Category Archives: Verbosity

In which we assess the draft on a scale of 1-to-10, 7 being the highest

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Ottawa traded up to draft this adorable chipmunk.

Varada

At the risk of sounding like a complete fanboy, I’m thrilled with this draft. With Murray having solidified his prospect depth on the backend, he was free to draft forwards, and we received scorers in bunches. Obviously Noesen was a surprise to some (and Zibanejad over Couturier also tweaked people a bit), but trading up to take Puempel was a pleasant surprise, as was the trade for Filatov. I didn’t think Murray had any interest in players whose skills are built solely around scoring goals. But with Filatov, Butler, and Puempel in the system I like the odds of one of them turning into a 20 goal man.

And let’s talk about Filatov. People are saying things about risk, but to me this was an absolute steal. You think about all of the work that goes into assessment during the draft – something we should obviously be well aware of after this year – and all of the work Columbus did in coming to the decision to use a 6th overall pick on this guy, and only three years later he can be got for a 3rd rounder? A 22 year old with that kind of pedigree gets less than, say, Chris Kelly at the deadline? I understand that he might go the KHL in a worst-case scenario, but I’d take that risk any day. He needs to grow up a little, maybe, but at 22 I’d be willing to put him in a different system and see if it takes. Maybe after being traded he’ll wake up a little bit and buy into the program. I’m really excited to see what a line with Spezza, Michalek and Filatov might look like.

I’m a bit surprised that a goaltender wasn’t drafted, as Murray explicitly said that he would draft one to drive Lehner’s development – someone to chase, someone chasing him. I guess it was a weak draft for (chicken)tenders.

Pete

Holy snaps, remember when we all wanted Murray out of town? That dude can draft.
I’m not sure if its his reliance upon a couple of key scouts or if he’s got this Charles Xavier thing going on where he wheels (pardon the pun) and deals and boom, next thing you know January Jones is wearing retro lingerie… By that I mean other gm’s are playing checkers and Murray is straight up playing chess. (mmm sexy mixed metaphor, or sexaphore, if you will)

I liked the emphasis on size and scoring, They passed on Couturier because he just wasn’t big enough and like the edge Mika plays with. I think this draft completes the overall strategy of having the mini puck movers on the back end and more power forwards up front. I still think they’re going to get pushed around quite a bit next year, but if you think of these moves within the context of a year into a five year rebuild, I believe they are ahead of schedule.

About Filatov, Every GM agrees this was a steal on paper. My biggest concern is that this kid comes in displays his brilliance during camp, makes the team then settles into bad habits. This could be a tough challenge to throw your new coach. I’m afraid his attitude will be tolerated which sends a horrible message to your kids who you bring in to grind and work for everything. It will be interesting to see how much the new staff tolerates.

One final mind blowing note, both giant US sports news sites, ESPN and SI.com lauded the moves made by B. Murray. You know when the American papes are dapping you up, you did well!

James

“We’ve been pumping Bryan Murray’s tires all draft long and we haven’t heard him say one good thing about us yet” – ESPN & Sports Illustrated
 
Remember when Roberto Luongo said something like that and on TV no less? AAAAAAAAAdorable.
 
Speaking of remembering, remember in our pre-draft round up how I said “I hope they only go for high risk, high ceiling forwards aaaaaaaaaaall the live long day” (slight paraphrase). So one could say I’m pleased that what I wanted to happen, happened.

Zika Mibanejad: Okay, so the Sens didn’t take the projected no.6 Shawn Couturier. Something occurred to me after the maple leaf special (late season improvement in play after being mathematically knocked out of the playoff race), when it became clear that the Sens were not going to hit the absolute bottom of the league but were likely going to land in the bottom ten. I thought that Bryan Murray was entering a bit of a damned if you do damned if you don’t situation. A situation that could easily come about from not picking in say the top 3 but rather the top 10, particularly in a draft like this one was. What I’m talking about is the strong likelihood that a team is going to get a Jeff Skinner or Logan Couture guy. The type of player that people weren’t talking about like a slam dunk on draft day but ends up really excelling in relation to their rookie peers. By passing on Couturier and taking Zibanejad, Murray will either end up look like a genius or a goat. Since neither player has skated on NHL ice I am very into them picking Zibanejad. He rose to the #2 ranking among European prospects and with the Sens Euro …oh who am I kidding Swedish scouting being what it is I trust whatever justification went into choosing MZ. As a fan of the Ottawa Senators, with the recent selection of Jared Cowan you can see how a prospect’s stock can plummet given injury or illness (Cowan had knee surgery – the Michalek special) and mono, which made him appear sluggish to many scouts through the season of his draft and at the WJC. Maybe the same thing happened to Couturier who was also suffering from Mono during the season. I think no. 6 was actually a pretty tough pick – especially given the blow that came with losing 5th spot to New Jersey- I am very excited about the selection and am mentally prepared for the top ten guys to exceed expectations and others to underwhelm over the coming years. And I do mean years ….remember Stamkos’ first season vs. second season? Also, remember that guy Jonathan Tavares? Guy is layin LOW. Im not saying he sucks or hes a bust or anything…just so, so, so hard to live up to that kind of hype right away, esp with the shit team he was drafted by. In closing, the name Zibanejad is awesome. 
 
Stefan Noesen: A forward? From Texas? Comparisons to Corey Perry? Cool! 
 
Matt Puempel: This guy is pretty exciting. More of what I was talking about above with that injury dropping a player’s draft value. I think that this pick has the potential of ending up being a big time steal. I watched him play some impressive games a couple times against the 67s on an otherwise flaccid Peterborough Petes. I kept hearing rumblings all season about him being the lone spark lighting it up on a pretty bad squad and that he might go high in the draft. Then alas, a bad hip injury curtailed his season. But fear not friends he was fixed up by the same surgeon who operated on Mario Lemieux (!!!!) AND Pascal Le….claire…..uh…okay moving on! I wanted high risk and got it. He was an OHL sophmore this past season so time is on the kid’s side. I hope he bounces back and that his development is not hampered (doiobviously). As the third of three 1st round picks for me, the pressure’s off this kid to turn heads in a hurry. Take your time young man. Glad the Sens took a chance. 
 
Shane Prince: All my moaning about the San Jose Shanks poaching all of the Ottawa 67s best players comes to an end. After failing to take Tyler Taffoli and Ryan Martindale I was very happy to see Prince get selected by Ottawa. I became a fan of Prince this season and judging by all the Prince jerseys at the Civic Centre I wasn’t alone. The only knock is that because it’s so easy to get seats up very close at 67s I have to take issue with Prince’s 5’11 billing. He looked considerably smaller than one inch under 6 foot to me and that was on a rink full of juniors. But anyway, its NHL 8.0 so…go for it Shane! 
 
The Guy From the Olympiques & the other picks: Cool…obviously its time to talk about Nikita Filatov. 
 
Trading for Nikita Filatov: Okayyyyyyy put some extra ketchup on that shit and shit. I had read about Filatov to Ottawa rumors all season deep on message boards. I was hoping they were true but they just felt so Eklund make believe land. Why would Columbus give up one of their most highly touted prospects before he’s barely had a chance at the NHL level? When I read that the deal had gone down I could not believe it! But then I remembered that the Blue Jackets are literally the worst team in the NHL at developing talent. Seriously, one round of the playoffs in franchise history and all they have to show for it is Rick Nash, Pascal Leclaire’s groin and the Ghost of Steve Mason? Anyway, about the kid’s ‘tude… I don’t know, its 50/50 for me. We just endured 2 seasons of master of ‘tude Alex Kovalev after his apprentice Dany Heatley jumped ship just prior to that. I think Peter makes a really good point about what MacLean and Co will let slide with all these kids but  Filatov for a 3rd rounder? Fucking 50 bucks on black. Also, not getting along with Ken Hitchcock to me is like not getting along with John Tortarella…as in… looks like a hard guy to get along with. Especially as a young offensive player on a team as consistently terrible as Columbus.  I think if he’s given top 6 minutes maybe even top 3 and delivers the scoring punch we all know he has those criticisms might melt away. I saw him play in person once at the now famous Canada-Russia game at the WJC in 2009. I remember during the game daydreaming about how awesome it would be to see the Sens one day have an exciting kid like that on the roster. Frigging crazy that I’m actually going to see how that plays out.

In which we, get this, MAKE UP Draft scenarios…and recap all 3 minutes of Senate Reform (name copyright silversevensens.com)

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So, have we been thinking about the draft at all? No, eh? Well I have. Not only have I been doing a lot of thinking I have also been studying all of the IMPORTANT information from the Senate Reform video(s). Jeepers creepers, 3 sort of episodes before the draft, totaling at what I’d imagine is less than half an hour of (internet) television? Oh how you spoil us!

Senate Reform Sidebar:

Did you know that Scotia bank Place in the summer is Scotia bank Place? It’s a fact.
Also, something something scouting teams talk to each other a bit.

Great job, Senate reform videos. Listen, I need to get outta here. I gotta get some kind of job with the Sens. It looks beyond fucking easy. I cant handle it. LOOK AT THIS!!!!!!!!!

