There is great public outcry in Ottawa for the Sens to make significant changes after a heartbreaking game 7 defeat at the hands of the hated Toronto Maple Leafs. A lot of people seem to think that change for change sake is an effective method to achieve a goal of winning the Stanley Cup.

I don't see that as a wise method to bringing the Stanley Cup to Ottawa. You can't build a guaranteed winner. You can only improve the odds in your favour but there is never a 100% guarantee for anything. Just look to Sweden against Belarus at the Olympics. Ottawa lost to Toronto but they should have won, luck just wasn't on their side. Making changes now won't change the result of what has already happened.

You don't do things because of what happened in the past, you do things it gives you the best chance in the future. For an example, say you are playing blackjack and have drawn 19 five hands in a row and hold but each time the dealer beats. If you get 19 again do you suddenly decide to hit because you've lost each time you've held in the past? Or do you go with the odds and hold again despite recent history? It seems a lot of people in Ottawa want to take another card.

The most popular proposed changes are getting rid of Patrick Lalime, Jacques Martin, and Radek Bonk.

While Lalime was brutal in game 7, there is no guarantee a similar blowout will happen again and he has been much better in the playoffs then he has been in the regular season. Remember Ed Belfour getting lit up in game 7 against Philadelphia in last year's playoffs? And who are the Sens going to replace Lalime with? If they think that either Martin Prusek or Ray Emery are ready to be better then Lalime then by all means go with them. But who is going to be available on the free agent market that will be better then Lalime? Ed Belfour is the only potential free agent I can think of who has a better track record then Lalime.

And for Jacques, who is a better available coach then he is? He won't be out of work long if he is fired and that alone is an indication that he is a great coach. He upset Jacques Lemaire, who is considered the greatest coach in the NHL right now, in the playoffs in the past. If the Sens could bring in Scotty Bowman by all means do so, but don't take a chance on someone just because they aren't Jacques. There's a better chance of hiring a worse coach then hiring a better one.

I think Radek Bonk gets a bum rap in Ottawa. I think everyone is so quick to point out what he doesn't do that they don't see what he does do. He makes Marian Hossa better. Against Toronto he stood in front of the net and took punishment in order to try and create traffic in front of Ed Belfour. He is reliable in his own end even though he usually plays against the other team's top center. But if the Sens think they'll be better with either Jason Spezza or Mike Fisher as the team's top center then by all means get rid of him but don't get rid of him because you want to make a change. (0) comments

Eugene Melnyk read the Ottawa Senators the riot act after they lost game 7 to the Toronto Maple Leafs according to TSN's Bob McKenzie.

This just seems like an incredibly stupid thing to do and I hope once Melnyk cooled down after the loss the first thing he did was personally apologize to each and every player.

How does the team benefit from having him yell at them? His tantrum won't motivate anyone next year. Why should the players listen to him? He has no hockey credibility. The only thing it will do is make players think twice about whether or not they want to play in Ottawa long term. Who wants to play somewhere that the owner is a loose cannon?

He also cuts the legs out from under his management. Who wants to work where your boss is undermining you?

There's a saying that crap runs downhill and there's truth to that saying but crap doesn't freefall. If Melnyk is upset about his team's performance then he gets President Roy Mlakar in his office and reads him the riot act. Then Mlakar goes to Muckler and Muckler goes to Martin and Martin goes to the team.

I'd rather have Rod Bryden having weekly press conferences to beg the fans to come to the rink then have Eugene Melnyk yelling at the players and making player personnel decisions. (0) comments

The funniest show on television, Arrested Development, is in danger of not being renewed for next season. I wholeheartedly recommend the show and urge everyone to watch it.

Check out the website where you can get recaps of the previous episodes and watch the season finale this Sunday on Fox. (0) comments

Glad to hear that Bill McCreary isn't going to be refereeing tonight's game. My fear was a close game decided by a McCreary (non-)call late in the game costing the Sens the game.

And apparently, Mats Sundin won't be playing. Or it could just be a ploy and Sundin will make an amazing recovery this afternoon. If he doesn't play and Toronto loses, who thinks the Toronto media will question if he would have played if he was Canadian? (0) comments

Just listening to Jim Rome and he's speculating that David Frost, Mike Danton's agent and alleged attempted murder victim, is a child molester. He's basing his thoughts on how Frost has been kicked out of multiple leagues and has had controversial relationships with his clients.

I wonder if Rome would be speculating about something like this if it weren't for Graham James. (0) comments