I was just looking at the schedules of the Eastern Conference teams down the stretch. In the month of March Boston, New Jersey and New York have to play 17 games in a 31 day month. Philly, Washington and Florida have 16 games. Toronto and Pittsburgh 15. Ottawa on the other hand plays 13 games in the month.

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Editor's note: My name is Adnan and I approve this message.

We're looking at another group outing to go to the Senators-Sabres game on Saturday March 10 and you should join us to put some faces to the screen names you see on here.

Tickets will be somewhere around $50 for the lower 300L. If you're interested, email the address on my profile by the end of the weekend. Money will be due in the next week or two after the price is finalized. Our last two group outings were a great time, so come out and join us in cheering on your Sens!

In the midst of this losing streak I took to twitter this morning to rant about what I think the Sens should/shouldn't do at the deadline. And then I realized I've been thinking of doing a fan post for a while and figured this rant was something to build on. Mainly I think that the Sens should become Sellers with a touch of buying. I will touch on 3 main themes for the Deadline. First I don't think we should be looking to add a top 6 forward unless it is a low cost Rental. 2nd I believe we should be selling on some assets to add draft picks. And third we should be on the lookout for a good young two-way Defenseman.

More after the Jump.

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Chris Phillips is set to play his 1,000 NHL game on Thursday against Nashville, and like Alfie, all 1,000 have been with the Senators. 1,000 games in the NHL remains a special feat, made more special when it is with one organization.

Over the years we have seen Phillips mature and develop into one of the NHL’s elite shutdown defensemen when paired with Volchenkov and have (mostly) supported him as his play has declined in recent years.

My first memories of Phillips were not in Senators red but wearing the red of Canada’s World Junior teams in 1996 and 1997. I have always had a soft spot for most NHLers who have played for Canada, but noticed Chris more the second year, when he was tournament all-star. Both times, Philly won gold for Canada.

I had his 1996 World Junior hockey card. Still have it. I remember thinking both on that card, and at the 1996 Entry Draft when he went first overall, that he looked like he was 30, not 18. He always seemed to have a maturity to him.

For me, Phillips was best when he was a physical, dominant, shutdown d-man. My most clear memory of this Phillips was the first round series against the Penguins during the Cup run in 2007. Phillips and A Train were fantastic shutting down the Pens young guns. I specifically remember Phillips welcoming Sidney Crosby to the intense atmosphere of the Stanley Cup Playoffs with several thundering hits and frustrating The Kid.

On this site we’ve discussed how the Sens 20th Anniversary celebrations haven’t highlighted the modern franchise’s history as much as some would like. I think Phillips is a big part of that history that can be celebrated. Do I think that he deserves to have his number retired based on his performance and loyalty to the club? No. The first modern Senator to have his number retired has to be Alfie. But I would like to see the team celebrate Phillips’ contribution to the modern team, and I would like the club to start building its history by acknowledging people like Phillips. I would like to see the Senators have a ceremony to “honour” Phillips when he retires, something similar to what they do in Vancouver with guys who were important members of the team but not significant enough to retire their numbers.

When such milestones are achieved, it’s natural to reflect on a player’s legacy and meaning to his team. While it might be tempting to be negative (Cup winning goal anyone?), given the occasion, let’s fondly remember some of Big Rig’s highlights and memorable moments of more than a decade spent in white, black, and red. What are some of your favourite Big Rig moments?

As an American, Living in Philadelphia PA (home of the Flyers), and a huge Sens fan since meeting Alexei Yashin circa 93 while working briefly in Canada (putting together parts of our US based bank MBNA) I always found it very odd that a proud franchise such as Ottawa would allow Leaf nation to out number Sens fans at their own rink? why? I think Adnan is spot on- with his recent post..

