Sens Set For the Future

Well, there's not much debate anymore about who the Ottawa Senators are banking on to take them to the promised land.

Seven years, $49 million for Jason Spezza? Wow.

That's on top of the six-year, $45 million that's been committed to linemate Dany Heatley, and the smaller, multi-year pacts given last year to defencemen Chris Phillips and Anton Volchenkov.

Geez, and for that amount, you can barely afford buy Bryan McCabe, Tomas Kaberle and Pavel Kubina. Think about it.

What's amazing is that the Sens and owner Eugene Melnyk have committed those dollars to Heatley and now to Spezza without really being certain they can be the players who will deliver the Cup.

Neither performed particularly well in the one-sided loss to Anaheim in last spring's Stanley Cup final, but that was their first visit to that stage. Only the passage of time will tell if the Sens have bet on the right athletes.

But a lot of points and a lot of goals have landed these contracts for these players, and a franchise that a decade ago was a laughingstock is now viewed as both successful and a model organization.

The poor Leafs, huh? Their provincial cousins are soaring, across the lake in Buffalo the Sabres are a resourceful, smart and exciting team and down the 401 in Detroit the Red Wings are perennially a 100-point squad and Stanley Cup contender.

Those are tough neighborhood standards to meet.

Comments

[HP]

Maple Leafs is not a poor organization either. In fact, this franchise worths more than the Sen, but unfortunately, they are a bunch of heartless. They only concern for shareholders, not fans....and that's the difference.

[Navin Vaswani]

Once again Mr. Negativity Damien Cox uses the signing of Spezza to bash the Leafs. I understand the bashing of Kubina and his mammoth contract, but he's got 1 goal, 8 assists and is a +9 so far this year. Those are good numbers.

Just remember Damien, at this time last year the Senators were in the same position as the Leafs. Playing .500 hockey and not winning at home. They were struggling, Alffy wasn't scoring and there were calls for Alffy to be traded and Murray to be fired. But they didn't panic like everyone in this city does (thanks in part to the media and the constant overblowing of everything Leafs-related) and Ottawa ended up in the Cup final. I'm not saying the Leafs are going to the Cup final, I'm a fan not a retard, but we're at .500 after October. It could be worse, we could be the Canucks who are 1-6 on home ice and just got shutout by Nashville.

And you can't compare the Red Wings to any other organization except maybe the New Jersey Devils. They constantly win, and they find a way to develop amazing talent. Not many teams can do that. Ottawa and Buffalo have been to the finals, but haven't won anything, so I refuse to put them in the same group as the Red Wings (or Devils).

A little perspective here Mr. Cox. Please.

[Carey]

Bryan McCabe, Tomas Kaberle and Pavel Kubina? the only good one of the 3 is Kaberle and even then Id pay Spezza and Heatley way more the him. Leafs are a joke and need to take lesson from the Sens... Theres a reason why theyre cup finalists and leafs didnt make the playoffs.

[Paul]

I was not happy when I read this news. Living here in Ottawa with all of their Toronto bashing is getting worse and worse. Having the leafs sign Spezza in this off-season would have made my day.

[Tree]

Damien - I'm missing the point of your post. Are you implying this was a mistake? The stanley Cup finals remark is quite odd as well - how many of the highest paid players have proven they can win the big one (i.e. Chara, Zetterberg, Briere, Smyth ... I could go on, but the point is none of these players have won a cup - or even been to the finals except Smyth). Remember that Spezza is 24 and Heatley is 25 - neither Sakic nor Yzerman had won the Cup at that at either. Further to this, for the next 4 years, the following are under contract: Heatley, Spezza, Alfredsson, Fisher, Volchenkov, Phillips, Schubert, Emery ... Given that others like Eaves and Foligno are in rookie contracts, I think this team is set for the forseeable future.

[Patrick]

Their performance dictates that kind of money. Moreover, they're signed through some of their best years and the cap has been steadily increasing.

So, when you can tie down Alfredsson, Heatley, Spezza, Phillips and Volchenkov for the next three to five years, you do it. That's not luck, that's management. And if that kind of management makes you look bad then you better ask yourself what you are doing in management.

[Mr. Drysdale]

Ha ha! Stupid Senator! He signed for US dollars!
A Leaf would have signed for Canadian currency with our dollar being what it is today!
Ottawa might have a better shot at the Cup, but our players know more about making a buck!

