Could The Caps Wade Into The Trade Market?

Word out of Ottawa is that blueliner Wade Redden might want out (and with a no-trade clause, it would be largely up to him). The two-time All-Star has one more year left on his current contract (which pays him $6.5 million per year), and at 30-years-old still has plenty of good hockey left, despite what he showed in the Stanley Cup Finals.

Sportsnet's Ian Mendes lists Edmonton as "the most logical destination for Redden," but each of the reasons he lists makes the Washington nearly as logical a destination. Let's take them in turn:

1. They have only $28 million committed in salary for next season - giving them the most flexibility amongst the potential suitors.
   I'm not sure where the $28 million figure comes from, but it's pretty clear that neither Edmonton nor the Caps is going to run into salary cap issues in the foreseeable future.



2. They have an asset in Joffrey Lupul who had a disappointing season and might be of interest to the Senators. Lupul is scheduled to make $5.4 million over the next two seasons before he becomes a restricted free agent. And don't forget that Murray was the one who drafted Lupul when he was the GM in Anaheim.
   Good points, but after Lupul's disastrous year, how much more attractive is he to a contender than some of the Caps' more tradeable assets? We know how much more expensive he is...



3. The Oilers have three first round picks in this weekend's Entry Draft, which could be used as part of a package to land Redden.
   The Caps have a pair of first round picks.



4. Kevin Lowe might be desperate to lure a big-name player back to Edmonton to erase the stigma that his city is not a popular place to play. Redden has an off-season home in Edmonton and his family connection to the area is well-documented.
   I wouldn't call the situtation in D.C. "desperate," but it's certainly close. And while Redden has no connection to Washington, I'm sure his ATM card will work here as well as it does in Edmonton.

I'm not convinced that Redden wants to leave Ottawa - why would he? But if he does want to leave, would the Caps be interested? What would they offer?

Personally, I don't love Redden, but wouldn't be upset to see Tomas Fleischmann and the 28th pick head from one capital city to another for the rearguard (assuming that he could be signed long-term at a reasonable price). Admittedly, that's not likely enough to entice the Sens to make a deal, but if the Caps start to think about giving up much more, why not just break the bank and sign Brian Rafalski as an unrestricted free agent and keep your assets instead?

What would you be willing to move for Redden?

Thanks to Tyler for the link

The View From Your Playoff Seat

Sens/Ducks Game 4 at the Canadian Embassy
Taken by KB. Washington, D.C.

The Good (Alexander Keith's India Pale Ale from Nova Scotia), The Bad (Spezza, Heatley, Redden...), The Ugly (Cherry's cravate)

The entire VFYPS album can be viewed here.
Send us your playoff pics here.

Offseason Shopping List: Defensemen

Having unanimously settled a new first-line center for the Caps, it's time to find a new "number one" defenseman. As was the case with centers, should the team choose to go the free agent route, there are certainly some options out there. Unlike centers, however, this year's free agent class of defensemen is relatively weak as compared to last year's.

First, a look at likely market conditions. In the offseason leading up to the 2006-07 season, teams were working with a $44 million salary cap. The top (unrestricted) free agent defensemen available were Nicklas Lidstrom, Zdeno Chara, Wade Redden, Ed Jovanovski, Rob Blake and Bryan McCabe. A quick look at the deals each got:

• Lidstrom (36 years old): 2 years, $15.2 million ($7.6 million per year); 2005-06 stats:16-64-80
• Chara (29): 5 years, $37.5 million ($7.5 million per year); 2005-06 stats: 16-27-43
• Redden (29): 2 years, $13 million ($6.5 million per year); 2005-06 stats: 10-40-50
• Jovanovski (30): 5 years, $32.5 million ($6.5 million per year); 2005-06 stats: 8-25-33
• Blake (36): 2 years, $12 million ($6 million per year); 2005-06 stats: 14-37-51
• McCabe (31): 5 years, $28.75 million ($5.75 million per year); 2005-06 stats: 19-49-68

Now, that's one hell of a class of blueliners. Sure, a couple of 'em are a bit long in the tooth and there are some injury concerns there, but any one of those guys (with one exception) could conceivably put together a Norris Trophy finalist season (and some have already, multiple times). Compare that to this year's top-five UFAs (in no particular order): Mathieu Schneider, Sheldon Souray, Kimmo Timonen, Brian Rafalski and Roman Hamrlik. See any Norris winners there? Any perennial finalists? Me neither.

