I was going to title this post as ” A Tale of Two Goalies”, and contrast the difference in play between Gerber and Auld. However I truly believe that it was just a bad game on Gerber’s part and that he will bounce back nicely. I do not think his starting job is threatened by just one game. Also, it might be appropriate to write more about this goalie issue if the team in front of them played differently for one than the other, as often happened with Ray Emery. However both nights the team was pretty consistent in their play, and they were damn good to!

As others have mentioned, and even by MVNs own Penguins blogger, the Senators probably should have come away this weekend with two wins, instead of one win and an OT loss. Gerber’s performance on Saturday was pretty abysmal while the rest of the team seemed to outwork and outplay the Pens. This was definitely the case on Sunday, and with Auld being solid in net, the Senators skated to a deserved victory.

However the thing that left the biggest impression on me this weekend was the new look new style Senators. It seems as though this is finally Bryan Murray’s team, and the hold overs from the Melnyk era are all gone. Like the Ducks he was building, Murray has a big strong team now that frankly is playing like a bunch of nasty buggers. They are tenacious, rough and getting in the faces of their opponents. They are making big hits, using their muscle and fighting their opponents for every inch of the ice. Even the penalties they are taking almost seem to be worth it since a bunch of them came from “questionable” hits that most certainly put hesitation in the strides of opposing skaters.

Roundup from this weekend:

STUDS

Dany Heatly - Played tremendous all weekend and showed what a true pure scorer he is. The one timer on Sunday was terrific. His defensive play was great as well and he looked very imposing out there. He looked as sharp as I have ever seen him in a Sens uniform.

Neil-Ruutu Tandem - These guys were great to watch all weekend. Solid pests makers to the Penguins all weekend. They showed why putting them together on one line is going to be huge this season for the Senators. They punished the Pens lines and got under their skin all weekend. Neil drawing two penalties from Goddard, and Ruutu’s “falling” on Sid over and over again was the highlight of this tandems contributions over the weekend.

Alex Auld - 59:59 of shutout hockey. Stood big in net and kept everything out, allowing the boys in front to concentrate on scoring.

Filip Kuba - He made the Meszaros trade look like highway robbery over the weekend. He was physical, blocked shots and contributed on the scoresheet both nights. This is clearly a small sample size, but so far so good for the new edition to the Sens blue line.

DUDS

Martin Geber - Terrible performance on Saturday, there is nothing really positive to say about how he played. First shot on the first game of the season going past him does not bode well if it is any indicator of how the season will play out for Gerber. Personally I think he will bounce back and play well during his next game.

Daniel Alfredsson - Its not really fair to give him a “dud” as he played pretty good in both games. However the fans were clamoring for an Alfie goal and he failed to deliver, so he gets an honorary “dud” for letting down thousands of people.

Developing Stories to Keep an Eye On

Goalie Controversy ?  - Was Auld scheduled to play on Sunday or was he put in because of Gerber’s bad play? Did Auld’s performance vs Gerber’s put the seed of doubt in both Gerber’s and managements mind on the certainty of the Senators #1 goalie? It will be interesting to see how this plays out.

Secondary Scoring ? - Again, the top line carried this team with four of the six goals scored coming from Spezza and Heatly. Will lines be adjusted to generate more offensive chances?

Will the New Look - New Style Senators last? - Will the tough, gritty and physical Senators continue to show up over the course of the season or is this just new season angst? Has the team turned over a new leaf (no pun intended)? Has Hartsburg sold them on a new system and if so will they stick with it?

Is the Bulin Wall still in play? - On Hockey Night In Canada on Saturday, the cast spoke about Murray continuing to pursue Khabibulin via a trade from the Hawks. Murray denied last week that he was interested in Bulin, but that question was directed at picking him up off waivers. The HNIC staff believes Murray is still negotiating with the Hawks and that part of the deal MUST include the Hawks picking up part of Khabibulin’s salary if the Sens are going to pull the trigger on the deal. Did Gerber’s performance on Saturday help Murray think about this option more? Will be interesting to see how this unfolds.

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In our final preview for the season, we will be looking at this years goaltending and resources at depth for the Ottawa Senators. Last year the Senators came into the season with “Playoff Warrior” and official Ottawa Bab Boy Ray Emery as the starting goalie and Martin Gerber as backup. Emery however needed surgery and Gerber got the go ahead to start the season. Under Gerber the Sens got off to one of the best starts in their history. Well, you all know the rest of this story ….

Today the Senators start their season with Martin Gerber as their #1 and journeyman Alex Auld as their backup goalie. Personally I like this set up far better than the last two years of the Emery-Gerber tandem. Gerber was signed by Ottawa three years ago to be the number one goalie we have been looking for. Regardless of what some people on the Team 1200 say (thats right, I am talking about you Eastwood!) Gerber HAS been considered a number one in his career. He was the number one goalie all year long for Carolina when they won the Stanley Cup a few years back. Sure he got injured / sick and Ward was essentially lightning in a bottle and dethroned Gerber,  but no one in Carolina rejects the importance of his contribution as the number one net minder that season. Did he live up to expectations when he came to Ottawa three years ago, absolutely not. However playing in Switzerland, then professionally Anaheim and Carolina does not prepare one to play for a team in Canada.

