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Page of the (AHL) Ottawa Senators
Last Updated: 10:30PM EST, October 8th, 2002
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Recent
News:
October 8th, 2001
All links updated (again), articles from the last 2 months (season review, playoffs, trade summaries) will be slowly added within the next 4-6 weeks.
August 13th, 2001
All links updated, all recent articles written and posted. AHL Team Web Sites links updated, and Ottawa Team/Individual Records, Awards, Career Stats added.
June 9th, 2001
Ottawa swung three minor deals during the off-season freeze, which have now become official due to the lifting of the trade ban. RW Sergei Berezin was dealt to Anaheim for RW Petr Tenkrat and Montreal's 4th round pick in Season 4. This deal was made primarily for salary and age reasons; Tenkrat is 25 years old, and makes just $300,000. Lee Sorochan, another minor-leaguer who was deemed a spare part, was dealt to San Jose in exchange for Atlanta's 3rd round pick in Season 5. Sorochan was acquired as a depth defenseman in the Steve Rucchin deal with the New York Islanders late last season, but saw little ice time and did not suit up in the playoffs. And finally, to improve depth and veteran presence on the Sens' young blueline, D Jiri Slegr was acquired from Toronto for D Per Anger, D Shane Hnidy, and Ottawa's 4th round pick in Season 3. Slegr is going to have a role similar to recently-signed D Kevin Hatcher; guiding the young blueliners through a gruelling full season of AHL hockey, and then (most likely) leaving as a UFA at the end of the year. With these deals, Senators' GM Jason Ravesi seems to be sending a message to both the league and to Ottawa fans that "Trader Jay" is finally happy with his roster, and that he feels the correct pieces of the puzzle are in place. His plans for the future? "I want to let everyone play pressure-free; there will be no quick-fix via trade this year, no matter how poorly we come out of the gate. We want the youngsters on the squad to feel security and stability." His priorities once the season is over? "Getting all our free agents signed. We currently have 23 players on one-year contracts, and we will likely try to keep 18 or so. The main free agent priorities are Marian (Hossa), Radek (Bonk) and Ozzie (Chris Osgood)." How much are you willing to pay to keep Chris Osgood in Ottawa? "As much as it takes."
April 14th, 2001
The Senators announced that they had finally reached an agreement with hold-out RFAs RW Nils Ekman (4 years, $600,000/year) and G Mathieu Chouinard (4 years, $775,000/year). Two other Senators were given walking papers; UFA LW Eric Lacroix was informed that he would not receive an offer, while RFA D David Van Drunen did not receive a qualifying offer, allowing him to become a UFA with the blessing of Senators' management. Does any of this have any real effect on the Ottawa pro roster? Not really.
April 10th, 2001
The Senators made a few minor ventures into the free-agents market this off-season, but stayed away from signing any of the big-name UFAs like Petr Nedved. Veteran D Kevin Hatcher and G Mark Fitzpatrick were signed to one-year contracts, using some of the savings gained in the Chelios and Lidstrom deals. They were signed more for their experience and leadership than for their talent levels; Fitzpatrick will assume the limited backup duties behind Chris Osgood, allowing Roberto Luongo to spend time developing pressure-free on the farm. Luongo was awful last season, and it is worried that his being thrust into the backup role before he was ready could stunt his growth. Also, a nasty off-season saw both the Minnesota Wild and the New York Rangers make bids for his services as an RFA, driving up his price into the $2.7m range. Hatcher is expected to be the #6-7 defenseman, and could be named an alternate captain. He is expected to guide Lecavalier through the trials of leadership.
