head coach: Jacques Martin

roster: C - Alexei Yashin, Radek Bonk, Sergei Zholtok, Shaun Van Allen. LW - Daniel Alfredsson (holdout), Randy Cunneyworth, Magnus Arvedson, Dennis Vial, Bruce Gardiner. RW - Marian Hossa, Alexandre Daigle, Andreas Dackell, Shawn McEachern, Denny Lambert. D - Lance Pitlick, Sean Hill, Chris Phillips, Wade Redden, Stan Neckar, Jason York, Janne Laukkanen, Igor Kravchuk. G - Damian Rhodes, Ron Tugnutt

injuries: None.

transactions: Sept 29 - placed Tom Chorske, lw, on waivers (claimed by NY Islanders). Sept 29 - demoted Phil Crowe, lw; Radim Bicanek, d; and Frank Musil, d; to Detroit (IHL).

standings:

GP   W   L   T   PTS   GF   GA   HOME      ROAD
 3   1   1   1     3    8    9  1-0-0     0-1-1

game results:

10/01 at Montreal     T 2-2
10/03 at Philadelphia L 5-3
10/04 Carolina        W 3-2

team news:

by The Nosebleeders, Ottawa Correspondents

We're Back! But Alfie's Not...

Cancel your next appointment with the shrink, put away your Prozac, no need to drown your sorrows in that batch of homemade moonshine... put on a smile because the Nosebleeders are back once again!

Ooh, the applause is simply deafening...

Yes that's right, yet another overdose of professional hockey is upon us, and who better to serve up your bi-weekly platter of Senator insights than the Nosebleeders. Seems only yesterday that we were signing off for the last time (wait a minute, given how long the NHL season is, it probably WAS yesterday...). And yet it seems like decades ago that a certain Sabre named Derek Plante managed to sneak a butterfly out of Ron Tugnutt's trapper and into the twine to eliminate the Senators in Round 1 of the playoffs. But that's ancient history, right? (Note to shrink: that off-season therapy is working!).

Coming off their best season since rejoining the NHL in 1992, the Ottawa Senators had hoped to recharge their batteries and avoid any turmoil over the off-season in the hopes that, come October, they could pick up where they left off last year. But, alas, it was not meant to be.

Even throughout last season, everybody knew that Sens GM Pierre Gauthier's biggest challenge over the off-season was to re-sign the Swedish Messiah Daniel Alfredsson. At first, Gauthier seemed committed to task as he quickly initiated talks with Alfie's agent Michael Barnett. But then the summer heat must have got to Gauthier because talks suddenly slowed to a halt. Days turned to weeks, weeks to months, and now, here we are today, a few games into the season, and still no Alfie.

For the record, Alfredsson is seeking a two-year deal worth $5.1 million (US), while the Sens have countered with $10 million over 5 years. So, how close are we to seeing number 11 hit the Corel Centre ice? According to Gauthier last week, discussions are off, and he doesn't expect Alfredsson to play for Ottawa this season.

Ouch.

Well, at least the Nosebleeders are back, right? Yeah, we know...

A Sorry State of Affairs

Rumours have it that Alfredsson, should he not sign with Ottawa, may try his luck in the IHL. The Chicago Wolves and Manitoba Moose are interested, as are the Long Beach (California) Ice Dogs. Two things worth mentioning here: 1. Give up. The best contract offer so far has been tendered by Manitoba, and is the equivalent to 2 weeks pay with Ottawa; and 2. It really hurts the soul to hear that Long Beach has a hockey franchise. What is this world coming to?

On the Bright Side...

Alfie's situation aside, there was still plenty of things to get excited about in Ottawa. And one of those 'things' was in diapers when Sens captain Randy Cunneyworth was being drafted into the NHL by Buffalo in 1980. 1996 first-round draft pick Marian Hossa - still three months shy of the legal drinking age in Ottawa - surprised everybody with his exceptional play in the silly season. Hossa, 18, led the team in scoring with seven points in seven games, and seemed a natural fit playing beside Alexei Yashin. With the verdict in, Hossa now finds himself on the top line with Shawn McEachern and Yashin. Although the Sens have 10 days to decide if Hossa should go back to junior, chances are good that the Portland Winterhawks (WHL) shouldn't hold their breath. "Hossa is here to stay," said Sens head coach Jacques Martin after announcing his opening day lineup.

Just Where Do They Find These Guys?

Remember a few years back when the Sens brought an unknown, skinny Swede into camp named Daniel Alfredsson? And remember how Alfie proceeded to shock the hockey world by not only making the club, but also going on to make the NHL All-Star squad two years in a row? Well, in the immortal words of Yogi Berra, it may very well be "deja vu all over again."