Literally rebuilding...

 Can we get a moment of silence for all the drapes that have gone extinct…………..Lord hear our prayer. R.I.P. Drapes. If only the human race could have seen the error of its way and stopped the systematic destruction of drapes there would have been drapes to drape over those FUCKING MILK CRATES WITH MICROPHONES ON THEM THAT ARE IN FULL VIEW.

Since it’s St.Draftmas’ Day Eve Id better make this quick.

So, I will preface this by saying last year’s draft was a real punch in the not knowing how stuff works behind the scenes. The Ottawa Senators trade their pick for SOME DUDE playing in Sweden who’s in the St. Louis Blues system….mmmmm JUST like I’d predicted, right guys? Then we alllllllllllllllll get to enjoy when this so and so wins the Salming award and gets ranked no.1 prospect.
I will also disclose that AT THE TIME of their respective drafts I was bummed out on both the Cowan pick (Great! A guy who just had his knee re-built as a teenager! AND …yes, ill say it, Erik Karlsson (Great! Justin Beiber* on skates!)  In since time I’ve learned that the human body can heal AND sometimes a wee defenseman CAN persevere and learn the true meaning of becoming an All Star in two NHL seasons. OOPS! K, now sit through this:

1. What I’d like to see happen on Draft Day:

As Ive said many times before…what’s that? What I say is completely unmemorable? Okay, well, anyway, as I’ve said many times before I am big believer in hidden gems that no one thinks of til the player just appears out of the awesomework as the awesome player no one really talked about on draft day. Right, Sideshow Jeff Skinner? Are there slam dunk picks that live up to their hype? Nearly every year, yes. A lot of awesome players, albeit fewer, go in the late first/second round too believe it or not. Recently, a little big man named P.K. Subban was taken a whole round after HOTTT up and comer Brian Lee. The NHL’s as of last night MVP Corey Perry was taken 28th overall. So what I’m saying is…given the organization’s recent scouting streak, maybe the best course of action would be to keep all 78 picks that they gave up a lot of beloved established NHLers and Alex Kovalev for and see what emerges from the ether. Take alllllllllllll high risk, high ceiling forwards. See what happens. As for the big numero 6 (thanks AGAIN Jersey!) if they take who they take there it’s likely a damn solid choice . I don’t think that rebuilding as all hell Edmonton Is. Giving. Up. shiiiiiiiiiiiit. I’d like to see  Couturier, Strome, Zibanejad (?), Huberdeau (not likely) or whichever forward is left at 6 get picked. People overdo it/underdo it with the praise and criticism ‘round this time. I think Couturier might be a little bit of Jared Cowan. Mononucleosis serving as a culprit in dropping a good pick’s value. This guy was once viewed as no.1. What I’d like to see is ‘Just take the best guy”…if he’s a forward. Only defensemen I’d like to see taken is Larsson for sure if he were to drop. So what if we have an incredibly banged out young defense? Anyway, in all, we are picking 6th overall…that is pretty awesome.

2. What I’ll likely see on Draft Day:

Sure Murray has indicated he’d like to move up in the draft. That’s nice. I’d like a job farting out 3 short Senate Reform webarfsodes (btw, did they pay Peter Raaymakers for that name?…because he definitely made it up). Im pretty sure every GM has indicated everything, all the time at this point. It’s part of why the job looks incredibly fun/sooo stressful it takes 15 years off of your life. One need not look further than the proposed moves on message boards to show how unwilling even in a rebuild we fans are to make a realistic move to do something like that: “We give Edmonton get this, Kuuuuuba, Leeeeee, and Reeeeeegin and the conditional pick we got for Kovalev AND MacElhinney’s negotiating rights for No. 1 overall! BOOM!” Yeah teams are clamoring for that aging defensemen and promising badly injured Danish forwards who had like 3 goals last season. Oh brother.
This isn’t to say that Murray aint no wheeler-dealer. He deals all the live-long day for better or for worse. I’m just not entirely sure its that kind of draft. Realistically, I could seeMurray standing pat on no.6 and wheeling some other crud (hopefully a package of picks) into another top 15 pick. I just don’t feel it in my bones that something huge will happen. Jersey and Philadelphia are of course the wild ones who have gotten themselves into cap hell. I still think that Kovalchuk contract was such an un-NewJersey move it was completely overcompensating in its un-New Jerseyness.

3. Dream weaving scenario.

Here’s where I get to completely back pedal from everything I said earlier. Alright. I miss Chris Kelly. He was a great player and a good dude. Congrats Christobal Kelly! As much as we all loved Kells I also wont tip toe around how easily he was replaced. The character of Chris Kelly doesn’t grow on trees but he’s nooooooot the rarest player on earth either. What Im saying is that all those trades showed that our guys had pretty good value for what they are but were also replaceable. The sample size is bfjdaskgljr but I think with the cornucopia of Z. Smith, Greening, Condra, infinity, type guys that the team has in the pipe…have the bottom 15 of forwards covered for now. If Murray and co. wanted to go for broke and try to make a big ass jump to the top three or better yet finagle 2 top 10 picks, I say, why the hell not. Its a rebuild try to get a crazy ass player if you think you can without selling the farm. Right, farm? I am pretty high on the Binghamton team right now and I believe those guys will make things interesting in the bottom six for the foreseeable future. It would be my dream scenario if the Sens got 2 top 10 picks. Just don’t give up Karlsson in the process.

*Who hadn’t yet been born at the time

Varada chimes in!

 1) What I’d like to see

My baseline expectation for this year’s draft is that we get one good-to-great top six forward, preferably a center. That’s what the 6th overall pick is for, and I’m hoping Couturier or Strome fall to us at there. Every other pick is in play, as far as I’m concerned.

There are two teams who are in heaps of cap trouble -Philadelphia and New Jersey- and like Chicago before them, there’s an opportunity to pick them clean. A player like Versteeg might be available from Philly (Carter probably is, but that contract is insane), and – dare to dream – I wonder if the RFA rights to Zach Parise can be had from New Jersey. I can’t see how they’ll pay him what he’s worth already having Kovalchuk on the left wing.

Ottawa has lots of 2nd round picks and a farm system full of 3rd liners, so we don’t need the kinds of players 2nd rounders get you. Can some of these picks be packaged for a star player?

2) What I’ll likely see

Drafting is Murray’s strength, and he’s known for savvy if totally unspectacular moves. We might see some picks traded for prospects who are closer to being developed; we might see some moved up and, failing that, moved down for additional picks. I don’t see the 6th pick being moved up because Murray isn’t one to get into bidding wars and other teams have more money, more cap space, and more desperation than the Senators, so they’ll be willing to take back bad salary for a higher pick or good prospect. But the 21st probably gets moved.

All this to say that I won’t be shocked if Murray simply uses his picks to take the best player available at the time, and I won’t be shocked to see him make an enormous but not very risky move.

3) Fantasy scenario

Couturier, once projected as a 1st overall candidate, falls to Ottawa at 6th.

No more than Ottawa’s 21st, two of its 2nd round picks, and a roster player (Foligno; Regin; Wiercioch?) are packaged to get Zach Parise out ofNew Jersey.

Filip Kuba is traded to Florida for a pick to help them reach the cap floor. Any pick will do

Karlsson and some donuts for the 1st overall pick. Would you do it?

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We’re in that weird flux between the end of the playoffs and the beginning of the draft – simultaenously the  most and least significant period for hockey clubs. Meaning we’re still mired in speculation, but at least this speculation has the flavor of possibility given all the interviews and articles which are reporting on basically nothing.

Interesting article in today’s Ottawa Citizen:

Murray told me he has already spoken to Edmonton GM Steve Tambellini to gauge his willingness to move the No. 1 overall pick.

Murray doubts the Oilers will trade it, but every pick has its price, of course.

“I can imagine who they’d want from us,” Murray said, “our little right-shot defenceman I would think.”

And would Murray consider moving Erik Karlsson, his first-round, 15th overall selection in 2008?

“No, I’m not doing that,” Murray said, flatly.”

Ottawa’s rebuild doesn’t seem to involve a complete teardown, and so they aren’t into trading their All Star defenceman who they’ve poured two years development into for a project, albeit a very good one. And Edmonton is probably salivating over the notion of a line with Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Taylor Hall and Magnus Pajaarvi or Jordan Eberle.

Losing Erik Karlsson after only two seasons, as tantalizingly good as he has seemed at times, is hard to imagine. But the thought of having two picks in the top six in the first year of a rebuild is also pretty impressive, and the Sens have some defensive depth (albeit a depth of 3-4-pairing players) and David Rundblad on the way. They need forward depth, particularly at center, and could have the best center in the draft for the price of a 15th overall undersized puck mover and probably a pick that won’t see the NHL for the next several seasons, if at all. That seems like a fairly reasonable upgrade.

And it’s summer. So…

In praise of knowing what you’re talking about. Which we probably don’t.

