Avs, Sens Swap Goaltenders

The Ottawa Senators have been dumping players left and right over the past few days in an effort to begin the rebuilding process that should keep the Senators out of the playoffs for the next few years. Their latest departure comes in the form of goaltender Brian Elliot, who heads to the Avalanche in a straight up one-for-one deal that has Craig Anderson coming back to Ottawa.

The Senators realized that Elliot was simply never going to emerge as their bonafide No. 1 goaltending option. The 25-year old is struggling in his third NHL season with a goals against average at 3.19 and a save percentage clip at .894. Perhaps it was just the way things were going to go with anybody sporting a Senators jersey. But the time came for general manager Bryan Murray to cut ties with the team's ninth round pick from 2003.

Murray received Anderson in return. Anderson was a journeyman backup goalie for most of his NHL, but he came out of nowhere last season with a tremendous overall campaign in his first year as a free agent pickup with the Avalanche. He played over 70 games with Colorado in 2009-10, sporting a 2.63 goals against average and .917 save percentage as he backstopped the Avs into the playoffs.

But he hasn't brought upon that same type of magic this season. The Avs are very much on the outside looking in on the playoffs picture, and his statistics similar to those of Elliot in 33 games this year have not helped.

For Murray, this is an opportunity to get rid of a goalie that he didn't feel would ever live up to the expectation of starter and bring in a more veteran presence who had at one point showed the ability to be a No. 1. If things work out, Murray could re-sign Anderson over the offseason at what would likely be a very reasonable rate.

"The good thing about it is we get a chance for 20-something games to look and watch (Anderson) and, during that time period, I would think that we'll have discussions and we'll see where we want to be and where he wants to be," Murray said.

Carrie Underwood (along with Mike Fisher) Traded To Predators

This one came a bit out of left field and I would have thought Alexei Kovalev would be the first player dumped by the 14th place in the Eastern Conference Ottawa Senators, but Carrie Underwood - and Mike Fisher by dealt - was dealt Thursday evening to Music City's Nashville Predators, where she will surely be more at home to advance her country music career.

As for Fisher, the 10-year Ottawa Senator now going to only his second NHL team, now moves to Nashville in exhange for a first round pick this year and a conditional 2012 selection. That 2012 pick will be  a third rounder if the Predators advance one round in the playoffs or a second rounder if they win two or more rounds, according to TSN.

Fisher has been one of many Senators to have a down year this season, with just 14 goals and a minus-18 rating through 55 games. But he is still a solid two-way player who should up his game with the change of scenery the Predators offer as a team firmly in the postseason hunt.

"We were seeking a top-six forward and Mike Fisher was the player we set our sights on," Predators general manager David Poile said in a statement. "He plays playoff-style hockey all season long. He plays on the power play, kills penalties, is strong on draws and can match up against any opposing line."

Poile is especially excited about the playoff experience Fisher will bring to the team. And Fisher is equally excited about this new opportunity, in addition to the comfort his wife will find in their new hometown.

"They're a very good team, and it'll be kind of like going home for me," Fisher said. "I'm sure my wife won't be disappointed, either. But I think it's a great place for me and family and everything."

Fisher is in the third year of a five-year, $21 million contract extension signed with Ottawa in 2007. He will count as a $4.2 million cap hit to the Preds in each of the following two seasons.

Kuba Injures Leg On First Day Of Training Camp



UPDATE: TSN is reporting that Filip Kuba will miss 5-6 weeks with a broken right leg following the results of his x-rays. While he will miss camp and the beginning of the regular season with this injury, he should be back by November following that timetable and that's not a drastic amount of time for the Senators to be without him.

ORIGINAL: It's never a good sign when players start going down on the very first day of training camp. For the Ottawa Senators, it's especially not great that it happened just 15 minutes into their camp to a 33-year old defenseman coming off back surgery over the summer.

On Friday, Filip Kuba suffered a leg injury after skating into a rut on the ice surface. The severity of the injury not know, but he was expected to be taken for x-rays Saturday afternoon.

Aside from losing their second best offensive defenseman, the Senators face the loss of a player that does not need any more injuries on his record. Kuba had back surgery this offseason as a result of an injury that forced him to miss the final 11 regular season and all six postseason games for Ottawa last year. Prior to that injury, a number of other ailments forced Kuba to miss games in spurts throughout the year, leaving him to skate just 53 games total during the 2010-11 campaign in his second season as a Senator.

Head coach Cory Clouston is prepared to go forward as necessary if the x-rays reveal some negative news.

"We had to play a lot without him last year, and obviously we may have to start the season without him again. I guess if you are going to do it, doing it at the start of the season is better than at the end of the year when we would miss him for the playoffs," Clouston said.

It's true that the timing of this injury, though not the injury itself, is beneficial for the Senators. Training camp provides plenty of young guns and outsiders an opportunity to earn roster spots. Therefore, options exist for Clouston to fill Kuba's role if it's expected that the Czech-native will miss a significant number of games. The prime candidate to step into his spot will likely be Brian Lee, who has 82 total NHL games to his credit but has spent most of his time the past three years being passed around the Ottawa its AHL affiliate in Binghamton.

