Mo Head Shots, Mo Problems

So the other day it was a hit from behing on Kelly, tonight it was a cross check to the head/neck of Chris Neil, Thursday in Calgary, who knows. Why the NHL only hands out 2 minute minors for these ridiculous acts is beyond me. Time to set an example and suspend people. These aren't hockey plays, they are attempts to injure.

So for all of you scoring at home, they can change a rule overnight if they want to (see Sean Avery's sticking waiving against Martin Brodeur, making it illegal out of nowhere), yet they can't seem to change rules for things that actually matter and cause injuries.

I just don't get the NHL. It's getting old.

Thoughts?

Workmanlike Win

It wasn't particularly pretty, but the Sens ended up beating the worst team in the NHL 4-1, after a 3 goal 3rd period. We managed to turn it on when we had to, which is good news I guess, but we didn't look so good the first 2 periods. But after 3 straight losses, I'll take the W however it comes. Brial Elliott was great but not spectacular, but he didn't have to be, as the Oilers struggled to muster much offense all night.

It was a win, nothing spectacular but 2 points is 2 points, so book em and on to Calgary.

Thoughts from the game:

-Some sketchy reffing yet again tonight.

-Was pretty quiet in Rexall place, sounded more like the ACC

-Good to see Michalek get a goal again

-Good to see Fisher score too, he had a much better game tonight. Shoutout to everyone from the comments of the Fisher piece.

-Erik Karlsson looked good again, he's a great skater, but still holds on to the puck a bit too long sometimes. He'll get over it, he's a rook

-Andy Sutton looked pretty good tonight, he will come in handy in the playoffs.

-Cullen is looking better each game.

Thoughts on the game?

GDP #67: Sens @ Deadmonton

The Senators start their Western Canadian swing tonight, as they take on the Oil, in what should be considered a must win for the Sens. We've lost 3 in a row and 4 in a row would be disasterous, especially when the Oilers are the worst team in the NHL.

The Sens are recovering from a flu bug going around the team that forced us to play shorhanded against the Leafs and to cancel the season ticket holder even they have scheduled for Sunday, but all appears to be ok for tonight so far.

There was talk that Snoopy might start but it's been confirmed that Elliott will get the start in net. Kuba remains out and no one cares. Hopefully we can get some goals and some confidence back tonight and start our roadie with a good showing.

Game is at 9:30pm eastern. I will be on here live watching the game, so come through and drop comments in the comment section and follow me on a Twitter throughout the game.

Thoughts?

Engagement Hangover?

Now I know things aren't always as they seem, it's just easier to act that way, but something is up with Mike Fisher. It's not so much that he's slumping or scoring at a lesser rate, as we've all seen how streaky he can be over the past years. Hell it's not uncommon to see him go 15 without potting one, but is it just me or has his game almost disappered since he became engaged to Carrie Underwood? The numbers are not his ally either. Let's look at the facts shall we.

They announced they're engagement on December 21st, 2009. Prior to that date, Fisher had played 33 games. In those 33, he had 15 goals and 14 assists, good for 29 points, or .87 points per game. To go with that impressive streak, he had 4 game winning goals, was a plus 10 and had a point in 20 of those 33 games. He was having the season of his life, even getting consideration for Team Canada, although he ultimately didn't make it. The point is he was killing it, finally earning his 4.2 million annual salary and having everyone in Ottawa and the NHL singing his praise.

Not only was he scoring, which was a very nice plus, but he seemed to have a renewed passion and love for the game. I've never been a huge Fisher guy, but no one would ever accuse him of not working hard. Early this season however, he was blowing everyone's expectations out of the water and was slowly finishing his chances that in previous years he had failed to do. He was always a hard worker but a frustrating player as well, but things were finally coming together for him. He was a favorite to be a finalist for the Selke even. And then he was engaged.

Now I am not a fan of criticisizing a players personal life, it's none of my business really, unless it affects their on ice performance that is. Now I'm not saying it's the engagement is the sole reason he is struggling. Perhaps he has a lingering injury or perhaps he's just simply reverted back to the player he always was and gone on a patented Mike Fisher cold streak. I'm not around the team everyday, I can't say for sure either way. But what I do know, is the numbers do not lie.

Since he dropped an alleged quarter mill on that ring for Carrie, his numbers have been sinking faster then Jay leno's ratings. Peep the stats. Since #12 has been off the market, he has played a comparable 31 games, scoring a measly 5 goals and adding 11 assists, good for 16 points. Those 16 points in 31 games is good for .51 points per game, a big decrease from the .87 he was averaging before they became Fisherwood officially. Unfortunately for Fisher, the bad news doesn't end there either. In those 31 games, he had 13 games with a point, compared to 20 in the first part of the season and was a minus 1, instead of a plus 10 and had 2 game winning goals, instead of 4 earlier. Basically, his numbers are down by half.

