Shark Bitten

As the Sens are in San Jose to face the Sharks tomorrow, we all know what's on everyone's mind, Dany Heatley. For better or for worse, he was a huge part of our team and the fiasco this summer sure soured everyone's opinion on him and changed the way our team looked. So as we play him for the first time since he was traded (does anyone else think he partially picked San Jose because they didn't play IN Ottawa this year?), Sens Town looks back on the deal and tries to figure out who got the better of the swap.

Now to analyze this properly, we have to take into consideration the circumstances. Dany Heatley had made 10 million the past season in salary and was due a 4 million advance on his 2009-10 salary on July 1st. He had previously signed a 6 year extension to stay with the Sens worth 45 million on October 3rd, 2007, which included a no trade clause. At the time, it wasn't a big deal, as no one would have ever thought he would want out or that the Sens would ever want to trade him. Boy were we wrong.

Everything changed May 10th, 2009 when it became public that Heatley had asked the Senators for a trade. The hockey world was shocked. Sens Army was shocked. Even his teammates didn't seem to understand it. The speculation begun as to why he wanted out and the stories got wilder everyday. Was it players with drug problems as alluded to by Bill Watters? Perhaps something happened with another players significant other? What we did know was it simply wasn't the reason being told to us. He said he was upset at his diminished role with the club and that he was a team guy. Ya nothing says team player like complaining about your ice time going down, when we were one of the best teams in the NHL since your role had changed. That is the definition of selfish.

It was assumed he would be moved at the NHL Draft in Montreal, but that came and went. Why were there no offers for a 2 time 50 goal scorer? Is there something we didn't know about #15 or were teams lowballing us because the trade demand had become public and everyone knew we had to move him? Probably some of column A and some of column B. An intense hatred for Heatley was brewing.

The next important date was July 1st, 2009, when free agency started and Heatley was due a 4 million dollar advance on his 2009-10 salary, with another 4 million being paid over the season. Everyone knew they wanted to move him by then and who could blame them. I wouldn't want to be on the hook for 4 million to a guy I was getting rid of either. It was now late June and a trade was struck with the Edmonton Oilers. It wasn't a great deal in my opinion (though it looks a bit better now). The trade was Dany Heatley for Ladislav Smid, Dustin Penner and Andrew Cogliano. Word of the trade spread throughout Ottawa to mixed reviews. But wait, there was a problem. Heatley hadn't approved the deal yet and time was running out. It was reported he was consdiering his options and taking some time to see if he wanted to go to Deadmonton or not. In the end, the deadline came and went. The 4 million advance was paid in full. The city was furious.

Throughout the summer, the Edmonton deal remained on the table unbelievably. It must be awful to be an Oiler fan, always being turned down and being an undesired destination. The Oil even went as far as to go to his home in Kelowna and try to convince him that he should come. They were getting desperate and so were we. Not helping the situation was that Heatley himself remained mum, not saying a word about why he wanted out of Ottawa or why he had turned down the Edmonton deal. The speculation grew and his reputation was sinking, and not just in Ottawa but throughout the whole hockey world.

He was finally forced to speak in advance of the Team Canada orientation camp in August, but he barely said anything, even though he was talking finally. He did however spawn a soundbite that will last forever, when he said over and over again how he needed options and he stuck to his diminished role story like a murder does to his fake alibi. This was designed as a image make over but really, it made things worse and people thought he was even more clueless then ever.

It was now Sept 2009 and training camp was looming. Everyone was wondering what we would do. Would Heatley be forced to come back and play for us? Or would we deal him? Murray was saying that he wouldn't give him away and we were involved in a high stakes game of chicken. We all know what happened. The day camp opened, he was dealt exactly where he wanted the whole time, the San Jose Sharks. Murray said he knew he had to move him and San Jose was the only one's making an offer, so he took it. In his defence I think he did ok with this deal, but there are some aspects involved that made it bitter to swallow. So with that in mind, here is my breakdown on the infamous Heatley trade.

As well all know, the trade was Dany Heatley and a 5th round pick for Milan Michalek, Jonathan Cheecoo and a 2nd round pick. So lets' start with the salaries and the contracts. Dany Heatley will have a cap hit of 7.5 million for this year and the next four. Jonathan Cheechoo has a cap hit of 3 million a year for this year and next. Milan Michalek has a cap hit of 4.3 million for this year and the next 4 years. So in essence, we traded 7.5 million in salary for 7.3 million and lost the best player in the deal, which is never good.

So let's look at the player's stats so far this season. Dany Heatley, to no one's surprise, is lighting it up in San Jose, playing alongside perennial assist leader and perennial playoff underachiver Joe Thorton. To date he has 18 goals, 12 helpers and is a +3 through 27 games. Seeing this is nothing new to a Sens fan, as we all know he is lazy and a defensive liability. Plus 3 on a team that good, when he has that many points, has to be considered awful. Jonathan Cheechoo has 2 goals and 2 assists for a whopping 4 points and is a -6 on the year. To quote Dennis Green, he was who we thought he was, and that's not a good thing. And now the silver lining in the trade, Milan Michalek. According to Murray, the deal took so long because the Sharks refused to include him until the last minute and now I can see why. The 6th overall pick from the 2003 draft has been a pleasure to watch, playing a strong 2 way game and showing the effort that Dany never would produce. He was a surprising 13 goals and 5 assists and is a plus 1. He also happens to be one of the fastest guys in the league, plays on the PK and the PP, and is always a threat when he's on the ice. He's becoming a fan favorite here for sure.

So who won the trade? As much as I hate him, the Sharks did without a doubt. I'm sure that Murray did as well as possible given the circumstances, but we got taken. The Sharks got the best player and we paid half his salary this year. The Sharks got a 3 million salary dump in Cheechoo and managed to get a draft pick out of us as well. If we were taking Cheechoo, which I know we had to do to make it work salary wise and paying the 4 million advance, then shouldn't we have recieved a 1st rounder in return? While we're at it, let's be honest and give credit where credit is due. Obviously the Sharks management were smart enough to realise that Cheechoo was never that good of a player, despite his stats. How else do you explain a 56 goal guy only getting 3 million? The saving grace was Michalek. He's a very good player and he's only getting better, plus we have him signed long term at a very reasonable price.

So let's recap shall we. The Sens paid Dany Heatley 14 million in a calendar year, then traded him to San Jose with a 5th rounder for only a 2nd rounder, a 3 million dollar paperweight for this year and next, and a top 6 forward, who while I really like his game, has zero all star appearances to his name. In an era where cap space and high draft picks are as valuable as ever, we got neither.

Everyone knew we had to get rid of them, esepcially Doug Wilson, so he waited us out and got him for 50 cents on the dollar. That's what good GM's do. I have to give some credit to Bryan Murray, who also waited it out and was able to land Michalek at least, who appears to be a future star. Could he have done better? Maybe, maybe not. I guess it's like Heatley's real reason for wanting out, we will never really know.

Thoughts?

-The Mayor

The Cheechoo Song

This is pretty funny. I can't tell if he's serious or he went to the Napoleon Dynamite school of acting. Either way, this will probably make you laugh. This would be an awesome song to play when Cheechoo scores, too bad we wouldn't ever get to hear it. Though I have to admit I do like the current one they play for him at SBP. Thanks to Sens Town reader Sami for submitting it.

Thoughts?

Road Trip Sized Links

The Sens are on a 5 game roadie that will take them from Boston to California and Arizona, which is a lot of miles. So with that in mind, I thought I would give you a road trip sized edition of the links that matched their long trip. So here you all go, enjoy and happy Sunday.

-Remember when the rookie tournement used to be in Hull all the time. Good times there. I remember seeing the A-train hit a guy so hard they needed to bring an ambulance out. Well now Kingston wants to host it.

