Late this week the Ottawa Sun released a photo of what they believe the Senators’ new third jersey will look like:
It’s hard to be blown away by the design… Continue reading ‘New Sens 3rd Jersey’
Archive Page 2
13
Sep
New Sens 3rd Jersey
05
Sep
Spezza nerds it up
How can some Senators’ fans not like Jason Spezza?
- He’s committed himself to the community with his long-term contract last fall and his new 6 million dollar Island Park Drive
- He’s one of the top (7th) points-per-game players in the NHL
- He has an infectious laugh
- And he’s a giant nerd …
02
Sep
Mez to Bolts
Murray can finally stop worrying about the Meszaros issue. He’s gone!
Tampa wanted to sign Meszaros to an RFA offer sheet of about 5 million. Unfortunately for them the organization failed to have the necessary compensation (1st, 2nd and 3rd round picks) required under the Collective Bargaining Agreement.
However, given the Bolts only lacked the 3rd pick, it was clear to Murray that it was only a matter of time until they secured the necessary pick and Mez was leaving sooner than later. Therefore, Murray went quickly to work to fashion a trade with the Lightening which would better serve Ottawa’s interests than the crap shoot that are 2nd and 3rd round picks.
The Sens eventually came away with a cool 1st round pick, 31 year old Filip Kuba, and prospect Alex Picard. The later is actually a local kid from Gatineau. Picard he had inadvertently shipped his equipment to Tampa only days before the trade…but I’m sure the hassle will be worth it for the chance to break into the NHL with his home town team! Continue reading ‘Mez to Bolts’
The Senators get to be part of this year’s NHL-in-Europe kick-off party.
They’ll open up with back to back games against the Penguins in Stockholm on October 4th and 5th and then kick off the rest of their remaining 80 game schedule at home against Detroit on the 11th.
It’ll be nice for the captain to get showoff for live for his countrymen AND show his teammates a little about Sweden.
Here’s hoping the Sens put up more of a fight in these two games then they did in those 4 last April.
25
Jun
McGrattan to Coyotes
The cleaning house continued down the chain as McGrattan was shipped out of town. That’s another of the so-called “Bingo boys” down. It was well known that Emery, McGrattan and Spezza were a tight group of friend. Many criticized their activities about the town - especially those of Emery.
Perhaps once Spezza is clear of any questionable influences he’ll be prepared to take the next step in his career - settle down with his girlfriend ad hang out with the Phillips and Alfredsson crowd. McGrattan simply has no place on a team that plans to contend for a division crown…let alone the Cup.
That said, he always seemed like a good team guy to me. Further, he was the first Sens fighter that was a legitimate heavy weight contender and actually won fights. Chris Neil, who has tied about every fight he’s been in, certainly can’t claim that!
Goodbye Grats!22
May
Who’s the boss?
The potential coaching list for the Sens is a long one - including;
Mike Babcock, Pat Quinn, Pat Burns, Dale Hunter, Pierre McGuire, Tim Murray, Randy Cunneyworth, Pete De Boer, Jacques Demers, Bob Hartley, Paul Maurice, Joel Quenneville.
I think they tried the rookie route with Paddock and it failed miserably. For my money there are simply too many big name coaches available for the Sens to take a chance on another rookie at the helm.
Pat Burns seems to be the people’s champion…or at least is being heavily championed by the people of the Sens Nation (or Army if you must). He also comes with a glowing recommendation from Heatley and Spezza coming out of the World Championships. The duo can now confirm his “tough, but fair” aura…and Healtey’s MVP performance combined with Spezza’s growth throughout the tournament make you think it’s just might be needed.
After Burns, I’d really like to see Babcock. He’s another “tough, but fair” coach. You’d think, because the Wings have made the finals, that he’s unavailable. But, consider that he was highly doubted by the management in Detroit as recently as only a month ago. Moreover, his close ties to Murray AND the possibility of not living in the shit-hole that is Detroit likely make a move to this Nation’s capital appealing.
If you do then this swift exit could be a blessing is disguise!
Face it, this team, no matter how many bounces & breaks it got, wasn’t going to win the cup. So changes need to be made. Some drastic ones. Had they gutted out a win in Round 1 and maybe even in Round 2 then certain players would have demanded higher salaries this summer AND it would have been harder to remove people that clearly need to go.
Now, Murray will have absolute carte blanche to change key pieces on this team.
Let’s state the obvious - Afredsson, Heatley and Spezza all had injuries. In the case of Healtey and Spezza they seemed to be nagging ones more than anything. They probably should have played better. BUT the problem does not lie here. These guys have shown to be solid playoff performers in the past two seasons…they’re young guys who got caught in the implosion of this year’s Senators.
This team’s problems - including a lack of forecheck, seeming effort AND scoring - were the symptoms of more devious culprits. (1) A lack of confidence in room and (2) a lack of team chemistry [which both caused and was the cause of the lack of confidence]. Continue reading ‘The Question is: Do you trust Murray?’
16
Apr
Playing for jobs…
Might have been a while since an NHL club rallied from 0-3 in a series…but the Sens can look to the 2004 Boston Red Sox for a recent example of what it takes. The Sox were down 0-3 versus the Yankees in what amounts to the semi-finals but rallied to win in 7.
Realistically, this team seems to be a long way from having any Cup winning mojo…let alone the ability to crawl back into this series. Perhaps what we’ll see tonight is a battle…a battle for jobs that is. GM / Coach Bryan Murray is going to be making some changes this summer for sure.
You have to think UFAs like Redden, Commodore, Richardson & Robitaille are gone for sure. But, their remain question marks around RFAs like Vermette and Meszaros. Also, Spezza and Heatley might be feeling the pressure a bit too. They both signed mammoth deals in the first 1/3 of the season for 6 and 7 years respectively. They remain, in my opinion, goods deals from a Senators stand point. But, rumours did start to circulate on last weeks CBC HNIC Hot Stove that Murray would look at dealing Spezza…especially if a top flight goaltender (like Luongo) could be had in return.
While Luongo’s probably unobtainable - dealing Spezza might still be in the cards. Despite superior playoff performances than Heatley for three straight season’s AND being the highest PPG Senator this year and last - he remains the whipping boy for many Sens fans. So I’m looking for Spezza to play this one out with some fire in the belly.
I won’t proceed to to breakdown this team until it’s officially over…but I will say that for my money Spezza, Heatley, Alfie, Phillips and Volchenkov are the untouchables on this team. Despite the struggles of 19 and 15 in the post-season it’s inaccurate to call them non-playoff performers. Let’s not forget that they essentially led the league (w/ Alfie) in playoff points last year and both were averaging over a PPG in the playoffs heading into this year. The problem lies elsewhere on this club…more on that later!