I cant pretend to haven the faintest of clues as the hockey culture in Toronto/Ottawa- Philly is a huge,HUGE hockey (Flyers) town, $175 first level seats (sold out every night) AND I HATE THE FLYERS,, but youll never see Devils, Caps, Rangers, Boston or Pens/Crosby fans take over that building.. OK, OK,, its the USA- hockey is not nearly as big in those towns as it is in Canada-

Baseball is the US sport right? Philadelphia Phillies would be the equivalent to how Philly fans view Baseball like Ottawa fans view hockey,, the NY Yankees are easily the Toronto Maple Leafs of the US, and roughly the same distance NY to Philly as Toronto to Ottawa- There is no way in HELL, Phillie fans ever let Yankee fans take over thier park, its an unwritten rule, you dont sell or give your tix to a broker for these games, you dont personally sell or give your tix to yankees fans, yeah there's a few that make it to every game,,,,,,,, but nothing like what I saw Saturday night watching/hearing LETS GO LEAFS at a Sens Home game.. This is crazy!!!

I am hoping this does not happen for real. Ruutu is 28yrs old and have been involved in NHL playoff games in only one year. In that year, he was 25 yrs old and produce 1 goal and 3assists in 16 games.. Although some may say it is because he was on rebuliding Hawks at early part of his career. But, carolina was not a rebuilding team during his tenure. They were experienced team that had many players from 06 cup winning team. Plus, this guy will be UFA at the end of this season and very well likely demand more than what other available power forwards like Malone or Penner will get paid over next 3 years. Not to mention that cost to aquire him would be higher than whatever we have to pays to get either Malone or Penner. As I stated previously, value of power forwards has been significantly raised ever since ducks won the cup in 07 with likes of Corey Perry, Dustin Penner, and Ryan Getzlaf. Bruins win over Canucks last year only help the cause more. So, if you are to pay the price, and unless it is for Bobboy Ryan, Sens should look at relatively cheaper and more proven at the playoff level type player. Also, I believe Foligno is Ruutu in making with arguably with more upside. But we can all agree that Foligno will never have size of Malone or Penner with skill. It seems like Ruutu has better offensive touch than Malone but, he has not shown his touch at the playoff level and with likes of what senators have this year, I do not believe he will perform much better than what he did in 09'playoff. Whatever move senators will make this trade deadline should not only target this year playoff but for future as well.

Editor's Note: The following FanPost was written by a member of the Silver Seven community, and does not necessarily reflect the beliefs or opinions of the site managers, editors, or Sports Blogs Nation, Inc.

We all love our team and many of us have opinions and ideas on how to change the Sens for the better. I'm interested in those ideas. Don't be constrained by things like salary cap and budget, we're just brainstorming here. It doesn't have to be on ice changes like "I'd bring in a power winger, a top six forward type" (but of course, it can be). It could be something incredibly functional like, "I would improve OCTranspo service to Scotiabank Place". Anything should be brought up and discussed in detail!

I have already posted about my interest in a Sens museum/arena tour and the next big change I would make would be to the uniforms. I want to bring back the original white jerseys. I feel like the sideways centurion logo is still the most recognizable Sens logo and that many fans feel that logo/design was classic. I still associate that jersey with the best moments of the franchise (Alfie's overtime winner against Buffalo to send us to the Cup Finals). Also, I think the current whites are fairly generic and the lines are too similar to Pittsburgh. I would love the heritage jersey to be a permanent feature of the Sens' look. I think they did a great job with the design (the nod to the past, modern updates, font choice) and I want to see them wear it in more games. However, I don't want the Sens to get rid of the red by any means. We may have come into the league wearing white and black but it is red I associate with this team's success. I don't have strong feelings about our current red jerseys nor did I really have strong feelings about the previous red. The previous red was somewhat silly (the stripes) but was distinct. I love the red because it's highly visible and I love when the Bank is a sea of red. But given the success of the heritage jersey, I would try a red jersey update. I would keep the forward facing logo (either design, like aspects of both) and add in other elements like horizontal stripes (personal bias, love horizontal stripes). I feel like bringing back the original whites, making the heritage jersey permanent and more visible, and updating the reds ensures not only that we have a great look, but that our past and present is connected visually.

What do you think? What changes would you make to the Sens organization to make our club better than ever?

