The Ottawa Senators have yet to re-sign RFA Andrej Meszaros. The Meszaros camp is reportedly looking for $4.5 million per year due to the retarded contract that was given to Finger by the Leafs. The Senators are reportedly offering $3.5 million.

Sorry, but there's no way the Senators should be paying this kid one cent more than they're paying Chris Phillips. I'd say he's not worth more than Volchenkov either.

But given the ridiculous contracts that were handed out to average defencemen this off-season, Melnyk just might have to dish out the new fair market value for Andrej which sadly is somewhere between the two values. Mesz's camp has also thrown out the possibility of him joining the Russian league.

Get it over with and sign him... but for god's sake, don't give him a no-trade clause! We could also sign and trade him, although I'm not sure there's anyone comparable available at a cheaper price.

Let's hear your thoughts!

Training camp is just around the corner... yahoo!

GO SENS GO!

Well hellooooo everybody. Seems like forever and a day that I've done a blog on this site. My summer has been ridiculous... I won't bore you with the details.. but I figured it was high-time I got back on here and put some words together to make sure I can still do it! But for now, I'd like to keep my comments on the Flames off-season for another day (sneak peek: I give Sutter a B- on his offseason dealings...) and talk about something that is REALLY getting under my skin: Hockey Canada's (HC for the rest of this entry) ineptitude. Read on if you like...

OK, so here's the situation... Benoit Groulx takes the Head Coaching gig in Rochester (congrats to him, clearly deserved) making him ineligible to coach the World Junior team in the upcoming WJHC. So, if I'm Bob Nicholson, or any of the other minions at HC, five minutes after I get that news, I name the next coach. But no, what do they do? They hum and hah, and keep everyone wondering what the heck is going on. Isn't the decision obvious?? Assistant coach Willie Desjardins should have been named the "replacement" as soon as this happened. There's been some other names thrown out there, so let's take a look at those...

A. Pat Quinn. Really? REALLY?? I can't find anyone outside of Toronto (and maybe Vancouver) who thinks this is a good idea. The guy has coached a grand total of ONE junior-aged team, has never won anything in the NHL, and was gift-wrapped the Olympic team that won HIM the gold, period. If you think coaching NHL-ers and coaching Junior players is anywhere close to the same thing, think again. It's two different mentalities altogether. Quinn had NO imput on the roster, wasn't around for the development camp, and probably doesn't know 95% of the kids on the team. Yeah, I can see why HC would want him?!?! If Quinn gets the gig, it's a slap in the face of every Junior hockey coach in the country.

2. Brian Kilrea. Again, I can't seem to find anyone outside of Ottawa who thinks this would be a good idea. Yes, he's one of the greatest Junior hockey minds of all time, but he's had zero input with this squad, and no international coaching experience to speak of. Why bring someone in who hasn't been there from the jump? Because the tournament is in Ottawa? Wow, solid logic.

3. Ted Nolan. As good as a coach as Nolan is, there's a reason he keeps getting fired. Nobody seems to know for sure, but there's gotta be something...

Here's the thing: anyone who knows the CHL well knows that Willie Desjardins is one of the most respected Junior hockey minds in Canada - both as a coach and a GM. He has taken the Tigers to 2 WHL Championships in his 5 years with the squad after the club had missed the playoffs 5 of the previous 6 years. He has international experience with the men's squad, and nobody in Junior hockey is a better teacher and mentor. He was part of the selection process, and was at the development camp to see the kids in person. Why are the people at HC dragging their feet on this? If I'm Desjardins, and Quinn gets the job, I politefully resign as Assistant Coach. He's proven himself... and is the man for the job. If people knew how inept a lot of the people at HC are (and how much political BS is involved in the coaching selections...) they'd be amazed at how our teams continue to be so successful.

A month ago, Ray Emery flat out denied having a drug problem when he was bluntly asked the question by Landsberg on Off The Record.

Scott Burnside of ESPN asked him the same question and the answer was a little different this time around.

The following is a brief excerpt... read the whole interview here.

As for the drug use, Emery did not confront the issue head-on, but when asked to describe his use of recreational drugs, he said: "I really don't want to go into details. I'm not a saint and I'm not in jail, either. I think I've learned a lot of lessons. I didn't feel comfortable. I got myself into some bad ways. It took some time to clear my head."

Ohhhh! So close!

I can't wait for the Sports Illustrated interview! :)