Summer of 09, next year and me rambling
Posted 08-13-2009 at 07:07 PM by AK27ReLoaded
This past summer and off season has been jam packed with action for us Sens fans! There are A LOT of things for us to look forward to this up and coming season! Coming off a season where we didn't make the playoffs for the first time in more than 10 years, a season where we had our worst record in more than 10 years, and a season where we scored the least goals again... in more than 10 years. Someone posted a thread asking has this been a boring off season? to that I say NO WAY! the EXACT opposite actually. That said I can't even begin to think why anyone would classify this summer as boring. I'd say that this has been the BIGGEST in history, THE BEST! and the busiest as well. Most is of course due to the neverending Heatley saga. Pascal Leclaire's debut season with us is HUGE too! and acquiring Alex Kovalev who other than Hasek is our biggest free agent signing in history is another big reason. We finally got the big name forward in July, something that has NEVER happend before. Got to hand it to Murray there, despite being strapped down and held hostage by Heatley, he still went out and got the BEST possible free agent left on the UFA list. When we signed Kovalev he was IMO the guy that could make the biggest impact here. Spezza is a center that could get Kovalev over the 40 goal plateau for the first time since the 2000-01 season. But all in all the off season definitely wouldn't have been as busy and interesting without the Heatley saga. Allow me to show you why I think this is the biggest and best off season in history and what good can come out of all this at least for me, but I doubt I'm the only one.
First off there is no doubt in my mind that if it wasn't for this saga, I wouldn't be here on this site. In June I was searching for a good place to find rumors, discuss alternatives with other fans, share my opinions and stay up to date in the happenings of all this. I checked all my usual rumor sites and meticulously searched for more. Now I know like 10, before it was like 2 or 3. It still didn't seem to be enough, I like to debate, I like to share opinons and I love researching stats. I like to think I have excellent hockey knowledge. I believe I know what I'm talking about. Predicting is also fun too, thats where all the trade suggestions come in, I could sit and do it all day!
Thats when I joined Sens Army. Without the Heatley saga I can't say I would have. I can't say I'd be continuously searching and searching for new sources on inside information day in and day out. I wouldn't even know about Senschirp! Doing all this I'm gaining more hockey knowledge, searching players, checking their Junior stats, and sometimes spending HOURS doing it! I would still be searching for rumors and signing as I always do in the off season but not even close to as much as I am now. Anyone else think that if Heatley didn't ask for a trade they wouldn't be here? there's definitely those who would say they wouldn't be logged in as much. I joined Sens Army on the Sens site and met the core of members there. Seeing that I shared a lot of the same opinions and views I immediately was hooked! there was humor and good people, so its not just the site that kept me here its the members as well!
So how many of you watched the NHL draft solely for the purpose of hearing Bettman say " we have a trade... the Ottawa Senators have traded Dany Heatley to..." I bet I'm not the only one. If I watch the draft it's normally only until Ottawa makes their first choice, well NOT this year, my ass stayed on the couch and my eyes GLUED to the t.v. Prior to the draft I was checking up on those who were supposed to be of the top 10 picks, Schenn, Kane, MPS, Cowen, ect... cause I knew there was a chance Ottawa could trade up and pick one of them. I was never one to pay attention to junior players and their stats. Now I am, again thanks to Heatley. I knew alot about the NHL and the players before, now I know even more!
I'm part of a hockey pool with huge payouts, (ask if interested, I'll give details) all this will definitely help in making my choices. I work security and it can really get boring, thanks to all this my shift will be done and I don't even notice its time to go home cause I'm too busy searching, chatting and comparing. Where as before I'm staring at the clock watching it go backwards playing spider solitaire. So I can thank Hetard for that too.
