Free Agent Frenzy

For the first time in recent memory, I was sober enough to remember my Canada Day. I was in Toronto preparing for a big exam, so I made myself a short leash to try to behave on the day where I celebrate the country that I love. I decided to watch TSN's inaugural Free Agent Frenzy day on television. TSN, with high hopes of ratings like those of "trade deadline day", tries to capitalize on the fact that people enjoy watching how to be a manager. With the popularity of fantasy pools and such, people have flocked to watch programs concerning the management of player personel.

Unfortunately, the show was a flop. I am sure the show received decents "numbers", but the actual content made the show fall flat on its face. There were no signings to report during the initial show. The show was excellent in terms of analysis. They described each Canadian teams needs and wants and who they think they will go after. Overall, as an informed sports fan, this information was useless to me.

Given the fact I am a huge Sens fan, I want to comment on the lack of any action on their part to improve the team given recent signings of key free agents.

The Sens have salary cap problems. The Sens are not like New Jersey last year where they are so close to the max that they have to do some creative tinkering, but close enough that they really have to watch what they do in terms of what to offer their key restricted free agents.

The most interesting restricted free agent is Ray Emery. After a very successful year, he is due to receive a huge raise on his $900,000 salary of last year. The Sens dilemma is that they already have a goalie that is priced as a number one. Martin Gerber makes nearly $4 million per season, but will serve as a backup to Ray Emery, if Ray is signed. With the Sens so close to the cap, they cannot afford to pay someone to sit on the bench for that kind of money.

Restricted free agents rarely get contract offers from other teams. This is due to the compensation a team receives when a restricted free agent is lost to another team. However, this week Thomas Vanek received a large offer from the Oilers, and it may not be surprising to see an offer go to Emery.

If Emery does receive a generous offer, I don't think the Sens will match the contract. I believe they will take the compensation they receive. The compensation could be 3 first rounds picks. You could really help the farm system with those kind of resources. In that case, Gerber becomes the number one goalie by default.

Gerber had turned around his season last year, so he may now be ready to take the number one role. It might be easier to get rid of Emery who has value now versus Gerber who apparently only has a mild interest from teams. In addition, the Sens have Jeff Glass in the farm system and he may be ready to be an NHL backup. Jeff Glass played on Canada's gold-medal winning world junior hockey team. He's big, he's athletic, but most importanly, he's cheap. The best case scenario, in my mind for the Sens, is that someone offers Ray Emery a big contract, Ottawa passes on the right to match the contract, receives compensation, uses Gerber as a number 1 and uses Jeff Glass as a number two.

The Big Hurt

Last night, I went to a Toronto Blue Jays game. My co-worker and I, along with two of his friends, decided to tie one on and start chirping the Washington Nationals. It was a great time as we were creatively trying to come up with insults that wouldn't get us kicked out of the game. Words, such as "fuck" and "gay" will get you kicked out of your seats pretty quickly I am told. I tended to emphasize the promiscuity of their right-fielder's sister.

The Nationals are the worst team in the league and they Jays happend to win; but, the Jays have lost quite a few games this year. Obviously, the guys that I was with decided to put their two cents in. Every guy in the world will always want to try and fix something even if its not broke. In this case, the topic was the Jays and what we would do to help make this team better.

Frank Thomas, aka "The Big Hurt", was one player we thought the Jays definetely didn't need. The guy's batting average is in a piss-poor range of about .220. Granted, his on-base-percentage is in a respectable range as he draws a lot of walks. The reason why we would get him off the team is the fact that his salary is in the $10 million range. This money could be spent a lot better in many other areas of the team.

The Big Hurt is the Jays' designated hitter. His job is to swing the bat. He doesn't have to play any defence whatsoever. You would think that this guy would be able to hit the damn ball into the field every once and awhile. $10 million is a lot of money for a guy just playing half of a game (offence).

