Daniel Alfredsson: Senator For Life

Next stop, mayor of Ottawa.

After concluding a brief and amicable round of negotiations, Daniel Alfredsson has signed a four year, $21.6 million contract extension that will see him accomplish a rare feat in pro sports these days -- to retire having only played for one team his entire career.

The deal replaces the existing three option years that were remaining on his previous deal that would have paid him $3.8 million but also could have been declined had the super-human Swede played 70 games and scored 70 points this season. Given the fact that earlier in the season he came back from knee surgery after missing only one game I wouldn't bet against him.

Daniel Alfredsson is the epitome of a team player, when the news of a contract extension first surfaced earlier in the season, many pundits predicted Alfie could command $7-10 million from the Senators on a long term deal as many point-per-game player do these days.

However those of us who actually knew the situation and knew Alfie (though unfortunately not personally...Alfie return my calls please), always knew it would take far less to ensure the best captain in Senators history remained in Ottawa.

The $5.4 million cap hit is only $1 million more than his current tag of $4.4 million, leaving the Sens with plenty of room to manoeuvre in what will prove to be difficult times ahead for the NHL.

Leaving money on the table to ensure that the team can prosper is not new for Alfie. In 2003 when the Senators were forced to declare bankruptcy Alfredsson deferred hundreds of thousands of dollars in salary, and led the way for teammates to do the same, to help the Sens pay their bills and stay afloat.

During the lockout, Alfredsson was a member of the NHLPA board of directors where he again put the good of the game ahead of himself by voting for a 24% salary rollback even though he had just signed a five year, $32.5 million contract extension. That decision cost Alfredsson over $7 million in lost salary.

So it comes as no surprise that Alfredsson, who has also reportedly been assured of a front office position with the Senators when he retires, once again put the team ahead of himself.

With all the talk about Mats Sundin that has been making my ears bleed over the past few months, Daniel Alfredsson will go down in history as the better, more accomplished and more dedicated Swede of this NHL era.

Alfie under the knife? Time to panic?

Sportsnet is reporting that Daniel Alfredsson will undergo arthroscopic knee surgery...TODAY!

Earlier reports, and comments from Alfie himself, had suggested he was 100% recovered from his injuries from last season, inflicted by the hand of convicted felon and now unemployed ex-Leaf Mark Bell.

So what gives?

Missing Alfredsson for any length of time would be a huge blow to the Senators, especially as they try to get off to a fast start to the season to shake of the negativity of last year.

Is there a doctor in the house? Is this one of those quick and painless routine procedures to clean up the knee or something much worse?

In other words, without knowing precisely what the danger is, would you say it's time for our viewers to crack each other's heads open and feast on the goo inside?

UPDATE!

According to a team press release, the arthroscopic surgery is designed to remove a bone chip in Alfredsson's right knee that was dislodged during the Senators second game of the season against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Sunday, Oct. 5.

Sundin Circus Continues...

According to the venerable Ottawa Sun, Sens owner Eugene Melnyk recently sat down with Mats Sundin and his agent J.P. Barry to convince the reluctant Swede to come to Ottawa.

While I appreciate Melnky's enthusiasm, and at one point I did favour trying to bring Sundin in to Ottawa, now I think Mats should stop wasting everyone's time and go away.

I have a hard time believing that a guy who is this uncertain about even playing can actually contribute anything positive to the Sens. It's like saying, "I have trouble getting out of bed in the morning but sure I'll take the job" -- not exactly confidence-inspiring.

But most of all I just want to stop talking about Sundin, something the T.O. media seems reluctant to do.

The Sundin circus is reaching such baffling proportions that last week Sundin made front page news on Sportsnet.ca for his ceremonial puck-dropping.

Yes that's right, Sportsnet's Ian Mendes felt that the big Swede was so impressive he saw the need to file a completely separate story on the event, even before filing his game story.

I'm going to give Ian the benefit of the doubt and assume he was forced to file such an inane story by his Toronto editors, but nonetheless it was a bizarre situation.

So here's the deal Mats -- go away. We already have an aging but still dynamic Swedish powerhouse around here and his name is Daniel Alfredsson.

If the day comes where Sundin decides he wants to play for the Sens, I'll accept him, but please can we all stop grovelling and leave the guy to wallow in peace.

Ottawa Senators: Premiere Weekend Recap

Like a finely-crafted piece of Allen key-assembled IKEA furniture, the Ottawa Senators have arrived home from Sweden in one piece—though there may be a Swiss screw loose.

After a weekend that saw Ottawa come home with three of four possible points, some things have become abundantly clear about the 2008-09 Senators.