I could even live with the decrease in points if his play was still strong but it just isn't. He is barely noticeable anymore out there and when I do notice him, it's usually for the wrong reasons, like a pass he couldn't take or losing the puck or letting someone skate around him. Even when he used to not score, he was always a presence at least but not as of late.

I don't know the reason why this is happening and I don't pretend to. Maybe he's hurt. Maybe media pressure or wedding details are getting to him. Maybe he's had to adjust to having a full time girlfriend around more. Maybe he's tired from having to fly to LA for the Grammy's or Nashville to see her. Whatever the reason, I just want him back to his first half self, because let's face it, he is one the keys to our success and we need him to be at his best.

All I know is his game has disappeared and he needs to find it fast. If anyone happens to find it, please return to the Ottawa Senators Hockey Club immediately.

Thoughts?

Lee Signs New Deal

In a somewhat surprising move, the Ottawa Senators announced today that they had resigned blueliner Brian Lee to a 2 year contract extension. Lee, who is 23, was set to be a free agent on July 1st. It had appeared he had fallen out of favor with the organization after failing to live up to expectations of being picked 9th overall in the draft, and spending most of this season in the minors.

While not being overly impressed with Lee, I thought that perhaps he was better then he was given credit for and deserved to play in the NHL. I am happy with the signing. No word yet on the dollar amount or if it's a 1 or 2 way deal. One would assume it's a way 1 way deal or he wouldn't have signed so early.

Happy to see him back in the fold or hoping he would have been traded in the offseason?

Doing The Lords Work

Ah yes, another successful conversion of a Maple Leaf fan coming to his SENSes and joining the mob known as Sens Army. Can't really blame him. The only question I have is what took ya so long?

In typical Leaf fan style, he was wearing a jersey of a player who no longer plays for the team. With such ugly gear, it's no wonder he was signing up to get some fresh new Sens swag to finally feel some pride when he leaves Ontario. I salute you sir. Hopefully this will catch on and more and more join the better team in the province. Remember Leaf Nation, 4 years and soon to be 5 with no playoffs and 42 and counting with no cup. Just a not so friendly reminder.

Spotted at the Battle of Ontario at SBP.

Thoughts?

So Apparently Cross Checking From Behind Is Now Allowed

The NHL and the refs are ridiculous. How they continue to say nothing is wrong and how they continue to miss so many obvious calls is just pathetic. In any other profession you'd have consequences and they would be announced too, not protected like the mafia.

Last night, TWO refs missed a blatant hit from behind that could have crippled Chris Kelly. Not only should those type of hits be 5 and a game, suspensions should follow, esepcially for someone like Phaneuf with a history of that type of hit. (click the pic to enlarge)

Now before anyone says maybe the ref right near the play was blocked and didn't see it, what about the other ref? Isn't that why we have 2 now? Kelly had the puck, it wasn't out of the play or anything. I mean gimme a break.

How long must this go on before someone gets killed? I'm just tired of seeing non calls that 2 years olds can make.

Thoughts?

Flu Strikes Again

Why is it when we suffer the worst from the flu that we happen to play the Leafs? Last night and of course the infamous Flu Game from years back.

The flu is so bad right now that the Sens cancelled a season ticket holder event scheduled for today, which sucks because I was attending but I'm sure they will reschedule.

Hopefully they get better soon for their west coast swing soon because they can't afford to lose 5 or 6 in a row.

Thoughts?

3 In A Row.....In A Bad Way

The Sens made it 3 for 3, losing yet again to another undermanned, under talented team. Flu bug aside. the excuses are getting old and only scoring 1 goal against the Marlies is brutal.

Awful game all around.

I don't know if the players were feeling themselves too much or what but if they don't pick it up soon, they will be a 7 or 8 seed real quick.

Things don't get any easier as we go out west next week where we struggle quite badly.

Hopefully we get it together asap. Poor Alfie who missed the game and can no longer hit 1000 this year, ooops!

Thoughts on the scrimmage?

Zack Smith Recalled

One of the mayor's favorite up and comer's will be in the lineup tonight, as Zack Smith has been recalled from Binghamton due to the flu bug that has been going around the Senators dressing room. It will be awesome to see him suit up again, I think be brings a lot to the table. Hopefully he has a good game and stays up the rest of the year, I think we could really use his speed, skill and passion down the stretch.

Thoughts?

GDP #66: Battle Of Ontario @ SBP

The Senators are back at SBP tonight, taking on the hated Toronto Maple Leafs, hoping to avoid a 3 game losing streak. The Leafs look more like the Marlies after all the bodies they've shipped out in the past few weeks but the Sens will have their own problems, with a flu bug going through the team. They aren't even sure how many players might not play or how many might have to leave during the game, which is not good. Someone cue up Owen Nolan for him moment to shine again.

With that in mind, I'm not even sure who is playing. Rumor has it Ruutu, Regin and Elliott will all be out tonight, meaning Pascal Leclaire will most likely be in net tonight, which I think is a godo thing. Important to go back to him tonight and not shatter his confidence completely.