When the Sens picked 25-year-old Swede Magnus Arvedson in the fifth round of the 96 draft, nary a whimper of glee permeated the lips of even the most die-hard Senator fans. Fast forward to today, and suddenly ol' Magnum .45 is in The Show. Predictions of glory may be premature at this point, but the similarities between Arvedson and Alfredsson are kinda spooky - similar surname, same home country, drafted in the same round, both training camp darkhorses. But ask Arvedson if he is the next coming of the Swedish Messiah, and he'll quickly brush you aside. "I've always said I'm not a goal scorer like Alfredsson. I'm more of a defensive player."

Regardless of where Arvedson's talents lie, his selection to the team does make for a more difficult season for the Nosebleeders, who, on occasion, have suffered from severe attacks of syntax paralysis with the likes of 'Alferdson', 'Yaishin' and (RIP) 'Duschene'.

The Numbers Game

Chalk this up as one of the strangest off-season moves in recent memory. In an attempt to promote team unity, Sens GM Pierre Gauthier recently informed his troops that nobody would be allowed to wear jersey numbers above #35, goaltenders excepted. As a result, Alexandre Daigle traded in his trademark '91' for '9', Radek Bonk ditched '76' for '14', and Stan Neckar dropped from '94' to '24'. The decision also prevented rookie defenceman Chris Phillips from wearing '77'. Instead, he was handed good ol' number '5'.

Guess this rules out any chance of Wayne Gretzky finishing his career in Bytown?

'Waive' Goodbye to Buddha Power

A few weeks ago, Tom Chorske announced to the Ottawa media that he was retiring Buddha Power and putting the plump good luck charm out to pasture. Turns out it was a disastrous move - Chorske was put on waivers and claimed Sept. 29 by the New York Islanders.

Let that be a lesson to everybody - mess with religious icons, and you may end up working for Mike Milbury.

Every Cloud Has a Silver-Aged Lining

Nobody likes to be sent back to the minors, but if you're Derek Armstrong, Jason Zent, Clayton Beddoes, Radim Bicanek, Frank Musil, Jani Hurme or Phil Crowe, there is an upside. These Senator farmhands are members of the IHL's Detroit Vipers, and can now officially tell their future grandchildren that they once played with hockey legend Gordie Howe.

This Just In: Hell Has Officially Frozen Over

Last season, Sports Illustrated - you know, the official magazine for junior bowling championships - showed how little they knew about professional hockey when they proclaimed Ottawa to be the worst professional sports franchise in North America, despite their impressive run to the playoffs. Now, suddenly, the cobwebs at SI are predicting the Senators to finish first in the Northeast Division.

Apparently, 'Foot in the Mouth' is not a delicacy at SI headquarters. Sens are also picked first by the New York Times and a few other less noteworthy sources.

Trivia Time

Believe it or not, the Senators are sporting new uniforms this year. Although not as obvious a change as, say, Hartford/Carolina, Ottawa nevertheless changed their jerseys ever so slightly. Can you guess what they did? Answer at the end of this column.

Let the Season Begin

With the long and painful silly season over and done with, the Senators headed out to the Molson Centre to take on the Montreal Canadiens in their season opener. Last season, the Senators owned the Habs, posting a 3-0-2 mark including impressive 6-0, 6-3 and 5-2 victories. In fact, at one point the Senators scored 13 consecutive goals against the Canadiens. When has that ever happened before in the Habs' glorious past?

But with Mario Tremblay gone and former Sens assistant coach Alain Vigneault at the helm, this was a different Montreal club, as was evidenced by the team's 5-2-2 pre-season record and the rejuvenated play of Saku Koivu and Benoit Brunet.

Playing in front of a capacity crowd and a huge television audience, the Senators put their butterflies to rest and skated on to a 2-2 tie with the Habs. Stephane Richer tallied twice for Montreal while Sergei 'Mr. Goal Post' Zholtok and Igor Kravchuk replied for Ottawa. Kravchuk's goal is a shoo-in for the season highlight video, as he sprawled out to tap a floater over Habs' goalie Andy Moog's shoulder on a 2-on-1 break.

The Rhodes to Recovery

Although not quite the 'big bang' to the season as they had hoped, most Senators were nevertheless content to leave Montreal with a point, particularly goaltender Damian Rhodes. Last season, Rhodes suffered a mysterious calf injury near the end of the year and could only sit by and watch helplessly as backup Ron Tugnutt stole the hearts of Senators fans with his incredible post-season efforts. That led to speculation and criticism which weighed heavily on Rhodes' shaky self-confidence throughout the off-season.

After head coach Jacques Martin raised a few eyebrows by naming him as his opening game starter, Rhodes was determined to prove to the world that he could return to the form which made him a Bytown hero two years ago. Thanks to his defense, Rhodes had a relatively easy night, facing only 25 shots all game. But he looked particularly sharp in the dying minutes of the game, making a few key saves to preserve the tie.

New Number, New Era?

Should you ever get a chance to watch a replay of this Sens-Habs game, that guy you see running around crashing into people, creating scoring chances and forechecking aggressively, is none other than Radek Bonk. We're serious, folks.

Meanwhile, Alex Daigle vowed never again to duplicate his miserable -33 +/- rating from last year. 13:29 into the game, and Daigle is -1. Oh well, can't win 'em all.

