Ottawa Senators

The Ottawa Senators made it to the Stanley Cup Finals in 2007. The Senators were a young and skilled core that included Andrej Meszaros, Mike Comrie, Mike Fisher, Antoine Vermette, Patrick Eaves and Ray Emery.

Now to the present

With Mike Fisher the only name that out of that list remaining.

A rebuild might be needed…

When people hear “rebuild” it means fire sale; we are not the Edmonton Oilers.  We are still contenders; we need to change how we bring in new players.  Our Captain is not getting younger and neither is Spezza, Fisher, Phillips and Kelly. With Bryan Murray signing players that are just hitting the downside of their careers (Gonchar, Kovalev and maybe Ruutu), one final piece of the puzzle is not good enough anymore. With past draft prospects no longer with us and our draft picks being traded off for that final piece is should no longer be the answer.  With the salary cap being what it is, teams have more restrictions and have to be smarter when dealing with a salary cap.

Watching the past 4yrs of Stanley Cup Finals I noticed one trend that had stood out; all teams have built from within including Chicago, Pittsburg, Detroit and Anaheim. Each may have had a upside but they main reason was there core was drafted and trained with their organization. Here are some examples of players who are Stanley Cup winners and developed in each of their respective organizations.

Chicago: Brent Seabrook, Duncan Keith, Jonathan Toews and Dave Bolland

Anaheim Ducks: Andy Macdonald, Ryan Getzlaf, Samuel Pahlsson and Teemu Selanne           

*note: All of these players have been with their teams for at least 3yrs

I understand that this may be a little shocking and some may say that I am crazy.  The method of signing veterans and trading draft picks needs to end.  Seeing someone like Kovalev and Gonchar being signed is nice but it also hurts how much these are guys are being paid at this stage of their careers. Plus we need to get younger and faster not older and wiser.

Now for the draft picks; A first round pick(including Dean McAmmond) was traded for Mike Comrie (UFA) and Chris Campoli (RFA).  Both players I believe have not justified the use of a first round pick.

If Murray continues of the use of signing of stopgaps and trading picks; we will be in a hole and then a rebuild will be our only option.

Nobody wants to relieve the early 90’s editions of the Ottawa Senators. Well maybe the Leafs, but they are just jealous because we have actually been to Stanley Cup Final within the past 4 decades. 

Just kidding

It only took a few minutes after the free-agency period began before the Ottawa Senators made a splash as they signed defenseman Sergei Gonchar to a three year $16.5 million contract.

The deal will see Gonchar earn $5.5 million each season with a no-trade clause. The 36-year-old blueliner has spent the last five years with the Pittsburgh Penguins where he won his first Stanley Cup in 2009.

The six time All-Star has also played for the Boston Bruins after playing the first 10 years of his career with the Washington Capitals.

"I believe Ottawa has a very good team, probably missing a few pieces to go far in the playoffs and hopefully I fill one of them," Gonchar told NHL.com . "It's not easy to play against that team. That's the reason I'm signing with them."

While nobody can argue with Gonchar's numbers, there have been plenty of mixed emotions surrounding his addition to the Senators' roster. He has missed several games over the last two seasons and will be pushing 40 by the time this contract expires.

There are also a number of people who are optimistic about the signing who see Gonchar fitting the needs of Senators, a team who had their power play ranked 22nd last season.

The Russian defenseman tallied 11 goals and 39 assists last season, picking up a total of 30 points with the man advantage.

Senators GM Bryan Murray knew well ahead of time that adding to his team's defensive corps was his top priority. Sources around the league had a strong feeling that the Sens would be targeting shot-blocking blueliner Zbynek Michalek as a cheaper option than Anton Volchenkov, but Murray opted to go with the player who would improve his team's transition game, along with being a mentor to Erik Karlsson.

Fans in Ottawa should be very excited about this deal solely for the fact that they have finally found the type of player they have lacked for the last four seasons. Gonchar has a great amount of skill and experience that the younger players on the team (most notably defensemen) can learn from.