So what will these guys cost? As we discussed with the centers, for 2007-08, the salary cap is expected to rise to between $46 and $47.5 million, but for the ease of this exercise, let's call it $48 million, a 9% increase over 2006-07. It would stand to reason that the top free agents, then, will cost around 9% more than they did last offseason (of course this assumes that some other factors, such as supply of and demand for these players holds constant, but again, pinpoint accuracy isn't important here). In other words, get ready to shell out around $6 million - bare-minimum - for the next 2-5 years. With all of that in mind, let's take a look at the candidates for the top-D spot (stats through 6 March 2007):

• Roman Hamrlik
• DOB: April 12, 1974
• Nationality: Czech
• 2006-07 salary: $3,500,000
• Honors and Awards: 1996, 1999, 2003 NHL All-Star; 1998 Olympic Gold Medal
• 2006-07 stats: 59 GP, 5-25-30
• Career regular season stats: 983 GP, 129-368-497
• Career playoff stats: 49 GP, 1-19-20
• Games played over the last five NHL seasons prior to 2006-07: 351/410
• Why he's a prime target for the Caps: Former number one overall pick (and we know how the team loves to collect former first rounders), Hamrlik is a good skater, shooter and passer who plays a physical (enough) game.
• Why he's not: He's somewhat injury-prone and makes mistakes in the defensive zone at times. More than that, he's not a true #1 defenseman.
  
• Brian Rafalski
• DOB: September 28, 1973
• Nationality: American
• 2006-07 salary: $4,200,000
• Honors and Awards: 2000, 2003 Stanley Cup; 2002 Olympic Silver Medal; 2002, 2004, 2007 NHL All-Star
• 2006-07 stats: 67 GP, 7-36-43
• Career regular season stats: 526 GP 43-256-299
• Career playoff stats: 91 GP 15-37-52
• Games played over the last four NHL seasons prior to 2006-07: 384/410
• Why he's a prime target for the Caps: Rafalski is a winner and comes from a franchise that knows what winning is all about. His numbers may not be the most impressive, but they've been held down somewhat by playing in a defense-first system. He's a smart player, a great skater, and a capable offensive defenseman.
• Why he's not: He's not big (5-10, 190). Seriously, that's just about the only "negative" I could write about Raffy. Maybe the fact that he'll be 34 by Opening Night 2007 is another, or the fact that at a $4.2 million 2006-07 salary, his 2007-08 salary will likely be one of the highest in the League.
  
• Mathieu Schneider
• DOB: June 12, 1969
• Nationality: American
• 2006-07 salary: $3,300,000
• Honors and Awards: 1993 Stanley Cup; 1996, 2003 NHL All-Star
• 2006-07 stats: 54 GP, 11-37-48
• Career regular season stats: 1118 GP, 200-459-659
• Career playoff stats: 92 GP, 7-39-46
• Games played over the last five NHL seasons prior to 2006-07: 356/410
• Why he's a prime target for the Caps: Schneider has a cannon from the blueline and passes extremely well - an ideal powerplay quarterback. Plus, he'd fill the on-ice Jew quota that has been deficient since Jeff Halpern left town.
• Why he's not: He'll be 38 on Opening Night 2007, doesn't have great size and misses a handful of games every year with injuries.
  
• Sheldon Souray
• DOB: July 13, 1976
• Nationality: Canadian
• 2006-07 salary: $2,432,000
• Honors and Awards: 2004, 2007 NHL All-Star
• 2006-07 stats: 67 GP, 23-32-55
• Career regular season stats: 492 GP, 63-114-177
• Career playoff stats: 34 GP, 3-7-10
• Games played over the last five NHL seasons prior to 2006-07: 224/410
• Why he's a prime target for the Caps: Souray has a laser of a shot from the point and plays with an edge. Also, he's recently reconciled with his wife, and she's certainly a plus.
• Why he's not: He will likely be the highest-paid free agent defenseman by far, but is a guy who has played 55% of his team's games over the past five years and who has well over 30% of his career production so far this season worth that much? Add in that he's not a terribly skilled passer, not the most skilled defensively and takes bad penalties and I think you have your answer.
• Kimmo Timonen
• DOB: March 18, 1975
• Nationality: Finnish
• 2006-07 salary: $2,280,000
• Honors and Awards: 1998 Olympic Bronze Medal; 2006 Olympic Silver Medal; 2004, 2007 NHL All-Star
• 2006-07 stats: 66 GP, 10-37-47
• Career regular season stats: 559 GP, 76-217-293
• Career playoff stats: 11 GP, 1-3-4
• Games played over the last five NHL seasons prior to 2006-07: 392/410
• Why he's a prime target for the Caps: Timonen is durable, fast and a good passer with a good shot.
• Why he's not: He's smallish and perhaps a marginal number one guy.