Predicition: With not knowing who's playing or how we will react to being shorthanded, it's hard to predict a score. The Monster is reportedly starting for Toronto and they do still have Kessel and Phaenuf and a few others and they always get up for playing the Sens. For some reason I don't see this going well. We all remember the flu game from years ago and I see a repeat. Sens lose tonight to make it 3 in a row after the break, 4-2. But Leclaire plays well.

Thoughts?

You Got Served

It's been awhile since I've posted a celeb sporting some Sens gear, since July actually, so I figured it was time. Here we've got R&B singer Omarion sporting an awesome retro Senators lid from back in the day (click on the picture to enlarge). Not gonna lie, I had this one when I was younger and wish I had another to rock now, it's dope.

Thoughts on the sweet lid?

To see what other celebs have been spotted rockin Sens gear, hit the Celeb archive here

600 Helpers For The Captain

Last night's game was pretty awful by all accounts, but at least some good came out of it, as the captain got his 600th career assist in the loss. He is on schedule to play his 1000th career game on April 10th against the Buffalo Sabres, the team he scored his most memorable goal on.

With the point, Alfie is now 28 points away from 1000 career points as well, with 17 games left to play. He'd have to go on quite the hot streak to get there this season but this is Alfie we're talking about. If anyone could do it, it's him.

Congratulations again to the franchise, the captain, the legend that is Daniel Alfredsson on the milestone.

Thoughts on the accomplishment?

Same Shit, Different Day

Another day, another game and another crappy effort from the Sens. Did we overrate them perhaps? Certainly seems that way at the moment, after losing back to back games 4-1 and showing little jump in either.

Although neither were spectacular goals, I think pulling Leclaire only 6 mins in was a mistake and is ruining his confidence big time, which might hurt us down the road in the playoffs. Triple C is a little quick on the trigger sometimes in my opinion.

I'm just really unimpressed as a whole with the team yet again.

Thoughts from the game:

-Andy Sutton looked pretty good for a guy in his first game. Played solid, jumped into the play a few times and didn't try to do anything fancy. He wasn't as slow as I thought he might be either.

-Big crowd tonight in Hartford, err I mean Raleigh. I'm gonna assume it was because of Staal bobblehead night.

-If anyone finds Mike Fisher's game, please return it to the Ottawa Senators Hockey Club immediately.

-Good to see Matt Cullen get his 1st goal as a Sen, even if it was meaningless and nothing to write home about.

-Our defence looked very slow tonight, we needed a PMD yesterday.

-Picard still sucks!

-Are the players aware they have to shoot the puck to score? They're trying to be too fancy, just shoot it!!!!!!!!!!

-Chris Kelly is driving me insane.

Thought's on the "game" ?

GDP #65: Sens @ Whalers

So I've decided I just can't get down with the Carolina Hurricanes. I know they've won a cup and I know they've been there 10+ years and all of that "awesome" stuff, but I'm old school and to me they will always the Mighty Whale of Hartford, Connecticut. So from now on, when we play the Hurricanes, they will be references as the Hartford Whalers. I think it's an improvement.

So on to the game, in which in the Sens take on the red hot Whalers, who have won 6 in a row, as we ourselves come in after a craptacular 1st game back. Let's hope the effort will be a little bit better tonight and how could it not be. It's pretty easy to improve from zero isn't it?

Of course this is Matt Cullen's first game back after being traded, I say he scores or at least plays a big game in his return to Raleigh. The other news of the day is Mark Morrison style, return of the mack(s). Pascal Leclaire will get the start tonight after Brian Elliott blew it on Tuesday. The more suprising move is that Shean Donovan will be back in the lineup as well. Neither have played since mid January. Jesse Winchester sits in favor of Chum and I have to say I'm happy for Dono and I actually think he has something to offer the team. I've thought he should have been playing the whole time really.

It will be weird not being able to hate on Joe Corvo anymore but I will get through it somehow. Though I am pretty mad he got traded to such an elite team, but hey, anytime you can trade for a guy who wanted out of Ottawa cuz he couldn't handle the pressure, you sure wanna add him to your Stanley Cup contending sqaud if you can, a person who folds under pressure is exactly what ya want for the playoffs. Goof luck with that Washington.

Predicition: Sens are playing the 3 worst teams in the NHL back to back to back statistically at least and tonight we start a new win streak. Sens win 4-1. The Whale just don't have the bodies or the talent to get it done tonight after the fire sale. Poor Eric Staal, although at least he has a gold medal to ease his pain this year.

Thoughts on Pascal and Chum back in the lineup? Or the game tonight?

Jersey Foul 57

This one speaks for itself, but at the same time, needs some explanation so you can fully grasp how appauling this one is. Of course this is a Frank Mahovlich #27 Sens jersey, a HOFer who played for ya know, our 2 most hated rivals, the Montreal Canadiens and the Toronto Maple Leafs.

As is that isn't bad enough, and trust me it is, he retired 30 years ago, 13 years before the Sens even existed. And before someone emails me, hey wait a minute, Frank is a Senator now in Ottawa appointed by Chretien himself, maybe this is him. It isn't I looked.