Gerber is notably an emotionally driven goaltender. It is all about confidence with this guy when it comes to his success. Gerber is a GREAT goaltender, and I mean that in every sense of the word. However coming to Ottawa and being under the microscope, being scrutinized at every mistake does something to people who are not used to that kind of attention. Undoubtedly Gerber buckled under this kind of pressure when he first came here. This allowed native Canadian Ray Emery to claim the number one spot and ride the team off to the SCF. The following year when Emery was hurt, Gerber was absolutely fantastic in net. However when Emery came back and started breathing down his neck, Gerbs began to buckle from the pressure again. When Emery was relegated to the bench indefinitely for the remainder of the season, Gerber once again came back and was by far the Senators best player down the stretch and into the playoffs.

No one thinks Auld is honestly going to challenge Gerber for the number one spot and, and Gerber knows this too. Coming off a strong finish last season, being in a contract year, and with a new dedication to Gerber by the franchise; I predict this will be Gerber’s finest year ever in the NHL. Auld has had his chance to be a starter with backup-turn-starter stints in Vancouver and Florida. He has shown that he can be effective in net, but not the kind of guy that a team can ride to the post season with. He will serve as a great non threatening backup for this team. Furthermore he will be a friend and partner to Gerber instead of Gerber’s competition.

All that being said…. huff huff …. neither of these Goalies have ever proven anything other than that they have moved around a bit without ever winning anything. So looking at this reasonably I would say the Senators go into the season with a goalie grade of a C+.

Goalie Grade - C +

Potential Grade - A

Roster Depth

This grade would have been a bit higher had we not just gotten word that Nikulin and Isbister have essentially jumped ship to play in the new Soviet Russian League.  However even with the loss of these two, the Senators are STRONG in call up depth. There are so many guys right now that players who probably expected to play at the start of the season will be sitting in the press box. Also, Murray had done a good job restocking the B Sens with some good prospects and a few NHL ready call ups. There should be not point during the season where the Senators are icing guys who have no business in the NHL. However this is strictly related to filling 3rd and 4th line positions, and filling in for injuries to guys like Donvovan or Neil. If the likes of Heatley or Alfreddson goes down for an extended period of time, there really is no one around to pick up the offensive scoring slack. The one ice product of the Senators is not going to throw wave after wave scoring threats at opponents. If one or two of their main scoring threats goes down, it could prove fatal for this team, or at least force Murray to make a trade.

Call Up Player Depth  - A

One Ice Depth - C

The season  starts tonight with back to back games against the Eastern Conference Chumps Champs Penguins in Sweden. Game time is 230pm Eastern Time. Check back tomorrow for a recap of the game and thoughts on the Sens opening series against the Pens, and my predictions for the season.

Volchenkov and Phillips were not nearly as solid even just a few seasons ago. Both of these guys have come a long way and together make one of the best D pairs in the league. Redden has not been the same player in years, at least not since he got his 3 year extension a few years back and was chosen by Muckler over Chara. Pothier got off to a great start in Washington, but since then has fizzled and has had injury issues. Mezsaros as we all know, never was able to recapture his rookie year sensation. Chara is the only one on that list that has left the organization that remains worth what his contract pays him. Hands down he is one of the top 5 defensemen in the league, top 3 by my standards.

This year however, the blue line has undergone significant changes that, for the first time in a long time, is going to give Ottawa a solid corp through and through. The top pairing of Volchenkov and Phillips is as solid as your going to get, they can match up well against any teams top line. Although pairings have not been made official yet, lets take our next top two guys and consider them pairing two. Smith and Kuba are both new additions to the team and are a complete 180 from our previous 2nd line of Redden and Meszaros. Last year our 2nd pairing was exploited all season by physical power forwards and aggressive offenses. Prone to making absent minded mistakes (Meszaros) and sometimes just being lazy and watching the play as a spectator (Redden) this pairing offered minimal true defensive capabilities and was more of a liability than an asset ( in strictly defensive terms). They sure were good at adding an offensive punch, but they were beaten seemingly night in and night out. Kuba and Smith add two big strong D men who both hit, block shots and play the position as it was meant to be played….. Defensively! This is going to give the Sens two pairing which can get out on the ice and play the opposing team tight and tough, and stand tall to big lumbering forwards.

The third pairing is yet to be determined. One can assume that Lee will make his return since he performed considerably well during his time in Ottawa last year. There has been no mention of Lee going to back to the AHL so he is a pretty safe bet. Who he is paired with is what is uncertain. Murray has recently called for Schubert to play offense again, so unless this changes, we probably will not see Schubert on the 3rd pairing with Lee. Richardson has been brought back to camp to try out for the team. During training camp and preseason he has been instrumental in getting Lee focused and steady after the young star got off to shaky start in some early games. Richardson was pretty solid last year with the ice time he was given, and he added some much needed expierence and toughness to the team. It will be interseting to see if he lands this gig. The final option is newly acquired prospect Picard, who is known for his big hits.  It seem most likely that Picard will find his way into the lineup somewhere since he played pretty well for Tampa last year and his potential is quite high. However a Lee - Picard pairing could be dangerous with two very inexperienced guys on the back end. Either way, the Senators blue line will be bigger, smarter and much tougher to play against this year than last year so this is a big upgrade. If Lee and Picard turn out to be studs this season, Ottawa could be looking at having the best D in the league from top to bottom.  With Gerber and Auld backstopping, the Senators may very well need it.

