What should the Ottawa Senators do now?

Now that Erik Karlsson and Jason Spezza are both done for the season, there’s a lot of people who think the Ottawa Senators should tank. Or make panic trades to fix the holes left by injuries. It seems to be one side or the other.

All is not lost with Erik Karlsson injured.

They’re asking for Craig Anderson to be traded. Rookies to play. Call-ups from the farm team. Or big trades.

To all those Sens fans, I have this to say to you: Relax.

This happens to a team every year. Last year, it was Montreal (Andrei Markov, Brian Gionta, Jaroslav Spacek, etc.). This year, it’s Ottawa.

The key thing for the Sens to do now is wait a couple of weeks. See how the current roster adjusts without their superstar players. Then make a decision.

Sometimes, teams rally when the stars are injured. I’m sure Sens fans remember the year Mats Sundin missed the playoffs series against the Sens, and all of a sudden, Alyn Mccauley became the second coming of Doug Gilmour. At least for a little while.

So give this group a little bit of time to see what they have. Then the team can decide what to do. But they need two weeks at a minimum to figure out what they have. And that’s the absolute minimum. They probably need closer to a month at the very least.

But here are some things to keep in mind.

If you think the team should tank and trade Craig Anderson, you won’t get a fair return for him. Forget his numbers. Forget his winning percentage. Think about it this way: How many teams right now would need a top goalie? Four? There’s the Flames, the Islanders, the Capitals and the BlueJackets, and that’s about it (other teams, such as the Blues and Sabres, have #1 goalies, so they’re not in the market for one). Calgary still has Kiprusoff, so that’s a team that probably won’t trade. The Islanders are doing all right with Nabokov in nets. Washington is starting to turn it around.

So that really only leaves the BlueJackets. You know what type of market value that will bring? None.

Throw in the fact teams don’t generally like trading for goalies during a season, and it brings down the value some more. And finally, think of what #1 goalies do bring on the market. After an amazing regular season and playoffs, Jaroslav Halak was traded for Lars Eller and Ian Schultz. A third line centre and a prospect who will never make it to the NHL.

Don’t kid yourselves into thinking you’re going to get a great return for Anderson. You won’t. There’s not enough of a market for him.

Besides, if you think the Sens should tank and trade Anderson, what’s the next step? Robin Lehner has been playing great in the AHL. If he continues that play in the NHL, then that’s not tanking. You’re just switching out goalies.

Now, if you believe the Sens should make a deal to stay competitive, then what are the options? Ryan O’Reilly looks to be on his way out of Colorado. But the Avalanche are asking for a top prospect and a top roster player. Can the Sens really afford to give that? Probably not.

And there’s not much else on the market. So help from trades probably isn’t happening. The Habs tried the stopgap measure of trades last year, and look what it got them. Tomas Kaberle and Rene Bourque.

One last thing to remember: If the Sens do tank, whether intentionally or not, the biggest decision revolves around Daniel Alfredsson. He came back this year, citing how much fun it was to play last year. That was because the team was winning. Two years ago, I doubt he was having much fun.

So if the team does take a downturn (I saw one prediction that the Sens would win only seven more games with the roster they have, which is equivalent to the expansion-era Senators), what does the team do with Alfie? Do they trade him for a chance to win the Cup? Or do he retire as a Sen?

For example, could Alfie be dealt to the Sens, to play on the second powerplay unit, kill penalties and take the occasional shift on Sidney Crosby’s wing instead of Tyler Kennedy? Does that make too much sense?

Again, this is only if the team struggles. Why have Alfie go through a bad season, and retire without a chance to win a Cup for the last time? He’s be like Ray Bourque. No one would look down on him or the team for doing so.

These are the questions the Sens management need to ask themselves. But they need a few weeks first. Let them see who steps up, what rookies deserve to see the ice more and who can benefit from more powerplay time.

In the meantime, Sens fans, just relax.