-Seems like everyone is making mistakes these days, including Upper Deck, who managed to forget that Dany is not a memeber of the Sens anymore on his hockey card

-Feel you don't know your Sens players well enough? Well get to know Chris Kelly, Brian Elliott and assistant GM Tim Murray

-This explains so much

-The Leafs sure are bad this year but apperently, they've been worse

-Spezza is one of only a handful of guys who still use wood sticks. After his scoring problems, maybe he should switch

-Speaking on giggles, here's an interview he did on the Fan 590

-Tell us something we didn't already know, especially after we were reminded lats night

-I always knew Toronto fans were dumb but this just proves it

-Speaking of dumb, really?

-One of our biggest enemies was in Ottawa for an alumni night

-Never good to be on one of these lists, check #3

-New signing for Binghamton

-For all of you people who miss Vermette, at least know he's doing well

-Off to a surprising start, Mike Fisher was named the NHL's 3rd star of the week

-In other Fisher news, it seems those reports of him moving in with his lady friend were a bit premature

-Hellz yeah

-Apparently MLSE can't do anything properly

-With the Heatley game coming up on Tuesday, how does Murray feel about the Sens without him on it?

-I know we always hated Gary Roberts here and this is the 2nd time he's been mentioned today but this makes it worth it

-Good read about the Sens by the numbers so fat this season

-Does grapes ever shut up?

-While I admit that I'm not quite sure why we needed to know this, it is an well written interesting story

-Wow 92 years sure go by fast don't they?

-Sens Super Skills returns again in 2010

-Nick Foligno gets some Thanksgiving Day love

-Another reminder for Stuntman Stu's charity wine

So there you have it, another edition of the links has come and gone. I hope you enjoyed it. With the Heatley game coming soon, I'm sure the next few days will be filled with #15 talk, so I thought I'd try and avoid it here. Happy lazy Sunday.

-The Mayor

Half Full Or Half Empty?

What is it with us and the Boston Bruins? Apparently when we play them, no lead is safe. It's just frustrating to start off so stong and just throw it all away with such poor play. The B's scored all 3 goals on the PP, you'd think we'd learn our lesson by now. Honestly I'm just mad at the moment. You'd think with the division lead on the line, they wouldn't roll over like they did. Ya they got lucky and came back to get a point, but they still didn't play well at all. So I guess it's another day, another 4-3 shootout loss to the B's.

Other thoughts on the game:

-Why does Spezza play on the PK? I'm nervous with him out there 5 on 5, let alone a man down.

-Wanna know why I hate Picard? Because for the 2nd straight game he missed an open net.

-Karlsson didn't impress at all.

-Will we ever beat Boston in Boston again? It's now 6 loses in a row. They own us.

-Where was the heart tonight?

-Fisher played about as well as he did on Thrusday

-How can we be so bad continuously at shooutouts?

-LOVE Michalek, Danny Who?

I suppose in the end, at least we got a point and things could have been worse. Just depends what way you want to look at it. Thoughts?

GDP #24: Sens @ Boston

The Sens and Bruins tangle tonight in Boston at the TD Banknorth Garden, in a first place showdown at 7pm. I'm sure we're all aware of the difficulties we tend to have with the B's sometimes, esepcially with netminder Tim Thomas. I was hoping he wouldn't be playing after missing the past 6 games, but he loves to feast on us and the reigning Vezina trophy winner is expected to start tonight.

For the Sens, there is some good news, as Mike Fisher will return to the lineup tonight. We can definitely use his scoring touch and hard work. When Fish is playing, it also allows us to have two scoring lines, which is huge for us. Unfortunately, Volchenkov is not ready to return quite yet. So in his place, Erik Karlsson will play, in a very weird move that sens Brian Lee back to the AHL. Let's hope BM knows what he's doing.

Prediction: The Bruins and especially Tim Thomas seem to own the Sens, but all things end at somepoint. Whoever wins this game will be leading the division and I think the Sens will want to show Boston early that they aren't the same team they used to be. Sens win a close one, 3-2.

Thoughts?

Lee To Bingo, Karlsson Re-Called, Trade Brewing?

In a very surprising and shocking move, Bryan Murray decided to send down Brian Lee to Binghamton and re-call Erik Karlsson today. I'm not quite sure why he wanted to do this, as I thought Brian Lee had been playing quite well. He is definitely less of a liability then Campoli or Picard in my opinion. Lee must be very frustrated.

Could a trade be coming? You would certainly think so. With Anton Volchenkov expected back any day now, possibly as early as tomorrow, we would be carrying too many defenceman. So either someone will be sitting or BM is trying to make a move perhaps.

Of course, the weirdest part is the timing. Lee has played pretty well if you ask me and certainly hasn't played himself off the team. I also wasn't impressed with Karlsoon when he started here at all, I'm one of the few not drinking the kid's kool aid. I don't really see how after 10 games in the AHL, that he would be significantly better. Plus as soon as he plays another game, they waste a year of his entry level contract, which makes the move all the more perplexing.

Perhaps he isn't happy living in upsate NY and the long bus rides and threatened to go back to Sweden after the World Junior's in a month? It has to be something because frankly, this move makes zero sense to me.

Thoughts?

Creative Heatley Hate/ Possible Jersey Foul

No your eyes do not decieve you. At first glance, I too thought they make Picasso jerseys now? But if you look closer (click on the pic to see better), you will see the true picture, like one of those hidden 3D artworks you have to stare at to see the secret picture. Yep, both of these used to be Heatley jerseys that have been altered to be current player versions. I have to admit, I am kind of fond that people aren't letting this go still. It shows how mad he made the fans here and it shows we're capable of being ruthless if we have to be.

While I want to appalud the creativity, I also can't help but think that these are serious jersey fouls. Am I right or do these get a pass because of the history?

Black Friday Is Played Out, Black Thursday Is In

What a suprisingly exciting game. Isn't that always the way it goes. Go in with low expectations and you are usually pleasantly surprised. So now our winning streak is at 1, but it's 5 of 6 at least. Don't worry though, we still took a lot of penalties again, keeping that streak of 23 games going without breaking a sweat.

Other thoughts from the game:

-Good to see Kovie back, man is he talented

-Brian Elliott played great. I am less worried about losing Pascal

-WTF was Kuba thinking, trying to shoot a slapper at the end of the game that nearly cost us

-Will we ever learn to be more disciplined?

-Antoine Vermette is still as clumsy and awkward as he ever was

-So a Blue Jacket is a star wrapped in an American Flag commet? Bush logo

-Ruutu has played a great couple of games

-So we can't sellout the Leafs, Pens or Caps but we can Columbus?

-Shannon was a beast tonight

-I still hate Picard. I assure you if you paid me a million a year that I would be able to shoot the puck into an empty net

-Rick Nash is really good. Like really good.

-Will we ever score an empty netter again?

Good to get back to our winning ways, especially with Neil, Fisher, Donovan and Volchenkov still out of the lineup. Good news is on the way with the A-train likely to return on Saturday in Boston.

With the win, the Sens reclaim top spot in the Northeast. It was a nice performance by an undermanned team and shows we can play through injuries.

Thoughts?

GDP #23: Sens V CBJ

The Sens hit the ice again tonight after a disappointing loss last night to New Jersey. Hopefully the officiating will be a little better tonight after Murray complained to the league, but don't count on it. Both teams are coming off loses, so expect a good effort.


The big story of course is the return of longtime Sen and fan favorite, Antoine Vermette. who makes his first appearance at SBP since being traded in March. Expect a very warm welcome for him, especially from the ladies of Sens Army. I've never seen a guy so sad to leave a city. The guy looked genuinely bummed. Compare that with Heatley's reaction and you can see why one guy is beloved and the other is shunned.


On the Sens tip, we will be without the A-train, Fisher and Neil still, but we get a boost up front
with the return of Alexei Kovalev. Hopefully Jason Spezza can get his game back on track and soon. We need him scoring if we're going to be succesful.


