Jason Smith signs with Senators

From the Globe & Mail:

The Ottawa Senators announced Tuesday that the club has signed defenceman Jason Smith to a two-year contract.

The 14-year National Hockey League veteran has acted as team captain in each of his last six NHL seasons, including 2007-08 with the Philadelphia Flyers and the previous five seasons with the Edmonton Oilers.

Read the entire article here.

While Smith struggled last year with the Flyers, the veteran defenseman is a good pick-up by the Senators. Smith will bring leadership, toughness and accountability to a team that sorely needs it.

Ottawa needs to win a trade

From Don Brennan of the Ottawa Sun:

Ottawa, it appears now, will be in the mix with Tampa, Carolina, Buffalo, Florida, the Islanders and the Thrashers for the eighth spot.

To improve the Senators' chances of making the playoffs, their Murray needs to recreate some magic. He needs to win a trade.

For the Senators to have a shot at winning the Stanley Cup, he needs to reach out and touch another Mike Milbury.

Read the entire article here.

Brennan points out the lack of depth on the Senators' roster; so, precisely how is the team going to make a trade if it lacks the necessary depth to do so?

NHL Morning Papers: Special Pre-Draft Edition

Here are the morning papers from the Northeast Division:

• Sabres GM Darcy Regier is looking to move up in the draft, writes John Vogl.
• The Bruins have a couple of names that they are hoping are available at 16. Meanwhile, apparently Cam Neely enjoys the draft process.
• Bryan McCabe won't waive his no-trade clause and the Leafs won't buy him out, so it looks like he'll be in Toronto. Want advice on how to turnaround the Leafs? Listen to Don Cherry. The Leafs acquired Toronto native Jamal Mayers last night.
• The Habs could look to deal their first-rounder for an accomplished forward, writes Pat Hickey.
• Bryan Murray denies that a trade involving Jason Spezza is in the works. Here are some other tidbits involving the Senators, courtesy of Don Brennan.

NHL Morning Papers: The Non-Conference Finals Teams

Here are the Eastern Conference morning papers for the teams that are not currently participating in the playoffs:

Southeast Division:

• Former Thrasher Scott Mellanby has been hired by the Canucks, writes Craig Custance.

Atlantic Division:

• Katie Strang of Newsday previews the Islanders' draft strategy.

Northeast Division:

• Hal Gill is happy with his new team in Pittsburgh, writes Kevin McGran of the Toronto Star. It appears the Leafs are going to offer their assistant GM post to Dave Nonis. Apparently the Leafs are not the only team talking to Nonis about a front-office position.
• In Ottawa, Bryan Murray wants to have his new head coach in place by the entry draft.
• Chuck Kobasew is extremely happy in Boston, writes Fluto Shinwaza.

Here are the Western Conference morning papers for the teams that are not currently participating in the playoffs:

Northwest Division:

• The Oilers have signed prospect Bryan Pitton to an entry-level contract.
• Markus Naslund is an impending UFA, however, he is still keeping a watchful eye on the Canucks and their organizational decisions. In management news, Scott Mellanby is the newest member of Canucks management.
• New Wild owner Craig Leipold is not worried about Doug Risebrough leaving Minnesota.

Central Division:

• The Predators and Martin Erat have re-arranged their seven year contract to conform to NHL rules.
• The Blues have a great young core moving forward, writes Jeremy Rutherford. Meantime, Dave Nonis is being courted by Blues management.

Pacific Division:

• Here is an interview with Kings forward Matt Moulson.

For Illegal Curve, I'm Richard Pollock.

Email any thoughts, ideas, or suggestions to illegalcurve@gmail.com

NHL Morning Papers: Playoff Teams (Thursday Edition)

Here are the morning papers for the Eastern Conference playoff match ups:

Montreal versus Boston

• Canadiens head coach Guy Carbonneau is not apologizing for his team's 3-1 series lead, writes Herb Zurkowsky. The Habs have more information about the Bruins than they had on Tuesday thanks to Harry Sinden who outed Zdeno Chara's rib injury to the press.
• The Bruins are down 3-1 because they just cannot score, writes Fluto Shinwaza. According to coach Claude Julien, don't expect Boston to adjust their power play plan. Don't count out the Bruins just yet, writes Stephen Harris.