Not only will he help the Sens spend less time in their own zone with his tape-to-tape passes, he will have a sense of familiarity when it comes to the power play.

In Pittsburgh, Gonchar spent a lot of times at the top of the blue line feeding passes to the half board for Evgeni Malkin. Fellow Russian winger Alex Kovalev occupies the same place when on the power play, which can potentially lead to more goals with the man advantage with the Senators this season.

The two things that have many critics talking is the duration of the deal and the no-trade clause. There is no telling when Gonchar's production will start to slide and Senators fans have already seen first-hand what the no-trade clause can lead to after the Dany Heatley disaster that took place last summer.

On the other hand, fans have to be happy that Murray went and got the best player available that will help his team win now. And when I say now, I mean, now .

Just by looking at the Senators roster, it's easy to tell that this team is going for it all within the next two to three years. Players such as Gonchar, Kovalev, Daniel Alfredsson, and Chris Phillips will all be in the twilight of their careers at that point with few immediate replacements in the team's farm system.

In a perfect world, Gonchar will post 55-60 points and put the Senators' powerplay in the league's Top 10 without missing a game. At the same time, injuries have plagued him in the past two seasons and we don't know if he'll be able to be the offensive force he previously was.

Regardless of how people react to this signing, it's evident that Murray is going for broke by jumping at the chance to land Gonchar. By adding him to the roster, he is giving a new dynamic to his team in the hopes that they will be able to be a legitimate Stanley Cup competitor for the next couple of seasons.

Depending on how it goes, Murray will be looked at as the genius behind Ottawa's success or the scapegoat in their failures. The only thing left to do is see how everything plays out.

In what can only be called a shocker, the Ottawa Senators have signed long-time Pittsburgh Penguins veteran defenseman Sergei Gonchar to a three-year, $16.5 million deal.

While I am sure that Gonchar will arrive in Ottawa with far less fanfare than the Queen (who is in Ottawa today), the vibe from Ottawa fans seems to be positive.

That said, at 36 years old and with a history of injury troubles, Gonchar seems a bit risky to sign to a three-year deal. But with Anton Volchenkov looking more and more likely to sign a free agent deal with another NHL club, the Sens needed to shore up their back end.

You have to wonder, though, if the Senators could have used their money more wisely—wouldn’t you rather have the likes of Dan Hamhuis?

No matter. Gonchar will bring a ton of experience to a blue line that has the potential to be very young, with the likes of Jared Cowen, Erik Karlsson (who is NHL-ready) and Patrick Wiercioch all making a push to make the Sens' everyday lineup.

The loss of Gonchar means the Penguins will likely follow through with signing Hamhuis and/or consider making a trade with the Toronto Maple Leafs for Tomas Kaberle—something that has been speculated for months.

It’s an interesting acquisition—certainly the biggest signing to date. Time will tell if it works out for Senators general manager Bryan Murray (who has a history of poor free agent signings).

It will also be interesting to see if this calms discouraged center Jason Spezza (who has said he wouldn’t mind being traded out of Ottawa) well enough to change his tune.

It's no question—Gonchar makes the Sens a better team. The question is: Can he stay healthy over that three-year deal?

UPDATE: The Pittsburgh Penguins have signed defenseman Zbynek Michalik to a five-year $20 million contract.

Michalik, 27, played for the Phoenix Coyotes last season, registering three goals and 14 assists for a total of 17 points.

This probably means Hamhuis is off the table...

For more NHL news and notes check out my website at www.theslapshot.com

Until next time,

Peace!

In this article, I explain how buyouts work and clear up some confusion about the cap hit for buyouts. I'll use the recent buyout of Ottawa Senators forward Jonathan Cheechoo as an example.

The Ottawa Senators bought out the last year of Jonathon Cheechoo's contract this week, as expected. Cheechoo was owed $3.5 million for the coming season.

