SB Nation - Jason Smith

Theo Peckham Called Up

Scott Reynolds — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 00:50:36 -0000

Today the Edmonton Oilers made the call to Springfield and brought Theo Peckham up to the big club. Pat Quinn said today that "if Mike [Comrie] can't come down to Calgary tomorrow, then there's a good chance that Jason [Strudwick] will be lined up at foward." Now, much to my chagrin, the Oilers have been using the Strudwick-Chorney pairing regularly on the PK so it will be interesting to see how Renney switches things up there. Strudwick's also been used late in games when protecting a lead. There's probably some chance that Strudwick will drop back in those situations and play both defence and forward tomorrow night against Calgary. At any rate, it will be interesting to see what Renney does with two rookies on the blueline and one of the guys he trusts (Strudwick also played quite a lot of minutes with the Rangers when Renney was the head man there) playing forward.

Rangers Pregame: Scouting the Sens

Jim Schmiedeberg — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 18:00:54 -0000

Taking a look at tonight's opponent, the Ottawa Senators

Ottawa Senators:

Head Coach: Cory Clouston

2008-09 Record: 36-35-11 (missed playoffs)

Last Season vs. Rangers: Series tied 2-2

Stars:

Jason Spezza

#19 / Center / Ottawa Senators

Height: 6-3

Weight: 215

Born: Jun 13, 1983

Daniel Alfredsson

#11 / Right Wing / Ottawa Senators

Height: 5-11

Weight: 208

Born: Dec 11, 1972

Who's In:

G Pascal Leclaire, D Erik Karlsson, W Alexei Kovalev, W Milan Michalek , W Jonathan Cheechoo, C Peter Regin

Who's Out:

G Alex Auld, D Jason Smith, W Dany Heatley, Mike Comrie, Brendan Bell

2009-2010 Ottawa Senators Season Preview from Silver Seven Sens, the SBNation community for the Ottawa Senators.

Sens Notes: (courtesy of Silver Seven Sens, Ottawa Citizen )

Mike Fisher has been named alternate captain, joining Daniel Alfredsson and Chris Phillips as players with letters on the front of their jerseys that aren't S, E, N, or S.
Alfredsson's on the verge of setting a few personal milestones: 1000 games played, 1000 points, and 400 goals. If he gets 45 goals this season (the number he needs to get to 400), that'd be simply amazing.
Shean Donovan and Alexandre Picard will sit out as the Ottawa Senators open their 2009-10 season here against the Rangers tonight.

Ottawa Senators 2009-10 season preview

PeterR — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 11:00:14 -0000

by Troy Fleece - AP

Jason Spezza, centre, is one of the many Ottawa Senators players with something to prove in 2009-10, coming off his worst season offensively in four years.

View full size photo »

The theme for the Ottawa Senators in 2009-10 is the bounce-back, and they need some serious bouncing back if Senators fans are going to remain even a little bit interested in the team. Almost to a man, every player returning from last season has to prove they can do better, and the key players Ottawa brought in this year--Pascal Leclaire, Alex Kovalev, and Jonathan Cheechoo--all have plenty to prove themselves. Coach Cory Clouston has to show the league that GM Bryan Murray picked the right side in his dispute with now-traded winger Dany Heatley, and Murray's never been as criticized as he is these days--you can bet fans will have his head if Ottawa starts slowly. This team is rife to surprise a lot of people, but there's always the chance these variables could go southward in a hurry. If that happens, stand back, because owner Eugene Melnyk won't stand for another poor showing.

2008-09 Recap:

Whoo... well, this is tough. The most forgettable season in recent memory, 2008-09 was painful for Senators fans. Although the team seemed to repair some of their defensive problems from the season before--goals-against was somewhat improved from 2007-08--it came at the expense of offence--goals-for was far off the previous season. Martin Gerber, Alex Auld, and Brian Elliott played musical chairs in the net, Craig Hartsburg came in with high hopes but wasn't right for the team, and Ottawa's offensive stars, including Heatley, Jason Spezza, and Daniel Alfredsson, all struggled--but the secondary scorers struggled more. Then Clouston was brought in, installed a system based on responsibility henceforth known as Command Kloustonom, and Ottawa started winning games. It wasn't enough, and the Sens finished in 11th place, 10 points out of a playoff spot.

