Development Camp: A Photo Diary

I was surprised to be handed this when I arrived. They actually printed up a little flyer for the event. Perhaps there's hope yet. It was just nice to see hockey again.

As much as I love the Sens, soemtimes the mistakes they manage to make astound me. At their own building, named the SENS PLEX, they are using an outdated logo. I just don't get it sometimes. I'm still up for being President of Common Sense anytime you guys need me. Embarassing.

Nice touch by the Sens this year to give out a little pass to the season ticket holders tonight. Steppin it up nicely. Good job for once.

Triple C, Bryan Murray, Tim Murray, Greg "how do I have a job" Carvel and Brad Lauer checking out the action. I'm not gonna lie, I really wish these guys were getting their shit together for tomorrow's big day than watching 30 hit or miss guys play, when maybe 4 or 5 will ever play for the big club. With that said, I'm keeping the faith for tomorrow anyways.

Opening faceoff. Shoutout to Sens Army, who came out in force tonight. The place was packed for a prospects scrimmage. Really positive look from our fanbase. I was very impressed.

Bobby Butler and Zack Smith. Two guys who played for the Sens last year, only one of them will play for them this year. I'll give you a hint, it doesn't rhyme with schmobby.

Jared Cowen waiting for a faceoff. He didn't wow me tonight, but I say he makes the team this year anyways. He's Zdeno Chara light.

Sens future HOF goalie Robin Lehner skating off the ice after the game. Ok ok, maybe I'm overhyping him a bit. I mean he's no Justin Pogge.

Team Black maxin and relaxin after the game, featuring Brad Peltz, my player of the game.

Shoutout to my new favorite Sens prospect, Daniel New. Get it, NEW! At one point his defence pairing was Ben Blood. Yep, that's New-Blood out there. I can picture Bob Cole's head exploading to that one. Then again, we all know he'd just say that Sens defenceman instead of their name.

Sens blue chipper Patrick Wiercicoh doing a little PR after the game. He has a lot of potential, I hope he manages to fufill it all.

This was in the parking lot of the Sens Plex, super classy right? Gotta love those hockey boys. Sophistication personified. Canada 1, USA 0.

Ah yes, SBP in the background. The season is so close I can taste it. September can't come soon enough for me.

Overall, I noticed a few things. We have definitely gotten a lot bigger as a whole. The guys were definitely a 2007 Stanley Cup winning type of team that Murray is known for. It looks to me like we have a bright future, so shoutout to Bryan Murray for that, since he's been taking so much heat lately. Here's my view of some of the prospects tonight.

Bobby Butler - I didn't really notice him, which isn't good for a guy who wants to play in the league this year. He doesn't seem to do anything well and doing at least one thing really well is a key to a job with the Sens this year. I don't see him as an impact player at all.

Jim O'Brien - Brian Lee 2.0, this guy is done and fast. Not going to be an NHL player at all. It's a shame we wasted our 1st rounder on him. Really disappointed with his progress over the past few years.

Patrick Wiercioch - Looked good but not great, so for all of you pencilling him in as a 6th or 7th defenceman might wanna scratch that. He made some nice outlet passes that lead to scoring chances, but overall he was just decent. I was hoping to see him dominate and really stand out, he didn't.

Zack Smith - Definitely stood out to me, especially his skating. He has an NHL stride, you can just tell. He wasn't amazing, but he looked bored. Kinda an as if I have to he here when I played with the big team last year malaise I'm sure. I have to say I can't really blame him. He plays full time for the Sens this year, book it!

Jakob Silfverberg - Had a very nice goal tonight. He looked to have nice hands and some nice potential to score. A possible NHL player on the 2nd or 3rd line.

Jakub Culek - Our recent 3rd rounder was noticeable and definitely a smooth stick handler. To be honest, he kinda looked like a younger Peter Regin type to me. Has a lot to learn though still.

Corey Cowick - Wasn't that impressed. He was average and had the chance to level a guy with his head down and didn't take the opportunity to punish him. I did not care for that at all.

Brad Peltz - Billionaire's kid so what. The kid was nice tonight. He was all over the ice and easily the best player for today. I was really impressed with his speed, his skill and his goal scoring ability.