Taking off from the sellers idea in an earlier post, I wanted to look at the team now and compare it with what might be a post-sell roster.

As it stands, we've got 4 legit top 6 forwards (7,9,11,19) and two players producing like top-6 forwards that are better suited to 3rd (scoring) line roles on a contender, rounding out the top two lines (14, 71). Our current 3rd line is producing well; 15 and 22 being young enough to hold on to through the deadline, while 25 is valuable in his role but has been asked to expand that role (to the detriment of the team Imo i.e. 1st unit PP time on a regular basis). The 4th line is simply not what you find on contending teams.

On D, 65 and 2 are hopefully here for the next decade and both are still raw enough to expect significant growth over the next few years; 4 is probably here for a while and if given the right partner, he can be a significant asset to this team; 55 is having a bounce back year but I don't think anyone can debate that his foot speed and game sense is on a significant decline; 17's value is likely higher than it was 3 years ago but he's been one of our most consistent performers; 39 is cheap and would be adequate as a 6-7 but not on a contender.

In the crease, the 1 is getting worked pretty hard, but he's played well and made some big saves at important times; BBAA isn't exactly getting many chances to prove he's a capable backup, but he seems comfortable in the role he's been given. If he can be moved for a reasonable asset, you look into it.

The key pieces on this team for this years playoff run are 14-19-9, x-7-11, 22-15-25; 2-65, x-4, Neo

Everything else should be in play. That means 71, 23, 28, 16, 17, 55, 39, 5, BBAA are all movable assets, along with all of our picks. Organizational needs moving forward (i.e. beyond this year) are 2 top-6 wingers, 2 top-4 D (one of each type preferably) and 4th line +3rd pairing (which can be filled relatively easily, either via FA or from within).

Realistically, most of those pieces will remain property of the Senators at this deadline, however several are FAs. Package-pieces include 71, 16 (who still holds value despite the sophomore slump), 17, 55, and 5; while 23, 28, 39, and BBAA are unlikely to net anything to make moving them worthwhile. Also those 4 are key character guys and important pieces to the locker room vibe... That being said, I`d still look into a change at those positions.

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What is to become of Stephan DeCosta? Is he going to stay with the B-sens?Future possibility of centers Spezza-Turris- Zibanejad -Smith. Were does this put DeCosta? Could he make a switch to wing, were we need an imediot improvement. DeCosta is a point per game player in the AHL and when he becomes stronger could be a fine asset if we can place him somewere.

Also who do you think is the most note worthy defensemen in our prospect pool. Borowiecki made the AHL all-star game in his rookie season. Gryba is a good defensive defenseman but still need some polishing, even though his struggles may be due to the lack of success our B-Sens have had. On the offensive side of things Weircioch is a good prospect but has been forced out due to his unfortunate injury, a puck to the throat.

Any thoughts?

I wrote this and sent it to every high profile media member I could get an email address for. Dreger, Cullen, Lebrun, Hodge, Reda, Scanlan, MacGregor, Maclean, Kypreos, K.Fraser, Llyod, York, Schreiber... all of them got a copy. I even sent a copy to the NHL Officials Association!

I don't expect anything to come of it, but at some point it's got to be discussed. It may be a while yet, but Imo it's a highly legitimate explanation for the Sens experience with the officials (Jason Smith once got a triple minor FFS).

I tried to make it as politically correct as I could, but the reality is that most will dismiss it (wilfull denial in a many instances, Imo). I'm interested to get your take, SB Nation.

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"This is getting ridiculous... This is getting so blatantly obvious that it's embarassing for the stripes, and you're going to get an Ottawa Senator getting a 10 minute misconduct at some point, or I will! It's unbelievable how things have been let go, and then the Senators get tagged for another penalty with 2:45 remaining in this game."
-Denis Potvin, Jan. 31, 2012, Ottawa vs Boston on Sportsnet

I've been watching the Ottawa Senators for two decades now and I've seen my share of complaints and conspiracy theories. I ascribe to the idea of ignoring them. It's a fast game and the quality of officiating is superb. That, however, does not change the fact that I just watched the Sens go another entire game without a powerplay, this time against the most penalized team in the NHL. The Senators seem to experience this type of occurrence at an inordinate rate and I can't help wondering "why?".

