At one point and time, Jonathan Cheechoo was a 56-goal scorer.

Of course, he was playing with Joe Thornton and was demonstrating a drive for the net that he hasn’t duplicated since the breakout 2005-2006 NHL season. Since then, it’s been nearly impossible for Cheechoo to reclaim that level of play, so it’s hardly surprising that the Ottawa Senators would waive him.

If Cheechoo clears waivers, the Sens can buy out the $3.5 million on his contract for next season.

As many remember, the Senators grabbed Cheechoo from the San Jose Sharks last September when they were finally able to get rid of Dany Heatley. Milan Michalek also came to the Senators in the deal.

Cheechoo, 29, only scored five goals in 61 games with the Senators. He also scored eight goals and added six assists in the 25 games he played for the AHL Binghamton club.

It’s hard to imagine anyone wanting to take a chance on Cheechoo. Perhaps with the right linemates he could notch a few more goals than has been the norm over the last while, but it’s hard to imagine that he’ll ever reclaim that magic of 2005-2006.

Posted by Jordan Richardson.

Jason Spezza has been spending most of his Thursday dismissing reports that he’s asked for a trade from the Ottawa Senators, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that he’s happy with the team or with his role on it.

Spezza met with Senators GM Bryan Murray during the usual end of the year talk and expressed displeasure with being the “whipping boy” in Ottawa. It’s a valid claim, especially considering how hard Sens fans can be on the centreman. Blamed almost entirely for his team’s playoff failure, Spezza hasn’t exactly been a fan favourite.

Spezza has a no-trade clause which kicks into gear on July 1, so there’s some rounded speculation that he may be traded prior to the date. The feeling is right now that the Senators wouldn’t be all that opposed to moving him, either, especially if it was for the right price and to the right place. But with five years left on his contract and a cap hit of $7 million per year (!), he’s not the easiest guy to offload.

In 2007, Spezza signed a seven-year contract extension worth a whopping $49 million.

You have to imagine that Spezza would appreciate a fresh start in another market, too, especially with his reputation quickly becoming inescapable. At 26, he’s still a young player and yet he’s shouldered all of the responsibilities in a tough hockey market that’s seen its fair share of disappointment. He finished the regular season with 57 points in 60 games and popped in a goal and added six assists in his team’s playoff series against the Penguins, but fans seem most poised to focus on the fact that he went -3 in the series.

It’s this time of rain cloud sentiment that has to be bogging Spezza down as a young player. Without the ability to gain any momentum among a slew of fair weather fans - we have no shortage of those in Vancouver, so don’t think it’s an Ottawa thing - it’s hard for him to gain ground and work on his skills.

It’s probably the best thing for both the Senators and Spezza, to say nothing of their fairweather fans, to part ways before it’s too late. Moving him prior to July 1 could open up some options for off-season building and could take the team in a new direction. It could also give a young player a fresh start.

Posted by Jordan Richardson.

The playoffs are heating up and two more teams have advanced to the second round of the playoffs. The San Jose Sharks knocked off the Colorado Avalanche and the Pittsburgh Penguins dealt with the pesky Ottawa Senators tonight, narrowing the playoff picture considerably.

The Penguins came out sluggish in their Saturday night game against the Senators and fans in Ottawa started to think that their team could win it. With the Penguins down 3-1 going into the third period, fans could smell it in the nation’s capital. But it was not to be, as the Penguins rallied back led by Matt Cooke of all people to eventually win the game 4-3 in overtime.

Pens captain and Canada’s golden boy Sidney Crosby didn’t exactly have the best of nights, either, and it was largely up to secondary scoring to get the job done. Pascal Dupuis eventually potted the winner, perhaps closing the deal after telling Senators goalie Pascal Leclaire “We’re coming” after the comeback began. The Penguins outshot the Senators in the third period by a total of 18-4 and it was clear Ottawa was on the ropes.

It was revealed after the game that heroic Senators captain Daniel Alfredsson had been playing through a stomach problem, too.

Over in Colorado, the Avalanche were trying to climb uphill to make their way back into the series but couldn’t come up with a win in the sixth game. Joe Pavelski was the big hero for the Sharks, as he potted two goals including the winner.

