The 8-Ball

Andrej Meszaros and The Quest for more Cash

2008-08-29T11:05:00.000-07:00

Just a quick update so I, as most of the other Sens blogs, can also cash in on the Meszaros circus that has been going on in the past few days.

It seems that our favorite Slovak is on the verge of signing with Tampa Bay. Of course, the 8-ball has already confirmed this to be true yesterday, but I've got a few things I'd like to ask the little black sphere of mystery about what happens next. Here goes:

Q: With the picks Murray is bound to receive from Tampa, will he flip them for another defenseman in a trade?

A: Definitely

Sweet. But who is available out there? Mathieu Schneider? Or maybe Brent Seabrooke seeing as the Hawks are over the cap, and need to shed some salary? Murray has already stated he wouldn't look to trade for another d-man but who am I to contradict my ball? Last time I did it refused to give me any other answer then "Ask Again Later" for three weeks. And this was during the playoffs!

Stay tuned!

Back to School

2008-08-28T11:14:00.000-07:00

....................I'm Rodney Dangerfield and I approved this message.

Hey folks and folkettes, I'm back with another installment of "Ask the 8-Ball - Back to School Edition".

I know most of my readers are either unemployed, work part-time at Dunkin Donuts or are at home nursing a summer thumb injury from playing too much GTA 4(well, at least that's what I told my employer, but I switched "playing GTA" with "helping serve soup at the local homeless shelter"), so I'm sure y'all have been waiting for me to update this blog with some juicy rumors. Well, tough, I have a life. But nonetheless, here is a new slab of questions for the ball, which has been slowly getting over a bad case of listeria from eating too much baloney.

Here we go!

Q: Will Andreij Meszaros finally sign with the Senators???

A: Outlook not so good

ORLY!

Q: Is the rumor of Tampa Bay sending an offer sheet for Mez's services true?

A: Yes.

Interesting, but I'm wondering how we will manage without his point production as well as Redden's!

Q: Is signing an offensive defenseman realistic at this point?

A: My sources say no.

Yikes. Looks like we'll have to manage. On to another subject.

Q: Will Nikulin make the big team this year?

A: My sources say no.

But....but....he has that amazing blog and we all want to see him play in Ottawa!

Q: Will he at least get called up?

A: My sources say no.

Jebus! That sucks. And how about giving me an original answer 8-Ball!

A: Yes.

Ugh.

Allright, final question:

Q: Will the Ottawa Senators make the playoffs this season?

A: Maybe.

Nice.

Well, that's it for now. Stay tuned for the next episode in which I will juggle the 8-Ball while balancing my mother-in-law on my chin. Good times!

D. out!

Alternate jersey petition

2008-07-30T11:46:00.000-07:00

Jerk Store's wonderful 3rd jersey design

Ottawa Senators alternate jersey

If you like the design, please sign!

****Update****

The jersey's designer now has his own site up for you to visit:

http://sensheritagejersey.blogspot.com/

Mark Parrish Quickie

2008-07-29T11:07:00.000-07:00

Mark Parrish has been put on waivers by the Minnesota Wild this afternoon, and seeing as I'd rather Murray didn't even think a second about wasting cap space on has-beens, I thought I'd ask the 8-Ball straight away if Parrish in Ottawa was a possibility.

Answer: My sources say no.

Phew. I can carry on with my day.

Also, I'm hearing from "a very close source" that Vermette and Murray are close to an agreement and a new, long-term contract, will be signed this week.

Now please, mother, stop calling me and let me get back to work!

Let's Make a Deal!

2008-07-28T11:14:00.000-07:00

Larry, Curly and Moe, in no specific order.

Hey folks, with no news on the Sens front, and the summer weather being it's shitty self(really it is), I thought I'd get people talking a bit more with a new game I have just invented which is called:

Fix the Sens! (applause)

The concept is pretty simple, I throw any half-assedly made up trade proposals at the 8-Ball, using names that have been floating around and hope something sticks:

So let's begin!

Ok, we obviously need a top-6 forward on this team, so what about Chris Neil + Schubert for Flyer Scott Hartnell? Philly loves players of Neil's pedigree, and could definitely use a dman. We need a guy to play on the wing with Vermette or Fisher that can score on the PP, and Hartnell can definitely fill that role.

So, what do you think 8-ball, is that plausible?

Answer: Definitely!

Well, it is a great proposal if I do say so myself. Not surprised by the ball's reaction. Salary might be a problem, but we can clear up more cap space with our next move...

...Which would answer our desperate need for a puck-moving, goal-scoring, all around good guy and #1 worthy defenseman. We've gotten rid of Redden, and haven't found a replacement as of now. And this is where it gets tough. How do we fill in one hole without creating another crater-sized one? Obviously, to aquire such a player, we need to send something valuable the other way. No need to panick, I've got a great suggestion!

Here goes. Ottawa would see one Jeff Finger......

Just kidding.

I'm going to loosely use the previously mentionned 3-way deal with the Kings and Blackhawks and suggest we send Gerber + Foligno to Chicago in return for Brent Seabrooke. The Hawks then need to shed Khabi's salary so they later send him to LA and sign Ladislav Nagy at a rebate. Not really a "three-way" per say, but something which helps out all three teams.

8-Ball, how likely of happening is this?

Answer: Maybe

Ha! This means it is realistic! Yay me!

But I hear you saying, "Great, now we have no #1 goalie! How dumb are you?". Waiiiiit a minute! With my final trade, we solve that problem and finally have an decent lineup ready for 08-09.

