Fight Night

So on Saturday morning, I saw the 17-minute "highlight" reel of the Islanders-Penguins game the night before. This reel included such classics as the full-ice-brawl, the blind-side sucker punch, a skater fighting a goalie, and someone leaving the bench to get involved in a fight. By the end of it, Pittsburgh had five skaters on the ice and three on the bench. Everyone else had been tossed out.

On Saturday there was the predictable round of lamentations that this was a disgrace to hockey. On Monday, Pittsburgh owner Mario Lemieux gets on his high horse over the lack of action taken over the event, saying something to the point that he needed to "reconsider his involvement" with the league.

The whole thing was sickening to watch.

The kicker for me? The commentator on the highlight reel mentioned that the evil deed perpetrated by Pittsburgh had been deemed a clean hockey hit. Now I have not seen the offense myself, but this goes to show you how out-of-control the "self-enforcement" of fighting has become, when a clean hockey hit leads to this kind of carrying on.

The sick feeling carried over into Saturday's afternoon game between Ottawa and Edmonton, where there was some pushing and shoving after some non-event or other on the ice. There were a couple points in the game where I nearly gave up on it.

I'm for contact in hockey.

I'm just not for fighting.

If the players fight because the refs don't call the rules, then either fix the rulebook or fix the reffing.

Domino Two

Brian Murray kept the hammer down on the rebuild machine, sending Chris Kelly to Boston in exchange for a second round draft pick. By dealing another highly popular player, Murray confirms to everyone else that nobody should consider themselves safe.

Considering that again Murray didn't have to take salary back to get the trade done, and got a pick out of it, this trade is at least a short-term win for Ottawa. Longer term it does depend on the actual draft -- or whatever deal Murray puts together with this draft pick.

Personally I'm sorry to see Kelly go. I personally had him listed as "tradable but would prefer to keep". This is because Kelly is the kind of player that brings a solid, two-way game every night. When he centered the third line between Ruutu and Neil, this "energy" line would frequently be the line that could get the important goal or make the important play to bring a game back on track. However with Ruutu all but shipped out as an impending UFA, the energy line was probably doomed anyways.

Unlike Fisher, who won't be back at Scotiabank Place this year, Kelly is back here on Friday with the Bruins and since he's still in the east will be a regular visitor back here.

I would like to thank Kelly for his hard work for the team, and hope that the crowd gives him a warm reception when he comes back on Friday.

Good luck for the future, Chris, and thanks.

The Rebuild Starts Here

Brian Murray's first move in the rebuild effort happened today, when Mike Fisher was traded to Nashville in exchange for a 1st round pick and a conditional pick.

Ottawa gets in return:

• a first round pick, value to be determined later;
• possibly a second pick, depending on how far through the playoffs Nashville goes (meaning Nashville is Ottawa's favorite playoff team this year), value to be determined later;
• cap space savings to the tune of $4.2 million per year; and
• real money savings to the tune of $4 million this year and $3.2 million next.

All together it means that there is real money savings in the future, plus it gives Murray room to take on more short-term salary in trades from other teams in order to make other deals work.

All in all, a solid rebuilding move.

Since Fisher is popular with the local fan base, I wonder how popular this move will be.

Despite not playing up to his salary level, he was still an asset who could make things happen. Fisher had some good years here, and he will be missed both on the ice and in the stands.

Best of luck down the road, Mike. I hope the fans give you the love you deserve when you visit us back here.

(That darned modern logo is everywhere, it seems -- do you have any idea how hard it was to find a picture of Mike Fisher stylin' the classic jersey?)

These Guys ALSO Go To 11

I'm guessing the Spinal Tap jokes will be thinner on the ground this year than they were this time last year.

What I'd Do

So it has been a couple of weeks since the money behind the team announced that he'd seen the light, the cup isn't coming to Ottawa this year after all. Mr. Melnyk also announced that both Clouston and Murray would remain in their jobs for the rest of the year.

Color me underwhelmed.

I am of two minds about this.

Firstly, I approve of keeping Clouston as the coach for the rest of the year. Mr. Melnyk is already paying two other guys to not coach the team, he doesn't need a third. I've long said that the coach isn't the problem with this team.

Secondly, I have mixed feelings about keeping Murray. I think that the on-ice product that the team has now has to be laid at his feet, no matter how badly the ice was tilted against him by his predecessor. Murray's handling of the big team's roster can only be described as poor, as if he is spending his time looking for the single missing piece that would return the team to their 2007 form. The problem is that those single pieces that he's come up with have underperformed, while at the same time key pieces have been slipping through his fingers.

On the plus side, he's drafted like a bear. The prospect larder is well stocked, perhaps to the point where the team will have to trade some defense prospects to avoid wasting their value. Forwards-wise we have some prospects who should fit in the second- and third-line positions quite nicely, even if we don't have any elite prospects in the pipeline.

