Mezaros gets offer sheet

Just a quick post....

The Hockey News is reporting that Meszaros has in fact received an offer sheet from Tampa for $5 million a season...and signed it - not sure how many years but the dollar figure is substantially higher than the $3 million per season that Murray is prepared to pay. If this in fact the case, I say don't let the door hit you on the way out and thanks for the draft picks Tampa.

What does Sens Army think? Is $5 Million far too much or should Murray match?

Rookie Tournament A Go For Sens

The Ottawa Senators will participate in a four-team round-robin rookie tournament, hosted by the Florida Panthers, from Sept. 13 to Sept. 15 at the Kitchener Memorial Auditorium in Kitchener, Ont. Joining the Senators and Panthers prospects will be squads from the Pittsburgh Penguins and Toronto Maple Leafs.

Rookie Tournament Schedule

Saturday, Sept. 13: Florida vs. Ottawa at 2 p.m.; Pittsburgh vs. Toronto at 6 p.m.

Sunday, Sept. 14: Florida vs. Pittsburgh at 2 p.m.; Toronto vs. Ottawa at 6 p.m.

Monday, Sept. 15: Ottawa vs. Pittsburgh at 2 p.m.; Toronto vs. Florida at 7 p.m.

Melnyk Speaks about World Jr., 09 Season & MLS

The Sens owner chats with Roger Lajoie about the upcoming NHL season from a Senators perspective, new head coach Craig Hartsburg, the upcoming World Junior Hockey Championships in Ottawa as well as the potential of an MLS franchise coming to Ottawa.

http://www.fan590.com/ondemand/media.jsp?content=20080822_140444_28192

Jason Spezza Is Getting A New Ottawa Address

The Ottawa Citizen is reporting that Jason Spezza just purchased a 6 million dollar home in the Island Park Drive area. The news article is attached but some of the spects of the home are:

five-bedroom, seven-bathroom home, which dominates its 90-by-101-foot lot and has limestone fireplaces, coffered ceilings, a nanny suite, sauna and fitness centre. The basement boasts a custom wine cellar and one of the dressing rooms off the master bedroom is fitted with a makeup sink, vanity and limestone centre island.

It was the most expensive home for sale in the Ottawa Market.

http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/story.html?id=5081244d-30bf-454f-aa98-ca09f38fa731

The Future of Physio is here for Sens

As I watch the Olympics I began to notice all these weird taping jobs on the athletes, and of course the question myself was what it was.

Kinesio Taping donated 50,000 rolls of this tape to the athletes of the Olympic Games. It is important to note that they paid no money to market this tape at the games, so there was no other motivation for the athletes to use this tape except that it works.

I noticed this right away watching beach volleyball as there is a lot of my focus on the girls. Kerri Walsh of the womans USA beach volleyball team had recent shoulder surgery and has been finding the tape very useful.

The Kinesio Taping® Method involves taping over and around muscles in order to assist and give support or to prevent over-contraction. The first technique gives the practitioner the opportunity to actually give support while maintaining full range of motion. This enables the individual to participate in their normal physical activity with functional assistance. The second technique, which is most commonly used in the acute stage of rehabilitation, helps prevent overuse or over-contraction and helps provide facilitation of lymph flow for an entire 24 hour period. Correctional techniques include mechanical, lymphatic, ligament/tendon, fascia, space and functional. Kinesio Tex® Tape can be used in conjunction with other therapies, including cryotherapy, hydrotherapy, massage therapy, and electrical stimulation.

Would of been nice to see this on Heatleys shoulder or Fishers groin last year (Wait that didn't sound right, but you know what I mean).

http://kinesiotaping.com/index.php

Senators Have Fattest Heads!!!

OK it is officially the slowest day in the NHL off season. This might seem like we are reaching for quality topics to discuss... well we are!! I came across this interesting study by Brock University.

Brock University neuroscience researcher Justin Carre who studies fluctuations in hormone levels, wanted to test recent theories that link male facial width-to-height ratio to behaviour such as aggression.

They Studied all 6 Canadian NHL teams and yes, guess who won? The Ottawa Senators! Carrying the team literally on his shoulders was Chris Neil with the fattest head on the Ottawa Senators and the most penalty minutes with 199 in 68 games.