Louie Caporusso - Barely noticed him. His size will be a liability since he doesn't have enough skill to offset it.

Mike Hoffman - Didn't notice him much either, perhaps that's why there's not much talk of him after an MVP season.

Jared Cowen - I'm as big of a fan of his as you can find and even I have to say he wasn't too great tonight. Had his pocket picked a few times tonight but made up for it with some really punishing hits. Hopefully he gets better by training camp. I watched him closely but wasn't that happy with his play tonight.

Robin Lehner - He was good but not great but man is he ever fast going side to side for a man of his size, amazing. I'm definitely in on the Lehner kool aid early.

So there you have my take on the prospects for those of you who weren't able to make it. Hope it helped. On to free agency tomorrow.

Thoughts?

Jersey Foul 71

While I do admire the fact that this fan wanted to show some love to Alfie, this is still awful, even if he was trying to forget the Marian Hossa years of failure in the playoffs. Alfie deserves his own fresh new jersey.

Cheechoo Officially Ex Sen

The worst kept secret ever came to an end today, when Jonathan Cheechoo was finally officially bought out. There was speculation that we were trying to trade him, but surprise surprise, there were no takers.

So what does this mean for our cap? It means Cheechoo will be paid 2/3rd's of his salary, but more importantly, he will cost us 666k this year and 1.166 against the cap next season. This extra room could help us in the UFA market on Thursday and personally I think Euge should have just ate the extra cash.

Thoughts?

Sens Town Goes Under The Knife

I'm sure you've noticed something is a little off at Sens Town today. After a year and a half, I decided to give the site an update. Last night it went under the knife for a face lift and these are the results. Hope you all like it. I was going for a cleaner, more simple look, along with it appearing a little more polished. I think it came out pretty well if you ask me, which you didn't.

So let me know what you think about the new look. I'd love to hear some feedback. Shoutout to Stephanie, who's a loyal reader and Sens fan, all the way from El Paso, Texas, (insert Salsa joke here) for helping me with the new header. It looks awesome.

Back with more updates and rumors throughout the day as they come, since free agency begins in 48 hours. So come back to the site often and follow me on Twitter too. Hope everyone thinks the new site is an improvement, let me know.

Thoughts?

You Want The Truth? You Can't Handle The Truth

The Ottawa Sun is sort of like that one friend we all have. They're entertaining, there to pass the time, but no one really takes them seriously. You don't mind reading the occasional article to see the latest rumors and speculate about the latest of your beloved team, but sometimes enough is enough. Today is that day.

Remember the motto of the customer is always right? Apparently they've never heard about it. In fact, they decided to 180 on everyone and insult the customer, coming straight from the sports editor no less. A lot of people had been upset of the way they've covered things for years and it's finally coming to a head, with many devout Sens fans leaving passionate comments about the way they feel The Sun is ruining the Sens, and making this city's fans look bad.

Well what was their reaction? To change their style perhaps or at least answer their critics in a mature, responsible way? Of course not, this is The Sun we're talking about, home of the classy sunshine girls and the even classier writers, such as Bruce "Malkin to the Kings" Garrioch, Don " I have a personal vendetta against Heatley" Brennan and now Tim "I'm a 40+ adult who loves wrestling and insulting my readers" Baines. It's no wonder I have to hear about how bad our writers are all the time from other NHL teams fans.

If you haven't seen it yet, read this now, I'll wait..............................unbelievable right? This is supposed to be a professional newspaper, not an HF message board. Yes I know Timothy, it's everyone's fault but the people writing the nonsense right? Hundreds of Sens fans are all wrong, they're the problem, not you right? And while we're at it, who ever said we need to trade Daniel Alfredsson? I've never heard that before and to annonymously throw that out there is bush and to be honest, sounds more like something that would come from your sensationalizing publication to sell more papers.

And why hating on the bloggers? Is it because they get as many readers as you do now? And let's be honest, guys like Silver Seven, the 6th Sens, Sens Chrip and myself do a better job then you do covering the Sens and giving the fans what they want. It's called natural selection. Maybe if you did it a better job we wouldn't have to exist or do your job for you.