The Jays, like many other teams, need pitching. They could have used the money they would have spent on Thomas on trying to get some quality pitchers in the rotation. Even if there aren't many pitchers available on the free-agent market this year, take the money and save it for next year. The Jays surely have some young and upcoming talent that could play and get major league experience in that roster spot. Thomas is holding the team back.

The counter argument would be that $10 million wouldn't buy you a solid rotation. Truth be told, it wouldn't. However, it may be the difference between signing say Tomo Ohka and a quality pitcher. If you can throw a guy a couple of extra million on top of what you pay Ohka, one, you wouldn't have Tomo Ohka, and two, you might have a quality pitcher. I'm not talking Roy Halladay (Cy Young caliber) here. I just think the Jays need a guy that can win 50% of his games. With guys like Halladay already in the rotation, this difference may make this team a playoff team. It would be nice to see a playoff game in Canada again. '92 and '93 had some great memories. At this rate though, it may be awhile before that happens again.

Rita MacNeil at it again...

God, I wish that lady would stop singing. The Sens brilliant run to the Stanley Cup finals is finally over, and, although I am disappointed, I am quite pleased with the Sens run to the cup. The Sens exorcised many of their demons this spring, and it made for an excellent month and a half of hockey as a Sens fan.

First, Alfie was a monster. He led all playoff players in goals scored. He physical and was a force on the ice to be reckoned with. Although he didn't win the cup and Alfie is starting to get old, the nucleus of the Sens lineup is still in tact and I predict they will be a force again next year. They got a taste of what the cup taste likes, but now they will be hungrier than ever.

Speaking of the nucleus of the team, the Sens roster was outplayed by the Ducks. After reading an article by James Duthie, it turns out that the Sens had some ailing players. Up to six Senators had serious injuries ranging from bad groins to separated shoulders. Even if they had of been healthy, I don't know who you would trade off that team. The Sens were one of the most balanced attacks in the NHL, and considering they will be hungrier for a cup next year, I would not be trading this talent away.

With that, I had been a critic of Wade Redden's play. I distinctly suggested that he was overpriced and no longer was needed before the playoffs began. Arguably, he had some weak performances in the regular season as well in the playoffs, but somehow he changed my opinion. I thought Redden had played terrifically against the Buffalo Sabres, and that he was an integral part of why we had so much success against them. It is in that series where I saw his value.

When Joe Corvo was being criticized by mostly everyone in Ottawa earlier in the season, I know that I was one of the few that still believed in his ability to turn things around. For Wade Redden, I believe that he has the capacity to turn things around and the reason for his sluggish play at times was due to a nagging groin injury. I hope that the Sens do not trade away Redden. He'll be able to turn things around. The Sens struggle in the season when he was out of the lineup, so they are better off to keep him.

Next, I want to give management the respect it deserves as well. Melnyk could have easily cleaned house when the Sens were stuggling earlier in the year. Melnyk decided that he would not interfere with the hockey operations and it almost paid off huge dividends. They made it to the cup finals and thats something to be proud of. As for John Muckler, there were two major incidences during the year that are distinct in my mind. First, he believed that the Sens would pull through their early season funk. They did. Second, he believed that the Sens didn't need to make a big splash at the trade deadline. There was huge pressure to acquire Gary Roberts, but Muckler believed that the current team had what it took to make it to the finals. They did.

Although I respect Muckler's faith, I believe that its almost time for him to step aside and let Bryan Murray control the team. I believe that Bryan Murray would make some changes to the lineup. He has a system that he wants in place and he has witnessed who has played hard for him, so he should be able to judge who he should have on his team. Bryan Murray was the guy that drafted Getlaf and Perry in Anaheim, and I believe they were the difference makers in the series. Although I don't like Getlaf personally, I do respect his hockey talents and what he can bring to the ice. For that, Bryan Murray knows what he needs in a hockey player and can help to rebuild the youthful talent that Ottawa used to be so good at accomplishing. Muckler has drafted poorly and he has made some questionable trades in the past. Last year, the best thing for him to do was nothing. He let Bryan Murray control the variables. Bryan Murray should have complete control over the variables.