Pittsburgh versus Ottawa:

• Penguins coach Michel Therien was satisfied with all aspects of the Penguins' game in the Ottawa series, writes Ron Cook. Forget all the goaltending questions, Marc-Andre Fleury has been terrific since the playoffs began. The Penguins have been making a concerted effort to get more pucks on net in the post-season. It is not yet known who the Pens will face in the second round.
• "We lost four straight. We got outplayed," said Senators coach and GM Bryan Murray after last night's season-ending 3-1 loss. Last night was almost assuredly Wade Redden's final game in an Ottawa uniform. "There was a lot of negativity around this team, from the outside, from inside the room," said Senators center Jason Spezza when trying to sum up the team's disappointing season.

Washington versus Philadelphia:

• With back-to-back losses, Capitals coach Bruce Boudreau has experimented with putting Sergei Fedorov on the team's top line to replace Nicklas Backstrom. The Capitals' best line has been outplayed by the Flyers' top line.
• Rich Hofmann of the Philadelphia Daily News warns Flyers fans to expect a big game from Alexander Ovechkin tonight. Flyers netminder Martin Biron was happy he was okay after taking a shot to the mask in Game 3. Boy are the Flyers relieved that Kimmo Timonen will be in the line up for Game 4.

New Jersey versus New York Rangers:

• "Everybody believes we can come back," said Devils leader Jamie Langenbrunner after his team fell behind the Rangers 3-1 in their playoff series. The Devils know the key to getting back into this series is returning to their defensive ways. Here is a game review by Lisa Kennedy of the Newark Star-Ledger.
• The Rangers' young talent are really proving their worth in the playoffs thus far, writes Jay Greenberg. Everyone around the Rangers has been impressed with the play of Marc Staal. If they didn't already know the fourth game of a series is the hardest to win, Rangers GM Glen Sather came into the locker room after the game to remind the team of just that. (Writer's note: Man, how low profile has Slats been in NYC????)

The morning papers for the Western Conference playoff match ups are soon to follow...

For Illegal Curve, I'm Richard Pollock.

Email any thoughts, ideas or suggestions to illegalcurve@gmail.com

NHL Morning Papers (Wednesday Edition)

Here are the national morning papers:

• William Houston is sick of the Leafs-centric Hockey Night in Canada.
• Jarome Iginla is a fan like anyone else, so he is really enjoying how close the standings are this season, writes Erik Duhatschek.
• The Red Wings should be healthy for the playoffs, writes Kevin Allen of USA Today.
• The Art Ross Trophy is most likely to go to a Russian player this year, writes Wayne Scanlan.
• Damien Cox of the Toronto Star has some words of wisdom for the anti-visor club.

Here are the Eastern Conference morning papers:

• The Thrashers were so bad at practice yesterday that they were kicked off the ice by assistant coach Brad McCrimmon, writes Craig Custance.
• The Bruins were better last night than they were on Monday, but still not good enough, writes Kevin Paul Dupont. On the injury front, the team will be without Aaron Ward for about the next two weeks with a bruised right foot.
• The Sabres got a big victory over the Flyers on Tuesday night, writes John Vogl of the Buffalo News. Lindy Ruff challenged defenseman Dmitri Kalinin at practice yesterday in front of his teammates.
• After losing 6-1 to the Devils a few weeks back, the Hurricanes had a team meeting and have been a different team ever since.
• The Rangers still got a point out of their 4-3 shootout loss last night, but they haven't been as sharp the past week of play, writes Larry Brooks. "A lot of parts of my game are pretty good and some parts just have to be better. I can't excuse myself for bad bounces. I just have to be better," said Rangers netminder Henrik Lundqvist after last night's contest.
• Sam Donnellon of the Philadelphia Daily News says the Flyers aren't as urgent as they need to be, in their pursuit of a playoff spot. Daniel Briere missed last night's game with a shoulder injury.
• The Penguins rode the return of Sidney Crosby to a 2-0 victory over the Lightning, writes Shelly Anderson. Marc-Andre Fleury got the start again last night, which means Michel Therien is sticking to his policy.
• Cristobal Huet is questionable for tonight's game with a back problem, writes Tarik El-Bashir.
• Craig Anderson recorded his second consecutive shutout last night, as the Panthers defeated the Bruins 1-0 in overtime.
• Pat Hickey wonders if Guy Carbonneau will start Carey Price or Jaroslav Halak tonight versus Phoenix.
• The Devils got big goals from their top players when they needed them last night in a win over the Maple Leafs.
• The Islanders defeated the Rangers at MSG with backup Wade Dubielewicz between the pipes.
• Daniel Alfredsson is questionable for tonight's game against the Sharks. Bryan Murray escaped extra punishment from the NHL for his game misconduct on Monday.
• The Lightning continued their losing ways last night with a 2-0 shutout loss to the Penguins.
• The Leafs were defeated last night by a better team, writes Mark Zwolinksi. Martin Brodeur was the difference on Tuesday, writes Terry Koshan.