The measurements, performed with the help of a digital ruler, compare the width of the face at the cheekbones with the height between the bottom of the eyebrows and the upper lip. An unusually wide male face has a ratio of about 2.3, while a relatively narrow face has a ratio of about 1.6. Chris Neil had ratio that was apparently off the charts 2.3.

The article is worth the read and quite funny. So my question to you guys is, do you think Bryan Murray should be signing guy with bigger or smaller heads?

http://www.canada.com/topics/sports/story.html?id=08120302-b790-4855-afcd-1fc0bb33bd49

Heater!!

I found this an interesting video of Danny Heatley's summer home.

http://senators.nhl.tv/team/launch.htm?type=fvod&id=20325&catid=

Its on you!!!

OK guys and girls, as we all know things are slowing down in Sens Army Central. So I ask you guys what topics would you like to cover? Anything about the Sens, NHL, rumours, trivia 2010 Olympics? Let us know!!!

Senators Sign 2008 Third-Round Draft Pick Smith

Ottawa Senators general manager Bryan Murray announced today that the club has signed centre Zack Smith to an entry-level contract.

Last year Smith led the Western Hockey League’s Swift Current Broncos in scoring with 69 points on 22 goals in 72 games, while adding 136 penalty minutes. He added five goals, five assists and 29 penalty minutes in 12 playoff games for the Broncos, who were eventually defeated by the Calgary Hitmen in the WHL’s Eastern Conference semi-final.

http://senators.nhl.com/team/app?articleid=379687&page=NewsPage&service=page

Zack Smith
Center
Born Apr 5 1988 -- Medicine Hat, ALTA
Height 6.02 -- Weight 202 -- Shoots R


Selected by Ottawa Senators round 3 #79 overall 2008 NHL Entry Draft

--- Regular Season --- ---- Playoffs ----
Season Team Lge GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2004-05 Swift Current Broncos WHL 14 1 1 2 0 -- -- -- -- --
2005-06 Swift Current Broncos WHL 64 2 5 7 78 3 0 0 0 9
2006-07 Swift Current Broncos WHL 71 16 15 31 130 6 0 2 2 11
2007-08 Swift Current Broncos WHL 72 22 48 70 136 12 5 5 10 29
2007-08 Manitoba Moose AHL -- -- -- -- -- 6 0 1 1 0
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Wall of D-Fence

By far our most important unit will be the Defensive pairing of Phillips and Volchenkov. Assuming that this is our first line of defense, other top line are going to have a hard time against these two and will probably think twice about going into the corners. Expect both of these guys to get a lot of ice time and see time on every PK. I think Bobby Orr's goal scoring will be safe for another year, but these two defensive defense men will sacrifice their bodies by being one of the most physical players in the league. Expect both players to get about 5 goals and 15 assist this year, but a respectful +/-.

Do you see Phillips and Volchenkov playing side by side this year? If not who would be a better fit? Should Murray be looking for another top 4 D-Man?

Sens Sign Geoff Waugh To 1 Year Deal

Bryan Murray announced today the signing of Geoff Waugh to a 1 year two way contract. In 2007-08, Waugh appeared in 71 games for Ottawa’s American Hockey League affiliate, the Binghamton Senators, recording six points (three goals, three assists) and 139 penalty minutes.

Geoff Waugh Defense
Born Aug 25 1983 -- Winnipeg, MAN
Height 6.04 -- Weight 215 -- Shoots R
Selected by Dallas Stars round 3 #78 overall 2002 NHL Entry Draft

--- Regular Season --- ---- Playoffs ----
Season Team Lge GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2002-03 Northern Michigan Univers NCAA 39 0 7 7 41
2003-04 Northern Michigan Univers NCAA 41 2 12 14 72
2004-05 Northern Michigan Univers NCAA 39 2 8 10 89
2005-06 Northern Michigan Univers NCAA 39 0 7 7 74
2006-07 Johnstown Chiefs ECHL 56 1 12 13 91 2 1 0 1 4
2006-07 Springfield Falcons AHL 10 0 0 0 25 -- -- -- -- --
2007-08 Binghamton Senators AHL 71 3 3 6 139 -- -- -- -- --
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

http://senators.nhl.com/team/app/?service=page&page=NewsPage&articleid=379557

Sens first to hit the ice

The NHL released this season's pre-season schedule which will kick off on September 20th when the Sens host the NY Rangers. While it's much too early to get into "Keys of the game" (as much as I'd like to) is isn't too early to talk about how the Sens schedule might affect the start of their regular season...