Brian Elliott will be in goal of course. Game time is 7:30pm on TSN and The Team 1200.

Prediction: I don't really know what to expect tonight. I have the feeling we will dominate or be dominated. We did play last night and had to travel and Columbus did not, so they will be the fresher team. Best I can decide on is Sens win 4-1 on lose 4-1.


Thoughts?

Ref Rant

I should preface this by saying I don't blame tonight's loss solely on the officials, but it sure didn't help. For the 2nd time this year, the Sens went a whole game without recieving a powerplay. In fact, this is prob the 4th or 5th time this year, we went mindway through the 3rd period without a man advantage. This is ridiculous.

It is IMPOSSIBLE to go an entire game without committing MULTIPLE penalties.

Midway through the 3rd I thought, ok they haven't given us a PP yet and Ruutu just got a vicious stick to the face, here we go, we're gonna tie it up. I mean after all, he clearly was hit and clearly was spitting out blood, hell maybe we'd even get 4 minutes and win the game. Silly me to think logic and reason would be good enough to draw a penalty.

Considering the Sens are the most penalized team in the league, in which many have been questionable at best, the least they could do is call a clear and obvious penalty, though I guess Ruutu's reputation proceeds him.

One time is a weird occurrence. Twice is a bizarre coincidence. But 4 or 5 times to not have a PP until 10 mins left in the game or none at all is unacceptable. You can call a penalty on almost every play and to give one team 2 and the other NONE is simply unfair and needs to be dealt with. It sure seems like the refs have something against us this season doesn't it?

Get off your knees refs, you're blowing the game.

Thoughts?

Sens Sent To Hell

The Sens played pretty well tonight, but still took the L, to the boring, trapping New Jersey Devils. At least they put in the effort tonight. Unfortunately, the sick bay is getting crowded with Neil leaving the game in the first, Regin getting a puck to the face and Carkner leaving hurt near the end of the game. I don't have much to say right now because I am about to write a rant about the officiating that will be up soon.

Other thoughts I had from the game:

-I wish the announcer would stop calling him Danny Alfredsson
-I didn't know Brian Elliott's nickname was Kid Ells
-The Devils are my LEAST favorite team to watch of all time
-Ever wonder how the Devils got their name? click here
-I hate Kerry Fraser
-Brian Elliott played pretty well
-Will Jason Spezza score again? He's on pace for 4 goals this year
-Phillips played a great physical game tonight, but will Kuba and his 6 ft5 frame ever hit?
-Why do we need to know Brian Burke's son is gay? Is he in the NHL?
-Andrew Peters is a douche

We're back at it tomorrow and hopefully we get some of our players back, we need them asap. Don't worry, ref rant on the way.

Thoughts?

GDP #22: Jersey V Sens

The Sens head to Jersey tonight, looking to extend their winning streak to 5 games, in a battle of the walking wounded. Both teams are many injuries and you may not recognize half the players tonight.

For the Devils, they are missing Rob Niedermayer, Paul Martin, Johnny Oduya, Jay Pandolfo and Dainius Zubrus. The Sens will be looking to exploit their lack of depth tonight, but it can still be quite difficult, as the legendary Martin Brodeur will be in between the pipes. He will looking to tie the all time shoutout record tonight, hopefully we can avoid the milestone. The devils have won 4 straight at home after a rocky start, so should be a good game.

Not to be outdone, the Sens also have a bunch of injuries to be concerned with. Of course Anton Volchenkov is still out but is close to returning, Alexei Kovalev won't suit up tonight but will be back in the lineup tomorrow, Shean Donovan continues to sit with his horrific injury and Pascal Leclaire with his brutal luck, is of course out.

The unexpected news we found out today of course, is that red hot Mike Fisher hurt himself in practice yesterday and will not play tonight. That's a lot of talent not playing tonight, against a very hard working team. Of course Brian Elliott will get the start in net tonight and Mike Brodeur (no relation) was called up to replace Pascal.

Prediction: The Devils are always hard to play against with their annoying trap can stiffle even the best offences, but I see a big, gutsy effort from the Sens tonight, especially guys like Neil, Ruutu, Winchester, Shannon etc. I'm going to go out on a limb here and say the Sens pull off a very hard fought, simple road game. Sens win 3-1.

Thoughts?

Outdoor Game Confirmed

As Sens Town exclusively told you first 2 weeks ago, the Baby Sens outdoor game has now officially been confirmed. The game will take place as I said, February 20th, 2010 at 1pm on the New York State fairgrounds in Syracuse. Good news for Sens fans since it's only about a 3 hour drive. To see all the details click here and for Puck Daddy's take click here

Tickets for the game go on sale tomorrow at 10am. You can get them by calling the Crunch office at (315) 473-4444 or Ticketmaster at 1-800-745-3000. If you wanna buy them online, you can do starting tomorrow morning at 10 by going here

Thoughts?

A Great Game No One Saw

The Sens just wrapped up their 5 game homestand, going 4-0-1, good for 9 out of a possible 10 points. Also with last night's win, they have won 4 in a row and have taken over 1st place in the division. Add to that, they're playing some pretty entertaining hockey, while missing key players like Kovalev and Volchenkov. So why are the fans staying away?

Last night's attendance as shockingly low, considering Alexander Ovechkin was in town and we were going for our 4th win in a row. Check that, it was shockingly low period! I mean 16,210 to see the best player in the NHL, when the team is on a win streak, playing well and going for 1st in the div, it's shocking. I would have been shocked to see such a small crowd for a Carolina game, but for the Caps?

Unfortunately, it seems to be a growing problem. On their homestand, the Sens played an original 6 team in the New York Rangers, the provincial rival Toronto Maple Leafs, the Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins with Crosby and Malkin, the hated division rival Buffalo Sabres and Ovechkin and the Capitals. A great run of games and a great run of star players. Ya well guess what, we didn't crack 18,000 for any of them.

Even with the wins racking up, the fans are staying away even though we're winning, which has to worry the brass of the Senators. So what is causing the migration away from SBP? There are a few reasons, but none of them are really new issues, and none of them seemed to matter in years past when we were packing the place.

The first issue is the parking lot. Of course it is a disaster. I have been to arenas all over North Amercia and never have I seen the parking situation been handled so poorly, in fact it isn't even close. It takes anywhere from 15mins to an hour to get out of there and that is ridiculous. This has been a problem since 1996 when it opened. So for all of you scoring at home, the Sens have failed to correct a massive problem for 13 years now. Bravo! What a well run organization. Adding to the insanity is that this is usually listed as the #1 reason people don't want to attend games and they haven't done a thing to fix anything parking related in 13 years. Wait, that's not true, they have raised parking prices, so they are capable of change after all. The Mayor has some ideas how to fix it, give me a week and I will solve it for you Sens organization. Contact me.

The 2nd issue is the schedule this year, which is ridiculously unbalanced and just plain dumb. We have now played 21 games this year, 15 of them have been at home. Last night's game was our 5th in less then 10 days, all at home. Even the biggest fan might admit that's a bit much. imagine the casual fan. Especially in a city like Ottawa, that relies heavily on walk up sales. They just aren't going to come that often, no matter who they are playing.

The third issue is the pricing and economy. The Senators had it good for years and got greedy. We had a very talented team and played an exciting style. We had star players like Martin Havlat, Marian Hossa, Zdeno Chara, Alfie, Spezza, Heatley, Wade Redden and even Dominik Hasek. It was good to be a Sens fan. Then we had the epic rivalry with the Leafs, where people were willing to sell their first born for a ticket, not wanting to miss a legendary moment or game. Well that was a long time ago now. The Leafs are the worst team in the NHL and yet they still want to charge platinum prices? In a way, I'm glad people were fed up and said enough is enough.

