Anybody Got A Broom?

It's official!!! The Ottawa Senators are the first team out of the 2007-08 playoffs! They were swept in 4 by the upstart Pittsburgh Penguins! Yes, this is the same Ottawa Senators that set a record for the best start in NHL history by going 15 and 2. The same Ottawa Senators who made it to the cup final last year. The same Ottawa Senators who have the likes of Jason Spezza, Dany Heatley and Daniel Alfreddson in their lineup. Well, like I said in the title, anybody got a broom?



The Penguins brought their broom and swept the Sens out of the playoffs. Now Bryan Murray needs a broom to clean out the dressing room. In my humble opinion there are a cast of characters that need a new address!! Let's start with the obvious...

1. Wade Redden - What happened??? He signs a huge 3 year contract at $6.5 million a year and he quickly became a defensive liability. When Murray tried to trade him (twice) he wouldn't waive his no-trade clause because he believed he was here to win the cup. Well, as long as he's here Ottawa has no chance to win the cup!!! He's an unrestricted free agent come July 1st and we can only hope that Murray can trade before then...even if he only gets a bag of pucks and a pair of skates it would be worth it!


2. Ray Emery - The cancer of the dressing room has finally wore out the welcome mat!!! If Murray can get anything for him he would be proclaimed a genius but, alas Ottawa will be forced to buy out the rest of contract. Look for Ray to emerge as a backup somewhere in LA or Phoenix.


3. Randy Robitaille, Luc Richardson and Mike Commodore - Randy and Luc were ecstatic to have the chance to end their careers in their own backyard...consider it ended!!! Mike Commodore was a complete bust!!! I was expecting the hard-hitting, energetic Commodore of past...what we got was another slow-moving pylon on the defensive core!!! SEE YA!!!


4. Martin Lapointe - Brought in for toughness when Chris Neil was injured. The only thing tough about Lapointe was watching him play! Useless as tits on a bull!!!


5. Brian McGrattan - There's no room in this league for a slow, bumbling fighter who can't score!!! It's time to put him out to pasture...I believe there's room at the Celebrity Texas Hold'em tournament right next to Bob Probert and Tie Dummy!!!!

Now for the not-so-obvious...again, in my humble opinion...

1. Jason Spezza - I don't know about you guys but I keep hearing trade rumours of Spezza being traded to Vancouver for Roberto Luongo. That would go down as one of the most lopsided trades in NHL history!!! What's fueling this rumour is the fact that Luongo has let it be know that he wants to be traded back to the east to be closer to his wife and new child. I understand that. His wife and child are in Florida...Ottawa will not be his number 1 choice especially after the debacle of a season they just had!!! I'm also assuming that Spezza is wearing thin on the fans in this town. With the way he coughs up the puck trying to make the highlight reel all the time...makes sense! Him for Luongo??? The new GM in Vancouver (whoever that may be) would be chastised by the Canuck fans! Of course there is the outside chance that Spezza and Emery could go for Luongo...wouldn't hold my breath on that one though!!!


2. Andrej Meszaros - This guy lead the league in plus/minus 2 years ago. He has since become one of the worst (or unluckiest) defencemen in the league!!! Give him a new address!!!


3. Antoine Vermette - Before the trade deadline his name was brought up quite a bit while Murray was trying to package something with Emery. Truth is this guy can skate...he can shoot...he can be tough in the corners...he can be a game-breaker...but only when we feels like it. Anyone remember Martin Havlat??? Sound familiar??? Give him a new address!!!


4. Christoph Shubert - This guy hates to play forward...he keeps complaining that all he wants to do is play defense and yet they keep playing him as a forward. They put him on defense when they need him. He is a great 2-way player who can play both positions but complainers become a cancer in the dressing room! If he would've proven to be a better player on defense they would've kept him there...he didn't!!! Too busy complaining I guess!!! Give him a new address!!!!


5. Chris Neil - Where was the fire and passion of Chris Neil? He used to be one of my favourite dirty players! He picked up his game last year and was actually able to put the puck in the net...not too many times but enough to be an effective team player who can scrap and jack up the team. He disappeared this year. He had fleeting moments of glory but for the most part he was invisible. I don't think you need to give him a new address...it seems he already has one and it hasn't been in Ottawa for the past 5 months!!!!

That's my assessment of this 2007-08 Senators team. If you have an official team photo, keep it!!! It'll be the last time a lot of these players will be seen together. The players I haven't mentioned should be kept in Ottawa. Murray should also bring up the likes of Brian Lee, Nick Foligno, Cody Bass, Lawrence Nycholat, Josh Hennessy and Matt Carkner. I also think Murray should give Jeff Glass and Brian Elliott the chance to compete for the backup goaltending job. Unless of course he's able to get Luongo out of Vancouver!!! Anybody got a big enough broom to sweep him into Ottawa?

Let me know your thoughts!!! Enjoy golf season!!!

CHEERS!!!

The Rokpig!!!

the sensquatch challenge

Hey Everyone (from Allan on behalf of the Rokpig),

I'm sure you're just as bummed out as I am about the Sens loss tonight. They came out of the gates incredibly strong with Alfie in the line up and it looked like they were going to take this one. When the Penguins came out in the third with two quick goals, the wind came right out of the sails and that was that.