(Read more for who's in, who's out, strengths, weaknesses, depth chart, and predictions... )

Who's in:

G Pascal Leclaire - Not quite an off-season acquisition, but pretty close to, Leclaire has the chance to simultaneously recharge his career and be the Senators' saviour--or he could join so many other goaltenders on the Ottawa goaltending graveyard. Although Brian Elliott did well at times last year, this team's playoff hopes rest on the shoulders of Leclaire.
D Erik Karlsson - Karlsson comes in with high hopes for giving Ottawa some bite on the powerplay, but will definitely have a steep learning curve. The consensus is a spot on the Senators' is Karlsson's to lose, probably fittingly so, but it will be up to Clouston to make sure he's not overwhelmed by the North American game. Look for him to get limited even-strength time, but plenty of powerplay opportunities.
W Alex Kovalev - Signed to a two-year, $10M contract in the summer, Kovalev comes from Montréal with plenty to prove after an off-year last season. The big difference is that he won't be Ottawa's main go-to guy, but he'll get every opportunity on one of the top-two lines, and may play the point on the Sens' top powerplay unit. If he doesn't come out of the gate quickly, I'm afraid some of the finnicky Sens fans and media members could turn on him, and if that happens he might become disinterested--a positive feedback loop that will be tremendously negative for the team's playoff hopes.
W Milan Michalek - The key return in this summer's Heatley trade, Michalek comes in with expectations to provide scoring depth, defensive responsibility, and maybe some penalty-killing for Ottawa this year. He has been lined up with Alfredsson and Spezza on an impressive first line, but expectations are that he's a flexible player who can jump into any role assigned to him.
W Jonathan Cheechoo - Cheechoo's the other part of the Heatley trade, and another player looking for a bounce-back season. He's got every opportunity to play in the Sens' top-six forwards, maybe on a line with Kovalev, and people are expecting 20-plus goals--and hoping for 30-plus. He's a hard worker, and the kind of player that Sens fans could quickly become enamoured with.
C Peter Regin: Might have surprised a few people out of training camp, where he came from behind and earned himself a top-nine--and maybe top-six--forward spot on the Senators. If he keeps playing as he does, turning centre-cum-winger Mike Fisher into a scorer and gelling with one-time AHL linemate Nick Foligno, this team could potentially have three lines to provide offensive support for one another.

Who's out:

G Alex Auld - Traded to the Dallas Stars for a fifth-rounder, Auld played well last year--but Murray decided his chances were better with a Leclaire-Elliott tandem, and Elliott wasn't going to appreciate being sent back to Binghamton.
D Jason Smith - Retired, in a conspiracy-laden decision that will save Ottawa from salary cap hell and make room for younger defencemen to step up.
W Dany Heatley - Old news.
W Mike Comrie - Signed in Edmonton after his second stint in Ottawa didn't prove as successful as was hoped.
D Brendan Bell - No room left in Ottawa, so Bell went to the St. Louis Blues to try his luck.

Strengths:

Offensive depth: The Senators have far greater offensive depth than they've had in years, with potentially nine players with a good shot of playing on the top two forward lines: Alfredsson, Spezza, Kovalev, Michalek, Cheechoo, Regin, Fisher, Foligno, and Ryan Shannon. It means there will be plenty of competition in training camp, and there's a good chance Ottawa will have scoring from the first, second, and third lines.
Defensive depth: Although the Senators still lack a number one puck-moving defenceman, they've got plenty of decent-level players to pick from. Filip Kuba's the biggest minute-muncher, Chris Phillips and Anton Volchenkov will continue to be the shut-down tandem, and Karlsson will probably be given top-four minutes fairly early in his rookie season. After that, Clouston has five more defencemen to choose from to fill out the remaining two spots: Brian Lee, Alex Picard, Christoph Schubert, Chris Campoli, and Matt Carkner. There might be some movement before the season starts, but if there's not, Ottawa shouldn't have a problem icing a full complement of defencemen.
Powerplay: Ottawa's lost one of their best powerplay producers in Heatley, but they've brought in three pretty good powerplayers, and Karlsson could be a boon for the backend. If there's not a noticeable increase in powerplay potency, it will be a disappointment.
Team speed: Michalek is damn fast. Spezza looks like he's skating as well as he ever has, and playing with Michalek only makes him go even faster. Shannon might be a close second on the team to Michalek. Fisher can skate like the dickens in straight lines. Almost to a man, the Senators' forward group has good to great speed, and should be able to use that to counter attack opponents--in true Command Kloustonom style.