Here are the Western Conference morning papers:

• Craig Conroy toughed out yesterday's game against the Blue Jackets with a sore knee, and then went on to score the game's only goal in the Flames' 1-0 shutout victory. Miikka Kiprusoff made sure he proved who was the team's number one netminder last night.
• The Jackets just couldn't get on the scoresheet last night and it may have cost them their playoffs chances, writes Tom Reed. Apparently lots of Columbus players have embraced the leadership roles that were opened up by the Adam Foote and Sergei Fedorov trades last week.
• Even though they are playing great hockey, the Stars are not far ahead of the their division rivals, writes Chuck Carlton.
• The Wings are expected to have Brian Rafalski back in their lineup tonight, and Nicklas Lidstrom should be soon to follow.
• The Kings lost their fifth straight game last night by a score of 3-2 to the Blues.
• The Predators recorded their second straight important road victory last night, with a 5-1 win at Edmonton.
• Jody Shelley has been a very important addition for the Sharks, writes Mark Purdy.
• The Blues ended their six-game losing streak last night with a victory over the lowly Kings, writes Jeremy Rutherford. The Blues are excited to get on the road and come together.
• The Blackhawks are creeping back into playoff contention with their victory over the Wild last night, writes Chris Kuc.
• Peter Forsberg returned to the Avalanche lineup last night and the team came away with a 2-1 victory over the Canucks. Woody Paige gives his take on Forsberg's return.
• The Oilers were defeated at home by the Predators, writes Joanne Ireland. Mathieu Garon couldn't make the big stops last night.
• The Coyotes have to win the little battles tonight versus the Stars, writes Jim Gintonio.
• With last night's loss to the Avs, the Canucks have fallen out of playoff position.

For Illegal Curve, I'm Richard Pollock.

Email any thoughts, ideas or suggestions to illegalcurve@gmail.com

NHL Morning Papers (Tuesday Edition)

Here are the national morning papers:

• Eric Duhatschek of the Globe & Mail profiles Evgeni Malkin in this morning's paper.
• Mike Brehm of USA Today also has an article about Evgeni Malkin and his chase for the Hart Trophy.
• Dave Shoalts "goes out on a limb" and guarantees the Leafs will not make the playoffs.
• Wayne Scanlan of the National Post tells readers that Ray Emery wasn't John Paddock's only problem.

Here are the Eastern Conference Morning Papers:

• "It happened, we had a bad game, and we have to put it behind us," said Zdeno Chara after his team's embarrassing 10-2 loss at Washington. In contract news, Bruins center Glen Metrpolit would love some contract security, writes Fluto Shinwaza.
• The Sabres need to starting playing with their head if they want to make the playoffs, writes John Vogl. The Sabres will be without Jochen Hecht for at least the next two games with a groin injury.
• Losing Rod Brind'Amour hasn't meant the end of the Hurricanes' season; in fact, just the opposite has occurred.
• Larry Brooks of the NY Post tells us that the Rangers are going to allow Sean Avery to hit the open market come July 1st. "I think both sides are pretty adamant about a dollar amount and I don't see anyone moving off of that anytime soon," said Avery.
• The Flyers got some great news yesterday with word leaking out that Derian Hatcher may be able to return to the team's lineup on Saturday night. Here is the Philadelphia Inquirer's Flyers Report.
• Penguins fans know that Pascal Dupuis was more than just a throw-in as part of the Marian Hossa trade, writes Dave Molinari. Don't expect the Pens to take it easy against the visiting Lightning tonight.
• Alex Ovechkin reached 50 goals last night and didn't stop there, in his team's 10-2 demolition of the visiting Bruins.
• The Panthers may get the speedy Radek Dvorak back in their lineup tonight, writes Steve Gorten. Meanwhile, it appears the Branislav Mezei has really picked up his play since the trade deadline passed.
• The Canadiens just made too many mental mistakes last night in San Jose to have a chance to win, writes Pat Hickey.
• If the Devils want to regain top spot in the Eastern Conference, their offense needs to pick it up, writes Colin Stephenson.
• The Islanders' season may depend on their upcoming home-and-home versus the rival Rangers, writes Mark Herrmann.
• The Senators not only lost last night's Stanley Cup rematch with the Ducks, but they also lost Daniel Alfredsson to an upper-body injury. The Senators also saw coach Bryan Murray ejected from last night's game for chirping at the refs.
• Kevin McGran of the Toronto Star talks about the great leadership skills of Mats Sundin. Steve Simmons of the Toronto Sun takes the time to review the Leafs' crazy season.
• The Lightning understand they no longer have a chance to make the playoffs, so all their efforts right now are being put towards building for next year.