Then take into consideration that people are just spending less and being more cautious with their money. While it hasn't affected Canada as much as the United States, it's still a very big issue. I can't really blame people either. I'm as big of a fan as there is, but if you have to choose between rent or food or a Sens game, there isn't much of a choice. Also contributing to the problems is the 1758 different price points and different values of games. It's just confusing and annoying. Call me old fashioned but I liked the old days when tickets were the same price to every game. I go to see Ottawa play, not the visitors.

Fourthly, I think this team doesn't have an identity and many people might find it hard to cheer for them so quickly. I mean look at our roster. Half of these guys weren't here 2 years ago. The Dany Heatley fiasco didn't help at all either and caused many people in the city to simply be fed up with spoiled millionaire athletes, and spend their money elsewhere.

Can we turn this all around? Of course we can. We are still doing pretty well in overall attendance and I'm positive things will pick up if our play stays the same. I mean 80% of the teams in the league would love to have our attendance issues at the moment. We are down around 1000 fans a game from last year and I think many fans we taking a wait and see approach. Well the team has delivered the goods so far and I think the fans will return. Once the games are a little more spread out and we get more attached to newcomers like Pascal Leclaire and Milan Michalek, the fans will feel like they have a team they can care about again.

Are we where we'd like to be? Absolutely not and anyone with the Sens saying they're pleased with the attendance is lying, but it is a situation that can be fixed and that is great news. Sens Army have some great fans and I have complete faith they will return in droves very soon. Just remember, despite all the noted problems, nothing cures attendance issues like entertaining hockey and wins, which both are coming in abundance at the moment.

-The Mayor

Thoughts?

WTF!

The Senators will have to survive without their number one goaltender for a month, after Pascal Leclaire was hit in the face with a puck in last night's game, while serving as backup on the bench. If this guy didn't have bad luck, he wouldn't have any wow! This is one of the weirder stories I can remember.

Lecalire suffered a fractured cheekbone on the bizarre play and will now need to udergo surgery to repair it if you can believe it. He is expected to be out 4 weeks and should return around christmas sometime. Poor guy, poor us. Best of luck in your recovery Snoopy from the Mayor.

Thoughts?

Back To Back To Back To Back

The Sens wrapped their 5 game homestand tonight, with a thrilling 4-3 come from behind overtime win, scored by who else, Mr. Overtime himself, Mike Fisher. The Sens had scored the first goal, before surrendering 3 straight and it didn't look good. But they managed to score 2 in the 3rd to tie it up and won it in OT, sending the sbp faithful home happy.

Once again, the goals largely came from unexpected sources, with Neil, Regin and Picard all lighting the lamp tonight. I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing. Eventually we need to get our top line going, but for now I will take the glass half full route and say we have scoring depth.

In an unrelated note, is anyone more unlucky then Pascal Leclaire? He has apparently broken his jaw as a puck hit him in the face while he was relaxing as a backup tonight, as he was already minorly injured. No word on how long he might be out yet. Unbelievable!

So we've now won 4 in a row and are in sole possession of the Northeast division. How does it feel Sens fans? Thoughts on tonights game?

GDP #21: Sens V Caps: Battle Of The Capitals

The Sens (11-6-3) and Caps (13-5-5-) have their first meeting of the year tonight, when the Battle of the Capitals takes place. Ok ok, so it's not much of a battle, more like a skirmish, a skirmish that not many people care about but still. At least back in the day they had a trophy for the duel. With a win tonight, the Sens can take over 1st place in the division, so the 2 points would be great to get.

The Capitals are coming off a 2-1 shootout loss to the lowly Toronto Maple Leafs, so you know they will put out a better effort tonight. The Caps are of course lead by the most exciting player on the planet, Alexander Ovechkin, but they are not a one trick pony. They many other capable players who cant hurt you, like Mike Green (though highly overrated in my opnion) Alexander Semin, Nicklas Backstrom, Brenda Morrison, plus they have two former Sens in Brian Pothier and Brooks Laich. Rookie Semyon Varlamov is expected to get the start tonight in net.

Several changes for the Sens tonight, as Shean Donovan and Alexei Kovalev will miss the game again, though it didn't seem to hurt us on Saturday. Brian Elliott gets the start, with Pascal being injured at the moment, though it doesn't appear to be serious at least. Here are the new lines for tonight's game, a bit surprising if you ask me, especially Chris Neil on the 2nd line after his bonehead final 5 on Saturday.

Michalek-Spezza-Alfredsson
Foligno-Fisher-Neil
Ruutu-Kelly-Cheechoo
Regin-Winchester-Shannon

Prediction: This will be a tough game, as it always is with Ovechkin and the Caps. It doesn't look so good to me with our backup in, no matter how decent he is, plus Dono and Kovie out still doesn't help. However, we have played much better as of late and have won 3 in a row. Can we make it back to back to back to back? I say yes, Sens win a crazy game 5-4, Spezza scores and Fisher continues his torrid pace with 3 points.

Thoughts?

You Think You Know.....

Sens TV takes a look at game days with Sens sophomore Nick Foligno. I always have a love/hate thing going on with these type of behind the scene looks. On one hand it's cool to see what you don't usually get to, on the other hand, it's often way more boring and less glamarous then you'd think. It somewhat kills the romance of what you thought it was. I have to say love Nicky's attitude towards the games and the fans, very refreshing.

Thoughts?

Jersey Foul 47

Dollar dollar bills y'all!!!!

But seriously, this one made me laugh when I saw it, on a 90's tip. It instantly made me think of cross colors clothing, color me badd (nothing more bad ass then spelling your name with an extra b. Damn they crazy) and the fresh prince of bel air.

More importantly, it's funny that someone actually calls themselves C Money period, let alone in such a public way where everyone can see it and in a way that they take it so seriously, that they had to have it on their jersey. This one is so bad it's good.

Thoughts Pass or Fail?

Three Peat

The Sens made it 3 in a row, after an exciting 5-3 win over the hated Buffalo Sabres. The game didn't start so well, going down 1-0 and then holding on to win a hard fought game.

I was suprised how much we dominated, considering we were missing Kovie, A-Train and Dono, but the team kept on rolling, looking great all around. Finally we're putting together a bunch of solid efforts in a row, which in turn is keeping my stress level down, which is always good.

On the bad news front, Pascal Leclaire left the game and didn't return with an injury, which is bad times for us. Hopefully he isn't hurt too much, since we definitely need him as our #1 all year. We will know more soon.

The Sens have now won back to back to back games against decent opponents (minus tdot) and look to continue the string play against Washington on Monday.

Thoughts on tonights game?

Six To Eight For Ten

In what amounts to awful luck, Shean Donovan was injured with only minutes left in Thursday's game by Matt Cooke, on an ugly knee on knee hit. Somehow, Cooke managed to avoid a penalty and suspension, while Donovan is left with a serious injury, one that had threatened his career perhaps. But there is good news. He won't requite surgery and he will only be out 6-8 weeks with damage to his MCL, instead of the season or forver, as first thought possibly. It's a shame, Donovan was really providing a much needed spark for us as of late. Sens Town wished Donovan a speedy recovery and for Matt Cooke to get what's coming to him.

Thoughts?

GDP #20: Sens V Sabres

The Sens and Sabres renew their rivalry tonight for the first time this season at SBP, in a divisional affair. The Sens are fresh off a 6-2 win over Pittsburgh and a 2 game win streak overall, while Buffalo is going the opposite way, with a 2 game losing streak of their own. Working in the Sens favor is the fact that the Sbares played and lost last night and had to travel here to play back to back. The Sens on the other hand should be eager and rested.

The Sabres have been off to a very hot, surprising start, leading the division, thanks in large part to the spectacular play of Ryan Miller in goal. He has been fantasic this season, although he is only 7-10-1 career vs the Sens. Of course, you must also key on Thomas Vanek, Tim Connely, Derek Roy and Jason Pomminville when playing Buffalo. Also be on the lookout for Tyler Myers, you will remember him from the World Jr's here last year.