With a 5-2 final, the Sharks looked prepared but still struggled at times against the faster Avalanche team. Colorado gave them plenty of trouble and the Sharks had to rely on depth to get it done. The line of Pavelski, Devin Setoguchi and Ryan Clowe was by far the team’s most effective against Colorado keeper Craig Anderson.

The Sharks now have to look ahead and hope to be able to make it past the second round, a feat they’ve only managed once in franchise history. Despite strong regular seasons, San Jose has almost always struggled in the post-season.

Both the Penguins and Sharks will now have some time to rest and regroup. The Sharks were the first team in the West to advance, while the Penguins join the Flyers waiting for their next opponents out East.

Posted by Jordan Richardson.

Matt Carkner is the hero in Ottawa, at least for tonight, as his goal in the third overtime of Thursday’s game kept the Senators alive in their playoff series against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

The goal forced a sixth game in the Eastern Conference series and gave the Senators some much-needed confidence, marking the longest game in Senators franchise history in the process and second longest in the history of Pittsburgh’s Mellon Arena.

“Three overtimes and we knew it wasn’t going to be a pretty goal,” Carkner said. “I think it deflected off someone - I didn’t even know how it went in - but it’s just a great feeling right now.”

The name of the game for the Senators is toughness, with guys like Carkner and Chris Neil making statements all over the ice. They may be considered underdogs against the Penguins, but the team is proving that they’re capable of giving the defending champs something to worry about.

In forcing a sixth game, the Senators get to return to Ottawa and get to take on the Penguins on their home turf. It’ll be a difficult matchup, to be sure, but the crowd will be off the chain and the Senators will be pushing harder than perhaps ever before.

“There’s a lot of belief and trust in this room,” said the Senators’ Matt Cullen. “We maintain a positive attitude and good feeling in here that we’re still in it.”

Head coach Cory Clouston deserves a lot of the credit right now, as his resolve and belief in his team has kept the energy good in the room. He was tasked with repairing a lot of reputations this season and managed to make something work out of a situation many thought impossible. Now the Senators look renewed and ready to rock, so Clouston deserves more than a few rounds of applause.

But the series isn’t over and the Senators still have an uphill climb. Regardless of the belief in the room and the team, it’s hard to battle back. They may have earned themselves a stay of execution for the time being, but Ottawa will really have to continue to grind the Penguins down if they hope to win the series.

Posted by Jordan Richardson.

The Ottawa Senators have officially clinched their playoff berth and will try their luck in the post-season.

19-year-old rookie Erik Karlsson was the man of the hour in Ottawa on Thursday night, scoring with less than 10 seconds left on the clock to put his Senators in the playoffs with an eventual shootout victory over the Carolina Hurricanes. Karlsson’s goal ensured the Senators that they saw overtime and a shootout win ensured that Ottawa would see playoff hockey.

The Senators are now fifth in the Eastern Conference with 91 points.

The victory has to feel good for the Senators, as they missed the post-season last year after making 11 straight playoff appearances.

“It’s a huge point in dramatic fashion and it’s nice to get back in the playoffs,” said Jason Spezza. “We’re excited. After you miss a year I think you appreciate it even more.”

Hobey Baker finalist Bobby Butler also skated with the Senators during the Thursday game, making his debut with the club. He recently signed a two-year entry level contract with the Senators and may see some playoff hockey right out of the gate.

For now, the Senators will have to focus on putting together a solid post-season performance. They’ve got some good things going for them, like the recent play of Spezza and goalie Brian Elliot, and their roster is among the lucky ones in the NHL to be mostly healthy going into the playoffs.

The Sens could surprise some people in the East. They have come through a difficult season and have still managed to pull together as a team, which could make them a threat when the chips are down. Elliot is an unpredictable goalie, too, and his desperation saves are already making waves around league highlight reels. If he’s on his game, anything could happen.

Posted by Jordan Richardson.

The Ottawa Senators are close to signing American college star Bobby Butler in what should be a pretty big deal for the team, says Elliote Friedman. Of course, some outlets have claimed that Butler’s already been signed by the Senators.

