While the NBA has stolen the spotlight in Canadian sports, the NHL playoffs are apparently still happening.
In the Western Conference, the San Jose Sharks appear to be making light work of the St. Louis Blues, a team that sat in the NHL’s basement not too long ago. And in the East, it sure looks like the Boston Bruins are enjoying a surprisingly uneventful walk in the park against the Carolina Hurricanes, who clearly tuckered themselves out with all those wacky post-game celebrations.
And while the Blues and Hurricanes have plenty of time to get those series turned around, so far anyway, the third round looks like a bit of a dud.
The good news is here in Ottawa, we have the powerhouse Ottawa 67’s to keep us….oh…hang on…nevermind. When do the Ottawa Champions start anyway?
As we count down the seconds to something resembling Sens news, another halfhearted attempt at some Monday News and Notes. If for no other reason than to change up the lead image on the site.
-Over the weekend, another surprising candidate joined the list of contenders for the Ottawa Head Coach position. And much like Jacques Martin, he too has a history with the Senators. According to Bob McKenzie, the Senators have asked the Stars for permission to speak to Rick Bowness. Yep, it’s THAT Rick Bowness. The same guy that put up a 39-178-18 record with the Sens during their first four seasons in the NHL. Of course Bowness has come along way since those early days and has actually been credited for the key role he played as an Assistant in both Dallas and Tampa Bay.
-With Bowness added to the list, it sounds like we finally have a complete picture of who the Sens are looking at for the job. The list includes Marc Crawford, Troy Mann, Nate Leaman, Jacques Martin, DJ Smith and Rick Bowness. Still no word on whether Brad Shaw is officially being considered for the position. It sounds like General Manager Pierre Dorion will narrow the list down to one or two candidates in the next couple weeks before inviting guys back for a final interview.
-After losing their Chief Operating Officer last week, there are rumours of further changes still to come on the business side of the organization in the days to come. That certainly won’t come as a huge surprise as it has basically been a revolving door within the organization for the last couple years now.
-In his most recent 31 Thoughts article, Sportsnet insider Elliotte Friedman had a lot to say about the Ottawa Senators. Although that seems to be the case most of the time. The note that seemed to grab the most attention had to do with Ottawa’s floundering search for a new President of Hockey Operation. According to Friedman, some (all? one of?) the candidates flat-out refused an opportunity to even discuss the position with Sens Owner Eugene Melnyk. And while some important context is missing there, it certainly doesn’t paint a pretty picture when it comes to the organization’s reputation around the league. Shocking, I know.
-Last week, the Senators made a minor move, locking up Swedish defenceman Olle Alsing to a two-year entry level contract. The 23 year old, left-shot defenceman is coming off his second full season at Djurgårdens, where he had 15 points and was the SHL leader in plus/minus with a +26. Ottawa’s left side looks fairly occupied so it would make sense to see Alsing start the season in Belleville.
-One player to keep an eye on at the World Championships over in Slovakia is Swedish forward Joakin Nygard. You’ll recall there were rumours the 26 year old may be on the Sens radar and it sounds like they are still interested. According to Friedman, Nygard will narrow his list of teams down to between 3 and 5 and it sounds like the Senators are going to be one of those teams. The speedy Nygard is coming off a 21 goal season with Färjestad.
-Speaking of the World Championships, it’s hard to not to be impressed with the early performance of Slovakian Senator Christian Jaros. As is often the case in International play, Jaros has been a stand out for Slovakia, at times looking like a completely different player than the one who suited up in Ottawa this season. When he has the confidence to take chances and join the rush, he really is an impressive player to watch. He has transitioned well as a full-time NHLer but I can’t help but think there is still some untapped potential in his game. Interested to see where he’s at next season.
