There is big excitement brewing in Ottawa as the NHL Draft will take place here in our fair city, or at least a suburb of it, starting tomorrow. Prospects, general managers, and TSN’s hockey panel have already arrived in the area. Speculation is running wild about which teams will pick which players, and which players are likely to be traded. Craziest rumour I’ve heard so far: Malkin to Los Angeles?! for a pick and Mike Cammalleri?!!?

… huh?!

I was already starting to question Ray Shero’s sanity. I understand that the Penguins are going to have cap issues pretty soon, but I’m finding the way they’re handling the problem very odd. First I hear that they’re not going to re-sign Ryan Malone, who was an absolute warrior for them in the playoffs. Not only that, Malone is from Pittsburgh and wanted to stay with the Penguins.

Now the Pens might actually be trying to get rid of Malkin. They could be taking Evgeni Malkin off their team. By choice! The seven year, $50 million deal they’ve apparently offered to Marian Hossa looks to me as though it could be Malkin’s money going in another direction. I know Malkin didn’t have a great Stanley Cup Final but can the Penguins really already have forgotten what he did when Sidney Crosby was out injured during the season? Not to mention the rest of the playoffs. As much as I like Hossa, I have no idea why the Penguins would prioritize him over Malkin. I just don’t get it. Throw in the fact that Malkin has already told the media he’d be happy to sign an extension in Pittsburgh, and this entire thing looks totally insane.

It probably is complete hogwash, which means Shero won’t have to be committed. Hopefully, the same can be said for Bryan Murray: don’t look now, Sens fans, but the Cammalleri and a pick rumour has also come up in relation to Jason Spezza. I’ve said it before and I’ll likely continue to say it until his no trade clause kicks in, but I’m totally against trading Spezza unless I’m seeing Roberto Luongo come back in the deal and even then I’m not sold on the idea. Bryan Murray, as usual, laughed off the Spezza rumour, thank goodness:

“You guys make up more stuff than I can ever imagine,” Ottawa general manager Bryan Murray told reporters on Thursday. “I heard a rumour last night that Pittsburgh was moving one of their star players. I talked to their manager today to see if I could be included in the discussions and they kind of laughed at me.”

He thinks they were laughing because the rumour wasn’t true, but maybe they were just laughing at him for wanting to be included. Hockey executives can be very cliquey.

I will be going out to the Draft tomorrow afternoon straight from work. I work in Gatineau, so it’s going to take me about two hours to get out to Scotiabank Place on the combination of public bus and foot which is my primary mode of transportation these days. Luckily, Jobs created iPods for this exact type of situation, so I think I’ll survive the trip. Here’s hoping I get to see some serious draft day excitement to make my long commute worthwhile.

If these rumours of the Sens trading up to get a higher pick turn out to be true, then I’m hoping they’ll trade up high enough to take Luke Schenn. This would probably involve making a deal with the Blues, Islanders, or Blue Jackets, who have the fourth, fifth, and sixth overall picks, respectively. In the spirit of Puck Daddy’s five ridiculous reasons why you don’t want to draft Steven Stamkos, I present:

Four Awesome Reasons Why I Want the Sens to Draft Luke Schenn

1. Nickname: Pierre McGuire has dubbed Schenn “the Human Eraser.” I am honestly not sure what Pierre means by this (He rubs out his opponents? He cancels out other defencemen’s mistakes? If you beat him against a wall you’ll get lots of dust?) but it sure sounds cool.

2. Uncanny Resemblance to Peter from Narnia:

Luke Schenn

Peter from Narnia

See, they’re like twins! I have a completely age-inappropriate crush on Peter from Narnia, so I find this resemblance pleasing. Also, Peter is brave, noble, and strong; thus, I assume Luke Schenn must also be brave, noble, and strong. He is therefore exactly the type of person we want on our team.

3. Actual Hockey-Related Attributes: At 6′3″ and 212 lbs., Schenn is the biggest of the top 10 ranked prospects. TSN’s draft rankings state that he is “without question the best defensive defenceman available in the draft, a big, physical presence with an edge who perfectly understands his role as a shutdown defender.” Using my extremely perceptive hockey mind, I have determined that the Sens’ defence behind Phillips and Volchenkov is pretty freaking crappy right now. Schenn would certainly help out in that area.

4. Good Vibes: Yes, I just have a good feeling that Luke Schenn ending up in a Sens uniform would be the best thing for all concerned. Why? I don’t know. But Murray, make it so.