And now for the departures. D Ray Bourque, signed last season as the Senators' big-name UFA and playoff guru, announced his retirement. Bourque signed a massive one-year deal $7.5 million, with the promise of an extended playoff run, plenty of ice time and being partnered with Niklas Lidstrom luring him away from retirement for one more season. Bourque was something of a disappointment; though he did score 13 goals and 42 points, his minus-10 rating was the worst of any Senators player who played more than 20 games in an Ottawa uniform. Radek Bonk (minus-1) was the only other in this category to have a negative +/- rating. Though Bourque did have a strong playoff (4 points, +4, 0 PIM) against the Rangers, he felt he could no longer perform at his desired level of play and decided to hang up the skates. D Gary Suter also had similar sentiments. Suter was acquired from Tampa Bay in the Lecavalier deal, but was immediately sent to the minors where, after clearing waivers, he spent the remainder of the season. His salary was the main consideration in this decision. Realizing he had no place in the Ottawa organization, and that no other team in the league would take on his salary given his age and declining talent level, Suter also announced his retirement. The Senators also released RW Kevin Brown, and let C Trevor Linden move to Minnesota via unrestricted free-agency. Linden was something of a bust after being acquired from Washington at the deadline; he faired quite poorly over the remainder of the season, and had just two assists in 7 playoff games.
All these departures, when compounded with the Lidstrom and Chelios deals, will save the Senators somewhere in the range of $15-20 million in payroll. Will the younger/faster/cheaper route pay off for Ottawa? Probably not in the short-term, but the future does look bright for the Sens.
April 7th, 2001
The Ottawa Senators announced that they had signed a large number of prospects; every player drafted in the Season 3 entry draft, along with any players remaining from Season 1 and Season 2. C Yvon Murdoch, LW Yan Vishnevski, RWs Jamie Sarich, Adom Stoll and Max Volchkov, and defensemen Casey Young and Reuben Lyons. Off the players, Young is the one Ottawa regard most highly; he was drafted with Ottawa's 1st round selection (23rd overall) in the Season 2 entry draft. With the current depth of Senators' pro roster, it is extremely unlikely that any of these players will be seen in Ottawa before Season 4, and will likely begin to make an impact by Season 5. But it is good to know that the Senators are planning for the future, and that despite a lack of high draft picks in recent years, their scouts are making the most of their situation and still managing to find players who could develop into fine additions to the Ottawa Senators.
March 25th, 2001
The Senators struck two deals today; one major, and one minor. The minor deal saw Ottawa trade Detroit's 3rd round pick in Season 3 to the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for 20-year-old netminding prospect Brent Krahn. Krahn was seen by Senators' scouts as better than any goaltending prospect available in the draft at that time, allowing Ravesi to make the move with full consent from his staff.
The second deal was a blockbuster, and effectively the end of an era. After one-and-a-half season, the Ottawa Senators can no longer call themselves Niklas Lidstrom's team. The super-star and former Norris-trophy-winning defenseman was dealt to Buffalo along with RFA hold-out C Patrick Marleau, veteran LW and team leader Gary Roberts, minor-league RW Chris Neil, and Atlanta's 4th round pick in Season 3. Marleau enjoyed two rather productive seasons in Ottawa after being acquired from San Jose, but was demanding a salary near the $3 million mark, which the team deemed unacceptable, even for a 22-year-old player who had scored 32 goals and 73 points in 135 games over two seasons. Neil's goon image made him expendable. And then there was Nik. Even when teamed with Ray Bourque and Chris Chelios to give the Sens the deepest blueline in AHL history, Lidstrom struggled. His first (and only) full season in a Sens uniform saw his offensive totals drop, and his +/- rating drop from a +34 to just a +1. And when the team blew a 3-2 series lead and lost their first round series to the New York Rangers in 7 games, after blowing a 3-1 series lead and losing in 7 games to the New Jersey Devils in the second round last year, Ottawa management felt the team needed to go in a new direction with a new leader. Chelios was dealt, Bourque retired, and now Lidstrom was sent packing to allow for Wade Redden and Tomas Kaberle to emerge as the new leaders on the blueline.