Sens season review so far

So when I did my Habs half-year end review a few weeks back, I meant to do one for the Senators as well.  [picapp align=”right” wrap=”true” link=”term=ottawa+senators&iid=7521555″ src=”c/c/3/f/Senators_vs_Hurricanes_bcb3.JPG?adImageId=9008334&imageId=7521555″ width=”234″ height=”259″ /]

Since the Sens have already gone past the halfway point, I figured I should change the title.

So welcome to The Ottawa Senators 58.5 Per Cent Season Review.

Overall, the Sens have been like pretty much every team out there: injury prone. Not sure why this year seems to be worse than other years, but it’s been crazy. The Habs, for example, have had major injuries to Andrei Markov, Andrei Kostitsyn, Brian Gionta, Roman Hamrlik and Georges Laraque. The Penguins, at one point, played with five defencemen injured, as well as injuries to Evgeni Malkin and Chris Kunitz. The Red Wings have seen injuries to Niklas Kronwall, Tomas Holmstrom, Johan Franzen, Henrik Zetterberg, Daniel Cleary and Valtteri Filppula.

So sure, the Sens have seen Daniel Alfredsson, Jason Spezza, Milan Michalek, Chris Neil, Anton Volchenkov, Jesse Winchester and Pascal Leclaire go down this season, but it’s no worse than what other teams have suffered through. Besides Spezza was having a horrible year, Leclaire hasn’t looked good, Michalek had only scored one goal in 19 games before his injury, and Winchester was… well… Winchester-like.

Here’s a look at what else has gone wrong with the team this year.

The Sens goalie problems seem to be very Philadelphia Flyers-esque. For some reason, the Sens never seem to get a dominant goalie (except for Dominik Hasek, who was a basket case when he was with the Sens). Remember in spring of 2008, when there were rumours of trading Spezza for Roberto Luongo? A lot of Sens fans believed that was a bad deal for the Sens, because they loved Spezza (he was coming off a 92-point season that year). [picapp align=”right” wrap=”true” link=”term=ottawa+senators&iid=7544380″ src=”f/9/1/c/New_York_Rangers_a8b0.JPG?adImageId=9008343&imageId=7544380″ width=”234″ height=”132″ /]

I think that’s the key factor when it comes to Sens players. They’re too well-loved by fans. Wade Redden was huge in Ottawa, until his skills started declining (many fans chose Redden over Zdeno Chara). Patrick Lalime was a great goalie until that game seven against Toronto. Chris Phillips and Chris Neils are way popular (despite the fact both are on the decline). Neil is a good gritty player, but he’s not worth $2 million a year.

This is a story that sums up Sens fans pretty well. When Alexei Yashin sat out a year because he wanted a new contract, he finally came back when a court said he had to honour his contract. Some friends of mine argued that Yashin would want to prove he deserved a new contract, and they instantly started to love him again.

They believe their players are the greatest out there, and instead of thinking of upgrades, they wait until the guy is on the downside of his career, and then wonder why he’s not tradeable.

When Leclaire was traded here, he was seen as the saviour. Sens fans couldn’t see past the numbers, the fact that Leclaire benefitted from a Ken Hitchcock-type defensive system in Columbus. It didn’t matter. They convinced themselves that he was a great goalie, no matter what.

But I’m ranting.

There are a few places where they could upgrade. [picapp align=”right” wrap=”true” link=”term=ottawa+senators&iid=7448286″ src=”d/c/8/6/Ottawa_Senators_v_cfe6.jpg?adImageId=9008347&imageId=7448286″ width=”234″ height=”351″ /]

For example, on the defence. Chris Phillips is breaking down. He’s becoming like Jason Smith was in his last year with the Sens. Expected to be the great defensive defenceman he was five years ago, but you can tell it’s catching up with him. Phillips seems one step behind out there, has trouble winning battles in the corners, and gives away the puck more than ever. It’s time to trade him, while they can still get a good return for him.

