They’re among the most feared words any diehard hockey fan will ever hear – fire sale. And we’re starting to hear them in Ottawa.
Fire sales in professional sports mean the season is a writeoff and the team looks to rebuilding and the future.
Team veterans with long-standing ties to the community will be shipped off for cheap young talent and draft picks.
Bryan Murray, on his last legs after a long career in the NHL, insists his team can be competitive within one year.
Whether he actually believes this or is simply trying to save his own job is unclear. But the trade of Mike Fisher, a beloved, but under producing forward, indicates he is ready to blow this team up.
What is as clear as day to any Senators fan looking at the team’s roster is that this is not going to be a one-year rebuild.
Making the playoffs in 2012? Sorry, not happening.
Post-season stretch run in 2013? Unless Sidney Crosby becomes available, you can kiss that pipe dream goodbye.
The sooner fans accept this reality, the better.
But that’s easier said than done.
While fans in Ottawa may be fickle, and enjoy whining and complaining about the Senators, the fact remains that they have been spoiled with consistently strong teams since their first playoff appearance in 1997.
Remember the good ol’ days when the Senators took to the ice with a young Daniel Alfredsson, Zdeno Chara, Martin Havlat, Marian Hossa and an all-star Wade Redden playing together.
Until missing the playoffs two years ago, only the Detroit Red Wings had a longer streak of post-season appearances.
Those days are gone.
Now, Murray must acknowledge that his career is likely over and do what is best for the franchise and the fans – that is preparing for the future.
With the Senators looking increasingly likely to finish dead last in the 30 team league, it means it is time to rebuild the franchise.
Many of the club’s problems lie in its reliance on past-their-prime, overpaid talent.
Alexei Kovalev is undeniably one of the most skilled players in the league but most games he appears to only be collecting a paycheque. Meanwhile he has taken no responsibility for the team's woes.
Despite being applauded by fans and media, the signing of Sergei Gonchar has been disastrous, and the former Penguins defenceman still has two years left on his contract.
The good news is that some of the Senators' most expensive players will become unrestricted free agents this summer.
Chris Phillips and Kovalev will both be on the open market this summer and will open up $8.5 million under the salary cap.
Milan Michalek, at $4.3 million a season, has just 22 points this year.
Meanwhile the perpetually injured Jason Spezza has a long-term contract that will pay him $25 million over the next four years.
Dumping these players would give the Senators room to manoeuvre but it’s unlikely that any teams will want to take their bloated contracts.
While the Senators' management has bungled their free agent signings, they have been able to build a solid stable of young players in the draft.
Defenceman Erik Karlsson is blossoming into one of the best young defencemen in the league, while goaltender Robin Lehner is expected to mature into a solid number one goaltender.
The real elephant in the room is Alfredsson, who still has two years remaining on his contract.
A point-per-game player over a storied NHL career, he is only now beginning to show signs of his age.
Owner Eugene Melnyk has already said he is one of two players that can’t be traded (the other being Karlsson).
But the longest serving captain in the NHL now must make a difficult choice.
Does Alfredsson want to finish his career with a struggling club in the stages of rebuilding or seek a trade to a contender for one last shot at the Stanley Cup?
If he wants to move on, the team and fans should let him do so respectfully.
Nobody said the breakup would be easy. But it’s time to let this team go.