Think of it this way, it's like seeing a Sens jersey with #4 and Orr on the back, or #9 and Howe, now you understand. Hardly a good way to honor one of the greatest players of all time, who had absolutely nothing to do with the Sens.

The question I have is always the same when I see these is why? Why waste $200+ on such a ridiculous jersey.

Thoughts?

Deadline Day Wrap Up

I think the picture about sums it up. Very little happend despite a record number of trades.

It was boring.

Ottawa did nothing....as usual.

Predictions For Deadline Day

So it's deadline day and we always know it's usually more talk then action, with very few big players being moved and most of them not being suprises. It's pretty much status quo, but even so, the Mayor is making some bold and crazy predictions that most likely won't come true, but IF they do, I'll look like a genius. I'm not holding my breath.

1) The Habs will finally decide to go with a true number 1 goalie and trade either Carey Price or Jaroslav Halak.

2) The Senators will make a big splash and make a trade for a big name player and be big players on trade deadline for once. I can see Euge foaming at the mouth this year and saying get it done.

3) Ray Whitney won't be traded.

4) Tomas Vokoun won't be traded either.

5) The Los Angeles Kings will make a big move.

6) Marty Biron or Dwayne Roloson will be moved to Philadelphia.

7) The first trade won't happen til 9:25am.

8) Anton Volchenkov will be traded.

9) Someone will finally burn Mike Milbury on why he's on the panel giving an opinion when he's one of the all time worst GM's.

10) The over/under for total uses of Blackberries on TSN and Sportsnet is 1683. I'd still take the over.

11) The Washington Capitals will make a move for a goalie.

12) Dam Hamhuis will go for way less then the 1st rounder and roster player Nashville wants, if they move him at all.

13) A star will be traded that no one saw coming.

14) Despite his contract, Brad Boyes will be traded.

15) The Red Wings will make a big move somehow.

Thoughts? Am I crazy? How many if any will come true? Will be a fun day regardless.

Trade Deadline Day Itinerary

So Today is the big day, Trade Deadline 2010. It's one of the biggest days in hockey each year. A lot of it is manufactured hype, but even still, it sure is a fun time to wonder what your team might do, or to see what other moves might go down. With that in mind, there's a few ways you can get in on the action and spend it with The Mayor and Sens Town.

-Follow me on Twitter, where I will be announcing the trades and of course making wise cracks all day about the day's going on's and "experts". Follow me by clicking here

-Come to Sens Town as you usually would for all your Senators information and trades/rumors. I will be posting anytime anything goes down with the Sens as I normally would.

-And finally, come over to the6thsens.com where there will be a live chat all day, with myself, the guys at the 6th Sens, guys from Silver Seven and many more, if you're looking for more of instant gratification type talk. The fun begins at 8am on a live chat all day, so come hang out with The Mayor and Sens Town, plus some other awesome Sens bloggers on what should be a very fun day. Hope to see you all there.

Slow First Day

Apparently someone forgot to tell the Sens that the Olympic break is over and that their vacations have stopped, since they failed to show up for tonight's game and pretty much played a heartless, sloppy affair. Perhaps it was the layoff or perhaps it was because a few of them are worried about being traded tomorrow. Either way, it was a very forgettable game, especially for 2 minute and 2 second stretch near the end of the 2nd period, which took us from tied at 1's, to down 3 goals somehow.

The only bright spots were the opening goal, where Spezza made an amazing pass to Michalek for the beautiful finish and that Snoopy didn't let in a goal in the 3rd after relieving Elliott who was pulled after a poor effort. More goalie questions. I feel like I've heard this story before somewhere.....

Thoughts from the game:

-Where is Mike Fisher? He was invisible tonight.

-Karlsson looked good in his first game back. Made one mistake but made some spectatcular plays as well. I'm becoming a believer.

-Not impressed with Cullen so far, barely even noticed him.

-Carkner looked very slow tonight.

-Crowd at SBP was dead tonight.

-Our whole team looked asleep, Rangers wanted it more.

-How does Kelly make such a stupid decision and pass on a breakaway basically, leading to the Blue shirts 2nd goal. I would not be disappointed if he was gone tomorrow.

-If that was the A-Train's last trip in Ottawa, it wasn't a good one.

Overall, just a really bad turnout from the Sens. No one played well, everyone was sloppy and the Rangers burned us. We deserved the L. Hopefully tomorrow brings us some help. On to the next one.

Thoughts on the game?

GDP #64: Sens V NYR

The Sens are finally back after the Olympic break in which we won one medeal (bronze by Ruutu) and more importantly, no one was injured during the games (damn you Hasek!).

They take on the New York Rangers tonight at SBP, with one and possibly 2 new additions to the lineup, and a few others missing since the last time we saw them in Ottawa. Gone are dead weights Alexandre Picard and Jonathan Cheechoo, and in their place is Matt Cullent, who makes his SBP debut, a recently re-signed Ryan Shannon (it's his 27th bday today) and Andy Sutton, who I doubt makes it here in time to suit up, but ya never know, it's not that far of a flight from the Island.

