Sum-sum-sum-summertime.

I know. It looks like Big Will abandoned his big heart in March and walked away from the team. That's not true. Regardless I am back and ready give my input on all things Senators. Where to start?

Let us roll back to the embarrassing playoff performance of our beloved red team. I was dead wrong with how Murray coming back to the bench would change many things, but I was dead right that entering the playoffs would not change a thing. The truth is that the team sucked as a team and that blaming any one individual seems like scapegoating -- I'll get back to this.

Let us fast forward now to the draft. What a wonderful weekend in Ottawa. Although the Sens were not high ranked in the picks we managed to add a little depth on the lines with some Swedish and Canadian kids. Kind of surprised me a little that we picked a couple of prospects from Sweden, but it is nice to see the recognition that the Canadian game has branched out and it might be a bit of a nod to Alfie and his host country. That and the NHL season openers being played in Sweden between the Senators and the Penguins may have something to do with it to. What about goal tending?

Remember that bit about scapegoating? Ray Emery was the toast of the town a year ago for taking the team to the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time in modern history ... on a broken wrist no less. He was always known for his egomaniac lifestyle and cocky attitude, but when he was playing it was no big deal. Soon as Gerber was hot Emery was out while his rehab took longer than usual and soon he became an apparent distraction with his antics. Last I checked we are fans of grown men playing a game in which they make millions to do so per year ... If they are rattled by one guy then they all should retire. Thankfully I don't buy this for one second despite Emery being bought out and turned into the black eye of the league. That is what you call a scapegoat. We did the same thing to Lalime after he fell in front of the Leafs regardless of standing up for the team and himself in previous season -- let alone the shutouts he had in the playoffs as well. Will Emery fail to bounce back like Lalime did? Patty never got it all back, but I think Ray is too cocky to be kicked down and kept there for long.

Moving on we saw Wade Redden leaving the orginization. We all saw that happening. We have also added to our roster the links of Jarrko Ruutu -- who adds the pest factor --, Alex Auld -- who replaces Emery to contest for the starting goalie netminder job --, Jeson Smith -- yet more grit and defensive prowess -- and Brendan Bell -- starting to sense a theme of grit here? I am --. We also re-signed Donovan, Glass and Vermette. I cannot wait for the the training camp to begin so we can get a closer look the team.

Now to a more serious note. One of my favourite sports media personalities in Ottawa, if not the world, passed away only a week ago. Tim "Buzz" Kilpatrick was one third of the popular Team 1200 morning show Three Guys on the Radio. Throughout my school days I would wake up around 6:00am and flip on TGOR for a good morning fix. Maybe I am bias because my first Senators game in five years came from writing them an email, but I became an instant fan and listened almost daily (live or through podcast). Listening to the tribute show that Steve Warne and Stuntman Stu put on with Kenny Walls (producer) was tear jerking and heartfelt. Buzz you will be sadly missed.

Lastly, but not leastly, the blogs and the future. So, I noticed that there is a new blog out there called SensChirp (http://senschirp.blogspot.com/) dedicated to the rumour mills. So far this summer he has only been dead wrong once which makes me wonder who he is sleeping within the organisation. Ok, maybe not that extreme, but still ... he has some serious connections. He makes both Eklund and Garrioch look infinitely more terrible than they already are at keeping track of rumours with the Ottawa Senators. Another blog is by a friend of mine and is amusingly named Don't Pick Daigle (http://dontpickdaigle.blogspot.com/) that is much like this one really. Brad puts his heart and soul into talking hockey, but we're often quite different in opinions so if you don't like what I have to say you can always go read his. Ha! Finally, Sens Undgerground podcast ... I gave them a listen once. I really didn't like what they had to say, but I decided to turn over a new leaf with them and give them another listen. I am currently wating on their latest podcast to download and I will give it a listen.

So there you have it Sens Fans and Fanatics. Big Will's summer wrap up (at least up to the end of July). As news and rumours break I will take a few minutes to respond whenever I have the time. Other than that let's get ready for the 2008-09 season and see how this new face of the Ottawa Senators looks with a few less teeth and a whole lot more grittiness.