One definitely can't overlook the fact that there is one player who really wants to play here, one player who all things considered SHOULDN'T! Mike Comrie was acquired from Phoenix in 2006-07 for Alex Kaigorodov, he had very decent numbers playing half a season here scoring 25 points in 41 games. He was with us through our cup run, could have played better could have played worse. In the off season he expressed interest in returning here but ultimately jumped ship to the Isles for 4 million a year over 2 seasons. He played a full season in 2007-08 and then was once again acquired by the Senators this past season on Feb.21 after having hip surgery. I was stoked! I remember hearing Kenny B on Hot 89.9 announce the trade as I was leaving to go home after work, I started hootting and hollering Yeeaaahhhhhh as if Ottawa just scored an O.T playoff goal! hearing we also got Campoli made it that much better. I ALWAYS liked Comrie and NEVER would have guessed that Ottawa would re-acquire him.
He scored a goal in his second game, and then for whatever reason was given minimal ice time, and a job on our third line playing along side Chris Kelly. 20 games, 2 goals and 4 assists later, he's tagged as a waste of McAmmond. I can almost guarantee had he been consistently playing on the top 2 lines those numbers would have at the very least doubled. But he averaged around 14-15 minutes of ice time and on 2 occasions had 9:51 and 10:18 of ice time. Very surprising considering Comrie and Clouston go back to when Comrie was a teenager. So despite that he still wants to come back. Wow Commendable, No? I think now Murray is finally acknowledging that fact, as I have heard multiple times through multiple sources that he would like to get him signed, he did at the end of the season say that Comrie didn't "earn" a new contract. If you ask me he didn't get a chance to show Ottawa why they acquired him. 8 Teams have shown an interest in Comrie and he has yet to agree to any of the contracts offered. Which clearly indicates to me he knows where he wants to play next season, he understands Ottawa's hands are tied because of Heatley and is patiently waiting for the trade to happen. Why rent him twice and not give him a shot to start camp with the team BOTH TIMES, a chance to develop chemistry with players, something thats tough to do during mid season if you ask me. A healthy Comrie this year will get at least 50 points, and if it's him who centers Kovalev even more! So here's to hoping that he doesn't get the cold shoulder. He has something to prove this year and if given the chance with us, he won't fail IMO!
So the deadline to trade Heatley is tomorrow. I'm hoping if a deal for some reason doesn't get done that Murray is bluffing. I can't see Heatley returning here. I can't think of a hometown player who has been booed by his own fans as much as Heatley will be booed the year if he skates in a Sens uniform. I really don't think management should consider that an option after what happened with Yashin, and after Heatley has ignored calls from Captain Alfie and others. We don't need to be going into this year with a big question mark on what the dressing room will be like, and how players are going to react to the constant barrage of question that will be directed at them about Heatley. Murray should call Heatley, tell him that he only recieved 2 solid offers that are worthy. where to Hetard? Buffalo, Edmonton or are you going to cause another cancer in the dressing room? I'm happy that both those teams aren't teams from his list,,, that way a message is sent, were're the boss NOT YOU!
tick tock, tick tock
First off there is no doubt in my mind that if it wasn't for this saga, I wouldn't be here on this site. In June I was searching for a good place to find rumors, discuss alternatives with other fans, share my opinions and stay up to date in the happenings of all this. I checked all my usual rumor sites and meticulously searched for more. Now I know like 10, before it was like 2 or 3. It still didn't seem to be enough, I like to debate, I like to share opinons and I love researching stats. I like to think I have excellent hockey knowledge. I believe I know what I'm talking about. Predicting is also fun too, thats where all the trade suggestions come in, I could sit and do it all day!
Thats when I joined Sens Army. Without the Heatley saga I can't say I would have. I can't say I'd be continuously searching and searching for new sources on inside information day in and day out. I wouldn't even know about Senschirp! Doing all this I'm gaining more hockey knowledge, searching players, checking their Junior stats, and sometimes spending HOURS doing it! I would still be searching for rumors and signing as I always do in the off season but not even close to as much as I am now. Anyone else think that if Heatley didn't ask for a trade they wouldn't be here? there's definitely those who would say they wouldn't be logged in as much. I joined Sens Army on the Sens site and met the core of members there. Seeing that I shared a lot of the same opinions and views I immediately was hooked! there was humor and good people, so its not just the site that kept me here its the members as well!