And if they’re trading, they should go all the way: Trade Alfredsson. Get some good young prospects in return. Same with Spezza. They won’t get a lot in return for Spezza, but it clears up a lot of cap space. Use that money that is saved to get a quality free agent.

They don’t have anyone they can build this team around going forward (and no, you can’t build a team around a 38-year-old captain). This team needs to be blown up and start over. They need to tank for a couple of seasons, and rebuild with some quality draft picks.

Bryan Murray’s time is almost up

It should be known by now that I have never been a fan of Bryan Murray.

"Why won't anyone offer me anything good for Dany Heatley?"

Murray came in as general manager immediately after the team fired John Muckler, who only put together a team that went to the Stanley Cup finals. It can only be considered karma that the team struggled afterwards.

But now, Dany Heatley may very well do that no one else could do: get Murray fired.

Since Murray has taken over the team, he has seen the Sens freefall one year and get swept in the first round, to being horrible right out of the gate and missing the playoffs the second year.

Now, he has to trade Heatley, and is asking way too much in return (it looks to be about three roster players). In a salary cap world, it’s hard to find enough teams that afford to trade for Heatley, much less be able to give up three players.

There’s only three ways this Dany Heatley thing will end:

1) Murray trades Heatley for less than he wanted. The team struggles out of the gate, media and fans blame bad Heatley trade on Murray. He gets fired.

2) Heatley doesn’t get traded. The team starts off slow, media and fans blame Murray for not being able to make a trade. They say Heatley is a distraction in the locker room. Murray gets fired, new GM trades Heatley almost right away.

"No one will ever be allowed to wear #15 after this."

3) The Sens start off the season fine (no matter if Heatley is traded or not). At some point, the team will struggle, as most teams do at some point of a season (unless you’re the Detroit Red Wings). Media and fans blame Murray for mess of team. Murray is fired for making a bad trade involving Heatley or not trading Heatley.

All three scenarios may be unfair, but that’s because the team has struggled since Murray took over. If the Sens had been successful the last few years, it would be a different story.

And I think it all comes down to how much Murray wants for Heatley. As I mentioned a few months ago, I believe most teams would be willing to give up a top prospect, a second- or third-line player and a first round draft pick for Heatley. Anything more for a high-salary player who has asked twice to be traded is way too much.

And that will be the downfall of Bryan Murray.

Newfies in hockey: Chad Penney

Welcome to a new feature here at the Ryan Coke Experience: Newfies in hockey. Periodically, I will be profiling different players that made it to the NHL (keep in mind, the number is less than 25, so I might start eventually stretching that to non-NHL players as well).

Do you remember: Chad Penney?

This is Chad Penney's rookie card. It might also be his only NHL card.

Chad Penney was blessed with goal-scoring hands. Unfortunately, those hands may have cost him a shot at the NHL.

Born in Labrador City, Newfoundland, Penney lit up the leagues in the minor hockey league system and the Ontario Hockey League. With the North Bay Centennials, he scored 33 goals in 66 games as a rookie.

The next season, the left-winger made team Canada for the World Junior Championships. Unfortunately, despite playing in seven games, Penney never recorded a point, and Canada never medalled.

Disappearing in a high-pressure situation made him sound perfect for the Ottawa Senators, so they drafted him in the second round (25th overall) of the 1992 draft.

He spent another season in the OHL, and played in the Memorial Cup (he also made the all-star team that year). He had more success there, netting five goals and two assists in four games. Penney’s team, Sault Ste. Marie, won the Memorial Cup, thereby showing that as a champion of some sort, Penney had no business in the Sens organization, and was no longer given a fair shot at making the team.

I'd probably retire from hockey too, if I had to wear uniforms like this.

One year, when it looked like Penney might make the Sens roster, he broke a finger in training camp. When he returned from his injury, he was sent to the minors, and never got his shot to make the team again.