Grade - B+

Potential Grade - A

With the NHL regular season ready to kick off in just a few days, the Ottawa Senators have the honor of playing one of the first games this year, and even more special is that they are playing in front of hungry NHL fans in Sweden! Although it has been a “quiet” offseason for the Senators this year, it does not mean that significant changes have not been made. Contrary to what some pundits think, this team IS different than last year, and in very important areas too. Now that almost 6 months have passed since us Sens fans witnessed one of the worst team collapses in sports, we are able to move on and look forward to this season. I am sure we all hope, and some expect, hat we regain our Eastern Conference Champion form from a couple years ago. Through the rest of the week before the start of the season on Saturday, I am going to have a multi part preview of the upcoming season, taking a look at the different areas of this team and what we can expect or hope for this coming season. The first part of this preview is for the offense.

Ottawa Senators 2008-2009 Offense

Grade B-

Potential Grade B+

 The ever elusive top 6 winger continues to hamper the Ottawa Senators after years of trying to secure that area via trade and through the farm system. The Senators come into this season with three of the top players in the NHL with Spezza, Alfredsson and Heatley. Mike Fisher and Antoine Vermette fill the roles of top 4 an 5 offensive player for this team. After that , there is a considerable drop off in offensive and scoring ability for the Senators. This does not mean there are not hopefuls. It is possible that Nick Foligno is able to build upon his rookie season and become more offensively adept by netting 20 or more goals this year. There is also the possibility of Dean Mccammond returning his post concussion days, and into the top form he showed two seasons ago. However these chances are unlikely, and unless the Big 3 are split up, Ottawa once again could show that they are a one line team.

The problem with a 2nd line that consists of Vermette - Fisher - Someone Else  is that both Vermette and Fisher are streaky, but in different ways. Fisher has had consecutive 20 goal seasons since the lockout, but his goals tend to come in bunches, like 8 in two weeks and then nothing for 2 months. If the Senators are going to have a viable 2nd line that teams need to be concerned about, Fisher needs to be more consistent with his scoring. Vermette on the other hand seems to be endowed with a great scoring ability and nice dangler moves, yet when challenged to play top minuets and against top parings, he often comes up short with little or no offense. Throughout his tenure in Ottawa he has been given the opportunity to play on the top line with big name players, and yet he has never made the most of these opportunities. The guy can score, there is no doubt about that, however Vermette will need to be able to produce consistently throughout the season as well, even when faced against top pairings and good defensive teams.

The top line of the Big 3 is one of the most (if not THE MOST) dominating offensive lines in hockey. Over the last couple seasons both Murray and Paddock tried to split the top line up to spread the scoring to two lines. Unfortunately this has yet to yield the kind of results the team has wanted. When these three are together they are magic, truly something special. For this reason I suggest the team keep them together and work hard to find a winger who can step up offensively and contribute on the 2nd line. At least for the first couple months, let guys work for those 2nd line minuets. However if the Big 3 are split up, I would suggest moving Heatley to the 2nd line and keeping Alfy and Spezza on line 1. Heatley has shown he can play without Spezza and he is a pure goal scorer. Having him on the 2nd line will force opposing coaches to pick their poison about which pairing they have on the ice. I do not think moving Alfy or Spezza to the 2nd line would have this same effect.

For the next two lines, the Sens will be stacked with pretty much 6 guys who are 3rd line players. Kelly, Neil, Ruttu, Donovan, Mccammond, Foligno, Bass, Winchester and Schubert. Obviously not all of these guy will be able to dress, but Kelly, Neil, Ruttu and Foligno are pretty sure bets be in the line up every single night. All of these players are capable of potting 10 goals a season at least, and we have seen several of them do much more. However it is key that these players understand their role on the team and not try to do more than is necessary. Last season we saw Neil try to reinvent himself offensively, and it turned out badly. Not only did we miss the banging bodies, antagonizing, in your face Chris Neil that we have come to love over the years, his scoring ability just never showed up either. This left many fans wondering what use Chris Neil had to this team anymore, and some calling for his name in trades.

Aside from the Big 3, the Senators do not seem to have any potentially explosive offensive players that are really going to give opposing team fits. However they do have a couple 20 goal scorers, and a two waves of hard working guys that are capable of pitching in a goal every few games. I think as far as offense goes, this version of the Ottawa Senators come into the season with a B- grade. I do not believe we are going to see the high flying 6 goals a night team that we witnessed in years past, but they will be able to score enough goals each night to give them a good chance at a W. With the Big 3, any night has the potential to be a huge offensive night, however when this line does get shut down from time to time, it will be difficult to count on the other three lines to carry the team. Lines 2-4 will certainly contribute on a nightly basis, but there just is not enough fire power one those lines to be able to carry the team alone.

The potential is not much greater. Of course Foligno, Mccammond or Winchester could turn out to be an offensive surprise and elevate that 2nd line to a much more consistent scoring threat. But again, even if one of those three players becomes a 20+ goal scorers, it isn’t reasonable to expect much more from them, especially not the kind of consistent and dangerous offensive threat this team needs on that 2nd line.

The 2008-2009 will have a good offense once again this year as they have for the last 10 years. It will be a different kind of offense however, with more guys in the lineup who check, grind and fight for pucks. We may see a lot of ugly hard fought goals this year, but perhaps that is exactly what the Senators need, since it is something they have never had before.