I think you can look at this from two points of view:
1) The Sens are at a huge disadvantage by having to travel to Sweden and play 3 games (1 exhibition +2 regular season games)
2) The long trip to start the season will be a great opportunity to promote team bonding and greatly benefit the team

In my opinion, I think we'll have to wait until the 20 game mark until we know exactly how the Sens will be affected but I truly think it'll be a bit of both. I think we are a quite the disadvantage having to do all that travelling but I also think that the experience as a whole will create a stronger sense of "team"...especially with all the new faces. I don't think the travel will affect as much as some people may think - especially since it's right at the beginning of the year.

The rest of their pre-season schedule looks like this:
Sept 20: Sens vs Rangers
Sept 22: Sens @ Rangers
Sept 24: Sens vs Flyers
Sept 26: Sens @ Canadiens
Sept 27: Sens vs Canadiens
Oct 2: Sens @ Frolunda HC Goteborg Jr.

T-minus 41 days...

The Second Line

I predicted on August 5 that the second line would end up being Foligno, Fisher and Vermette. So what could we see from this year?

Mike Fisher: As Mike fisher stated in his blog http://blogs.ottawasenators.com/player/ he believes his knee is on track and will be ready for a very important pre season. I think we will see a brand new and very confident Mike Fisher. He has a lot to prove, and the weight of $4,200,000 on his shoulders. I believe Mike Fisher is more than capable of scoring about 30 - 35 goals and 35 - 40 assist. This will be the year Fisher turns people heads and starts earning his pay check.

Antoine Vermette: Well what have we not said about this guy already? Vermette has a new contract under his belt but over the last few years has been in some peoples eyes underachieving in the goal scoring department. I am hoping Vermette can pass the 30 goal mark. As much as the Senators need the second line scoring depth, Vermettes face off winning percentage will be among the leagues best this year and a valuable commodity in the PK department. Hopefully we will see Vermette with between 60 and 70 points.

Nick Foligno: I believe Foligno could find a place on the second line this year. I know that Foligno has put on valuable muscle and knows he is not guaranteed anything on this team. Foligno played 45 games last year but expect him to be a full time NHL er this year. We saw sparks of greatness last year. I see a big increase in points for this guy, due to a big increase of ice time. This might seem favourable but I just have one of those feeling where he can get close to 20 goals this year and about the same in assist. So about 40 - 50 points. Also expect one Foligno leap at some point.

So obviously I feel very good about our first two lines, maybe feeling a little too optimistic. There is just something about our second line that I can see fun and exciting things happening to. Who knows maybe worthy of a nickname.. The M.A.N Line (first letter of their first names)

Fisher Knee Is On Track

Just came across Mike Fishers blog and wanted to pass it on to our loyal readers. In his blog he touches on how his knee is feeling and thinks he will be ready to go by opening of training camp. If you remember Fisher missed much of the 2007 training camp due to a groin which I think did not heal properly and affected his play throughout the season. For Ottawa to be successful they need a 100% healthy Fisher.

Fischer still feels very optimistic about the upcoming season and really likes the additions that Murray has added. He still feels the team is full of youth with a good mix of older experience players.

Fischer spoke with Coach Craig this summer on the phone and is excited what he will bring to the team.

http://blogs.ottawasenators.com/player/

NHL 2K9 For The WII

OK as you might of notice by reading the newspaper or on the Internet there is not much going on in the hockey world. So I am going to take a break from talking about our beloved Ottawa Senators and talk about what really is close to our hearts... Video Games. Who's on the cover and finally the much anticipated NHL hockey for the Wii (about time)

NHL 2K9 WII: Apparently Nintendo has simplified the controls quite a bit aiming for a family oriented game. The Graphics look very good, and the play looks smooth. I was unable to find out the price or the release date but probably close to drop of the puck. Also look for a down loadable trailer on your Wii Console. The use of the Wii remote as a hockey stick looks interesting and fun. Rick Nash will also be on the cover of the game. www.youtube.com/watch?v=nd0TUPJanIo

Great Expectations!!