Butler is 22 and plays for New Hampshire in the NCAA. He led all college players during the regular season with 27 goals. Butler is 6′ and weights 185 pounds. He was named Hockey East Player of the Year and is a top-ten finalist for the Hobey Baker award.

Butler was apparently also talking to New Jersey, Pittsburgh, and Vancouver and taking in their respective bids, but it was Ottawa’s offer that eventually won him over.

Butler’s team recently was eliminated from the NCAA Tournament, so Butler could be moving to the Senators immediately if the deal goes through. With just a handful of games left in the regular season, it’s uncertain as to whether he’ll be making an appearance now or if he’ll be held off until next year.

In any event, it’s clear that Butler has quite a following and that he’s a very skilled player. This website was set up to promote his pursuit of the Hobey Baker award, for instance.

The Sens will be getting a gifted player in Bobby Butler and this could generate even more momentum for the club. They appear to be gaining ground as they head into the posts-season, so the Butler signing could give them that extra push just in time.

Posted by Jordan Richardson.

The Ottawa Senators are planning to build a case against Dany Heatley to recover more than the $4 million payment they made to the player on July 1. Eugene Melnyk and the Senators believe that they are owed more than the $4 million because the Heatley situation cost them damages over the summer.

According to an NHL source with Sun Media, the Sens believe that they can sue for damages after recovering the lump sum payment made to Heatley in July.

“They’ve got to show cause and prove damages,” an unnamed legal source told Sun Media. “I know there was a lot of skepticism out there about Melnyk’s chances (of winning the arbitration case), but don’t believe it can’t be done. There was a lot of negativity around the franchise because of the Heatley sideshow. What happened to their season ticket base? What happened to corporate sales?”

The basis for the case stands with the fact that Heatley refused the arranged trade with the Oilers by refusing to waive his no-trade clause. While this has certainly happened before, this marks the first time a team has elected to pursue the player through the courts for alleged damages.

We all know that Melnyk was less than pleased about penning Heatley that cheque for the $4 million, so this could be a vengeance-motivated ordeal more than anything else. In the back of his mind, the Senators GM has to know that this case doesn’t hold much water and that he’ll have to do an awful lot of cartwheeling to prove any damages were the result of the Heatley fiasco.

Attendance is down in Ottawa this season and they’ve seen a steady decline in season ticket holders too, but that decline began when the Senators dropped out of post-season contention and not when Heatley departed. Most of the team’s loss of revenue came when they missed the playoffs last year, so showing any cause-and-effect link between Heatley and the revenue decline will be tricky.

Even so, it looks like Melnyk is prepared to go through the motions here. He’ll drag Heatley into court soon enough and will continue the drama that should have died when the forward was finally moved to the Sharks.

Posted by Jordan Richardson.

Ottawa Senators head coach Cory Clouston has not had an easy time of it thus far. Leading the Senators from behind the bench has not been an easy task, as he’s been at the core of the Dany Heatley drama and has had to deal with a team of, let’s be honest, underachievers.

Still, when Clouston took over the coaching job in Ottawa on the second day in February of 2009, he managed to improve things to a 19-11-4 record. Called up from the AHL affiliate club in Binghamton, Clouston made some adjustments to the line-up that included the lessening of Heatley’s role on the ice.

When Heatley’s response was a demand to be traded, it looked like Clouston was going to be in trouble. But, as with most things, the drama eventually faded after a more-than-interesting summer and Clouston’s happy to be back to business as usual at the helm of the Senators.

Clouston works with the same operational goals in mind as when he was behind the bench in Binghamton. It’s a foundation-based system, utilizing a simple structure to keep things moving on the ice. Simplicity is the name of the game for Clouston, as his desire to have role players work hard and superstars hold up their end of the bargain is apparent.

“Same thing you tell your players: Just do what you can do, and whatever got you to that level, you’ve got to work on that. That’s what’s going to get you to the next level as well. Obviously, there’s certain adjustments you have to make, because you are on a lot bigger stage. And you’re dealing with maybe a little bit older players, more established players. But basically the same ideas hold true,” Clouston said.