Gonchar Saying Goodbye To Pittsburgh, Hello To Ottawa

 

The Pittsburgh Penguins worked toward the end to bring their top offensive blue liner back into the fold. But it just wasn't meant to be. Sergei Gonchar was the first big name off the board Thursday afternoon, electing to leave the Penguins for richer (in money only) pastures with the Ottawa Senators at what TSN's Darren Dreger reports to be a three-year, $16.5 million deal with a no-trade clause. That will break down to an average cap hit of $5.5 million per season for Ottawa.

There was always the possibility this would play out for Pittsburgh, considering the 35-year old Gonchar has just one more big-time contract in his career and he wants another payday. That wasn't going to fit well into Pittsburgh's budget, so General Manager Ray Shero pulled the trigger on a deal to acquire the rights to Dan Hamhuis for a third round pick. He wanted to get both guys inked, but that was improbably and both chose to go the UFA route. Hamhuis, however, is still an option for the Pens.

Gonchar now goes to a team that didn't previously have tremendous potency in the scoring department from defenseman. He immediately emerges as the team's top gunner from the point and first unit power play quarterback, which is exactly what General Manager Bryan Murray was looking to snag this summer.

Cheechoo, Kotalik Among Five Players Placed On Waivers

 

The waiver wire saw some activity this afternoon as a reported five players were placed on it, according to TSN. Among those players are Johnathan Cheechoo of the Ottawa Senators, who was part of the Dany Heatley trade with San Jose, and Ales Kotalik of the Calgary Flames, who was acquired by the team in an early February trade with the New York Rangers. Petteri Nokelainen and Jim Vadermeer of the Phoenix Coyotes and Florida Panthers defenseman Ville Koistinen were also placed on waivers.

TSN mentions that if these players were to go unclaimed through the waiver process, it is likely that their respective organizations will buy them out and will therefore enter them into unrestricted free agency.

Cheechoo is entering the final year of a five-year contract that will pay him $3.5 million next season (and count as a cap hit of $3 million.) After posting a career-high and Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy-earning 56 goals back in 2005-06 thanks to be paired with Joe Thornton, Cheechoo has steadily declined over the past four years. A year with just 12 goals and 17 assists in 2008-09 made it an easy decision for San Jose to include him and his salary as part of the trade that brought in Heatley. In 61 games with Ottawa last season, Cheechoo only posted five goals and nine assists for 14 points. He also spent 25 games in the AHL with Binghamton, scoring eight goals with six assists for 14 points.

Cheechoo's time as a hot commodity in the NHL faded almost as quickly as it began, and he is no longer considered a top-six forward. At $3.5 million, it would be hard to justify picking the 29-year old up off waivers. But as an unrestricted free agent, it could be worth taking a flier on him at a price tag of $1 to 1.25 million is he is willing to take a sharp pay cut like that. A buyout would cost the Senators about $1.167 million over each of the next two years.

Never Easy For General Manager Bryan Murray; Spezza Stirring Up Déjà Vu

Some general managers just can’t catch a break. Ottawa Senators’ head honcho Bryan Murray is the epitome of that. After going through hell just one year ago unloading Dany Heatley when the star winger demanded to get out of Ottawa – but only to San Jose, Murray may just be in another tough position this summer with top offensive weapon.

Murray is faced with a tough decision as it pertains to the future of disgruntled center Jason Spezza. Spezza was far from thrilled with another early postseason exit by the Senators. He met with Murray to discuss his displeasure over this second first round loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins in three years, as well as being unappreciative of being the whipping boy for fans and the media. There was speculation that Spezza requested a trade, but Murray claims he did not specifically ask to be dealt. He just isn’t against the notion.

“He said he wouldn’t object to it,” Murray said. “He didn’t come in and say, ‘I have to be traded.’ He didn’t object to the fact that maybe it’s time - the way (he’s) been received - now maybe it’s time.”

Murray doesn’t want to trade his team’s No. 1 center, and the fact that Spezza has not demanded a trade means he has less pressure to do so than last year with Heatley. However, it’s not a wise idea to have an unhappy player on the roster, especially one as important as Spezza. Trading a player with his level of talent could net some big rewards in the form of players that will actually embrace an opportunity with the Senators.

The $35 million over five years remaining on Spezza’s contract is not that easy to move, though. A contract with a $7 million cap hit and actual salary of $8 million in each of the next three years is very rich in this NHL. It could force even the most interested suitors to look elsewhere for help down the middle.

If Murray is going to act, he must do so quickly. The 27-year old has a no-trade clause that kicks in on July 1. And while Spezza indicated that he won’t necessarily block a trade, Murray does not want to end up in a position again where he must target only those teams of interest to the player. Right, Murray has a field of 29 teams to play with.

In an ideal world, where Murray’s sanity and the loyalty of about a dozen Spezza fans who chose to rally for him were taken into consideration, this would all just blow over and Spezza would get himself geared up for another year in a Senators sweater. But Ottawa has a bad history with this type of situation, and you can bet that Murray will do his darndest to learn what the market has to offer. And if a good enough deal comes his way, he likely won’t hesitate to pull the trigger on another star name.