Here are the Western Conference morning papers:

• The Ducks and Senators picked up just as they left off from last year's Stanley Cup Finals, as the Ducks were victorious 3-1 at the Honda Center last night.
• Rhett Warrener hasn't been in the Flames lineup close to as much as he'd like, but he is the ultimate professional and is always ready to step in. Just because the Flames have not named a starting netminder for tonight's contest, does not mean there is a goaltending controversy in Calgary, writes Jean Lefebvre.
• Rob Oller of the Columbus Dispatch is ecstatic to be following the Blue Jackets for what is finally some meaningful late-season action. Rick Nash wants to be the next captain of the Columbus Blue Jackets, writes Tom Reed.
• Loui Eriksson certainly isn't complaining about his role as the winger on the Stars' top-line alongside Brenden Morrow and Mike Ribiero, writes Chuck Carlton.
• Brad Stuart is settling in well with his new teammates, writes Helene St. James. The Wings got back on the winning track on Sunday, and that allowed for Kris Draper to resume his trickery, writes George Sipple.
• Michael Russo of the Star Tribune has a nice article on Martin Skoula, a player the Wild fans have been too harsh on during his time in the State of Hockey.
• The Predators will be without steady veteran Martin Gelinas for the remainder of the season due to a torn ACL.
• The Sharks made it six in a row last night with an impressive victory over the Habs. Apparently this will not be Jeremy Roenick's final season in the NHL.
• Here is a Blues/Kings preview for tonight's contest.
• The Hawks will start Corey Crawford in net tomorrow night versus the Ducks.
• Peter Forsberg could be in the Colorado lineup tonight, and if he is, he will be on a line with Joe Sakic and Milan Hejduk. Unfortunately, the Avs may need Forsberg even more than they thought, after the team lost both Marek Svatos and Ryan Smyth to serious injuries.
• Oilers youngster Robert Nilsson has continued to improve throughout the season, writes Joanne Ireland. In other news, the Oilers have promoted Marc Pouliot from Springfield.
• The Coyotes are still holding out hope on a playoff spot, writes Jim Gintonio.
• Alain Vigneault has not lost confidence in his team, writes Gordon McIntyre.

For Illegal Curve, I'm Richard Pollock.

Email any thoughts, ideas, or suggestions to illegalcurve@gmail.com

NHL Morning Papers (Thursday Edition)

Here are the national morning papers:

• Eric Duhatschek and his answerman routine return to examine the NHL post-deadline.
• Brian Milner has an interesting article on the effect that trade deadline day has on the marketing strategy of NHL teams.
• According to William Houston, TSN was the big winner in the trade deadline day television war.
• Bruce Arthur of the National Post thinks a Senators return to the finals is a long-shot.
• If anyone can get the Senators back on track, it is Bryan Murray, writes Kevin Allen of USA Today.

Here are the Eastern Conference morning papers:

