OK, Now what for the Sens.

Since my last writing, the Ottawa Senators have fired the morbidly awful coach Craig Hartsburg and replaced him with AHL affiliate Binghamton's head coach, Cory Clouston. One reason I like this move so far... OK, two reasons... one, they fired Hartsburg and two, Coach Cory, like myself has trained trotting and pacing race horses.

On to my thoughts on the latest shakeups in Sensland.

I was a fan of the firing of Hartsburg, but wasn't sure what to make of the hiring of Clouston, a no name minor league coach when bigger named, proven coaches were out there. I couldn't help but think that perhaps Sens owner, Eugene Melnyk handcuffed Murray and forced him to bring in an interim guy as a premonition to his imminent firing leaving his successor free to bring in his own coach. In retrospect, however, I am under the impression that Murray has been looking for his next Babcock and figured the third try was the charm after failing miserably with John Paddock and the aforementioned Hartsburg.

The team responded with an unbelievable 9 out of 10 points on the road of all places and provoking talk of a run to the playoffs.

Since returning home, the Sens have lost two straight making them 5-3-1 under Clouston.

To further the shake-up, Murray has managed to become both a buyer and seller nearing the trade deadline by unloading little used veteran Dean McAmmond along with the San Jose 1st round draft pick in the upcoming draft to the Islanders for center Mike Comrie and defenseman Chris Campoli.

Good trade in my books as McAmmond and Comrie are unrestricted free agents at season's end with Comrie bringing more to the table now in his second stint as a Sen while Campoli is a puck young moving defenseman who is under a cheap contract for two more years. All things being equal, if Comrie and McAmmond both don't re-sign with their new club, the Campoli for the SJ first is a good deal as Campoli has NHL experience and is closer to helping the club than anything Murray would pick up with a 26-30th pick in the draft. The Senators simply don't have 3 or 4 years to do a full rebuild via the draft. The fans and ownership simply won't stand for it and with a decent core locked up long term, a minor retooling is more in order.

Campoli immediately proved this by potting 2 assists in his debut against Montreal.

Does this signal more moves by Murray prior to the deadline or on draft day? You bet. What will he do with impending unrestricted free agents, Chris Neil and Filip Kuba? Mt thoughts on that later.

Something to ponder in the meantime, however. I challenge all you anti-Neilers to the following:

Find me a player with the following criteria:

NOT on an entry level contract.
Has a minimum of 20 points for 3 seasons in a row.
Scored more than 15 goals at least once.
Has a minimum of 150 PIMS in EVERY one of his NHL seasons.
Has a mimimum of 8 fighting majors EVERY one of his NHL seasons.
Contributed to a SCF run.

AND makes under $1.5million/year.

Off you go now......... good luck!

While I gather my thoughts, Enjoy.

Hartsburg Fired..... FINALLY!!

Thank the lord above, Murray finally woke up and fired coach Craig Hartsburg. As this blog has mentioned for months now, this coach was simply not suited to this team. He
was trying to force feed a system that was not only boring as hell to watch but it was not suited to the team he had before him.

"You can't coach the players you wish you had. You have to coach the ones you have." - Brent Sutter

Having one guy go in on the forecheck only to have his linemates wait inside the blue line for him to gain possession BEFORE going on the offensive was ridiculous. Having all the forwards backcheck at the same time gives the defense no one to spring the breakaway pass to once they gain possession. No puck moving defenseman? What good is one when he has no one up ice to move the puck to? Antoine Vermette scored many, many goals on the breakaway over the past two seasons. Hard to start a breakaway from your own faceoff circle.

Bottom line: the players hated the system, knew it wouldn't work and quit on their coach when he refused to adjust.

Cory Clouston is a band-aid for this season as for as coaching goes, but I suppose there was no sense paying for a big name NHL coach like Quinn or Hartley when the season is already toast and Sens owner Eugene Melnyk is already paying two coaches NOT to coach on top of two goaltenders NOT to tend goal.

Let the rebuild begin in earnest. This should be a very interesting trade deadline, Sens fans. Stay tuned.

A Ray of Hope?