It will be interesting to see the new line combos with the addition of Cullen and then subtraction of Cheechoo. I'm excited to see them play again. I loved Olympic hockey and all but I missed my Sens too.

Brian Elliott and Henrik Lundqvist get the starts in net. Be on the lookout for superpest and Sens Town favorite Sean Avery to be all over the place.

Should be a good atmosphere tonight and could be the last time we some a few players in a Sens uni. Exciting times ahead.

Prediction: Sens keep the hot streak going and beat the Rangers 5-2.

Thoughts on the big return game?

Breaking News: Sens Trade SJ's 2nd Rounder To NYI For Andy Sutton

The Senators have traded the 2nd round pick acquired in the Dany Heatley trade to the New York Islanders, in exchange for 6ft6, 245lbs defenceman Andy Sutton, who is 34.

I guess this is the depth defenceman BM wanted to pick up all along, but I have to say I'm not impressed, esepcially for a 2nd round pick, when Leopold could have been had for the same. Sutton is huge and physical which is good, but is a slow skater and I don't really see him as much of an upgrade at all personally. I'm not excited about this move at all.

This now means that likely one of Campoli, Lee or Volchenkov will be traded before tomorrow at 3pm, just a heads up.

By the way, come over to the6thsens.com tomorrow starting at 8am where me and other Sens bloggers will be uniting for a live chat about all of the moves the Sens did or didn't make on trade deadline day, as well as all of the other deals going on in the NHL. It will be a good time and a great way to spend your 2010 trade deadline day.

Thoughts on the trade?

Happy 27th, 26

Shoutout to Ryan Shannon, as the recently re-signed Sen turns 27 today. Let's hope he celebrates in style and has a goal against the Blue Shirts tonight. Happy Birthday Ryan from Sens Town.


Thoughts?

What Time Is It? Trade O'Clock

Now that the Olympics are over, the trade freeze is over too as of midnight. With around 60 hours left until the 3pm Wednesday deadline, trade talk is heating up and deals can be announced anytime they want. So who will stay and who will go? It will be an interesting few days here in Sens Town that's for sure.

Bryan Murray and Eugene Melnyk both sound like they think we have the team to make a serious run this year, and they may want to make a big splash or at least a minor tinker on defence. What will happen is anyone's guess, but it will be a nervous couple of days for guys like Brian Lee, Ryan Shannon, Shean Donovan and a few others.

Let the madness begin.

Thoughts on what might happen?

Ruutu Brings Home A Bronze

Congratulations goes out to Jarkko Ruutu, for winning a bronze medal with Team Finland at the Olympics. He was the only Senator player to win a medal at the games. Luckily for us, none of our players were hurt either during the games, so we will be pretty healthy when the NHL season picks up again on Tuesday. Congrats again Jarkko from Sens Town.

Thoughts?

GOLD !!!!

Sid the Kid comes through with the overtime winner.

You all know the rest.

Canada is the best team in the world and wins the gold.

Nuff said.

Thoughts?

Border Wars

We all know all about what's at stake.

Canada vs the USA, the rematch for gold.

Enjoy! Go CANADA Go!

Canada wins 4-2.

Wish I was there so bad.

Olympic Semi Final Wrap Up: North America Wins The Night

Well that was interesting. The 2 teams I picked won, but in reverse order. The US ended up embarassing Finland, while Canada had a tough time with Slovakia, the opposite of what I expected. But in the end the results are all that matters and North America owned the day, with both teams making the gold medal game. Loved seeing my boy Getzlaf score the game winner for the win.

Sunday at 3pm, an epic rematch for all the marbles. Gold medal game, Canada vs the United States, revenge is sweet.

What did you think about today's semi's?

Sens Re-Up Shannon

Not the signing everyone was hoping for exactly, but Ryan Shannon has been resigned to a one year contract worth 675k, which is a 75k raise from this year. I can't really complain about signing him to such a reasonable contract for what he brings to the table. Good depth signing by BM.

Does this mean perhaps someone else is now expendable? I would think perhaps yes.

Trade deadline is Wednesday march 3rd at 3pm eastern.

Thoughts on re-signing Shannon?

Olympic Questions & Answers

With the Olympics coming to an end and the semi's of hockey about to jump off, I figured I'd take some time to answer some of the questions I've been getting from readers since the games started. Enjoy....

Q: Who is your favorite player on Team Canada? Who are your other favorites on the other teams? -Arnold

A: On Canada, Getzlaf by a mile, though I know he isn't very popular. How do I know this? I've looked everywhere for a Getzlaf Canada tee and no one has it. After Getzlaf I'd say Nash and Doughty. (shoutout to the Kings). Other teams I'd say Alfie of course, Peter Forsberg, Teemu Selanne , Ovechkin, Erik and Jack Johnson and Martin Havalt ( I know I know)

Q: What was your favorite game so far? -Nicholas

A: Slovakia/Russia was a pretty good, none have been a classic yet though in my opinion.

