*** Hat tip to Hfboards for the link of a Swedish article and Google translation that indicates that Senators prospect, Andre Petersson, is close  to signing an entry-level contract with the team.

I don't know what I didn't pick up on this sooner, but Bryan Murray was interviewed by Mark Sutcliffe on CFRA on Wednesday and he did have some interesting things to say. If you want to download the interview, click here. If not, here's a brief summary of what was said:

1. What's your assessment of the season? Are the Senators a team that is going in the right direction?

A: Bryan Murray thought so. Facing Pittsburgh, the defending Stanley Cup Champions, in the first round didn't help. The team dealt with some injuries and lineup changes. Peter Regin and Erik Karlsson emerged and he was pretty satisfied with the how the team survived its rash of injuries. He thought that they were a contender in the east and truly believed that this team was going to win game six against the Penguins. It looks like there's a real future here.

2. A year ago, the Dany Heatley situation unfolded. This offseason it doesn't look like you'll have to deal with similar circumstances, although there is the issue Anton Volchenkov's impending free agency. Are you looking to retain Volchenkov?

A: Bryan Murray says that he wants to keep all of his good players but because of the cap system it really depends on the term and the money involved. What Volchenkov is asking for is long term stability and a big payday and rightfully so. Murray doesn't blame him for that. He does go on to say that the two sides have talked but unless Volchenkov's camp is willing to move off of their demands a bit, it's going to be quite difficult to keep Volchenkov in the fold. Especially when you consider that the team has some young stud RFAs to retain like Chris Campoli and Jesse Winchester.

3. Because of Jason Spezza's salary, his impending NTC and raised expectations, Spezza's become a bit of a lightning rod of criticism. (Ed. note: lightning rod of criticism is the new it term in Ottawa. It's the new puck moving defenceman.) What's your assessment of Spezza's season?

A: Jason's a point getter and he had a tough start to the year. Murray reiterates his belief that Spezza put too much pressure on himself to make the Canadian Olympic team and his play suffered because of it. Making matters worse, he injured his back and he really didn't get himself right until after the Olympic break when he was rested. Murray says that Spezza has adapted and made himself a better player through his skating, his play down low and he's no longer afraid to get dirty in the corners. Like Spezza has had to adapt his game, fans and the media need to do the same and accept Spezza for what he is.

4. Will Bryan Murray buy out Cheechoo?

A: It's something that he's talked about and he sat down with Jonathan yesterday to discuss the summer and future plans. It's interesting to note that Bryan doesn't sound definitive at all and it almost sounds like he's toying with the idea of keeping him in Binghamton to ensure that more money is available to spend at the NHL level. (Ie. instead of having a buyout count against the cap.)

5. How do you assess Kovalev's season and what happened to him ?

A: Two things: One, Murray knew that when he signed Kovalev, he'd help them win in the shootouts. Two, he would help the younger players who played with him over the course of the year and Murray mentions Fisher and Regin as beneficiaries. Three, he thought that Kovalev would help this team once it was in the playoffs. (Ed. note: I know that Bryan Murray said two things and then used three examples. I'm as confused as you are.) Murray reveals the greatest line of the offseason thus far that Kovalev is a veteran who competes in his own way. Murray likes Kovalev's savvy nature and thinks he is a good addition and brings experience and mentions that the media makes him out to be worse than he actually is.

6. Peter Regin and Erik Karlsson are two players who blossomed this year. Are there any prospects in the system who could step up and be another Karlsson next season?

A: Karlsson made a big step forward this year and Murray thinks he'll make another big step forward in the next year or two. Patrick Wiercioch is mentioned as a player who could make the jump next season but he may take a little time to adjust. Murray gives a 6 month timeframe as to when he could expect Wiercioch to play and contribute at the NHL-level. Robin Lehner is the next name mentioned and Murray describes him as a big goalie. Jared Cowen's name is dropped but nothing more is said about him. Mike Hoffman's name is dropped. (Ed. note: Presumably because he's an overager in the QJMHL, so he'll have to turn pro next season.) Bobby Butler is the last name mentioned and Murray feels like he's a guy who can score some goals at the NHL-level. Murray concludes this discussion on prospects by stating that he believes that there are 7-8 guys in the current system who can turn out to be good players.

7. Who's the number one goalie?

A: Murray laughs and says that's a tough question. He goes on to state that he believes Elliott has developed to a good level but that Pascal has the talent to be special. The belief is that if Leclaire can curb his injuries, he'll have a fantastic season next year.