The buyout will cost the Senators two-thirds of the remaining value of the contract, which is approximately $2.333 million. This amount is spread over two years, meaning that the Senators owe Cheechoo $1.166 million this year and $1.166 million next year. 

For players under the age of 25, the buyout is only one-third of the remaining value of the contact, for example, former Ottawa Senator Ray Emery was bought out by the Senators after only the first year of a three year deal that originally paid him an average of $3.167 million a year from 2007-08 to 2009-10. The Senators are only taking a cap hit of $562,500 this year (and next) as a result of buying out Emery's contract. 

What are the implications in terms of the cost of Cheechoo's buyout against the Senators' salary cap? 

It has been incorrectly reported that the Senators will take a cap hit of $1.166 million for both this season and the next. The actual cap hit is $0.666 million for the 2010-11 season and $1.166 million for the 2011-12 season. Why do the Senators get a $500,000 break this coming season? 

The reason isn't simple, but I'll do my best to explain how buyouts work. The main factor is that the cap hit for a contract is the same for every year of the deal regardless of what the player earns that year. Each year the cap hit is equal to the yearly average of the contract.

In Cheechoo's case, the contract he signed was for $2.5 million in 2006-07, $2.5 million in 2007-08, $3 million in 2008-09, $3.5 million in 2009-10, and $3.5 million in 2010-11. The total was $15 million dollars, so the average is $3 million per year. Thus, the cap hit for the team employing Cheechoo is $3 million per year.

Now, when a player is bought out he gets two-thirds of the remaining value of his deal spread out over twice the number of years remaining on the deal. But, this then changes the average value of contract. Because Cheechoo was bought out, $1.166 million less was owed to him in total. The total payout to Cheechoo is $13.833 million.

The teams employing Cheechoo (San Jose from 2006 to 2009, and Ottawa from 2009-2010) had all ready taken a total cap hit of $12 million (e.g. $3 million per season for four seasons). Thus, the remaining cap hit is $1.833 million. 

Determining how the remaining cap hit is spread out over the term of the buyout is another complicated formula. For the years that extend past the original duration of the contract (2011-12 in Cheecho's case), the cap hit is the same as the buyout payment, $1.166 million.

For the years that overlap with the duration of the original contract (2010-11), the cap hit is the buyout amount ($1.166 million) minus the difference between what the player would have earned if not bought out ($3.5 million) and the original cap hit for that year ($3 million).

$1.166 million - ($3.5 million - $3 million) = $1.166 million - $0.5 million = $0.666 million.

Thus, the Senators absorb only a cap hit of $0.666 million for the 2010-11 season due to Cheechoo's buyout. Similarly, the Senators' cap hit for buying out Emery's deal was $0.479 million in 2008-09, and $0.230 million in 2009-10.

In a move that may mark the end of his NHL career, the Ottawa Senators have waived forward Jonathan Cheechoo. After clearing waivers, Cheechoo can then have the remaining $3.5 million of his contract bought out and will be free to sign anywhere as a free agent.

It's hard to believe that just four years ago, Cheechoo was coming off a season in which he lead the NHL in goal scoring with 56, winning the Rocket Richard Trophy, and signing a five year $17.5 million contract. The future looked bright for Cheechoo, but injuries took a huge toll on the big bodied forward, and his production slipped annually after 2005-06.  By 2008-09 with San Jose Cheechoo was reduced to fourth line duty, and was dealt to Ottawa as partial compensation for Dany Heatley, primarily because San Jose had to move Cheechoo's contract

A change of scenery didn't help Cheechoo however, as his numbers continued to decline with only 5 goals in 61 games before being assigned to Binghampton in the AHL. It is virtually unforeseeable that Cheechoo will be claimed on waivers, and whether anyone will sign him to a minimum salary contract remains to be seen .

Cheechoo's demise is primarily blamed on injuries. Cheechoo never had great speed to begin with, and major surgery to repair a double hernia in 2006-07 further limited his mobility. Cheechoo was never a solid defender, so without the ability to get to the net and score goals, his value in the NHL has decreased to that of "reclamation project".