Wants Stanley back home,
Chad

Core Knowledge Exam

On Friday, I will be getting the results of my first test to become a professional accountant. I can honestly say that I am petrified. I feel like garbage, and I really do not want to have to re-write. Re-writing is not the end of my career or anything, but its something I do not want to have to go through.

The recommended number of study hours is 130 for this test. I may have only put in 50-60 in the last week leading up to the exam. Those were some pretty intense study sessions, but I feel like I didn't know enough for the exam. The results are relative as the top 7-8 deciles will pass, but this is little comfort as CA students are often very bright individuals. Firms usually snatch up some of the best students from University, so the competition can be tough enough.

During university, I could fail an exam and it wouldn't bother me. Therefore, I wouldn't be nervous about getting the results of the exam, pass or fail. This time its different. I don't know exactly why, but I don't feel too good. When practicing for the exam, co-workers were scoring higher than me consistently. It wasn't because I was any smarter or dumber than them, but I just hadn't been studying nearly as much.

Oh well... Friday will come and go. I really have no options but to accept the results. Lets just hope its the results I want to see.

Sens in 6

First of all, I want to say that I had predicted the Sens to win against the Penguins and Devils in 5 each time. Some may not believe me, but I thought I would post my predictions on Round 3 to give myself some credibility.

Against the Penguins, I thought the Sens were just too playoff hardened of a team. The Sens had more experience, they had more depth, they simply outmatched the Penguins. I will give credit where credit is due though. Gary Roberts was a very effective player for Pittsburgh, and he would have looked good in a Sens jersey. I just don't believe the asking price from Jacques Martin at the trade deadline was appropriate. I don't blame Jacques for trying to get quality in return for Roberts, but the Sens would have needed the depth later on in the playoffs if someone got hurt. We added Saprikin and he has filled in nicely to replace Eaves.

Next on the credit list, Sidney Crosby was outstanding. He had a broken foot yet he was clearly a leader on that team. The series would have been over in 2 games without him. The Sens would have spanked the Pens so bad that they would have called it quits after 2 (well... maybe not). The Pens have a great core of players and they will be a team that I wouldn't want to play against in the next few years, but right now it's Ottawa's time.

New Jersey is just simply a team that was outworked, outskilled, and outsmarted by the Sens. The Devils wanted John Madden and Jay Pandolfo against the Sens top line and they got their wish. The Sens top line couldn't be shut down. The Devils kept sending their shut-down pair against the Pizza line, but Spezza, Alfredsson, and Dany Heatley kept producing. Clearly, the Devils were outworked, outskilled, and outsmarted by the Sens.

Going into the series, (ie. the basis for my prediction) I believed that Martin Brodeur was not at the top of his game. He did not look good against the Lightning. Also, the Devils defence is not the same as it used to be. Notably, they lacked the presence of the Great Scott's, Scott Niedermayer and Scott Stevens. The Devils had a system; but, ultimately, the Sens were able to break through that system and the Devils couldn't adjust their game plan.

So, what about Buffalo? Last year, they beat the Sens in 5. The Sabres were the President's trophy winners. They are arguably the deepest team in the NHL. They have a great goalie, great-skating defencemen, and explosive forwards. Honestly, they do scare me. With that being said, I like the Sens.

