The SBP Archives - Your less than frequent dose of SBP!

Training camp for all NHL clubs has just started, signalling the beginning of the 2006-07 season. With numerous articles on the Senators in the last couple of days, the excitement level has kicked off for me. Before my Sens officially start the new hockey year, 9 pre-season games played in 11 days will give coach Bryan Murray a chance to figure out the best line combinations and get the final roster ready for their opening game, which will be held October 4th against the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Who's wears the 'A'? With the departure of big Zdeno Chara also came the loss of one of the leaders of the Ottawa Senators. Wade Redden will continue to be an assistant and Murray will not be lifting the 'C' off captain Daniel Alfredsson. Someone will have a chance to step up and become part of the leadership the team needs to look up to.
I think this is the time to reward Mike Fisher with an 'A'. Coming off his best season, he was one of the hardest working players during the playoffs and a nominee for the Selke trophy, he has seven years of experience under his belt and is ready to move his game to the next level. The alternate choice is Chris Phillips. He is expected to contribute more and will be given more ice time with the departure of Chara. I think Phillips should get use to this increased role before being given other responsibilities. I'd wait to see how he handles this before anything else.

Are the Sens a Stanley Cup favourite? The media pegged Ottawa as the favourite last year, unquestionably having the most talent: Spezza, Heatley, Alfredsson and Havlat providing the scoring, the best one-two punch on the blueline (Chara-Redden) and Hasek playing to form in nets.
I don't think we can rate them as the favourite this year. New goaltender Martin Gerber had one good season and not much else. We don't know how the loss of Chara will affect the blue line, and if new acquisitions Joe Corvo and Tom Preissing will be able to make up for it, substituting size & strength with speed & puck movement. Ottawa also doesn't have a strong left side up front. But, Ottawa still has plenty of firepower and guys like Vermette and Eaves will have a chance to continue their progress after coming off 20 goals seasons. 23 year-old Russian rookie Alexei Kaigorodov is slotted to play with Alfredsson and be the 2nd line center. The job is essentially his and his to lose over the next few weeks. If he can play in the NHL as hoped, Ottawa will be in contention, but probably not a favourite. Then again, as last season proved, every team that makes the playoffs has a solid chance of going all the way. Less pressure for Ottawa might be what the doctor ordered.

Now what? I'm be attending Friday's pre-season game against Buffalo and report as my blog readers expect. This is sort of a different year for the Senators. They always have high expectations placed on them, but not as high this time. The East doesn't seem to have a true #1 team that will dominate. That's ok, maybe it'll make my Sens work harder and give them a new look on the ice they need to capture Lord Stanley.