It's official. John Muckler has been fired as the GM of the Ottawa Senators.

Head coach Bryan Murray has been promoted to the General Manager position. Owner Eugene Melnyk stated that he wanted to make the move prior to the NHL Entry Draft, and hopes that his move will keep the Senators from being a 'one trick pony' .... I'm assuming he wants to see his club play for the Cup again in the near future.

Muckler had one year left on his contract, and for him, this has to be tough to swallow. The Senators had an amazing regular season, finishing 48-25-9, and an incredible playoffs that saw them march through the Eastern Conference untested until they ran into the Anaheim Ducks.... who summarily destroyed them. Regardless, his work as GM for the Senators especially last season hardly warranted a dismissal. In any case he can join former Devils head coach Claude Julien and cry in their beers.

Quick Shave:
This is amazing to me, and I forgot to make mention of it earlier. The Montreal Canadiens managed to find a suitor for the services of the much maligned forward Sergei Samsonov. His destination? The Chicago Blackhawks. The Habs traded Samsonov to the Hawks for defenceman Jassen Cullimore, and forward Tony Salmelainen. Now I'm very unfamiliar with the players the Canadiens recieved, but what I am familiar with is that the Habs would have bought out Samsonov's contract had they not found a trade for him. The Blackhawks have hopes for the forward who was a healthy scratch from the Montreal lineup last season for 18 games. The Chicago Blackhawks love their Russian born players..... perhaps a union alongside Martin Havlat will jumpstart Samsonov's offense.

Your friend on ice,
Captain Bosh