Oh and by the way, we all live in our parents spare bedroom, not the basement. Perhaps your sources we're wrong yet again. We and the rest of the fans must have really gotten to you for you to stoop so low. Then again, between wrestling columns and the way you already cover sports, you didn't have far to fall to this level.

Thoughts?

Cheechoo Waived.....Again

What took them so long? I assume they were holding out a last ditch effort that someone may want to take him off their hands in a trade to dump salary, but alas it did not happen. Jonathan Cheechoo was put on waivers today, the first step in him being bought out. If he goes unclaimed, which he will, the Sens will then buy him out or keep him in the minors to keep his salary off the cap. Either way you won't see him in a Sens uni again thank god.

Thoughts?

And The Rest Of Them

So we all know we traded our 1st rounder this year to St Louis for David Rundblad, and we all know we didn't have a 2nd rounder thanks to Matt Cullen and Andy Sutton, so here are the rest of who we picked in rounds 3 through 7 at the 2010 Draft.

Round 3, 76th overall: Jakub Culek, LW-Rimouski-QMJHL
Round 4, 106th overall: Marcus Sorensen, RW-Sodertalje J18-J18 Elit
Round 6, 178th overall: Mark Stone, RW-Brandon-WHL
Round 7, 196th overall: Bryce Aneloski, D-Cedar Rapids-USHL

Thoughts on the draft overall?

If you're looking for more news and video about the draft and our new picks, head on over to draft central and look around.

Rundblad Reaction

LeBrun is more telling us what Murray thought of him, but still sounds prettyd ecent if you ask me. Everything I've read about him leads me to believe that he will become a top 4 dman for us in the near future. The future looks bright on the back end with Karlsson, Cowen, Wiercioch and now Rundblad.

Short and sweet and to the point. Me and Damien Cox usually disagree on things, but he usually does know his stuff. A solid prospect is all you can hope for at #16, so the trade seems like a positive mood accoriding to Cox.

Uptown managment, who are the agent's for Mike Fisher and Chris Neil by the way, seem to thing we've gotten a great player, going as far as calling it a steal. Sounds promising, then again, both their clients are severely overpaid, so they don't know what value is. They do however, know about getting the most out of everything.

All in all, it seems that everyone seems to think it was a pretty solid deal for us. I honestly don't know nearly enough to comment either way, so I'm gonna side with the experts who say it was a good move. What we do know is he will spend next season in Sweden and is expected to play a significant role for us in the 2011-12 season.

Thoughts?

Jersey Foul 70

This epic JF was from the now legendary Spezza rally last weekend. In fact, rumor has it, this was the organizer of the event. Hard to imagine someone with this kind of judgement messing things up, but somehow it happened. I wonder if she's related to this girl, a previous JF star. They have to be right?

Spezza To Remain A Senator

There you go, confirmation straight from GM Bryan Murray, via respected journalist Pierre LeBrun, that Jason Spezza will NOT be traded before July 1st and will remain a Senator. I for one am glad.

Thoughts?

After 150 Minutes, Murray Trades 1st Rounder For Another 1st Rounder

So after making all us Sens fans watch the draft for 2 and a half hours on a Friday night, Murray decided to trade our 16th overall pick to St Louis, for last year's 17th overall pick, David Rundblad.

I'm not gonna lie, I don't know much about this kid and I was hoping we'd take Emerson Etem, so I will try and reserve judgement until I educate myself on the kid. Just seemed we were due for a forward didn't it? Although from the quick reactions I've seen, the experts seem to think this was a good move for us.

In his post trade interview, Murray said he was done for the 1st round and he still refused to say he wouldn't trade Spezza. Just sayin' , I don't like how keeps the door open with that at all.

Murray also went on to say that Rundblad will stay in Sweden for one more year, so we won't be seeing him at all next season.

Thoughts? More to come later don't worry.

Sens Town Draft Plans

The 2010 NHL Draft is less then 5 hours away and I know you're all excited for some actual Sens news. This is a big day, with the Sens right in the middle of the action. Will Spezza be traded? Can we trade A-Train's rights? Will Marc Savard come home and play at SBP next season? Who do we take at 16? Or do we move up or down? All these questions could play out tonight.