Q: Did you watch the womens games? -Jennie

A: No I didn't, not even a second. While we're at it, until the rest of the world catches up in level of play, can the US and Canada just play a best of 7 series for the gold instead? The 3rd and 4th best teams in the world shouldn't be losing 13-1, plus I just find it too slow and no hitting just isn't doing it for me sorry ladies.

Q: I've been going to most of the games, jealous? -Evan

A: Fuck you!

Q: When I heard them play Ole when goals were scored, I automatically thought of you, imagining how mad you must have been, is that weird of me? -Jordan

A: I'm flattered but don't swing that way, not that there's anything wrong with that Jordan. But seriously, they couldn't have picked a worse song. It's used by an NHL team already, it's Spanish and it's a soccer song. That has what to do with Canada again? Good job VANOC.

Q: Who's impressed you so far? - Kayla

A: Ryan Miller, but I was already impressed with him all year. Erik Johnson is really good and underrated in Canada. Um I was unaware of how good Shea Weber is and same with Miko Koivu. Drew Doughty has been really good but with the Kings being my west coast team, I already knew that. Halak has been great too.

Q: Who do you think has the best and worst jerseys? - Kevin

A: I hate the Canada crest, sorry but I do. I'm partial to Sweden and Norway as the best jerseys and Russia/Switzerland as a tie for worst.

Q: Did you see the crazy fan with the red light on his head? Am I crazy or was he at the World Jr's too? - Jared

A: Is this from Jared Cowen? Yes I have seen him and yes he was at the world jr's too. How can anyone be successful enough to have the money to attend all that and the stupidity to wear a red light on their head and look like Bubbles from the Trailer Park Boys? These are the things I think of.

Q: So we're down to 4 teams. Who's in the final and who wins? -Johnny

A: USA and Canada win, setting up a rematch and Canada pulls another Russia and wins easily. Revenge is sweet.

Thoughts on my thoughts?

What To Do About The A-Train?

The NHL trade deadline is Wednesday at 3pm eastern. That's only 4 days away and we have a few burning questions. Do we roll the dice and make a move for a big defenceman that may cost us some of our future or do we stand pat? Do we add another forward or was Matt Cullen our play in that regard? But the biggest question to me and I imagine most Sens fans is what do we do about Anton Volchenkov?

Now I'm sure most of you are thinking, what do you mean what do we do? We keep him for the playoffs and see what happens, he'll end up signing I'm sure. That would be nice, but unfortunately we don't live in fanatsy land. With cap space being so important, you can't afford to overpay players and you can't afford to lose players for nothing as an UFA. It can kill a franchise.

Now here's where it gets tricky. Do we stand pat and risk losing him for nothing or do we realize we can't sign him or aren't willing to meet his salary demands and trade him to a contender. Think of what Volchenkov brings to the table. One of the league's best shotblockers, a gritty stay at home defenceman and a guy who will play with 2 broken legs if it's possible. Sounds like a great pickup for the playoff run to me for say Washington. I know it's not the best scenario and it would be awful to see A-Train go, but not thinking about trading him if we can't sign him is naive and plain stupid.

Bryan Murray has said he wants to sign him and I want him here, but at what price? At 4.5 million or more a year? Hell no! Is he a valuable player? Of course he is, but he isn't a star and never will be and he doesn't even have 100 career points in 7 seasons in the league. As they say, you can't pay defenceman who don't put up points big time money. It's just a bad call and can ruin your franchise.

I have a sneaking suspicion that Volchenkov and his agent are looking for bigger money then Murray thinks he's worth or they would have had a deal by now. It might be a bit hard to swallow, but if he wants big money, we have to trade him and get something back in return. It's just the way of the new NHL.

Hopefully they can get something done in the next few days and he remains a Sen for a long time at a reasonable, fair rate of pay. Something like 3.5 million a year for 5 years would be good for both sides, but we need to be realistic and his time may be coming to an end in Ottawa, that is if Murray has the guts to trade him and do what's best for the franchise long term.

The only worry I have is that Murray seems to love to overpay when resigning our own guys. See Neil, Fisher and Kelly contracts as proof. I don't know why but I have an awful feeling this won't end well, hopefully I'm very wrong.

Thoughts on my thoughts?

Welcome Back Brian Lee

Sens defenceman Brian Lee has been recalled from Binghamton to join the big club. He was brought back up due to the injury to Chris Campoli, which should keep him out of the lineup for another 2 weeks or so. Brian Lee is no stranger to going back and forth, though he likely won't be here too long with the traded deadline coming ina few days. Welcome back Brian, enjoy it while you can.

Thoughts?

"I was really disappointed that these guys came with their, their Eurotrash game" - Mike Milbury

Leave it to Mike Milbury to put his foot in his mouth on national television. Hey at least he isn't screwing over franchises anymore right? How this guy continues to be employed is beyond me, but anyways watch the clip, it's funny I swear.

