Torn

So I am, as the title above says, a bit torn.

Torn because the Chicago Blackhawks came in here and while I figured they would be beatable, the demonstration they left on the ice suggests that tonight they were by far the better team. They were faster, more aggressive, tighter, looser, everything-er.

Frankly the only reason the score wasn't run up was Lehner.

That's not to say this was a bad outing for the Senators. No, the fact that they could live with -- more or less -- a demonstrably better team reflects well on them. For a first year rebuild team, this was an exceptionally good game. They lost, yes, but it wasn't a blow-out and while I felt they were running around in their own end a bit much -- as well as the neutral zone and frankly the offensive zone -- they never really stopped trying. They looked like a young team, but they never gave up.

I think with the ongoing implosion that is going on behind them in the standings (see also Toronto) the first round of playoffs is a lock for the Senators at this point. Beyond that, anything can happen. And again, for a first-year rebuild team, that's an outstanding achievement. Even if it is more of a condemnation of how mediocre the east really is.

The ever-present danger here is that the Senators won't be able to continue to build on this momentum, that management might decide to go back to trying to "tweak" the team into contention.

So I'm continuing to enjoy the games I manage to catch. I'm just not sure I'm optimistic about the long-term.

In other news:

• Good on Ray Emery to get his career back on track. The boy can play, and as long as he focuses on that, he'll continue to do just fine. I don't know why he was run out of Ottawa, but he's clearly got his act together in Chicago.
• Also nice to see ex-Sen Antoine Vermette get some attention through the game.
• Hossa still looked dangerous at times, but he kind of came across as a faded star -- someone capable of occasional flashes of his former brilliance, but not a regular super star. Sort of like -- and it pains me to say this -- how Daniel Alfredsson might look next year.

Deadline Day Dealing 2009

So the Senators made one move, sending Antoine Vermette to Columbus in exchange for goalie Pascal Leclaire and a second round pick.

Leclaire is highly regarded for his skill; he led the league last year in shutouts with 9, while the world's greatest goalie¹ Martin Brodeur only had 3. The problem is that he is fragile too, as he hurt his ankle this year in training camp and as such has been out for long periods of time.

The second-round pick, eh, by the time you get to the second round you end up in a lottery as to whether or not your pick will even end up helping the farm team, let alone make it to the NHL. So that's like saying a lottery ticket is "worth" something. Maybe the team will get lucky, maybe they won't.

In exchange, we give up a center with good work ethic, an amazing face-off capability, who has the ability to score occasionally while making chances for the rest of the team -- which pretty much sums up what you want with your second or third line center. Will he develop into an elite center? Probably not at this point, but he should continue to be a good second- or third- line center. However this team is positively dripping in prospects for center, so while his departure creates a short-term hole, it isn't likely to be a long-term issue.

So on an asset-for-asset exchange, I think the Senators have done well by this trade.

But here's my problem with this trade: it implies that the main weakness on this team has been the goal tending, and in my opinion it has not. We don't have Martin Brodeur by any means, but the guys we have had (and then tried to run out of town) are not the amateur-hour players the media would have you believe.

This trade implies that Murray still believes he can tweak this team back into contention, that the team will be in a place to make a valid run next year or the year after.

The problem on this team continues to be the defense, and the lack of defensive discipline on the part of the forwards. Martin Gerber let in some soft goals, to be sure. But the rest of the squad basically hung him out to dry many, many times. The team was better in front of Auld, and better still (at times) in front of Elliot; but consistent defensive play is still something we look for rather than take for granted.

My point: not even Martin Brodeur would look good with this team in front of him.

The Senators still lack two top-two defense players, and that will have to be on Murray's to-do list as he watches the playoffs as an observer, not a participant.

At this point I'm willing to back off of the "fire Murray" rampage I have been on. Today's deals send mixed messages as to what the plan really is, but today showed good progress towards future improvement. I think it is time to cut Murray a break and let him work the program, and next fall we will see where we really are.
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[1] BOB-FM's morning man liked to describe Martin Brodeur as the world's greatest goalie, complete with reverb effects. I like that description.