8. Sutcliffe concludes the interview by asking some mundane question about the inordinate amount of playoff goals that had to be reviewed in the Ottawa series.

A: Who cares.

As always, you can subscribe/download/stream the episode or entire catalogue of episodes from Itunes. Or you can download the file by right-clicking and saving this file. Or you can simply stream the episode below. We hope you enjoy it. If you have any questions or comments about the podcast, please leave us some feedback in the comment thread below. Thanks for listening, we hope you enjoy the show.

Here's the tracklist: Iggy and the Stooges Search and Destroy; The Replacements Never Mind; The White Wires Ha Ha Holiday; The National Mistaken For Strangers; and Wendy Rene After Laughter Comes Tears.

** hat tip to our commenter, Winnie Phan, for finding this...

"I didn't even know who he was." ~ Winnie Phan, the girl who outpitched Dany Heatley

To listen to more Phan smack, check out this ESPN interview with her. And while you're there, give the comments a glance. The I bet she can drive better than him too one is gold.

When I took my seat at ScotiaBank Place to take in game six, I sat down with this deep fear that the game would not be able to live up to its hype and build up. In many ways, I was worried that game six would turn out like this year's Bluesfest lineup revelation -- leaving an entire city underwhelmed.

Had you told me a couple of days earlier that I would even have had the opportunity to watch the Senators play a sixth game, you would have had an easier time persuading me to believe that Brian Lee could still develop into a significant cog for this team in the future.

Like many of you, I was lead to believe that barring a miracle, Eugene Melnyk's dreams of going on a long and prosperous postseason had perilously drawn to a close after the Senators failed to split games three and four on home ice. So when the team slowly climbed itself out of that three games to one hole and Pascal Dupuis scored that overtime goal to clinch the series, I sat there in disbelief as the Senators assembled at center ice to shake hands.

It had all happened so abruptly: a soft dump in; Erik Karlsson getting bumped off the puck; a quick pass by Staal out front to Dupuis; and a one time shot that sent men racing for the exits like Stuntman Stu had just announced that a Lilith Fair concert would follow the conclusion of the game. Faster than you could say denouement, the season was over. Penguins fans barely had time to celebrate. Those frontrunning frat boys were too busy trying to roofy the drinks of the women beside them.

It was only after the last handshake was made that I could rise out of my seat to applaud the team's effort level. When the last Senator had left the ice, I slumped back into my seat to collect my thoughts and buy some time while the other 20,000+ fans filtered out of the parking lot.

So here's the good news: for everyone's sake, a resilient and undermanned Senators team managed to provide us with a glimmer of hope and two unbelievably entertaining elimination games. Even if the team did demonstrate a lack of killer instinct to put away a Penguins team that was down by 3 goals late in the second period of game six. Dr. Chow can put the defibrillators away now that Pascal Leclaire has put together two consecutive quality starts and shown that his career still has a pulse. Two of Ottawa's best players were their rookies -- Erik Karlsson and Peter Regin -- and any playoff experience for these two freshmen is beneficial for the future. Building upon career seasons, the trio of Jarkko Ruutu, Chris Kelly, and Chris Neil was the team's most consistent line at even strength. Daniel Alfredsson, we'd learn, was playing with a torn stomach muscle and still somehow manage to tie for the team lead in playoff points (8).

And now the bad...

The team exhibited an underwhelming lack of speed and were outplayed in every facet of the series. The deficiencies of using an imbalanced blueline -- the lack of offence and  mobility -- became abundantly clear. Even though Bryan Murray took a calculated risk assembling a big and physical blueline, it came at the expense of a quick transition game. If the forwards couldn't receive a clean first pass with speed in the neutral zone, it made the whole team look slower.

After a successful second half that showed that he didn't need rely on backdoor passes to Dany Heatley, the handsomely paid Jason Spezza didn't step up on the League's biggest stage and carry his team. With a NTC set to kick in on July 1st, the annual exhibition of Spezza trade rumours are destined to ramp up and even Spezza himself is admitting that he's growing tired of being a lightning rod for criticism. In the absence of some secondary scorers, Mike Fisher uncharacteristically avoided the scoresheet and bodily contact. At 37 years of age, it's difficult not to ignore Alfredsson's recent injuries -- knee, shoulder, stomach -- and that his goal totals have regressed for a second consecutive season. By bringing in two deadline acquisitions in Matt Cullen and Andy Sutton, Bryan Murray gave up two second draft picks and Alex 'freaking' Picard for two veterans who probably won't be retained when unrestricted free agency starts. Speaking of unrestricted free agency, Ottawa's shot blocking machine, Anton Volchenkov, may join Sutton and Cullen on the open market.