Love the announcer chirping him at the end too.

Thoughts?

Olympic Quarterfinal Day Wrap Up: Canada & Slovakia Win The Night

Well that was a shocker. Who saw that coming? No one, that's who.

I definitely thought Canada was capable of beating the Russians but to deliver such a beat down was truly shocking. The Canucks played a great game from puck drop and Russia was never really in the game. To be honest, they looked disinterested and many of their big stars failed to show up. On to the next one.

Which brings us to their oponent for their semi game, Slovakia, who played a gutsy game and took out the defending champion Swedes 4-3. Unfortunately, this means no gold for Alfie, but an easier team for Canada, which is always good news. Don't feel too bad, he already has a gold anyways and now he gets a few extra days of rest for the Sens. The Slovaks scored the 2 biggest upsets of the tourney, beating Russia and now Sweden, so they shouldn't be taken lightly. They will be particularly familiar to Sens supporters, as they have a few ex Sens on the sqaud. There's Zdeno Chara, Marian Hossa and Andrej Meszaros of course. We will see what happens on Friday.

In one of the other 1/4 finals, the US held on barely to beat a very frisky Swiss team 2-0. Switzerland were in it all game but just couldn't bury their chances and it ended up costing them in the end, but Anaheim sure has a good goalie in Hiller that's for sure. I'm praying for a US-Canada final so we can whipe that cocky, smug look of their faces. Was it just me or did they look WAY too happy and cocky after their empty netter to secure today's win? Congratulations on barely beating a completely overmatched team in every aspect. You didn't win the superbowl, you didn't win the gold, you barely survived. Act like it!

And in the final 1/4 final, Finland took out the Czech's with a 2-0 win of their own. This was a very tight game down to the very end and could have gone either way but tough to win when you can't score a goal, so Suomi gets to move on to play the US on Friday.

So there you have it, what did you think of the games? This now means 4 of the 5 Sens players are out, only Jarkko Ruutu remains. Daniel Alfredsson, Milan Michalek, Filip Kuba and Anton Volchenkov are all done and thank god no one got hurt.

Other thoughts from the game:

-Was awesome to watch Forsberg play again, he's one of my all time faves

-Did Ovechkin, Malkin or Kovalchuk even play? They were invisible

-The A-Train looked very ordinary tonight

-Sorry to see Alfie is done but at least he's still healthy

-Once again the crowd looked amazing, I'm jealous of anyone who went

Thoughts?

We Want Russia, Clap Clap Clap Clap Clap

Well we got em. The Canadian fans were feeling pretty good late last night, so they started the we want Russia chant and I have to say it sounded pretty awesome. So tonight we get the final everyone was hoping for, but in the 1/4 finals at 7:30pm, along with the other 3 quarterfinals all today. It's a great day for hockey, but for one superpower, the Olympics will be over and no medal will be awarded.

The first game is at 3pm eastern and is the United States vs Switzerland. I think the States are way too cocky at this point and aren't that good. What they do have is a great goalie in Ryan Miller, who's playing great too and that makes all the difference in the world. Switzerland also has a good goalie in Hiller but lacks talent in other areas and always has trouble scoring. I could see the Americans stumbling here if Switzerland could get some goals. USA wins 4-2 in a very close game.

The 2nd game is the big one, the classic, Canada v Russia @ 7:30pm. Pre Olympics, most people thought this would probably be the gold medal game, but now it's a 1/4 final and the loser will have a lot of explaining to do. It's a game for pride, for passion, for all those battle we used to have. There's still nothing better then Canada/Russia for my money. Hard to predict this one at all, they're both stacked so I'm going with the home team. Canada wins 5-4 and the country can breathe again, but don't be suprised if the Russians bounce us either. Kovalchuk, Ovechkin, Datsuk, Malkin, Radulov, etc etc etc are scary as hell.

The 3rd game is a pretty solid game itself, with the Fins taking on the Czechs at 10pm. This game is hard to predict as both are pretty solid teams, both have scoring and defence, and even two good goalie in Kipper and Vokoun. Seems like a push if I was betting on these, which I am definitely not since gambling is illegal ;) But for arguments sake, who would you go with? I'd say that the Fins are probably the favorites in this but only slightly. I'm gonna say the Czechs score a mild upset and win this 4-2, with Michalek scoring and Kuba sucking.

And the finale of le soiree, Sweden vs Slovakia. This seems like an easy win for the 3 crowns to me. Slovakia played last night and barely beat Norway, so that means they're inferior and tired. Sweden is the way better team and win this going away 6-2.

Thoughts on my thoughts? Who you got winning?

Lonely Island

Good luck.

Thoughts?

Trade Winds Are Gusting

What's that you say, actual Senators news? No way!

Ok so I may have exagerated the news part, more like rumors or specualtion at this point, but anything to get us to not think about last night's Canada game right?

