Ottawa's Biggest Sports Villain

We’ve planned another TGOR Tournament for Friday. Amidst the headache that Dany Heatley has created for the Ottawa Senators and their fans, we will hold a playoff to decide on Ottawa’s biggest sports villain ever. We’ll go through some of the nominees tomorrow, fill out our bracket then play ‘em off on Friday’s show. Who do you hate? Who drives you nuts? Vote for your favourite now in the right hand column of this page. Or if your favourite villian isn't listed, leave a comment below.

Heater Says No to Edmo

There really is no off season for the Ottawa Senators, is there? If there is, I believe it’s a Tuesday in late July.

The NHL free agent frenzy is now underway and thus, Dany Heatley was supposed to wake up today with a 4 million dollar deposit in his bank account, courtesy of the Senators. This is his bonus, automatically written into his deal. It will basically serve as the first half of his salary for the coming season. It’s certainly not a performance bonus. For what? Leading to the Sens to the golf course? Demanding a trade? Putting up 39 goals and 72 points, his lowest total in years?

The Sens had tried to avoid paying this bonus, agreeing to a deal with Edmonton yesterday, acquiring Andrew Cogliano, Dustin Penner, and Ladislav Smid. However, Heatley played his no trade card, apparently killing the deal. After all, Bryan Murray has said if he has to pay the 4 million, he might just keep Heatley. But now we find the 4 million dollar bonus apparently doesn’t kick in until tonight at midnight. So there’s still time for both teams to sweet talk the Heatley camp by reminding him this: You thought you were miserable in Ottawa last year? Just wait until the fall.

Let’s examine this deal that’s been scuttled, at least temporarily.

Penner was an underperformer in his two years with the Oilers. Penner never lived up to his 5 year deal with a cap hit of 4.25 million dollars. Penner had just 37 points this year and 47 the year before. The farther he gets from his Anaheim days, when he played on a line with Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry, the less confident he looks.

Murray still probably has a soft spot for Penner. Murray was the one who signed Penner as a free agent out of the University of Maine. It was a nice signing, for sure, but Penner now needs to show way more offensive upside to justify that deal.

Murray also has a soft spot for Smid, another player he brought into the league. He drafted Smid 9th overall in 2004. The RFA would be another big man on the blue line, 6 foot 3 226 pounds.

Cogliano is a great kid. I had breakfast with him a couple of summers ago while he was in town visiting his former University of Michigan teammate Jason Bailey. He skates like the wind but hasn’t developed a consistent scoring touch yet with 18 goals in his first 2 years. However, he is entering year three, a time when many prospects break out.

Cogliano and Smid are high pedigree guys, both young first rounders, potentially ready to blossom at ages 22 and 23. Penner may feel relief from the Edmonton pressure of being the guy they overpaid for, including three draft picks. The Sens would need all three to be better than they’ve been so far.

This deal, or one like it, will be about as good as it gets for the Senators.

The Team!

As promised, here is a photo of the Lorenzo's Pizzeria Team 1200 Torn Downs from last week's Bell Sensplex Media Tournament. This was taken moments after our third game in 6 hours. Angry Al said today he's finally able to dress unaided. We lost 8-7 in the championship game to CTV Ottawa.

Front row, left to right Todd Marcellus (TGOR Nation member), Kenny Walls, Steve Warne, Steve Lloyd. Back row, Steve Quinn (TGOR engineer), Al Smith (Program Director Bob-FM and Majic 100), Stu, Kurt Stoodley ('A' Morning Host), Warren Holmes (TGOR Nation member), Angry Al, Vince Floccari (TGOR Nation member).

Based on his choice of photo position here, this must have been Stu's first hockey team photo. Shocker.

Press Hop

I'm not normally a big hip hop guy. However, when you're so able to beautifully combine the elements of memorable press conferences and set it to a great beat, you gotta be impressed.

Farewell to the Prez

Roy Mlakar has been removed as President and CEO of the Ottawa Senators, effective June 30th. Senators Sports and Entertainment owner and chairman Eugene Melnyk made the official announcement today. Mlakar will be replaced by three people, which sounds about right, based on Roy's outstanding work ethic and body of work.