I have an obvious bias, but here's why I think things are different.
*First, our captain, Daniel Alfredsson, is playing like an MVP with a chip on his shoulder. He seems to have something to prove. His sweetest redemption would be to return the favour that Buffalo served the Sens last year.
*Spezza had back surgery last year and he was not 100% when they were playing Buffalo, so he has something to prove. Spezza got hurt earlier in the year and there were grumblings that the team was better off without him. He came back and proved that he wanted to be a winner and became much more defensively conscious. When he wants to prove people wrong, he takes control of the situation.
*Heatley has found his snipe in the playoffs. Whereas last year, he was a playoff virgin that didn't know what he was doing.
*Phillips and Volchenkov have become "lights-out" to opponents top lines. I begin to wonder if they were responsible for the big power-outage in the summer of 2003.
*Joe Corvo and Tom Preissing are our replacements for Zdeno Chara. Although Chara is a monster, Tom and Joe can certainly skate with the best of them. I think the depth of the Sens defence will be able to contain the Buffalo forwards a little bit better. The Sens are a better skating team this year.
*Bryan Murray. I bought him a beer April 30th and I told him how proud I was of the job he was doing. (I may have been drunk) He has everyone buying into his system. The system has been very effective. It has disposed of the Penguins and Devils pretty quickly.
*Christoph Schubert is one of my favourite Sens. He kills penalties as a defenceman and he forchecks as a heavy-hitting forward. Without his versatility, the Sens would have needed extra depth, but he has done his job admirably at both ends of the ice.

I picked 6 games because I think the Sens will win it at home. It could go to 7, but if the Sens have a chance to win it at home, they will. Despite what you might believe, the Sens do have a killer instinct. They are 5-0 in game fives when they have a chance to clinch.

As for the other series, Ducks in 7.

Why am I cheering for the Leafs?

I am cheering for the Leafs. Yep, the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League. I have not fallen on my head, sniffed gasoline, or have been drinking in the past couple of hours. As a devoted Sens fan, my loyalty must be questioned, no? I mean, as a Sens fan, I must hate the Leafs.

For starters, there was a day I hated the Leafs. I don't dispute that. In fact, I am sure I will come to hate them again. However, I feel that I should be cheering for them to make the playoffs. For those fans of the Montreal Canadiens, I want to tell you that I am also cheering for you. However, to anyone reading this, they are probably still wondering why I am cheering for the Leafs.

So, here it is. First of all, I am not afraid of the Leafs. As well as they seem to be playing right now, I know that there is no way the Leafs can beat the Sens this year. They do not have the goaltending, and they do not have the depth on defence. Kaberle is a great player, but cannot carry the Leafs too far into the playoffs. Also, in all likelihood, the Leafs will never get to see the Sens. If they happen to make the playoffs, they will face some formidable opponents. I doubt they will be able to make it to ROUND 2.

For the record, as much as a Leafs fan may dispute it, the Leafs do not hold an edge on the Sens. In fact, for that Leafs fan, I say you are an idiot. First of all, neither team has the same players as those years where the Leafs were able to beat the Sens. From the Sens, I can only think of 4 players (Alfredson, Phillips, Redden, and Spezza (who was a healthy scratch for most of the series)) that were a part of that team. The coaches have even changed for each team. In fact, Brian Murray has only lost like 4 games in 2 years against the Leafs as the head coach of the Sens.

Now, I also want to knock down some Sens fans for hating the Leafs. There isn't really a good reason to do so anymore. In fact, the Leafs have failed to deliver any sort of competition against the Sens in the last couple of years. The Leafs have improved somewhat this year under some good coaching from Paul Maurice (ie. they are no longer losing 8-0 to the Sens), but how can you continue to hate a team that doesn't give you any competition. It like going to the bar and picking up the ugliest girl there. It's too easy. There's no pride in that.

If the above were statements to "not hate" the Leafs, the following are reasons to even "cheer for" the Leafs. The Leafs are a Canadian team. Under the cap system, the Leafs have no additional advantage of being a large market team. Since the Leafs could buy success, it was a reason to hate them. They no longer have that luxury. The Leafs have the largest fan base in the NHL. There is no disputing that. They may be some of the most obnoxious people on earth, but it makes the NHL playoffs that much more fun. The NHL needs the Leafs in the playoffs. They make it interesting.

So, those are my reasons for cheering for the Leafs. Once they are into the playoffs, I will cheer against them. That being said, I would love for the Sens to be playing the Leafs in a later round. It means that the Leafs have knocked off a really good team. I know the Sens will win, and I will be happy.

GO SENS GO!