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

The headline was as bad as anything you may read inside the pages of a Sun newspaper, but the latest Sens triumph, a 5-1 spanking of the Toronto Maple Leafs tonight, may be alluding to what could be the greatest Ottawa Senators season in their modern history. They have already achieved an NHL record by being the quickest team to reach 13 wins in a season, and you have to wonder if anyone can stop them.

Lots of other Sens-related stuff going on. We have Wade Redden being quoted as saying he'd take a hometown discount to remain with Ottawa, and owner Eugene Melnyk referring to it as a "Stanley Cup" discount that's been put on the table. No numbers have been mentioned, but indeed that is the only way Redden can stay. He didn't play to a $6.5 million a year contract, and Chris Phillips, who makes about 1/2 that, is currently the better of the two. I think Redden is smart enough to realize a discount may be a way to actually make amends for his poor performance last year. He has rebounded from last year so far and has been solid. Most fans would like to see him gone, but he logs the most minutes out of all Senators, can be put in a power play, penalty kill or even-strength opposition and more importantly, is playing well for his team.

The NHL also released it's all-star ballot and six Senators: Daniel Alfredsson, Dany Heatley, Jason Spezza, Wade Redden, Chris Phillips and Ray Emery made the ballot. The ballot selection process is bit of a joke as Emery has only played 2 games this year, but it recognizes the accomplishments Ottawa has made.

Finally, Peter Forsberg. I have been dreaming of Alfredsson and Peter playing together while Spezza and Heatley play the other line but it looks like this won't happen. Forsberg, after his first practice with the Swedish national team, pretty much stated he's as close to retirement as you can get. His foot is in horrible shape and he doesn't want to have any major surgeries to fix it. While it would have been nice to see him don a Sens uniform, looks like Ottawa will have to move on from this. But, with a 13-1 record, do they have to make any major acquisitions? No. We'll see how the ship sails. For now, it's a great time to be a Senators fan. Let's hope I can say the same thing in June.