Weaknesses:

Defence: Ottawa may have plenty of defensive depth, but six fifth- and sixth-defencemen don't equal one first-defenceman. Ottawa will likely ice four smallish (in style, if not in stature) defencemen around Phillips and Volchenkov, so might be vulnerable when bigger teams are in town. Defence by committee will be the key, but it won't be easy.
Grit: It's an old story for the Senators, but this team won't likely be a physical challenge to play against. Sure, there's Chris Neil, Jesse Winchester, and Jarkko Ruutu, but there's a pretty good chance they'll all be on the same line. When the other three lines are on, and with the small-ish defence corps Ottawa has, other teams won't likely have a problem finding space on the ice. It could open up room for Carkner, Zack Smith, Cody Bass, or Jeremy Yablonski to play select games against tougher teams, but they won't make the squad based on playing ability alone.
Penalty Killing: Last year's penalty-killing corps included Antoine Vermette and Dean McAmmond, and both have moved on since then. Clouston hasn't been afraid to use Alfredsson on the PK, and the team still has Fisher, Winchester, Shean Donovan, Chris Kelly, and maybe even Spezza or Michalek to kill penalties, but there will be a learning period for these guys to get used to one another. And, after Phillips, Volchenkov, and Kuba, you've got to wonder who'll kill from the defensive side.

Depth chart:

Left Wing	Centre		Right Wing
Milan Michalek	Jason Spezza		Daniel Alfredsson
Jonathan Cheechoo	Ryan Shannon		Alex Kovalev
Nick Foligno	Peter Regin		Mike Fisher
Jarkko Ruutu	Chris Kelly		Chris Neil
Josh Hennessy	Jesse Winchester		Erik Condra
Kaspars Daugavins	Martin St. Pierre		Cody Bass
Shawn Weller	Ilya Zubov		Jeremy Yablonski
Denis Hamel	Zack Smith
	Jim O'Brien
Defencemen
Filip Kuba		Erik Karlsson
Chris Phillips		Anton Volchenkov
Alex Picard		Chris Campoli
Brian Lee		Matt Carkner
Derek Smith		Tomas Kudelka
Geoff Waugh

Goaltenders
Pascal Leclaire
Brian Elliott
Mike Brodeur
Andy Chiodo

Predictions:

TSN: Pre-season power ranking: 24
Sportsnet: "After going to the Stanley Cup final in 2006-07, the Senators have been on a steady slide and it's looking like a second straight season out of the playoffs is a distinct possibility."
The Hockey News: Fourth in the Northeast Division, ninth in the Eastern Conference.
Puck Daddy: "On paper, this is a playoff team: Balanced scoring, good goaltending and a crowded but dependable defense."
The Sporting News: Ranked 24 in NHL.
The Sports Network: "The days of contending for a Cup seem to be over, but that doesn't mean Ottawa won't be able to sneak into the Eastern Conference playoffs this year."

The TSN and Sporting News predictions were both made before the Heatley trade, so they're certainly out of date. But here are our predictions:

Peter: Ottawa didn't want to move Heatley, but the depth gained in the trade might prove to be beneficial to the team's stakes in the 2009-10 season--to say nothing of the salary cap flexibility for future seasons. With between two and three lines who should be expected to score (compared to one the past two years) and very strong forward and defensive depth, the team should be strong offensively. On defence, there are plenty of skaters, and less physicality, but that might be mitigated by a very quick transition game. In goal, there are two big question marks, and the team will likely live and die with Leclaire. It also seems unlikely the Senators will suffer too much from the Olympics fatiguing players, so that could work in the team's favour for the second half of the year. Ottawa should have the advantage in a dogfight with Montreal and Buffalo to finish second in the Northeast behind Boston, and no one will be happy--least of all owner Melnyk--if this team misses the playoffs. I'm calling it: Second in the Northeast, fifth in the Eastern Conference.

Darren: Just to get it right out there in the open -- no matter what a Las Vegas bookie tells you, I don't think that there is any way this team performs worse than the roster that was iced last season. The roster is better, the team will be playing under Cory Clouston for the entire season, and our starting goaltender's last named doesn't rhyme with Ferber. On paper, this should be a team that can generate a great amount of offense, just like the Senators we remember from the first half of this decade. Unfortunately, the game isn't played on paper, and the outcome is anything but predictable: one can only guess how many different line combinations Clouston will burn through in the first month or two of the season. But since this is about making predictions, I'll be bold - the team definitely has a shot at the playoffs, but I think it's still a few years away from making any sort of deep run. Still, after all of the drama this team has been through recently, it's nice to be able to start the season with some shred of optimism.