What we learned over these last two seasons is that Meszaros is a pretty decent skater. We learned that he can carry the puck decently and has managed to learn a thing or two from Redden regarding well placed break out passes. We learned that he has a good shot when he has time to set up, and we learned that he has some smarts in the offensive zone, especially on the power play. We also learned that the guy is made out of ice cold Eastern European steel, and never misses a game.

However we also learned that Meszaros is not that smart of a hockey player. I don’t know him personally or what his intelligence level is in non hockey related scenarios, but when it comes to on the ice smarts, Meszaros rides the short bus to the games. How many times have we seen absolute mental collapses by this young man in his own zone? I cannot tell you how many times Mezsaros decided to pinch on a loose puck, only to lose the battle and end up allowing the puck to get deep in the zone, or worse, a goal. Each time he is back on defense and he is guarding a player on the point, I cringed in fear that he would try and pinch. Numerous times his bad pinches have led to losses in big games, including playoff games each of the three years he has been with the club. Deciding when to pinch is a skill learned at the teen level. The fact that he has come all this way and still has not learned how to make a good judgment on a pinch tells a lot about his hockey smarts and his ability to make quick decisions on the ice.

We have also learned that Meszaros does not like to take the body and get physical. Meszaros his a big guy, yet whenever he faces another large sized man, Meszaros almost never tries to physically impede this player or check him, instead he relies heavily on his stick checking. Most of these times this allows the larger forward to move unopposed towards the net. In the corners he does not like to lay the big hits or fight tooth and nail to get a puck out of the zone, things that any defensive player worth his salt should be doing on every single shift, every single night. Meszaros also is not a big fan of getting down and blocking shots like some of his other former teammates on the back end. Meszaros is also not much of a scrapper, not willing to get in the face of other players on a regular basis, or even when that player deserves it. We have learned that opposing offensive players simply are not scared of Meszaros when they are skating down the ice. They have little to fear in the possibility that he is going to land a crunching hit, knock them off the puck, battle them along the boards for possession or get in their face on the way to the net. Perhaps some even think that a little chicanery with the puck might yield them an opportunity to skate by this young man when he opts for that tempting pinch that is not really there.

We have learned that Meszaros feels his worth is far greater than it actually is, in contrast of course. Sure the market value for a offensive minded defensmen is as ridiculous as oil prices right now. When you see the kind of money guys like Brian Campbell and Wade Redden are making, in contrast to the money guys like Chris Phillips and Anton Volchenkov are making….. well its a slap in the face to true defensive hockey players both past and present. Sure in today’s game it is important to have a nice break out pass and a smooth puck handler on the back end, but the most important aspect of a defensmen should be his defensive ability. For Meszaros to have played next to guys like Chris Phillips and Anton Volchenkov for three years, and then demand more money for his services then these two players are currently receiving is a great indication of his commitment to this team; none. Like many European players (not ALL) Meszaros did not grow up playing on the frozen ponds pretending to be Wayne Gretzky and hoisting Lord’s Stanley cup and coming home to a parade down main street in his home town. Instead he is playing hockey in North America for two reasons; location and money. Winning the Stanley Cup with the team that drafted him and adjusted him to the North American game is not a priority for Meszaros, not even enough to play through his Restricted Free Agent status. No, making lots of money is a priority of his and if that means leaving the club than so be it. Yet even though he supposedly received some kind of ridiculous offer to play in Russia, he took the slightly less  money (yet much more than he was making or would make in Ottawa) to stay in North America and play for worst team in the NHL last season that has hinged all it’s hopes of success this year behind a star rookie and behind a new coach who essentially is the butt of every hockey joke in the United States.

In trading Meszaros, Bryan Murray has continued to transform this team into the mold which is capable of winning championships. Within the last several months, he has removed a player who admittedly could not handle the pressure of playing in a Canadian market and wanted to be traded (Joe Corvo),  he traded away an often injured player that also never matched his rookie year expectations (Patrick Eaves), he bought out the contract of the biggest cancer and worst locker room influence this team has ever had to deal with in its brief history (Emery), waived goodbye to a long time life long Senator who lost his game two years ago, could not live up to the ‘A’ he wore on his sweater and yet still demanded money based on his past performance (Redden). With the exception of Emery who is far worse, all four of these players (including Meszaros) are all primadonnas and contributed to the image of the soft Ottawa Senators. He has replaced them with guys who work hard every shift, hit the body, fight for the puck, and have the nastiness to get in the face of any opponent. Many criticized Murray for throwing the kind of money he did at Cris Kelly, but it was money well spend and Kelly will earn every penny of that contract. He, unlike the other five players mentioned, will fight for every puck in every corner and sacrifice his body to make the right play for this team. Thanks to Brian Murray, Cris Kelly now has more teammates that he can count on to do the same.

This however has not stopped the noise makers from pretending they live at that New Years bar in Disney World where it’s a new New Years every 15 minuets. Oh no, all your favorite party noise makers have been out and been played loud and long into the night of this off season. All across cyber-space your ‘maniac’ Sens fans have been ‘chirping’ about some ‘buzz’ they apparently are hearing from their covert inside sources nestled deep within the Sens brass. The news in Ottawa is apparently slow this time of year, because it seems both print and radio outlets picked up on these stories and ran with them as if they were something more than what they actually were; rumors.