From a quick glance at the above and my gut impressions of these five, I'd rank them Rafalski, Timonen, Souray, Schneider, Hamrlik in terms of how they'd fit what the Caps are doing. I'm sure I'll meet a lot of resistance ranking Souray so low, but his injury-riddled past and defensive/discipline lapses scare me - I'd gladly trade a few MPH on the slapper for a few more takeaways and plusses at the other end.

Finally, as we did with the centers, having attempted to pick an unrestricted free agent, let's explore the restricted free agent route, where the money saved could be spent on a center and/or a rightwing. Of course you would be giving up some picks, but with all of the prospects the Caps will have compiled by then and names like Ryan Whitney, Joni Pitkanen and Ryan Suter on the market, maybe it's an option worth exploring (if for no other reason than to screw Pittsburgh and/or Philly financially by making them match a high offer).

Tuesday Roundup/Gamenight: Caps @ Sens

[NHL.com Preview - WashingtonCaps.com Preview - Official Gameday Thread]

I've been away from The Rink for a couple of days, so I didn't have the opportunity to recap Saturday night's game. Let me do so now:

Now that that's out of the way, let's turn our attention to the here-and-now, shall we?

The last time the Caps faced off against the Ottawa Senators, Washington had one of its best performances of the year, a dominating effort that resulted in a 6-2 win for the boys from D.C., capping off a four-game win streak that also included wins against Tampa, Dallas and Buffalo. Since then, the Caps have been a very pedestrian 7-9-1, and they continue to be incredibly streaky (the Ottawa game was followed by 3-1-1, 1-7-0, 3-0-0 and the current 0-2-0 stretches) and maddeningly unpredictable. The only thing that is consistent with these Caps, it seems, is inconsistency.

The Sens, for their part, come in to tonight's game on fire. Despite being without their top two centers (Jason Spezza and Mike Fisher), Ottawa is 9-1-1 in their last 11, outscoring opponents 25-10 during their current four-game winning streak. Dany Heatley and Daniel Alfredsson are both playing Hart-calibre hockey, Wade Redden (nine points in his last six games) has shrugged off his early-season injuries and slumps and Ray Emery is 7-1-1 with a 2.21 goals against average and a .931 save percentage in his last nine games. And for you trend junkies, here's your ominous stat of the day: the Sens are 6-1 in their last seven games after scoring five or more goals in their previous game, while the Caps are 1-4 in their last five games after allowing five or more goals in their previous game.

The way the Caps have been playing of late, this game could get ugly. Olie Kolzig and Brent Johnson (who will get tonight's start) have been victimized by poor coverage, bad goals and mental lapses lately (Kolzig has a 6.06 GAA and .848 SV% in his last two games, Johnson ghastly 13.09 GAA and .684 SV% in his last two), and if there's a team that can make you pay for such breakdowns, it's Ottawa. But the way this season has gone for the Caps, would it surprise anyone to see them put it together for a big win tonight?

Caps hockey: expect the unexpected.

Daily Awards

• Hart: Patrick Marleau (GWG, A, 8 SOG)
• Ross: David Legwand, Patrick Marleau, Vincent Prospal, Ed Jovanovski (3 points each)
• Norris: Ed Jovanovski (2G, A, -1, 8 SOG, 3 hits, 3 blocked shots)
• Vezina: Dominik Hasek (23-save shutout win)
• Richard: Kristian Huselius (2G)
• Calder: Jiri Hudler (GWG, +1, 3 SOG, 1 hit, 1 blocked shot)
• Aiken: Roman Hamrlik (0 points, -3, 0 SOG, 2 minor penalties)

Saturday Roundup/Gamenight: Rangers @ Caps

[NHL.com Preview - WashingtonCaps.com Preview - Official Gameday Thread]

Tonight the Caps welcome J.J. and the Broadway Blueshirts to the VC. The Rags had a physical battle with Atlanta last night (which they won handily), while the Caps come in well-rested as they haven't played a game since Monday night's comeback win against Ottawa (and yes, that includes Thursday night's game at Carolina that was on the schedule but for which they didn't show up), so look for the hosts to have a little more jump from the first puck drop.

