Lost in the hype around yesterday’s announcement surrounding the new Canadian Tire Centre, or The Wheel House as Sens fans have dubbed it, was an interesting interview with Sens GM Bryan Murray.

In the article posted on the Senators website,  Murray discussed a variety of topics including the future of Daniel Alfredsson, plans for draft day, Paul MacLean’s future and how the new agreement with Canadian Tire may impact the team’s salary structure for next season. 

The Ottawa Senators have called a press conference for 10:00 AM this morning where it is expected they’ll announce a new partner and a name for the building once known as Scotiabank Place.

And while the reports have yet to be “confirmed”, some good detective work by a couple SensChirp readers leads us to believe the new sponsor is Canadian Tire and the building will be renamed The Canadian Tire Centre.  Plenty of reaction to the new name around these parts yesterday but the reality is it’s a good Canadian company now associated with the Ottawa Senators brand.

(UPDATE 5:11 PM)- Thanks to some great work by a couple SensChirp readers it looks we may have our answer on the new name of the rink the Ottawa Senators call home.  Seems like the name will changed to The Canadian Tire Centre.  Have a look at the comment section below to see what led folks to that conclusion.  Official announcement coming tomorrow morning.

WRITTEN BY SENSCHIRP READER- Alex C

As the excitement of the buyout and free agency period continues to build, I’ve been thinking a lot about players that may soon become available. I’ve listed the players I think are on Ottawa’s radar. 

I’ve tried to keep this as realistic as possible… however fact can certainly be stranger than fiction (see Roman Josi’s 7 year, $28M deal with Nashville). I don’t see Ottawa making too many moves this summer, and like everyone else, I hope management can find a scoring winger and a Top-4 defenseman to add to the mix.

As expected, the Ottawa Senators have earned some hardware in the first half of the NHL's yearly awards.

Paul MacLean took home the Jack Adams Award for best coach and the team's captain, Daniel Alfredsson was recognized with the Messier Leadership Award. Fantastic recognition for the Sens after a special season in the Nation's Capital.

It feels like just yesterday Jacques Martin inserted a young, untested rookie into his line up for a must win game in the Eastern Conference Finals against the New Jersey Devils.

That rookie would score a goal and an assist on that night ten years ago, leading the Ottawa Senators to a memorable win in a series they would go on to lose in a heartbreaking Game 7.  Of course that “untested rookie” was Jason Spezza and today he turns 30 years old.

On Monday, I indicated that Philadelphia Flyers forward and Gatineau native Daniel Briere could be an option for the Senators. 

And while I really believe the Sens will keep a close eye on that situation in Philadelphia, Briere is obviously not the only player the organization will take a look at this off season.  Whether it be by trade or through free agency, Sens GM Bryan Murray will be looking to add a piece over the next month or so.

With Sergei Gonchar’s $5 million a season off the books, the Ottawa Senators suddenly have a little bit of money to play with under the team’s internal budget.

One name that has come up a few times the past year and a half and could be a target again is Philadelphia Flyer forward Daniel Briere.  Briere has two years left with a cap hit of $6,500,000 a season and is an obvious trade or buyout candidate this off season for a Flyers team that will be desperate to get under the league’s salary cap.

(UPDATE 10:38 AM)- Darren Dreger from TSN is reporting that the Dallas Stars are close to signing Sergei Gonchar to a two year deal worth $5 million a season.  Once that signing become official, the Sens receive the conditional 2013 6th round pick from the Stars.

Some interesting free agent news to pass along this afternoon as it looks like veteran defenceman Sergei Gonchar may have played his last game as an Ottawa Senator.

Twitter reports suggest that Gonchar has a substantial offer on the table from a team in the KHL and is seriously considering a return home to wrap up his career.  The offer is rumoured to be for $7 million a season and is from Metallurg Magnitogorsk, a team coached by former NHL coach Mike Keenan.