I vehemently argue against the idea of a conspiracy; however, what I don't argue is human nature. I believe it is a fact that all referees strive to be as impartial as possible. I also believe that hockey is an emotional game and that no referee is immune to being swayed by the ever-changing emotional temperature of the game. Furthermore, I believe that as emotions rise, they tend to skew perception and underlying bias becomes more evident.

*Here's where you'll need to bear with me*

Why is this important? The reality of the NHL is that many of the referees grew up as fans of the only two Canadian teams that belonged to The Original 6. It is impossible to completely remove the passion and commitment that a true fan has for their team. I for one followed the Sens when they were just beginning to have success, but I was a Ducks fan. Selanne and Kariya were my two favorite players and I loved that team. I cheered on the Sens in '07 and I'm still disappointed they didn't win, but I can't look back on it without that Ducks fan in me remembering how I felt about the Mighty Ducks of yore...

That point factors into this discussion because when emotions rise and the games become more meaningful, it's not inconceivable for the natural bias of officials to show. And it's not as simple as the amount of powerplays or specialty teams' play---Watch the offside call on Spezza with 3:50 remaining in their game against Boston... How could the decision to blow the whistle have been made so quickly? It was blown before he even entered the zone! Its becoming difficult to play devil's advocate---The timing of officiating decisions is just as important as the amount of calls in favour of a team and I simply cannot help but feel like the Senators are at a constant disadvantage with regards to officiating---It's tough to dismiss the background and history of multiple NHL referees as a potential explanation. I do not believe it is a conspiracy. What I believe is that it is an inherently flawed system to have subject humans required to be perfectly impartial, ignoring their own history and inate (or inherited) biases. In my opinion, this implies the need for greater exposure and honest dialogue to maintain the integrity of the game.

Now in a season where the Sens were supposed to be irrelevant, they are sitting in a playoff spot and occupying the spot that may run the streak to 7 years of non-playoff hockey for a certain team... Ottawa has gone approximately 10 straight games with some highly questionable officiating (mostly from the same group of referees) and are on the verge of falling out of that playoff spot. Is it really that inconceivable for officials who grew up as fans of the Original 6 franchises to be influenced by their emotions in a negative way where it concerns impartiality and the little guy down the 401? They may be tasked with being impartial (and they generally do an admirable job) but they are human and are thus prone to both human error and normal human responses.

Some of you will brush this off, some of you will refute it, some of you will consider and debate it, but what I seek is simply to begin the discussion. Is there a bias against the team that never should have been (ref: Roy McGregor, Globe and Mail)?

There's plenty of nonsense in these threads, but this is just a sample of how the Ottawa fan base feels about NHL officiating:
http://hfboards.hockeysfuture.com/showthread.php?t=1088963
http://fans.senators.nhl.com/community/topic/8118-penalties-and-lack-of-power-plays/
http://www.gmhockey.com/t5616-refereeing-and-what-can-be-done#275995

That last one in particular has some interesting pics at the bottom of the page on a blown-off goal in a recent game against Phoenix. That play happens on a nightly basis and more often than not, it's a good goal. Again: fast game, ever-changing environment, decisions made in split seconds, etc. All understood... The reality is simply that only those who watch the Senators night-in, night-out seem to succumb (at some point or another) to questioning the motives of the officials. I would speculate that Denis Potvin would not have indulged such nonsense prior to becoming a Senators broadcaster. Now, he mentions it almost every broadcast.

I have sent this comment directly to http://www.nhlofficials.com/contact.asp in the hopes that it garners further consideration. There are many Sens fans that would love the opportunity to tell a few officials how they really feel, but I'm hoping this is a more tempered approach.

We are the kid brother of the Eastern Conference Canadian teams and we've suffered our initiation for years now. It would be nice if we could gain a little acceptance, and possibly... a level playing field..?