I will of course be watching all night, so come hang out with me. I will be updating the site after our pick, but if you want to follow all night, you should follow me on twitter by clicking here. You will get up to date info and of course, jokes galore at the expense of, well everyone really. Should be a good time, so come on by and if twitter isn't your thing, just leave comments. I will be there too. Feel free to ask me anything you want and I will answer. Hopefully the draft will work out nicely for us. Coverage starts at 7pm eastern on TSN.

Sens Draft Picks:

-1st Round: 16th overall
-3rd Round: 76th overall
-4th Round: 106th overall
-6th Round: 178th overall
-7th Round: 196th overall

Thoughts?

Jersey Foul 69

With the draft only a few hours away, it was time to post this ridiculous jersey foul. Even worse, it was actually spotted at a Sens Store, which means the Senators actually made and aprroved this mess. Hopefully our 1st rounder turns out better, then again, how could it not?

2010 Draft Party

With the NHL Draft finally here later tonight, the Sens are holding their annual draft party 2010 edition. This year's will be in 2 locations again, at Bert's in SBP and Boston Pizza in Gatineau. To see all the details click here.

The party will start at 5pm and run until 10, with prizes and trivia all night long. Now try to hold back your excitement, but the parties will also feature assistant coaches Greg "how do I still have a job" Carvel and Brad Lauer. Amazing right? I guess they couldn't come up with a superstar player to attend after getting Alexandre Picard AND Chris Kelly last year. Perhaps they could have used Cheechoo so the money wasn't a total waste.

RFA's Qualified + What We Learned Today

As expected, the Sens today sent qualifying offers to their 4 restricted free agents. The list is Nick Foligno, Chris Campoli, Jesse Winchester and Peter Regin. This means they now continue to own their rights as can either negotiate a deal or go to arbitration.

What we learned today:

-Sens have yet to buyout Jonathan Cheechoo as expected, and instead may be working on a deal to move him. This will most likely only happen if we take back a bigger salary back.

-There is a rumor that we will trade Anton Volchenkov's rights to Pittsburgh for Sergei Gonchar's rights. I don't see it happening however, just a bad rumor. We already have 2 PMD in Karlsson and Kuba, and why would we want to take on a 5 million salary for a 36 year old?

-Spezza likely isn't going anywhere. There were comments by Murray today that he and Giggles have spoken and cleared things up. He almost went as far as to say it won't happen, but stopped just short of it. I'd say a 90% chance he stays.

-There's also rumors that Mike Fisher is being shopped, but his agent was quick to end that right away. To borrow a popular catch phrase, I don't want him gone persay, but I wouldn't object to a change either.

-And finally, there is talk the Sens are trying to move up in the draft but the asking price is too high. If that's the case, look for them to possibly move down and still get the guy they want, while acquiring another asset.

Thoughts?

Remember that if you want to get quicker updates on the latest news, follow me on twitter blick clicking here.

Sens Players Get Participation Ribbons At NHL Awards

Most of you, or at least some of you may have known that the NHL awards were last night in Las Vegas. I for one did not watch a second of it. Award shows in general are boring, then add in even more boring hockey players and it doesn't really become a must watch for me. With that being said, several Sens players placed in the voting for awards. Bet you didn't know that did ya?

Chris Phillips and soon to be ex-Sen Anton Volchenkov tied for 18th in the Norris trophy as best defenceman, while Cory Clouston came in 6th in the Jack Adams voting for Coach Of The Year.

Then there was the Selke award, where 3 players placed. The Captain Daniel Alfredsson came in 15th, Mike Fisher came in 17th and Chris Kelly came in 30th.

Alfie was in the running for another trophy as well, coming in 8th in the Lady Byng voting.

No hardware but good just to be nominated right? Just kidding, that's what losers say.

Thoughts?

