WHEELIN' WEDNESDAY

THE HOCKEY WORLD ACCORDING TO LIAM MAGUIRE

SENS SOLD?

SENS SUCK?

HABS SUCK!

Everybody has their 'sources'. I'm no different folks. I talk to a few people who talk to a few people so take this for what it's worth which is probably nothing but -word is circulating that Melnyk has given up the pursuit at least to some degree and the Ottawa Senators have been sold and it will be announced earlier as opposed to later. Now, is this in full or in part, don't know. Is this with any conditions of him having any further involvement in a Lebreton Flats development, don't know. Also the name that is surfacing on this report as part of a new ownership group is Jeff Hunt. So....there ya go. This is not my thing, I typically leave this for others but I did have a scoop, once! I was a hockey writer for the Ottawa Sun in 1995-96, before the Palladium opened. I was interviewing Mike Keenan at the Civic Center during a morning skate. Keenan was with the St. Louis Blues then and among other things we discussed, he casually through out to me of all people, that the Blues were going to go after Wayne Gretzky. I waited for some sort of motion from him to indicate that was off the record. Nothing. So I wrote it in my next column and got laughed out of every bar I drank in for two months. Then Wayne got traded to St. Louis, lol.....So I'm saying I've got a chance! Who knows. Really, really hard to believe Melnyk would go out of here in any way other than with a gun to his head with a billion dollar deal in Lebreton looming. But there are so many rumours of his mishandling of this team. that all are fueled by his alleged lack of finances to not only fully run the Sens but to further the Lebreton development. Something has to give in this organization. The financial cutting internally is beyond drastic; allegedly Cyril Leeder has not been paid his severance and allegedly Melnyk has stated, 'sue me for it.' Allegedly some players receive late calls from their owner, allegedly Kyle Turris told anyone and everyone connected to the team there was no way in hell he was resigning in Ottawa. Other allegations surround payroll. Impossible to know what to believe. For arguments sake dismiss 80% of it as we referred to our area years ago -as the Rideau flows- the best gossip soap opera around. We love to gossip. So consider this just that, for now but either way, the old where there's smoke, there's fire.

The Sens; The Sens; The Sens; wow, what a downward spiral. They should have been up at least 1-0 if not 2-0 five minutes in last night ( Dec 12 vs Buff) . How Hoffman did not get his stick on that puck and then Duchene doesn't take the puck to the net, clearly these are signs of the pressure of this horrible streak. What is out of their control is who dresses for each game. To sit Chabot last night is reprehensible. To dress Oduya and Burrows every night is reprehensible. Where has Pierre Dorion been? When they are winning he's calling in to local radio shows as 'Pierre from Orleans' and looks pretty hip doing so. Where is he now, sifting through the new deal when the team is under new ownership? Hiding at the Lafayette? The first thing you can do as a man in charge, as a man with one of only 31 of these jobs, do something to affect the on-ice product!!! That's your job Pierre!!! Clearly Guy Boucher is what we thought he was. He's Tampa 2.0; He's Hamilton 2.0; He's Switzerland 2.0. And where the frustration must be highest for Sens fans is when you see how the team can play in the last five minutes last night, in the LA game, in the Anaheim game and others in and around their mail-in vs Winnipeg and San Jose; to me they are a roster that is screaming, 'help us, help each other!. Which brings up another point.

One goal from the final...This was probably the worst fan base to have a team come so close because with so few really knowing the game, simply being 'fanboys' and 'fangirls' those of you who felt that was an accurate indication of where this roster was have really been caught by surprise. They were an average team last year with great goaltending. All they did was have a good run, miraculous at times winning 6 in OT, drawing a badly injured Bruin team, a Ranger team where Lundqvist crapped the bed and ya they pushed the Penguins, no doubt but to suggest or think this was a spring board to the finals or beyond is to think their game seven loss to NJ in the SF in 2003 meant a Cup was imminent also. No...cause they couldn't beat Toronto to save their lives with Jacques 'turn the other cheek' Martin. If Ottawa and Toronto switch coaches 2000-2004 Ottawa wins two Cups, IMO. Anyway, I did not figure the Sens to go through this type of slump but I certainly did not think they'd come anywhere near close to last years miracle run either. If they get a new owner, put the best team on the ice, they certainly can rejuvenate this roster.

Re Karlsson and the trade talk. He's going no where, yet. His mistake, saying what he did when he did. No problem with the media asking him his thoughts-nice move Drew Doughty, but, total mistake on Karlsson's part to be almost defiant in response to the question. Bottom line there is ZERO onus on the Sens to do anything with this guy right now. He's recovering from off season surgery and it's still a factor, clearly. Look at last night; he made some great plays being his elusive self, making that great first pass then he blew coverage on the second goal and made a brutal pass coming out of the zone late in the game with Ottawa pushing for the equalizer. There is no reason at all to talk contract with him now nor will he be traded -what a red herring that whole breaking story was but Elliotte Friedman knew he had a hot one. Much ado about nothing in my opinion. Karlsson will be evaluated over the next few months. If this is the top of his ability on a go forward you're not throwing 11-12mil at this guy. If he becomes the guy who was dominant in the last 30 games and the playoffs last season, sure, then he's the guy you want here for the next 8 years.

MISERY LOVES COMPANY

No one knows better than me how the respective fan bases of Ottawa and Montreal interact here in Ottawa. Yikes...every spring, another 2-3 dozen blocks on good 'ol facebook. That said the Habs are rudderless. After five games of looking like Carey of old Price is back to looking like an old Carey. Brutal against Edmonton, horrible. Followed by the rest of the team. They have no breakout and that's the most troubling to me as a guy who worked so hard with my kids in practice on breakout and ozone coverage, etc, to see fundamental breakdowns and inabilities on the Habs is mystifying. Claude Julien is a hell of a coach. Max Pacioretty has become a farce, a punch line, a joke. Take that goddamn C of his sweater, or sit him and wake him the hell up. In the OT loss to Calgary, he swoops in with a half hearted attempt to get the puck leaving the Flames to race away on an odd man rush. It was such a brutal, brutal, effort and typifies where his head and heart is. It's ironic isn't it, the optics of the rosters of Montreal and Ottawa-there's so many similarities.

The Habs were embarrassed by St. Louis playing a 5 man press. Which by the way are the third team I've seen playing this style seemingly following in the success of Nashville. It's a copy cat league. What troubled me as a Hab fan was Montreal's inability to adjust. A super human effort from Shea Weber had the Habs in line for a point until another terrible, somewhat fluke but somewhat not, goal that proved to be the winner. It's only one of 82 games but I'm putting a ton of stock in this New Jersey game. Time off, time to practice, playing an elite opponent on home ice; show me something tonight especially the key players or take your sorry asses to the draft lottery. BTW I'm still going to the out door game ( thank David S. Graham ) and I'm gonna have a blast.

For those of you with the Rogers TV package, Cable 22 specifically, the alumni game this Friday night, myself and Dan Mooney will be doing the TV call of the game. Should be fun.

Wheelin' Wednesday appears.........periodically on Wednesday's. And when it does appear it will feature pictures of beautiful women because beautiful women make the world go round.

Featured here the stunning lovely, gorgeous Jessica from the Shark Club in Vancouver and a very sexy Andrea....who is this girl, met her briefly at the Swan..She jumped in our picture...very pretty.







