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

I wasn't ready to give up the season yet on my Senators, perhaps naively so. The first part of the season, all fingers were pointed at Martin Gerber and his horrible goaltending. After letting in softie after softie, the Sens gave Alex Auld the proverbial ball and he did a better than expected job in net.

But since then and for the first time in who knows how long, the Sens can't score a goal to save their lives. At their current pace, they'll score less goals than they did in their inaugural season. You know, when Sylvain Turgeon and Norm Maciver led the offensive charge. So when a problem seems to have been corrected, another presents itself.

It looks like I should probably just give up on the rest of the year and cheer on the Sens to win a Cup...the Tavares Cup. It was announced in the paper today Sundin won't be signing with Ottawa. GM Bryan Murray was quoted as saying, "I'm sure it had something to do with the standings....and obviously with him wanting to sign with a team that will be a finalist, if nothing else." "Finalist" is an interesting choice of word, isn't it?

And how about this comment by coach Craig Hartsburg about Ottawa's defensive corps: "I'm not criticizing our back end because they are what they are..." They are what they are? Why not just say they stink and throw them under the bus like Murray has, too?

How confident can the players be when comments like that come from coaching and management? I guess I am just an idiot, thinking the Sens could turn things around and get back on track. I looked at this way...they were tied for last place a little while back, now they are in twelfth. If they can win their next two games, they'd be tied for 9th. Slowly but steady, climbing up the ladder to the playoffs. It won't be easy, having to witness disasters like a 5-1 spanking to the Capitals as well as a painful 2-0 win Saturday against the worst team in the league, the Tampa Bay Lightning, but still, it was possible.

But forget it. If the team itself doesn't believe it can, why should I?