SensHobo, your blog is terrific but Mendes’ piece is a non-article. He says absolutely nothing.

Posted by davetherave from Ottawa, Canada on 11/18/08 at 01:55 PM ET

Thank you for the compliment.

I will still post this though, because part of what my blog is about is reporting on all things Senators. Mendes covers the Sens intensely, so while not everything he says is new, sometimes a reminder from someone much closer to the team than you or I helps it sink in. For some, it is new though. Some might only tune in to the game, hear “Alfie in the middle of 10 game goalless drought,” and they think he is part of the problem.

Being able to recognize his work might also allow some to recognize the work of others too, even without successes: Fisher was chastised for a long time until he notched his first goal, and then it was more circumstance than Fisher’s effort being recognized as the reason the pucks weren’t going in. Now too, it might go to Vermette, who currently has failed to score on many chances, but has been as key a part as ever of penalty killing, of defensive conscience on his lines, and he’s still one of the few Senators to fight hard enough to get the breakaways; he is getting them, but it’s the red-hot string of goalies the team has faced that’s been stopping them.

Plus, at least in bits, it made me chuckle, and that is something I value right now as a Sens fan.

Posted by SENShobo from Waterloo, ON on 11/18/08 at 02:03 PM ET

Thanks for your reply, and your points are well taken. I was not trying to be dismissive of Ian Mendes and his track record. But IMHO this particular piece was far too glib, promising something it did not deliver. The Senators’ current problems are rooted in fissures in the organization that began to manifest themselves even before their run to the Cup Final. The goaltending gap that occured when Martin Gerber was signed, the firing of Muckler, the accession of Bryan Murray to GM, the mishandling of the Emery incidents, and the significant depature of key players without adequate replacements, all of these and more are background to the current situation. As Mendes says, that’s a whole other blog. But the ground he covered has already been dug by almost everyone who writes about the Sens from Wayne Scanlan to Pierre Lebrun. 

If we examine a team like the New York Rangers, whose personnel turnover equals and may even exceed the Senators’, one has to ask how it is that they have arguably the best goaltender in hockey, a cohesive system and the players to match, and currently lead the standings? Meanwhile, Ottawa has pursued a half-baked ‘we’ll be tougher to play against’ re-branding, without making the requisite improvements, particularly on defense and in goal. All credit goes to Alex Auld for keeping the team’s record respectable, but he’s no Lundqvist.

As always, I look forward to your informed opinions.

Keep up the great work!

Posted by davetherave from Ottawa, Canada on 11/19/08 at 12:12 AM ET