An Olympic Year

Sens GM Pierre Gauthier is preparing for his role as a Canadian Olympic Team assistant GM, joining fellow assistant GM Bob Gainey, and Bobby Clarke as GM. Clarke captured a few headlines when he talked about rich "vulture" teams like the New York Rangers and his Philly Flyers preying upon financially "weak" teams. "The teams that spend the money end up winning".

Clarke felt that salary escalation is just beginning and said it all stemmed back to Glen Sather in 1988 when he "sold" Wayne Gretzky to the Kings. Clarke's take on the salary issue is a much different perspective than Gauthier's, who is on record as saying the Alfie situation is like "the final exam for our franchise." "We may as well start over again if we give in."

Flying High

Clarke's mighty Flyers certainly played like vultures when they faced the Sens. The Sens were clearly the better team for the latter half of the first and most of the second period but, like vultures, the Flyers played a waiting game and came away with a 5-3 victory. The big line of Eric Lindros, John LeClair, and Dainius Zubrus combined for eight points.

The Sens worked hard to overcome a 2-0 early Flyer lead and tied the game 2-2 by the end of the first. The Daigle, Cunneyworth, Bonk line continued to play well and combined for six points. Bonk's two goals were enough to earn a third star in the game. The Flyers shutdown of the Yashin, Hossa, McEachern line may have been the difference in this game.

Scratch That

Chris Phillips, Sean Hill were healthy scratches to make room for Stan Neckar and Lance Pitlick who didn't play against the Canadiens in the opener. If you're part of the Senators defensive depth, be prepared for some time in the stands.

Rumours Flying...

It seems Ottawa and the Detroit Red Wings might be cooking up a hot deal. Wings scout Dan Belisle has been a regular at Senators games recently, including their first two regular season contests. Rumours have it that Detroit is keenly interested in young defenceman Stan Neckar.

Fishing in Bad Weather?

The Hartford Whalers, aka the Carolina Hurricanes, were the Sens first home opponent of the year. The Hurricanes entered the game with an 0-2 record starting off pretty much as the Whalers left off last season. Janne Laukkanen scored a power-play goal with 11:47 remaining as the Ottawa Senators rallied for a 3-2 victory. Carolina's Gary Roberts was serving a roughing penalty when Laukkanen one-timed a pass from Sergei Zholtok and fired a low slap shot from the blue line that beat Trevor Kidd to the stick side.

Ron Tugnutt made 16 saves in his first start of the season and made a great stop on a Geoff Sanderson partial breakaway. This was the Hurricanes' only shot in the third period.

A Good Start

Only one game into the season, and already the Corel Centre notches a sellout. And remember, folks, this is against the Hartford Whalers, no matter how different they look.

No Sympathy Here

When Wayne Gretzky was traded to Los Angeles in August 1988, we knew that we'd never hear "Wayne Gretzky, Edmonton Oilers" again. And we cried. When Art Modell trucked out of Cleveland for greener pastures in Baltimore, we realized we may never hear the name "Cleveland Browns" again. And we cried. When Mario Lemieux retired from hockey last year, we knew we'd never see #66 again. And we cried. When Peter Karmanos yanked his team out of Hartford and headed for Carolina, we knew we'd never again see another Senators-Whalers classic... so, what's for dinner, darling?

Well, At Least They Look Better Than Dennis Rodman

It seems many people think the Carolina Hurricanes' logo and team colors are mighty gruesome. We, on the other hand, applaud the look. After Colorado and Phoenix unveiled their nightmarish attack on the retinas two years ago and last year, respectively, we thought the days of the classic jersey were over. By no means is this the next coming of the Saint-Flannel, but it's refreshing to look at a player and instinctively know where the arms begin and the shoulders end.

On the Road Again

When the Sens travel short haul, Coach Martin forbids them from checking baggage. Not sure why but we'll find out for you. Pierre Gauthier has decided to accompany the team to California for it's three-game road trip. He will be saving money (to pay Alfie, Pierre?) by staying in his Anaheim condo.

Trivia Answer

The team's logo no longer contains the words 'Ottawa Senators'. Previous logos had the team name scrolling downward within the right-hand arch.

Yep, folks, only diehard fans like us would notice that. Or do we desperately need a social life?

Way Ta Go, Buddy!

We'll end this column by officially welcoming back one of the most colourful hockey men in history - Don "Grapes" Cherry. Don made his first "Coach's Corner" appearance last Saturday since his wife, Rose, died June 1 of cancer. Fighting back tears, Cherry was up to his old tricks during the first intermission of the Caps-Leafs broadcast, firing shots at Islanders' defenceman Rich Pilon for being a 'coward' and to referee Don Koharski for being, well, Don Koharski. At the end of the segment, however, Don took a few moments and thanked everybody for their support and sympathies over the summer.

We're grown men, people, but it was tough to keep the lower lip from quivering after seeing that.

Glad you're back, Don.

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