The Rangers have three of the NHL's top seven scorers, the seventh best powerplay and the third most potent offense in the League. Needless to say, it will be absolutely critical to stay out of the box and keep the shots against down: Stupid is Death.

Thread of the Day:

• Pothier Is Killing Us ---- AGAIN
  

Elsewhere 'Round the Rinks:

• We're #30! According to Forbes (via OFB), the Caps are the least valuable franchise in the NHL. Now this valuation is largely based on the current arena deal, and since the Caps are renters, it's not surprising that they'd be way down the list. At some point, I assume Abe Pollin will sell the building to Ted Leonsis et. al. and the Caps will be worth a heckuva lot more, so fret not.
  

Daily Awards

• Hart: Jason Spezza (G, 2A, +4, 69% faceoffs won)
  
• Ross: Michael Nylander, Jaromir Jagr, Jason Spezza (3 points each)
  
• Norris: Wade Redden (G, A, +3)
  
• Vezina: Miikka Kiprusoff (37-save shutout win)
  
• Richard: Ryan Smyth, Dany Heatley, Radim Vrbata, Tomas Vanek (2G each)
  
• Calder: Evgeni Malkin (G, A)
  
• Aiken: Colby Armstrong (-4, 0 SOG, 0-for-2 on faceoffs)
  

Thursday Roundup

The Caps packed up and got out of town yesterday, and both the WaPo and the WTimes note a sense of optimism heading into next year. SI.com, however, doesn't necessarily share such optimism in its season-ending evaluation of the non-playoff teams:

Washington Capitals

Half full: When your lineup boasts Alexander Ovechkin, the most explosive and entertaining scorer the league has seen since Mario Lemieux, it's pretty easy to be giddy about the future. Alexander Semin, the highly skilled running mate Ovechkin lacked this season, recently signed a two-year deal. Shaone Morrisonn, stolen from the Bruins in the 2004 Sergei Gonchar deal, made huge strides late in the season and looks like a guy who'll be part of the Caps' top pairing for the next decade. A high pick this summer should land an impact player. And, hey, the chance to play with Ovechkin could make Washington an intriguing option for a free agent

Half empty: What you saw this season in Washington is pretty much what you get: Outside of Mike Green and Jakub Klepis, there's not much to get excited about down on the farm. And right now, Ovechkin is the team. The Caps are one prolonged rehab period away from competing for the Calder Cup.

The level-headed observer says: Caps fans may want to take solace in the fact that the team won four of its last five games while holding opponents to just one goal in three of those wins, but they shouldn't. Things won't improve much next season. Beyond Morrisonn, the team is in a shambles behind the blue line. Washington gave up the most shots and the second-most goals. Unless Zdeno Chara, Wade Redden and Nick Lidstrom sign up over the summer, there's likely to be a repeat in 2006-07. It's a slow process to rebuild after hitting rock bottom, and the Caps only now are taking the first tentative strides back to respectability. But as long as Ovechkin's on the ice, there will always be a reason to show up at the MCI Center.

One could quibble with that last assertion, given that the MCI Center no longer exists, but the underlying point - that teams do not rebuild in one year - is, of course, accurate. What is less accurate, perhaps, is the assessment that the Caps have nothing down on the farm (Eric Fehr's name comes to mind). But by and large I think that SI.com's evaluation is pretty solid.

Update: As Eric points out, the Caps do have the seventh-rated farm system in hockey, so things are certainly less dire than SI.com would have you believe.

In other news, TSN.ca hands out some of its post-season awards. Want to know who they picked for the Calder? It might surprise you.

