INSIDE HOCKEY

It is absolute madness, and perhaps a touch of greed. That’s the only way to describe the gong-show that is the Ottawa Senators' pre-season schedule. Before going into specifics, it should be noted that the Sens came into camp with only one roster spot open for rookies and minor-league pros to fight over. The goalies, Ray Emery and Martin Gerber, were already lined up. The defense was deep despite the loss of Zdeno Chara and the forwards were young but skilled with only the left wing side a concern. The race for that one spot has now come down to AHL goal scorer Denis Hamel (he even cut off his prized mullet to go along with his improved skating) and the mysterious yet highly touted Alexei Kaigorodov from Russia.

This is how John Muckler and team president Roy Mlakar decided to find out who deserved it - nine exhibition games in 12 days, including four games in four days with three stops in Nova Scotia on top of that. To no one’s surprise, except maybe Senators management, the team looks like they will limp into the regular season mangled beyond recognition. Three groin injuries later (Daniel Alfredsson, Wade Redden and Peter Schaefer), one broken foot (Joe Corvo) and one broken finger (Anton Volchenkov); the Sens are now being forced to play their remaining veterans for every game just to fill up an exhibition roster.

The only explanation for so many meaningless games is gate revenues during a period where no player salaries are being paid. How this affects the escrow payments and the 54% revenue guarantee for the players is something for the CBA specialists to figure out, but it’s clear that the fans will lose in the long run.

But the madness continues. The desultory play of Kaigorodov has put John Muckler in a tough spot. Muckler is a guy who will never admit when he’s wrong. Take for example his hair-brained idea to bring back Dominik Hasek after he pulled the chute on the team in the playoffs. His hand was forced by his own players, who made it clear to coach Bryan Murray at a post-playoff defeat party that Hasek would not be welcomed back by anybody. The same scenario nearly played out with 2006 trade deadline acquisition Tyler Arnason who showed up in Ottawa out of shape and played himself off the team’s roster despite being put on a line with the explosive Alfredsson. Muckler told the media that Arnason would be brought back, but he was quietly allowed to sign with the Avalanche when salary cap troubles came into play.

Now Muckler is stuck with Kaigorodov after two years of trying to pull him out of Russia despite various scouts going on the record with the press, saying that Kaigorodov might not be able to adapt to the physical hardships of the NHL game. So far, Kaigorodov has shown that he can stickhandle, but little else. His game is strictly perimeter and is clearly not ready for the NHL. Yet he will probably still make the team, despite the fact that Denis Hamel scored 56 goals and 91 points in the AHL last year and is leading the Sens in pre-season scoring, getting a natural hat-trick in one game with goals shorthanded, on the power-play and at even strength. Now it may be unfair to write off Kaigorodov so early. He doesn’t speak English and is obviously going through a rough transition to North America, but his play speaks for itself.

If the Sens decide to demote Hamel, he must clear waivers first. On a measly NHL salary of $450 000, many teams would be tempted to take the scorer and they would only have to pay half of that amount under the new CBA. Even teams like Pittsburgh and Washington, who seem more concerned about staying under the halfway point of 36 million in salaries to collect on revenue sharing rather than be competitive, will probably take a flyer on him. If that happens, that will leave the Sens short on depth with only Josh Hennessy and Serge Payer realistically available for injury call-ups.

Muckler is now dealing with an owner in Eugene Melnyk who has shown signs of being temperamental. After a game seven loss to the hated Toronto Maple Leafs in 2004, Melnyk barged into the locker room and tore a strip off the team. He also personally feted Zdeno Chara at his compound in the Bahamas to try and convince him to sign with the team but Chara complained to the media that Muckler never even gave his agent an offer. It’s no stretch to say that Muckler’s neck is on the line this season and it should be noted that coach Murray has been a successful general manager in the past with Anaheim. This situation bears watching in a season where the Sens are not being picked by many pundits to go all the way. Muckler had better hope those pundits are wrong.

Sweater Watch

You’ve got to feel sorry for Buffalo Sabres fans. After pining for years to bring back the blue and gold, they get a logo which has been described as Donald Trump’s hairpiece and an unfathomably busy jersey with yellow as a secondary color. In fact, the team now looks more like the Nashville Predators than the Buffalo Sabres. It’s hard to fathom why management would go out of their way to infuriate fans with such a decision, especially when the retro-look is back in style across the league. If there’s one good thing to say about the new duds, the numbers on the front is a nice touch.

Other changes across the league are less glaring. The new Ducks uniforms are drab and uninspiring but at least the Bruins finally dropped their hideous third jersey. It would have been too horrifying to see one of those Winnie the Pooh sweaters on a huge guy like Zdeno Chara. And here’s one vote for the Columbus Blue Jackets to do the inevitable and embrace for good their amazing third jerseys and ditch their regular uniforms with the logo that looks like a streamer on the floor after a wild New Years Eve party.