The Sens GM story

First off, I'm glad to join this site as the Sens blogger and I hope all of you enjoy my blogs.

But I'll stop wasting your time on to the blog-

Well the Sens are four points out of last place in the league with 32 points and looks like they will contend with the Thrashers, Lightning and Islanders for the battle of Tavares and Hedman.

This time last year there was lots of talk of fans wanting the Leafs to tank so they can draft Stamkos or Doughty, well they ended up with Schenn, who has worked out great for them so far. But my point is leafs nation was split between cheering for a playoff berth and cheering for the leafs to tank. So my question is whats the feeling in Sens Nation?

Myself, even as a longtime Sens fan, I can only hope for a major shake-up for this organization, every game I cheer for a Sens win, but I am realistic. This team needs to have an infusion of youth and new talent.

While I truly believe Hartsburg and his staff is the right team for the job, I think it might be time to let Murray go.

Right now there is tons of talk around the SBP that Melnyk and Murray aren't seeing eye to eye.

There is huge talk that Melnyk won't let Murray make a trade, and on the other side there's talk that Melnyk is pressuring Murray to make a move now. So either way Murray and Melnyk aren`t on the same page and something has to give. Obviously Melnyk isn`t going anywhere and that Murray has fallen out of grace in Melnyk`s eyes.

So it really is a matter of time before Murray is on the outside looking in. Talk to anyone working in SBP, Sens organization and Kanata and they will tell you one of the 2 situations.

There is a chance Murray stays on till the end of the year, but my assumption is a new GM will be in place before the draft. So who is a possible replacement? Well there are several that come to mind that would be a great fit.

Pat Quinn - I'm not a big fan of Quinn based on his history in Toronto, and while I do discredit his international achievements because its really hard to lose on international ice with the mass talent available in Canada and he would have lost if not for the inexperience of the Russian Kids and coaching staff. But if history shows anything the winning world junior coaches go to the NHL pretty quick i.e. Sutter and Hartsburg. Quinn has the numbers and experience to reshape a broken Sens Club

Pat Burns - Based solely on the rumour that he's itching to get back into the NHL, while he has more experience coaching, he may have enough knowledge from the sidelines to rebuild. He is a great hockey mind and he may be just what the Sens Army needs.

Doug MacLean - The man who commanded the ship in Columbus during the early years and was fired when Columbus couldn't get the job done. While he isn't a trade wizard, he is a great hockey mind and very talented when draft day comes around.

Jim Rutherford - Is available when this season ends, like MacLean, Rutherford has great hockey sense and was the runner-up for the Toronto gig. What better way to show the world Toronto made the wrong decision by leading their rival against them.

Steve Yzerman - While I doubt he's on the list, I figured I should put him on the list because he is a future GM.

Jay Feaster - The odd man out in Tampa, he's been through the same situation in Tampa as Ottawa is in now, unfortunately he got the axe before he could finish his plans. The plus to Feaster is he had a plan in place to fix Tampa, so he could make it work in Ottawa.

Ken Holland - Now before Red Wing fans harp on me, this is only based off of Holland being in Ottawa for the WJC and meeting casually with Melnyk during that time.
------------------------------------------------------
So what are your thoughts on the situation in Ottawa? Is tanking for the best? What have heard Ottawa fans? Who would you like to see running Ottawa?

NHL Northeast booms and busts

Just before the Christmas Holidays is now a good time to look at the early part of the season to identify the booms and busts for the NHL Northeast Division teams.

Boston Bruins:
Booms:
Phil Kessel = 21 goals, 16 assists, 37 points, +15
Kessel has already matched his career-best 37 points and is on pace for 52 goals and 92 points.
He's thriving on a line with Marc Savard and Milan Lucic. Kessel is currently on a 18-game scoring streak.
David Krejci = 12 goals, 24 assists, 36 points, +18
Krejci has easily surpassed his career-best 27 points of last season. He's having great success with Blake Wheeler and Michael Ryder. He currently has 27 points in the past 15 games.
Tim Thomas and Manny Fernandez = They have combined for 24 wins in only 33 games. They also boast a great 2.12 GAA to go with a phenomenal .930 save percentage.

Busts:
Marco Sturm = 7 goals, 6 assists, 13 points, +9
Granted, Sturm has missed most of the season due to a concussion and a knee injury, but the left-winger was supposed to be a critical element of the Bruins' offense after notching 56 points last season.

Buffalo Sabres:
Booms:
Thomas Vanek = 24 goals, 6 assists, 30 points, -1
Vanek currently sits second in goals scored behind Jeff Carter. He's been a force the whole season for the Sabres.