The problem is, the draft is a long time away. The run up to deadline day has been about trading, and Murray's trading record isn't very strong.

He's also still making noises about a "one year rebuild", which isn't that much of a softening of his "one tweak and we're in" pattern of action over the last few years. So while he says everyone but Alfie and (we presume) Karlsson are for sale, I don't buy it.

So personally I'm worried about keeping him in place through this important trading period. The only thing keeping him in place as far as I'm concerned is a lack of a credible candidate to drop in right now to replace him.

My personal attitude is that we are looking at a full rebuild here, and the sooner Melnyk signs on to that the sooner we'll start actually building something and stop sinking further behind. This means a three, maybe five year program.

With that kind of schedule you have to wonder where your players are going to be in their careers when the stretch run comes. Of the current team today, who is still going to be playing like they belong on a contending team in three years?

If it were me:

Forwards:

Alfie: the fans love him, and he's given his life and soul for this team. That said, if a contending team offered anything, I'd approach Alfie about the trade. Alfredsson deserves a cup ring, and Ottawa won't be able to deliver him one. If a chance comes up, he deserves the opportunity to take it if he wants. Personally I doubt he'd take the chance. But should the opportunity arise, the decision needs to be his.

Spezza: Like him or loath him, Spezza is an elite centre. He can playmake out of nothing and when he's on, magic can happen. That said, where will he be in three to five years? Right now if a decent offer came, I'd trade him if possible because I know the team surrounding him can't make decent use of his skills, and I wonder if he'll still have it when the stretch run comes. And this better be a trade where in hind-sight we look back and say "that was worth it". No Heatley-style trades. Odds are he's untradable due to cap and no-movement. I'll enjoy his play if he stays, he's definitely an asset. He'll be the leadership of the immediate future if he stays.

Michalek: If I can keep him cheap, I'd keep him. He isn't the elite we perhaps hoped he would mature into, but he's a grinder and can make things happen. His speed seems to be coming back, too. He'd provide a good sense of leadership for the younger players.

Fisher: I would trade him if I could. Fisher is a popular player with the ability to score and make things happen, bu the bottom line is that he hasn't been playing to his salary. I would trade him for a salary dump from another team as long as the incoming contract ended before Fisher's does, just to get his money off the books.

Foligno: I would keep him. I suspect he will be cheap to re-sign next time around because he certainly isn't lighting up the numbers right now. I personally think he's capable of more, and if I can have it cheap, I'll take it.

Kelly: Probably too expensive to keep, trade if I can. I would prefer to keep, since the Kelly-Ruutu-Neil line provides energy, is entertaining to watch, and is liked by the fans. Plus they can get goals here and there too.

Kovalev: I love the guy's play to death, but he hasn't been worth $5 million by any stretch of the imagination. Trade him if I can -- even at firesale rates. Don't re-sign if I can't.

Neil: Keep for now. Personally I doubt contenders will be trading for his kind of "character".

Regin: Like Foligno, is underperforming and will probably be cheap to re-sign. I say keep.

Ruutu: His contract is up again this year. While he's a bit expensive for my tastes, I'd keep him, but I wouldn't consider it the end of the world if someone else wanted to trade for him.

Shannon: Another underperforming youngster. I say keep.

Smith. See Shannon, Regin, Foglino. Keep.

Winchester: I think his window is closing. Trade if we can.

Defence:

Campoli: If we can keep him cheap, he might have a spot. The problem is that right now we are drowning in 3rd-pairing defencemen. If we can get value for him in trade, I say take it.

Carkner: He is what passes for muscle on this team, and I think for next year anyways we'd need to keep that around until we see if any of the new kids are capable of stepping up.

Gonchar: He's unmovable, but I'd keep him even if he wasn't. No wait, stop laughing. While he may be past his best-before date, and is almost definitely overpaid for what he produces, this guy has been there, done that, at the highest levels. Keeping him around should be a good on-ice influence on these allegedly elite defense prospects like Karlsson and Cowen et al.

Karlsson: I would keep him unless someone offered me the crown jewels. And I'd make them throw in a 1st and a 2nd on top of it. If the right offer came, I'd take it. But the price will be very, very high.

Kuba: I wonder if he is perhaps at the end of his line, he's making too many mistakes and doesn't seem to have much upside. I wouldn't protect him from a trade.

Lee: Seriously, why is Lee even still here? I'd trade him for future considerations, just to get rid of him. Plus it might get his career going as well. Neither the Senators nor Lee are benefiting from the current arrangement.

Phillips: I like Phillips' play. That said, he might have the kind of character that a contender might like. If the right offer came along, trade.

In goal:

Elliott: I'm not one to fit Elliott under the bus by any means. I think he's suffered from poor efforts on the ice in front of him, and to expect excellence from a player in that situation is virtually impossible. Even though I don't think he's a bad goalie, I don't think Elliott will be back next year.

