SENS TRADE HAVLAT: IS THIS THE BEGINNING OF THE END FOR THE DYNASTY THAT NEVER WAS?

Suggested World Cup headline: "French hold their noses high in defeat." Just sayin', that's all.

Here's a vision of the Ottawa Senators' future. Five, six years from now, there will be in-depth reports in both Ottawa dailies on the team's long fall from the NHL elite, complete with a timeline:

July 9, 2006 -- In a three-team deal, star forward Martin Havlat is traded to the Chicago Blackhawks along with Bryan Smolinski for three players and a draft pick.

The walk-alike, talk-alike reactionary Senators fans will probably love this deal since it rids Ottawa of another Euro-player, but from here, it looks like the break-up of The Dynasty That Never Was, the team that at the outset of this decade, Sens fans had put down for three or four Stanley Cups by 2006. Nice try. How about getting to the final first?

Those among us who have the perspective that comes with cheering for a real team -- i.e., one that has been around for more than 30 minutes -- know better. If dealing Havlat is not the foreshadowing of Ottawa's impending doom, then one immediate suspicion is that yesterday's Ottawa-Chicago-San Jose deal is a precursor to some larger move by Sens GM John Muckler to bring in another high-end forward.

What else could it be? The only plausible spin is that Ottawa is clearing cap space for a big signing -- Mike Peca, perhaps? The Sens were likely due to pay Havlat and Smolinski some $6 million for '06-07, and Havlat didn't want to sign a long-term deal, pushing instead to sign for one year so he could be an restricted free agent next summer. Ottawa's hand was forced.

One of the commenters at James Mirtle's blog offers this take: "In a nutshell, Ottawa traded a world-class talent for a single roster player, (Preissing), who has 2 years of NHL experience and who logged 27 hits last year. That, and a handful of 2nd-tier prospects. I'm pissed if I'm an Ottawa fan."

Most Ottawa fans won't be pissed about losing Havlat, since they tend to remind one of a great Simpsons line from Principal Seymour Skinner: "That's what I love about elementary school, Edna. The children will believe whatever you tell them."

Collectively, Sens fans usually swallow management's line of reasoning, at least until the inevitable craptacular playoff flameout reminds them of what the rest of us figured out much earlier in life: gee, maybe the people in charge don't have all the answers.

So over the next couple days it will be about how the Sens divested themselves of another greedy me-first Euro-player who can usually be described by a euphemism for female genitalia, and how the Sens have improved through addition by subtraction, ad nauseam. Well...

Suggested joke: What's big, soft and white? Answer: The newest Sens defenceman. As noted above, Tom Preissing, who had 43 points last season with San Jose, isn't exactly going to deliver any tooth-loosening bodychecks; he was last seen playing for a Sharks team that got shoved around in its own end while blowing a 2-0 second-round lead against Edmonton.

So if you're a Leafs fan, it's great: Ottawa adds another soft player, and sheds offensive talent. What's the downside again? Oh right, the Senators might have the money to sign Peca or someone else who can really help, while the Leafs don't, what with having to count the money they're paying Ed Belfour and Tie Domi not to play for them against the salary cap.

Smooth move there. Oh, and Domi could potentially take a nominal salary to play on the fourth line for Ottawa or the Montreal Canadiens next year. Great.

As for the prospects the Sens added, neither defenceman Michal Barinka or centre Josh Hennessy has "can't-miss" written all over him, but might be a little more than second-tier, even if they will probably both need more time in the minors before being ready for the NHL.

Barinka, who's 6-foot-3, 217 lbs., is considered the eighth-best prospect in the Chicago organization by Hockey's Future, and is seen as being a top-four defenceman who will do the dirty work in front of his own net and his own zone.

Hennessy's projected as a No. 2 centre and was expected to push for a roster spot in San Jose. He has been a productive scorer in junior and the AHL and has the type of speed that will give defenders headaches. The rap on him is that he hasn't always been the best defensive player and has what hockey people call a "tendency to glide," which is code for saying, "He likes to skate circles in the middle of the ice while his wingers get the puck, and usually scurries the other way rather than have to carry it through traffic."

Of course, most of these projections are inherently dodgy, since it's based on what players do between the age of 16 and 21. For about 95% of players, you really don't know how they will turn out. Who knows what Ottawa really got?

That's why there's the a sinking suspicion that the Havlat deal foreshadows the beginning of the end for The Dynasty That Never Was. There's a little angst for Leafs, Sabres, Canadiens and any remaining Bruins fans, too, since if Ottawa's getting rid of players such as Havlat and Zdeno Chara, then they risk losing their distinctive personality as a team that can always be counted on for a highly watchable spring revue of The Dying Swan on Skates.

Incidentally, what's the deal with Muckler and Chicago? First he takes that whiny suck Tyler Arnason off their hands at the trade deadline, now he sends two capable forwards to the 'Hawks, representing about a 100% increase over how many Chicago had before yesterday.

Previously:

• Roli vs. Ray Redux (May 16)
• Oh, It Be So: The Sens Are Done Tonight And The Mayor's None Too Bright (May 13)
• The Ottawa Senators and Homer Simpson (May 9)

That's all for now. Send your thoughts to neatesager@yahoo.ca.