But the deal was not made for financial reasons alone. With these deals, Ottawa was beginning a full-fledged youth movement. However, it was becoming a team filled with youngsters who could contribute now, but still have some upside and potential for improvement. This team would be lead by newly-emerged superstar, and the mega acquisition from Tampa Bay last season, C Vincent Lecavalier. Coming to Ottawa from Buffalo were four young players; LW Edo Terglav (22), C Henrik Sedin (22), D Marek Posmyk (24) and C Artem Kriukov (21). Ottawa also received Colorado's 4th round pick in Season 3. Terglav was expected to replace Roberts on the first line, Sedin would be the new third-line centre instead of Marleau, Posmyk would have the somewhat daunting task of filling in for Lidstrom on the blueline (although he would be #3-4 on the Sens' depth chart), and Kriukov would likely spend the entire season in Grand Rapids. The move shaves off a LOT of years, and saves the Senators millions in salary; the four youngsters make just $2.25 million combined. Will the deal pay off? Unlikely in the short term; each of these players is a step down from the player they are replacing. However, they are all extremely young with tremendous potential, and will continue to improve for many seasons yet. Can Lecavalier handle the leadership mantle? Sens fans and management both hope the 22-year-old superstar is up to the task. Because its his team now.
March 23rd, 2001
After nearly two years in Ottawa, D Chris Chelios is now moving on. After the Senators fell to the eventual Stanley Cup Champion NY Rangers in seven games in the first round, management decided that a youth movement was the way to go. The Big 3 on defense (Chelios, UFA signee Ray Bourque and S1 Norris winner Niklas Lidstrom) was unsuccessful; not only that, but Bourque was expected to retire while Chelios himself was pushing 40. Also, the Sens payroll was pushing the $40 million mark, leaving the team with little cap room (which would probably be used up signing their RFAs). Rather than get one more year out of their current defensive unit, the Sens decided to scrap it altogether, starting with Chelios. Chris was sent to Western Conference powerhouse Colorado, along with RW Teemu Sainomaa and Ottawa's 5th Round Pick in S3. Coming back to Ottawa is a youth injection on the blueline; D Scott Hannan (23), D Nick Schultz (21), Colorado's 3rd Round Pick in S4 and Calgary's 4th Round Pick in S4. Schultz is expected to spend most of the season in the minors; he was the key to the deal from Ottawa's perspective. He's a strong physical, defensive defenseman who can still keep a cool head, while Hannan is a good two-way blueliner whose only real weakness is his skating ability. Hannan could step into Ottawa's lineup as early as this year. Ottawa also saved itself more than $3 million in salary, which was definitely a consideration whether Sens' GM Jason Ravesi says it was or not.
Chelios was a fan favourite in his time here in Ottawa, and was Team Captain during his entire time here. He rescued the team's playoff hopes after arriving here from Detroit in S1, and played his heart out in S2 even though his ice time was drastically reduced (he often found himself on the 3rd line). Fans sent bags and bags of mail to the Chelios residence thanking him for his contributions to the Senators' cause, and wishing him the best of luck in Colorado.
March 20th, 2001
With the Stanley Cup playoffs concluded and teams able to announce contract signings after a press-release freeze, the Senators announced that three key Restricted Free Agents had been signed to contracts: D Wade Redden, D Tomas Kaberle, and RW Adam Mair. All three players are young (aged 25, 24, and 23 respectively) and central to the team's success (Redden and Kaberle are the top 2 d-men in Ottawa, and Mair is the 2nd-line RW). Each of them were signed to 3-year extensions worth $2.1 million (for Redden), $1.5 million (for Kaberle) and $1.2 million (for Mair) per season. The only remaining free-agents to sign are goaltenders Roberto Luongo (which looks to be a long and bitter contract dispute, as he is demanding close to $2 million per season) and Mathieu Chouinard (who will not be entering the RFA market, giving the team the upper hand in negotiations). D David Van Drunen was not given a qualifying offer and will be leaving the team as a UFA; also, LW Eric Lacroix and C Trevor Linden will likely be moving on and D Ray Bourque is considered all but retired.