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As well all know, and knew days in advance of the official announcement, Paul MacLean is the Ottawa Senators’ new head coach. In the days following the unofficial announcement by the Ottawa Sun (who always arrive prematurely, if you know what I’m saying), we’ve heard the overwhelmingly positive analysis – i.e. he’s been a part of a winning team, he commands respect, he’s a former NHL player, he’s a player’s coach, he’s a communicator, he has a moustache – and a few grumblers – he’s never been a head coach in the NHL, he…has a moustache. This post isn’t meant to fall on either side, but directly through the middle, into the creamy pit of mediocrity between.

Which is to say: do any of us, CCFR or otherwise, really know how to assess a good coach in the NHL?

Spezza had a brief comment at the end of the year about how important communication is and how it was an area where Clouston needed to improve, and now it’s on the lips of all armchair assessors of coaching talent. MacLean, we understand, is a communicator. And who better to assess his communications skills than Bryan Murray, who seethes with contempt for the media, and started the very press conference announcing MacLean with a joke that nobody understood or laughed at? Who better than Murray, who so thoroughly bungled the Heatley debacle in the public arena? Who better than Murray, who generally displays a lack of appreciation or understanding of the importance of effective PR in the overall perception of a franchise?

I don’t have the first clue how to assess a coach other than looking at his track record and assuming a correlation. Ottawa only had guys without head coaching experience and old timers who haven’t coached in a while to choose from, and they chose someone from a winning franchise, so I feel okay about it. But more to the point is that feeling okay about it or thinking it’s a terrible choice doesn’t mean a thing. It’s rare that you get someone like Guy Boucher, whose “I use an entirely different system than everyone else!” helps to distinguish him. The rest of the time we’re talking about assessing a person we’ve never met on their ability to be personable and communicate effectively. More often than not, when asked what sort of system they’ll employ, coaches will say something about work ethic and pressure on the opposing team creating turnovers. MacLean is no different, saying that he’ll speak to his players about playing “all 200 feet” of the rink. As if any coach in the league doesn’t preach hard work and a strong forecheck / backcheck. Does Bruce Boudreau not understand the importance of hard work because he has Alex Semin on his team? (P.S. Jeremy over at Black Aces had it right: how many questions into the presser did we get before MacLean got his first question about teaching Spezza defence? Two?)

 Over the course of a season we see a little bit – a very little bit, actually – of how a coach’s strategy plays out. We learned that Clouston insisted on playing Gonchar on his wrong side, for example, and we can blame that for Gonch’s career-worst season, though we might not be right. (i.e. he’s also 64 years old.) And we can look at Guy Boucher’s unorthodox tactics and attribute Tampa’s success to it, though again, we might not be right. (i.e. Dwayne Roloson.) So I submit to you, dear reader: if you count yourself among the apparently very many people who approve of MacLean’s hiring, why is that? What is it about Paul MacLean (who I personally had never heard of until about two weeks ago) that has you excited?

In which I try to level with you about this coaching thing and end up having to go lie down for a while

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Just pretend that football....is hockey

“It was the was the sdfla;aerg of times, it was the blurst of times. A time for thing and a time for the opposite kind of thing.” – Charles Dickens, 1991.

Hi everybody.

Can we talk? And by talk I mean, you read your computer screen at work or at the library and either nod and mutter “I know right?” OR shake your head and mutter  “This guy is seriously THE WORST.I need to start my own Senators/Foodie/Puppy photo of the day blog and rub it in his stupid, stupid face.”
I want to talk to you about this whole coaching situation.
As a person who works for this blog as their full time prison rehabilitation, daily I read most of the other webpages (2.0!) devoted to our beloved Senators and I gotta say…twixt the writers and commenters…people seem to really have their personal coaching decisions figured out. Which is awesome for them  -Im proud of all of you! I don’t tell you that enough- but what about my needs/dreams? Am I the only one who feels like this is even more of a crap shoot than the draft?
Foremostly (DEFINITELY a word), not to knock peoples takes on why Bry-Bry should select whom from whence and maybe it’s the humidity talking but the more I read on these guys the more I get flustered about the decision.

“We’re all sensitive people/with so much to give/understand me, sugar/since we got to be/let’s have a brief, friendly overview of what people are saying about the candidates and how I feel about that” – Charles Dickens, July 8, 2011

Dave Cameron: Konfession Korner, I was going to start with Kirk Muller but I figured lets get this guy out of the way early. This dude seems to really be in the hate pit among fans, huh? You don’t coach in the WJC gold medal game winning a silver medal for YOUR COUNTRY AND take your OHL team to the Memorial Cup final without making a few enemies! No, I get it; he can’t win the big game, right step-cousins? That’s why they picked Cory Clouston! His pedigree of BIG. GAME. DELIVERY. I always wonder about that criticism: Can’t win the big game. Only one team’s worth of people “win the big game” per tournament/playoff. It’s such a small pool to draft from and for me there are usually still other good people kickin’ around. I don’t think raising the “big game” question is without merit but it’s got all kinds of holes in it. Think about it player wise. You know what gritty forward knows what it takes to work your ass off to win the Stanley cup? ALEX KOVALEV. Should Tim Thomas lose the Stanley Cup final, it could be argued that he can’t win the big game but you know what? I’D BE COOL WITH THAT DUDE PLAYING FOR OTTAWA. Whatever the case, I think Cameron was written off the minute Melnyk endorsed him. Now that The Euge has been banned from conducting boardroom business (getting caught in shady white collar dealings sounds like the SWEETEST deal btw) he can finally focus on being a fucking BILLIONAIRE* full time. He’s also taken on a consulting role in the Sens organization as resident “don’t do what this guy says is a good idea” consultant. Also, what’s up with minor league coaches (OHL at that in this case!), getting a promo after one season of success. We can’t wait 2 seasons up in here? Anyway, this guy is probably a good coach and everybody hates him. I’d be cool with him as an assistant SORRY ASSOCIATE (apologies all around) coach because…I don’t know?

Kirk Cameron Muller: People seem generally high out of their minds on ecstasy over this guy. I can see why, Jaroslav Halak was REALLY REALLY great that one playoff! Whaaaaaaaat? I kid, I kiiiiiiid put down those bleu, blanc et rouge coloured switchblades. Montreal has been pretty decent the last couple of seasons and Muller was apparently a very big part of their turnaround. Okay, cool. Guy Carbonneau was also responsible for a lot of that success as head coach…and everyone hates that guy…Jacques Martin probably deserves most credit. So, clearly, the key here is handsomeness. Paul MacLean is sketchy because the Red Wings are a good organization willing to give a coach away and that’s a red flag…aaaaand…Kirk Muller is the sexy choice because he is coming from a successfullish team willing to part ways with him. Handsomeness. I wouldn’t be pissed at all about Kirk Muller being coach. I’m as smitten as the next Japanese school girl (.com, probably). I am just a little confused as to why he is such a front runner.

Paul MacLean: One essential that fans and pundits alike can agree on is that Paul MacLean is the NHL’s answer to Wilfred Brimley. Otherwise, he is a bit polarizing as apparently the Red Wings are not allowing teams so much as smell the hair of other associate coach Brad McCrimmon but are handing out MacLean’s pager number at the food court exit of the Rideau Centre. Look, I don’t know why that is. I’m not made of knowing about other teams associate coaches. Have you read this article to here? You haven’t? Just skimming…okay well that’s cool its a big internet. Well, moving on, the fact I’ve been plotting and perfecting a plan  for a couple of seasons now to drug and kidnap most of the Red Wings front office, staff and team only for them to awake go about their business in a Scotia Bank Place that I have painstakingly repainted and redecorated to the last detail to look exactly like the inside of Joe Louis arena makes me lean toward this guy. I think it’s an asset that he has spent considerable time being able to lean to the side and say, “What do you think we should do, Coach Mike Babcock?” and then listen to and remember what he said and then record it on his Newton for later. At the same time, I wonder if people are right about that question of “Is it the Detroit TEAM that makes the coaches so good?” Here in a one act play is what I sometimes imaginer it to be like to coach Detroit:

COACHING THE DETROIT RED WINGS

A One Act Tragiromcomedy 2: Back in the Habit

 

Scene: Detriot Red Wings Bench. A timeout has been called before a crucial faceoff in their defensive zone with the game tied up and one minute remaining:

 Coach: “Okay TIME OUT TIME OUT…great hustle out there, brosephines. Huddle up boys here’s the plan. Datsyuk, listen up, here’s what I need from you: Win this clutch face off and get the puck to Zetterberg here, who is amazing. Zetterberg will dish back to impending slam dunk first ballot hall of famer Nicklas Lidstrom. Lidstrom will have no problem retaining the puck under pressure and will make it look easy snapping a beautiful outlet pass back to you at centre ice where you have skated incredibly quickly to. From there just make whatever highlight reel move that comes to your beautiful mind and make whatever team we’re playing’s first pairing defense look like tired children’s clowns who are holding golf putters backwards and wearing skates made of sandpaper. Then continuing at full speed make a blind behind the back pass to a waiting Zetterberg who, ONCE AGAIN,  is also amazing. Meanwhile, Johan Franzen, who once scored 5 goals in one game against the Ottawa Senators**, will set have set up the screen ensuring the goal. Now go out there and be all the unfair NHL ‘98 Choose-Your-Own-Team-team you can be!”