Cyril Leeder is the new president of the club along with Senators Sports and Entertainment. Joining Leeder on Melnyk's executive team will be Erin Crowe, who will serve as executive vice-president and chief financial officer, and Bryan Murray, who will continue as the Senators general manager and will now add executive vice-president duties to his mandate.

Ram had to be a frustrated guy these last two seasons. After the Sens went to the 2007 Cup final, Melnyk rewarded GM John Muckler by firing him shortly after the playoffs. Then he watched as Murray took over from Muckler, one of Mlakar's best friends. Under Murray, the Sens enter this summer with a superstar demanding out, three head coaches on the payroll and two terrible seasons in the rear view mirror. For this, Melnyk rewarded Murray with a promotion today.

This was not about performance. If it were, Mlakar would still be president. Mlakar took over a Senator franchise that was a mess. The team was 28th in NHL attendance and revenues and Mlakar helped it blossom to 6th place. This year was the first time under Mlakar the Sens had missed the playoffs. He helped build Roger's House, Candlelighters, helped save the 65 Roses sports club, was the United Way "Builder of the Year", the first ever "Brian Kilrea" award winner and was Ottawa Business news CEO of the year just 8 months ago.

Some participate in charity because of the goodwill it creates for a business. For Roy, it was always more than that. I've always most appreciated the acts of kindness that are exhibited when no one's looking. Roy did those all the time. I will always be fond of Roy for never shying away from discussions about my autistic son, as the majority of people do. "How's Michael doing?" was always the question he'd ask after a big smile and handshake. He was always genuinely interested in the answer and, as a big listener to our show, loved hearing about my adventures in autism segments.

No, this wasn't about performance. It was about personality and chemistry. This was about an owner who felt more comfortable with the duo of Leeder and Murray over Mlakar and Muckler. That's how it goes sometimes.

Roy is a good man and a good friend. He and his wife Tammy leave an outstanding legacy in this town. They did it right, they will quickly find greener pastures and they will be missed.

Penguins Win it All

The Pittsburgh Penguins are Stanley cup Champs, as promised. They shook off a horrible 5-0 loss in Game 5, won a thriller at home in Game 6 then held on, tooth and nail, for a 2-1 win in Game 7 Friday night, the first road win of the series. It was just the kind of Game 7 you hoped for. Intensity, drama excitement. A perfect way to end a great season, playoffs and series. The Pens faced adversity over and over in these playoffs. They’d fall behind in a game or a series. They’d get a horrible bounce. They never let it get to them. For the most part, they were in a collective trance.

“Just keep working. Keep working. Stay poised. Our turn will come.”

Like the Edmonton Oilers first title 25 years earlier, they needed to see up close what it took to win a Cup. The Oilers lost to the Islanders in 83, then used the experience to get revenge on the champs one year later. The Pens could still have lost this thing with a bad bounce here or there. Detroit was outstanding. But without last year’s experience, I think Philadelphia would have ousted this exact roster in round one. Remember, the Flyers had a 2-0 lead in round one but the Pens didn’t panic. It was the same thing there.

“Just keep working. Keep working. Stay poised. Our turn will come.”

Combine that motto with Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Jordan Staal plus Marc-Andre Fleury’s coming of age, they’re going to get a few turns with Lord Stanley....

Malkin was an excellent choice for Conn Smythe. As one of his Penguins teammates put it, he has all the skills but he also has the heart of a grinder. Anyone who still thinks Malkin is simply a finesse player didn’t watch these playoffs.

Having said that, I’d also have been okay with Fleury winning playoff MVP. He made a pile of huge, series saving stops in these playoffs. Even down to the final second, he stopped the great Niklas Lidstrom, diving wildly to his right like a bodyguard throwing himself in front of a bullet.

How about the way he lovingly massaged the crossbar after a potential game tying shot rang off the iron late in the third? All while the play was still going on. All great goalies are a little crazy...

Marion Hossa is certainly drawing an interesting mix of sympathy and snickering. Hossa could have re-signed with Pittsburgh but signed a lesser deal with Detroit, where he thought he had the best chance at winning.

