The Ottawa Senators have plenty of players they would like to move.

Mike Fisher wasn’t necessarily one of them.

The team would like to part ways with guys like Filip Kuba, Sergei Gonchar, and Alexei Kovalev. This appears to be much easier said then done as there apparently is little to no market for any of these guys.

 At least not yet anyway.

Fisher was the player NHL clubs wanted off the Ottawa roster.

Sources confirm Ottawa Owner Eugene Melnyk recently instructed GM Bryan Murray to dump as much salary as possible and bring back all the available options. This is a pretty clear sign the Senators are prepared to hit the reset button and start over.

Even though Fisher has two years remaining on a five year extension, there was a generous market for the forward who will have no problem fitting in with the Nashville Predators. He plays with jam and his game is perfectly suited for the in your face style Nashville brings to the ice. Fisher could use a bolt of energy as he hasn’t played close to the level we’ve seen from him in recent years.    

One thing people should keep in mind is that Fisher did not want out of Ottawa. He very much liked it there and recently moved into a beautiful new house in November. He had a no-trade clause that expired at the end of last season and obviously had no control.

A source close to Fisher tells me his number one trade preference was to land in Nashville where his Country superstar wife Carrie Underwood does a lot of her work. Fisher will be front and center with the Predators and you can be sure the organization will market the hell out of him and his celebrity wife.

His second option was Los Angeles who I’m told actually put a better package on the table. Word is the Kings along with the Carolina Hurricanes had acceptable offers on the table for Fisher.

Ottawa showed a whole lot of class in working out a trade with Nashville knowing that’s where Fisher wanted to go if a trade was made.

Is Chris Phillips next? I’m still hearing Ottawa and Phillips would be open to re-signing with the Sens on July first.

More to come,
Andy Strickland
strickland.andy@gmail.com