It was right around this time that I had a hockey card of Penney, which I sent to be autographed. I never got a response. Chad Penney, if you’re reading this, you owe me a hockey card.

I found this article talking about Penney and the Sens, which is quite humourous:

Penney has a chance to play himself onto the Ottawa roster if he can show the same promise and skill that many of the star rookies with the parent club have shown this year. Alexander Daigle and Alexei Yashin are showing that they will be stars before too long. While the Ottawa club is in perpetual turmoil at the management level, the on-ice product appears to be developing well and along the same lines as the expansion New York Islanders of the early 70’s.

Penney played only three games with the Sens, and after three years with their farm team, went to play in Britain.

After 1999, he seemed to have disappeared from the hockey world.

Off the ice, he is married with two kids, and works for Rogers Cable.

Leave the rumours to the professionals

I know a lot of people like to make up NHL trade rumours. It’s one of the main reasons fans follow teams.

Could Dany Heatley end up as a San Jose Shark?

No matter which team you support, you always believe they can be better. Maybe a certain superstar is available. Or maybe you have a top prospect in the system that another team covets.

But if you’re going to debate trade rumours, at least make them feasible for all teams. There’s nothing worse than reading unrealistic trade rumours.

If you make up a trade, and everyone on a certain side says to do the trade, it’s generally a bad trade.

For example, Christos at Christo’s Corner, came up with a three-team deal involving the Montreal Canadiens, Ottawa Senators and San Jose Sharks.

His trade?

To Ottawa: Jonathan Cheechoo, Tomas Plekanec, Christian Ehrhoff

To Montreal: Patrick Marleau, Ott 2nd round pick 2010, Ottawa 5th round pick 2011

To San Jose: Dany Heatley, Jaroslav Halak, Ryan O’Byrne

When he posted on a Montreal Canadiens’ Facebook group, most of the Habs’ fans said it was great. But that usually means the deal was one-sided. Of course, the Habs’ fans are going to say it was great. They get a top-line centre, and a second round draft pick, and only has to give up a young underachieving centre that will be a free agent next summer, a backup goalie that will be a free agent next summer and a good young defenceman.

A trade that would allow Patrick Marleau to be a Montreal Canadien and screw over Ottawa at the same time? Where do we sign up?

But what happens if you’re a Sens fan? Why would Ottawa want Cheechoo (a player whose goals and points have declined every single year for the past four years, to the point he had 12 goals and 29 points last year)?

Why would Ottawa want Plekanec, a guy who will be a free agent next summer and had 39 points last year?

And why would the Sens wants Erhoff, a defenceman, when they already have eight defencemen on the roster?

While it would be nice to have Marleau in Montreal, the Sens would never make this deal. They would have to give up a 50-goal scorer in Heatley, a second rounder and a fifth rounder for two players that wouldn’t be able to crack their first two lines and a defenceman they don’t have room for. No way they make that trade.

If you’re going to make up trades, try to make them plausible.

(Note: Christos has since updated his trade to it make it more even, but it still doesn’t make sense from an Ottawa point of view. His new trade is:

To Ottawa:Cheechoo, Plekanec, Ehrhoff, Montreal’s 3rd round pick in 2010

To Montreal:Marleau, San Jose’s 2nd round pick in 2010

To San Jose:Heatley, Halak, Jason Smith, Montreal’s 4th round pick in 2010 and 5th round pick in 2011)

A Sens’ guide to Alexei Kovalev

So the Ottawa Senators signed Alexei Kovalev yesterday to a two-year, $5 million contract.

Sens fans won't have to worry about seeing Alexei Kovalev score against them for a couple of years.

Because Kovalev has routinely shown up in games against the Senators, Sens fans may not realize exactly what they’re getting in the Russian player.

So for my friends who are Sens fans, here is a guide to what to expect from Alexei Kovalev.