Cheechoo was a feel good story when he won the Richard Trophy in '06, he grew up in the isolated northern town of Moose Factory, and was held up as a role model to young Aboriginals for his work ethic and success. Cheechoo is well liked and respected by his peers and may yet get another chance to play in the NHL, but his odds now might be even longer than they were as a teenager in Moose Factory .

There was a rumour I heard that the Columbus Blue Jackets were attempting to acquire Jason Spezza. In fact for about half an hour people actually believed the trade had happened. Here is what the trade was:

To Ottawa: Derrick Brassard, Kristian Huselius, 4th overall pick

To Columbus: Jason Spezza

I am gonna go out on a limb and assume that it was Columbus that turned the deal down. In fact Murray told Darren Dreger the deal sending Spezza to Columbus is dead. I am going to assume the person who shot down this deal was Howson and not Murray. After all Murray would be getting a king's ransom for Spezza, who is $500,000 to $1,000,000 per year overpaid, doesn't sound like much but then again he was only amazing with a goal scorer with him so he may be more overpaid than I think. 

One of the reasons Spezza's price may have gotten high is that other teams have taken an interest. Take Florida for instance, their GM built the Stanley Cup winning Chicago Blackhawks, so when he showed an interest other teams started to as well. But it gets better for Leaf fans, apparently Brian Burke asked for Spezza and Murray turned him down, but it is perfect for marketing. Think about it, Murray could tell other teams Burke is after Spezza and after the Phaneuf robbery other teams could get concerned about how Burke may steal another budding superstar for nothing.

So with all these stud GMs asking about Spezza the price starts to go up, but the reality is neither Burke, nor Tallon probably want to make a huge offer for Spezza. He is a talented player for sure, but his contract is worrying. I think (though I may be wrong) that these 2 GMs thought if they can get him for very little they would do it. The proof is in the fact that Florida trade is only a rumour and Murray (allegedly) refuses to send Spezza to a division rival. 

In conclusion I think Ottawa will get very little return for Jason Spezza, and definitely nowhere near the return Columbus allegedly shot down. The trade rumours are fun to listen to but if Murray is willing to deal him to a division rival I will welcome him with open arms here in Toronto. However the Spezza to Columbus trade is dead.

Coming off of his sixth NHL season, Zbynek Michalek is eligible for unrestricted free agency. While there will certainly be no shortage of suitors, the Czech blueliner may have already made up his mind on where he will play next season.

Rumors have it that the Ottawa Senators are interested in acquiring Michalek to fill the void that will more than likely be left by the exit of shutdown defenseman Anton Volchenkov. It is expected that Volchenkov will demand as much as $5 million per season on a long-term contract if he pursues the open market this summer. That's a hefty price tag for a guy who has never posted more than 19 points in a single NHL campaign.

Michalek, a current member of the Phoenix Coyotes, has recently been seen as the "poor man's" Volchenkov. But if you look at their playing styles and performances, the only thing poor about Michalek, when compared to Volchenkov, is the salary he will have next year.

Over the past few seasons many people have taken notice of Volchenkov as being one of the best in the game at blocking shots. The big Russian has collected 352 blocks since the NHL starting tracking them in 2008-09.

Michalek, meanwhile, blocked 427 shots in the same span.

When judging offensive abilities, Michalek has tallied 115 points in his career while Volchenkov has posted 94. What's more impressive about that is Michalek has played one less year in the league – all on non-playoff teams other than this year's Coyotes – while Volchenkov has played on playoff-calibre teams for all but one of his seven years in the league.

With all things considered, Michalek's lack of popularity could stem from playing in Phoenix, which is not the typical hot-bed for hockey. But when the Coyotes qualified for the playoffs this past season, the hockey world took notice of how critical Michalek was to the team's defense corps.