First, Martin Gerber was horrible in game one, absolutely atrocious. Even an average goaltending performance could have sealed a victory on Saturday afternoon in Stockholm—but Gerber was unable to supply even that.

I'm not sure what the deal is with Gerber. Occasionally he looks like he could shut out the 1987 Canada Cup team, then five minutes later he'll let in a floater from inside the blue line.

I'm not certain it is time to cut him loose yet, but he's certainly on a very short leash. And no, Khabibulin is not the answer, so stop with the rumours.

Another revelation from Saturday's game—though this one is hardly surprising—Hockey Night in Canada hates Jason Spezza. I'm not sure if it's jealousy because a Toronto boy isn't playing for the Leafs, or if Ron Maclean secretly loathes anything with a Don Cherry connection (Spezza agent is Bobby Orr and he played for Cherry's OHL team in Mississauga), but there is clearly an anti-Spezza bias at HNIC.

Yes, Spezza turned over the puck at the Pittsburgh blue line leading to the winning goal, but there are a few factors that need to be considered before publicly ripping the guy on national TV.

It was overtime, one point was in the bank, and it was four-on-four—he was trying to create some offence. Spezza is specifically put out there in the dying minutes of OT to try to create offence, he had nothing to lose.
The chance he gave up to Tyler Kennedy was a two-on-three. Yes, that's right, he was still outnumbered, yet somehow a floater from the top of the circle made it past Gerber. The goat on that play is Gerber, not Spezza.
The Senators have traditionally been horrible in shootouts, so going for the win at the end of OT is just smart thinking.

Overall, the feeling I got from Saturday's 4-3 overtime loss was overwhelmingly positive. The Sens outshot, outhit and outchanced the Penguins despite some horrific officiating, which by now I guess I should be used to when playing the NHL's favourite team—Sidney and Friends.

Sunday was a continuation of the positives I saw on Saturday, with the added bonus of competent goaltending.

I saw a Senators team that was aggressive on the puck, winning one-on-one battles, being physical, sticking up for teammates, and generally playing a very solid defensive game.

This speaks to my season preview. The Sens still have plenty of offensive firepower, but the added dimension of good team defence means they can now win 2-1 and 3-1 games instead of having to win 5-4 every night.

As far as individual player performances go, there were a few standouts for me:

Dany Heatley: The guy is a goal-scoring machine, but this season he seems to have added an extra dimension to his game. He was blocking shots, hitting, and playing great defensive hockey. It's amazing what putting an 'A' on someone's jersey will do.

Jason Spezza: despite the HNIC haters, I was impressed with Spezza's game. He was creating offence and seems to be making a genuine effort to try the safe play first.

Jarkko Ruutu: I love this guy, and I take back all the harm I wished on him in previous years. He adds a dimension to the Sens that they have needed for years—pain-in-the-ass-ed-ness. His presence seems to have reinvigorated Chris Neil as well, perhaps because he was worried about his role on the team once Ruutu was signed.

Jason Smith: I always loved this guy in Edmonton, and now he's a Sen. I love the fact that he smiles in scrums—it's that little added element of insanity that brings so much to the game.

Alexandre Picard: Forget about Filip Kuba (who has been great)—this kid is worth Andrej Meszaros straight up. He looks poised on the power play, has a great shot, and adds a physical dimension.

Nick Foligno: This kid is going to break out this season. He has added some strength and some moves to his game—which, when you add in his already-present determination to get the puck at all costs, is a great combination. I see 20-25 goals from him.

Jesse Winchester: I have to admit, I didn't like him in preseason. I thought he was overhyped and being handed a roster spot without merit. But now that he has been taken off the Heatley-Spezza line and put with Kelly and Vermette he looks much more comfortable. He's a determined forechecker, tough to get off the puck, and he has some great hockey sense and always makes the safe play. Another Brian Murray diamond in the rough, perhaps?

Overall, what I took out of the weekend was a renewed sense of optimism that this team has learned from its mistakes—even I wasn't drinking my own Kool-Aid completely before. There was a renewed commitment to team defence, much improved physical play, and a far greater sense of “team” was evident.

This edition of the Ottawa Senators will probably not lead the league in goals anymore, but the more well-rounded team game they have displayed so far suits me just fine. I'd much rather watch a group of hard-working guys win 2-1 than a group of lazy prima donnas win 5-4.

Now if we could just get Gerber to get his head in the game, the Sens would be a force to be reckoned with. If not, I think Ottawa is still good enough to cover for Gerber—at least until the playoffs, and then all bets are off.

Ottawa Senators 2008-09 Season Preview: Some Doubts. Many Doubters

After the debacle that was the 2007-08 season it is easy to quickly dismiss this years edition of the Ottawa Senators—if you weren't paying attention.

And it seems many people weren't.