1) Contrary to popular opinion, Alexei is not Kovalev’s first name. That’s an urban legend. His real first name is “The.” His middle names are “Enigmatic Alexei.” While some broadcasters like to shorten his name to Alexei Kovalev, be prepared for a lot of media personalities calling him by his full name, “The Enigmatic Alexei Kovalev.” You’ll be sick of this name by November.

2) You’ll also be hearing a lot about how talented Kovalev is. You’ll hear lines such as “he’s the most talented player in the league,” and “when he’s on, there’s no one better.” Just keep in mind that he has never won an individual award (or even been nominated for one). Check that, he did win the 2008 Saku Koivu Award for comeback player of the year. Usually an award like that goes to a player who misses time because of an injury. For Kovalev, it was a comeback from a season where he had 47 points in 73 games. Quite a comeback, indeed.

This type of play will make Sens fans automatically fall in love in Kovalev.

3) Ottawa Senators general manager Bryan Murray was quoted as saying this about Kovalev: “When I watched our team play the last couple of years against Montreal, every time he came on the ice, I was scared to death he was going to be the difference in the game and some nights he certainly was.” Trust me Sens fans, get ready for a lot of nights where you’ll be scared to death every time he comes onto the ice.

4) While $5 million a year sounds like a lot, Sens fans will be relieved to learn that they are actually getting two players with this signing. There’s the Kovalev that spouts off to Russian newspapers about how horrible his team is and how bad the coaching is, and then there’s the other Kovalev that will deny ever saying that to the English media. So rest assured Sens fans, you’ll be getting two Alexei Kovalevs with this signing.

5) Kovalev has a reputation for taking shifts off once in a while. This is completely untrue and he deserves more credit than that. The truth is he’s been known to completely disappear for weeks at a time. And just when you get frustrated enough with him, he’ll re-appear for a three-game stretch where he gets 10 points in three games, before disappearing again. And just wait until you see the impact that will have on the team’s younger players, who will all want to emulate the great Alexei Kovalev.

6) Finally, there is one moment that will automatically endear Kovalev to Sens fans. He likes to stick up for himself. He’s not afraid to stick someone if they are playing dirty against him. With that said, enjoy the best Kovalev highlight of all time, in a game against the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Heatley wants out of Ottawa

As reported on TSN just today, Dany Heatley wants out of Ottawa.

Dany Heatley is excited to be leaving Ottawa. Wouldn't you be?

I think this is great news. As a Sens hater, I get tired of hearing about Spezza-Heatley-Alfredsson all the time, and how they are the greatest line in hockey history.

With Heatley gone, look for Spezza’s numbers to take a big hit. Most of his assists are thanks to Heatley, and when Heatley isn’t playing, Spezza is almost invisible.

Heatley makes about $7.5 million a year, and has a no-trade clause. But if he wants out, he’ll have to waive it.

This is actually a good thing for the Sens. They are near the top of the salary cap, and can’t afford to go after many big free agents. By taking $7.5 million off the books, they can go and sign some big-name players that can help them.

Where could Heatley end up?

There’s not many teams that can afford to take on a big contract for the next few years, especially if the salary cap goes down in the next couple of years as expected.

Would Sens fans forgive Heatley if they got PK Subban?

While Heatley would look good on my favourite team (the Montreal Canadiens), I don’t think the Habs have enough to offer, although they definitely have the cap space.

But what if they offered, say, their first round pick, PK Subban and Sergei Kostitsyn? Ottawa could try to package both first round draft picks (their own #9 and the Habs 18) for a higher pick. They get someone that could help with secondary scoring. And a prospect that would be automatically at the top of their prospect depth chart.

Plus, Sens fans would love Subban, as they got to see him during the world junior championships and fell in love with him.

So what do Sens fans think? Would you go for that trade?

NHL trade rumours

So we’re about one month or so away from the NHL trade deadline.

Could Jason Spezza be traded to the New York Rangers? ESPN has that rumour.

General managers will be working overtime in the next few weeks, trying to assess their needs.

