Pre-season

Went to Ducks/Canucks last night.  Pretty kewl.  Kadi got us on the ice for warm-ups.  Kalea liked walking on the ice to the penalty box.   Kalani was pretty interested in the action.  Being at ice level gave a better sense of scale for how big (or small) the players really are.  It was funny that my legs didn't touch the ground on the penalty box bench.  If I had skates on, I would have been fine.  But as a 5' 6" guy, my feet were dangling.  Still getting used to hockey players with skinny arms. The slimmer jerseys really make guys look anorexic. Hiller was solid in net.  Sanford and (some other guy) were not so good. We left early when Kalani got tired.  I'm ready for the regular season now.

Cloutier = AHL

Well, Cloutier is officially a minor leaguer.  The Kings waived him, and no surprise that there were no takers.  So, he's off to Manchester. Maybe he can outplay Brust or Fukufuji for the starting role.  Kings seem high on Bernier and he has played well.  But that makes 3 goalies: Labarbera, Aubin and Bernier (if you count Aubin as a goalie).  I am hoping that the Kings don't rush Bernier, out of desperation. They did that last year, and it was embarrasing and scary.  LA showed that none of their prospect goalies were ready for the NHL.  I think Labarbera deserves a full year to prove himself.

Pre-season

Not much drama for the Sens as far as the pre-season goes.  The team didn't change all that much over the summer and there are only 1 or 2 roster spots open.  However, Nick Foligno impressed last night with a goal and 2 assists.  I couldn't find the superstats sheet for the game, which was disappointing. But apparently Gerber stopped 52 shots in the shutout.  It's only pre-seson, but that is impressive.  A good sign, maybe Marty wants to battle for the starting spot, since no one would take him in a trade.  With Emery healing from wrist surgery, Gerber will get over half of the pre-season starts.  A least its a reason for me to be somewhat interested in pre-season results.

 

King played Sharks at Staples.  Roenick given a warm welcome by LA, he was boo'd all night. 

Sharks go old skool

San Jose unveiled their new jerseys. As much as I liked their new
logo, I don't like the jersey. It is a definite throwback to jerseys
with colored shoulder panels and contrast piping. The only problem is
that it looks dated, and the slimmer fit jerseys don't look right with
this type of paneling. I also don't care for the multi-colored
stripes. Too much going on there? They also went back to teal, I
liked the black jersey better.
Sharks went with jersey numbers on the front, upper right chest. This
is along with arm numbers and number on the back. If you are a Sharks
fan and can't locate your favorite player out there, he's probably a
scratch.
BTW. JR went back to #27, since most people were wondering...

Fish

Not very big news to non-Senators fans, but Fisher was signed for 5-years, $21MM.  That's $4.2/year.  Pricey?  I think a little bit.  But it shows some committment to him for the long term, as I don't think $4.2MM is that easy to trade away. I was concerned that Fisher would not get re-signed this year, since all the attention will be on Heatley (he will probably get a max salary deal) and Redden.  But Fisher deserves his share.  I'm biased as a huge fan, but the guy does everything well: hits, forecheck, backcheck, makes plays, he's just not the Spezza or Heatley-type scorer (although his slapper is deceptively nasty). It's another matter if his body can withstand the punishent that his playing style dishes out, for another 5-years. 

 

Speaking of Salary issues, I'm wondering about Spazza.  If he doesn't improve defensively, continues to get pushed around physically, misses games from his bad back, I am thinking that not giving him a new deal is the way to go.  Let some team like Edmonton throw a crazy RFA offer sheet at him next summer.  Spezza is bound to command over $6MM/year, that means Ottawa gets 4 first rounders in return.  One of those four guys would probably not be afraid of getting hit.

Why Poo Should Jump on the Emery Bandwagon...

http://www2.sportsnet.ca/blogs/hockey_hearsay/2007/09/07/road_rage_hits_rayzor/

Sharks Jersey

Going to order my new Sharks jersey with 97 on the back!  That's right.  JR signed a one-year deal with San Josie.  Now JR will get his Cup and retire after this year!  But seriously, I hope it works out, which means that he needs to get 5 goals this year, playing on a 3rd or 4th line.  Once he breaks 500 goals, he can 'officially' retire.  Poor Roenick's game hasn't been very good since the lockout.  But I wish him well and it is a great excuse to get Sharks/Sens tickets for March.