He’s surely disappointed but probably not much more than any other Red Wing. Hossa spent part of one spring in Pittsburgh as a gun for hire. It wasn’t like he had this long affiliation with the Penguins. He was not a fan favourite who cold heartedly went over to the enemy. Hossa was a rental.

He made a decision he wanted to go where he had the best chance to win a Cup. A lot of fans are reacting as though it was a stupid decision, as if it were somehow obvious to everyone last summer that the Penguins would win it all in 2009. Many of Canada's genius analysts claimed GM Ray Shero set the future of the franchise back badly by acquiring Hossa from Atlanta at least year's deadline. Poor Shero. After taking his shot last spring, he was forced to wait another zero years to win a Cup.

Hossa's decision was one that didn’t result in a ring. Big deal. Most free agent signings don't. I wish all my “bad decisions” would result in me walking away with 7.45 million dollars....

The best decision the Penguins made this season may have been the hiring of Dan Bylsma. He becomes part of a great trivia question. Only 2 rookie NHL coaches have taken over in midseason then gone on to win a Stanley Cup the same year. Name them. Answer: Bylsma and Montreal's Al MacNeil (1971).

The Heat is Gone

Breaking up is always tough. You try to remember the good times. The 50 goals. The 2007 Cup final. But the fact is, Dany Heatley wants out of this relationship. It’s not you, Sens fan. It’s him. He hopes you can still be friends.

Heatley has asked the Senators to trade him, apparently unable to overcome irreconcilable differences with new coach Cory Clouston. At the heart of the matter: Clouston thinks Heatley is too one dimensional. Now, granted, Heatley is very good at that one dimension, putting the puck into the net as well as anyone. But as the Detroit Red Wings are showing us again this year, you need a little bit more than slick one timers to win titles.

Clouston demands hard work and forechecking, not constant gliding with your stick blade above your head. Heatley demands you leave him alone and let him do his thing. Don’t try to change him.

I think this is all excellent news. I spoke this week with a source who has spent a good deal of time in that room and says there are few teams in the NHL in need of a shake up more than the Ottawa Senators. And unfortunately, the source said, the shake up clearly has to be within the core of their best players. It would be an insanely tough decision to move out Heatley or Jason Spezza. Now there is no decision to make. Healtey has made it for them. Problem solved.

Heatley has handcuffed Bryan Murray, who could fetch more for a guy who wants to be in Ottawa than one who doesn’t. The classic yard sale mentality. Murray is in spin mode today, saying Heatley isn’t going anywhere. But rest assured, he will not turn down the Heat. Number 15 has played his final game here.

The move will creates a void but, if Murray plays his cards right, it also creates tremendous opportunity. The Sens have had great success sending disgruntled star forwards to Long Island. The Isles do have something fairly valuable in this month’s draft. John Tavares and Josh Bailey would certainly ease the sting of losing Heatley. Or picture Viktor Hedman walking into Scotiabank Place this summer laughing alongside his Swedish blue line partner Erik Karlsson. Then you have about 6 million dollars freed up to go shopping with this summer.

The mind swims with possibility.

As for Heatley, I believe his Olympic chances have slipped from slam dunk to merely probable. Steve Yzerman is now well educated with Detroit’s style of doing things. It works pretty nicely. Heatley’s behaviour is in no way the Detroit way.

Gimme That!

There are few things not to like about Chicago sophomore Patrick Kane. However, one that stands out is the way his mouthguard is constantly hanging out of his mouth. He gnaws away on that thing like a beagle on a T-Bone.

I guess Detroit's Johan Franzen had grown weary of it too. During a stoppage in Game 4 of the Western Final, Franzen, like a dad tired of his son's pacifier, yanked the mouthguard out of Kane's mouth and threw it onto the ice. I don't think it violated any rule - maybe an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty could have been called - but it sure seemed symbolic of the whole series. Detroit was the bully, knocking down their kid brother, who couldn't or wouldn't do a thing about it.

Watch Franzen relieve Kane of his mouthguard here.