This is been by far the worst year I can remember involving Senators rumors. Not only has the volume of rumours increased considerably, but a new breed of audacious and ridiculous types of rumours have emerged in the Ottawa scene. Some of the trade proposals in the rumours I saw floating around were literally beyond comprehension. Some complained that the worst part about this was that as ridiculous as these ideas were, the local media continued to pick up on it. It was as if someone just picked random names from another team and put them down as being traded to the Senators for a short list of Ottawa players that seem to be this season’s hot trading commodity.

This short list includes Vermette, Meszaros, Gerber, Neil, Spezza and Lee. Vermette and Meszaros are understandable as they are both RFA’s and looking for substantial pay raises. Gerber only made sense if it involved a goalie coming back the other way. Neil seems to have drawn the ire of some Senators faithful, feeling as though he has a high trade value, while his role can seemingly be easily replaced by a guy like Cody Bass. Spezza’s name has been floating around all summer because of his close friendship with Emery, but after signing a long term deal it seemed unlikely he would be going anywhere. Soon to be rookie sensation Lee simply is not going to be moved this year, especially with the departure of Redden.

Some believe that the rumors are simply a reaction to the poor outing the Senators had last season coming off the heals of a Stanley Cup Finals appearance. They believe that the fans are simply clamoring for some kind of change, some kind of shake up to get this team back on the winning track before it falls off completely and years of rebuilding lay ahead. I however disagree with this. I believe that what we are experiencing this off season is a by-product of a successful franchise growing out of its previous bounds and into new heights. Like other very popular sports teams who have a strong local following, the Senators are experiencing a growing number of fans which is creating a growing interest in the team both during the actual NHL season as well as the off season. In cities like Toronto and Montreal, The Leafs and Habs do not just stay in the headlines from Oct to Apr (or June), they are in the news seemingly everyday for one thing or another. In places like Washington DC and Boston, the Redskins and Red Sox are not just seasonal attractions, they are year round attention getter’s. Ottawa is emerging to this state of fandom in it’s own way throughout their region as well.

Simply put, Ottawa Senators news sells papers and tune’s listeners in. This is why even the most outlandish and unreasonable rumors have been making it to print and getting time on the airways in the local media. The fans are no longer worn out come summertime, they are going strong all year round now, and any Senators news has suddenly become newsworthy to the local media’s, more-so than it has ever been before. Furthermore, the types of rumors being generated are also a sign of an emerging and growing fan base. The success of the Senators franchise over the last ten years has no doubt begun attracting, and churning fans of a fanatical nature which daydream and conjure up sensational scenarios for their favorite team. These scenarios of chatter amongst the die-hards soon become rumours, and the mill starts to turn; creating a buzz that sends the frothing off season fan base into a frenzy for a few days giving them something Senators-related to talk about.

Although clearly an annoyance to someone who dislikes rumors and widespread panic or cheer over things which simply are never going to happen, I am pleased to see the Senators finally getting their due respect and admiration from a growing number of fans within their region. Since their inception, the franchise has had to contend with longtime Leafs and Habs fans in their region, waging hard fought battles to win fans over to the new home team. It has been a slow process, one that is not even close to completion (as evident by the number of Leafs and Habs fans at Senator home games), but decade long success of this franchise has contributed greatly to the growing conversion of old blueshirts and Canadiens to the rank and file Sens Army.  

Many are wondering if this is a good thing or a bad thing, if this is a sign of where the franchise see’s itself in the running for the Cup. While teams like the Lightning went out and stockpiled new players, to go along with their new coach and new owners, the Senators next year will be pretty much the same tame, with a few added sprinkles of new faces dotted in the lineup. However the major difference between last year’s Senators and this year’s soon to be Senators is attitude. Humbled and embarrassed by the antics and failures of last season, management has done it’s best to purge out the sources of the problems, and I expect a renewed sense of effort and organization pride to be seen by the 2008/2009 Senators squad.

So what about these new players? What do they contribute to the Senators lineup? Unfortunately, neither of these places are going to really be high impact players for this team. I like the Alex Auld signing mostly because I like Alex Auld as a player. I don’t think he is a stellar goalie, but he came cheap and he is a good guy who works hard. The Senators went the route last year with a goalie that had some talent, but was a bad guy and did not work hard; we see where that got us. I remember Auld mostly from his days with Vancouver, and I remember thinking that this guy goes out there every night and gives it his all. Without Cloutier, the Canucks barely missed a beat in net with Auld as replacement. This however is not saying much when one considers the talent of Cloutier. However the one bright spot of this signing is that no one seriously considers Auld to threaten Gerber for the starting job, something I think will allow Gerber to be more focused on his game and provide more consistent goaltending. Gerber does not play well when one eye is on the puck, and the other eye is looking over his shoulder. If the Senators defense can hold it together, expect Gerber to continue on his rebound year from ‘07/’08 and become a damn good goalie again night in and night out.