On the Sens side of things, there are a couple of changes. With Kovalev in Russia and Donovan out indefinitely after that cheap shot in the last few minutes of the Pens game, Ryan Shannon and Peter Regin both draw in to the lineup tonight. It's a shame, I thought we were playing very well with Kovie and Dono lately. Pascal Lecalire is expected to start in goal.

Prediction: We're missing Kovie and Dono, which could be a bigger problem then we think, but Buffalo did travel last night and have been slipping lately. If the Michalek-Spezza-Alfie line can get it going tonight, I see a big night ahead for us. In the end, I think we pull of a tough, gutsy 4-3 win, to make it 3 in a row.

Thoughts?

C-Note For Milan

Another Sens Town shoutout to Milan Michalek, who last night scored his 100th career NHL goal. Michalek, who was traded here in the Heatley deal, has fit in nicely already and will definitely get better. More importantly, he is a favorite of the Mayor and will be on the back of my new jersey. Congrats on the milestone Milan, from the Mayor.

Big Rig Hits 800

Shoutout to Chris Phillips, who last night played in his 800th career NHL game, all with the Sens. The stay at home defenceman celebrated in style, scoring twice in the 6-2 victory. Congratulations on the milestone Big Rig, from the Mayor.

Sixburgh Gets Sixed Up

Wow! What can I say, that was surprising. I definitely did not expect to beat up on the champs 6-2. Especially when we got 5 goals from very unexpected sources. Of course I mean Cheechoo, Kelly, Carkner and Phillips with a pair.

Obviously you can't count on that type of performance every game from those guys, but even still, the Sens took it to the Pens tonight, playing hard and tough, silencing Crosby and Malkin. Pascal Leclaire had a nice game, making the saves when he needed to, to rack up the win.

It really was a team effort tonight, so let's just sit back and enjoy back to back wins. Everyone played pretty well tonight, absolutely no one to single out for a bad performance. I didn't even notice Picard tonight, which is a huge compliment. It was unfortunate to see Donovan leave the game after a knee on knee hit from Matt Cooke, who somehow avoided a penalty on the play.

It was great to get our first win over a legit team this season finally. We have another test Saturday against division rival Buffalo, so let's hope the consistent play continues. Troubling however was the attendance. After only getting 17,406 for Tuesdays Battle Of Ontario, the Sens and Pens game only drew 17,039 tonight, which is almost 3000 short of capacity. By the way, was it just me or was there definitely some sketchy refereeing going on? Either way, enjoy your free slice Sens Army.

Thoughts?

Kovalev Heads To Russia

It's with a heavy heart that I report that Alexei Kovalev has returned to Russia today to attend the funeral of his wife's mother. He is expected to miss the next few games. It's a shame too, as Kovie had been on a bit of a hot streak, but of course this is much more important then a hockey game. The thoughts and prayers of Sens Army and Sens Town are with you Kovie. Have a safe flight, you have our deepest sympathies for you and your family.

-The Mayor

Update @4pm- Kovalev WILL play tonight and then head to Russia tomorrow as per TSN

GDP #19: Sens V Pens

The Sens and Pens renew the battle tonight at SBP, with the Sens eager to prove they are for real and the Pens looking to show they are still the champs. It will be a real test for us, we need a bonafide win against a legit team.

Unfortunately for the Sens, they are catching the Pens at almost full strength. Conn Smythe MVP Evgeni Malkin returned to the lineup on Saturday, and Sergei Gonchar and Max Talbot will return to the team tonight. Lucky for them, unlucky for us. Of course when playing Pittsburgh, the players to focus on are Jordan Staal, Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Bill Guerin, Chris Kunitz and Sergei Gonchar. If you can keep most of those guys in check, then you will give yourself an opportunity to get the win.

For the Sens, there will be no changes tonight, which means Regin and Shannon continue to be healthy scracthes, while Donovan gets to suit up again. I am definitely in favor of this. Look for Jason Spezza to have a big game tonight, as he always lights it up against the Pens. In his last 16 games vs Pittsburgh, Spezza has 10 goals and 17 helpers.

As for who starts in net, Pascal Leclaire gets the nod, coming off a very strong 3rd period against Toronto on Tuesday. Let's hope he has another great effort in him and helps us to back to back wins.

Prediction: I think the Sens need this game to show they can beat a good team and not just Atlanta or Tampa. I expect a big effort tonight and for them to play a tough, hard fought game. The Sens take it 4-2 in an intense affair.

Game is at 7:30pm on TSN and The Team 1200.

Thoughts?

A-Train Delayed

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but it seems Anton Volchenkov will be out until mid next week according to Triple C. It had been said that he would return this weekend, against divisional rival Buffalo on Saturday night, but that plan has now been put on hold. Look for the A-train to be back for next Thursdays game, when we take on Columbus at SBP, with a small possibility of him suiting up for next Wednesdays game in Jersey. Hopefully he is back soon, as we definitely need him on our blueline asap, though it would also likely mean Brian Lee would be sent back to Bingo, despite his solid play since his call up.

Thoughts?

Underwood Talks #12 On Ellen

Ok I have a confession. Carrie Underwood is growing on me, there I said it. At first I didn't even know who she was, but now she seems to be a pretty good person, plus not too bad on the eyes either. Here she is on Ellen today, discussing #12 and rumors of them moving in together, which I mentioned a few days ago. Only complaint I have with her this time is the thumbs down to hockey and Canada, though I know she meant it in a cute, funny way. Either way, Fisher has 9 goals this season, which took him until game 60 last year to accomplish, so whatever it is that's helping him, I'm on board.

Thoughts?

Drinking For Charity

Does your wife or girlfriend get on your case about drinking too much? Of course they do, that's what women love to do, nag. Well don't worry, the Mayor has got your back. Now you can drink for a good cause, with a charity wine. What's she gonna say to that? If she hassles you, just respond you're doing it for the kids. And ladies, might make a nice present for your man or for yourself even if you're a big Sens fan.

Sens Town buddy Stuntman Stu is behind the idea and teamed up with the Sens Foundation and Savvy Company to produce Stuntman Stu's Red Line Merlot. Each 750ml bottle is $19.95 with $2 from each bottle going to Sens Foundation. To order the wine click here

I encourage everyone to buy a bottle or two, it's for a great cause and supports Stu and the Sens Foundation. Can't go wrong with that.

-The Mayor

Rivalry Renewed?

Victory!!!!!!!!

Sure feels nice doesn't it, and in regulation too. Something Johnny Drama would be proud of even, as the Sens and Leafs actually played a pretty entertaining 60 minutes tonight. I must admit going into this, that I had very low expectations and frankly, I just didn't care like I once did. I mean come on, Stajan, Schenn and Kessel, are hardly Domi, Tucker and Sundin if you know what I mean. Still, the game was full of physical play, exciting rushes and fights. Kinda remind me of the old days for a sec, if even just for a few minutes.

Earlier today in my GDP, I predicted that Snoopy would have a great comeback game and early on that looked soemwhat foolish but in the end I was proven right thankfully. The first two Leaf goals were mediocore. They weren't awful but were definitely stoppable, they were ones he needed to have. But by the 3rd came around, Leclaire stood on his head, singlehandedly keeping us in the game. Was excellent to see him get a few standing O's from the appreciative fans. See the thing is, people want to get behind him. He's a nice guy and has a lot of potential, and even the most casual fan knows he is the key to our team. So what's good for Leclaire is good for the Sens. Tonight he helped ease my mind that he is capable of being a true #1 for us. It's a load off the mind of the mayor. Now let's hope he gets on a hot streak.

Now let's get to the rest of the squad. As a whole, I thought the Sens put in a nice effort. No one was really awful, most people worked hard and it showed in their play. I thought Chris Kelly had a very ncie for once, being a good forechecker all night and providing a few scoring chances even. Unfortunately it was Chris Kelly so he didn't bury them. Of course #12 had a pretty solid game, potting 2 goals and played his usual big effort style. Shoutout to Kovalev for having a pretty decent game too. Say what you want but the guy makes 2 or 3 amazing passes a game that would be points for him if our players could finish better. Tonight was no exception, with him setting up the game winner on a lovely cross ice pass.

