I'm going on a roadie next week and since I'm typically lazy at posting on the weekend, I probably won't be posting again until next Thursday.

I'll be heading off to see the Sens play a couple of games in the Sunshine state. If anyone has any recommendations on places to eat in downtown Tampa or the Miami area, I'd love to hear them.

Hopefully when I get back I'll comment on how the Office Depot Center and the building formerly known as the Ice Palace stack up with the other arenas I've been to around the NHL ranging from the bad (Meadowlands) to the acrophobic (Bell Centre) to the sterile (Arrowhead Pond) to the overrated (Air Canada Centre) to the glitzy (Staples Center) to the ordinary (Fleet Center) to the hometown delight (Corel Centre minus the parking lots from hell). (0) comments

The usually very knowledgeable Hockey Rodent misses the mark rather badly in a recent rant when discussing Alexander Ovechkin's bargaining power:

Consider the Van Ryn Rule. If the initial offer to Ovechkin isn't to his satisfaction, he can hold out for a year and become an unrestricted free agent.

This is so off the mark that I'm surprised that it came from the Hockey Rodent and not Bruce Garrioch, Chris Stevenson or Al Strachan.

The Van Ryn loophole allows a player drafted from the NCAA that leaves school to play in Canadian major junior hockey to become an unrestricted free agent. Clearly Ovechkin has no chance to fall into this category. He's not going to leave Russia to go to an American college, much less then leave college to play in the OHL. In fact Europeans have less leverage then anyone taken in the NHL entry draft. A player that plays in Europe has his rights held for an indeterminate period by the NHL franchise that drafts him. A player drafted out of Canadian major junior hockey can have his rights held, at most, for two years by the team that drafts him.

Of course, all this could change in the new CBA but I can't see Ovechkin having much bargaining power in dictating who drafts him. (0) comments

The Sens have been lousy lately. They've had two decent efforts in their last seven games. And unlike their struggles earlier in the season, they can't blame poor goaltending for their problems. Since they traded for Petr Bondra, they've won 7 games and lost 9.

Granted, they've have a brutal March schedule but that doesn't explain their horrible effort against a tired Carolina team on Saturday night. But then again, if shoddy goaltending hadn't cost them numerous games earlier in the season, they'd be sitting on the top of the Eastern Conference and their efforts could be considering coasting to the playoffs. Instead, they're squandering a chance at not only a conference or division title but also home ice advantage in the first round.

While Lalime has looked better as of late (I'll ignore the two goals he gave the Bruins last night since those can be overlooked as random errors as opposed to letting in soft shots), there is still plenty of concern about goaltending. Martin Prusek looked to be getting a chance as the starter but he lost his chance due to back troubles.

Right now expectations are so low in Ottawa that many are concerned about getting bounced out in the first round, especially if the Sens go up against their evil nemesis from Toronto. (0) comments