All right, we have some new big contracts that are full of lots of money this year, and with lots of money come great expectations. I have listed some targets that I think are very reasonable if everyone stays healthy.

Alfredsson: As all Sens fans know we have the best bargain in the league with this guy! Not only does he play lots of minutes he is valuable on all units; power play, penalty kill, four on four and so on. At $4,338,996 this year most people would be happy if the player got 30 goals, but we are not talking about any player. Expect Alfredsson to score at least 40, and maybe come as close as 50, but unlikely. He will also add 50 helpers bringing him in the 90 point range for the year. I could see Alfredsson getting 6 of those goals short handed.

Heatley: OK Big expectations for this guy. He came up short last year on the quest for 50, but if he was healthy would of been there for sure. If we get the same Heatley that we saw in the World Hockey Championship expect him to break Gretzky record of 92 goals..... OK that might be a little far fetched, but I could see him getting career highs and getting somewhere between 55 and 62 goals. Now his total will also depend how Spezza does this year. The more effort Spezza puts forth the better off Heatley will be. Expect a healthy Heater to get about 105 points.

Spezza: Probably the most fustrating Senator to watch last year. I do believe this guys will come out of the gates more motivated then any other player on this team. I could see this guy getting 50 goals, but probably not this year. I can see him getting around 40 goals and 60 assist. I have heard Spezza has also added about ten pounds of muscle, so hopefully this brings a more physical presence to his game.

So there is our top line and expectations that a majority of fans and people around the team are praying for. As long as groins and shoulders stay in tack...

Do you agree or disagree with these expectation? As the days lead up to the season we will focus on other lines and "D" Pairings.

Line Ups & Payroll

OK so the Sens are 46 days away from playing their first pre-season game against the New York Rangers, and 60 days away from opening up against the Pittsburgh Penguins. So what does an every day normal guy think of after the August long weekend is? Line Ups and Payroll of course!

So after the brilliant signing of Vermette (thank Bryan), our payroll stands at 50,202,329 leaving us with 6,497,671 in cap space. We still have to sign Meszaros, or at least trade him. For argument sake I am going to assume we sign him for about 3, 000, 000 but my sources are saying that Bryan is far from the 3, 000, 000 mark.

This is how I see the Line up 60 days from now if the are no further transactions:

Alfredsson, Spezza, Heatley
Foligno, Fisher, Vermette
Mcammond, Kelly, Neil
Ruutu, Bass, Donovon/Schubert

Press box: Jesse Winchester

As far as our forwards go I have mixed feelings. First of all I could see Alfredsson and Foligno switching spots, as to even out some talent, only if Foligno can step it up and play constantly every night. I am also very excited to see Spezza back on the ice. I think he learnt a lot watching is team mates play in the World Hockey Championships. I think he will be more motivated to play this year then any other year as he has lots to prove still and his huge contract kicks in this year.

As for our third and fourth lines I am absolutely nervous about this as I see defensive liabilities and a definite lack of scoring and speed. Look for Winchester fighting hard for one of those spots in camp this fall.

I see our defense looking like this:

Phillips, Volchenkov
Meszaros, Lee
Smith, Nycholat/Schubert

Expect to see a lot of the Schubert shuffle this weekend as I believe he will be more valuable this then any other year, especially as injury's add up. Also expect him to once again be under rated by Sens fans. I have also heard that Murray is not done adding defensemen and is looking to trade in the next 14 days. Or when Meszaros is signed.

Look for Murray to use Vermette, Neil, Meszaros, Gerber as trade bait. There names keep coming up in conversation I have. Also don't expect Murray to spend right to the cap as it is usually a smart move to leave some room in case of injury's. Expect sens to use that money at the trade deadline if the think they can compete in the post season.