Nicky Foligno had a pretty ncie game as well, perhaps responding to the added responsibility of being promoted to the 2nd line. The kid always brings it with effort, if only quickness came from heart. Jarkko Ruutu has put very nice back to back efforts together, playing a solid game and even getting into a nice fight, in which he killed it on the low. Shean Donovan has a very string start and brings a nice element to our team with his speed and work ethic. Good news for Dono, bad news for Ryan Shannon. Amzing tip in from Milan, just what we needed. Alfie and Spezza need to be better.

On a negative note, the attendance was only 17, 400, which is more then 2500 below capacity, which is shocking. I remember not so long ago when it was jam packed and tickets were hard to come by. A time when they could have easily sold an extra 5000 seats and now they can't even sell out. I guess times have changed but not completely, as Leaf fans are still as cocky and obnoxious as ever. And hey why wouldn't they be? Just because they haven't made a final is 42 years, have no hope in sight and are now tied for worst in the NHL with Carolina..........wait what was my argument again? Now granted I don't know all the ins and outs of being a Leaf fan, but is rule #1 that you have to wear a non current players jersey at all times, with the more obsecure the player the better? I only saw about 10 jerseys of anyone on the Leafs roster tonight and most were Kaberle or Schenn, with one Gustavsson spotted. Other then that it was pure Gilmour, Potvin, Wendy Clark, Cujo, Sundin, Domi, Tucker, Corson, etc etc etc.......and that's not counting the Johnny Bower, the Borje Salming, the Ace Bailey, the Allan Bester and the Peter Zezel I saw tonight. I guess they want to be nostalgic and remember the good old days, when they were simply mediocore and not a laughing stock.

Anyways, it was a struggle but in the end the result was right. We got the 2 points and won a hotly contested affair, with a rival. Ain't nothing wrong with that. Thoughts?

GDP #18: Sens V TML

The 2nd installment of the Battle of Ontario takes places tonight at SBP, with the Sens desperately needing the 2 points. The Leafs are 29th overall in the NHL and we can't afford a loss to a such an awful team.

Of course whenever the Leafs are here, you can expect SBP to be jammed with obnoxious Leafers, wearing their out of date jersey's with pride. It's no wonder they are viewed as one of the most annoying fan bases in sport. In a somewhat surprising move, Vesa Toskala will get the start for Toronto, though they are still without Mike Komasarek on the backend.

On the Senators side of things, there are a few changes, some surprising. Pascal Leclaire will get the start tonight, eager to prove his inconsistent play so far is nothing to worry about. Look for a strong outing from Snoopy. Peter Regin and Ryan Shannon will both be healthy scratches tonight, with Regin failling to register a point in 9 games. In other news, Foligno will skate on the 2nd line tonight, with Kovalev and Fisher, hoping to increase our offensive output.

Simply put, this is a game we have to have. You can't expect to make the playoffs if you can't beat the 2nd worst team in the NHL at home. With games coming up this week against Pittsburgh, Buffalo and Washington, it's very important to start collecting some W's or we could be on the outside looking in.

Prediction: Sens win 5-1. They're due for a breakout scoring game and the Leafs are a perfect team to get our confidence back with. I see Pascal having a strong game and faith being renewed a bit in Sens Army.

Thoughts?

When Reporting Goes Wrong

Shoutout to the Ottawa Sun and Bruce "Malkin to the Kings", for another ridiculous error. Um sorry guys but the game is in OTTAWA not TORONTO. Oh well, no harm no foul. It's not like it's your job or anything.

Jersey Foul 46

With tomorrow's Battle of Ontario looming, I figured it was an appropriate time for me to post this gem. At least this particular one is completely accurate. The Blue are Pooh, with a 3-10-5 record, good for 2nd worst in the NHL. Bravo Brian Burke, what a genius you are. The best part is there really is no silver lining either, the Leafs are just bad in every single way possible. Ah yes, 42 years and counting of losing. To put it in perspective, in 1967, the last year the TML's even made the Stanley Cup Finals, the Vietnam War was going on, the first Superbowl was played, Jimi Hendrix released his debut album, the first Boeing 737 took flight, the world's fair was in Montreal (when world fairs actually mattered), Elvis Presley got married, Germany was split into East and West, and Pink Floyd released their 1st album.

My oh my the world has changed a lot since those days hasn't it? Everything has changed except for one thing. You can always count on the Maple Leafs and their ineptitude, to go along with their fans and their superiority complex, with no reason whatsoever to have one. Sorry Leaf Nation but history doesn't lie and it's almost a half century without a championship.

Underwood Moving To Ottawa?

At least that's the rumor. It seems Carrie Underwood will be moving to Ottawa in the near future in order to spend more time with #12, and presumably The Mayor. Ok that last part may have been a lie. Things must be getting very serious between the two, with OK magazine saying marriage is in the plans. Looks like we got ourselves a new permanent member of Sens Army. No harm in her prettying up SBP.

Thoughts?

Redden Boo'd

Following in the footsteps of Joe Corvo and Zdeno Chara, the fans got some booing in yesterday on former Sen Wade Redden. Now some of you may wonder why they were doing so, after all, when he was here, he was a fan favorite (but not from me ever). I always disliked him. I thought he was too soft, didn't like him game. He lacked the killer instinct.

The fact is, we picked him over Chara, which many people didn't like. Then as soon as he got that big pay day, his play went downhill crazy fast. People couldn't take his awful passes and lack of heart anymore. The whole team was struggling and we tried to trade Redden twice but he refused to waive his NTC. We ended up getting nothing for him and many fans saw this as selfish, and that is why Redden is boo'd.

Was the booing deserved or unfair in your opinion?

Sens Left Singing Broadway Blues

The Sens well 2-1 to New York in a shootout, bringing their day game record to 0-1-1 this seaon. Frankly, I hate day games. They throw my whole routine out of rhythm and I just plain don't like them, so screw you CBC for making us change the game time from 7pm to 2pm. You are lame.

Second of all, I actually thought the Sens played pretty well as a team today. No one was amazing, but no one was truly awful (thought Campoli and Picard continue to drive me crazy). I thought a bunch of guys had solid games. Brian Lee continues to impress me after being recalled. He seems to have simplified his game and cut down on the errors, which is a big help.

Jarkko Ruutu maximized all 12 mins of icetime he had, playing a solid 2 way game and making a nice pass to Lee for their only goal. Peter Jensen, I mean Regin, had a nice afternoon as well. He skated hard and showed us he has potential. It was nice to see Shean Donovan back in the lineup. I'm not saying he's a key to our team, but I don't see what Shannon brings to the table that is better then Donovan really. Bottom line is you're not gonna win too many games when Alfie, Kovie, Fish, Spezza and Michalek all go pointless.

Brian Elliott was very solid in net, making several beautiful saves. Must be tough to give up only one goal, a goal that you couldn't stop, and still lose. But it was nice to see that should Leclaire continue to struggle, that we have a very capable backup. Does he get the start Tuesday against the Leafs now?

In other news, I continue to hate the shootout. I just hate how a team gets the extra point in such a gimmicky way. What was so bad about drawing? I hate how it's meant to appeal to people who don't love hockey, but more to the casual fan to bring excitement and a conclusion to each game. What about us fans who actually care about the game? Seems we're getting the Joan Collins special.

The attendance was only 17,500 or so, which means clearly I'm not the only one who hates day games. The point is we played pretty well and were unlucky in not getting the 2 points. If we have a team effort like we did today against Toronto, and our big guns remotely show up, we should be able to get the win.

At least there were positives to take away from the loss. Your thoughts?

Peter Jensen?