To Vancouver: Alexander Nikulin + Brian Lee

To Ottawa: Cory Schneider

Vancouver gets two excellent young players/prospects and the Senators finally get their star goalie. Granted, he is unproven in the NHL, but with a more experienced Auld helping out, he might be able to play around 40 games with us this year and take over the #1 position in 09-10. The Canucks are overpaying a bit, but with Luongo in the system, Schneider would be waisted over there. We lose Lee, whom is one of our most promising defenseman, but you gotta lose some to win some.

So what do you say, 8-Ball? Is this realistic?

Answer: Yes.

Three for three!

So what do you guys think? Am I future GM material and do you consider me mentally challenged? Did I "fix the Sens" or leave them crippled for all eternity? The 8-Ball seems to like my ideas and it NEVER lies. Or does it? It did steer me in the wrong direction when I asked it if bell bottoms were coming back, and now I'm stuck with a truckload of 'em....

Nonetheless! We shall see what happens in the next month or so! Ottawa fans speak up!

Buzz passes away...

2008-07-25T11:20:00.000-07:00

Tim "Buzz" Kilpatrick has passed away this morning due to complications from a lung infection. He was 41.

The 8-Ball blog would like to send it's thoughts and prayers to his family and friends as well as his co-workers. I have always enjoyed listening to Buzz on the Team1200 and I, along with the entire nation of Sens fans, will miss him dearly.

R.I.P.

The lightning round

2008-07-23T09:28:00.000-07:00

Powder doesn't like the lightning round

Hey folks, seems like people want to know what the 8-Ball's opinion is on many, many subjects. So with the shitty weather we've been having this summer, what's more appropriate than a lightning round?

Heeeere we go!

Are the rumors sending Vermette to Vancouver for either Bieksa or Salo true?

A: Outlook not so good

Hmmm, seems like Eklund made this one up out of thin air. Quite surprising.

Will Murray find that much needed 2nd line winger before training camp starts?

A: Outlook not so good

Okay, the ball gets no point for originality but who am I to question it's repetitiveness. Maybe it's just grumpy.

Will Gerber be our starter when the season launches in Stockholm, Sweden?

A: No way!

Whoa. Hold on a minute there...

Will Murray trade for a true #1 goaltender??

A: Definitely

!!!

Start your speculatin' fellow bloggers! The 8-Ball has spoken!

Who will it be? Luongo? Thomas? Kiprusof? Lalime???? Who??????

D. out!

Blockbuster Deal in the Works!?

2008-07-20T17:27:00.000-07:00

The reaction a random kitten had when I told him about the deal.

Well folks, here it is, my first scoop for y'all. It looks like the 8-Ball has some friends in very high places and they've come through. Big time.

From what I understand, and believe me, talking with an inanimate object is quite frustrating, it looks as if Murray is about to make his biggest trade/deal/move/signing/watchamacallit yet. The details were hard to make out though, so I had to take some liberties here:

To Ottawa:

N. Khabibulin
C. Barker
P. Sharp

To Chicago:

A. Vermette
C. Neil
M. Gerber
2nd round pick
My famous ham sandwich(I added this myself)

Of course I suffer a bit from non-medicated ADD, and my translating skills are awful at best, so the ball may have simply been telling me about it's weekend spent at the pool hall where he was an honored guest, but I have a feeling I'm pretty close on this one nonetheless.

And get this, I asked Mr. Big shot 8-Ball if that would be their last deal before the season begins and it said, "My sources say no".

Wow.

So there, take this Kevin Lee! Eat it Sens Chirp! Up yours Mackenzie! I'm the new blog king around now!

Trade-o-rama...........Or not.

2008-07-17T10:14:00.000-07:00

- Antoine Vermette gets some man-love from Talbot -

With all the trade rumors surrounding the Senators these past few days, it's easy to get get carried away, but suffice to say that most of these rumors are just that, rumors. We should not let ourselves get swept up in the shit storm that is the off-season, and try to remain skeptical.

With that said, let's get to the rumors!!!!!

First up, I'll ask my sources, the 8-ball, about all of these so-called reports concerning Antoine Vermette and his apparent desire to play elsewhere. As ridiculous as it sounds, and painful to think about, here we go:

Will Antoine Vermette remain with the Sens?

Answer: No way!

Ouch. Looks like my sweethea.......I mean favorite player is on his way out. Maybe the ball is having an off day...

Is Andrej Meszaros on his way out?

Answer: Ask again later.

Can't argue with it's magic! Obviously talks between his agent and Murray have stalled and the outlook is still undecided.

And finally, I'll ask it the winning poll question, which people overwhelmingly voted for:

Is Kevin Lee mildly retarded?

Answer: Absolutely!

Cam Barker to Ottawa?

2008-07-16T13:31:00.001-07:00

Chris Neil at a photo session for Vogue

Well, the magic 8-Ball has spoken for the first time and it's been confirmed. Barker is definitely, undoubtedly, assuredly and unabashedly making his way to Ottawa. Chris Neil is the player headed to Chi-Town.

The 8-Ball doesn't lie. Trust in it's mysterious magic.

Anyway, my "sources tell me so" and I'm "hearing it". So y'know, it's true.

*******Update*********

It also told me that a ham sandwich is my best bet for supper tonight. Stay tuned!

*******Update #2 at 7:30 pm*********

The ham sandwich was delicious, albeit a little on the dry side.

Oh, and no news on the Barker/Neil trade. The 8-Ball is getting a facial.