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!!!