So it turns out that Sens rookie Peter Regin has a secret, well kind of anyways. It turns out, his real name is Peter Jensen and Regin is his middle name. Apparently Jensen is like Smith in Denmark, so to be a bit different, he started using his middle name instead. Interesting turn of events. Either way, let's hope Jensen picks it up and soon. Thoughts?

Baby Sens To Play Outdoor Game?

According to a report from Syracuse, it's almost official that the Syrcause Crunch will play the Binghamton Senators in the AHL's first ever outdoor game. The proposed game will take place February 20th, 2010 at the NY state fairgrounds, which would be during the Olympic break.

The tickets will be $50 for premium seats and then $30 and $25 for regular seats, plus $20 for standing room only tickets. No word yet on what capacity would be, but they say they hope to break the AHL's all time attendance record for a single game, which currently sits at 20,672.

All in all I think it seems like fair prices for such a cool event. Glad to see the Baby Sens will be involved. Hopefully Sens Army will have a strong presence at the game and I can definitely see myself heading down to see it in person, since it's only a 3 hour drive and a once in a lifetime experience.

Your thoughts?

Jersey Foul 45

I'm impressed with this guys retsraint. I would have thought it was almost guaranteed to be #69 but I guess he wanted to keep it subtle. No better way to let everyone know you're a big deal, then to advertise it on the back of a jersey. An out of date jersey even. It definitely screams big wig, although now that I think about it, he must work at some sort of fast food establishment, which might explain the name. You know how we all have a friend who talks a big game because really they have nothing, apparently it translates to jerseys very easily.

Thoughts?Pass or Fail?

Gets a fail from me

-The Mayor

Broad Street Bullied

The cream always rises to the top and that's what happened tonight, as the Flyers took us down 5-1 tonight (which I almost predicted, I said 5-2). Once again, the story was the poor play of Pascal Leclaire. Now don't get me wrong, I think he's a good goalie and he did make multiple good saves, but he's also guilty of allowing soft ones that kill our momentum. Tonight it was the first 2 goals, definitely his fault and goals we can't have if we expect to go anywhere this season.

It's a shame if you just looked at the score, because for quite awhile I thought we were playing a good, solid road game. We played hard and smart, but just didn't muster enough scoring chances to put Ray Emery to the test. He was solid but unspectacular in his first game against his former club, but mostly because he didn't need to be. He made the saves when he needed to and more importantly, didn't let in a soft one.

Is it me or is time to let Donovan back in the lineup? We surely miss his speed and hard work. I for one think we're much better with him playing. And despite what Murray says, I still think we need another defenceman, although we could definitely use another forward as well.

Just wondering, is Kovalev ever going to try again? Or only when we play Montreal.

In the end, we were beaten by a better team and there are positives to take away from this game, despite the score. This game was a measuring stick, and what we found out is we aren't good enough at this point in time.

Thoughts?

GDP #16: Emery V Sens, I mean Philly

The day has finally arrived when we take on our former netminder, oh and a really good team (my pick to win the cup). We all know we've had some great battles with the Flyers over the years, I mean who could forget the game with the most penalties of all time or the shutout streak from Patrick Lalime in the playoffs. But tonight is a new test, as we take on one of the best teams in the NHL.

The Flyers are stacked at every position. How would you like to have Daniel Briere, Simon Gagne, Jeff Carter, Scottie Upshall and Mike Richards as your seasoned forwards, to go along with younsters James Van Riemsdyk, Claude Girouz and Kanata's own Darrol Powe. That's a pretty nice group of forwards isn't it?

Next up is defence with Kimo Timonen, Matt Carle, Braydon Coburn and oh ya, some Chris Pronger guy. This team is downright scary is you ask me. An amazing combination of size, speed, skill and grit. I sure hope we don't get in their way come playoff time.

On the Sens side of things, a few changes as Jesse Winchester and Shean Donovan get to watch this one from the press box as healthy scratches. Winchester I get but call me crazy, but I think we are a better team with Dono in the lineup and frankly, he's earned a spot with his play so far. I guess Triple C doesn't see it that way, that's why he's the coach and I'm not. Shoutout to Triple C for being behind the bench for his 50th career game tonight.

Pascal Leclaire will be back in net tonight, hoping to shake off Tuesdays game and regain his form. He has struggled the last few games, letting in multiple bad goals in each one. If we're to win, he will surely have to be a major factor.

Prediction: You've asked for it and tonight you finally get it, as I call a Sens loss 5-2. I simply think we're overmatched and they're the better team on this one at this point in the season. Plus I think Emery will be on his game tonight, to show us what we're missing. I'm just hoping it's a decent game and maybe we can steal a point if all goes well.

The game is at 7pm on TSN and The Team 1200

Thoughts on tonights game with the Broad Street Bullies?

Sens Worth $197 Million

According to Forbes Magazine, the Ottawa Senators are worth 197 million US, good for 17th in the NHL. Not bad for Melnyk, who bought the team for 92 million just 6 years ago. The rest of the list is hardly surprising, featuring the usual suspects. First in price, last in standings. Your 2009-10 Toronto Maple Leafs.

He's Baaaaaaaack!!

Say what you want about Ray Emery, but his time here was anything but boring. There were the cars, the women, the rumors, the tardyness and oh ya, a Stanley Cup Finals appearance too. As we prepare to face our former franchise goalie for the first time, the question remains, was he treated fairly? Or made a scapegoat?

I will first and foremost state that I AM a Ray Emery fan. Always was and still am. What can I say, I like the guy. Loved his swag, loved his personality, loved his play. Was he the best goalie in the NHL? No he wasn't, but he made the big save when he needed to and more importantly, he made me feel comfortable when he was in net.

I always thought that he was untreated fairly and blamed unjustly for a teams worth of problems. Was he partly to blame? Of course, but don't dare tell me that showing up late a few times single handedly brings down a team with that much talent. He was just the fall guy, the easiest target. He had the flashy cars and jewelery, and of course the notable car related problems. One should note he was never arrested or charged with anything ever. Even yesterday, many of the Senators players interviewed, said he was a great guy, a great teammate and the situation was severely overblown.

In all fairness, the guy was mad because he felt he lost his job unfairly, and let's be honest, he did. He had just taken the Sens to the SCF and signed a fat new contract, that rewarded his nice play. He has off-season surgery and when he's healthy, he finds out he's lost his job to Martin Gerber of all people. I always thought he should have been given the job back right away and started maybe 10 games in a row or so. He should have had the chance to get his game back but the chance never really came.

As a result, he became increasingly frustrated and his play suffered. The team admitted that he always used to be late, but they tolerated it because he was winning. Ah yes, the hyprocrisy that is pro sports. Do whatever you want when you're winning, when you're not, we will make you out to be a dressing room cancer. Aren't the Sens to blame partly for allowing it the season before and then expecting him to be different? A leopard doesn't change their spots as they say.

For all of you who villified him, really what did he do? He got into a fender bender and had a punctuality problem. How many people do you know at your work who are constantly a few minutes late? I'm gonna say a lot. Do you think they're awful people too? Don't get me wrong, he should have been there on time, but blaming our collapse on him was ridiculous.

The problem became so large that we finally decided to buy him out. You would think there would be a market for a young goalie with his potential, but there were no takers because of his percieved attitude problem. It's hard to feel sorry for a guy making millions to play a game, but I felt bad for Ray Emery.

He was forced to take a deal in the KHL, which I thought would be good for him. A great place to make some money, clear his head and re-focus his life. He had a good season in Russia and Philadelphia came calling, in what is looking like a genius move at the moment. Emery is in the top 10 of every major goalie catgeory in the NHL. Guess he wasn't finished after all.

I've said all along that I thought he would be a great goalie again, many of you laughed. The joke will be on all of us when he hoists the Stanley Cup this June as a member of the Philadelphia Flyers, while we still pay part of his salary.