Michalek's defense pairing with Ed Jovanovski saw a bulk of the action when the Coyotes took the Detroit Red Wings to a Game 7 in the first round of the playoffs. For an offensive-starved team that relied on stingy defense to win games, Michalek's play caught the eye of many who expected Phoenix to battle for Taylor Hall rather than the Stanley Cup.

As we countdown the days to the free agency period, it's easy to see how Michalek can be a hot commodity for many teams. If he has a hard time making up his mind, perhaps a phone call from his younger brother, Milan, can seal the deal.

Milan Michalek was traded to Ottawa along with Jonathan Cheechoo in the infamous Dany Heatley deal last summer. In his first season in the Canadian capital, he lit the lamp 22 times but battled injury problems throughout the year.

The Michaleks finally got the chance to play together at the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver, helping the Czech Republic to a quarterfinal appearance. Now, with the possibility of Zbynek Michalek signing in Ottawa, the brothers will have the opportunity to play together on a daily basis.

Luckily for the Senators, he fits their needs both on the ice and on the payroll.

Zbynek Michalek will be looking for a significant raise on the $1.25 million he made last season and will look for a contract that offers around the $3 million mark. That total is nowhere close to what Volchenkov is looking for, which allows the Senators the financial flexibility needed to shape the current roster.

The Senators are expected to keep Cheechoo in the minors next season, which will keep his $3.5 million contract from counting against the salary cap. If the cap moves up to $57.7 million for the 2010-11 season, general manager Bryan Murray will have money left over to resign Matt Cullen – who played very well in a Sens uniform – and look at other ways to improve the team.

If all goes as planned the Senators will have a cost-efficient replacement for Volchenkov while bringing Zbynek Michalek to a hockey-crazy environment to play with his brother. It's hard to say who benefits more from this deal, but surely both parties would be happy with the end result.

For quite some time now the linebacker position has been the weakest on the field for the Giants. They have had countless players try to fill in throughout the years from Barret Green to Nick Greisen. While I won’t say the unit the Giants are planning to trot onto the field are going to change that, I believe there is reason to believe they will be an improvement over last season.

First there is Michael Boley. Last season he was a free agent pick-up from the Atlanta Falcons and failed to impress. What people forget, though, is that Boley had surgery and missed training camp and the preseason. When he managed to make it onto the field he played great.

He had the making of the next great Giants linebacker. He had the speed to cover the running back and tight end down the field, yet still had the strength to run up and put on a great tackle.

After only a few starts, Boley was injured again and only returned when the Giants defense was in shambles and in desperate need of help. When Boley returned he did not perform as well.

His play the latter half of the year is all people remember and that is unfortunate. If Boley can stay healthy I have no doubt he will have a standout season.

On the strong side, Clint Sintim is favored to win the job. He was a starting outside linebacker playing in the 3-4 for Virginia in college. He fell to the Giants in the second-round of the draft after reports that they were contemplating taking him in the first-round.

After the draft the Giants talked up his long arms and his ability to pass rush, much like they did when they attempted to convert Kiwanuka to linebacker a few years ago.

Sintim failed to make a big impact in his rookie season, having trouble getting on the field. While he had played outside linebacker in college, switching to a 4-3 was still an adjustment for him, and hopefully the year of learning helped out.

This season Sintim is set up to win the starting spot, and if he can play up to his talent level he should really take off.

Finally there is the middle linebacker position. This is the biggest question on the team. Antonio Pierce has long held the position, and while there are potential candidates to replace him, no one has separated himself from the pack.

The candidates are Jonathan Goff, Gerris Wilkinson, and fourth-round pick Phillip Dillard. Goff started last season after Pierce got hurt, and Wilkinson has shown flashes but an inability to stay healthy, but it is rookie Phillip Dillard that seems to have the inside track.

Despite only being a rookie, the coaching staff has talked very highly of him, and has tried to get him reps with the first-string unit during mini-camps. He has a high football IQ and can tackle. He also has enough quickness to make an impact in coverage down the field. If he can learn the defense he has a chance to win the job and have a solid year.

