Off Season Soap Opera: Ottawa Senators

It was one of the most tumultuous days in Ottawa Senators history. After 17 years with the Ottawa Senators, captain and face of the franchise Daniel Alfredsson decided to leave the team.

The 40 year old Swede cited his desire to win a championship before he retired as his main reason for leaving the only team he's ever played for. Almost as fast as free agency opened, Alfredsson inked his first contract with a team other than Ottawa, signing a one-year, $5.5 million dollar contract with the Detroit Red Wings.

With a big hole in their lineup, and an even bigger hole in the locker room, Senators General Manager Bryan Murray signed free agent LW Clarke MacArthur and executed a trade for Anaheim Ducks RW Bobby Ryan to help replace Alfredsson.

Losing the heart and soul of your team in the morning, and adding a top line winger by the afternoon?

Talk about an emotional roller coaster of a day.

Now that the dust has settled, my tears have dried, and I can write about this topic without sobbing uncontrollably, we take a look at how Alfredsson's departure marks the end of one era, and the beginning of another.

Off Season Soap Opera: Vancouver Canucks

Mike Gillis borrows a line from Arrested Development

For over a year we heard constant rumors of where Roberto Luongo would get traded. It seemed inevitable; the only issue was where he would end up.

Vancouver anointed the younger Corey Schneider as their number one goaltender going into the 2012-2013 season and informed Roberto Luongo that he would be on the move as soon as they could get a good deal for him.

Here we are, July 7th 2013. Corey Schneider is a member of the New Jersey Devils and Roberto Luongo is Vancouver's starter...once again.

So what happened? What does this mean for each of the goaltenders now?

Frenzy to Snorefest

The first 24 hours of Free Agency did not disappoint. Big ticket players were signed, trades were made,  lots of money was spent and there was no shortage of drama.

Since then? *Crickets*. 

It had been pointed out ad nauseum that this was a relatively weak free agent class but I don't believe many realized just how weak until July 5th passed. 

Now we are left with a handful of complementary players who still need contracts and a long summer until hockey starts.

Let's take a look at which players are already on the move:

I'm Back

Changes are being made but the blog is going to be operational once again.

Spread the word.

Alive and Angry:

First off: I apologize for the complete lack of activity around here for the past two months.

No, I did not drop off the face of the Earth. I am very much alive and very ticked off.

As a college student, returning back to school with a heavy schedule has increased my workload outside of this blog. Add in the plethora lack of NHL games and you have one frustrated and stressed out hockey fan. To be completely honest, during this current lockout, I have found it extremely difficult to be motivated to write anything.

Could I have found topics to write about? Absolutely. However, the drive and fire to write has been long gone since this lockout nonsense began.  I have invested so much time and money into this game it kills me that we're going through another lockout.

Hockey is my passion, my obsession and practically my life. When most people open up their laptops or phones to go on the internet, they start typing "f-a-c-e-b...". I on the other hand go straight to one of the many hockey blogs I read.

It's because of this that I've been so fed up with the league. This is the second lockout I have had to deal with in my (now apparently clear) short life. I can't even begin to imagine what people must be feeling who have experienced three lockouts.

Consider this hiatus over. I am back and even though posts may be sporadic until the season returns, you can be rest assured that there will be more activity on this site.

On another note: Many people have been wondering what hockey fans have been doing to make up for the lost season...

So how does a hockey freak like myself get his fix without watching the best sport around?

Find out after the jump!