Senators may pick up Hasek

Although Dom has said repeatedly that he is not done playing, the Wings have said just as many times that if he does play again next year, it will not be with them. Because of this fact, Ted Kulfan of the Detroit News makes some educated speculations in the first section of his NHL Notebook today when he discusses three teams which could possibly pick up the option on Hasek's contract next year. The most likely team, he says, is Ottawa. He supports this with

Ottawa GM John Muckler was in Buffalo during Hasek's glory days with the Sabres. The two have a long, amicable history and that could mean a lot to Hasek when he ultimately decides on a new locale.

That doesn't seem like a very strong reason to me, especially since the Sens already have a good young goalie in Patrick Lalime (regardless of the less-than-stellar season he just had). Another possible team is the New York Rangers (who else?). They don't have a legitimate #1 goalie at the moment and certainly could afford Hasek. The only problem from Dom's end is that they aren't Stanley Cup contenders like the Senators and Wings and because that's his biggest requirement for a team, the Rangers aren't very likely either, in my opinion. The Canucks are the third team Kulfan mentions, mainly because he believes new Vancouver GM Dave Nonis will want to make a "splash." He points out that Hasek won't be in a very good bargaining position and would have to take a smaller contract with a lot of incentives, especially if he wanted to play for the 'Nucks. They are no further than a good goalie away from being a solid Cup contender and I think they'd be Dom's best option. I personally think Dom should just hang 'em up again, though, and not make himself look any worse by wasting another season on injuries. He went out on top in 2002 and if he really wanted to play, he should have continued then.