We all know the NHL Olympic roster freeze is in full effect but that hasn't stopped GM's from talking and making deals. Expect many to be announced as soon as the freeze has been lifted on the 28th. The Sens of course, are in the market for a defenceman, or maybe 2, though I'd settle for one.

My personal prefence would be either Pavel Kubina, Dam Hamhuis or Thomas Kaberle, the latter being pretty unlikely and would cost us and arm and a leg. Cool reference I know.

With that in mind, let's get in the mood, since the trade deadline is less then 10 days away now.

The Ottawa Citizen has compiled a list of potential players to acquire, seems we're on the same page with some, though the analysis is lacking.

Our good buddies at Silver Seven have put up a list of our past trade deadline acquisitions, it isn't pretty, though it's a really good read as always.

After reading that, you realize that although it seems sexy to pick someone up for a cup run, it basically never pans out and you are mortgaging your future. Having said that (LD), I still think we need another defenceman to have any shot this year and really, just for the future too. That is is our goaltending doesn't kill us down the stretch.

So what are your thoughts? Who would you like to see in a Sens uni and what would you be willing to give up?

Olympic Hockey Wrap Up Day VI: Brian Burke Wins The Night

So much for a Super Sunday right? Brian Burke and Team USA won the day, beating Canada 5-3 to win the group and make us play an extra game on Tuesday. Oh ya, say goodbye to a Russia-Canada final as well. If we win Tuesday, we play Russia in the quarter's on Wednesday. Bet Burkie had a smile from ear to ear.

The atmosphere of the game was amazing but we just never seemed to get it going, which seems to be a theme for this team. If we don't get it going soon, we might have another embrassing situation on our hands, this time on home soil.

At least Alfie and the A-train got the wins.

Thoughts from the day:

-Thanks to team Russia, who have possibly lowered Volchenkov's value on his upcoming contract by playing him mostly on the 3rd pairing. Also less chance he gets hurt.

-Nice goal by Michalek

-Love seeing Ruutu stir it up. Am I the only one who never gets tired of him?

-What happened to Marty Brodeur? What an awful game.

-Ryan Miller is the 2009-10 MVP

-Didn't the Americans seem WAY too happy to win a prelim game? It wasn't the gold medal game guys.

-We lost it ourself, they didn't really outplay us.

-Say what you will, and I've said plenty, but Dany Heatley continues to produce at an amazing pace for Team Canada

-Some of our veterans are looking really old

Thoughts on day 6?

Baby Sens Lose 1st Ever AHL Classic

With all the Olympic hockey on, I'm sure many of you forgot that the AHL held it's 1st ever outside game yesterday, a game that featured our farm team, the Binghamton Senators. Unfortunately the Baby Sens fell 2-1 to the Syracuse Crunch, in front of an AHL record crowd of more then 21,000 which is pretty awesome. To see highlights of the game click here

Thoughts?

Olympic Hockey Day 6: Previews & Predictions

So the Olympic tourney really gets going today, with 3 outstanding matchups, dubbed Super Sunday. Very original I know. In fact, they are rematches of the last 3 gold medal games. Finally some rivalries, finally the good teams play each other and yes, the Sens players will be featured heavily in these games. I come in to these games 14-1 in my predcitions, but most of them were pretty easy, so the real predicting starts for me today as well.

The first game is at 3pm eastern and is Russia vs Czech Republic, which features 3 Sens players. Anton Volchenkov for Russia and Milan Michalek and Filip Kuba for the Czechs. The Russians headed into the Olympics as one of the favorites and are coming off a shootout loss to Slovakia. Look for them to come out and plkay well, trying to revive their reputation as the team to beat. For the Czechs, they are 2-0 and looking pretty good, especially in net with Vokoun. They aren't as talented as the Ruski's, but definitely have enough skill to beat anyone on any given Sunday. This should be a great game but in the end, Russia is too talented and are coming in with a chip on their shoulder. Russia wins 6-3.

The 2nd game is at 7:40pm and is the biggest one to most of us. It's the battle of North America, Canada vs the US, in a rematch of 2002's gold medal game. This has become a very good rivalry as of late, especially in the world jr's, and is always a passionate game. The US are 2-0 and have won fairly easily so far, while Canada has faced some adversity, only being able to beat Switzerland in a shootout. Perhaps a coutry's high expectations are getting to them? More of a burden then a blessing, but look for them to get up for this game big time. The Canadian's are the more talented team by far, but the States do play hard and they do have a great goalie in Ryan Miller, who would be my NHL MVP so far. With great goaltending you just never know. It might be tough at the start, but I see Canada playing well tonight, as they have their motivation in spades. Canada wins 5-2.

In the finale, which takes place at midnight eastern, is a rematch of the Torrino gold medal game, Sweden vs Finland, and features Daniel Alfredsson and Jarkko Ruutu from the Senators. This will be a very entertaining game I think, filled with skill and back and forth action. I'm excited to watch it. Finland isn't the most talented but do have a lot of NHL players and a great goalie, but so does Sweden. The score will look worse then the game was but Sweden wins 5-2.

Thoughts?