The New Jersey Devils' Best Draft Year Ever: 1990

John Fischer — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 00:23:49 -0000

More photos » by Rich Schultz - AP

Raise your hand if you lead the best draft year in franchise history with 999 games played out of the total of 4,016 (AP Photo/Rich Schultz)

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Today at From the Rink, Mirtle has highlighted the 1989 draft class by the Detroit Red Wings, arguably the single best draft year by a team in terms of games played. Of all 14 players picked, 7 players got to the NHL and 4 of them topped 1,000 games in their career. Mike Sillinger, Dallas Drake, Nicklas Lidstrom and Sergei Fedorov are the class of the, well, class and look for Lidstrom at a minimum to continue adding to that total number of games played. That class was boosted by a solid career from Bob Boughner and Vladimir Konstantinov, who was definitely skilled enough to play for ages if it wasn't for that awful accident he was in. Still, all the players from that draft by Detroit played in a combined 5,721 games - and counting provided Lidstrom and/or Fedorov keep playing.

Just breaking into the NHL is difficult enough as-is. OK, Sillinger and Drake were never stars; but to stick in the league as long as they did is a testament to their skills and work ethic. If a prospect is able to make it into the league and stick around for even a little bit, you can call that pick a success if only because so many aren't able to crack a NHL roster. Still, 5,721 games from 7 players is not only a record but most likely an unbreakable one for the foreseeable future!

So this got me thinking, what was the best draft year by the New Jersey Devils in terms of games played? No year by the Devils comes close to 5,000 combined games much less 5,721; but the Devils have a good reputation for drafting, so it's an interesting question. After checking the numbers at HockeyDB, it was also the same draft year where the Devils had the most of their picks play at least 1 NHL game. I am talking about the famous 1990 draft by the New Jersey Devils, where 10 out of the 14 picks made it into the NHL. The 10 players - 3 goalies and 7 skaters - combined for 4,016 games (and counting due to Mr. Brodeur).

There's so many remarkable points to make about this draft. The biggest one is that all of 10 of the players who eventually did break into the NHL played at least 100 games. That's not just something small like Frederik Bremberg's 8 NHL games (he was the third player from the 1991 Devils' draft to make it, the other two being Scott Neidermayer and Brian Rolston). No, these are players who were able ply their trade for a little while. That's some excellent foresight and projection the Devils scouting department, even if the players didn't play those games in Devils red.

That this list includes three goaltenders is also really impressive. Think about it. Goaltenders don't play every game to begin with. They generally take longer to develop, needing experience to truly get better before stepping into the biggest hockey league in the world. Even Martin Brodeur saw significant time in the minors and didn't really break through until the 1993-94 season, 3 seasons after this draft. Then you had Dunham and Schwab sitting behind Brodeur! Yet, all three eventually found playing time elsewhere - Dunham was a starting goalie for Nashville when they entered the league, Schwab became a backup goaltender. Combined, they represent a remarkable 1,540 games, or 38.3% of the total amount of games by this draft year. The Devils may not have drafted many goalies since then - only 12 after 1990 - but in hindsight, they really didn't need to draft many more!

Third, notice all of those defensemen! 7 were selected out of the 14 in 1990; and only Petr Kuchnya didn't make into the league! The most recognizable names from this year are Jaroslav Modry and Brad Bombardir; yet the other 4 did make their respective marks in the league. Clearly, they (and the goalies, of course) fared better than the forwards. Valeri Zelepukin is not just only the offensive leader from this draft class, but also the only forward from the 1990 draft year to make it to the league! Zelepukin was a useful forward, good for secondary scoring; and that helped him stick around for nearly 600 games.

Still, you really can't complain about a draft year where 10 out of the 14 prospects selected eventually make into the NHL and play at least 100 games, especially when it's featured by the one of the greatest goaltenders ever: Martin Brodeur, who will break 1,000 games this season.

This leads me to another point: while the players from this draft combined for a total of 4,016 games, as of right now, it's the only draft year (out of 7) by the Devils where the players combined for over 2,500 games that does not have a player that played a 1,000 or more games. Martin Brodeur will break that mark in 2009-10 for sure. Yet, that the total topped 4,000 without one player taking 1,000+ games speaks to the spread of games across all the players. The closest total to this mark was the 1992 draft year, led by the now-retired Jason Smith (1,008 GP) and assisted by Stephane Yelle (921), Sergei Brylin (765), and Cale Hulse (619) - the players from that year combined for 3,638 games. That's an extremely successful draft by itself, it's not dominated by one player; yet I think it puts a total of 4,000 combined games in perspective.