Earthquakes, Thunderstorms and Spezza, Oh My

Well today was an interesting day to say the least. And here I thought it might be a quiet day to just kick back and relax. So much for that plan. I don't know about most of you, but I've never been in an earthquake before until today, and I have to say it wasn't that fun. It may have only been a 5.1, but that's 5.1 more then I'm used to. It was the last thing I exepect in Ottawa. Ice storms, blizzards, ridiculous heat and players requesting to be traded... I am used to, the ground moving and my house shaking, ummmmmmmmm not so much. At least everyone is safe and there were no deaths, just a bit of damage and a lot of shock really. Came across the top twitter jokes about the quake, was pretty funny, check them out here.

Then there was thunderstorm warnings all night, thought it didn't appear to happen, at least where I live, but they are supposed to be here the next few days. We shall see what happens.

And finally, some developments in the Spezza Saga. Pierre LeBrun reports that Bryan Murray said there hasn't been any substantial offers for Spezza and that if he is not traded by July 1st, then he won't be moved period. The reason, as what happened last year, Spezza is due a 4million bonus come Canada Day.

Gee something about that seems so familiar doesn't it?

That's all for now folks, back tomorrow with any news that happens and an EPIC jersey foul. You have to see it to believe it.

Thoughts?

Jersey Foul 68

When I saw this one my jaw nearly dropped. Yes that is Snoop and yes that is a legendarily bad jersey foul. This courtesy of him performing at the NHL Awards tonight. Despite that, I still won't be watching.

I think this one speaks for itself, no need to perpetuate the obvious. So take a minute, look at it closely, let it marinate and register. Then you will truly see how ridiculous this one is.

Sorry Snoop, I love your Doggystyle album, but this is maybe the worst jersey fizzle I've ever seen.

Thoughts?

2010 Sens Draft Cap

With the Draft on Friday, Reebok has of course released new official gear to get you to part with your cash. With that in mind, I present to you the 2010 draft cap. This is what the future Sens will be wearing when they hit the stage. I personally think it's pretty ugly, but to each their own. The cap is available at the Sens Store and at NHL.com by clicking here

Thoughts?

BREAKING NEWS: Nachbaur Resigns From Bingo

The Ottawa Senators offseason just got a little bit more busy, as AHL coach Don Nachbaur has quit as coach of the Binghamton Senators today. He is said to have left the post for personal reasons, but nothing more specific than that. The search for a replacement begins immediately.

Nachbaur guided us to a 5th place finish in the div and no playoff birth in his lone season at the helm. In fact, he wasn't even employed by the Baby Sens a full calendar year, joining them in July of 2009.

Thoughts?

Schedule Released, Heatley Hate Night At Last

The full schedule came out earlier today and many Sens fans got their wish of finally being able to let Dany Heatley have it, after not seeing him last season. Circle Dec 2nd on your calendars people, that is when the San Jose Chokers, er Sharks, make their appearance at SBP.

Other highlights include my west cost team, the Los Angeles Kings at SBP on November 22nd, the Penguins on Boxing Day, the Red Wings on Feb 2nd and of course the regular Saturday night games against Toronto and Montreal.

Thoughts?

Spezza NOT Traded, Still A Sen...For Now

After a wacky evening in which rumors were rampant that Jason Spezza had been traded to Columbus, we eventually found out courtesy of Bryan Murray that it wasn't so. At least for now anyways. Gee this whole internet explosion of information that he was dealt, only to find out he wasn't sure sounds familiar hmmmmm. Oh right it was last year and this!!!!!!!!!!!

I can't believe we're in the same situation AGAIN. At least the rumored return was decent this time but still. All these ridiculous distractions all the time are making the franchise look bad and making me as frustrated as AC Green's lady. I just can't take it anymore.

Any way you want to look at it, it definitely appears Giggles time in a Sens uni is coming to an end.

Thoughts?

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A-Train Is Done In Ottawa

Thoughts?

" He (Spezza) Wouldn't Object To A Trade" - Bryan Murray

According to new audio from a media scrum today, GM Bryan Murray said that while Jason Spezza didn't specifically ask for a trade, he wouldn't object to one either. Bad news. So there you go, confirmation Spezza at least partially wants out and from the audio, it sounds like Murray wouldn't mind dealing him either. Click here for part 1 and here for part 2.