With the season now over, many fans and the other Senators website brethren are regarding this season as a success on the loose basis that nothing was expected from this team this season.

I'll agree that yes, in light of last summer's crisis, the season could be considered a success on the merit that this team came together and developed a blue collar workman-like ability to persevere. I just however, find it remarkable that so many people are putting that much stock into the pre-season prognostications of so-called "experts" who predicted that Ottawa wouldn't be a  playoff team in the Eastern Conference when the dust had settled.

I know things were supposed to be different this year. When the Ottawa Senators had their eleven consecutive playoff appearances streak snapped last season, Ottawa's fifth place finish in the Eastern Conference was supposed to inject renewed optimism and vigour back into the fan base. Gone were the lofty expectations. In their stead, fans and the core of this team were supposed to embrace an underdog identity. Only it never truly developed until Matt Carkner scored in the triple-overtime of game five.

From the box office to the various opinions that have circulated for the past two weeks, the vibe in this city has been: Well, if they could only get past the Pittsburgh Penguins, maybe that's when I'll jump on the bandwagon. Maybe it has something to do with the years of languishing in the playoffs. It's like one big sect of the Senators populace has become like the dogs used in Martin Seligman's learned behavioural psych experiments. Caught in a perpetual state of learned helplessness.

Or maybe some fans are like me and aren't satisfied with an appearance and first round ouster. Before the season, I predicted that this team would finish as a 6th to 8th seed in the Eastern Conference, so maybe I'm not as surprised as others by Ottawa's playoff appearance. If the circumstances were different or if this was a young team like a Colorado or the Islanders, I might get more excited about a first round appearance. But given the veteran-laden roster that Ottawa had, if the team had missed the playoffs, I would have viewed the season as a colossal failure.

If I could draw an analogy for this season, I'd compare it to the movie Executive Decision starring Kurt Russell and Steven Seagal. Some people saw this as a good '90's action flick. Whereas I dwell and make a comment like, "Good movie? Sure. But I'm not happy because I paid to watch an action flick with Steven Seagal and he's dead within the first 10 minutes."

The point that I can't stress enough is that the ramifications of this offseason are huge. Will Volchenkov walk? If so, who replaces his spot? Will management waver and ship Jason Spezza out of town? Can Bryan Murray bring in a legitimate second line center to insulate Spezza? Can the goaltending combination of Leclaire and Elliott be better than they were this season? With a longer summer, how much size and strength can Erik Karlsson add? Is Nick Foligno a second liner or a third liner? Can either of Patrick Wiercioch or Jared Cowen make this team next fall? Would Bryan Murray consider moving a Chris Kelly or a Jarkko Ruutu to free up some salary?

They're all legitimate questions that I can't wait to see pan out. When does the Cup final end again?

Found this video over on Hfboards.com, enjoy it.

• Bryan Murray kick started this morning's press conference by stating that there's reason for optimism for this club. He thought that the team had a good compete level and he was pleased with the fact that a number young players successfully enter the system and despite the team's injury problems, it still managed to clinch a playoff position with 94 points. From a disappointing perspective, Bryan was displeased with the number of injuries -- including Alfredsson's -- and the fact that the team blew a three goal lead in game six.
  
• On Volchenkov's impending unrestricted free agent status, Murray stated that he wasn't sure that he'd be able to get him signed to a deal that would be beneficial from a salary cap perspective. He pays homage to The Euge by stating that he's fortunate that he has an owner who's willing to commit the money necessary for the team to spend to the cap limit, but also mentions that he has some RFA's who he has to fit in as well.
  
• When asked about his priorities for the offseason, the name Matt Cullen is mentioned. When talking with a number of the younger players, they reiterated that they really liked Cullen who Murray characterized as a real professional.
• When asked if there was a Plan B if Volchenkov walks, Murray stated that a player of Volchenkov's ilk can't be replaced completely. He goes on to mention that a number of young guys will be expected to compete for roster spots and that if the numbers with Volchenkov don't work, he'll have to go to the market to add a defenceman. When pressed as to whether or not Andy Sutton is a guy who could get lumped in as a Plan B candidate, Murray says yes but reiterates that Ottawa's UFA's will likely get offers on the open market that Ottawa might not be able to match.
  
• One reporter asks Murray what the team's needs are. In response, Murray mentions: that his best players need to bring more; more mobility is needed on the blueline (mentions the loss of Filip Kuba as a significant factor); and says that getting more offence from the back end is an issue that has plagued the team.
  
