I don't need to preface a bunch of links to check out from around the interwebs do I?

• With Sergei Gonchar out of the lineup with a concussion, Patrick Wiercioch is the latest AHL callup to be rewarded with a "show me" game for his marked improvement in play. The popular opinion of Wiercioch is that he's a bit of a project who needs refinement and strength training before he can be expected to contribute consistently at the NHL level. In light of this, you can attribute this recall as an opportunity to give him a taste of life in the NHL and inspire him to bust his ass in the offseason.
  
  
• Now that Craig Anderson, the best bald saviour since Robocop, has signed an extension, Senators Extra is featuring a slideshow of Anderson photos. On Twitter (@6thsens), I provided a caption to this photo, "Easy on the cold water Craig. It's not a dream. You did get a four year deal."
  
  
• These Senators wins are not only carrying the Senators away from better lottery pick odds, I'm too stubborn to bet on them in the Senators Extra prediction panel.


• Wayne Scanlan had a nice article on yesterday's Anderson announcement and tied it to the rhetoric coming out of Senators camp. I highly recommend giving it a read.


• Binghamton Senators beat writer Joy Lindsay has penned a nice article that features a conversation between her and Senators prospect Robin Lehner. For a kid who flew off the handle following a 4-3 semi-finals loss to the Russians at this year's World Junior Championships, he's saying all the right things now. "When you sign a four-year contract, or any goalie in the league signs a four-year contract, it's for they want stability. Ottawa deserves it. The team up there needs a first goalie, and I kind of want to work in the shade of it. When my time is there, when they think I'm ready and I can push for it, I'm going to try. But you never know where it's at. And it couldn't be better than sign a goalie like Anderson, too, because he helps me a lot during practices. He talks to me. He gives me pointers and stuff like that. He's a quality teammate, and you kind of need that to go around -- even if it takes me one year, two years, three years or even 10 years, or if I ever play up there a solid amount of times. You can never predict the future. I know if I can make a push for it and start playing, then Anderson would be there. He's a good guy that would still help me. He's a good fit. He's a really good fit in that organization. I don't see anything bad, in my stance, because to be honest, people haven't expected me to go in this year or next year as the first goalie anyway. They're up there, and I have a lot left to learn. It depends how hard I work and how determined I am. You never know the time of it. It can be any time, and it's basically all up to me now."
  
  
• One of Eklund's sources says, "we will see BIG changes happening, and happening quickly. The asking price for Jason (Spezza) will be quite high, but with limited big names available via UFA, the Sens will get their price." So naturally, we can expect a quiet offseason.


• One ill advised Hfboards.com thread dedicated to bleeding heart Wade Redden fans everywhere.


• From @SunGarrioch, Chris Neil will be wearing the "A" tonite with Sergei Gonchar out of the lineup. Finally rewarded with a letter. Nice to see. I can't tell if Bruce is happy that Gonchar is out of the lineup or that Neil received the 'A'.


• According to Sportsclubstats.com, Ottawa has an 82% probability of finishing last in the Eastern Conference.
• In light of Bryan Murray's comments yesterday that he informed his scouts that they should be looking at taking a goalie in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft, The Hockey News' Ross MacLean has an article detailing a number of draft eligible goalies.

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To add some humor to today's Bryan Murray press conference, he should have started things by asking the press corps whether or not they wanted the good news or bad news first.

The good news! Give us the good news!

"Pascal Leclaire will not be extended a contract offer by the Ottawa Senators."

(Upon the announcement Don Brennan and Bruce Garrioch slap some high-fives.)

Phew! And the bad?

The Senators have given Craig Anderson a 4-year contract extension worth $12.75 million dollars. (According to Capgeek, this brings Ottawa's cap situation to approximately $42 million next season.)

(Groan.)