Rookies have recently had a fair amount of success at the linebacker position and Dillard has a chance to join them. He will have a top defensive line in front of him like he did at Nebraska so hopefully the transition is not too hard.

The unit is not spectacular and will probably still be the weakest unit on the field, but there is talent there. If everything comes together the Giants can have a solid core of linebackers, something they haven’t really had for some time.

by Evan Slavit at the Sports Fan Blog Network

Outside of the safeties, the Giants also boast top-notch cornerbacks. They have three corners in Corey Webster, Aaron Ross, and Terrell Thomas who have the ability to be Pro Bowl starters.

Under Steve Spagnuolo Corey Webster took off and became a shut-down corner for the Giants. Often maligned earlier in his career the aggressive press defense Spagnuolo ran allowed Webster to be more physical with the receiver and play more man-to-man situations playing to his strengths. He took off in the playoffs in 2007 all the way to their SuperBowl victory. Since that point he has not looked back becoming the top corner the Giants have been looking for.

Before the 2007 season the Giants drafted Aaron Ross with their first round pick. His insertion into the line-up directly coincided with the Giants turnaround that season, when they were able to stage a huge comeback against the Redskins to avoid an 0-3 hole. The season ended with a SuperBowl victory and Aaron Ross solidifying himself as a rising star. 2008 was another good season as Ross alongside the surging Webster helped lead the Giants to a 12-4 season and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. Unfortunately for Ross and Giants fans, Ross had hamstring issues in training camp that never worked itself out in 2009. Ross managed to make it into the starting line-up only a few times and, due to problems and safety, was forced to play at safety. This season Ross is healthy and hopes to stay that way and return to the form he showed fans in his first two seasons.

Terrell Thomas was a second round pick for the Giants following their SuperBowl victory. Like Webster and Ross his big strength is his arms and ability to jam receivers at the line of scrimmage. He had minimal impact his rookie year as Ross and Webster handled the starting spots and Kenny Phillips, the first round pick that year, was awarded the snaps in the nickel package. Last season, however, in his second year Thomas broke into the starting line-up due to Ross’s injury. Thomas took advantage of the opportunity having the best season of any Giant defensive back and leading the team with four interceptions. He had such a good season that coaches refused to give the starting job back to Ross this year, insisting the two will have to fight it out in training camp.

These three corners have all had Pro Bowl type seasons at one time or another and are all still relatively young. If they can stay healthy they will have a great competition in training camp, and more importantly will provide the Giants with amazing depth and talent at the position.

by Evan Slavit at the Sports Fan Blog Network

Jason Spezza has been one of the best playmakers since the lockout. He's been averaging a point per game throughout his career. His size and speed make him the focal point for the opposition when he's on the ice.

Fans in Ottawa tend to forget these facts and solely focus on the downside of Spezza's game. Often times he tries to be "too creative" with his no-look passes, and some of them have found their way back into the Senators zone. There was even a point in the Stanley Cup Playoffs where he would touch the puck and was booed unrelentlessly by the home crowd.

Coach Cory Clouston admitted that he can see how the fans can make Spezza out to be the scapegoat, but also said he believes it's unfair. He also stated that Spezza's defensive game has improved drastically over the last year and that he's working on becoming the complete player the organization needs him to be.

Spezza has just concluded the second year of a seven-year/$49 million contract and is slated to be a Senator for the duration of the deal. That's a bold statement on its own when you consider that Spezza doesn't have a no-trade clause.

Everyone from the media to the bleachers at Scotiabank Place has been questioning Spezza in virtually every category. Whether it's his leadership, defensive play or his intuition to make blind passes, he will hear the jeers before getting any praise for his effort.

It's mind-boggling, really.

It's amusing to see when fans of any team demand they run their top player out of town because he's underachieving and think that they'll be in the clear from that point on. It's too bad these kinds of players don't grow on trees.

There's one thing that separates Spezza from Dany Heatley and Alexei Yashin—he wants to play in Ottawa.