Spoiler Alert: They Win.

FIN

Craig “Mac-TSN” SnackTavish: Another guy by and large in the hate pit with fans. Yes, it is really weird that Mac-T has been part of the TSN Panel for so long. He took a pretty mediocre Edmonton squad through the entire Mighty Western Conference only to lose to the widely, widely beloved North Carolina Hurricanes. Personally, I loved Mac-T as a player. That guy never took a shift off. So…Coaching? Right guys? It’s also pretty cool and frankly undeniable that he helped take Edmonton to the finals. I was intoxicated in Vancouver through most of that run and probably just generally bummed out about the Sens having been eliminated at that point so I missed most of it (I think?). Apparently he is very player oriented and that could be very good asset for this squad …but …I guess the Oilers did only have that one crazy ass season under him and it was with playoff beast/stupid asshole Chris Pronger. Mac-T seems to be viewed most unanimously disliked candidate among fans and writers alike…aside from Cameron I guess. Though, he DID rip the tongue off out of the Flames mascot’s*** mouth during a game…which is so, so good. Apparently Murray is high on this guy.

 Kurt Kleinendorst: Can I get spell check!? This guy’s already done more than enough for the organization. Again, according to reports, another player oriented coach with the added bonus of coming off a huge, huge Calder Cup win with Binghamton (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!). The obvious turn off here is Cory Clouston Part 2. Back when Clouston took Bingo to the Calder Cu—oh wait… didn’t make the playoffs with them at all?…nevermind. No, we’ve seen a lot of coaches through these parts since Murray stepped down,  the last three were minor leaguers and the last three of them…not. so. hot. Patience is at an all time low in this regard (Coach is the new Goalie!). Despite this hesitance being not at all unreasonable, I still always think about the Dan Bylsma factor. The extremely likeable, upbeat, positive minded coach that players might really want to win one for. Was Clouston scapegoatted a bit in his dismissal? Kind of. He coached the team back into the playoffs after one year out (sans Heatley…who hated him)…and…seemed completely unknowable while doing it. Clouston seemed … not so flexible on anything but Christ could he dress. If Kleinendorst is the kind of guy that players can feel good about playing for while also being successful then of course I could be game for another spin on the Minor League Coachie-Go-Round. If not, I would LOVE to see this guy as Bingo’s head coach again.

Well, that just about wraps it up. Oh, right…

The Guy who coached The Saint John’s Seadogs this year: Another good coach I’m sure but I’m tired now…and the fact that Pascal LeClaire once played for this team is reason enough to take a pass. OR NOT. I STILL AM NOT SURE.

Okay, I’m to go lay down for a bit and worry about the draft.

*Even in all my 64 years on this labyrinth of a planet, I still cannot believe that even one human being owns over 1 billion gold coins.

**RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR. Pretty much the low point of the season for me.

***which is a dog with a hat for some reason.

Web Bonus Update!: I forgot about Bob Boughner: For my comprehensive take on Boughner check out this article I just put up  at www.bobboughner.com !

Varada emerges from the woods in order to piss in front of everyone

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I thought I would save this rant for the absolute dead of summer.

The Senators have to have one of the most reserved, unenthusiastic blogospheres of any team. This isn’t meant as a dig, and in fact, as the voice of (relative) cynicism for The CCFR, I can appreciate that restraint. This isn’t a fanbase that will take one look at Peter Regin’s quasi-breakout playoffs and think the team is competitive. It’s more likely that we will trip all over ourselves undercutting predictions of 20 goals on the season. This extends to almost all facets of our club’s development: should we sign that big UFA? Nope, save the cap space. Should we trade picks for more developed players? Nope, we should be patient and watch our team develop arduously over years. What does success X mean for season Y? Probably nothing, the team is going to stink for a while. All reasonable positions, I guess.

But after the B-Sens win the Calder, I’ve got to ask why we aren’t getting more excited about what this means for a rebuilding club. I can’t think of a better sign that the team might be okay than their farm team winning it all in the FIRST YEAR of the big club’s rebuild – and led by their goalie of the future, no less. Signings like Butler stepped up big time, role players like Greening and Condra played solid two-way games and did the little things right, and even blue chippers like Cowen stepped in to play top minutes after already playing a full season and playoffs with another team. These are all incredibly positive things. I can’t help put think that if it was, say, the Islanders’ AHL affiliate (The Rancho Relaxos, I believe), that they’d feel great.

So all I’m saying, people, is c’mon: it’s June. It’s okay to get a little crazy. We won the Calder, and that means next year we’re gonna win the Cup.

The CCFR returns from spring vacation, has dysentery, looks at UFA market

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Note: big ups to Cap Geek, which is where I pulled this list from. Only looked at UFA forwards, assuming we aren’t in the market for more defencemen or goalies. 

This year’s UFA period is set to be boringly terrific. Teams like the Rangers and Leafs will launch into their fortieth straight years of a plan to spend their way into contention though it only works .002% of the time; Florida will try to find at least ten new players who would like to play for a team about to set a record for most years out of the playoffs; and Ottawa will not to sign an aging Russian…or will they! Ottawa has $16M in cap space and there’s almost nothing else to write about in Sens news, so here we goooooooooo!

