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.
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
"Lady Luck is in the building and she is wearing red!"
Gord Wilson was right; Lady Luck was on the side of the Ottawa Senators last night, but that wasn't the only factor in defeating the Bruins to the tune of 4-1.
The Ottawa Senators came off of a disappointing western road swing with 3 of a possible 8 points, but had a spark in their last game against the Coyotes with Mike Fisher's two goals that lead them to a victory. The number one issues on the road was that Bryan Murray had just taken the position of coach back after firing John Paddock from the position and there was little time to have a full practice with the Senators.
Tuesday's game against the Boston Bruins looked like the Murray coaching system was put back into place as very few mistakes occurred, yet when they did there was a second effort to correct or make up for the mistake. The Ottawa Senators were hard on the man as much as they were hard on the puck winning the small battles against the boards while busting the trap of the Bruins more often than not.
Goaltender Martin Gerber was absolutely stellar last night giving his team a chance to pelt the Bruins netminder (Auld) to the tune of 32 shots leading to 3 goals on him and 1 empty netter to complete the hattrick for Dany Heatley.
All in all, this was a quality game by the Ottawa Senators to show the fans and the league that being middle of the pack is a dangerous spot for this club. They may be six points from the eight spot and sliding into the obscurity that only the Toronto Maple Leafs are used to, but they are also only 2 points behind the conference leading Montreal Canadiens. Maybe Lady Luck can transfer some of the puck luck from the home arena to the Bell Centre on Thursday and push the Sens over the Habs for a tying drive at first. I would be absolutely beside myself watching my childhood team and current time pressing hard to one up one another for the top spot.
The Ottawa Senators came off of a disappointing western road swing with 3 of a possible 8 points, but had a spark in their last game against the Coyotes with Mike Fisher's two goals that lead them to a victory. The number one issues on the road was that Bryan Murray had just taken the position of coach back after firing John Paddock from the position and there was little time to have a full practice with the Senators.
Tuesday's game against the Boston Bruins looked like the Murray coaching system was put back into place as very few mistakes occurred, yet when they did there was a second effort to correct or make up for the mistake. The Ottawa Senators were hard on the man as much as they were hard on the puck winning the small battles against the boards while busting the trap of the Bruins more often than not.
Goaltender Martin Gerber was absolutely stellar last night giving his team a chance to pelt the Bruins netminder (Auld) to the tune of 32 shots leading to 3 goals on him and 1 empty netter to complete the hattrick for Dany Heatley.
All in all, this was a quality game by the Ottawa Senators to show the fans and the league that being middle of the pack is a dangerous spot for this club. They may be six points from the eight spot and sliding into the obscurity that only the Toronto Maple Leafs are used to, but they are also only 2 points behind the conference leading Montreal Canadiens. Maybe Lady Luck can transfer some of the puck luck from the home arena to the Bell Centre on Thursday and push the Sens over the Habs for a tying drive at first. I would be absolutely beside myself watching my childhood team and current time pressing hard to one up one another for the top spot.
Friday, March 7, 2008
Once the playoffs begin...
This phrase seems to spark a lot of hope for the Senators fans 'round here. "Once the playoffs begins..." we should see the team rejuvenated; "As soon as the playoffs being..." they'll find their feet again; any variation on the hopes of playoff production will really fit into this lump, but unfortunately, this is a fan base that puts a lot of hope and prayer into their team.
Reading the posts on the Internet about the Senators and the woes that the team is dragging themselves through is tiring. The posts kind of remind me of those Q-Ray bracelets that you see mid-day on the crappy TV stations that attempt to hook in some slob without much of a hope in the world. Both are gimmicks to help encourage the user to believe in something that may or may not work.
Back to my remark about the Senators dragging themselves through these woes for a moment. On paper this team should be one of the best teams in the league. They have the top scoring line with some of the top defence both on and off the blue line and two starting goaltenders. Off paper and into reality they have very little focus and absolutely no determination. Sure, the interviews all sound amazing with promises of being better, but perhaps it's just simply time to stop doing interviews to give hollow hope to the Q-Ray fans and start actually doing something about it.
The playoffs are not a magic pill. The fans are saying it enough to lead me to believe that they are hoping for the cure to the disease known as the Senators Skid, but that cure isn't an externalized thing. To fix what has happened with the Senators from midway through November to the present day will come from within. They must look to themselves and sort out exactly what it is they believe in. It doesn't matter what that is, but each member of the team must buy into that belief and strive to grasp it. That sounds rather simple and in all truthfulness it is that simple ...
Perhaps the Ottawa Senators, like their fans, believe that getting into the playoffs will cure everything. With only a dozen or so games remaining in the regular season, however, the Senators and the fans need to come to grips with reality; this team may not make the playoffs if delusions continue.
Reading the posts on the Internet about the Senators and the woes that the team is dragging themselves through is tiring. The posts kind of remind me of those Q-Ray bracelets that you see mid-day on the crappy TV stations that attempt to hook in some slob without much of a hope in the world. Both are gimmicks to help encourage the user to believe in something that may or may not work.
Back to my remark about the Senators dragging themselves through these woes for a moment. On paper this team should be one of the best teams in the league. They have the top scoring line with some of the top defence both on and off the blue line and two starting goaltenders. Off paper and into reality they have very little focus and absolutely no determination. Sure, the interviews all sound amazing with promises of being better, but perhaps it's just simply time to stop doing interviews to give hollow hope to the Q-Ray fans and start actually doing something about it.
The playoffs are not a magic pill. The fans are saying it enough to lead me to believe that they are hoping for the cure to the disease known as the Senators Skid, but that cure isn't an externalized thing. To fix what has happened with the Senators from midway through November to the present day will come from within. They must look to themselves and sort out exactly what it is they believe in. It doesn't matter what that is, but each member of the team must buy into that belief and strive to grasp it. That sounds rather simple and in all truthfulness it is that simple ...
Perhaps the Ottawa Senators, like their fans, believe that getting into the playoffs will cure everything. With only a dozen or so games remaining in the regular season, however, the Senators and the fans need to come to grips with reality; this team may not make the playoffs if delusions continue.
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