As far as Ruttu goes, I really have not yet formed an opinion one way or another. I suppose he is the type of guy Murray likes to have. He is tenacious and aggrivates opponents. He is generally a smart player and doesn’t take too many stupid penalties for the kind of player he is, so I suppose those are all good things. However Ruutu does not address the Senators main concern which is a lack of a second line. Ottawa boasts tremendous depth and talent at the 3rd and 4th line positions, but lacks that second wave of attack that champion calibre teams have had over the years. A Ruutu/Bass/Neil line will most certainly provide entertainment all year long, but it wont put pucks in the net. Aside from Antoine Vermette, who isn’t even signed yet, who else do the Senators have past the big line that has consistent offensive talent? With the loss of Stillman in FA, the Senators again are seriously lacking in 2nd line talent.

Also let’s not forget the holes at defense this team needs to address. I am all ok with Phillips-Volchenkov as our top pairing, but after that, again it seems like we lack a true 2nd pair of D-men. Don’t get me started on Meszaros. As I stated, the best thing we could do is swap this train-wreck of a D-man for another with less hype and more brains. Of course it has only been a mere three days into the Free Agency period, and there is still a lot of player movement destined to happen through trades, FA signings, RFA signing and waivers. There is even some rumors swirling around right now about a potential trade happening to acquire someone to bolster our D Corps. Stay tuned Senators fans, there is a lot more to come in the next few days ….  

The first move was the hiring last week of Craig Hartsburg as the new head coach. You can read more about this hiring in the previous entry here at MVN if you want to get a better idea of the the hiring process and the man himself. However perhaps a bigger step was taken when the Ottawa Senators began the buy out process of Maurice Clarett, errr I mean of equally career throw away Ray Emery.  The first part of the process to buy a player out in the NHL is to waive them, and allow them to clear first waiver. The team then needs to recall the waived player and once again the player needs to clear re entry waivers. If the player clears both waivers then the team can officially buy out the contract. Ray Emery cleared the first waiver, and will almost definitely clear re entry waivers. Once he has been purged from this team like a bad stomach flu, I believe only then can the team seriously move forward and make an honest effort in signing players to come and play in Ottawa. Emery will most likely land another job somewhere in the league as a back up, and attempt to work his way into a number one spot again, where he will fail and fade off into obscurity with other has-beens and never-should-haves. The bottom line is that Ray Emery is a lifelong AHL goalie who won the ”career lottery” when found himself in net at the moment the 2007 Ottawa Senators caught fire and steamrolled their way into the Stanley Cup Finals. So long Ray!

The next step Ottawa took was to resign Chris Kelly at a whopping 2.15 million a year for the next four years. This is a great signing for the Senators even though they slightly overpaid for Kelly. For starters they locked up one of the smartest hockey sense guys in the NHL for the next four years. Kelly is also the kind of player that plays all out every shift and is accountable for both his offense and defensive ability. He can play on the third line in a checking defensive capability, or stick him on the first line between Alfy and Heater and he can provide enough offense to keep that line a serious threat. Perhaps his biggest asset is his penalty kill. This is one of the best penalty killers in the league, and with the emphasis on special teams play since the lock out, having a penalty killer like Kelly on your team is well worth the price tag he came with. Furthermore, Kelly is a no nonsense player. There had been some speculation that after last seasons debacle, he just did not want to play for this franchise anymore. Having waived Emery and signed Chris Kelly, the Senators have sent a clear message to both their free agents and the rest of the league that they are serious about getting back on track. To free agents around the league Ottawa is looking much better of a destination to play hockey today than it did last week, thanks in part to these two rather simple but effective moves.

Finally, this weekend at the 2008 NHL Draft, the Senators made a fairly safe trade to move up and get the guy they wanted. With the 15th pick overall, the Senators drafted Swedish born defenseman Erik Karlsson of the SEL. He is not your typical Brian Murray type player, since he is a bit small and undersized for the position. But in the weeks leading up to the draft his stock was soaring as teams came to appreciate his puck moving ability on the back end, his crisp passing and the ability he has shown to quarterback a power play. With the departure of Joe Corvo and Wade Redden, the Senators organization has been in need of another puck moving defenseman, and with Karlsson they got just that. It will take some time for this young man to fill out and be NHL ready, but scouts expect him to have a bright NHL future.

With these three moves made in just the last week, Ottawa has done a tremendous job of securing success for next season. I feel that there is much more in the works as we lead up to July 1st. Expect to see a trade happen shortly to free of some cap space, with likely candidates being Mezsaros, Vermette or even possibly Jason Spezza.

What concerns me about this hiring are two things. First, what should have been a normal process of hiring a head coach like every other sports team in every other league has to do from time to time, this hiring took the stage in the form of a three ring circus; a growing trend for almost anything related to this Ottawa franchise in recent years. Now a lot of this could be blamed on the Ottawa media as I am sure they are partly responsible, but then again they only report what they hear and the tips they get from their sources inside the organization. Even if they had gotten the candidate wrong, there must have been some truth to what they were hearing. Let us go back and review the circus that was hiring a new head coach. 

For the first act, during the NHL playoffs we were told that Murray would make no decision until after the season had ended or decisions by other teams regarding other coaches were decided. Until that time Murray would hold of hiring anyone, but would prepare by conducting interviews with possible candidates. This led to the belief that John Tortorella was being considered by Murray and he was waiting on wether or not Tampa was going to replace him. The other speculation was that Murray was waiting for the Wings to finish their 2008 season and see if he could somehow snag  his old friend and former hire Mike Babcock. Like most people, I did not think for one second that the Babcock thing would ever happen, but with the history the two have had, it wasn’t out of the realm of thinking on Murray’s part.  