• Bill Tiller of the Atlanta Journal Constitution is wondering why the Thrashers didn't address their defensive problems in the Marian Hossa deal.
• Claude Julien wants the Bruins to focus on the entire Penguins team tonight, not just the Marian Hossa and Evgeni Malkin combination. Even with his name floating around in rumors, Bruins winger Phil Kessel didn't sweat the deadline.
• Steve Bernier stole the show last night in his Buffalo debut, leading the Sabres to an 8-4 victory over the Predators. J.P. Dumont made his first appearance in Buffalo last night since being let go by the club in 2006.
• Tuomo Ruutu immediately made an impact with his new club, and has the injury to show for his efforts, writes Luke Decock of the News Observer. Another pick-up by the Canes that has worked out well has been the under the radar pick-up of Sergei Samsonov.
• The Rangers have insulted Henrik Lundqvist with some familiar faces, writes Brett Cyrgalis. "The way we've played lately, I'm not surprised the organization didn't make any (big) moves," said Jaromir Jagr about the Rangers' relatively quiet trade deadline day.
• Vinny Prospal will line-up alongside Daniel Briere for his debut tonight with the Flyers.
• Marian Hossa has been placed on a line with Jordan Staal and Ryan Malone for tonight's game versus the Bruins. "It's not strictly money, but to tell you the truth, right now, I'm not even thinking about it," said Hossa regarding his current contract situation.
• The Capitals introduced Cristobal Huet and Sergei Fedorov to the Washington media yesterday.
• The Panthers blew yet another late-game lead last night and fell 4-3 to the Maple Leafs in a shootout, writes Steve Gorten. Off the ice, newest Panthers forward Chad Kilger has asked the team for a leave of absence.
• Jaroslav Halak has been called up by the Habs to replace Cristobal Huet on the roster, however, he has his sights on more than playing backup minutes. In Washington, Olaf Kolzig is wondering why the Capitals now have three netminders.
• If he was going to be traded, Bryce Salvador was at least happy that he was traded to the Devils, writes Colin Stephenson.
• Bill Guerin throws out the biggest cliche in the book by telling reporters that the Islanders power play needs to more simple.
• Don Brennan gives readers the back-story behind the John Paddock firing. In reality, the Senators just stopped playing for a good man.
• The Lightning may have lost to the Wild last night, but the organization is definitely excited about their newest goaltender, writes Erik Erlendsson.
• Dave Feschuk of the Toronto Star doesn't understand why Cliff Fletcher didn't play more hardball with the Leafs players that refused to waive their no-trade clauses. Say what you want about Mats Sundin but he has certainly not quit on the Leafs' season, writes Mike Zeisberger.

Here are the Western Conference morning papers:

• The Ducks believe you need defensive depth to make a long playoff run and that is the main reason for the acquisition of Marc-Andre Bergeron from the Islanders.
• Flames forward Kristian Huselius continues to work through his goal-scoring drought, writes Jean Lefebvre. Off the ice, Bruce Dowbiggen thinks Darryl Sutter should have paid the price for Olli Jokinen.
• The Blackhawks recorded a big victory at home last night over Phoenix, but it did not come without a price as winger Martin Havlat appeared to have re-injured his shoulder.
• Thanks especially to Joe Sakic, The Avalanche completed their road trip with a triumphant victory over the Canucks last night.
• The Jackets admitted it was difficult to play a game after losing seeing a couple of important teammates traded away.
• It looks like Brad Richards will begin his Dallas career on a line with Ante Miettinen and Niklas Hagman.
• The Wings are looking forward to icing a healthy defense that includes newcomer Brad Stuart, writes Helene St. James
• Joanne Ireland tells readers that Mathieu Garon is just a flat-out good goaltender. On the injury front, it looks like Joni Pitkanen will play through his ankle injury tonight.
• Now that the deadline has passed, the Kings veterans can relax, writes Dan Arritt
• Wild fans can relax, for today at least, as their team ended their four-game losing streak last night over the Lightning. Jim Souhan calls out Doug Risebrough's acquisition of Chris Simon.
• Chris Mason says the Predators got what they deserved last night in their 8-4 loss at Buffalo.
• Brian Campbell already proved his worth last night with a terrific performance in the Sharks' 4-2 victory at Columbus. Meanwhile, newest Shark Brian Boucher is content to back-up Evgeni Nabokov.
• Jeremy Rutherford profiles David Perron in this morning's St. Louis Dispatch.
• Joe Sakic may be a B.C. boy, but he wasn't Vancouver's favorite son last night as he stole a victory right out from under the Canucks.

For Illegal Curve, I'm Richard Pollock.

Email any thoughts, ideas or suggestions to illegalcurve@gmail.com

Analysis of the Paddock Firing

Just when we thought we’d seen the last of Bryan Murray’s lisp-induced post game press conferences, he fires John Paddock and takes over the reins for the Sens for the remainder of the year. Taking a page out of Lou Lamoriello’s book, who has a track record of firing coaches towards the end of the season, Murray’s hope is that the change of personnel will propel the Sens out of their current slump. The talk around Sens camp was that Paddock lost the Sens’ dressing room, and that the players had given up on their coach. As a result, an early season Jack Adams candidate is now unemployed along with goaltending coach Ron Low.