Player Pos Team Age Cap Hit Should we git im?
Richards, Brad » F DAL 31 $7,800,000 Dream on. The guy is going to go to the Rangers, who will buy out Drury and bury Gaborik in the minors to make it happen, and then he’ll be traded, bought out or buried three years from now when it’s his deal that prevents New York from signing, oh I don’t know…Stamkos or something. Either that, or the Leafs will throw a billion dollars at this guy to play with Kessel. Or Florida will spend literally all of their $40M in cap space on him.He’s an appealing player, a verifiable no. 1 center, but Ottawa is getting away from high-priced UFAs, and they already have an expensive center in Spezza. It would be awesome to see him in a Sens uniform, but it ain’t happenin’.
Gagne, Simon » F TBL 31 $5,250,000 For a guy who’s gonna have to take a huge pay cut because of being an injury risk, he’ll probably want to do it for a contender. If Ottawa is willing to pay out some more in years or cash, he might consider sitting in the press box with Milan Michalek for a few years and comparing leg casts. Ottawa should probably stay away from cursed players, though. It will take all summer to exorcise the ghost of Pascal Leclaire.
Kovalev, Alexei » F PIT 38 $5,000,000 The Sens should sign this guy to a 2 year, $10M deal so that they can trade him for a conditional 7th rounder at a future deadline. It’s called ‘resource management.’
Nylander, Michael » F WAS 38 $4,875,000 Michael Nylander should start his own lawn care company.
Selanne, Teemu » F ANA 40 $4,500,000 Will re-sign with the Ducks or retire. Should sign with Washington, but he won’t.
Arnott, Jason » F WAS 36 $4,500,000 Ottawa should take a serious look at Arnott, while managing expectations. He’s good for 15 goals and 40 points, but would be an ideal replacement for Mike Fisher. Hard-nosed, two way player and a leader. His price could easily get out of hand, and he probably wants years at his age, but worth monitoring the situation. Every time he scores they should play “What a Man.”
Connolly, Tim » F BUF 30 $4,500,000 I hate all players who play in or once played in Buffalo, including those who then went on to play for Ottawa. Conolly is pretty good though – young, productive, and not terribly expensive (relatively speaking). I feel like some desperate team will offer him too much, but Ottawa should monitor the bidding.
Ryder, Michael » F BOS 31 $4,000,000 A depth scorer who will probably re-sign in Boston at a reduced salary, Ottawa might want to throw him a lowball offer and see if he bites.
Handzus, Michal » F LAK 34 $4,000,000 See Ryder, Michael. A top six forward, but hardly one to put the team on his back. Terrible hair.
Sullivan, Steve » F NAS 36 $3,750,000 Stevie Sullivan is a godlike player who is beloved everywhere he goes, and Ottawa would be lucky to have him. Much like Arnott, he won’t put up huge numbers, but you have to pay for that kind of character. Is Nashville doesn’t re-sign him, Murray should snipe the dude.
Stillman, Cory » F CAR 37 $3,533,333 Likely too expensive and old at this point to be the kind of player Ottawa wants, though he is a veteran, and reportedly liked his time in Ottawa. Maybe he offers them a discount?
Sturm, Marco » F WAS 33 $3,500,000 Sturm is a bit of a curious case. Rampant injuries these past few years resulted in Boston giving him to Washington for literally nothing, and he pressed there without getting much results. A reclamation project, not unlike Marek Svatos, he’s young enough to warrant a look, though like Gagner, if he has to take a cut, why would he do it for a rebuild?
Ponikarovsky, Alexei » F LAK 31 $3,200,000 Another player whose production fell off a cliff, even on a talented team like LA. He’s big, and has shown stretches of dominance, but has been all but invisible for months. Wouldn’t be surprised to see him try out the KHL next year.
Frolov, Alexander » F NYR 28 $3,000,000 Another strong KHL candidate, Frolov made a stink out of not being offered much money last offseason, and he sucked in New York. UPDATE: And, he’s signed to the KHL. I’m pretty good.
Vrbata, Radim » F PHO 29 $3,000,000 An interesting player, who’s flourished under Tippet in Phoenix. At only 29, he’s definitely worth a look, though the thought has been that conditions have to be ideal for him to play well. Somehow those conditions were with the Coyotes.
Hejduk, Milan » F COL 35 $3,000,000 Hard to imagine him signing anywhere by Colorado, but also hard to understand why Colorado would want him back after this disastrous year. He’s been surprisingly productive at times. How would he look playing on Ottawa’s 2nd line? UPDATE: he just re-signed in Colorado for one year.
Cole, Erik » F CAR 32 $2,900,000 Another amazing player limited by injuries, Cole is like a less talented but grittier Simon Gagner. Ottawa should definitely take a look, especially if he can be had for a similar salary. CAUTION: he might instantly die.
Langenbrunner, Jamie » F DAL 35 $2,800,000 Another player in the Arnott / Sullivan mould, Langenbrunner seems like exactly the type that Ottawa should be targeting. He brings leadership and experience, and won’t be too expensive. A horrible year in New Jersey might bring his price tag down some more.
Clark, Chris » F CLB 35 $2,633,333 I have no idea who this is.
Fleischmann, Tomas » F COL 26 $2,600,000 Fleischmann will have no shortage of suitors. He’s young, productive, and plays the game tough and well. With Washington laying another playoff egg, I’d expect they might let him walk as part of an overhaul, and if they do, Ottawa should be part of the bidding. Even if he doubles his salary, he’s worth a close look. NOTE: Fleischmann is in Colorado, stupid.
Samsonov, Sergei » F FLA 32 $2,533,333 I can’t believe Samsonov is only 32. I feel like I’ve been reading about him for fifty years. He should have gone to the KHL a couple of seasons ago.
Prospal, Vaclav » F NYR 36 $2,480,000 Will become part-owner / 1st liner of a KHL team, like an alternate reality Mario Lemieux.
White, Todd » F NYR 35 $2,375,000 Wouldn’t it be kind of cool to bring Toddy back? Naw, not really.
Miettinen, Antti » F MIN 30 $2,333,333 Another solid contributor who Ottawa might be able to take off the market because the Wild must be getting sick of spending to the cap every year and never getting anywhere. Has played extremely well at times with the Wild’s best players; how would he do playing with Spezza?
Brunette, Andrew » F MIN 37 $2,333,333 No way. Expensive and old. Had a terrible year last year.
Kobasew, Chuck » F MIN 29 $2,333,333 Sort of faded from the public consciousness, as most players who end up in Minnesota do, but he’s gritty. May be best suited as a 3rd liner, which means Ottawa should pass.
Upshall, Scottie » F CLB 27 $2,250,000 Young, energetic, and a leader, I can never understand why Philly traded him for that psycho Carcillo, or why the Coyotes traded him after he became such a big part of their team. He isn’t living up to his status as a 6th overall pick (Ottawa, take note of players once picked 6th overall…), but I would love if Ottawa brought him in. Of all of the players I hope come to Ottawa in the off season, Upshall is probably my no. 1.
Laich, Brooks » F WAS 27 $2,066,667 The second half of Washington’s dual pending UFAs, Laich is also a great depth player who the Caps might trim in an effort to overhaul a disappointing would-be contender. He’ll probably be the subject of some intense bidding, but Ottawa should look at bringing him back and then re-sign Bondra out of retirement so we can HAVE IT ALL.
Zherdev, Nikolai » F PHI 26 $2,000,000 This has got New York Rangers written all over it. Watch him make $5M or something ridiculous.
Forsberg, Peter » F COL 37 $2,000,000 As well all know, Peter Forsberg died in a mining accident, where to this day he haunts the workers still. If you listen carefully, you can still hear him whispering “comeback.”

 

Things start to get ugly…
Moreau, Ethan » F CLB 35 $2,000,000 3rd liner. Of which we have plenty.
Recchi, Mark » F BOS 43 $1,950,000 Kind of awesome. Was sent back in time to save the declaration of independence from aliens.
Modano, Mike » F DET 40 $1,750,000 Scratched from the line up of the team who chased him all off season. He’s done.
Dvorak, Radek » F ATL 34 $1,700,000 Bwa-ha-haaaaa
Larose, Chad » F CAR 29 $1,700,000 Actually…pretty productive in Carolina. Cheap and young. I still sort of hate him though.
Tanguay, Alex » F CGY 31 $1,700,000 Every year he finds another sweetheart, and no doubt he will again. Lord hopes it’s not in Ottawa, unless he’s willing to sign for another lowball contract.
Jokinen, Jussi » F CAR 28 $1,700,000 See Larose, Chad. A good player on a bad team masks his potential not-so-goodness, but at less than Chris Neil’s salary? Worth a look.
Higgins, Chris » F VAN 27 $1,600,000 I think hope is fading for this guy to be a top six player, and he’s not gritty enough to be a checking line player. Maybe Ottawa should sign him so they can throw him into a package for a better player at some point.
Draper, Kris » F DET 39 $1,583,333 See Recchi, Mark.
Ward, Joel » F NAS 30 $1,500,000 Whatta guy. Will probably re-sign in Nashville after his heroics in the playoffs this year, unless some idiot GM (Sather) decides to throw a bag of cash at him.
Grier, Mike » F BUF 36 $1,500,000 On to his fifteenth team in only two seasons. (Not true.)
Dupuis, Pascal » F PIT 32 $1,400,000 Still can’t believe 1) he’s that young, and 2) he’s been so productive in the Pitts. He’ll re-sign there, I bet. Don’t be cheap, Shero, give that guy an extra half-mill at least.
Ruutu, Jarkko » F ANA 35 $1,300,000 We gotta move forward, not back.
Madden, John » F MIN 38 $1,250,000 This guy was once scary. He is no longer.
Niedermayer, Rob » F BUF 36 $1,250,000 See Grier, Mike.
Modin, Fredrik » F CGY 36 $1,200,000 I have a soft spot for Modin, but his effectiveness is down to nothing at this point.
Prucha, Petr » F PHO 28 $1,200,000 Holy shit, he’s only 28! I always thought of this guy as the same sort of player as, uh, Modin or something. Like Vrbata, he’s had some luck in the desert, and might be worth a look at that price.
Kopecky, Tomas » F CHI 29 $1,200,000 Checking third liner, which we have enough of.
Glencross, Curtis » F CGY 28 $1,200,000 Calgary sucks.
Reasoner, Marty » F FLA 34 $1,150,000 Calgary does not suck as much as Florida.
Weight, Doug » F NYI 40 $1,150,000 Retiring, thank Christ.
Marchant, Todd » F ANA 37 $1,125,000 Old and ridin’ dirty.
Fiddler, Vernon » F PHO 31 $1,100,000 What a motley cast in Phoenix.
Talbot, Maxime » F PIT 27 $1,050,000 What a shit disturber.
Torres, Raffi » F VAN 29 $1,000,000 Lord, I hope not. Probably signs in Ottawa for $3M or some shit.
Rissmiller, Patrick » F FLA 32 $1,000,000 There’s going to be a lot of these types of guys available from here on out – maybe some glory days here and there, maybe some nostalgia to keep us warm at night, but I’m mostly gonna start cutting corners. These are the types of players you don’t sign because we already have Greenings and Condras in the system.
Bradley, Matt » F WAS 32 $1,000,000
Fedotenko, Ruslan » F NYR 32 $1,000,000
Voros, Aaron » F TOR 29 $1,000,000
Jones, Ryan » F EDM 26 $975,000
Eager, Ben » F SAN 27 $965,000 I would sign this guy in a heartbeat. Heart-and-soul player, and a real pain in the ass. He’ll get a raise fer sure.
Picard, Alexandre » F PHO 25 $868,219 Not the one we traded for and then traded away. (I think.)
Rupp, Michael » F PIT 31 $825,000 See the cutting of corners.
Sutherby, Brian » F DAL 29 $812,500
Leino, Ville » F PHI 27 $800,000 Played well in Philly, I bet he stays there. Or Sather comes in and blasts him in the face with money.
Gordon, Boyd » F WAS 27 $800,000 See the cutting of corners.
Svatos, Marek » F OTT 28 $800,000 I think Ottawa’s had a hard-on for this guy for years. They were always linked to him in trade rumours, and he’s so young and cheap it’s hard not to say “Sure, Gomer, where’s the beef?” and just give him another year. People who think this way should remember that he scored negative 5 goals in Ottawa.
Goc, Marcel » F NAS 27 $775,000 See the cutting of corners.
Hordichuk, Darcy » F FLA 30 $775,000
Nichol, Scott » F SAN 36 $760,000
Godard, Eric » F PIT 31 $750,000
Sjostrom, Fredrik » F TOR 28 $750,000
Eaves, Patrick » F DET 27 $750,000 Wouldn’t that be funny! We could start expecting him to be a top 6 player again and then, when disappointed, trade him at the deadline.
Belanger, Eric » F PHO 33 $750,000 See the cutting of corners.
Morrison, Brendan » F CGY 35 $725,000
Asham, Arron » F PIT 33 $700,000
Winchester, Brad » F ANA 30 $700,000
Bergenheim, Sean » F TBL 27 $700,000 See Ward, Joel, and the impending pay day from short-sighted GMs. Good for him.
Andersson, Jonas » F VAN 30 $675,000 See the cutting of corners.
Boulton, Eric » F ATL 34 $650,000
Wellwood, Kyle » F SAN 27 $650,000 I don’t want to live in a world where Wellwood wins a Stanley Cup.
Miller, Drew » F DET 27 $650,000 Who are all of these people?
Murray, Andrew » F CLB 29 $625,000
Glass, Tanner » F VAN 27 $625,000
Carter, Ryan » F FLA 27 $625,000
Shannon, Ryan » F OTT 28 $625,000 Sure, he’s earned himself another payday – maybe even one at slightly more than league minimum. Murray, re-sign the little ragamuffin!
Ellis, Matt » F BUF 29 $625,000 Who?
LoVecchio, Jeff » F FLA 25 $605,000 What?
Lundmark, Jamie » F NAS 30 $600,000 Where?
Halpern, Jeff » F MTL 35 $600,000 Ugh?
Parrish, Mark » F BUF 34 $600,000 Guh?
Cullen, Mark » F FLA 32 $600,000 Bah?
Hall, Adam » F TBL 30 $600,000 Tah?
Konopka, Zenon » F NYI 30 $600,000 This guy is fucking badass. I always pick him up in my pool for the penalty minutes. I don’t really feel the need for enforcers, but if we need one I’d get this guy.