10 out of 14 picks making into the NHL and those 10 combining for 4,000 games - it's a rare feat and it should be respected as such. The 1990 draft by the Devils is the best draft year in franchise history and should be regarded as one of the best in NHL history.

Finally, just for kicks, I put together the total games played by all of the Devils draft picks by draft year, from 1982 to 2004 (I stopped there as prospects are still coming in from 2005 onward). The draft years from 1993 and onward will add to their game counts as the Devils did unearth a few veterans. Feel free to look upon this chart in awe of how the Devils did in the 80s and early 90s, get a better feeling about the 1996 draft (thank Colin White and Willie Mitchell) and 2000 drafts, and lament how bad the 1997 draft ended up. (Note: Had Clemmensen not play all those games in 2008-09, then Jiri Bicek would be the leader from that year. Yes, Jiri Bicek.)

Again, all Devils draft history and stats came from HockeyDB except for the career goalie stats, they came from NHL.com. Let me know what you think about all of this in the comments. Again, thanks for reading!

Jason Smith to retire

PeterR — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 15:32:00 -0000

More photos » by Gregory Smith - AP

8 months ago: Ottawa Senators center Jason Spezza (19) takes a shot on Atlanta Thrashers goaltender Johan Hedberg (1) of Sweden, in the third period, during an NHL hockey game at Philips Arena, Saturday, March 28, 2009, in Atlanta. The Thrashers won 6-3. (AP Photo/Gregory Smith)

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According to the Ottawa Sun, grizzled veteran and Ottawa Senators defenceman Jason Smith is set to retire after 17 years in the NHL. The report indicated that Smith's reasoning was that he doesn't have the same passion for the game as he has in past years, and I can't say I blame him for not wanting to take the physical punishment a defenceman of his style takes every game for another year.

Jason Smith

#21 / Defenseman / Ottawa Senators

Height: 6-3

Weight: 215

Born: Nov 02, 1973

	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG	GTG	SOG	PCT
2008 - Jason Smith	63	1	0	1	-3	47	0	0	1	0	53	1.9

Smith was signed in July of last year to a two-year, $5.2M contract by the Senators. His leadership and grit were cited as the reasons for the signing. What turned out to be his final season must have been a frustrating one, in which he was given limited ice time, scored only one goal and no assists, and also missed 18 games due to a knee injury. Not a fitting way to go out for such a warrior, but that happens sometimes.

I'm hoping his experience with the Senators' isn't what soured him on the game. I have a feeling that GM Bryan Murray had an inkling of Smith's feelings towards another NHL season. Rumours were swirling this off-season that, if he were to return, Smith was likely to be placed on long-term injured reserve, or traded in a salary-cap-dump deal, or be 'encouraged' to retire. Hopefully this was a decision Smith made of his own accord.

Whatever it is, best of luck in retirement to Smith.

Sens' Smith retires

James Mirtle — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 14:37:09 -0000

After 14 seasons, 1,008 regular-season games and 68 playoff meetings, 35-year-old Jason Smith announced today his retirement from the National Hockey League.

"I have been fortunate to have played in the NHL for 16 years. I have played alongside many great teammates and for organizations that I was proud to have been a part of," said Smith. "I would like to thank all of my teammates, owners, coaches, managers and staff that I have had the privilege of working with through the years and would like to recognize the fans for their tremendous support."

>> team release

And just like that, the Senators cap issues are gone.

Smith was due to make $2.6-million and was widely rumoured to be the salary dump target, perhaps even ending up in the minors, and I wonder if there was a discussion to that effect heading into training camp. It does seem strange to retire in September. (That said, he has battled all kinds of injuries throughout his career, and he does turn 36 in November.)

In any event, congrats to the former Oilers captain on a solid career.

Summer Fill - A Conversation with The Copper & Blue - Part I

Ben Rothenberg — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 01:46:06 -0000

More photos » by Tom Mihalek - AP

Chris Pronger, current Flyer, former Oiler (AP Photo/Tom Mihalek)

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Let me tell you a secret: not a whole lot of hockey gets played in August.

But SBNation never sleeps. The hockey blogs on this grand network of ours got together and paired off across conferences. Broad Street Hockey drew The Copper & Blue, SBN's Edmonton Oilers community. The Flyers and Oilers have made more finals than any other teams since expansion, so this is a real powerhouse match-up

You remember the Oilers as the Flyers' opponent in the 1987 Stanley Cup finals, where the Flyers won an epic Game 6 at The Spectrum before returning to Edmonton for Game 7. I never heard how that Game 7 turned out--please don't tell me.

