Vancouver 5; Ottawa 2 / Trade Reaction

The Game

After picking up points in seven straight games (12 of a possible 14, to be precise,) Ottawa laid a bit of an egg against a Western-Canadian foe. The Sens looked to be putting in the effort, but ended up the victims of an hour-long game of keep-away, as the Canucks dominated puck possession to come away with the 5-2 win.

The story in this one was Ottawa's inability to contain Vancouver's offensive zone pressure. The Canucks sent two men deep into the offensive zone with frequency, and the Sens did not cover their defensive assignments, leaving Vancouver forwards open to make skilled plays.

Filip Kuba did not have a very good game, as he gave away the puck with such frequency that I bean to think he was convinced it carried syphilis. Two very poor clearing attempts by Ottawa's piece of Czech trade bait eventually led to Vancouver's first goal.

Ottawa's entire defence corps didn't have their best overall game. I thought the points on the powerplay were sloppy, as they let a lot of pucks cross the blueline, thus alleviating pressure. To be fair though, on many occasions such breakdowns were the result of panicked plays by the Sens'

Despite what the stats look like, Brian Elliott did not have a poor outing. On two goals he was the victim of the aforementioned poor defensive coverage, as an opponent left open in the slot had an open net to shoot on after receiving a tape to tape pass. Another was a tip of the stick of Jason Smith that handcuffed Elliott, who had committed to the original shot.

Hopefully the effort was the result of the dreaded "first-home-game-after-a-road-trip-effect" and not the beckon ing of the club's return to suck. We shall see Saturday, as a re-vamped Sens squad takes on the Montreal Canadiens. Note the 3PM start time, as the game is the matinee portion of CBC's Hockey Day in Canada.

The Trade

See Details in the Wrap Up.

I still don't know exactly how I feel about this deal.

I was initially ecstatic at the prospect of re-acquiring Mike Comrie, until my brain informed me he was, in fact a UFA this summer. My excitement changed to disappointment, but then back to excitement again, as Comrie gives Bryan Murray a little flexibility.

Murray has a choice: Keep Comrie for the stretch drive, and hope to be able to meet his salary demands with the club having more cap-space this summer; OR flip Comrie to another team as a rental for a package he likes better. Realistically, either one is an option.

On paper, Comrie fills the club's vacancy at centre and could very easily be retained in that role for an affordable amount. However, Comrie has only 20 points in 41 games this year, and 69 in the 117 games he's played since leaving Ottawa. My renewed excitement could still turn back into regret.

Murray said on the Team 1200 that the real reason he made the deal was to acquire Chris Campoli. I won't lie and claim to be an expert on Campoli's play, but from what I gather, he should help to make the Sens' back end more mobile. Campoli puts up decent numbers, but his -20 rating for this year is a big red flag. Granted, he was playing on a terrible team in Long Island, but that number is rather low for my liking regardless of cicrumstance. Time will tell how he will respond to a change of scenery.

Campoli's $675K cap hit through next season is a winner though, as it gives the Sens room to maneuver this summer while still having a mobile puck mover in tow. I'm sure Murray and his scouts feel Campoli is a blooming offensive defenceman who will add to Ottawa's rich tradition of stealing valuable players from the Isalnders' system. I hope for the his sake he's right. Otherwise, the consequences will be dire.

The loss of Dean McAmmond is not cause for dismay. I had actually started work on an article listing my reasons for disliking McAmmond a few days ago, and they were as follows: He's small, not as quick as he once was, possesses stone hands, and does not play a significant role on the team. Why the Islanders were even interested in him is beyond me, frankly. I assume his inclusion was on a numbers-basis.

It does sting to see the Senators give up San Jose's first-rounder (likely to be in the 25-20 rnage) in what is allegedly a deep draft. That was a good piece to use for improving this team 5 years down the line.

How history views this deal, and thus Murray, will turn on Campoli's development and the depth of the 2009 NHL Entry Draft,