[Rick]

Navin Vaswani's preceding comment sums up Mr. Cox' peculiar method of denigrating the Toronto team at any possible juncture. Most pro-sports teams have problems and the Leafs' troubles are hardly the worst.
As for Spezza, he is a good player. Well worth $7 mil. Right now. But he's disappeared at critical times in the past.
As for security, this huge run the Sens are on must end eventually. A blowout here and losing streak there and suddenly there's a goaltending controversy. The Red Wings face a similar situation with the aged Dom Hasek. No one is safe nowadays.
The NHL Regular Season will be a mud-wrestling match and very enjoyable to watch.

[Paul]

The Sens are reaping the rewards of playing in Ottawa. This is a city that didn't mind sucking something awful for a long stretch of time in order to build for the future. They also have an owner who didn't mind not filling the seats for a stretch while they built for the future. And they had management that was not looking for a quick-fix while they built for the future because of the sucking and the empty seats.

None of this will ever be possible in a big city like Toronto(sorry Ottawa - not a slight, just the truth about the size of your market), so let's stop the comparason. There's a reason why the Rangers and the Leafs run their clubs the way they do, and why Ottawa, Buffalo and Anahiem can run the clubs the way they do.

[Brian Marto]

Okay look who the Leafs highest paid player is and look at what the Sens sign for 7 million plus umm no contest two different teams going in very different directions , Healty Spezza and Alfredson are one of the most dynamic lines since The French Connection , if the Sens can find away too get Forsberg well , The Cup is heading back in Canada,
Oh lastly when did the Sens return to the league ,
I am a Leaf fan but I sick and tired of the gross incomptence of the Maple Leafs ,

[ChuckyCheese]

What makes the Ottawa Senators worth having around is that their success drives the idiot faction of LeafNation to the edge of insanity and beyond.

[Adam C]

"This is a city that didn't mind sucking something awful"

Give me a break. The Leafs sucked something awful all the way through the 80's, and their fans didn't "mind" it any worse than the Ottawa fans did. And why shouldn't Cox point out that the Leafs managed to blow their entire salary cap budget without a single player as good as Ottawa's top line? Should he give the home team a pass?

The Leafs need to bring in some young players and cut some salary if they're going to get better; whether or not that actually requires a Washington-style tank job.

[MLA]

Very strange and poorly reasoned article, particularly the point about Heatley and Spezza's performance in last year's SC. Hello, it was their first trip to the SC. Hello, they were obviously simply outpowered by a superior team, playing a style of game that had up to that point been penalized to the rafters. Add a key player or two and Ottawa very likely has the SC puzzle complete. As for the moron who suggested that Spezza should have taken Cdn money given its current value - typical LEaf short term thinking. Everyone knows that this will be shortlived, and back under par within a year. Moron.

[MAL]

And BTW, I agree fully with Chucky Cheese, give us a break on the smaller market tolerates a poor team better so easier for them to suck and rebuild. Pfft. Yeah, ok whatever helps you sleep at night. Ottawa sucked for its first four years back in the league (like most other new NHL franchises). Since then, it has made it to the playoffs every single year. Leafs, however, have sucked since 67, and are now on a death spiral. Ottawa fans will be sure to step over your roadkill on our way to the Cup.

[Macho Man Savage]

Love how you compare the Leafs to the 'mighty' Sabres? What's their record this year, Damien? Uh, ya, thought so. They are stinkin' the joint out this year (just like the Leafs).

The Sens made a good signing with Spezza, and have locked up some key players for another run at the Cup. Good for them. They are a model franchise in terms of drafting and developing young talent.

Unfortunately, the Leafs management doesn't have the same foresight or vision to build a contender.

[Jim Boliyah]

Ahhh, 'tis a great time to be a Sens fan! Where are all those wise prophets of years gone by, what with their predictions for the "chokers", the players without "grit", the "un-Canadian" team from Ottawa? They must be sitting in their basements, rocking back and forth with their Tie Domi dolls, murmuring "Leaf Nation, Leaf Nation, Leaf Nation". Enjoy the rise of the next Canadian hockey dynasty, my friends. Hockey has returned to Canada!

[Frustrated Leafs Fan]

Sigh.

Navin, Rick, is that all you want from your team? To not be the worst?? Hey! There are worse teams out there! And don't worry about comparisons to Detroit and New Jersey, they're just special!! Let's make the playoffs and have a parade!

C'mon. Don't you expect more from the richest team, and one of the oldest teams, with a history of winning?

Sorry about the sarcasm. Very frustrated. For a long time.

[Don Knox]

Well the predictable has happened. As soon as I finished reading your blog Damien, I knew the comments would turn into a urinary match between Leaf fans and Sens fans.
As a Leaf fan of many decades, even I can see that in a very short period of time, the Sens have become the best organization and developing, trading for and keeping their stars. They will be contenders for years to come.
MLSE on the other hand, continue to print money and ice a very mediocre, (I hope we make the playoffs this year, because you know, anything can happen) hockey team.