There are two parts of the conversation, the first in which Geoff and I answered their questions, and the second in which they answer ours.

Here comes the first part, after the jump.

Since the days shortly after Ron Hextall, it seems that the Flyers have always had a nagging goaltending issue. Given that Ray Emery wasn't even the best goaltender on his KHL team, do you foresee him as the answer or a cheap stopgap?

One of the things that's great (yet torturous) about the Flyers as a fan is that they are always in "win now" mode, seemingly. No rebuilding long term, no stockpiling draft picks, just getting the players they think are the best available to win the Cup this season. And it leads to the Flyers fielding (icing?) a lot of competitive teams, but ones that often fall just short of glory. I believe that since expansion, the Flyers have made it to more conference finals than any other team, 15. But they only have two Stanley Cups to show for that, and none in the last 30+ years (thanks so much for '85 and '87, by the way...). You may have seen Bob Clarke express some frustration at how this philosophy hasn't worked for the Flyers as well as he would have liked, while our in-state neighbors now have a cup thanks to a boatload of top draft picks that they got from being so bad that they faced bankruptcy.

So to get off of the soapbox and back to your question, no. I don't think Emery is a stopgap in the sense that he's filling in during a planned interregnum while the Flyers shop for a bigger fish.

With that in mind, it's also important to point out that the Flyers "win now, buy the best" philosophy has rarely if ever extended to goaltending. I think Ray Emery may have actually been the best goaltender on the market this summer, but he's also not exactly a stable commodity. It's a risk in what has otherwise been a very solid summer in my mind.

I'm also personally a huge Brian Boucher fan, and I remember that he took us within a win of the finals in 2000. If push comes to shove, I'm confident in his abilities to step up.

Will the expectations be too much?

As far as Emery goes, I think expectations are fairly under control. I don't think anybody expects a Vezina performance, nor do I think anyone would be too shocked if he gets out of control and mows down a teammate in the parking lot. He's a wild card, and so the expectations are wild.

As for the rest of the team, expectations are always high for the Flyers, and are again this year as always. Losing to the Penguins two years in a row has stung, but this year's series was so close (within a three-goal lead of Game 7) that I think the organization believes it is close.

Will the addition of Pronger and the strength of Mike Richards as captain help with expectations?

The addition of Chris Pronger is huge. Not only does he make our defense better, he adds size, experience, leadership, and respect. Last year, we finished the season with Kimmo Timonen as the captain of the D, with promising young defensemen Braydon Coburn, Ryan Parent, and Matt Carle rounding out the top 4. While those three look to be strong going forward, Chris Pronger makes the team much better. Not only on the ice, but our defense now has two of the best in the game to learn from and to set the tone of the team.

The expectation game is different. After the run to the Conference Finals in 2008, the expectations were high going into 2008-2009. Now, the expectations are even higher with the addition of Pronger. Mike Richards has taken some criticism for his leadership last year, but he was labeled Captain material since the day he was drafted. There were definitely moments last season that did not go as smoothly as they should have, as even Richards has admitted. Learning from Jason Smith and Derian Hatcher helped, but now he has Pronger to lead alongside him, as well as respected veterans Timonen and Gagne as the alternates. With four strong veterans leading the team (plus the addition of Ian Laperriere), the leadership issues from last year should be handled much better this year, making the high expectations a little easier to cope with.

Given the cap issues the team has, where do the Flyers turn if Emery goes south?

Ben already dealt with how the salary cap issues affect the team in goal, but the problem extends throughout the roster, and even started last year. Scottie Upshall was traded at the deadline because they couldn't afford to have both Danny Briere and Claude Giroux on the roster. This year, the team couldn't afford to re-sign Mike Knuble and had to shop in the clearance aisle during free agency. In addition to Knuble, Martin Biron and Antero Niittymaki were the main salaries allowed to walk this off-season and Joffrey Lupul was traded in order to bring in Pronger.

Going forward, if the team needs to lose even more salary, Matt Carle and Randy Jones appear the likely options. As it stands now, CapGeek.com estimates only $372,085 in cap space available. That total, however, includes Andreas Nodl, Lukas Kaspar, and Ole-Kristian Tollefsen, none of whom are guaranteed to make the team. In addition, the numbers include bonuses that could be paid to Nodl and Ryan Parent. Alternatively, nhlnumbers.com estimates $2.157 million available, but that only includes 19 players.

