Melnyk steps up and Murray's not done

All aboard the bandwagon! I'm sure it's overflowing with Sens fans after the events of the last 15 hours or so. Let's review:

-Last night the club survives a good old fashioned shootout to defeat the league's top team 6-5, where Jason Spezza continued his torrid pace since suffering a knee injury with a 3 point night. The win coupled with a Buffalo loss has the Sens atop the Northeast division.

-This morning we are summoned to SBP for a 9:45 newser where it is announced that Bryan Murray has agreed to a 1 year extension to stay on as GM

-Shortly after that we are told not to leave as Murray will be back at 11:05 to make another announcement, where he tells the gathered media that the club has aquired veteran forward Matt Cullen from Carolina for D-Man Alex Picard and a 2nd round pick this summer(Ottawa still has San Jose's 2nd rounder from the Heatley trade).
-It is also revealed that Chris Campoli was injured last night, so Brian Lee and Derek Smith have been recalled from the AHL. Both will play tomorrow night in Detroit with the latter making his NHL debut. Murray says he is actively looking to shore up the blueline.

-Right after this wraps up, Cory Clouston comes in and reveals that Chris Campoli's injury will keep him out for at least the next month

-Lastly(for now), word comes out that Jonathon Cheechoo(and his 3 million dollar cap hit) has been waived. Proving even a blind squirrel gets the odd nut, see my post from January 27th.

With all due respect to Matt Cullen, who is a nice addition, it's the Cheechoo move that sends the bigger message. Eugene Melnyk is serious about trying to win right now. According to CapGeek.com, Melnyk is eating $917,098 for the rest of this season to get Cheechoo's cap hit off the NHL books. Not to mention a probable buyout for the final year of his contract this summer which will cost another 2 million dollars. Melnyk has always said he'd do whatever it takes to bring a championship to the nation's capital. By allowing Murray to waive Cheechoo, the owner is putting his money where his mouth is. Murray said he is actively looking to address the blueline through trade. Freeing up this cap space just made that a lot easier. Stay tuned.