Act two took place around the time the Wings finished their pummeling of the Penguins. The media was reporting that the front runners for the coaching job were Bob Hartley and Craig Hartsburg. With the success of the Red Wings there was no chance at Babcock (if there ever was). Also, John Tortorella had been given the axe and was now available to talk to. However when speaking to local media on the Team 1200 radio station, Murray had alluded to the idea that he was done “searching” but still wanted a few guys to come back for second interviews. With this, he cancelled any hopes that many fans had about John Tortorella coming to the Senators and created a frenzy about who the candidates were that he was going to bring back for another round of talks.

Act three began when word broke that Bob Hartley was going to be named Head Coach of the Ottawa Senators within a couple days. It was believed that he has been hired on principle and the two parties were just waiting for the ink to dry on the contract. Some fans rejoiced, others cried. A whirlwind of speculation took hold as fans wondered what this meant for our young crop of talent since Hartley is not known for being all to kind to the kids on his team. How will this affect free agency? Will players want to sign here? Can Hartley’s tough attitude fix the dressing room? The staff at Scotia Bank were inking his name on the door to the coaches office.

Act four shot through the Senators community like a bullet. A radio station out of Kitchener Ontario were reporting that the Ottawa Senators had just hired and named OHL coach Peter Deboer as their new head coach. Who? What? Bob Hartley? Deboer had been the coach for the Kitchener Rangers for the last seven season, which gave great credibility to the news breaking from a Kitchener radio station. Deboer would be coming to Ottawa with zero head coaching experience in the NHL. What did this mean for the Senators? Did it mean the team was going into rebuilding mode? Did Brian Murray drop the ball again on this one? Fans clamored for news and when the word came out that Deboer had been flown out to owner Eugene Melnyk’s private resort in Barbados, well it stopped becoming a rumor and it was fact. Regardless if both parties were denying any such hire had officially taken place, the fact that the Kitchener media were reporting it and that Deboer had met with the owner in Barbados was all that was needed to know he was the Senators next coach. The Scotia Bank Place staff grudgingly scrapped off the name Bob Hartley and started etching in Peter Deboer.

Act five, the conclusion to this theatre of Shakspearian proportion, began when on Friday June 13th the official announcement was made that Craig Hartsburg was named head coach. Wha? Bob Hartley? Yes that is correct, Craig Hartsburg was officially named head coach amid the rumors of Peter Deboer’s hire.  Oddly enough Peter Deboer was named head coach of another NHL team that same day, the Florida Panthers (is there no end to Jacque Martin’s vendetta against Ottawa??). Well Murray had stated that he wanted accountability from his new head coach, and when asked about player accountability Hartsburg responded:

“Early in this whole thing the players will see there’s a plan … when the plan is not followed there certainly will be some accountability,” it will be black and white. They’ll know what’s right, what’s wrong. They’ll know the line not to cross.”

This was an early strong message he was sending, but only time will tell whether or not these words are hollow when faced with managing NHL superstars with superstar ego’s like Jason Spezza.

The second issue of concern I have with this hiring is that some fans and other people around the league are now under the notion that the Senators franchise have entered a rebuild mode. If you are reading this and fall into that category, let me re assure you that this in fact is not the case. The team is one year removed from a SCF appearance and the main core of that run is still firmly in place and will be so for a long time. Who is that core you ask? Alfredsson, Heatley, Spezza, Phillips, Volchenkov and Fisher. Even if one of these players are traded such as Heatley or Spezza, it would certainly be a swap like trade with talent and not prospects coming back our way. And if the rumours are correct, the Senators are going to be targeting several veterans in this off season, and not going after prospect type players. It is true that this team continues to get younger every year as rookies take up the roles of departing players such as Lee will be doing this year for Redden. However it is important to remember that these young players are ready to be here, and have spent the time necessary in other league’s for their preparation. They are not being hurried to the NHL and expected to grow here like other teams that are rebuilding often do.

On a final note I am pretty happy with the Hartsburg hire. Of course only time will tell if it works out, but after some consideration I do believe this will be a good hire for this team. The fact is, Hartsburg has made a name for himself as a coach while working primarily with younger players, such as his time in the OHL and as the head coach for the Canadian national Juniors team. But he also has NHL head coaching experience so he understands the media pressures and the multiple personalities of an NHL dressing room. But it is his experience dealing with young talent that will be what makes his career here in Ottawa. Last year the Senators had experienced something akin to a coup by a few of it’s young and talented players. Paddock did not manage these players expectations, attitudes and personalities properly which ultimately spiraled out of control to where there was no chance of a return to normalcy. With his experience and success in coaching and handling top talent in the World Juniors, I believe that Hartsburg will be more than capable in addressing the concerns of the young talent on this Ottawa team. If he cannot, then next season this organization will not only be looking for a new coach, but also a new General Manager.

Yet, while Murray seemed to be playing the waiting game with these respected clubs, he did conduct interviews and kept the search up for the right candidate. One of those that he interviewed was former Colorado and Atalanta coach Bob Hartley. News however had finally reached the rest of the NHL that Tortorella would not be back with the Lightning next season and instead replaced with ESPN analyst Barry Melrose (has the hot Florida sun finally driven people insane down there??). This has presented Murray with the opportunity to interview “Torts” for the job. However, Murray never said he was waiting for “Torts” or anyone else for that matter, but purely speculation on our parts as fans and media. Sources are reporting that regardless if “Torts” is now available, signing Hartley as coach is now just a formality and a press conference away; it seems Murray has found his man.