Welcome back to the show Ray. It's great to see you doing well again. I will be rooting for you, just not today when you play my beloved Sens. Circle January 3rd, 2010 on your calendars, as this will mark the 1st chance to see him play here at SBP. I for one will give the guy a standing ovation and I'm sure I'm not the only one.

-The Mayor

Thoughts?

Cheechoo Train 1st Goal

Shoutout to Jonathan Cheechoo, who finally scored his first goal as a Sen last night against Edmonton. That's now 1 goal and 2 helpers, for a grand total of 3 points in 15 games for the 3 million dollar a year man. Hopefully this gets him on a roll. Congratulations.

Slick W

The Senators are back to their winning ways, with a 4-3 shootout win, over the severely undermanned Edmonton Oilers. This was definitely a win that was nothing to brag about, and nearly didn't happen, but we will forget about it when we look at the standings in 2 weeks.

The Oilers put up quite a fight with so many key guys out, including Horcoff, Hemsky and Souray, taking the Sens to the extra frame, earning themselves a hard fought point at least. It was a typical Pat Quinn coached team, who always will play hard. They even outshot us 34-25 somehow.

In all fairness, the game wasn't as close as the score or shots reflected. I think it's safe to assume Pascal Leclaire was not proud of his game tonight, with 2 of the 3 goals being his fault. I guess what we can take away is even with him playing lousy, we still managed to win.

Alexandre Picard also has some splainin' to do, since he caused yet another goal off a bonehead play. I just don't get him at all. I can't wait for him to be shipped off somewhere, anywhere will do. Shoutout to Jonathan Cheechoo for finally scoring. Only took him 15 games to get there but was worth the wait. Let's hope it becomes a trend.

Other then that, I thought the team as a whole played pretty well. It was a fairly entertaining game, lots of action and lots of enthusiasm in the crowd. Saw too many Oiler jerseys though. Hey Oil fans, do even one of you own a jersey from a player that wasn't on a 1980's team? Just asking. Then again, if I saw your current lineup now, I wouldn't rush to get a new jersey either.

Did you happen to notice that the Sens didn't get ONE powerplay tonight? I don't think I've ever seen that before. At least we only had one penalty ourselves, coming on an Alfredsson play. Not saying the refs had an agenda but I mean not one penalty in a 60 minute game with that lineup? Gimme a break.

Sens are now 8-5-2, good for 18 points. Next up is Ray Emery and Philly on Thursday. Enjoy the vids of the 2 shootout goals, thoughts on tonights game?


Spezza with a nice move for the win

For all of you who hate on him, THIS is why we signed Kovie. What a beauty! Amazing skill for the backhand goal.

GDP #15: Sens V The Oil

You gotta love one anthem nights right? The Sens return to the ice after letting one slip away on Saturday to the New Jersey Devils, in an all Canadian affair, versus the Edmonton Oilers. This will mark the return of hated coach Pat Quinn to SBP as well.

The Oilers are in big trouble, as they are only 2-5 in the road this year, but are coming off a nice win against Colorado on the road. The problem is, half of their good players are injured, with Shawn Horcoff, Ales Hemsky, Sheldon Souray and Ladislav Smid all out for tonights game.

In the Sens can't get a win against the Oil, who are medicore even with all those players in the lineup, then we are in big trouble. A big key will be to stay out of the penalty box tonight and play a more disciplined game.

Of course, it also means the return of former Sen Mike Comrie, who has been brought here on two separate occassions, only to not be re-signed twice. Even though he never really produced that well, or even played that hard, find me a Sens fan who doesn't like him? It's almost impossible. Plus he did add to our celebrity cache we had going on. I wish Mike all the best, just not for tonights game.

For the Sens, Winchester and Donovan are healthy scratches, while Volchenkov continues to be out with an injury. That means the lines for the game will be:

Michalek-Spezza-Alfredsson
Foligno-Fisher-Kovalev
Cheechoo-Regin-Shannon
Ruutu-Kelly-Neil

Love the 1st line, they will be dangerous all night and will put up some points. I think Foligno, as much as I like him, is too slow to play with Fisher and Kovie personally. I also think our 4th line should be our 3rd line, hopefully Neil cuts out the penalties soon. Cheechoo on the 3rd or 4th line seems pointless to me. This has to be the slowlest skater I've ever seen. If he doesn't produce soon, he will be a healthy scratch or finding himself riding the busses with young Karlsson.

Leclaire will get the call in net for the Sens, hoping to rebound from a bit of a sloppy game from him on Saturday. Look for a big performance from Snoopy.

Prediction: Sens win 5-1

I know many of you get on me because I always predict a Sens win but I mean come on, look at who's out for the Oil. We should win this in a walk. Game is at 7:30 on Sportsnet and the Team 1200.

P.S.- I am not looking forward to seeing all the old Gretzky and Messier jerseys tonight.

Your thoughts on tonights game?

The Deal That Didn't Happen

It seems like a distant memory now, but in late June, it was a very real possibility that this deal would have happened. Dany Heatley out of nowhere, requested a trade and left the Sens trying to find a partner that could somewhat give us equal value.

The Oilers of course, have trouble attracting top flight talent, unless they've drafted them, so they made a hard move for #15. Coming the other way would have been Dustin Penner, Ladislav Smid and Andrew Gogliano. An intriguing group for sure, one that I originally hated, but managed to talk myself into once I was resigned to the deal happening. But then we all know what happened next don't we.

Heatley refused to waive is no trade clause and the deal never happened. Edmonton looked desperate and tried everything to convince him, but to no avail. The deal was dead.

For what it's worth, Dustin Penner seems to have reinvented himself this year, maximizing the potential everyone thought he had if he would just try. He is one of the top scorers in the NHL right now. Cogliano is having an off season sos far, while Smid has H1N1 and isn't playing.

In the end, I think we'll be better off in the long run with Michalek, who I think plays a great 2 way game and is a very exciting player to watch. Cheechoo is......well that's a story for another day, he is running out of time in Ottawa.

So would Penner have played so well for the Sens? Would the deal have helped us more then the San Jose one? Would the Oilers have been a top team with Heatley on their roster? All questions we will never know the answer to, thanks to diminished Dany Heatley.

Thoughts? Would we have been better off with the Edmonton deal or do you like the San Jose deal better?

When Life Hands You Lemons, Make Lemonade

Normally this would be a jersey foul, but sometimes in life, it's good to make the best out of a bad situation. This particular Sens fan took a lame ass Heatley jersey and turned it into an ode to the Captain. Maybe the spelling isn't correct but who cares, I for one applaud the creativeness that spawned this look. It's ironic that he took a Heatley and changed into an Alfredsson, since one of the reasons Dany wanted out allegedly, was because he felt Alfie got too much love and he didn`t get enough. That's why Alfie is a legend here and you're Dany Douchebag. Thoughts?

We're #1.......At Being Bad

Well we might not be number one in the division or the conference, but we are number at something at least. The problem is we're number one at penalty minutes per game. This should come as no surprise to any big Sens fan, who regularly watches. In our last 2 games, we have given up 5 goals, all of which were scored on the powerplay.

With the 39 minutes in penalties we took on Saturday night, we have now taken over the top spot in the NHL. Yay us, psych! This is not a good sign at all, as undisciplined teams rarely prosper, except apparently when they play us in the Stanley Cup Finals.

Through 14 games this season, we have taken 277 total penalty minutes, good for 20.2 minutes per game, which is truly unbelievable. Now of course fight minutes are counted in this, but still, you get the idea. We need to stop this insanity asap. Hopefully Triple C gives them a good yelling at practice and cures this case of the penalties. Is there a shot for it?

Thoughts?

Carkner Vs Peters

Not a bad tilt from heavyweights Matt Carkner and familiar foe, Andrew Peters. You will of course remember him from his brilliant press box play over the last few seasons with our rivals in Buffalo. Then there was this to go along with everything. Carkner gets the decision, thoughts?