• Discussion gets brought back to Volchenkov and Murray clarifies that the team isn't 100 miles apart in negotiations. However, Volchenkov's camp feels that the market will net him a contract that Ottawa simply can't provide.
  
• When asked about Jason Spezza's lightning rod status, Murray says "He is what he is." Blames some of the criticism on the fact that Spezza would be unfairly compared to his counterparts -- Malkin and Crosby -- in the series. Murray reiterates that Spezza's a good player who makes some plays.
• Asked if the possiblity existed for the organization to bury salary in the AHL or buyout some contracts, Murray said that the team already demonstrated that they would do it when the team sent Jonathan Cheechoo down earlier in the season. He went on to say that the organization has to make a decision on Cheechoo again but beyond that, there are not a lot of options that he wants to do.
  
• Murray touches upon how pleased he was with the team and how it managed itself in the post-Heatley era, or as one scribe put it, the crisis last summer. In Heatley's absence, Murray said the roster room gave a player like Peter Regin the opportunity to make the team and eventually get a chance to perform on the first line. In short, he was really happy.
  
• When Pascal Leclaire is brought up and Murray responds by saying that injuries plagued his season and contributed to his down year. For a player who's career has been marred by freak injuries, Murray doesn't think that Leclaire played particularly well after his first injury and that opened the door for Brian Elliott to assume the number one gig. When it came time to get Elliott ready for the postseason, it forced the team to shelf Pascal. Murray finishes his thoughts on Leclaire by stating how pleased he was with his postseason performance and that he hopes Pascal has a productive offseason that gives him a good chance to be successful next year. Murray concludes by saying that Leclaire's final two games demonstrated what kind of goalie that he is and he hopes that Pascal will carry that success over to next season.
  
• On Clouston: He got the team into the postseason with 94 points and helped some young players emerge as viable players. He was impressed with Clouston's structure and discipline but hopes that Clouston learned some lessons throughout the year that will make him a better coach moving forward. He said that he hopes to sit down with Cory in the next few days to discuss the season, the players and how they can work together to make next season more successful. He mentions that they might talk about the handling of Leclaire, the allocation of ice-time for some players. Murray drew an analogy between his talks with Clouston and the team's black aces and says it's no different. In every facet of the organization, you need productive discussion to determine how everyone can get better at what they do.
• I believe it was Ken Warren who asked Bryan Murray to clarify when Jason Spezza's NTC kicks in -- was it July 1st, 2009 or is it July 1st, 2010. Murray reiterates that it's this July 1st when it kicks in but he refuses to disclose whether or not he's willing to listen to offers on Spezza.
  
• Murray gets into his expectations for Cowen and Wiercioch next season. He believes that both can play next year if he wants them to and they're ready. He believes that they're strong candidate to push for roster spots. He states that the difference between the two is that Cowen could feasibly go back to junior hockey while Wiercioch is a likely candidate to go to Binghamton and possibly be promoted throughout the season from there. He concludes by stating that he wouldn't be surprised if both need a little bit more seasoning.
  
• On the subject of young players, Robin Lehner's name is mentioned. Murray says the contract situations of Elliott and Leclaire will give them an edge in any goaltending battle but Lehner has expressed to Bryan that he wants to challenge the veterans for a job at the NHL level. Like any other roster decision, Murray believes that Lehner's emergence will be a matter of timing and determining what's the best course of action for the young netminder. That being said, he mentions that he will keep an open mind.
  

With the season now over, we jumped back into the box to record our thoughts following Saturday night's disappointing 4-3 overtime loss to the Penguins.

We had two featured guests join the show this week. The first is an Ottawa Sun columnist who was nominated for the Gene Florcyk Memorial Award. He's also the writer of the best Sunday hockey column around. Yes, that's right --  Bruce Garrioch joins in and breaks down the Pittsburgh series and potential moves that this team could make this summer. Joining Bruce on the progam is Aaron, the creator and star of The Jonathan Cheechoo Song and The Even More Better Jonathan Cheechoo Song YouTube videos.

As always, you can subscribe/download/stream the episode or entire catalogue of episodes from Itunes. Or you can download the file by right-clicking and saving this file. Or you can simply stream the episode below. We hope you enjoy it. If you have any questions or comments about the podcast, please leave us some feedback in the comment thread below. Thanks for listening, we hope you enjoy the show.

Tracklist for the podcast: The Gaslight Anthem Red At Night; Ted Leo and the Pharmacists Last Days; We Were Promised Jetpacks Moving Clocks Run Slow; Brimstone Howl Suicide Blues; and Crowded House Don't Dream It's Over.