Speaking to the sports crew on Team1200 a few days ago, Murray would not commit to deciding on Hartley and said that he wanted to conduct a few more interviews. This could be just a ploy to drive down money demands on behalf of Hartley, or the media could again be wrong and there are actual candidates out there that Murray still hasn’t decided on. Personally speaking I would prefer John Tortorella, but I would also be happy with Bob Hartley. Both are Stanley Cup champions and both seems to be similar styles of coaches when it comes to managing players. Both are pretty tough on their guys and demand that they work hard every night and are not afraid to come down on them and hurt their fragile superstar ego’s. This mentality is the exact opposite of last year’s disaster with John Paddock and to a lesser extend Brian Murray. Hartley has won at every coaching level that matters, and brings accountability to the locker room. His one knock however is that he apparently is not a very good developmental coach, and his patience with young players is very short. One other issue with Hartley that he shares with ”Torts” is that both are known to be “short term” coaches in that they tend to wear out their welcome within a few seasons. Players under these coaches all tend to, at some point, stop listening and literally tune these guys out which results in a dismal on ice performance as we have seen both in Tampa the last couple years as well as Atlanta under Hartley this past season. There is a good chance with these two candidates that even if either of them finds success here as a coach, it will not be too long before Murray or whomever is GM will be searching for a coach again soon.

Information has also come out that Ottawa did in fact tender an offer to Wade Redden to return to the club next season. However the offer essentially asked Redden to take a $3 million paycut from his last contract. This means the contract was for $3.5 million, a fair and generous price I believe for the services of Wade Redden, especially after he essentially milked his $6.5 million from the club the last two years. Somehow I feel that this story is not over. Redden believes that their is a market out there for him at or about his current salary of $6.5 millions. Although its possibly that some team may actually pay ol number six this money for his services, it seems unlikely when one looks beyond his reputation and looks at what he has done the last two years. I am sure that someone will offer him more than Ottawa, but the question is how much will they offer? If the margin of these offers is not far off from Ottawa’s tender, I would not be surprised to see Wade suck it up and stay with the only club he has ever played for and work to re establish his image here in Ottawa. I for one would not be opposed to Redden coming back for the $3.5 mil he was offered. This price puts him in line with Phillips and Volchenkov, an obvious equal and comparable two players in terms of contribution and ability. Only time will tell where this saga ends.

News from a few insiders of the Senators have also reported that negotiations with Chris Kelly are ongoing, but not looking promising. In my personal opinion, I believe this has to do more with the kind of team Kelly was playing for last year than any kind of honest money issue. Kelly seems to be the ultimate team player type person. He is not a star and he knows this, but he is hard working, smart and talented, keys to being an important player on any team. However the events surrounding last season, which still seems to be under wraps for now, looks to have found its first victim in terms of players wanting to play here. We all heard the feelings from guys like Lapointe and Commodore who were transplanted here late in the season. They could not believe how terrible the division in the locker room was, it was something they had never experienced before. This is quite the statement considering how long Lapointe has been in the league. As a guy who is a team player like Kelly, it is no surprise that he would not want to return to such an environment and that he has simply had it with the all the crap that has gone on over the last couple seasons. Of course money solves all doubts in this regard, but Kelly may need more money to stay in Ottawa and willing to take less for the right kind of team to play for. I know Murray loves this guy and he is the kind of player Murray likes to build his teams with, so there is no doubt in my mind that Kelly is being offered more than fair compensation for what he brings to this team. Now Murray must convince him that the three ring circus, also known as Ray Emery, Jason Spezza and Christoph Schubert, will be closed for business next season with the departure of one or all of these players in the off-season. I also believe that announcing a new coach will also go a long way in the Kelly negotiations, especially if that coach turns out to be a guy like Hartley or Torts.

Finally, Senators prospect Peter Regin has been signed to a contract. I know some of you are scratching your head and asking “Who?”. Well to refresh your memory, four years ago in 2004, the then 18 year old Peter Regin was taken in the 3rd round (187th overall) by the Ottawa Senators in the NHL draft. Regin is a native of Denmark and has been playing the last three season in Europe  for Timra RK in the Swedish Elite League. I cannot honestly say that I know all too much about this young prospect of Ottawa’s, however a detailed prospect analysis of Peter can be found here at Hockey’s Future website. Below is a quick excerpt from the article, I recommend you read the entire article for a better view of this player’s potential:

Regin’s best assets are his strong playmaking skills, soft hands, and overall offensive talent.  He sees the ice well and is calm when he passes the puck, which bodes well for a future as a playmaker. Though he has a ‘pass first’ mentality, Regin does have a knack for scoring goals.  He has strong shooting abilities, specifically a high caliber wrist shot.   Regin is not the strongest player and definitely needs to bulk up just as his defensive game is a work in progress

Regin understands that he will need to spend some time in Binghamton to get adjusted to the North American game as well as to continue to grow and get more experience. If things continue to keep pace for this young prospect, we may have another great talented centerman to look forward to in the coming years.