April 8th saw Clouston get a two-year contract and the daunting “interim” label dropped from before his name, so it looks like the Senators organization is pleased as punch. The players, except for the aforementioned Heatley, took to the new system and style of play well. Captain Daniel Alfredsson was one of Clouston’s biggest supporters in the early going and continues to be excited for the upcoming season.

“He came in with energy,” Alfredsson said. “He came in with structure, and kind of gave us a little bit of hope.”

With that structure and that little bit of hope, the Senators are hoping Clouston’s system will mesh well with the talent on Ottawa to produce results worth celebrating in the end. Clouston sure has his work cut out for him, but with most of the Senators firmly believe he’s the right man for the job, the sky’s the limit again in Ottawa.

Posted by Jordan Richardson.

The Dany Heatley saga has finally come to an end, closing off one of this summer’s two neverending stories.

Heatley and a fifth round draft pick from the Ottawa Senators have been traded to the San Jose Sharks in exchange for Milan Michalek, Jonathan Cheechoo and a second round pick. The deal came after a lot of trade chatter on Friday and Saturday, leading Heatley to the team he wanted to go to all along and finally closing the chapter for the Senators.

“It’s a deal that we talked about throughout the summer, although Michalek came in late,” Senators GM Bryan Murray said after announcing the deal six hours into the first day of training camp.

The saga began with a verbal trade request in mid-May, followed by written confirmation by Heatley as requested by the Senators. He was apparently unhappy with his diminished role on the team and wanted to be a part of the core group again. Heatley didn’t see that happening in Ottawa, so he was prepared to take his show on the road.

Unfortunately for Heatley, the road went through Edmonton first. He used the no-movement clause in his contract to veto a move to the Oilers in exchange for Andrew Cogliano, Dustin Penner, and Ladislav Smid.

The change should be good for the Senators, who can finally get down to the business of putting a solid team together again. With Cheechoo and Michalek, the Sens have a couple of players to work with. Both players are capable of making valuable contributions.

Heatley’s a nice fit for the Sharks and should be an impact player there. With his arrival, there’ll be a real battle as to who the legit offensive producer is on that squad. Expect big things from the Sharks this season, although it still remains to be seen if they’ll be able to keep any success going through the post-season.

Posted by Jordan Richardson.

Dany Heatley finally addressed the media Friday from Kelowna in British Columbia, making it the first time the veteran has made any statements since he requested a trade from the Ottawa Senators in June.

Heatley began by stating the obvious: his intentions have not changed since the start of the summer and he still wants to be traded. If he is not traded, he will still show up to training camp next month.

“When I signed in Ottawa two years ago, I felt it was to be an integral part of the team,” Heatley said. “Over the last two years and more recently over the past year, I feel my role was diminished. This past season, it diminished a lot more. This is a straight hockey decision. I have nothing against the fans of Ottawa, or the city of Ottawa. I would like the opportunity to go somewhere where I can play to the best of my capabilities and be the player that I can be.”

Senators GM Bryan Murray stated that finding a team for Heatley has not been an easy process. With such a high price on the player, moving him isn’t exactly easy.

“I think (the Heatley camp) believed that I would present them with four teams who were willing to give Ottawa a package (for Heatley), and he could pick and choose from them,” said Murray. “That has not been the case by any means. There are still a couple of teams that I’m talking to, but they are nowhere close to (offering) what I need to get back to protect this franchise.”

Along with clearing the air (sort of) in terms of the situation in Ottawa, Heatley shed some light on what led to his decision to refuse the trade to Edmonton.

“It has nothing to do with Edmonton,” explained Heatley. “It has everything to do with the options. To this date there has only been one option (San Jose), and I know that there are other teams out there. I don’t feel I can make the right decision until there are a few options and I can make the right decision for my career.”

The reality for Heatley is that he probably didn’t do enough with his remarks to save face for Canadian hockey fans, particularly those in Edmonton and Ottawa. He’ll have an uphill climb in terms of PR and probably won’t wind up where he wants to play unless something significant happens over the next few weeks.

The problem is that Heatley has really shown his true colours at this point and it’s difficult for a new team to want to gamble on a player like that. He certainly is well within his rights to ask for a trade and to refuse the trade proposed, but it certainly won’t win him any brownie points along the way.

Posted by Jordan Richardson.