Busts:
Maxim Afinogenov = 1 goal, 9 assists, 10 points, -14
Afinogenov is having the worst season of his career. He definitely needs a change of scenery to regain his confidence, but who will take a chance on this underachiever?
Tim Connolly = 2 goals, 5 assists, 7 points in only 6 games
The Band-Aid boy has never been able to stay healthy for extended periods of time in the past few years. Connolly's career may come to an abrupt end as a result.

Montreal Canadiens:
Booms:
Robert Lang = 11 goals, 14 assists, 25 points, +10
When GM Bob Gainey acquired Lang's services before the season, he was slotted as the Habs third-line centre. Now that Koivu is injured and Plekanec is slumping, the Canadiens need Lang's offensive skills and leadership to keep winning.
Josh Gorges = 1 goal, 5 assists, 6 points, +14
Gorges has been the Habs' most steady d-man this season, especially during Komisarek's absence. Not known for his offensive abilities, Gorges has been very reliable this season, while seeing an increase of ice time over last season.

Busts:
Tomas Plekanec = 6 goals, 7 assists, 13 points
Coming out of a very good season, Plekanec was slated to be the Canadiens first-line centre. Instead, Plekanec is having problems finding the scoresheet, having only two goals and one assist in the last 21 games.
Chris Higgins = 5 goals, 4 assists, 9 points
After missing the first few games with a lower body injury, Higgins had problems finding his groove and his scoring touch. Save for his hat-trick against Ottawa, Higgins has not met expectations after notching 52 points last season. He is currently sidelined four to six weeks with a separate shoulder.

Ottawa Senators:
Booms:
Alex Auld = He has 9 wins and 8 losses, but his posting an excellent 2.34 GAA and a good .915 save percentage. Without Auld's resurgence, the Senators would be dead last in the Eastern Conference.

Busts:
Mike Fisher = 3 goals, 8 assists, 11 points, -6
After three consecutive 20-goal seasons, the fans were expecting big things from Fisher. Instead, he has had problems finding the back of the net and provide much-needed secondary scoring for Ottawa.
Antoine Vermette = 3 goals, 3 assists, 6 points, -10
After improving his point totals in each of his four NHL-seasons, Vermette was due for a breakout season. Instead, Vermette only has one goal and one assist in the last 20 games.

Toronto Maple Leafs:
Booms:
Matt Stajan = 9 goals, 20 assists, 29 points, -4
After being a healthy scratch earlier this season, Stajan has exploded offensively with linemates Nik Antropov and Alex Ponikarovksy who have a good season too so far.
Mihail Grabovksi = 11 goals, 9 assists, 20 points, -2
The rookie centre is having a great season with wingers Niklas Hagman and Nikolai Kulemin on the Leafs' second line. He's the Leafs centre of the future.

Busts:
Lee Stempniak = 1 goal, 4 assists, 5 points with the Maple Leafs
Acquired in trade for Carlo Colaiacovo and Alex Steen, Stempniak was supposed to provide plenty of offense to the Leafs after notching 13 points in 14 games with the Blues. Instead, Stempniak has yet to click with any other Leafs player.
Vesa Toskala and Curtis Joseph = They have combined for 13 wins in 32 games. They also boast a ludicrous 3.28 GAA to go with a shameful .880 save percentage. Joseph is clearly over-the-hill while Toskala is battling a groin injury. It's clearly time for hyped-prospect Justin Pogge to shine in Leafland.

Time to part ways with Hartsburg

When Bryan Murray hired Craig Hartsburg this summer as the Senators' new head coach, he was pretty confident Hartsburg would turn the Senators around after a horrendous finish last season.

29 games into the 2008-09 season, the Senators are sitting at the bottom on the Eastern Conference, only five points in front of bottom-dweller Tampa Bay Lightning after losing 4-1 to the 13th place Atlanta Thrashers on home ice.

GM Bryan Murray signed Hartsburg to a three-year contract last June to replace John Paddock who had been fired in February. After a torrid start under Paddock, the Senators stumbled, leading to his firing at the end of February. Murray, who is not known as being a patient general manager, finished the season behind the bench.

This season, the Senators have had troubles scoring goals, averaging only 2.3 goals/game after finishing 2nd overall offensively last season. Secondary scoring has been a problem all season, as Mike Fisher (3 g, 6 a, 9 points), Antoine Vermette (2 g, 3 a, 5 points) and Nick Foligno (4 g, 4 a, 8 points) haven't been able to get going as they are in a season-long slump. The top pairing of Anton Volchenkov (-10) and Chris Phillips (-12) have been the Sens worst defensive pairing this season despite being a defensive force during the past few years.