Why don't Sens fans consider that before booing him? Why are they so quick to bash his defensive abilities when he makes the players around him better?

The Detroit Red Wings were in this situation in the early 90s as well. They had somebody who was given a big role at a young age and while he put up great numbers, he was often criticized for his play in his own zone. There were multiple trade rumours surrounding him, but instead he remained with the team and became one of the best players in NHL history.

His name was Steve Yzerman. You might have heard of him.

Before Yzerman was considered one of the greatest leaders of all-time, there was no indication of how his story would end. He was a high draft pick who put up spectacular numbers in Detroit, but coach Scotty Bowman and his staff weren't sure how Yzerman would fit into the plans regarding winning championships.

To that point, Yzerman's only championship on his resume was a Canada Cup victory in 1984. Bowman and his coaching staff worked day after day on helping Yzerman enhance his defensive game. It wasn't long before his abilities in his own zone and in the faceoff category became greater.

Before anybody knew it, the man they call "Stevie Y" had four Stanley Cup rings—three as a player—and a Conn Smythe trophy in 1998 for his play in big games. His trophy list wasn't big by the end of his career, but he also managed to pick up the 2000 Selke trophy for best defensive forward in the league, as well as a Masterton trophy in 2003 for his dedication and perseverance during an injury-plagued season.

All stats aside, Spezza's progress can be compared to Yzerman's in more ways than one.

Many could argue that players learn how to lose before they learn how to win. For Yzerman, his first appearance in the Stanley Cup Finals came in 1995 at the age of 30. By comparison, Spezza has already made it to the dance in 2007, but was much younger at 24 years old.

Yzerman and the Red Wings were on top of the league for much of the next decade, thanks in large part to the core which included Nicklas Lidstrom, Sergei Fedorov, Brendan Shanahan and Igor Larionov. Along with the owners, management and scouting staff, the Red Wings are still seen as a model franchise to this day.

Things are a little different in Ottawa.

Since making it to the Finals in 2007, they have failed to win a playoff series. Although Clouston has been doing a great job behind the bench, the team went through three different coaches in two calendar years. The goaltending carousel has seen the likes of Martin Gerber, Ray Emery and Alex Auld leave town with Pascal Leclaire and Brian Elliott remaining as the present tandem.

Watching all-star talent such as Zdeno Chara, Wade Redden and Dany Heatley leave town hasn't made things easier. Salary cap restrictions have made it hard for GM Bryan Murray to bring high-priced free agents to town, forcing him to insert inexperienced players into the lineup from the club's once-depleted farm system.

The Senators are a younger team with a different attitude and are relying on Spezza to be the offensive catalyst that he's paid to be. He did average over a point per game down the stretch and in the playoffs, but he is still working on being a complete player that can make contributions even if it's not on the scoreboard.

It's understandable to be frustrated with Spezza. He's teased many people with his talents and have left fans wanting more every year since he's been in the league. But just getting rid of him would cause more of a problem than it would solve.

With Spezza's current cap hit, it is virtually impossible to find a team willing to give up full value of for the playmaking centreman. Not to mention it's not a "forced trade" as the Dany Heatley deal was last summer.

Unless the perfect deal comes for Murray and the Senators, Spezza will be sporting the red, black and gold in the fall. Quite honestly, there should be no problem with that.

Spezza has stated that he wants to remain in Ottawa. He's newly married and lives in Ottawa throughout the year, even despite being born in Toronto. Ottawa is his home and that's just the way he likes it.

We have a talented player with a lot of potential that has been improving on doing little things well to make him the best team player he can be.

Don't get on his back if he makes a mistake when he's trying too hard. Don't start running him out of town and expect to get a Sidney Crosby or Pavel Datsyuk in return as a top pivot.

Embrace the contributions he makes and the effort he puts into his game night after night. He'll get there, don't worry.

Make him feel like he belongs in Ottawa. Otherwise, we might not know what we've got if we lose him.