The Sens’ style of play on the ice shouldn’t be drastically altered with the coaching change, simply because Paddock was an assistant with Murray last season. The Sens’ run and gun style will still be implemented, so no need to worry about going back to the defense-first style, a la Jacques Martin and the Lance Pitlick era. Murray’s presence behind the bench will hopefully provide a sense of comfort and familiarity that the Sens were accustomed to during their glorious run to getting the tar kicked out of them by the Ducks during last year's Cup Finals.

The one element that may be impacted the most will be the goaltending situation. It’s no secret that Murray has a soft spot for Emery, based on his performance during last year’s playoffs. Despite the fact that Emery’s off ice commitment, professionalism, and work ethic has been questioned, a lot of blame has been placed on Paddock and Low for not handling the situation properly. Expect Murray to give Emery the ball for the playoffs. Another element in which Paddock was criticized was that he overplayed the “Money” line during the beginning of the season (Alfredsson played upwards of 25 minutes some nights early in the season), and thus the reason for his late season injuries and struggles. As seen during last year’s playoffs, Murray won’t be afraid to shuffle his lines and move Alfredsson to the 2nd line, this year with Cory Stillman.

NHL Morning Papers (Thursday Edition)

Here are the Eastern Conference morning papers:

• The Thrashers can thank Kari Lehtonen for their 3-2 shootout victory over the Capitals last night because they were outplayed, writes Craig Custance of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. As a thank you to the fans, the Thrashers have raised season ticket prices for next year. (Writer's note: Good move by Atlanta. This should decrease their attendance from 14 people to 12 for next season.)
• The Bruins played a playoff-type game versus Pittsburgh last night and came away with a 2-1 road victory, writes Kevin Paul Dupont. Unfortunately for the Bruins, last night's win came at the cost of a scary injury to Aaron Ward.
• The Sabres only got one last night and it was uncharacteristically from Paul Gaustad, but that was enough to defeat the Maple Leafs 1-0. The Sabres can thank Ryan Miller for last night's win, writes John Vogl of the Buffalo News.
• It appears that Hurricanes center Matt Cullen will be out of the line-up for quite a bit longer as he is still suffering from vision problems.
• Larry Brooks of the NY Post has all the details behind the Henrik Lundqvist contract extension.
• With Braydon Coburn still out for an extended period of time, the Flyers have decided to call-up Ryan Parent from the AHL. With the Parent call-up, the Flyers aren't exactly following their pre-season plan, writes Ed Moran of the Philadelphia Daily News.
• "We played a team that was hungry to play, and we weren't. It's pretty simple," said Pens head coach Michel Therrien after his team's 2-1 loss to Boston. According to Therrien there is a good chance that Dany Sabourin will start between the pipes tonight versus Carolina.
• The Capitals lost 2-1 in overtime to Atlanta last night, leaving them in a three-way tie for first place with the Thrashers and Hurricanes. (Writer's note: I'm sick of having to write first place in that division. None of these teams deserve "first place" beside their team name.)
• The Leafs didn't play a bad game, they just couldn't squeeze on past Ryan Miller and that was the difference as they were defeated 1-0 on Mats Sundin's 37th birthday. If you expected the Leafs to tank the rest of the season, you were wrong. (Writer's note: Who in their right mind tanks a season these days? The draft order for the top picks is done by lottery anyways.)
• Here is some information on the long and drawn out attempted sale of the Lightning, courtesy of Erik Erlendsson of the Tampa Tribune.
• Senators coach John Paddock shuffled his lines last night, but that mattered not as the Sens were defeated 3-2 by the Devils in overtime. "I'm still looking around and I'd like to make at least one more move," said Senators GM Bryan Murray.
• Chris Simon is eligible to return to the Islanders line-up next week, writes Erik Boland of Newsday.
• With last night's overtime victory, Devils netminder Martin Brodeur recorded his 30th win of the season, marking the 12th time he's done that in his career. The Devils have scaled down their expectations for the remainder of the season, eyeing the Atlantic Division crown instead of the Eastern Conference leading Senators.
• Here is a nice Valentine's Day story about the Beliveau's, courtesy of Dave Stubbs of the Montreal Gazette. After leading the Habs to last night's 2-1 overtime victory over the Panthers, Pat Hickey thinks starting Carey Price on Saturday is the logical choice.
• The Panthers think they got hosed on the penalty call versus Jassen Cullimore in overtime, and weren't happy about it after their 2-1 overtime loss to the Habs. (Writer's note: I was watching the game at the time of the penalty, and it was an awful call. Sometimes you wonder what game these refs are watching...)