If you weren't really paying attention you might have just noticed that the Sens backed into the playoffs, losing their last game and finishing in seventh place in the East.

What you perhaps missed was that the team, on the strength of a core of players that is still in place today, ripped up the league for the first 20 games until Ray Emery came back and started whining. It was internal struggles, not a lack of talent, that brought this team down.

If you weren't really paying attention you might have simply noted that the Sens got swept by the Penguins in the first round of the playoffs.

What you missed is that the team was without its captain and emotional leader Daniel Alfredsson for most of the series (although he did make a heroic comeback in game four) and was also missing the likes of Mike Fisher, the team's number two center and on ice workhorse, and Chris Kelly, one of the team's best checkers and penalty kill specialist.

If you weren't really paying attention, you might have noticed that the Senators lost one of their best defencemen over the summer in Wade Redden.

What you missed is that Redden had been the Sens top defenceman in salary only, as his play had steadily declined since 2006 when Zdeno Chara left. Redden twice used his no-trade clause to squash potential deals as Brian Murray was trying to ship the overrated defenceman out of town. There is a reason why the Sens didn't re-sign him (they had the money) and a reason they offered him a low-ball $4 million contract. Rangers fans are already finding out why.

If you weren't really paying attention you might suggest that Ottawa is a one line team that can easily be shut down.

What you missed is that the “one line” you downplay has been the highest scoring trio over the past three seasons. The team's problem has been defence, the offence will be just fine.

If you weren't really paying attention you might have noticed that Ottawa's blue line lost a lot of players over the summer—Redden, Meszaros and Commodore.

What you missed is that the Sens upgraded their blue line in the area that was needed, defensive ability, by adding the likes of Jason Smith, Filip Kuba and Alexandre Picard.

You may also have forgotten that the Sens still have one of the best shut down pairings in the league in Chris Phillips and Anton Volchenkov, and now boast three of the top 15 shot blocking defencemen in the NHL—Volchenov, Smith and Kuba.

The 2008-09 Ottawa Senators are may not be as offensively dynamic as last year's team, but they will still score plenty enough to win. The key is the upgraded defence with a focus on physical play, defensive responsibility and good positioning.


OFFENCE

Heatley - Spezza - Alfredsson
Vermette - Fisher - Winchester
Foligno - Kelly - Neil
Ruutu - Bass - Schubert

Extras: McAmmond, Donovan

As mentioned, the oft-dismissed “one line” is not just any line, it is the number one scoring line over the past three seasons.

It is often suggested that if you can just shut down that line you're going to be OK. True, but that is the case with virtually every team in the NHL, shut down their top players and they are likely not going to win.

However, considering that despite this very obvious opponent game plan of shutting down Heatley, Spezza and Alfredsson, they still were the top scoring line in the NHL last season, so what does that say about how easy such a task is?

Look for Spezza and Heatley to both have big seasons as they have both come to camp looking for more responsibility (killing penalties, etc.) and want to play more of a leadership role. Dany Heatley was just named assistant captain by coach Crag Hartsburg, filling the vacancy left by Redden.

As for the remainder of the forwards on this “one line team” there are multiple 20-25 goal threats such as Vermette, Fisher and Kelly. Vermette in particular has the skills to put up 30 goals, and with the extra time he will see this season on the second line, that number should be in reach.

Another interesting stat for the doubters, the Ottawa Senators had the second highest scoring top six forwards in the NHL last season, behind only Detroit—so much for no secondary scoring.

This is a point that really bugs me—secondary scoring. With the exception of a very elite group of teams such as Pittsburgh and Detroit, very few NHL teams have this elusive “secondary scoring” unless they are putting first line players on their second line (as Ottawa has experimented with in Alfredsson).

As for role players, Ottawa has them in abundance, and they have become far more difficult to pay against.

Jarkko Ruutu, Chris Neil, Cody Bass and Christoph Schubert are some of the hardest hitting, most annoying players in the league. The Sens lost their resident tough guy in McGrattan, but he could barely skate anyway and was usually a healthy scratch. The tough guys Ottawa has now can all drop the mitts if necessary but can also skate, forecheck and pot the occasional goal. Neil has already shown that he is poised to come back strong from a 2007-08 campaign that was one of his worst.

The Sens also have some wily veterans up front in Deam McAmmond and Shean Donovan, both of whom can play an aggressive style and provide some on-ice leadership.

And there are a couple of young guns who are poised for breakout seasons in Nick Foligno and Jesse Winchester. Foligno in particular has looked great in preseason, scored a highlight reel goal on Montreal last week and could also join the 20 goal club with some increased ice time.

