Monday, May 15, 2006
Pack your bags, Senators
Your golf bags that is. With the Buffalo Sabres' 3-2 overtime victory on Saturday night, the Ottawa Senators will be hitting the links prematurely yet again. This year more than ever seemed like it would be the year the team in Canada's capital city would finally face down the demons of springs past and at least play for, if not win, the Stanley Cup. After breezing through a regular season that saw them score the most goals and allow the fewest against, one in which they boasted an incredible starting five of Heatley, Spezza, Alfredsson, Redden, and Chara, their cup dream came crashing down in just the second round. This leaves everyone wondering just what went wrong, and this time around the answer might be above the ice, rather than on it.
Like past years, many people are pointing between the pipes. Patrick Lalime was dumped in favor of Dominik Hasek during the summer of 2004. After the lockout, Hasek had played a grand total of 14 NHL games in the three years following his Stanley Cup triumph with Detroit in 2002. He was now in his 40s and he had always been prone to injury. But Ottawa GM John Muckler took a gamble on his former Buffalo stopper, a gamble which looked like it just might pay off until the Olympic break.Hasek injured a muscle while playing for the Czech Republic entry, in what very well could have been his last game, period. This left goaltending duties to untested Ray Emery, who played good enough to give Ottawa a chance, but only if they continued to score at an above average rate. They didn't. After a six goal outburst in a losing cause in game one, the Sens only managed seven in the following four contests, three of those one-goal losses. Strike one, Muckler.
Some observers will also look at Muckler's choice of coach. Bryan Murray was brought in to replace the robotic defensive guru Jacques Martin. This was hailed as a great move all through the land, but did anybody stop to take a look at Murray's past history? Much like Ottawa, the mid to late 80s version of the Bryan Murray-coached Washington Capitals put together strong regular seasons with Mike Gartner and Scott Stevens leading the way, only to come up short in the post-season time and again. While goaltending woes were certainly a contributing factor to many early exits, it can't be ignored that the Caps only finally made it past the second round the same year Murray was replaced by his brother, Terry. After their worst regular season in several years, oddly enough. So it was on to Detroit for Murray where his teams again wasted 40+ win regular seasons with early round upsettings. A coach with a track record of choking in the playoffs matched up with a team of similar reputation was hardly a formula for finally getting over the hump. Strike two, Muckler.
If Ottawa did have any weakness, it was at the center position. Mike Fisher is one of the best third line centers in the game, but the problem is he was plugged into the number two role, sometimes platooning with Bryan Smolinski. With the dynamic, but green Jason Spezza as the number one pivot, Ottawa lacked the one-two punch at center that most championship teams traditionally have. Muckler's answer to this problem was to go get Tyler Arnason. The fact that the wouful Blackhawks couldn't have been happier to get rid of him speaks volumes. Sure enough, the troubled Arnason was a healthy scratch for Ottawa's final two games. While the crop of available help upfront wasn't great, Doug Weight was available for a price; a price that many Senators fans would gladly pay now.
Strike three, Muckler. You're out.
Like past years, many people are pointing between the pipes. Patrick Lalime was dumped in favor of Dominik Hasek during the summer of 2004. After the lockout, Hasek had played a grand total of 14 NHL games in the three years following his Stanley Cup triumph with Detroit in 2002. He was now in his 40s and he had always been prone to injury. But Ottawa GM John Muckler took a gamble on his former Buffalo stopper, a gamble which looked like it just might pay off until the Olympic break.Hasek injured a muscle while playing for the Czech Republic entry, in what very well could have been his last game, period. This left goaltending duties to untested Ray Emery, who played good enough to give Ottawa a chance, but only if they continued to score at an above average rate. They didn't. After a six goal outburst in a losing cause in game one, the Sens only managed seven in the following four contests, three of those one-goal losses. Strike one, Muckler.
Some observers will also look at Muckler's choice of coach. Bryan Murray was brought in to replace the robotic defensive guru Jacques Martin. This was hailed as a great move all through the land, but did anybody stop to take a look at Murray's past history? Much like Ottawa, the mid to late 80s version of the Bryan Murray-coached Washington Capitals put together strong regular seasons with Mike Gartner and Scott Stevens leading the way, only to come up short in the post-season time and again. While goaltending woes were certainly a contributing factor to many early exits, it can't be ignored that the Caps only finally made it past the second round the same year Murray was replaced by his brother, Terry. After their worst regular season in several years, oddly enough. So it was on to Detroit for Murray where his teams again wasted 40+ win regular seasons with early round upsettings. A coach with a track record of choking in the playoffs matched up with a team of similar reputation was hardly a formula for finally getting over the hump. Strike two, Muckler.
If Ottawa did have any weakness, it was at the center position. Mike Fisher is one of the best third line centers in the game, but the problem is he was plugged into the number two role, sometimes platooning with Bryan Smolinski. With the dynamic, but green Jason Spezza as the number one pivot, Ottawa lacked the one-two punch at center that most championship teams traditionally have. Muckler's answer to this problem was to go get Tyler Arnason. The fact that the wouful Blackhawks couldn't have been happier to get rid of him speaks volumes. Sure enough, the troubled Arnason was a healthy scratch for Ottawa's final two games. While the crop of available help upfront wasn't great, Doug Weight was available for a price; a price that many Senators fans would gladly pay now.
Strike three, Muckler. You're out.
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