Here are the Western Conference morning papers:

• Curtis Zupke of the Orange County Register examines Brian Burke's options heading into the trade deadline.
• Last night's 7-2 home loss to the Blackhawks may have been the Jackets most painful loss since the franchise's inception to the NHL, writes Aaron Portzline of the Columbus Dispatch. Portzline's colleague at the Dispatch, Michael Arace, believes the Jackets playoff hopes have fallen by the wayside. Fredrik Norrena didn't play well last night but at least he manned up and shouldered the blame for last night's loss.
• Here is the newspaper article touching on the Stars' decision to lower season ticket prices that I linked yesterday afternoon.
• Even though he is in the midst of an awful slump, Eric Belanger is continuing to stay positive, writes Michael Russo.
• The Predators enjoy having the luxury of being able to start two goalies with equal confidence, writes John Glennon of the Tennessean. The Predators are hoping to have winger Jordin Tootoo back in the line-up this weekend.
• The Sharks believe they have to change the way they play at the end of games, writes Mark Emmons of the San Jose Mercury News.
• The Blues raised ticket prices yesterday and didn't really explain why in this article by Jeremy Rutherford of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. (Writer's note: Don't really understand how this team can justify raising ticket prices...)
• Apparently Mike Keenan is looking towards winning 700 NHL games, writes Scott Cruickshank of the Calgary Herald. Meanwhile, the Flames' fighters have been having trouble finding dance-mates.
• If the Blackhawks are going to make a run at the playoffs, they better continue playing as well as they did in their 7-2 victory over the Blue Jackets, writes Chris Kuc of the Chicago Tribune.
• The Avalanche can't seem to shake the injury bug, as Brett Clark is now on the mend, and Paul Stastny is now out with a groin injury.
• Ales Hemsky has been playing lately with an injured wrist, which may be contributing to his recent struggles.
• Wayne Gretzky is still confident in his team's ability to turn it round even though they are in the midst of a four-game losing skid.
• The Canucks are calling tonight's game versus the Wild a "must win." The Canucks are excited to get Willie Mitchell back on their blueline for tonight's game.
• Wings GM Ken Holland thinks there will be three-to-four significant deals before the February 26th trade deadline.

For Illegal Curve, I'm Richard Pollock.

Email any thoughts, ideas or suggestions to illegalcurve@gmail.com

Morning Musings: Did the Sens do enough this off-season?

After bowing out to the Ducks four games-to-one in the Stanley Cup finals, questions were abound whether the Senators would able to sustain another run to the finals in 2008. Senators' managment, led by former head coach Bryan Murray, remained largely inactive over the summer, and some believe management's inability to address the lack of team toughness and secondary scoring will, once again, be the Senators downfall.

Here are five questions many have about the 2007/08 version of the Ottawa Senators:

Is John Paddock capable of filling Bryan Murray's shoes?

Paddock has paid his dues in the minors since his days in Winnipeg coaching the Jets. His adjustment period shouldn't be very long considering Paddock's knowledge of the player personnel from his days as an Assistant Coach with the Senators and Head Coach in Binghamton. The guess here is that Paddock won't be much of a drop-off from Bryan Murray. As long as he lets his stars play, the team will comfortably be in the top four of the Eastern Conference standings.

Do the Senators lack secondary scoring?

In a word: yes. However, they lacked secondary scoring last season too and came within a series of hoisting Lord Stanley's Cup. After Heatley, Spezza and Alfredsson the goal scoring falls off significantly. This was the downfall of the Senators when they had to match up against the Ducks and their top defensive pair that included either Pronger, Niedermayer or both. One reason that the Senators' secondary scoring wasn't an issue in the first three rounds is because they didn't come up against a top defensive pairing; therefore, the team's top line of Spezza/Heatley/Alredsson could abuse lesser defensive pairings. Once the Ducks threw Pronger/Niedermayer at them, the top unit had difficulty creating offense, and were broken up on multiple occasions. If the Sens don't address their lack of scoring depth, they will be hard pressed to repeat as the Eastern Conference champions.

Will the team miss Schaeffer, Preissing and Comrie?

Not really. Schaeffer has a reputation as a strong player along the boards, and while there is merit to that point, he lacks the necessary scoring touch to justify playing on one of the top two scoring lines of a contending team. Additionally, his play during the latter part of the playoffs left much to be desired.