So, it is definitely possible that the team uses their AHL players to fill the holes, including Nodl, Kaspar, Jonathan Matsumoto, Jared Ross (when/if the RFA re-signs), Patrick Maroon, and less likely James vanRiemsdyk. As evidenced by the injuries last year, the team would like to keep some cap money free; so would your free-wheeling owner with a track record of poor management decisions be interested in a Briere and Jones for Andrew Cogliano and Ladislav Smid deal?

Heatley Is The Sniper The Rangers Need

Ryan McFadden — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 17:00:18 -0000

Before I get into the Heatley situation, a very important question needs to be asked first. Is Dany Heatley a good fit for the Rangers? This is a question that is difficult to answer due to his somewhat checkered past and reputation for a bad attitude along with his large contract. When all is said and done though, Heatley is the type of player the Rangers will have an extremely difficult time producing from within their own system.

The Rangers are poised for a youth movement with roster spots up for grabs for the hungriest and most passionate player. Finally! If the Rangers have a down year seasoning their youth, so be it, it's for the greater good in the long run. The Rangers already have an established core in Ryan Callahan, Brandon Dubinsky, Marc Staal, and Dan Girardi. This season Artem Anisimov, Matt Gilroy, Bobby Sanguinetti, Michael Del Zotto, Dane Byers, Justin Soryal, Michael Sauer, Corey Potter, Jordan Owens, and Evgeny Grachev will all be given serious looks for vacant roster spots with the job going to the one who has earned it. As great as it is that the Rangers seem to be finally embracing their own prospects and their development, they lack a true sniper in their system. They lack a true game breaker. Evgeny Grachev may someday be that player, but he is only 19 years old and just completed his first season in the OHL. Although it is in extremely poor taste to talk this way, the tragic passing of Alexei Cherepanov left an enormous void in their system. Dany Heatley is the pure goal scorer the Rangers cannot produce from within. The Capitals have Alex Ovechkin, the Penguins have Evgeni Malkin (yes Malkin as he is the best player on that team), the Devils have Zach Parise, the Flyers have Jeff Carter, the Islanders now have John Tavares. Who do the Rangers have that can right now or sometime in the near future be that kind of player for them? Dany Heatley could be..

For the record, I would be beyond furious if the Rangers dished out any significant young players for Heatley. Sather stuck to his guns at the draft and didn't bite on the Senators demand for Staal, Callahan, or Dubinsky. A good start. Luckily for the Rangers, it is a very likely scenario that they can get Heatley without losing any prime prospects. Everything has worked against Sens GM Bryan Murray in such a way that he has zero leverage. He can try to set the price as much as wants, but in the end it will be the market that prevails. Unless of course Murray wants to have the everyday distraction of having a player in his dressing room who has publicly stated he doesn't want to be there. Unlike Garth Snow, Murray does not have a world class poker face. He can say as much as he wants that if a fair offer isn't proposed Heatley will remain a Senator. The fact of the matter is, Murray knows this is in itself a less favorable hockey decision than settling for a mediocre package of players in return for him. The Sens are trying to move on from a horrible '08-'09 season and having the most awkward of situations in their locker room on a daily basis is not an option. Keeping Heatley is like getting a divorce yet still living with your ex because you couldn't find a place nicer than the one you used to share with her.. or him for the ladies out there. It's simply not a realistic option.

Who would have thought that trading a 50 goal scorer and a perennial all-star would be so difficult? Well I did for one. Heatley has handcuffed the Sens and Bryan Murray along with some help from the language in his contract. There is a laundry list of reasons as to why Murray has been unable to establish fair value for Heatley:

Heatley made his trade demand public
He has a large contract w/ over $30 million remaining, in a recession that is a very bad thing (obviously). His contract eliminates a number of trading partners due to it's sheer size.
The $7.5 million cap hit is too much for many teams to accommodate
Alternatives, why pay more when Marian Gaborik, Marian Hossa, and the Sedin Twins are avialable for cash only?
Most importantly, the Sens owe Heatley $4 million on July 1st as advance payment for next seasons salary.

People may have said that my trade proposal of Zherdev and Rozsival for Heatley and Jason Smith - who by the way is being shopped by the Sens - is ridiculous. I've already listed the reasons why it isn't. On a sidenote, it's funny how my initial proposal spread to Larry Brooks a week later and then morphed into the actual trade proposal by Glen Sather. At any other time, yes this is a completely absurd proposal. But not right now and this is exactly why the Rangers need to acquire Heatley. They can get the all-star finisher at a discount and in the process more than likely bag Michal Rozsival and his $5 million cap hit.

