here we go again

Yashin, Heatley, Nikulin…Zubov?

You could almost see the collective roll of the eyes across the city.

Prospect Ilya Zubov is the most recent Senator to become part of the storied club tradition of requesting a trade away from Ottawa. Well, sort of, in his case.

Zubov never really fit in here in Ottawa and was just this week demoted to Binghamton. He was supposed to make a push for the team’s opening day roster, but again failed to impress the Senators brass.

A prospect requesting a trade away from his club because his on-ice performance doesn’t match his ego is nothing new. Just ask Alexander Nikulin.

But still, this is part of a worrying trend. Ottawa has seen everyone from lowly prospects to high-profile stars request trades in the past, and the problem is no doubt familiar to the NHL’s other 30 teams. This seems to happen with frightening regularity here` though.

Now don’t get me wrong: I’m all for supporting management’s attempts to keep the team together vis-à-vis ridiculous requests from millionaire hockey players. I’m just saying that at some point someone is going to have to start asking why this team can’t seem to hold onto its players.

Is it the constant scrutiny of the media? Is it the fact that the city is packed to the hilt with bureaucrats? Or is there something that the GM’s office is or isn’t doing to make players want to play here?