In his comments today, Murray said, "Obviously, we feel that he's brought stability. His position is one that we need if you're going to retool, rebuild, improve this hockey club going forward. I believe our players have played with confidence with both Curtis and him. But very definitely, Craig has stepped in and allowed our team to play hockey the way that we think we need to play going forward. With that secure building block, now we can address some other issues."

Address some issues? Maybe my friend had it right when he told me over the phone at the time that the deal was announced, "I guess the organization really wanted to put another face up on the front of SBP."

Kidding aside, Anderson is a serviceable player and given the parameters of his deal -- he earns $2.75, $3.0, $3.5, and $3.5 million in the four years of his deal -- the money involved isn't the issue here. It's the term of the contract that makes me uncomfortable. With an average cap hit of $3.1875 million per year, the monetary value of the deal isn't really that egregious. Even though the deal doesn't include a movement or trade clause -- a moral victory when looking at some of the contracts handed out by Murray in the past -- there's still a ton of inherent risk involved here. As Adrian Dater noted in a blog article for the Denver Post, Anderson allegedly turned down a 2-year $7.5 million deal last summer. And if you look at the deal that Ottawa gave him, Anderson forsaked a higher monetary figure on a short-term deal but that money is slightly outweighed by the fact that he can collect millions of guaranteed money by taking Ottawa's  four year offer now. Personally, I find it worrisome that an Avalanche team that has no in-house goaltending solution and was trending downward on the date that the deal was made (February 18th) was so apprehensive about committing to a lengthy deal with him.

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As the Ottawa Senators continue to toy with our emotions and create a polarizing situation that leaves me enjoying wins... but not long enough to forget the fact that these wins in turn lead to deteriorating playoff odds. During this episode of the podcast, our panel -- that consists of @the_creech, Neate Sager (@neatebuzzthenet) from the Buzzing the Net! Yahoo! Sports' junior hockey blog, Francois and I -- tackle this conundrum and the implications that it carries. We also hit Ottawa's position in the standings and envision/analyze some draft pick scenarios. And we couldn't pass up the opportunity to discuss The Euge's recent whimsical comments on the Fan 590. If you haven't already, I highly recommend adding Creech and Neate to Twitter and if you haven't added @6thsens to Twitter, shame on you. What the hell are you waiting for? (Tell your friends.)

As always, you can subscribe/download/stream the episode or check out the entire catalogue of episodes from Itunes. You can also download the file by right-clicking and saving this file or simply stream the episode below. If you have any questions or comments about the podcast, please leave us some feedback in the comment thread below. Thanks for listening, we hope you enjoy the show.

Tracklist: Wildlife Stand In the Water; and Beady Eye Four Letter Word.

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There's lots of love going around for Ryan Shannon and Curtis McElhinney now that both have thrived with increased responsibilities and ice-time.

Shannon's ascension to the second line pivot spot wasn't an immediate one. Having already dealt Mike Fisher and Chris Kelly a few weeks earlier, Peter Regin was given first dibs. However, once Peter Regin suffered a shoulder injury on February 19th against the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Senators needed someone to fill their second line pivot spot. And having played some center in college and in the minors, the Senators turned to Shannon almost out of necessity. In the 12 games that have followed Regin's injury, Shannon has posted 3 goals and 6 assists.

In McElhinney's case, after being claimed on waivers from the Tampa Bay Lightning, Ottawa represented the fourth NHL team that he has played for in the past four seasons. Isn't it a tad ironic that the Senators goaltending situation seems to be resolved with Craig Anderson and McElhinney - two goaltenders who haven't been able to find stable homes of their own. To his credit, he's put up some ridiculous numbers through 157 minutes -- 2-1-0, 1.52 GAA, and a save percentage of .953%.

Together they've posted some decent numbers but is it worthy of the buzz that he's generating amongst the local beatwriters? I don't think so. It reminds me of the attention that those remotely attractive female curlers at the Brier receive. Have they played well? Sure, but like these female curlers, let's not overstate things and get ahead of ourselves. We're talking about somethings that look great by proxy.

