Sennies: Hartsburg's gone, but Murray leaves heartburn

Like everyone and their cat said, it's not for nothing the Senators tied the can to coach Craig Hartsburg on Groundhog Day

That seems to be a general consensus after today's news. The Eunibomber might have to consider that perhaps Bryan Murray is no longer such a mastermind. The paper bag champions are done, have been for some time now, but the beauty of the NHL is you can be rebuild and restructure very quickly.

Honestly, a couple of Washington Capitals goals on Sunday were scored so easily that it was unintentionally hilarious. The Sens will rise again, though.

Michael Farber, SI.com: "Maybe (owner Eugene) Melnyk should have just told the assembled media to go retrench itself, because even if he refuses to accept it, the window of opportunity for Cups in the near future closed last year.

"Murray, among our favorite men in the game, built Anaheim's 2003 Cup finalist, but his touch has gone ice cold in Canada's capital. He's made bad bets on personnel, signing centre Jason Spezza and winger Dany Heatley -- superb talents at best but coach killers at worst -- to long-term deals."

Amrit Ahluwalia: "Shame, shame, shame."

From The Rink: "Scapegoating is a good description of what's gone on, and it's something that's plagued both the coaches and goalies in the organization. Ray Emery and John Paddock were run out of town last season only to watch this current group of underachievers (including the GM) continue to underachieve to an even greater extent."

The Universal Cynic: "What does an eighth-place finish in the East get you this year? Your precious two-game homestand gate receipts? Repeated nostalgia from all those post-season sweeps of yore? Way to pump up the masses, Mr. Eugene. Enjoy your season ticket base of 8,000 people next season, and by the way -- pass the C-4. Some of us are smart enough to realize that not everything can be fixed with bandaids, rotating personnel and kids from Colgate University."

Puck Daddy: "If (Hartsburg's) job was to light a fire under every player not named Dany Heatley, Daniel Alfredsson or Jason Spezza, he failed; hell, according to one Columbus Blue Jackets player, Spezza basically quit, too. The team was an unmitigated disaster, and when Hartsburg wasn't exacerbating its problems he was also helpless to fix them.

Eric Duhatschek, globesports.com: "... one could legitimately examine the Senators' line-up and ask how good are they really? The goaltending has been unsettled, virtually forever. The defence gets thinner, year after year – first Zdeno Chara goes, then a fading Wade Redden, then a youngish Andrej Meszaros. Spezza and Dany Heatley both have the capacity to put up big numbers, but no one is going to confuse their all-around games – or commitment – to the way, say, Henrik Zetterberg or Pavel Datsyuk play for the Detroit Red Wings. Or Jarome Iginla for the Calgary Flames."