In the last few days, people have asked me if the Ottawa Senators 2007-08 roller-coaster season should be made into a movie.
There was high-stakes drama. Tension in the air. Even a high-speed car chase at the start of the season.
Unfortunately, if a movie was about this wacky Sens season, there is a good chance of being sued for copyright infringement by the makers of Major League 2.
If you recall the original Major League movie, it featured the hapless Cleveland Indians, who finally got over the hurdle and reached the playoffs. However, the Indians lost in the post-season to the Chicago White Sox.
It's all very similar to last year's Ottawa Senators, who reached the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time, only to lose to Anaheim.
So as we pick up the sequel of Major League, the Indians have returned to training camp with a different attitude. Pitcher Ricky "Wild Thing" Vaughn is more interested in maintaining his off-field image than being the nasty closer with an edge.
I'll let you draw your own Ottawa Senators parallel there.
Willie Mays Hayes now thinks he's a power hitter instead of a base stealer. Were there not grumblings that some Senators players didn't know their roles this season?
Major League 2 even had its own mid-season John Paddock-like coaching change, when the manager Lou suffered a heart attack and was forced to step aside.
The only difference between Major League 2 and this year's Ottawa Senators is that the fictional team actually gets its act together and gets to the World Series.
So this summer, I will rent Major League 3: Back To The Minors, so I can get a better handle on how things will go next season in Ottawa.
Mendes.....
...We all have to face the facts that the Sabers and Senators era of skating and skill is done in the Eastern Conference, and the Era of the Pittsburgh Penquins and Washington Capitals has arrived. I think this is important to note because many Sens players at the 70 game mark where talking about the Sabers as a potential playoff heavyweight when they weren't even in the top 8 and had struggled as bad as our own team. (wake up call)
We need to change the total mental approach of the team and go out and get a coach that likes to - and has a template for - Ganging up on star players, like Dale Hunter did to Crosby in the CHL finals, like Pat Burns teams do, like Patrick Roy has shown his players will do.
The two seasons of the Sabers and Sens skating and using skill to get by is over - we don't need to change many players (except Emery) and get a few players that will break some ribs when your Captain gets rocked 2 minutes after the same player tore your heart and soul players MCL (Fisher here) with a knee on knee and then took the feet out from your assistant Captain (Redden here) on an icing at the end of the game because he knew nobody would do sweet nothing.
Keep the skill, go out and get a coach with bad breath, who doesn't care about nice suits or media, has some scares on his face, who doesn't care about how rich you are, where you were drafted, what video game cover you're on and his only concern is executing a playoff style game plan from Game 1 of the season, so all the players know they will be there for each other when we get to game 1 of the playoffs.
The teams doesn't need many new faces, we just need a completly different philosophy, a new mentality, and a new reason to believe we can beat teams that will be better then us next year, not a brash confidence, an approach that says "you want it, you want to throw a game to play us, fine, you are going to leave this town hurting, demoralized, struggling to find an identity and above all else - WITH RESPECT FOR THE OTTAWA SENATORS
TUNA99 HAS SPOKEN, and has changed allegiances to Team Canada for the next month....harrass you next training camp Farhan.
Give Fisher the "C" keep Alfredson, get some mentors for spezza and heatley , get a player like Probert who can play every game and make the other teams think twice about even touching one of them (mcgratten or neil are not that guy), find a replacement for redden (someone who can move the puck but not neccesarily a scoring defense man) and that will set the team right
Mendes, I'm sad.
Not just cause Ottawa lost, but cause I rooted for these idiots.
Morons!
Tell them this for me: You are not bigger than the team. You are not better than the fans. Shape up or ship out.
Thanks buddy.
Ok Spartacat, I'll get to your blog in a second. First, to address your radio comments concerning Spezza and Heatley.
Ian, I hate to break it to you but Spezza and Heatley WILL get criticed starting day 1 of next regular season UNLESS they get points in nearly every game.
Ottawa IS a pressure cooker. It doesn't mean Ottawans don't appreciate players but WE WANT AN EFFORT.
The perception is that Jason Spezza and Dany Heatley DOG IT. They curl from hits, they don't grind, they don't go to the net, they don't block shots, they show ZERO leadership. If they're NOT heart and soul guys, they NEED to score points. If they're NOT scoring points well...
As for free agents not coming here, how is insane levels of criticism working for Montreal, Detroit, Toronto, New York or even your example, Edmonton?
Face it, towns with high levels of fan pressure breed winners! (Well, Toronto excepted I guess :p )
Back to your blog:
Bring in a ball-breaking coach for Spezza and Heatley.
