restricted free agent and it might be time to waive goodbye. Bryan Murray could use some extra cap space to lock up Andrej Meszaros long term and a possible buyout for Ray Emery. Cory Stillman, Mike Commodore, Shean Donovan and Chris Kelly among a few others are all unrestricted free agents as well but the Senators are locked into Heatley, Spezza, Alfredsson, Fisher and Phillips. They will have a new coach, but after the midseason change, that method proved unsuccessful for this club.Getting rid of Ray Emery might be one major factor in reshaping this team. I don't think it's fair to blame one player for the demise of an entire team and Emery isn't solely responsible for the collapse, but it's no coincidence that the team's struggles coincided with Emery's problems. He proved last year that he has the ability to be a very solid NHL goaltender, but not with the Ottawa Senators. He might fit in better in a smaller market outside Canada, where less attention is paid to hockey and he doesn't have to answer questions about why he is always late for practice. I'm not blaming the Ottawa media at all for his demise, but Emery might have some success in a place with less pressure to win.
The injuries late in the season hurt this team, but they came after the team began to crumble. Their best players were invisible vs. the Penguins. Heatley and Spezza combined for two assists and a -9 for the four games. Those two put up plenty of points during the regular season, but this team could never come together all at the right time after their great start. If it wasn't one thing it was the other.
It's quite clear that this team does not have the makeup to win a Stanley Cup and it will be interesting to see what kind of changes Bryan Murray makes in the offseason. His job isn't in jeopardy yet as he's only been the GM of this team for a season, but if things don't change soon he might not be in Ottawa much longer. One thing is clear, of all the disappointing season's in Senators history, this has to be the most brutal of them all.
The Rangers won a game and Sean Avery wasn't a factor. That's a first for this series. Last night's game was easily the most exciting of the four so far in this series. Martin Brodeur looked frighteningly human. If the Devils bow out early in the playoffs, I think it's safe to say that Lou Lamoriello has some rebuilding to do with the team in front of
Brodeur as well as behind him. It's understandable that Brent Sutter would want to start Brodeur as much as he possibly could during the regular season especially after the rough beginning the Devils had this season, but after three straight early exits, it might be time to give him more time off. Most importantly, the team lacks much scoring ability up front and the defense is a group of relative no-names. The Devils will have some cap room and although it's never been Lou's style, he might be best served to go out and pick up some offensive help in the free agent market. Let's not get ahead of ourselves though, this series is not over. Let's see if Sutter and Brodeur can work some magic and reel off three straight.This Red Wings-Predators series is starting to look alarming like their first round series of four years ago. Detroit wins the President's Trophy and of course are seeded number one in the west, while Nashville fights off a late run by Edmonton to claim the eighth spot in the west. Detroit comes in as the overwhelming favourite and takes the first two games at home, though not by a wide margin. Nashville comes storming back at home and takes the next two games to even up the series at 2-2. Sound familiar?
In 2004, Detroit won the next two games. Might that happen again? There's a good possibility and if it does I will be a bit weirded out. The Senators are disappointing, the Devils don't have enough in front of Brodeur and now this?! History is certainly repeating itself or we are in some strange NHL playoff time warp...either way.
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