Tuesday Roundup/Gamenight: Sabres @ Caps

[AP Preview - WashingtonCaps.com Preview - Official Game Day Thread]

The Caps close out their five-game homestand tonight against the high-scoring Buffalo Sabres and are assured no worse than a 2-2-1 record over that stretch. In fact, over their last 21 games the Caps are 9-10-2, a respectable mark and a good measuring stick as to where the team stands right now.

Speaking of where the team stands right now, majority owner Ted Leonsis has indicated that this coming offseason will not likely feature any big-ticket acquisitions, but rather "two or three" prudent additions (namely a veteran blueliner or two and a first-line center to play alongside Alex Ovechkin). To me this makes perfect sense as the Caps are more than a Wade Redden or Brad Richards away from being a contender (though either of those studs would look great in a Caps' sweater) and next year's free agent class is expected to be much deeper and more impressive and thus a better buyer's market. And, don't forget, the Caps will be getting Alex Semin back next year (knock on wood), which will be like adding a top draft pick or free agent on the cheap.

For a look at tonight's matchup from the visitors' perspective, head over to Buffalo's Best Blog.

Thread of the Day: Leonsis Has Summer Plans For The Caps! (see what Caps fans are saying about today's WaPo article about the team's coming offseason plans).

Elsewhere 'round the rinks:

• Ottawa superstar Daniel Alfredsson has kind words for AO, but I'm not sure which quote is my favorite. Either “He can make chicken soup out of chicken (bleep),” or “He doesn’t get frustrated if he gets hit, either. He gets up and keeps playing. Not like the other rookie, who starts crying.” Read the article - there's more good stuff in there.
  

Daily Awards

• Hart: Jonathan Cheechoo (3 goals, including the game-winner, 5 shots on goal, 2 hits, 3 takeaways, 0 giveaways, 2 blocked shots)
  
• Ross: Jonathan Cheechoo, Joe Thornton, Mike Modano, Jussi Jokinen, Sergei Zubov, Jay McClement (3 points each)
  
• Norris: Sergei Zubov (3 assists, including primary assist on the game-winner, +1)
  
• Vezina: Sean Burke (Win, 31 saves on 32 shots against)
  
• Richard: Jonathan Cheechoo (3 goals)
  
• Calder: Jay McClement (Assists on all 3 goals in 3-2 OT win)
  
• Aiken: Alex Auld (Loss, 4 goals against on 28 shots)
  

Friday Roundup/Gamenight: Leafs @ Caps

[WashingtonCaps.com Preview - AP Preview - Official Game Day Thread]

The Caps have begun talking about a new multi-year contract with Olie Kolzig. Alex Ovechkin will play tonight, Dainius Zubrus and Chris Clark expect to, Jeff Halpern and Matt Bradley are questionable (to play - zip it, peanut gallery) and Steve Eminger is out. In other house keeping news, the team sent Boyd Gordon, Mike Green and Colin Forbes back to Hershey.

Now that those particulars are out of the way, I'd like to share news of an exciting opportunity that has come my way. Waiting in my inbox yesterday morning was the following email:

To: Japers.Rink -at- gmail.com
From: ***************
Subject: Hi--I enjoy reading your blog
Let me know when you want to go to a Caps game with me--we can sit in the box--meet some folks and catch up.Keep up the great work. Ted Leonsis

I'm half-surprised my computer didn't blurt out "You've got mail!" in the thrill of the moment. Recalling that Eric over at Off Wing Opinion had received a similar email a couple of months back, I quickly emailed him to check the authenticity of the one I'd received. "Dude -- that so is Ted." Sweet. It seems that Eric, kind soul that he is, dropped this blog's name (among others) to the Caps' owner and apparently soon thereafter the average annual income of our readership skyrocketed.

So long-story-less-long, Mrs. Rink and I will be attending tonight's Caps/Leafs game as guests of Mr. Leonsis. I'm sure I'll have a lot to write about it tomorrow, but in the meantime, if there is anything you would like me to ask or convey to one of the most accessible owners in professional sports, I'd be happy to pass it along. And if you're wondering how Eric's evening went back in November, read about it here and here.

[Edit: for a recap of my night in the owners' box, click here.]