This isn't designed to take anything away from what Shannon or McElhinney have done. Both have played well and as inexpensive players who have exhibited some moderate skill, the two should be considered as cost effective stopgap players for next season.

Although the organization has gone on record as saying that this year's lottery pick will play next season, there's no certainty that whomever they wind up taking will be ready to step in next season. By re-signing Shannon, at least it would afford whomever they would draft a year of development. (Obviously I'm writing this under the assumption that Ottawa will not draft Adam Larsson.) Similarly, Robin Lehner hasn't played as frequently as many Senators fans would have hoped. So by offering McElhinney a one-year deal, the organization could afford Lehner the opportunity to play and develop in Binghamton.

Provided that the organization ignores the pleas of fans and acts in the best interests of its prospects, these are two affordable players that I would seriously consider retaining.
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It wasn't too long ago that the Senators stood alone (or were huddled in a fetal position) on the the floor of the NHL's basement with an overpaid collection of veteran underachievers. Now that the trade deadline has passed and the uncertainty was removed, the Senators embraced their pressureless situation, rallied around some good goaltending and their collection of young (but not necessarily the most talented) players.

For some, it has been easy to get caught up the in the optimism for what next season could bring (case in point, just stick a microphone in front of The Euge) but and others will remind us that late season surges don't necessarily translate into future success. (Leafs fans can attest to this.) But regardless of your feelings towards Ottawa's modest success of late, everyone is eagerly anticipating what the 2011 NHL Entry Draft has in store for the organization. And if the picture at the top of this article is a sign of things to come, I'm already looking forward to watching Bill Daly flip flash cards with a constipated look on his face.

While the last regular season game hasn't even been played, that hasn't stopped fans from postulating or fretting as to where or who the Senators will be selecting. Thanks to two articles written by Timmo Sepa, the managing editor from Hockey Prospectus, he projects the Senators to finish the season with the third worst record in the NHL. (Note: here are the projected Eastern Conference standings and the Western Conference standings.) With 68 forecasted points, only Edmonton (63.6) and Colorado (67.7) are expected to finish lower in the standings than the Senators. You can thank the Avalanche's 2-20-2 record since January 18th for contributing to Ottawa's deteriorating draft odds. (Or you could simply blame Alexei Kovalev. Even when the team is winning in his absence, cynics will use him as a scapegoat.)

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Yesterday afternoon I transcribed the part of Eugene Melnyk's conversation with Roger Lajoie on the Fan 590 that pertained to the Ottawa Senators and their quest to return to prominency. In case you missed it, here's what was said:

Q: What kind of an offseason do you expect in Ottawa Eugene? How long of a process do you see this rebuild taking?

A: "Well it's interesting. When I made up my mind, I was looking at a three or four year process. And all of a sudden you see these young kids stepping up. I gotta stop calling them kids... these young adults start stepping up the way they have. Starting to beat up on teams that are supposed to be unbeatable. Winning streaks... You know, where is this all coming from? And Bryan (Murray) was very confident when we first made the decision. He says, "Eugene, don't think is a three or four year process. This could be a year or two. We could be competitive next year but the year after that, if some of the guys step up and we get the goaltending we need, we could be there in two years... maybe three tops. It's not bad! If I knew that in the beginning, I would have made the decision a long time ago. (laughter)"

Over on Twitter, I poked a little fun at the owner's expense and it provoked some comments from fellow members of the Sens blogosphere:

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Transcribed from today's Eugene Melnyk appearance on the Fan 590 (note: to listen to the full interview, click here):

Q: What kind of an offseason do you expect in Ottawa Eugene? How long of a process do you see this rebuild taking?