There may be questions about Heatley's character, but that's the risk that comes with playing the game. In the very unlikely situation that Heatley demands a trade in a few years, the Rangers will most certainly be in a more favorable situation than the Sens are in now. Heatley is worth the risk, especially because it is not going to take a kings ransom for him to come to New York.

Update: 2:30 PM: From Steve Zipay at Newsday:

The speculation on Heatley is this, some of it culled from discussions with other teams' executives in Montreal during the weekend. Today is critical because Ottawa does not want to pay Heatley the $4 million owed him tomorrow, so the Sens (GM Byran Murray and boss Eugene Melnyk) might be forced to lower their demands. The possible scenarios: Rozsival-Dubinsky, a high-draft pick and a prospect; Zherdev-Dubinsky and a high pick. The Rangers apparently do not want to include Staal or Ryan Callahan or take any other player back, given the Heatley cap hit.

NHL Free Agency: Bell set to test UFA market

PeterR — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 16:45:10 -0000

More photos » by Gregory Smith - AP

Brendan Bell may be as dejected when he signs outside of Ottawa as an unrestricted free agent as he was after the Atlanta Thrashers scored while he was on the ice (pictured).

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Defenceman Brendan Bell, who played a more prominent role than many expected after signing a one-year, two-way contract with the Ottawa Senators for the 2008-09 season, appears set to leave Ottawa for greener pastures elsewhere in the league. Bell is looking for a one-way contract to play on an NHL squad for next season, but was unable to secure one with the Senators. Rather than tender him a qualifying offer and restrict his possible movement, Ottawa GM Bryan Murray decided to let Bell test the waters, according to the Ottawa Sun.

It was rumoured that the Senators had interest in re-signing Bell if they could clear some of the logjam on defence. Although Murray was rumoured to be shopping Alex Picard or Jason Smith, no deals were made so it looks like another player who wants to stay in Ottawa will be on his way out because the numbers won't add up.

Thanks to his good 2008-09 season, the odds are in Bell's favour to find a contract somewhere in the NHL--particularly because he won't likely demand a high salary.

Trade Specs: Dany Heatley and Jason Smith for Nikolai Zherdev, Michael Rozsival and 1st Round Pick

Ryan McFadden — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 02:15:09 -0000

More photos » by Sean Kilpatrick - AP

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Pure Speculation

In light of the news that Dany Heatley wants the Senators to trade him, I couldn't help but put together my own proposal for the sniper that the Rangers so desperately need. Heatley wanting a trade could not have come at a better time for the Rangers because in this economy, Heatley probably will not give the top dollar return he would have otherwise due to the $35 million he has remaining on his contract. Because of this the Senators are probably going to have to take back salary in return in order to move Heatley.

Now I am definitely getting ahead of myself, but my proposal would be Heatley and Jason Smith for Michal Rozsival, NikolaiZherdev, and the Rangers 1st round pick in this years draft. There is no need to go through Heatley's accolades and what he could mean for the Rangers. He is the pure scorer they desperately need and (keep those fingers crossed) would be a nice fit on Gomez's wing. Jason Smith has one year and $2.25 million left on his contract and would serve as a salary dump for the Sens. Michael Rozsival would be a nice addition to their blueline and although he has 3 years and $15 million left on his contract, he would be the Rangers shift in salary in the trade.

Nikolai Zherdev would be the center piece. He has a ton of talent and in the right situation he could become as prolific of a goal scorer as Heatley is. Zherdev is RFA and would need to be signed for anything above or equal too $3.75 million since he's owed a 10% increase in salary. Part of Zherdev's problem in New York was most likely Tom Renney's extremely defensive system that surely had an effect on his offensive output (it effected every players numbers this past season). Zherdev is only 25 years old and could flourish playing with Jason Spezza and even more so with a veteran like Daniel Alfredsson who might break Nikky's habit of taking games off.

Salary wise, the Senators would shed a $1 million while the Rangers would gain $1 million (if Zherdev makes $3.75 million next season). At this point the Rangers would absolutely have to waive Wade Redden because that extra mil. would put an even greater strain on their cap. With Heately, the Rangers have added the offense they need and have found a winger to play alongside Gomez. They've lost Rozsival and have now opened another roster spot for one of their young defenseman.

The Sens would also get the Rangers 1st round pick in the upcoming draft and could also take a prospect such as Michael Sauer, Dale Weise, Dane Byers, or Corey Potter. This proposal is obviously a pipe dream and is getting way ahead of itself considering news of Heatley wanting a move is still fresh. But I just don't have anything better to tod