Well, well, well.... the Sens head in to the All-Star break with 7 out of their last 8 possible points while beating top conference rivals Montreal and Washington in the process. The team currently sits 12 points out of the final playoff spot with about half the season left to play. Boding even better is the fact that the Sens have 2 to 4 games in hand over teams above them in the standings. Win those games, and the team all of a sudden is within 6 or 8 points of the 8th and final playoff seed.

The arrival of Brian Elliot has really sparked this team who looked hesitant with both Gerber and Auld in nets, although they did look a little more comfortable in front or Auld for a short stretch.

Just knowing that their goalie will bail them out of mistakes allows the team to play more aggressively and offensively minded.

Mistakes are magnified when they end up in your net 90% of the time.

For those Sens' "fans" who were hoping to tank and get a lottery pick, I say, "move to Long Island or Tampa Bay and enjoy your Hedman or Tavares." There is no way the Sens, even if they dress the entire AHL lineup will finish worse that Tampa or the Islanders. The Leafs suck large and are finally achieving to their capabilities (sorry Tim) and the Penguins are struggling mightily and could fall further. That leaves the Sens with a 3-6 pick at best anyways. Why not go for it and try to make the playoffs? It's not like any of these first round draft picks will help the team next year. (right, Steve Stamkos?)

In any draft, picks 3-12 in the first round are a wash and if you have decent scouting, you can get the better player with a later pick (Marian Hossa and Martin Havlat).

I believe Bryan Murray is waiting another week or so to see how close the team is from 8th place in their conference to decide if he is a buyer or seller at the trade deadline. I would not be surprised if he becomes a buyer prior to the deadline and grabs a puck moving defenseman to make the final push if the team is within striking distance.

By the way.... thanks to Coach Craig Hartsburg for finally listening to fans and bloggers alike and playing Brendan Bell instead of that lunkhead Chris Schubert on defense as well as taking Mike Fisher off the point on the power play among other things. Thanks, coach.... keep reading the blogs and forums out there for advice and maybe you'll still have a job here next season.

Matt Carkner Called Up From Binghamton

Could this mean a trade of Christoff Schubert in imminent? They both play a similar role with Carkner being the more physical of the two. It is hard to see another reason to call him up besides replacement of a recently traded player. There must be a forward coming back in the prospective deal hence the need to bring up a defenceman from the farm to fill in for Schubert. Stay tuned.
In other news, rumours continue to swirl that coach Craig Hartsburg is about to be replaced by Pat Quinn. Quinn and Sens' owner Eugene Melnyk were seen chumming it up during the World Junior Tournament with Bob Nicholson of Hockey Canada never far behind. Perhaps Nicholson steps in with the Sens to guide them through a youth movement with a very deep draft coming up. Does anyone know young talent more than Bob? I doubt it.

Fisher not scoring.... or is he?

Reports today speculate that Carrie Underwood was sighted as the recent Sens/Leafs game to watch her.... get this.... boyfriend, Mike Fisher.

Could the Underwood curse be affecting Fish as it did Dallas' QB Romo?

BULLSHIT!!! Leafs beat Sens

The true sign that you are insane is when you do the same thing over and over and expect a different result. I think Sens' coach Craig Hartsburg is now officially insane. Why is Mike Fisher still playing the point on the power play? Why did this great, wise coach pair Jason Smith with Anton Volchenkov? They both play the same game and are slow as molasses in January. Why is Gerber still in the NHL? This guy never seems to know where the puck is. The Leafs' second goal was soft, their third goal was a wrap around you could see coming from the upper deck and he never even reacted to the first goal.

Mike Fisher and Nick Foligno were the best Senators on the ice and I think I actually saw Antoine Vermette hit an opponent. The effort was there from the players but Hartsburg was simply out-coached by Ron Wilson. Everything from his choice of starting goaltender to his line combinations and matching. Using a rested and previously struggling Vesa Toskala versus using the Swiss Cheese known as Martin Gerber was Wilson's coup de grace. Toskala was superb in the win and was probably the main reason his team has 2 points.

Let the drive for Tavares begin in earnest.