Will a team like the Ottawa Senators trade a bunch of players away and start fresh? Will the Montreal Canadiens try to get rid of a few of their many potential free agents? Will the Florida Panthers make a deal that may push them into the playoffs?

There will be even more questions in the west, as two points separate sixth from 11th. Even the last-ranked St. Louis Blues is only six points out of a playoff spot (which is awesome, considering they’re missing half their team to injuries).

This was a rumour reported on ESPN:

“Someone we were talking to told us he had “heard” the Florida Panthers, Ottawa Senators and New York Rangers were working on a three-way deal that would send Jason Spezza to the Big Apple, Jay Bouwmeester to Canada’s capital and Scott Gomez to South Florida.”

Sens GM Bryan Murray said there has been no discussions like this.

But it does make things interesting as we approach the trade deadline.

Since I’m a fan of the Habs, I thought I would focus on them and what they should do at the trade deadline.

A lot of people believe they should trade for Vincent Lecavalier or Jay Bouwmeester. But I don’t like the fact Vinnie has such a huge salary and Bouwmeester will be a free agent at the end of the season.

The latest rumour has them going after Brad Richards with the Dallas Stars, but I believe Richards has a no-trade clause, and the Stars are on fire now.

Some sites are posting rumours of Brad Richards heading to the Habs.

First, the Habs need a mean guy back there on defence. Chris Pronger fits the bill (and I read a rumour about him going to Montreal), but he’s making more than $6 million a year, and is still signed for a few years. The Habs already have $11 million tied up in Andrei Markov and Roman Hamrlik, so it doesn’t make sense to add $6 million to that.

I think the Habs need a bit more toughness up front. They’ll be fine if Georges Laraque can come back and play, but he’s missed most of the season due to injury. I’ve heard Chris Neil from the Sens would be an interesting fit in Montreal, but I don’t know if I like him enough to have to cheer for him here. Besides, I’d think he’d have a tough time cracking this lineup.

Overall though, with so many teams still with an opportunity to make it into the playoffs, there might not be very many big trades this year.

Sens fire Hartsburg

So the Ottawa Senators have fired Craig Hartsburg.

Craig Hartsburg has been fired as coach of the Ottawa Senators.

This is the second year in a row the coach was fired. Last year, John Paddock was the guy giving the axe.

Hartsburg is being replaced by Cory Clouston, the organization’s coach for their AHL team.

This firing makes me wonder two things:

1) Why not hire a coach with recent NHL experience, or someone who has a history of winning in the NHL. Paddock? Hartsburg? Why not go after a Pat Quinn or a Bob Hartley?

2) I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. The team needs to get rid of general manager Bryan Murray. Since he’s taken over, the team has suffered, lost secondary scoring, lost their puck-moving defencemen and haven’t gotten a number one goalie.

Bright side

It’s been a while since I posted anything about the Ottawa Senators. So I thought I’d post a few quick hits about them and give the bright side to their situation.

* The Sens are five games below .500 and are 11 points out of a playoff race. On the bright side, they have some great company with other teams not in the playoffs (Pittsburgh, Edmonton, Dallas and Colorado).

* The Sens have lost 10 of their last 13 games, and have won only one road game in their last 100 or so. On the bright side, they’re almost done their eight-game road trip

* The Sens have scored a league-worse 86 goals. On the bright side, they have removed any doubt that they are a one-line team.

* John Tavares gave Senators fans hope with his play in Ottawa during the World Junior Hockey Championships. On the bright side, they’ll probably end up with Victor Hedman, the guy they consistently booed during the final game.

* Sens fans also continued to cheer defenceman P.K. Subban, one of the tournament favourites. On the bright side, Sens fans will have the chance to see a lot P.K. Subban as he will be playing for the Habs for many years to come.

* Mike Fisher is dating Carrie Underwood. On the bright side, it gives fans something to see, and they know that Mike Fisher is at least scoring somewhere.