Sens Buzz

First, the Ottawa Sun reported that the Edmonton Oilers were interested in Christoph Schubert and the return asking price would be the stay-at-home defenseman Ladislav Smid. I was talking to someone who said "This could be a bigger deal and that Ottawa really wants to pair him up with Volchenkov". He has been compared to Volchie previous years and can handle the puck well also. And you know MacT would love to get rid of him for a bigger body in Schubert.

Smid has scored 21 points in 188 games in his 3-year career. His statistics have gone south since his rookie year, but his defensive game has gone way north, as exemplified in the game Ottawa played against Edmonton on December 30th, where Smid bravely blocked shots by Daniel Alfredsson and Filip Kuba. He would be a nice addition to the Sens roster and seeing him with Volchenkov, I think, would work.

Staying away from the Oilers-Sens rumors, Neil and his camp will meet with management today and even if it seems that they have reached an impasse, they are still trying to negotiate something. It's very much the possibility they trade Neil and sign him in the offseason, though that wouldn't really make sense. The Sharks may have talked with Murray before the game about Neil, according to the Ottawa Sun, which also stated that the Red Wings are in play for Neil. Chris Neil will be traded to one of the San Jose Sharks, Detroit Red Wings, Boston Bruins, and, yes, the New Jersey Devils. All top 4 teams in the league. Surprising, not really. I still think Boston is make a late push and get him.

On Filip Kuba's court, differently from Neil's situation, there is no way Kuba will re-sign with the team. It's simple and clear, he's a great defenseman and a great Power play QB who rarely makes mistakes on the defensive front, but the Sens need to rebuild their defensive core, and Kuba won't be a part of it. With the Whitney trade and the Schneider trade, Kubes is probably on the list of top 3 defenseman available, along with Niclas Havelid and Jay Bouwmeester. Boston won't get him because they've gone either ways, and it's morel ikely he will be traded to the Western Conference. The Minnesota Wild, Phoenix Coyotes, and Columbus Blue Jackets are in play for him.

Should be an interesting 4 days and 21 hours until the Trade Deadline. Stuff could happen. Stuff could happen.

Thanks For Reading!!!