Bring in a defense-first system.
Bring in an attitude that says: "You touch MY guy, YOU go down."
Basically, Calgary Flames hockey!
mikmac,
You said give the "C" to Fisher but keep Alfie?? Right there just shows how clueless you really are about the Sens! Great blog Ian!
The season is over for us so why not not wait for next year.The fact is we were not a good club this year and lets move on.Someone has to win and someone has to lose.That is part of any business.Please fellow Sens fans,quit your *****ing.
You either support them or move on to another club.
Major League 3 haha great movie with Scott Bakula see it for sure
I don't think me or anyone else can disagree with a word tuna99 said that is spot on...That is..I think the word is disgusting to see a player take out 2 players and not get touched so what if he had a mask on rip it off and make it so he has to wear it even off the ice. We need 2 things specifically a player every team hates an Avery a Tootoo just someone to get under the skin cause Neil has lost his age he was playing "Peace Keeper" more during this series then he was stiring it up and we need one rough tough monster like Boogard or hell who we had in Chara who your afraid to hit a player on the team cause even with the instigator you dont wanna wake the beast (Refer To Video Of Chara Moping Floor With Mcabe)
Going 15-2 was the absolute worst thing that could have happened to a team that reached the cup finals the previous year. A lot of the Senators players got into too many bad habits like Spezza and his pass attempts, Volchenkov trying to block every shot instead of taking his man and most of the forwards not back checking hard enough. Also Paddock didn't seem to have much of a defensive system and that seems to be what you need in the NHL now. When Murray took over you could see the team working harder but bad habits are very hard to break.
This would be my plan for the Sens if i was the GM.
1) Try to trade Emery to anyone who might have interest (LA, Colorado, Detroit) if there is no interest than send him to the minors at the start of the year and hope he sits out so u can suspend him, or just buy him out but I would not want to take the cap hit.
2) Do a sign and trade with a team like Chicago for Wade Redden for one of their young mobile defenseman, Wisniewski would prob be the one available.
3) Try to go after one of the FA goalies out there, Theodore, Ellis, Huet,
The Senators and not Sens are a bunch of poor losers and I'm very happy they lost.They played lousy and the Pittsburgh Penguins are a much better team and they have a better coach than Ottawa.Ottawa will not be any better next season.Neil and McGrattan are nothing but goons and they should be sent to the Ottawa farm club.
Go LEAFS go!!
Ian, they only make movies about winners.
So would this be a comedy? Or horror flick? Probably neither. I would say that this movie would be more along the lines of a chick flick ;-)
Driftwood - your constant harping (read: whining) about how *real* fans shorten the names of their teams (something that's been going on for at LEAST 2 seasons now) completely eradicates the credibility of anything you post afterwards. Give it up, already. Your posts already don't make sense half the time - your whining about "It's the SENATORS, not the Sens, people... blah, blah, blah...." just confirms that any pill you dish out needs to be taken with toilet water.
Is anyone else annoyed with this, or is it just me? Sheesh.
LOL sign and trade Redden for a young dman out of Chicago.
Who would have thunk it?? There are 'Vitos from Woodbridge' even in Ottawa.
In defense of the Sens, there were a lot better teams this year than last year, Pittsburgh being one of them. We did get desperate by acquiring those veterans and the Sens just didn't click. Here's what I think they should do:
1) Trade Redden as many have said already, simply because he had a healthy season finally, but yet he didn't do much
2) Please get a solid second line center. Fisher isn't bad, but he's not exactly a scorer.
3) WHERE IS KELLY GUARD AND JEFF GLASS!?!?! Get some youth in there
4) Please make use of the 1st rounder we have, as it's better this year than the last two years
lol your all starting to sound like leaf fans i love it! it all starts at the decision makers Murry is not the gm everyone thinks stillman and comadore for eaves and corvo think about that
Everyone who actually knows what UFA stands for raise your hand!!! Trade Redden??? - HAHAHAHA!
Man - do any of you honestly think Redden will sign with the Sens without a no-trade clause? Of course not. And will the Sens give him one? Nope. For that matter - think he even wants to resign with the Sens after the way you "fans" have treated him. Sure he talks the talk for the press - he's a stand-up guy - but he's walking and you're getting nothing in return - deal with it. He'll sign in Edmonton for $4.5 and have a career year - just watch.
The Ottawa Senoritas new fan club name:
The Kanata Cry babies
A movie? Who is the star? GARY ROBERTS!