Bryan Murray, because of the salary cap, hasn't been able to add a puck-moving defenseman nor a veteran forward to help boost his anemic offense.

And since Bryan Murray will not fire himself because of his inability to make a trade, Craig Hartsburg is the likely scapegoat if the players don't turn things around. They don't seem enticed to play for Hartsburg as their past showings have been dreadful being 1-3-1 in their last five games during which they only managed seven goals while allowing 15 goals.

The recent call-ups of Brian Lee and Ilya Zubov haven't done anything to save this sinking ship.
The Pizza line is not producing anymore. Heatley is pointless in his last four games (-4), Spezza is also pointless in his last four games (-3), while captain Alfredsson only has one goal, an empty netter, during that span.

The Senators still have three games to play before the Christmas hiatus, visiting the Devils and the Flyers, two hot teams, and receiving the Stars, a team on the rise lately.

Should his team cannot manage to earn four points out of six, look for Bryan Murray to pull the trigger and let Craig Hartsburg go after Christmas.

Laviolette fired; Hartsburg might be next

The Carolina Hurricanes have just announced that they have fired head coach Peter Laviolette, who led the team to the 2006 Stanley Cup championship. They have replaced him with former Hurricanes and Maple Leafs head coach Paul Maurice.

Sources say Maurice will remain on as head coach at least until the end of the season, at which point the position will be re-evaluated leaving the Hurricanes the freedom to head in a different direction, or sign Maurice to a long term contract.

The Hurricanes missed the playoffs the last two seasons and are 12-11-2 this season after Sunday's 4-1 loss to the Anaheim Ducks.

The team has called a press conference to announce the news...

The next NHL head coach that might be shown the door is Senators' head coach Craig Hartsburg, and that might be very soon as the Senators are struggling to avoid the league's basement. Tonight the Sens face the Atlanta Thrashers, the only team keeping them from being dead last in the Eastern Conference. A loss against the Thrashers, who lost 5-4 to the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday, could be the last nail in Hartsburg's coffin.

As I previously stated in a previous blog, Hartsburg is on a short leash since the beginning of November. Ottawa went 4-5-3 in 12 games, scoring only 23 goals (1.92 goals/game). A loss against the cellar-dwelling Thrashers might force GM Bryan Murray to make a coaching change to sparkplug his hapless team.

Senators beat Leafs in shootout

OTTAWA (AP)—The Ottawa Senators kept it simple in a shootout against Vesa Toskala and the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Rather than trying to deke the goalie, Jason Spezza and Daniel Alfredsson beat Toskala with shots to give Ottawa a 2-1 victory on Thursday night in a game overshadowed by the Maple Leafs reaching a deal with former Anaheim GM Brian Burke.

Spezza scored on the Senators’ first attempt.

“He plays a little deeper than most guys so that was kind of my reasoning behind shooting,” Spezza said.

Alfredsson scored on Ottawa’s third attempt to give the Senators their second straight victory.

“Toskala stood on his head but Auldie’s just been rock solid for us,” Spezza said. “He hasn’t allowed too many goals, his numbers are great, he’s playing with a lot of confidence and he seems to be a guy who’s really seeing the puck well and playing really well for us right now.”

Mike Fisher returned to the Senators’ lineup and opened the scoring early in the first. Kulemin drew Toronto even moments later.

Toskala had a great game as he stopped 34 shots to help the Maple Leafs earn a standings point despite extending their losing streak to five (0-3-2).

Ottawa outshot Toronto 35-26 overall, including a 5-0 margin in overtime as Toskala came up with a pair of big stops on Fisher in the final seconds of the extra period.

The Maple Leafs ended a team-record 17-game stretch without being outshot.

The Senators hadn’t played since their 4-1 win over the New York Rangers on Saturday ended a 0-4-2 skid.

Fisher, who missed two games because of a knee injury, got credit for his third goal of the season 3:54 in when his centering pass toward Shean Donovan went into the net off Toronto defenseman Tomas Kaberle’s skate.

Kulemin tied it 59 seconds later when he tapped in Mikhail Grabovski’s pass through the crease for his fourth goal.

Ottawa left wing Dany Heatley showed his frustration after Toskala stopped his slap shot 12 minutes into the middle period when he skated over to the left side and swung his stick, slamming it hard against the boards.

“It was a pretty good chance and I didn’t really get all of it,” Heatley said.

Jason Smith and Dominic Moore dropped the gloves at the end of the second period.

Notes

Maple Leafs RW Andre Deveaux made his NHL debut. Deveaux, recalled from Toronto of the AHL on Wednesday, had six goals and two assists in 13 games with the Marlies this season. … Donovan left the game in the third period because of an upper-body injury. He didn’t return.