CASH line, pizza line, whatever you want to call it, the time has come already to put the trio of Spezza, Heatley and Alfredsson back together for good.

Look at the facts:

1. Last season, with the trio intact for most of the year, the Senators led the league with 314 goals scored, one of only 2 teams (Detroit being the other), to surpass the 300 goal mark. Alfredsson and Heatly both topped 100 points, with Heatley scoring 50 goals. Spezza would have been over 100 points and might have topped the league in assists had he not missed 14 games with injury.

2. Mike Fisher, while being an incredible grit player whose work ethic can never be questioned, is not a player who can be considered a finesse set-up man, which is what he is trying to do as Alfredsson's centre. It is changing his game, and not for the better.

3. Patrick Eaves, Antoine Vermette, Mike Fisher, amd Peter Schaeffer were all 20+ goal scorers last year, playing with thier previous line-mates. Neil's 15 was also a career high, so secondary scoring was not a problem.

Now look at the reasons for moving Alfredsson away from Spezza and Heatley:

A) to spread the scoring around and to provide secondary scoring for the team. If there is no primary scoring, what does that do to secondary scoring? Places more pressure on them to score goals.

B) To provide a defensive presence and grit to complement Spezza and Heatley. Last time I checked, Heatley was plus 29, (as was Alfredsson) and Spezza was plus 23. You don't need a defensive presence when you have the puck all the time, and are facing the other team's shutdown line, which is usually not the most offensively gifted.

Now my reasons for putting Alfresson back with Spezza and Heatley:

i) When Spezza has the puck, and he has Heatley and Eaves on his wings, teams can focus on Heatley and shut him down, and not have such a focus on the slightly less talented Eaves. Putting Alfredsson back there increses Spezza's options when he looks to distribute the puck and he has a player on either side who is more than capable of finishing off a play. Teams can't focus on either one, which increases the ability for both to get open and recieve a pass.

ii) Putting Fisher with like-minded players like Schaeffer and either Neil or Eaves, alows the trio to do what they do best also, which is dump it in, and get on the forecheck and punish oposing defensemen, start the cycle and wear down the other team.

iii) During the most recent playoff failure, you have to remember that they were split up just prior to the playoffs as well, and if they would have been left together, rather than putting them together for the last 10 minutes of a game needing a goal, perhaps the outcome would have been different.

iv) Creative players should play with other creative players, and not have to change the the way they play to suit who they are playing with. Fisher can't be Spezza or Thornton, and trying to make him be is a mistake. He has spent the first three games of the season looking of r Alfredsson every time he touched the puck, instead of doing what he does best, which is gain the zone, lower his shoulder and grind it out.

So in closing, there is no real reason not to re-unite the big three for a long period of tiem, and I am convinced that it would be much better for the club in the long run.

So tell me why I am wrong....