obviously have a lot of faith in the guys in this room and what we’re setting out to do and I’m part of that,” he said. “So I’m looking forward to that challenge.”

This is the second time the team has tried to unload Redden and the second time he has applied the brakes (a deal was in place this summer to ship him to Edmonton). As expected, his actions have ignited many heated debates among fans.

Many have suggested the struggling blueliner should take a hint and accept his ticket out of town, while others argue the team’s now-public efforts to oust such a respected, long-standing player are abhorrent.

For his part, Redden said he didn’t take the repeated waiver requests personally.

“No I don’t. I know what I can do and what I mean to the team and what I'm capable of and I’m going to set out and do my best and that’s all I can do. I know I’ve been with a lot of the guys in this room for a long time.”

Isn't it conceivable that Bryan Murray had his thumb on the pulse of this team and viewed a struggling Redden, who had an expiring contract, as deadweight for the organization? So, if rumour has it that Wade was involved in a one-for-one deal for Marleau or the less publicized three-way trade involving Jeff Carter, Marleau and Redden...shouldn't fans be upset that Wade wouldn't do what was in the best interests of the organization?

Granted, he was a veteran who had spent his entire career with this organization and he deserves to be commended for his role in the local community. And he can't be lauded enough for the thankless hours and money that he invested here to help the less fortunate. Similarly, John Muckler gave him a NTC and he had every right to invoke it.  BUT....

Redden, who is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent this summer, feels the Senators present the best opportunity for him to win the Stanley Cup. ~ TSN

In other words, Wade was either really naive or he was a giant prick. At the time, it was obvious to anyone who had watched this team (Ed. note: Apparently this didn't apply to Glen Sather or the Rangers' NHL scouts) that Redden's play was regressing at an extraordinary rate. I think that part of the problem was that he never took his offseason strength and conditioning levels that seriously and it was an issue that plagued him with the Rangers and was something that John Tortorella addressed this year,

“I think he came into camp in good shape, that’s something he and I talked about last year,” Tortorella said. “He had a lot of things going on prior to last year. For me judging him, coming in at the point I did last year, I don’t think he was in shape. I think he came into camp in shape. He’s been harder. To be hard, you have to have a mental frame of mind. He’s been harder on the puck. I think he’s been more consistent in closing people out quicker. He’s been good. He’s been solid.”

With Redden, I always saw a player who simply got by on natural talent. For me, it became frustrating to watch a player who didn't play a physical style deteriorate while he should have still been in his prime.

It didn't help matters that during his last season in Ottawa, under John Paddock's watch, I saw a Senators squad that I didn't have a slew of confidence in. Between the rampant drug rumours and lacklustre play, I was completely open to the suggestion of change. Things were so bad here that by the time Bryan Murray had fired Paddock and returned behind the bench, I was still a bit skeptical that this team could improve their play simply flicking the switch.

And flick the switch they didn't. Here's what I wrote after Wade had played his last game in Ottawa,

Considering my disdain for Wade, I couldn't have envisioned a more fitting way to end his tenure with the Sens. With a minute left in game four against the Pens and with Gerber on the bench for an extra skater, Wade panicked while trying to keep the puck in at the Pens blueline. Instead of throwing the puck into the corner on his forehand, Wade sent an errant, fluttering backhand pass into the slot where it was gloved down, taken the length of the ice and deposited into the Sens' yawning cage. Not only was Redden's gaffe the perfect ending to a remarkable second half collapse by the Sens, it also added insult to injury.

Within this past year, Wade has publicly vetoed two potential deals to two different Western Conference teams. The latest instance occurred shortly before the Sens dealt Eaves and Corvo to the Hurricanes for Commodore and Stillman. When the media went to Wade to ask him why he refused to discuss any potential trades, Wade responded by saying that he felt compelled to stay here because he thought he had a better opportunity to win a Stanley Cup in Ottawa. Is it fair to think that Redden was naive enough to think that he could win a Stanley Cup here for his swan song? Not only did our team win only 18 of the final 48 games, Ottawa got bounced from the first round of the playoffs by losing four straight games to Pittsburgh.

An aside, because of the level of success that the Senators achieved with their '07 Cup Finals appearance, I never understood why people used that roster as a barometer for future success. The best Senators teams in recent memory were the two that lost to the Devils in Game 7 of the '03 Conference Finals and the '06 team that had their year lost when Hasek injured his adductor at the Turin Olympics.

I digress, when it was publicly leaked that Bryan Murray had approached Wade about accepting a trade, I was bitter.  Management saw an opportunity to get better either in the interim or in the future by moving an unrestricted player who was never going to resign here anyways. Besides, though you can't prove it, I've always believed that part of the reason why Redden never waived his NTC was because he was part of the NHLPA executive and it'd set a bad standard if he'd waive a clause that the PA had fought for during labour negotiations.

I've always been one of the fans who cheers for the crest on the front of the jersey. I'll boo Redden because he didn't do what was in the best interests of the organization. Management didn't want him and he wouldn't waive his NTC and allow the Senators to expedite their growth. Besides, booing people is fun.