Misfiring Murray gets yet another chance to fix Senators

When Bryan Murray admitted the business he runs is a mess, he got a bonus.

And you thought that only happens on Wall Street.

Silly user.

Thing is, Murray's reward didn't come in the form of a fat paycheck. But he did get to keep his gig as general manager of the Ottawa Senators, which is even better for someone who has turned a Stanley Cup finalist into a lottery pick contender in less than two years. All he had to do was convince his boss that the coach was the real problem and fire him.

Cory Clouston gets a chance but Bryan Murray (background) must fix a broken team. (AP)

Hey, good jobs are hard to come in this economy, and you can't blame someone for saving their own skin. And that's what a GM is supposed to do anyway.

Besides, it was really easy this time since Craig Hartsburg didn't work any miracles in 48 games with the lineup he was given. Then again neither did his predecessor, the general manager, when he took over last year at midseason. Nor did John Paddock, hired by Murray and fired by him last February. But the rule is you always blame the coach. Even if he not necessarily the problem.

Murray has been a hockey suit for nearly 30 years and coached the Senators to the Stanley Cup Finals in 2007 before winning a power struggle with John Muckler and moving upstairs, so he should know. Probably does, too, considering he admitted last year that the Senators were "outcompeted" by the Ducks in the championship series. That's the team Murray saw up close, the one he gave Paddock, the one that has come apart at the seams in the past 12 months.

Murray and, more important, enthusiastic team owner Eugene Melnyk might have let themselves be deluded by the fleeting success of 2007, especially after the 15-2 start last season. But those Senators and this season's version have changed their look and feel a lot since the Finals because of Murray's salary cap management. Since the wheels came off last February, the reality is that Ottawa has been one of the worst teams in the NHL.

The Senators were lucky to have that early cushion last season and used it sneak into the playoffs before getting swept easily in the first round. Now they are 28th in the overall standings and have gone from first to near worst in scoring.

Meanwhile the general manager has gotten away with making the last two coaches he hired the scapegoats. But Murray's fingerprints are all over this. His payroll management has downgraded the blue line significantly, lost scoring depth up front and failed to improve the goaltending. Ottawa is actually now paying two goalies (and two coaches) not to work, but the bigger issue has been the key players who haven't lived up to expectations on the ice or in leadership roles.

Right now the Senators are built around their top line of elite offensive players Dany Heatley, Jason Spezza and Daniel Alfredsson, all recently locked up with long-term contracts. But none is among the top 30 scorers, and Spezza in particular has been singled out around the league for his uninspired play.

"They're a one-line team and we felt if we could stop that one line, we could stop the whole team," Blue Jackets defenseman Jan Hejda told the Columbus Dispatch last week after shutting out Ottawa. "Especially (Spezza). He dumped the puck in three or four times. He seemed like he didn't really want to play, like their season was maybe done."

Actually it is. Ottawa hasn't been mathematically eliminated from the playoffs, but that's only a formality. The Senators are going to miss the playoffs for the first time in 11 seasons. They know it, and the increasing number of empty seats at the Scotiabank Center shows the fans do too.

Still, Murray gets another shot at fixing things.

But it won't be easy. Last season Ottawa found it convenient to blame Ray Emery for being the distraction that brought down Paddock and led to the Senators' collapse. Now Emery is long gone -- and still being paid -- yet the character and leadership void in the dressing room remains. That has always been the rap against the Senators, and something Murray hasn't managed to overcome either as the coach or GM.

The GM has now bought himself a little more time to do it, and even lowered expectations because of the coaching change. Murray might even hit the jackpot with Cory Clouston if the rookie coach follows the success other recent AHL grads like Bruce Boudreau and John Stevens had after they were promoted by their organizations.

A more modest goal would be for Clouston, who had a successful coaching career at the junior level, to get some of the players out of their lethargy and make them more valuable as trade assets than they are -- something Murray could use to reshape things.

That would be a bonus, too.