That’s basically where I gave up, because from here on out it’s like the Island of Lost Toys, and I expect most of these players will find themselves leading the Atomic Barracuda Barrels of the Germanic Series in secondary assists.

A Brief History of Time: Totally Narrow-Minded Edition

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John Muckler was fired as GM of the Ottawa Senators in mid-June 2007, despite his team making the Stanley Cup finals just weeks earlier. Bryan Murray, the coach that helped get them there and the former GM of the team that beat them, was seen as the true mastermind, succeeding despite Muckler rather than because of him. In what seems, four years later, like a change in the very culture of this hockey club, Murray was promoted to replace Muckler. In the intervening years, Ottawa never won another playoff series, missed the playoffs twice, and were swept once. They’ve had four coaches, including Murray’s second stint. In the kind of irony that can only happen in Ottawa, Murray, age 69, was renewed for three years. For all the clichés about how this is a results-based business, Stanley Cup Finals equalled “you’re out on your ass” and fifth last in the league an extension.

The governing thought seems to be that Murray is too respected, brings too many intangibles to the prestige of the club to let him go. His drafting record, or at least his choices in a scouting department, are lauded. The failures of this club to contend are Muckler’s, and Muckler’s successes were…someone else’s. Being just another hockey fan on the outside, I can do little else but concede that this might be the case. All I have is a record of transactions and public statements on which to base my skepticism. One thing can’t really be debated, which is that the culture of the Murrays is now inextricably tied to this franchise, and rather than make a huge cultural change, Melnyk decided to keep the same vision and plan in place for the foreseeable future. If Kanata sort of resembles a desert, Bryan Murray now sort of resembles Hosni Mubarek.

But in an attempt to restore some semblance of the results-based analysis, let’s look at Murray’s spotty transaction record up close. It ain’t pretty.

In Out Grade Pourquoi, cacaouette?
Shean Donovan Peter Schaefer B- Peter Schaefer was once considered a high-end prospect – remember when Ottawa traded Sami Salo for him? – and he had a lot of good years playing on a line with Martin Havlat. His work along the boards helped Ottawa develop a diverse game, following up a skilled line with dump-and-chase cycling. In the end, Schaefer was a salary dump for a fourth liner with a lot of character, and then he bombed out in Boston. Donovan was a fan favorite who was never given much of a chance under Clouston, and will one day be the mayor of a small Ontario town.
Mike Commodore and Cory Stillman Joe Corvo and Patrick Eaves B Corvo was ineffective and mistake-prone, if occasionally useful on the power play, and Eaves, otherwise known as Brandon Bochenski, never turned into the top six forward the team seemed to insist that he should be, and in exchange Murray received a player who was seen as top four defenseman (and who cashed in with Columbus just a year later) and a two-time Cup Winner and verifiable top six forward. That was the weird voodoo year of spiraling death that resulted in a sweep in the first round (btw, wtf happened that year anyway? Will we ever know?), but this still looks like a great trade on paper.
Martin Lapointe sixth-round draft pick in 2008 (#169, Ben Smith) C- Didn’t do a damn thing, but hey, this is the equivalent of the Ruutu-for-a-sixth that happened three years later when the team finally imploded, so you know Murray paid market.
Boston Bruins‘ fifth-round draft pick in 2009 (#146, Jeff Costello) Brian McGrattan C- Turned a premier pugilist into a gritty player whose absolute ceiling is as a fourth liner. This is typical Canadian GM drafting – go for the gritty kid who might be an NHLer one day, even if you have to give up a gritty kid who is an NHLer now; would have liked to see him take a flyer on a risky, skilled player with the extra pick, given Costello will likely never crack the lineup. All I can say about McGrattan is that in a league where fighters are a dime a dozen, he keeps finding work because he’s one of the scariest men on the planet.
Filip Kuba, Alexandre Picard and San Jose‘s first-round draft pick (previously acquired) in 2009 Andrej Meszaros D+ The guys who made Saw traded for Meszaros shortly after dealing Dan Boyle (seriously), and his time in Tampa was awful, though so too was the team. Now in Philadelphia they’re overpaying him to be a second-pairing defenseman. But what at the time looked like a coup for Ottawa was turned into nothing much – an overprice veteran who can’t be moved and gets booed even as he’s literally giving the jersey off his back to a fan on appreciation night; a long-gone prospect who can’t find a home anywhere else, and a pick. Meszaros is young, and has some good years ahead of him. Well shit.
Ryan Shannon Lawrence Nycholat A Shannon might just be a top six forward, or at least he is on this terrible team. He’s also a hard worker and a character player. Nycholat is learning how to use Microsoft Excel. Solid!
Drew Fata Alexander Nikulin C Drew Fata is an AHL enforcer. Nikulin is one of Ottawa’s many disenfranchised former Russian prospects. He plays in the KHL now, where he sucks ass.
Mike Comrie and Chris Campoli Dean McAmmond and San Jose‘s first-round draft pick in 2009 (#26, Kyle Palmieri) C This trade somehow gets a lot of ink, because A) Ottawa gave up a 1st round pick for Chris fucking Campoli, and B) it was weird to trade for Mike Comrie and then let him walk for a second time. I always liked Comrie, so I was glad they took a second look, but he sucked, so it amounted to the Islanders saving about $300k and Ottawa giving up a late 1st rounder for a player that Murray knew could be an NHL player right away, a really cheap stop-gap while all of Ottawa’s defensive prospects were given time to develop. Unfortunately, Palmieri is a top prospect for Anaheim, disproving the theory that late 1st round picks don’t turn into anything. Chris Campoli was pretty ok when he was here.
Pascal Leclaire and a second-round draft pick in 2009 (#46, Robin Lehner). Antoine Vermette D- / B- The split grade is because the short term gains were atrocious, and the long term gains – Lehner – may turn out alright. When I think of all of the trade deadlines in Ottawa under Muckler, when Vermette was always the trade bait for that week’s hot commodity, and to think when the trigger was finally pulled it bought this team about 50 games of that paper skeleton flopping around in net, it just makes me shake my head. James says it best: he was injured when we traded for him. Jesus Christ. Anyway, Vermette gets to play with Rick Nash now, but on the 2nd most cursed team in the league behind Florida, so you win some you lose some.
Milan Michalek, Jonathan Cheechoo and San Jose‘s second-round draft pick in 2010 Dany Heatley and a fifth-round draft pick D The trade that will define Murray’s legacy in Ottawa. There are those who will continue to say that he couldn’t have gotten better elsewhere for a disgruntled player making $10M a year, and that’s probably the case, and sitting the player, Yashin-style, would have really been a mess. But much of the blame for the poor return I place on Murray’s apparent lack of appreciation for the importance of good PR and the ability to control the message.I’ve seen far too many press conferences where Murray walks up to the podium and shoots from the hip and gives away the farm; far too many of Melnyk’s diarrhea-mouth interviews that make about 14% sense; seen the clumsy handling of coach firings, and fumbled opportunities like the press conference for Alfie’s extension taking place on the road with a Sens uniform hanging from a bent hanger in the background. It might be part of Murray’s charm: he doesn’t stand on ceremony. More likely, I think, is that he’s so old school he just doesn’t know how to operate in this hyper-connected information technoscape (**SHHRRRROOOOWWWWWN** goes my laser sword). If only we could hire a GM who appreciated the power of media. Maybe someone who has worked in it for years and years…someone who resembles a turtle….All of this to say, is there any doubt at all that Heatley’s trade request was leaked by the Senators camp? What might have been quietly shopping around one of the team’s best scorers turned into a summer of horrible gossip and hyperbole (egged on by the Sun’s trio of hysterical, irresponsible, unprofessional sports ‘writers’). And in the end this team got a young, promising player with a lower ceiling than Heatley, a reclamation project, and a pick. Cheechoo was bought out, Michalek spends most of his time hurt, and the pick is long gone. That San Jose didn’t have to give up Marleau, didn’t have to give up a 1st rounder, AND got us to take $3M Cheechoo off their hands…holy fuck, let’s move on.
Matt Cullen Alexandre Picard and a second-round draft pick in 2011 C Picard didn’t last long in Carolina and Cullen was awesome. Pretty decent deal. No idea why we didn’t sign that dude. Oh yeah, we signed Sergei Fucking Gonchar instead. That’s why this isn’t a B.
Andy Sutton second-round draft pick in 2010 C Solid trade, textbook deadline move. Sutton hasn’t had a good year in Anaheim, but I was sorry to see him go. Once again, letting him walk keeps this from being a B.
David Rundblad first-round draft pick in 2010(#16, Vladimir Tarasenko) B The grade might seem low considering how into Rundblad we all are (and winning defenseman of the year in Sweden is no small thing), but let’s not overlook how good Tarasenko is supposed to be. If I’m being a pessimist, this is Murray drafting yet another defenseman when he could get a skilled forward – an area where Ottawa has zero depth. I’m stoked for Rundblad, and gaining a year of development is a savvy move, but I give credit for this to Murray’s scouts. St. Louis isn’t stupid: they knew what they were getting when they drafted Vlad the Impaler of Canadian Junior Hockey Teams.