Preissing had a terrific regular season, and took advantage of that impressive play by signing a nice contract in Los Angeles. The diminutive defenseman gave Ottawa some great mobility on the back-end and consistently led the breakout with a good first pass. Nonetheless, the Sens are probably the deepest team on the back end in the entire league and Preissing was really playing third unit duty during the 2007 playoffs. The former Shark will not be difficult to replace.

Comrie was mostly ineffective during his stay short stay with the Sens and when he wasn't scoring, which was often, he wasn't contributing much else. Comrie will hardly be missed in the Nation's Capital.

Is Ray Emery the real deal?

Ray Emery is not in the class of Luongo, Brodeur, Kiprusoff or Lundqvist but he doesn't have to be. He slots in solidly behind the top tier of goaltenders in the NHL. The big backstop benefits from plenty of goals up front and a defense that is terrific at keeping teams to the outside and getting in passing/shooting lanes. In the unlikely event that Emery falters, the team has Martin Gerber there to back him up. Fans should count on Emery for 40 wins and a respectable G.A.A. in 2007/08.

Can the Senators make it back to the finals?

Sure they can; however, their road to get there became a lot more difficult with the additions of Gomez and Drury in NYC and the Penguins adding a nice mix of veterans to go along with their bundles of young talent up front. Overall, these should be the three teams that compete for Eastern representation in the Cup finals. Although, it says here that the Senators will not return to play for Lord Stanley's mug in June 2008.

On to the morning papers:

• Pat Hickey of the Montreal Gazette has a fascinating piece about the Canadiens hiring a stickhandling coach. Perhaps more teams will hire speciality coaches?
• Kris Letang is attempting to make the Penguins a year after being sent back to the QMJHL after only a few NHL games. The sentiment around the team seems to be that Letang's will be given a starting defenseman job that is his to lose.
• After essentially telling John Tortorella that he was going to stick it to him, Marc Denis has a lot of pressure on his shoulders entering Lightning training camp; Erik Erlendsson has the story in this morning's Tampa Tribune.
• Paul Hunter of the Toronto Star documents Mats Sundin's expectations for the upcoming season. Apparently the word "cup" was uttered (I am wondering if the word drunk was also uttered).
• As Rosie Dimanno of the Toronto Star learned, there is never a dull moment with Darcy Tucker.
• Brent Sutter and Lou Lamoriello should have a great, long-lasting relationship due to their similar hockey philosophies writes Damien Cox of the Star.
• Canucks' prospect Juraj Simek was promoted to the main training camp on Monday writes Ben Kuzma of the Vancouver Province.
• Being a newcomer last season resulted in some nerves for the Canucks' Roberto Luongo. This season the nerves are gone and he is looking to lead the team from the outset of camp.
• Scotty Bowman, once again, denies he is leaving the Red Wings for the Leafs in this morning's Globe and Mail.
• The Ducks are going to assume Selanne and Niedermayer are not returning says Randy Carlyle in this morning's Orange County Register. As Dan Wood writes, with an early trip overseas, the Ducks better be well-prepared to break camp.
• In this morning's Boston Herald, new coach Claude Julien stresses defensive responsibility, along with offensive creativity as some of the keys to a successful team.
• After locking up Jarome Iginla and Robyn Regehr this summer, Darryl Sutter has shifted his focus to re-signing Miikka Kiprusoff this season writes Jean Lefebvre of the Calgary Herald.
• With the Blue Jackets returning to the prospects tournament title game, their championships in the past two tournaments exemplify how meaningless team results in these tournaments really are.
• While the Stars are short on goalie prospects for the first time since their arrival to Texas, their NHL depth is among the top in the NHL writes Mike Heika of the Dallas Morning News.
• Coming off a tremendous Super Series, Oilers' 2007 first round pick Sam Gagner is looking to make an impact at the big camp. The Oilers don't want to put too much pressure on their top prospect but do feel he's coming into camp at the right time.
• The Oilers' players' wives come to the defense of the City of Edmonton in this morning's Calgary Herald (how ironic?).
• Steven Gorton of the Florida Sun-Sentinel tells us that Mike Van Ryn will have two healthy wrists for the first time in a while.
• The Kings are not exactly easing into training camp writes Lonnie White of the L.A. Times.
• Ryan O'Byrne is hoping size works in his favor as he tries to crack the Canadiens blue line.
• Jim Dowd is not done with hockey yet and has been invited to Flyers' camp writes Rich Chere of the Newark Star-Ledger.