In other news from 'round the rinks:

• On this day in 1954, Dave "Tiger" Williams was born in Weyburn, Saskatchewan. While best known for his 3,966 career penalty minutes, Williams also potted 241 goals and 513 points in 962 games for Toronto, Vancouver, Detroit, Los Angeles and Hartford, and was an All-Star in 1981 (a season in which he racked up 35 goals, 27 assists and 343 PIMs).
• Tonight Scott Stevens will have his jersey retired by the Devils. Oh, what might have been...

Daily Awards

• Hart: Lee Stempniak (2 goals, shootout game-winner, +1, 5 SOG)
• Ross: Martin Straka, Wade Redden, Jason Spezza, Daniel Alfredsson, Kyle Calder (3 points each)
• Norris: Duncan Keith (2 goals, including game-tying goal with under five minutes left +3)
• Vezina: Curtis Joseph (24 saves on 35 shots against in shootout win)
• Richard: Daniel Alfredsson, Mark Parrish, Duncan Keith, Lee Stempniak, Scott Thornton, Scott Walker (2 goals each)
• Calder: Lee Stempniak (2 goals, shootout game-winner, +1, 5 SOG)
• Aiken: Sebastien Caron (L, 7 goals against on 26 shots)

Tuesday Roundup/Gamenight: Bruins @ Caps

[Gameday Preview]

I've finally finished cleaning up after the Carnival (you'd be surprised how difficult it is to get elephant sweat out of cashmere), and the Rink is back and fully operational.

Don't look now, but the Caps are riding a two-game winning streak and have a chance to extend that to three games with a home game against a team with the same number of wins that they have (on quasi-national TV, no less). The secret to the Caps' recent success? Why, it's Mathieu Biron's increased power play time, of course. The WaPo has a nice profile of the lesser Biron brother that includes this partial quote:

"I know I have a good shot," he added. "That's no secret."

I say "partial quote" because the full quote undoubtedly read "I know I have a good shot at having the worst plus-minus in the League if I play every night. That's no secret." But there's little harm in dressing Biron as a fourth-line winger and giving him time on the point on a meager power play (to which he has contributed two goals and an assist in the last two games), so I'll cut him some slack. For now.

Elsewhere around the League:

• Speaking of bad power plays, the Devils are currently 4-for-100 on the power play the past 14 games (that's 4% for those of you who are a little slow on the uptake). Yikes.
  
• It took until just after Christmas (I had the under), but the Leafs are finally without both Eric Lindros (wrist) and Jason Allison (finger).
  
• Marian Hossa and Ryan Miller are your Players of the (truncated) Week.
• I love the goalie assist. Last night Johan Hedberg had a pair (to become the first goalie to have a multi-point game since Patrick Roy had two assists against Nashville on Dec. 29, 2000, per TSN.ca) and Peter Budaj had one as well.
• To the folks at OLN: it wasn't the set that needed replacing.
• Center Ice will re-broadcast last night's USA/Norway tilt from the World Juniors, so I'll refrain from giving away too much about the game for now, but if you're curious, check out the performance of a certain Rink favorite.
  

Daily Awards

• Hart: Wade Redden (2G, including the game winner, 2A, +2)
• Ross: Wade Redden, Jaroslav Modry (4 points each)
  
• Norris: Wade Redden (2G, including the game winner, 2A, +2)
  
• Vezina: Michael Garnett (36 save shutout win)
  
• Richard: Wade Redden, Ben Eager, Dave Neanderchuk, Stu Barnes, Mike Modano, Joe Sakic, Shane Doan, Jonathan Cheechoo (2G each)
  
• Calder: Michael Garnett (36 save shutout win)
• Aiken: Vitaly Kolesnik (0 saves on 2 shots against in 3:20. Ouch!)

Team Preview: Ottawa Senators

Key additions: Bryan Murray, Head Coach; Dany Heatley, RW (T - ATL); Dominik Hasek, G (FA - DET); Lance Ward, D/LW (FA - ANA); Steve Martins, C/LW (FA - STL); Tomas Malec, D (FA - ANA); Jeff Heerema, RW (FA - VAN); Brett Clouthier, RW (FA - NJ); Patrick Eaves, RW (D - 2003, 1/29)

Key losses: Jacques Martin, Head Coach; Marian Hossa, RW (T - ATL); Greg de Vries, D (T - ATL); Radek Bonk, C (T - MTL); Todd White, C/LW (T - MIN); Martin Prusek, G (FA - CBJ); Peter Bondra, RW (FA); Todd Simpson, D (FA - CHI); Curtis Leschyshyn, D (FA - COL); Jesse Fibiger, D (FA - Europe); Pat Kavanagh, RW (FA - PHI)