 

B.I.G. Krit: Da Rebuild

 
f Ryan Potulny
2011 2nd-round pick		 Chris Campoli
Conditional 2012 7th-round pick		 C- A player Murray got for a 1st rounder then yielded a 2nd, and Potulny can’t crack the NHL lineup on the club’s weakest team in years. Buy high sell low, that’s the way it goes, right? Oh, and we gave up a pick to make this happen.
Conditional 2011 draft pick F Alex Kovalev D + I suppose getting anything is laudable…this should be thought of as Ottawa just getting Pittsburg to take a couple million in remaining salary off their hands. Still, we paid Kovalev almost $10M to come to Ottawa, shit all over everything, write a poem about how no one appreciates all of this beautiful shit he created, and then we got a bag of yet more shit in exchange for him. Write it down: he’ll re-sign in Montreal for league minimum next year and score five goals on Ottawa when he comes to town.
Craig Anderson Brian Elliott A- I can’t believe this trade even happened. Sure, Anderson could have signed elsewhere, and we would have lost an RFA goaltender for nothing, but Elliott literally looked like he hated being a goalie. I like the kid; he deserved better than to be relied on to be a starter and then run out of town. But boy, what on earth does Colorado see in him at this point? Do they even qualify him? Could they not have gotten at least the shitty pick we got for Kovalev in exchange for a great, character guy who seems pretty talented at times?
2011 6th-round pick Jarkko Ruutu C+ Pretty standard, I guess. See Lapointe, Martin. It this turns into Colin Greening or Eric Condra, I’m fine with it.
2011 2nd-round pick Chris Kelly C Seems sort of low to me, to be honest with you. Kelly is the kind of versatile utility player who I thought more teams would have been in on. I’m surprised Ottawa couldn’t get a prospect closer to development for him. If it was going to be a draft pick, a 2nd rounder is pretty good.
2011 1st-round pick
Conditional 2012 draft pick		 Mike Fisher B This deal, more than almost any other on this list, is indicative of the new NHL. This kind of player would have gotten so much more in a pre-cap league, but in 2011, we’re just smacking our chops thinking about the cap space and the fact that a team as broke-ass as Nashville actually committed to pay Mike Fisher $4M next year without us having to take Jonathan Cheechoo back. It’s looking like Ottawa will get that 3rd rounder if Nashville can finish off Anaheim, and a 2nd if they can win the 2nd round (they won’t). But what’s surprising is how into this trade everyone is. Nice-guy Mike for a lottery ticket? Guess we really are ready for change.

 So there you have it. Pretty middling, if you ask me. Combine this with his coaching hires, his UFA signings, and his inability to throw Cyril Leeder down some stairs for the SNES jersey, and I’m pretty ambivalent. He re-signed Chris Phillips after a brutal year, re-signed Craig Anderson to what will seem like a looooooooong deal if it doesn’t work out, and he picked up some decent looking NCAA guys, so maybe that’s a wash? Hard to imagine, with all the thirst for change in Ottawa, that three more years of this seems at all reasonable. Only time will tell if (*suddenly stops writing because this post took forever *)

In which we watch the movie “Alive” while talking about end o’ the season run off over the sound of people getting eaten

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Conrad

So (deep breath):
1. The inevitable happened, and Cory Clouston got fired.
This has a little bit of a weird taste to it, given everyone knew it was going to happen, and yet they had to do it a couple of hours after the Bruins game and give him his press conference at the airport? Geezus. Don’t let the door hit you on the ass, I guess. The thing is, even after taking over a non-playoff team, and then coaching the fifth worst team in the league this year, he has a (barely) winning record. I don’t think he deserved the treatment, and am actually leaning toward feeling like he could have stayed another year, at least. But change needed to happen, and the coach is the easiest person to replace, so that’s that. He’ll get snatched up. Still, who else isn’t looking forward to yet another Murray coaching hire? Hopefully he doesn’t take another Craig “crack the whip” Hartsburg. And hopefully Bruce Garrioch maintains his error rate of about 87% and they don’t hire Bob Hartley. Weirdly, Peter DeBoer, the guy the team actually wanted three years ago, is now available again. He almost got the Panthers into the playoffs a couple of seasons ago, which makes him a miracle worker in my books.
Weirder were the comments by assistant coach Greg Carvel:
“Obviously, goaltending was the biggest part of it,” added Carvel, who also gave credit to the work of Ryan Shannon, Jason Spezza and Erik Karlsson, who he says is a “tremendous” penalty killer. “But again, it just felt like when Brian Elliott was in the net, the whole team struggled. When Craig Anderson was in the net, the team did pretty well. That provided confidence for the whole group, whereas with Elliott there was almost no confidence because any and every shot had the possibility of going in.”
Ouch.
2. Murray extended for three years.
Not a whole lot I can add that hasn’t already been said. Most people seem to be okay with his, or downright hate it. I get that Murray is respected and brings a lot of those intangibles to the table, but only in Ottawa does a team fire their GM a couple of weeks after going to the Final and then give an extension to his replacement after the team finished fifth last in the league. His bum moves outweigh his savvy ones, in my opinion, but I guess three years is only the term on paper. If this team stinks in a couple of years, they’ll fire his ass, and Melnyk has the money to pay him a nice retirement buy-out. In any case, I don’t love it, but I can live with it.
3. Melnyk in the media.
Seriously, man, shut up. Really. All confidence is lost when you speak. Let the hockey people run the show. Just show up in a Sens jersey every once in a while and wave to the camera, or say you have full faith in the staff you hired. Stop going on Toronto sports radio to talk about how you got rid of “the bad guys.” This guy runs a multinational pharmaceutical company? Doesn’t he have PR and comms people?
4. DRAFT LOTTERY TONIGHT
Ottawa has an approx. 8% chance of winning the lottery and getting 1st overall, and 70-something % chance of picking 5th, and a 17% chance of getting bumped down to 6th. The NHL also released their final draft ranking, and like everyone I’m left wondering why they have North American and International rankings so I have no idea who is ranked where overall. Looks like Couturier and Strome fell down in the rankings. Whatever, I don’t know anything about any of these players except for Landeskog, who I will feel sorry for if he’s in a Florida sweater come October. I’m looking forward to obsessively reading about some 18 year old’s backchecking.
5. Misc
Did you know that Columbus has selected in the top 8 in the draft EVERY. YEAR. SINCE. INCEPTION. except once. That’s just awful.