[Don]

Much like Paul, I too am missing your point DC. You make it sound like keeping Heatly and Spezza (and I guess Alfredson and rest of the group by extension) is risky because they made it the Cup final but didn't win it all. Understanding that winning is the goal, you must first make it to the Cup to have a shot at it. 28 other teams, including your beloved Wings (Zetterberg, Datsuyk et all) have not made it to the Cup final in recent years. Should Detroit have kept those two players on long term deals?
I'm very curious, what would you have done if you were Murray and had to either keep Spezza and Heatly or let them walk and rebuild?

[Navin Vaswani]

Jim, it's not about wanting our team to be "the worst." I just don't think the Spezza signing can be used as a medium to bash the Leafs, as Mr. Cox as done so. I love Damien Cox's writing, don't get me wrong. I've been reading his stuff for God knows how many years.
The Senators were a terrible team for so long and they parlayed those years of terrible hockey into draft picks and trades like Spezza. The Leafs haven't been able to develop talent like, say, a Marian Hossa (who they traded to get Heatley) because other than the last two years, the Leafs have consistently made the playoffs.
I know it takes a lot of luck, and a good team, to win the Stanley Cup. I also am well aware of the shortcomings of Leafs management. So no, my goal is not for the Leafs to be not "the worst" but my goal for them is to just make the playoffs. Why? Because I enjoy playoff hockey. Some of my finest memories have come from watching playoff hockey. Borschevsky's overtime winner, Berezin scoring on Vanbiesbrouk, Garry Valk scoring on Barrasso and Danny Markov giving Jagr the salute. Those are the memories I love, and want more of. So I just want the Leafs to make the playoffs. Every year.
Look at the Calgary's, Anaheim's (when they rode Giguere - not when they had Getzlaf and Perry) and the Edmonton's. They weren't exactly beacon's of how to develop talent and consistently contend. They made the playoffs, got hot, and marched all the way to the final. So I'll take a playoff berth because once you make the second season, the first 82 games go out the window.
I don't mind re-building, but I also don't mind making the playoffs and seeing what we can do every year. I'm a fan, and I want the Leafs to win the Cup, but I want the memories as well...

[Don]

Navin...the Sens have not been a "terrible" team for over 11 years now. This will be the 11th straight year they make the playoffs (8 of those a top 5 seed). The only current players tied to those years are Redden, Phillips and Alffy. Of those 2 only Redden, and Philly were high draft picks. Alphy was like a 5th round pick anyone (including the Leafs) could have drafted. Spezza and Heatly were parlayed in trades for Hossa and Yashin. With forsight the Leafs could have traded Sundin in similar deal (I'm sure the Isles would have taken Sundin over Yashin for Spezza AND Chara) however they chose drive him into the ground like an old Dodge Caravan. The Leafs during that same 11 year time period had much higher draft positions, however blew them on ill fated trades. The Sens are were they are because of shrewd management, scouting and development....not because of "sucking". See Pittsburg if you want that example.

[Cris]

Well the Leafs are busy winning real estate and merchandising deals and the Sens are busy winning hockey games.

Now imagine if Eugene Melnyk was the owner of the Leafs.

[Paul Young]

Your article is interesting, but fail to understand that it is important to build your team around a core group of players. Last year in the playoffs the Sens played very well, but faced a bigger/stronger team and that led them to their demise. The Ottawa Senators started as an expansion team and where awful from 1992-1996, but made the playoffs in 1997 and been there every year since. They are the only Cdn team that has been in the playoffs for 10+ straight years.

The Sens build from the draft and through prudent signings. The Leafs in the other hand have never drafted well or draft the same type of players. Last year Ottawa showed they understood what it takes to win in the playoffs and the start of the 07/08 season is a continuance is that style. The Sens used to be knocked cause they could not win the one-goal game, but the current version is showing much more resolved.

Overall, the Sens are going to be judged on how they performed in the playoffs, nothing but a Stanley Cup will not deterred any detractors.

[Frank Goldstein]

Leafs Fans have naver been sucessful in communicating there frustrations to the MLSE to blow up the team and build from scratch. Until you do that you are never going to see the cup.
Build your castles in the air and dream on!

[Frank Goldstein]

Leafs Fans have naver been sucessful in communicating there frustrations to the MLSE to blow up the team and build from scratch. Until you do that you are never going to see the cup.
Build your castles in the air and dream on!