So how many of you watched the NHL draft solely for the purpose of hearing Bettman say " we have a trade... the Ottawa Senators have traded Dany Heatley to..." I bet I'm not the only one. If I watch the draft it's normally only until Ottawa makes their first choice, well NOT this year, my ass stayed on the couch and my eyes GLUED to the t.v. Prior to the draft I was checking up on those who were supposed to be of the top 10 picks, Schenn, Kane, MPS, Cowen, ect... cause I knew there was a chance Ottawa could trade up and pick one of them. I was never one to pay attention to junior players and their stats. Now I am, again thanks to Heatley. I knew alot about the NHL and the players before, now I know even more!
I'm part of a hockey pool with huge payouts, (ask if interested, I'll give details) all this will definitely help in making my choices. I work security and it can really get boring, thanks to all this my shift will be done and I don't even notice its time to go home cause I'm too busy searching, chatting and comparing. Where as before I'm staring at the clock watching it go backwards playing spider solitaire. So I can thank Hetard for that too.
One definitely can't overlook the fact that there is one player who really wants to play here, one player who all things considered SHOULDN'T! Mike Comrie was acquired from Phoenix in 2006-07 for Alex Kaigorodov, he had very decent numbers playing half a season here scoring 25 points in 41 games. He was with us through our cup run, could have played better could have played worse. In the off season he expressed interest in returning here but ultimately jumped ship to the Isles for 4 million a year over 2 seasons. He played a full season in 2007-08 and then was once again acquired by the Senators this past season on Feb.21 after having hip surgery. I was stoked! I remember hearing Kenny B on Hot 89.9 announce the trade as I was leaving to go home after work, I started hootting and hollering Yeeaaahhhhhh as if Ottawa just scored an O.T playoff goal! hearing we also got Campoli made it that much better. I ALWAYS liked Comrie and NEVER would have guessed that Ottawa would re-acquire him.
He scored a goal in his second game, and then for whatever reason was given minimal ice time, and a job on our third line playing along side Chris Kelly. 20 games, 2 goals and 4 assists later, he's tagged as a waste of McAmmond. I can almost guarantee had he been consistently playing on the top 2 lines those numbers would have at the very least doubled. But he averaged around 14-15 minutes of ice time and on 2 occasions had 9:51 and 10:18 of ice time. Very surprising considering Comrie and Clouston go back to when Comrie was a teenager. So despite that he still wants to come back. Wow Commendable, No? I think now Murray is finally acknowledging that fact, as I have heard multiple times through multiple sources that he would like to get him signed, he did at the end of the season say that Comrie didn't "earn" a new contract. If you ask me he didn't get a chance to show Ottawa why they acquired him. 8 Teams have shown an interest in Comrie and he has yet to agree to any of the contracts offered. Which clearly indicates to me he knows where he wants to play next season, he understands Ottawa's hands are tied because of Heatley and is patiently waiting for the trade to happen. Why rent him twice and not give him a shot to start camp with the team BOTH TIMES, a chance to develop chemistry with players, something thats tough to do during mid season if you ask me. A healthy Comrie this year will get at least 50 points, and if it's him who centers Kovalev even more! So here's to hoping that he doesn't get the cold shoulder. He has something to prove this year and if given the chance with us, he won't fail IMO!
So the deadline to trade Heatley is tomorrow. I'm hoping if a deal for some reason doesn't get done that Murray is bluffing. I can't see Heatley returning here. I can't think of a hometown player who has been booed by his own fans as much as Heatley will be booed the year if he skates in a Sens uniform. I really don't think management should consider that an option after what happened with Yashin, and after Heatley has ignored calls from Captain Alfie and others. We don't need to be going into this year with a big question mark on what the dressing room will be like, and how players are going to react to the constant barrage of question that will be directed at them about Heatley. Murray should call Heatley, tell him that he only recieved 2 solid offers that are worthy. where to Hetard? Buffalo, Edmonton or are you going to cause another cancer in the dressing room? I'm happy that both those teams aren't teams from his list,,, that way a message is sent, were're the boss NOT YOU!
tick tock, tick tock
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