LeClaire: Also suffered from poor efforts in front of him, even when he did play like the elite he's shown flashes of in the past he was let down by a total lack of offense from the guys up front. However since he can't stay healthy for 60 consecutive minutes it is entirely academic. He's untradable. He's injured, so he's unplayable. I think he's done here in Ottawa.

Lehner: Goalie of the future? I dunno, I don't see it. His two starts he was lit up like a pinball machine, even if both times the team provided some offense for once (even if ultimately in a losing cause). I think he'll be the next in a long line of guys who play reasonably well, but not well enough to compensate for a lack of offense up front and poor defensive coverage behind them. He'll be flavor of the month, then get run out of town like Elliott, Auld, Gerber, Emery...

What I'd want in trade: Primarily, picks and prospects. I'll take rookies with potential as well. I'll prefer forwards, since my larder is a bit bare there and I'm reasonably well stocked with defense. I'd make available select prospects in my farm system, but not too many of them, and they won't be cheap.

For long term contracts going out, I'll take short-term salary back as long as it ends this year.

My Plan:

I'm hoping for a three-year rebuild here, but planning for a five-year. Next year is going to be a brutal year for the team, since it will be composed of rookies and veterans who are perhaps past their best. If next year's rookies look like a core we can build around, then I'd go for the three year program; if not, I'd wait another year to see who else we can draft.

As far as my veterans go, I would keep who I could fit from the existing team. The fans like guys like Spezza and Fisher, plus the energy line of Neil-Kelly-Ruutu is entertaining.

In goal I want to grow my own goalie rather than trade for someone who might or might not be done. If Lehner's the guy then great, but I would still be on the prowl for another hot prospect. I'd also be looking for a senior goalie, someone who can be steady in net and can provide mentoring to Lehner (or whomever the next flavor of the month is) before he too gets run out of town, but frankly I'd expect I can pick up someone cheap in free agency for that role.

That's my plan. Not quite fire everyone, but trade who I can, discard who I can, and pack the team with kids with potential. Build the defense around Karlsson. Keep some veterans around to mentor the kids and entertain the fans here and there.

But what do I know?

"Do Something?"

Comment I left on SenSay article Pick Or No Pick, That Was Unacceptable, which boils down to

They’re playing like a team walking the plank…for F*** sakes, do something already!

…yeah, like what?

Fire Clouston — so that the team can quit on the replacement?

Fire Murray and replace him with… who? Really?

Trade? You can’t sell out if nobody’s buying. The last firesale the Sens had went really well — they traded Heatly for Michalek and the privilege of buying out San Jose’s bad contract. The rest of the league knows that Ottawa is verging on desperation here, why would any other team offer a fair deal if you can potentially force Ottawa into another firesale, and get a much better return for yourself?

Do “something”?

I don’t see what there is to be done.

Sack up man, this is life in the salary cap world.

Good Game

Now that was a good game. Good in that there were no outrageously bad errors; good that the Senators kept up a solid effort through 50 minutes of play; good in that Elliot was good when he had to be; good in that Elliot didn't have to be that good too often; good in that most of the action was in the Anaheim end.

Throughout the whole game I felt that the youth movement was really clicking, dominating the play and having fun with the game in a way that the team really hasn't in a long time.

Through the last 10 minutes you could see the young guys tightening up on their sticks a bit, not wanting to make "the error" that would lose the game. Even so, none of the Anaheim rushes really looked dangerous in the way the Ottawa rushes and possessions did.

Elliot bailed Smith out by preventing a break-away goal, but that was really the save of the game that he had to make.

Anaheim looked tired -- in their penalty kill, the four players were not very aggressive -- the four of them just standing around at one point waiting for Ottawa to move the puck. The Senators recognized this opportunity and to my mind get full marks for trying their best to take advantage.

This was a game where I felt that Spezza and possibly Kovalev would have been the difference that turned the close game into a blowout. While neither might have tallied directly, Anaheim would have had to put more defensive coverage on them, opening up more time and space for the rest of the guys.

Even though Hiller was far busier in goal than Elliot was, I didn't think that Hiller was really tested in the way Elliot was that one time. The Senators got the bounces, but just couldn't get the handle on the puck to make it go.

The one big note on the night for me: Michalek appears to have some of his speed back. While some of the youngsters are showing a bit more jump these days, Michalek's effort tonight reminds me of some of his games from last year, where he just seemed to be on fast-forward all night. Great to see. Sure hope it doesn't mean a knee injury is imminent.

But overall, I came away from this game feeling entertained. While a win would have been frosting on the night, lets not forget that the effort and skill put into this game from the Senators show that there is a base of potential in this group yet. Probably not enough to salvage this season (or at least, lets hope not). But there is potential in the future.

That's probably why I keep coming back.