Sens at Land's End

I check my email when I got to work this morning and discovered it was my turn to pick in the Cycle Like the Sedins NHL Re-Draft. Naturally, I postponed all work so I could devote some time to coming up with the best possible choice for my Sens team.

There were several factors to take into account: this is a 30-team fantasy draft, and while the draft order snakes so I do get to pick again in the #36 slot, it’s going to be a long time between my second and third picks. I therefore wanted to pick a player I felt could carry a significant load for my team, just in case I’m not able to draft ideal players to complement him later on. We are also working within the constraints of the NHL salary cap, so that’s an important factor.

In the end I was torn between using my first pick to take a great forward or a great goalie. While it’s obviously very important to have reliable talent in goal (ask the real Sens about that one), I believe it’s also very risky to depend on any goalie to be reliable (again, ask the real Sens). With Henrik Lundqvist, Roberto Luongo, and Martin Brodeur already gone, there weren’t any goalies I felt strongly enough about taking with my first pick left.

So, I settled on a forward. That forward is … drumroll please …

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Happy Jason Spezza Wedding Day, now with 100% less Heatley!

Alas, the Senators still have the same amount of Heatley. Will anyone ever take this guy off our hands? I’m starting to think the answer is no. Let’s all give a big thanks to Heatley for being such a ginormous douchebag that no one will now touch him.

There’s nothing I can do about this in the real world, unless I somehow brainwash an NHL GM, or take over one’s life. I actually have done this to Bryan Murray in the virtual world, where I am playing the role of GM for your Ottawa Senators in the Re-Draft the League project over at Cycle Like the Sedins. My task is to build a new Sens team using current NHL players, within the constraints of the NHL salary cap. I have been given the 24th overall pick to work with, which unfortunately means that a lot of the really super high class talent in the league will be gone by the time I get up to the (metaphorical) podium with my jersey and hat for my pick to proudly put on before he poses for a photo op with me and my staff.

Here’s how the picking has gone so far:

1. Calgary Flames – Alexander Ovechkin
2. Vancouver Canucks – Sidney Crosby
3. Tampa Bay Lightning – Henrik Lundqvist
4. Dallas Stars – Evgeni Malkin
5. Chicago Blackhawks – Jonathan Toews
6. New York Islanders – Nicklas Lidstrom
7. Philadelphia Flyers – Pavel Datsyuk
8. Edmonton Oilers – Zach Parise
9. Nashville Predators – Ryan Getzlaf
10. Atlanta Thrashers – Vincent Lecavalier
11. St. Louis Blues – Roberto Luongo
12. Phoenix Coyotes – Mike Green
13. Pittsburgh Penguins – Ilya Kovalchuk

Still to pick before me: the Caps, Blue Jackets, Red Wings, Kings, Wild, Hurricanes, Rangers, Devils, Leafs and Sharks.

So what do you think, Sens fans? What direction should I take in re-building our team? Build from the goal crease out? Pick a franchise forward? A superstar defenceman? It’s a lot to consider.

Much will depend, of course, on who’s left by the time I pick. The only thing I can confirm at this point is that the Ottawa Senators will not be taking Dany Heatley with their first round pick.