A: "Well it's interesting. When I made up my mind, I was looking at a three or four year process. And all of a sudden you see these young kids stepping up. I gotta stop calling them kids... these young adults start stepping up the way they have. Starting to beat up on teams that are supposed to be unbeatable. Winning streaks... You know, where is this all coming from? And Bryan (Murray) was very confident when we first made the decision. He says, "Eugene, don't think is a three or four year process. Tihis could be a year or two. We could be competitive next year but the year after that, if some of the guys step up and we get the goaltending we need, we could be there in two years... maybe three tops. It's not bad! If I knew that in the beginning, I would have made the decision a long time ago. (laughter)"

You know who's not laughing?

Me.

I will now defer to what a wise man once said, (ahem) I think they should plan the parade for next summer. Eugene will be the man of the year. And . . .haven't his predictions always delivered?

2012 All-Star Game Note:

Although Cyril Leeder mentioned as much in an appearance on the Team 1200's Healthy Scratches program a few weeks ago, NHL executive Brendan Shanahan has all but confirmed that the All-Star Draft will make an appearance during next year's festivities in Ottawa.

Per the Fan 590:

"I've talked to the players' association and a lot of the players that played in it, and everybody enjoyed it. I think we'll make some tweaks, but I don't think we'll make major changes." no comments

In light of Craig Anderson channelling his inner Colorado Avalanche yesterday and completely defecating the mattress in his 22 minutes and 10 seconds of play against the Buffalo Sabres, the Senators three game winning streak is over. Mind you, it was only a matter of time before he looked like any other incapable goaltender that we have grown accustomed to seeing man the pipes over the past few seasons. It's about time too. Like some fans, I was beginning to get a little worried and treated each win like it was a bad birthday gift from a family member. "Wow, what a surprise! No, really, this is great. It's just what I needed..." (Just keep smiling.)

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On January 13, 1968, four minutes into a game against the Oakland Seals, the Minnesota North Stars' Bill Masterton was carrying the puck into the Seals' zone. Shortly after completing a pass to teammate Wayne Connelly, he was checked by Oakland's Larry Cahan and Ron Harris. A helmet-less Masterton fell backwards, and smacked the back of his head on the ice. By the time trainers reached him, blood was gushing from his mouth and nose. Two days later, Bill Masterton was dead. To date, his is the only death in NHL history directly attributable to an on-ice incident.  Eleven years later, the NHL made helmets mandatory but even then, only for all new players.  Eleven.  Years.

Kind of puts all of today's garment rending in perspective, doesn't it?
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Having pillaged the Binghamton Senators of many of their best young players, the Ottawa brass has done a remarkable job of convincing some of their NCAA to leave school early and jump into the thick of an AHL playoff race. Just one day after Derek Grant left Michigan State during his sophomore year, Clarkson University junior Mark Borowiecki has signed a 2-year entry level contract with the Senators and will report to the Baby Sens.

According to the Sens press release:

Borowiecki, 21, was the Senators’ fifth-round pick (139th overall) in the 2008 National Hockey League Entry Draft. An Ottawa native, Borowiecki recently completed his third season at Clarkson University, which ended when the Golden Knights were defeated in the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference’s playoffs by Harvard.

Borowiecki played in 31 games this season, tying for the team lead in scoring among defencemen with 11 points on three goals and eight assists, while posting a career-high 67 penalty minutes. He served as Clarkson’s team captain this past season. In three years with the Golden Knights, he scored 12 goals, 20 assists and recorded 146 penalty minutes in 99 games.

Before attending Clarkson, the 6-1, 205-pound Borowiecki played two seasons for the Smiths Falls Bears of the Central Junior Hockey League, scoring five goals, 49 assists and adding 165 penalty minutes in 99 games. In 2007-08, he was named the CJHL’s top defenceman.

Borowiecki, the first Ottawa native ever drafted by the Senators, has participated in the team’s summer development camp in each of the last three seasons.

Apparently Will Colbert, a 7th round selection in 2003 and Arnprior native doesn't count. As @SensTown noted: I like to pretend The Prior isn't part of Ottawa either, so can't fault them on this.

To listen to what Assistant GM Tim Murray has to say about the signing, you can listen to the clip below:



For more Friday news and notes, follow the jump...
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