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The Binghamton Senators had one heck of a season in 2010-2011 – nobody thought they would do much, they hadn’t won anything in their 34 year existence – this year would prove to be much different and a Cinderella story like no other.

A little history: The Binghamton Senators were founded in 2002 previously known as the Binghamton Dusters from (77-80 the year they were founded), also at one point known as the Binghamton Whalers (80-90) and the Binghamton Rangers (90-97). Binghamton was without a team between 97-02 – in which time the market was served by the B.C....

There's never a lock in pro sports, no matter how much you want to keep a team together, there are usually hurdles in your way that make it next to impossible.

There are several players who played key roles in the B-Sens winning their first championship ever last season, who may not return to the team for next season. One of them is Ryan Potulny, who got a very creative, smart offer from Washington where he would be on a 2-way for the first year of his contract and a 1-way, NHL only contract in his 2nd season. The Sens allowed him to shop himself by not qualifying him, not because...

Well it really shouldn’t be a surprise but Day Two of the Senators Development Camp saw the compete level escalate significantly is most guys.



It was good seeing the guys really start moving and it did separate some players from the pack. I tried to get a good look at a lot of guys today, but some players just standout so much I can’t help but watch, and Petersson is a personal favorite of mine so I track him quite a bit.

Before I get into the main camp, Filatov joined Puempel in the other...

Alright Day 1 is in the bag, sorry if the info is scattered but hard to track everything going on so I tried to focus on a few players.

Andre Petersson was the first guy on the ice skating around and shooting pucks. Was impressive to see him lobbing pucks from the redline into the net.

One thing that stood out was every time Petersson wasn’t doing a drill, he was stickhandling a puck (very-well I might add), regardless of what was going on around him. He was clearly among the smaller...

It’s been a long time since I’ve sat down to write a hockey blog, at least two years since the last one.

So why I’m I writing again? Well for starters I have the time again, and to be honest I really just miss it. Also the frustration of writing on a previous site has worn off and I have the desire to write again.

So lets shake off some rust and start this up again…

This first one will be a lot less Sens than usual, but it's a starting point.
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Columbus just can’t seem to win….

I’ve been a big...

Kaspars Daugavins is at a crossroads in his hockey career right now. He could sign another 2-way contract and hope to heck that he gets some opportunity in the NHL or he could play in Europe for considerably more money than he’d make in the AHL and probably be close to as happy.

However, having tasted success at the pro level - both statistically and by winning the Calder Cup, he’s starting to make a name for himself. Known as “The Rooster” inside the B-Sens’ clubhouse, he’s a character right out of Slap Shot or better yet The Love Guru, where Justin Timberlake sports the same mustache...

The Ottawa Senators have had a tough time nailing down a starting goaltender - especially in this wonky year that's been. They've finally found someone who at 29 is in the prime of his career and is saying all the right things - and is stopping the puck! What an idea that is!

So now the job gets a little easier, it's time to find a back-up. Now, keep in mind that the back-up will probably play a bare minimum of 15 games next year, it's only logical to say that Anderson will get between 60-65 starts. Looking at it from that point of view, it's not a significant number. However,...

Mike Fisher was always a big part of the Senators. As the years went on and we reached this nightmare place we’re in now, he became an even bigger part of the Senators - and not in a positive way. Fisher would go through major stretches of the year ice cold. Very few goals, very few points, oft injured, couldn’t initiate contact - basically useless out there. So, why keep him? That’s the question that has to be asked to people who have an emotional connection with him - or maybe it’s the question to ask anybody unhappy with this move.

Fisher averaged just under 20 minutes of ice...

The Sens season is lost if you're realistic and dealing with the real world. That being said what would you do if you could and you had willing trade partners? Try to keep it somewhat realistic folks. I know people would love to have Crosby, Rafalski, Lidstrom, Pronger, Richards, Toews and so on but lets try to deal in realistic possibilities.

We can pretty much all agree that Ruutu, Kovalev, and Leclaire will not be back next season. After that is where it gets a little tricky. The others not under contract next season include: Chris Phillips and Chris Campoli on Defense and Ryan...

Ottawa has been spinning it's wheels ever since the run to the finals which appears to have been fashioned with a lot of luck and a stellar performance from a top line and a shut down defensive duo once regarded as one of the best in the league at the time. It would seem as though Ottawa fell into the same trap the Canes did although at least the Canes had a Cup to show for it. After the Sens locked up their core to big money deals with NMC/NTCs it was nearly impossible to make significant changes when things went south. Muckler had no vision for the future which left the cupboard almost empty...

I know this is a big question right? The thing is we've picked apart specific players, we've defended and attacked the coaching staff and the GM and it all boils down to that one big question which has been there since the 07/08 season.

Is it a player or a group of players that is the issue? This team has been far too streaky for too long and somethin's gotta give or the Sens will wallow in mediocrity or worse for years to come. Is it really just a matter of not having Sutton and Volchenkov for toughness on the back end? I doubt it since our streaky play was there with those...

I really think Leclaire should have gotten the start last night. I know they were rewarding Elliott for his strong play but they're going to end up over working Elliott and under working Leclaire if you can't even put the guy in vs. the worst team in the league. It was the perfect opportunity to ease Leclaire back into games.

Now that they didn't do that when does Leclaire start next? Montreal on Saturday? Not bloody likely if they've decided Elliott's number one until proven otherwise. Atlanta? 4-2-2 on the road and if Leclaire ain't good enough for the Isles then good luck seeing...

I waited until the last second this year to do a Sens’ preview - not only because I’m lazy, but because anything can happen up until the final moment of pre-season.

But here we are now, two days away from the Sens’ first game and a night way from the beginning of NHL hockey.

This is what I like and don’t like about the current incarnation of the Sens:

What I dislike:

Might as well go negative first, get it out of the way. I don’t like Pascal Leclaire. I realize now that I don’t like him because I can’t trust him as a netminder - and when I can’t trust...

It's been a while since I've done a blog but this is definitely blog worthy if there is such a thing. I've been itching to tell people for quite some time now and since the IPS screening has come up with no problems I feel confident spreading the word. My wife is 19 weeks pregnant and is due on August 9th. No we don't know what it is and the plan is to not find out until it's born. Our daughter is now just under 18 months old and will be just under 23 months when our second child is due. Bring on the chaos!

We all know the value of Volchenkov and what he brings to the table as Sens fans. What is that worth? Is it worth more to the Senators as a member of our Defense core or as a trade-able asset?

Lets be honest here. Based on the Senators performance so far this season it does not look like a playoff bound team. Sure we currently hold down a playoff spot with games in hand but, based on our winning percentage spread over the full season we can expect to miss the playoffs this year unless there is a bit of a turn around over then next month or two. Even if we make the playoffs does...

I had to wait a day or so after the Tampa Bay blowout before making sure I wasn't still high from that tilt. It's now Saturday late morning and I am anxiously waiting for the Habs and Sens tilt this evening and I thought now would be a good time to throw out some thoughts I have had recently in regards to my beloved Sens.

I honestly cannot remember when The Sens have ever had this much depth, to be able to pick and choose forwards or defense. Now, we're not SUPER deep, but from a fan from day #1, I don't think I've ever been more comfortable with our lineup and with the current direction...

The original GMHockey Blog world has been giving me some headaches due to an inability to synchronize with the forum so all existing members can blog in there. Since Forumotion has added a blogging option directly on the forum I thought it would be a better option since everything is in one place rather than re-directing to a seperate site.

I don't know how this will work exactly so this is why I'm posting this. Consider it a test run so to speak. Let me know what you think of this new set up.