Having said that, I wish I had been at the game and we would like to give you a chance to go to the next one. Our friends at Philthy McNasty's agreed to put up two tickets to the private suite for the Wednesday game but it is going to take a bit of work to get them. On Wednesday, we'll be shooting the Nasty Show once again starting at about 5:30 and we'll be giving away two tickets to the fan that does the best Sensquatch impersonation. The Rokpig and Allan may even join you! Lucky You! In case your head has been buried under a rock, I thought we would bring you up to speed on the Sensquatch by showing you an interview we did with "The Squatch" himself (see video below). So come on out to Philthy McNasty's on Wednesday at 5:30 in your best Sensquatch impersonation and the crowd will cheer with the final call being make by the red giant himself.



C U Wednesday
Allan (on behalf of the Rokpig who is too sad to write anything tonight)
PS. I'll upload the show we taped tonight as soon as possible

The Nasty Hockey Show - Episode 7

Hey Everyone,

First of all, you might have noticed a couple of extra features to the right (provided by my incredibly smart brother in law Allan Isfan who is the co-founder of FaveQuest and is sponsoring/producing/editing and posting this show). You can register your email and get blog updates by mail. Note that you'll have to come to the website to see the actual video. There is also a reader poll for you to vote on stuff.

The Nasty Hockey Show has now entered the playoff phase and, together with Ryan from Philthy McNasty's in Kanata, we are giving away some great prizes including sens t-shirts, hats, discounts for food and drinks. Watch the video below to find out how to win prizes during the Monday show (starting at ~5PM). Then, on Tuesday, watch the show to find out how to win the grand prize "two tickets to the Philthy Suite for the Wednesday April 16 game!!!".

One last thing. We are now taking reader questions on this blog that we will have one of the lovely servers read during the next show ... if you're worthy. Rokpig and Liam will the provide answers or opinions so leave some comments below.

Enjoy the show and we hope to see you at Philthy McNasty's in Kanata (Centrum, near AMC theater).

Start Your Engines!!!

Ahhh...the sweet smell of spring is in the air which can only mean one thing...the STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS are about to start!!! This is real hockey...rough and tough hockey...not for the faint of heart. The hitting, the fighting, the passion...and that's just the fans in living rooms and bars across the country!!! Watching the games can be harmful if you have high blood pressure or if you're wearing the wrong jersey at the wrong bar!! I have some hazy memories of being in Montreal a few years ago in a sports bar wearing my Bruins jersey. I guess it didn't help that Boston was actually winning the game and I was telling anyone who would listen how much the Habs sucked!!! That was a rough night but I survived...unfortunately Boston didn't and lost the series after being up 3-0!!! It's tough to be a Bruin's fan I tell ya!!!

As the final weeks of this season were drawing to an end I couldn't help but notice the amount of idiocy happening in the NHL.

1. Mark (Darth Vader) Bell from Toronto taking out 2 of Ottawa's stars and not even being challenged! The hit on Alfie was clean (according to the NHL rules) but the team should have made him pay. This shows a lack of support within the club. Something stinks in the dressing room and it ain't coming from their hockey bags.
2. Boston playing Ottawa and neither are gauranteed playoff births. Boston needs the win and Ottawa needs one point. Ottawa loses but thanks to Jaques Martin and the Florida Panthers beating 3rd seed Carolina, Ottawa gets in anyway!!!
3. Pittsburgh played Philadelphia on Sunday. If Pittsburgh wins they get 1st place in the conference which allows them home ice advantage in each round. They would also face Philadelphia in the 1st round. They don't like playing the physical style that Philly brings so they throw the game in order to face a much softer Ottawa team. If I was Bryan Murray that news item would be on the bulletin board in the dressing room and used for motivation. That alone might help Ottawa win one game...maybe!!!

It seems that there's at least one idiot a week in the NHL...my vote this week goes to Bryan Murray. When the Leafs were taking their liberties with the Senators he should've sent a message. If the players didn't feel compelled to stand up for their captain then Bryan Murray should've lit a fire under their collective asses!!!

Let me know what you think!! If you have an opinion for who the NHL idiot of the week is let me know! I've got a plan that should be fun...something along the lines of a voodoo doll and Super Dave Osborne!!! I'll keep you posted.

Before I leave I must share my picks for the 1st round...if you win any money with these just remember, I like Molson Canadian!!!

East

1. Montreal vs Boston -> Boston in 7
2. Pittsburgh vs Ottawa -> Pittsburgh in 5
3. Washington vs Philly -> Washington in 6
4. New Jersey vs Rangers -> New Jersey in 7

West

1. Detroit vs Nashville -> Nashville in 7
2. San Jose vs Calgary -> San Jose in 5
3. Minnesota vs Colorado -> Minnesota in 6
4. Anaheim vs Dallas -> Anaheim in 4

If you think I'm crazy and want to know why I picked the teams I did...email me and I'll let you know the method to my madness!!

That's it for now...I'll be back next week...enjoy the 2nd season!!!

CHEERS!!!

The Rokpig!!!!