Key players unsigned:None

Forwards: In Heatley, Daniel Alfredsson, Martin Havlat and Jason Spezza the Senators have four incredibly talented scorers, each fully capable of scoring at better than a point-per-game clip in 2005-06. In fact, anything less would have to be considered a disappointment for any member of this quartet except possibly for Spezza (though we think he'll get there, after posting 117 points in 80 games to win the AHL scoring title and MVP award in 2004-05). The departures of Bonk and White leave the Senators a little thin down the middle, but if the lightning-quick Antoine Vermette can settle into the number two center role behind Spezza and push Bryan Smolinski to third-line center, the team will be fine. Mike Fisher is another center/wing ideally suited for third-line duties. Peter Schaefer, Vaclav Varada and Eaves also will see time on the top three lines. Ottawa's top two lines will give opposing teams fits, and their power play will be flat-out lethal. If they can cobble together an effective shut-down line, they will be difficult to beat on most nights.

Defensemen: Wade Redden can - and does - do it all. He tied for the lead amongst all NHL defensemen in goals in 2003-04 with 17 (Pavel Kubina also potted 17 goals), 12 of which came on the power play, and had a plus-21 rating. The need to re-sign Redden, among others, after the 2005-06 season was the primary reason the Senators moved Hossa to Atlanta. The Senators #1A defenseman is the 6-9 Zdeno Chara, whose numbers in 2003-04 were even more impressive than Redden's (Chara scored 16 goals and 41 points while posting a plus-33 rating and 147 penalty minutes). Chara's partner on most shifts will again be Chris Phillips, the first overall pick in 1996, who has developed into a solid defenseman who seems to be getting better every year. Hard-hitting Anton Volchenkov will be ready for a full-time roster spot in the NHL after a very strong year in the AHL in which he was third in plus-minus and eighth in scoring among the League's defensemen. Malec and Brian Pothier will round out a strong blueline that is one defenseman away from being unquestionably the League's best.

Goaltenders: Dominik Hasek has played in only 14 NHL games since winning the Stanley Cup with Detroit at the end of the 2001-02 season (he was temporarily retired for the 2002-03 season, missed most of 2003-04 with a groin injury and did not play anywhere in 2004-05). That's an awful lot of down time for a goalie who will be 41-years-old in January. But did the down time help him to heal completely and recharge the batteries for another run at the Cup or did The Dominator gather nearly three years worth of rust? Only time will tell whether or not Hasek can stay healthy, but if his skills were not sharp, the ultra-competitive Czech would not have returned to the NHL. Expect plenty of nights off for Dom, as the Sens rest him in order to keep him fresh for the playoff run. Even when he is playing, though, his workload will be relatively light, as the Senators allowed the third-fewest shots on goal and the eighth-fewest goals in the League in 2003-04. Is a seventh Vezina out of the question for Hasek? If he thought so, he wouldn't be back thrilling NHL fans with his quickness and agility. Besides, at $1.52 million, Hasek is not much of a financial risk and has the potential to be the biggest bargain of the offseason. Ray Emery will be Hasek's backup, which means he will see plenty of NHL minutes this year. Emery is coming off a disappointing year in the AHL, but has all the tools to be the Senators #1 goalie for years to come once Hasek steps aside.

Bottom line: The Senators have been close several times in the past decade. In eight years, Jacques Martin led the team to three divisional titles, four 100-point seasons and a Presidents' Trophy, but his inability to lead the Sens to any substantial success in the playoffs (including four losses in the past five seasons to provincial rival Toronto) brought about the end of his tenure behind Ottawa's bench, and deservedly so. The Sens scored the most goals (262) in the NHL during the 2003-04 regular season and had the League's top-rated power play at 21.5%, but managed only one goal in the four games they lost to Toronto in the first round of the playoffs. General Manager John Muckler is hopeful that a fresh voice in Bryan Murray and a big-time goalie in Hasek will provide the lift the Senators need to finally advance to hockey's promised land. With a healthy Hasek, there's no reason the Senators won't be playing late into the spring.