DEFENCE

Phillips - Volchenkov
Kuba - Smith
Picard – Lee

Extras: Richardson

The Sens defence has changed dramatically, trading some puck-moving ability and offence for physical play and defensive responsibility—which is exactly what they needed.

The Sens problem in 2007-08 was defence, not just from the blue line but from the whole team. Ottawa has the worst goals against average of any team that made last year's playoffs, this will change in 2008-09.

Gone are more recognizable names such as Redden and Meszaros, in are steadier, more defensively sound additions such as Jason Smith and Filip Kuba.

The coup-de-grace by general manager Brian Murray over the summer was the trade of Meszaros, a kid who had a great rookie season (playing with Chara) and has gone downhill ever since. From Tampa, Murray was able to get promising young defenceman Alexandre Picard, veteran Filip Kuba and a first round pick—and absolute steal.

Kuba produced only slightly less points than Meszaros last season and on a much worse Tampa team. Picard provides a young physical presence, something the Sens desperately need, and the first rounf pick is just gravy.

Of course the Sens still have what has to be considered one of the top five shutdown defensive pairings in the NHL—Phillips and Volchenkov. With the addition of Smith, Picard and Kuba, the emergence of Brian Lee—a Wade Redden before he started to suck clone – and the veteran presence of the surprisingly durable Luke Richardson, the Sens defence has been given the exact tune-up it required.

The Sens will lose some offensive capability on the back end, but gain the positives outweigh the negatives as team that had to get better defensively, did.


GOALTENDING

Gerber
Auld

No one is going to sugarcoat it, Martin Gerber has not been great, but there is reason for optimism between the pipes in Ottawa.

Martin Gerber seems to have a problem with confidence, whenever he was pushed for the number one job by Ray Emery he fell apart. Perhaps he felt that by signing his three-year deal with John Muckler in 2006 he was assured the starting job. Of course we all know what happened, Ray Emery stole the starting job in 2006-07, leading the Sens to the Stanley Cup Finals, got injured (his wrist as well as his swelled head), was lazy in his rehab, lost his job to Gerber, started to pout and eventually brought the entire dressing room down with infighting and negativity.

Emery is gone, eating borscht somewhere in Siberia.

This season Gerber has a few things going in his favour, he is the clear cut number one, was no malcontent behind him, has a strong defensive core in front of him and has a coach that is implementing a system of team defence.

Gerber does have the ability to steal a game now and them, but overall he is a good goaltender (not great) that give his team enough support to let the offence do the rest.

Alex Auld is probably as good of a back-up as you could want, he's confident enough to take on the job if needed, but modest enough to know his role and be a good team guy. What a refreshing thought.


COACHING

Craig Hartsburg has come into Ottawa stressing one very important theme, accountability, something that was lost on this team in 2007-08.

The lack of accountability last season came straight from the top as coach John Paddock allowed negatively to fester in the dressing room for too long without addressing it.

When Ray Emery was thrown out of practice for being late it was not the first time, just the first time anyone had done anything about it.

Players who show up on time and work hard had to be looking at Emery and wondering “why does he get away with that?” That was the beginning of the end for the 2007-08 Senators, and is a mistake that won't be repeated.

Don't work hard? You won't play.

Don't want to be here? Goodbye, you're traded.

Don't want to backcheck? You can sit on the bench.

That is the difference that Crag Hartsburg will bring to the Ottawa Senators, and the reason why the problems of last season are long gone.


CONCLUSION

2007-08 was a gong show in Ottawa, an absolute disaster of epic proportions, but all is forgiven, there is a clean slate.

The negativity, lack of accountability and excessive partying that brought down this team last season was exorcized with the departures of Emery, McGrattan, Redden and Meszaros. This year the Sens will be all business.

Heatley has an 'A', Spezza is asking to kill penalties and Alfredsson will soon sign a contract to remain a Senator for life – these guys are serious and are looking to redeem themselves.

This is a pivotal year for guys like Spezza and Heatley, they both just signed seven year deals to stay in Ottawa, this is their home (Spezza literally just bought a $6 million home in downtown Ottawa) and they want to prove themselves worthy of the admiration and money they get.

There are some holes in the line-up, an additional second line scoring threat and a puck-moving defenceman will both be trade deadline targets (along with the rest of the league) and the Sens still have about $3 million in cap space to make those moves.

The bottom line is that last year's failure was not due to a lack of skill but due to a lack of accountability, something that has been addressed. And that skill, the same skill that ripped through the NHL, going 15-3 at the beginning of last season is still here, and they are a bit pissed off.

The Senators should challenge the Canadiens for first in the Northeast, and will be right up there with the Penguins, Flyers, Rangers and Capitals at the top of the conference.


PREDICTION

Second in the Northeast, Fifth in the Conference.