Does Murray not know how to keep his mouth shut or what? Why would you tell everyone that? I'm becoming more convinced he has to be relieved of his duties. He may be a good talent evaluator, but he sure is clueless when it comes to the PR and managing of players. So by saying Spezza said he wouldn't object to a trade, he's now made Jason pissed off that once again Murray made a private conversation very public and announced to everyone he's available.

I don't get his motives at all. Doesn't this just lower our potential return should we decided to trade him? Murray is ruining our franchise one star player at a time it seems. Let's just hope he comes to his senses and either keeps him or makes a massively good deal before July 1st and his NTC kicks in. Right now, it sure seems like Spezza is a goner to me.

-Other things we learned today:

1) Volchenkov isn't coming back, trying to trade his rights but no takers yet.
2) Sutton and Cullen both would really like to come back
3) Murray will pick the best player available with our 1st rounder.
4) Kovalev and Michalek are doing very well and will be healthy for camp

Thoughts?

Happy Father's Day

A shoutout to all the dad's today for father's day. They do a lot for us and most likely got us into this sick addiction, known as the Ottawa Senators. I know mine did. He brought me to the first ever game and we've been to 100's of games over the years. When hockey came back, he made sure I was there to experience it all first hand and he was an original season ticket holder. We've shared a lot of good and bad times at games, had countless Senator related conversations and are always both wondering what might happen next with this crazy team.

All in all, he's a pretty awesome dad, so thanks for always being there for me and for always bringing me to the games. It's a lifetime of memories, hopefully we'll have a Stanley Cup to celebrate in the near future.

To all the dad's, Happy Father's Day. And if you're wondering, yes that's me and my dad back in the dad in the original concept Sens jerseys with matching corduroy hats, circa 1991. What you know about that?

Spezza "Rally": A Photo Diary

The first two arrivals, waiting for everyone else to show up. They waited a long time, in fact it never happened. Sick chapeau though, totally necessary to navigate the thick brush of Parliament Hill. Where's the machete? Woman in the see through poncho had an epic jersey foul on, will post next week.

Your friendly neighborhood RCMP Officer choppin it up with the Sens fans who showed up. As much as I will bust balls in this, shoutout to the people that did show up for being awesome fans, even if it did fall way below the expected turnout.

Some guys from The Score waiting around to cover the event. Working hard or hardly working?

The crew waiting around for more people to show up. There's more coming right? Right? Oh fuck!! Maybe he isn't as popular as we thought. If this was for Alfie it would have been packed. Even with all that said, please Bryan Murray, do not trade Spezza, especially to San Jose as rumored. If we get Thornton back I will lose it seriously.

See and read today here, what you'll have to wait to see and read tomorrow in your newspaper. Here is a media photographer taking a picture of the fans. Just wait til you see what it looks like in print tomorrow. Guarantee the picture will look awesome and won't really mention actual numbers of attendees. The Mayor doesn't lie, he tells you the truth.

At least the people who did show up didn't seem to disappointed by the small turnout. They even sung a few times, with Walking In A Spezza Wonderland being the main tune. Good to see them in good spirits. If only Spezz worked as hard or cared as much about the Sens as these fans.

Reality check to Spezza. Never good when Asian tourists posing for a picture, out number your fans 2 to 1 in a rally to keep you here, in the city you play in.

Habs fan either wondering if he can jump in and end it all after the Halak trade or if this is a big enough flame to roast Pierre Gauthier over. I must give credit where credit is due, at least he wasn't rioting, so that's something.

The rally at its glorious peak, all 15 of them. Probably a bad sign when you have less fans turn up to support you then your jersey number, just sayin. Would have been awesome if Giggles showed up, would have made me like him and showed everyone he has a sense of humor.

The Ottawa Police on hand, you know, in case all 15 of you get rowdy and things get out of hand. Seems about right in a city where 5 cop cars come when you get pulled over for speeding. Off topic, do you think bike cops get made fun of my cops in cars? How could they not right?

So there you go, all in all, consider it a job..........done! Way less people then they were hoping for, but maybe the weather played a factor or maybe people just don't feel all that sympathetic to a guy who gets paid 7 mill a year to play hockey. Either way, kudos to the organizers for at least trying to do soemthing they believed in. We could use more of that in this city.

Thoughts?...............follow me on twitter by clicking here