Next year awaits...

Posted by Gord Wilson on April 21, 2008

Greetings, all, from nowhere in particular... certainly not at a rink at the time of this writing.  Just  sitting in the basement following the Canadiens'  5-0 win over the Bruins in Game 7 of their Eastern  Conference series.

Anyway, thought I'd just jot down a few thoughts on the season that was... for the Senators, and obviously, a season that  was... not meant to be.

We  can talk all we want about the terrific start to the season the Senators had but the  bottom line is, this team limped into the playoffs, perhaps didn't really deserve to be there (based on how they were playing over the final  month or so) and couldn't  muster enough to find any consistency to their game.  At the turn of the new year, I think I could count on one  hand the number of solid, full team games the Senators were able to play and win the way they were supposed to. Jan. 12 against Detroit  was one of those  games...  a 3-2 Ottawa win. Two more came later on against  Montreal...  a 6-1 win on home ice and a 3-0 win in Montreal. I believe that game was played March 13 and was Ottawa's third straight win.  We left the  rink that night thinking wow, this is the Senators team that played so well the year  before and maybe, just maybe, they had turned the corner. But the very next game, Ottawa  lost  5-1 to Carolina and the team never looked the same.

I had a great one-on-one talk with Daniel Alfredsson following Ottawa's series loss to the Penguins. He said he could sense something was amiss at about the 25-game mark. He mentioned that  his  teammates  were so worried about the so-called Stanley Cup hangover that they did everything they  could to start the season well. 13-2 through the first 15 games was indeed outstanding. But then little  things started to creep into players' games. There wasn't as much sacrifice, not nearly enough  desperation and in some cases, not enough effort.  As Ottawa's game went the wrong way, other teams started to find theirs.  Teams most anticipated would get better, like Montreal, Boston and Washington,  did just that.

Alfredsson wondered about the team's conditioning and while the players were in great shape, perhaps he was referring to their mental state. Clearly, the willingness to  "pay the price " was not as evident this year as it was last.

All that being said, the defending Cup champs lasted just two more games than Ottawa. Take a look at  history over the last eight years and you'll see this is a common theme.  The two teams to advance to the Stanley Cup final one year rarely do well the following year.

So that means it will be another off-season of change for the Senators... starting with the coach. Certainly, lots of names are being  bandied about, which will make things very interesting for Bryan Murray. Remember, he won't be afraid to go outside the box in hiring someone.

Player personnel changes are also in the offing. I found it interesting to see just how many new faces  played for the Senators this past year. I counted at least nine, on a semi-regular basis.

Change is necessary and in a salary cap world, change will always be a part of any team's off-season (just look at the  NFL).

Bottom line for the Senators  is, they have a core group of players still intact and signed to long-term  deals. That core simply can't underachieve at the wrong time next year.

If you don't mind, I'd like to continue writing this blog from time-to-time during the playoffs...offer  some opinion and maybe a  little story or two on those making headlines.

Much thanks for tuning in and reading my stuff. I'm sorry I rarely responded back... forgive me, I'm kinda new at this.

Have a great off-season, everyone, and we'll see you at the rink in September.

Cheers,

Gord Wilson