James

1. The inevitable happened, and Cory Clouston got fired.

Though I feel for the guy, I was thinking “another year, ashmuther year” in terms of what the Sens were going to do with him moving forward. I would have shrugged my shoulders to a one year extension, eaten my feelings to anything more, and am ultimately pleased with a firing. I would have thought it a token re-signing due almost entirely to the terrible number of coaches whove held the post the last few seasons (though some people choose to pad those stats by counting Bryan Murray as two coaches). Still bad numbers no matter how you slice it but, whatever, better to fire someone doing a lackluster job than keep them on to save face. I think Clouston is a developing NHL quality coach and I respect him for taking his abilities to the next level so quickly. I do stress that he is a developing coach and lacked a lot of assets that I think he will get better at over time like…I don’t know…communication. It got Carbonneau canned in MTL a couple years back and has made a TSN panelist out of many others. Spezza was pretty open that there were communication problems from day one and I for one am completely not surprised to hear that. I think part of coach’s job is to be hard on players and treat them like they are breaking curfew at a Bantam tournament in Trenton, New Jersey when the time comes but also to know that some of the team are like 35 or older and need something other than a bag skate to motivate them. In other words, a coach needs to be great manager of people and personalities. Clouston will get better at that but like so many other developing/struggling players of recent times I again feel, I’m rooting for you but go develop somewhere else and let Ottawa simply move forward. Good luck Clousty and may the power of the pumpkin spice tie/shirt combo compel you! Also, no pressure on finding the perfect replacement, Bry Bry. Did I say no pressure? Sorry scratch that…tons and tons of pressure, homie. Gelp. I am hoping for Peter DeBoer, because he is an NHL coach. Kick Muller seems like he’d be a coup and I wouldn’t be mad at Kevin Dineen up in this peace. Dave Cameron seems a little too Hartsberg 2.0 for me. Oy, it will probably be Cameron if The Euge gets his way.

Weirder were the comments by assistant coach Greg Carvel:

Speaking of being forthright, Greg “Ice Cream Cakes” Carvel was RIGHT PISSED wasn’t he? I would be too if I was running a PK operating at an astounding 90% clip SINCE FEBRUARY on a lottomax team full of AHL dudes and STILL got fired. Actually, this guys’ firing bothered me quite a bit. He was blamed for Ottawa’s putrid power play last season but it was my understanding that he was in charge of PK not PP. I could be wrong but either way, this is a guy I am as nervous about getting replaced by the right person as much as I am Clouston. I think they threw the baby out with the gaghebbsghthrs on this one.

2. Murray extended for three years.

Aight. This thing. So, Anderson gets four years, Murray gets THREE years at age 68…I should have applied for a job at whatever (likely evil) pharmaceutical company Melnyk owned because he sure likes securing peoples futures. Okay, so I agree that when you REALLY look at Murray’s record he has maybe made 2 boneheaded moves for every amazing move. I actually don’t know if that’s unimpressive for a GM. Anyway, I think a lot of his boneheaded actually can I just say boners? Boners, can be attributed to ye olde philosophy of “lets keep this team competitive/ try to sell tickets in the wake of the Heatley debacle.” So this comes down to two sorts of moves. 1. Signing/Letting walk of high priced aging veterans at the deadline 2. Signing of high priced aging (exclusively Russian) veterans in the off season. I think this is a practice that is going to be largely eschewed going forward. There have been hiccups along the way including the resigning Phillips and long term signing of Anderson. I for one don’t really see these as the worst things. Murray seems to be in a much different mindset (maybe given more freedom to build the team his way?) and will likely play on his strength of smart, under the radar drafting and build up the team going forward. That’s not to say there wont be an FA signing to come. He has indicated that he’s looking for a scoring winger (maybe he’s already found it with Butler?). He was also looking for a new goaltender and that’s already off the list. I think Murray’s contract is a year longer than I would have even OVERestimated. Though with much of the essentially overpaid aging core dealt, some vets left on to mentor, improved goaltending, some very exciting young pups in the fold and something like 5 picks in the first two rounds, I think its hard to deny that Murray has done an exceptional amount in a very VERY short period of time. All he has to do now if find a coach to match.

3. Melnyk in the media.

Ugh, this guy… I have to say when you see other teams with B.S. cheapskate / half hearted ownership (even George Gilette sold the Habs…because..he hates..money?) you start to appreciate that The Euge seems all up IN owning this team…but seriously, I think the guy’s been taking a few too many of Melnyk Apothecary Inc. brand Insufferablex pills. You start to think that Toronto media has him on the radio all the time to build up ammo for all those years of plan the parade jokes we’ve (deservedly) hurled at them. It was very refreshing to hear him back on earth talking about rebuilds and lowered expectations and quick turnarounds. Look, as resident glassy eyed optimist, even I was not “buckling the fuck up” to going anywhere other than a POSSIBLE 8th place finish and prompt smiting just like last season.

4. DRAFT LOTTERY TONIGHT

Right. Draft. Blah blah blah bad draft yadda yadda. Here’s the thing, we can listen to Pierre McGuire go on and uncomfortably on about such and such 18 year old having a fantastic physique, shimmering hair and how they are not only a fastastic player on the ice but also a tremendous person off the ice, all the live long day. But when it comes down to it, no one REALLY fucking knows much about this stuff. Cant miss kids like John Tavares, Tyler Seguin, Victor Hedman, theyre doing pretty good. And thats great. Sorry, it’s pretty GOOD. They cant all come into the bigs to be the Steven Stamkos level guy that they are pretty much all made out to be. Shit even Stamkos didnt at first. Whats funny is no one really does a great job of predicting the Jeff Skinners, Jordan Eberleseses, Logan Coutures and Pernel Karl Subbans. In fact, I looked at the rookie scoring race for 2010-2011 over at TSN.ca and the top five aint 1,2,3, 4 and 5. What I’m saying here is…the draft she’s a funny thing. I was intially pretty bummed about Erik Karlsson…THAT’S RIGHT I SAID IT…I was all “oh great a 5’10 160lbd defenseman. Yeah, that’s going to be sad when Milan Lucic puts his elbow through teenage dreams on the rush. I was wrong on that one. He’s our best defenseman AND WE HAVE SERGEI GONCHAR!?!
Then I was all sad face when the Sens missed out on Nazim Khadri and had to take boring old (young) Jared Cowan. Ho Hum, a defensive defenseman with a surgically reconstructed knee. I mean, who knows how he’ll turn out but I’m happier to have the much needed shut down mind of Cowan (whos had an incredible year in the WHL) than the dangling of Khadri (who is pretty awesome but, non-draft pick ups Butler, Greening, Condra and Da Costa help to soften the blow of not taking the forward).

-A glut of exciting non-draft college pick ups

-5 picks in two rounds

-Lehner developing in Bingo

-Cowan and Rundblad, Weircioch coming into camp this fall and apparently Silferberg too…

Nope, we didn’t get top three. There will be no Omega Karlsson (Larsson) or Ted Nugent-Sir Anthony Hopkins. All we can do is sit and watch and trust that Bry-Bry picks the best player available and hope we get another gem like Karlsson (taken 15th by the way!) Happy watching!

5. Misc

Did you know that Ottawa has selected Bryan Berard, Alexandre Daigle, Alexei Yashin, and Radek Bonk with top 3 picks; all of whom are younger than Daniel Alfredsson (58thround/4031st overall) and none of whom play in the NHL?

Bonus:

Also, next time you feel like a dork saying Scotia Bank Place: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KFC_Yum!_Center


 

Write down the date: I admit I was wrong

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Throughout this rebuild, I’ve been solidly pessimistic. For weeks I’d been writing about how this was the perfect year for a rebuild, even if the Sens were a playoff bubble team, but when the rebuild began I was afraid that it didn’t go far enough. Major pieces like Spezza, Phillips, Michalek and Alfredsson were left untouched. Secondary pieces like Chris Neil and Filip Kuba stayed, too. Anderson, a goalie we might have traded for a pick, was re-signed for four years, and Phillips for another three. While the team might be improved in a year or two, I didn’t think that the team did enough this year – or guaranteed a low enough finish next year – to truly load up and become a contender. Melnyk started his usual trumpeting, Murray looks like he’ll be staying, and all along I thought that this team was just setting itself up for some Leafs-style mediocrity. Which is to say, never quite mediocre enough, and never quite a contender.

Admittedly, Anderson has been standing on his head and there’s no guarantee that he can play this way for 70+ games next year. But after yesterday’s thrilling OT win over Montreal, I’m a convert: this team has a future, and it’s only a couple of years away.

Bobby Butler and Stephane Da Costa are two key prospects picked up without using a draft-pick; the Sens have five picks in the first 60 (possibly six, if Nashville’s conditional kicks in); David Rundblad and Jared Cowen are set to make the team next year; current rookies like Condra and Greening have surprised, and not looked out of place in the NHL; the team has a top five pick, and though they finished so low, they’re a full 13 points above last place and about eight wins from being a playoff team; the team has about $16M in cap space heading into next year; a new coach is due; Spezza looks dominant, and like he’s finally matured into the player this team always wanted him to be. (He also has 22 points in 14 games.)

With all of those factors in play, the Sens are still far from a shoo-in, and definitely are not contenders. But can anyone say that they can’t see this team, playing the way they’re playing now, winning eight more games than last year?  If a team with a bottom four on defense of Andre Benoit, David Hale, Derek Smith and Brian Lee (and an unimpressive top pairing of Phillips and Kuba) can win games like last night’s, a team with Karlsson, Gonchar, Rundblad and Cowen in the lineup can do more. Imagine if Da Costa plays at the level Bobby Butler is playing at now, if Peter Regin rebounds from his terrible season, if the team signs a new top six UFA, even poaches as RFA by offer sheet (Parise anyone?).

I never thought I’d say it, but could Ottawa return to the playoffs next year?