WRITTEN BY- Kent Tukeli
The Ottawa Senators are pretty ancient when you consider that they played hockey in the same century as the War of 1812. After withdrawing from the NHL in 1934, hockey fans in the Ottawa region had to face the choice of cheering for the Leafs or the Canadiens as a local NHL team. When the Sens returned to the NHL in 1992, the Canadiens lost a lot of fans, as the nation’s capital finally had their own team to cheer, although Ottawa Senators betting lines were awful in the beginning. True Sens fans know all the facts behind the peaks and valley of walking the Sens mile.
#1 Sens Fans Deserve Better Than The Canadian Tire Centre
Born as The Palladium, the arena formerly known as the Corel Centre and ScotiaBank Place, sponsorship of the home of the Ottawa Senators is now firmly under the Canadian Tire control. This doesn’t change this displeasure that fans feel for the Kanata facility. Toronto fans don’t drive to Mississauga to watch the Leafs, and Montreal fans don’t travel to Laval to watch the Canadiens, so who thought it was a good idea for Ottawa to play in Kanata? Considering the sacred faith of hockey in Canada, any NHL team in Ottawa should play in the parliament building, preferably while in session.
#2 The Senators Were A Juggernaut – In The 19th & Early 20th Century
Sure, the Montreal Canadiens and the Toronto Maples Leafs are first and second in terms of Stanley Cup wins, but the Ottawa Senators were considered to be the first dominant team during the early history of competitive hockey. Beginning as the Ottawa Hockey Club before adopting the catchy Senators nickname, the squad earned numerous wins before the professionalization of hockey was conceived. When the NHL officially started to compete in 1917, the Senators were the first NHL dynasty. Tricky Cy Denneny was their leading scorer, known for his slow skating and quick head fakes. They won four Stanley Cups during the 1920s, which would’ve lead to a total of around forty rings if they maintained that pace over the century. The 1921 Stanley Cup finals were particularly posh, with the Senators downing the Vancouver Millionaires. Adjusting for inflation, it’s tough to imagine a modern team calling themselves the Billionaires, unless the expansion Vegas team loses their mind.
#3 Mike Milbury Is The Best General Manager Ever
Observers of the NHL may conclude that Mad Mike Milbury was one of the worst GMs in the history of the league. Ottawa Senators fans know this to be untrue. The 2001 draft day trade that brought Zdeno Chara and Jason Spezza to the Sens directly lead to the creation of a consistent contender during the first decade of the century. Forward Bill Muckalt also joined the team, amassing zero goals and eight assists in 70 games for the Sens. Despite his offensive talent, Yashin had a poisonous attitude against winning when it mattered. His trademark black turtleneck helped keep him warm on the ice, where he exuded a lack of sweat.
#4 The Senators Were Once The Most Hated Team In Canada
All NHL fan bases have a conspiracy theory – usually about how “the (Bett)man” is keeping them down – that the rest of the league dismisses, but is actually true. For the Ottawa Senators, this conspiracy reared its ugly head in the magical year of 2007. Since our country is no longer capable of winning the Stanley Cup, the last remaining Canadian team in the playoffs is often designated as Canada’s team for the rest of the post-season. During Ottawa’s run to the finals, most of the country rooted for the Anaheim Mighty Ducks, showing that the Sens drew the most hate, and the least respect, of any Canadian NHL team.
#5 The Senators “Borrow” Traditions From Other Hockey Clubs
To be fair, it’s kind of difficult to create a cool, unique tradition for your team when your name translates to “member of the Canadian political elite”. Passing bills and spending taxpayer money doesn’t translate well to sports celebration. As a result, quite a few of the Senators traditions over the years have been borrowed, including colour coordination, Song 2, the “Sens Mile”, boomsticks and not winning the Stanley Cup for a long period of time. Until some clever marketer manages to seamlessly combine democracy with cheering for sports teams, perhaps the Senators can look to other sports for inspiration, such as the quadruple horn blast of the Detroit Pistons, or yelling “golazo” until you have trouble breathing.
#6 Losing to Leafs In Four Consecutive Playoff Meets
There was a time during the Senators rebirth when the most exciting player on their squad was Brad Marsh, simply because he was one of the last players to compete in the NHL without a helmet. Those early years, without skill or mirth, were far less painful than the seasons between 1999 and 2004, in which the Senators lost four playoff series to their Ontario rivals. Forever and throughout the history of time, Sens fans know that these years will always represent the most depressing era of Sens hockey. In fact, the last time the Sens lost to the Leafs in the playoffs, the entire league had to shut down for a year. Blaming Patrick Lalime didn’t make it feel any better.
#7 Golden Years: The 2005-2007 Ottawa Senators
It’s not all bad though – after shaking the Toronto curse by avoiding the Leafs in the post-season, the Ottawa Senators became one of the most feared teams in hockey, spanking opponents mercilessly with superb skating, skills and teamwork. This lead to their first Stanley Cup appearance since their reboot. The Senators appeared unstoppable before coming across the bruising Ducks, losing only three games in the process of decimating the eastern conference. In the previous year, the Senators scored 314 goals, a single-season franchise high, while tying franchise marks for points with 113 and wins with 52. Fantasy team owners cowered when their goalies faced the trio of Heatley, Spezza and Alfredsson, who combined to notch more than 100 goals in two straight seasons. Those were the good ol’ days.
#8 If Chara Stayed, The Sens Would Have Won A Ring
Chara giveth and Chara taketh away – this is the law of the long-armed super human some people call “Zdeno”. Chara delivered delight to Sens fans, especially when he ragdolled Bryan “Slappy” McCabe, but his absence during the 2007 Stanley Cup playoffs helped the Ducks railroad and physically intimidate the Sens. Choosing to keep Wade Redden over Zdeno Chara was a gigantic error, especially when you consider the role Chris Pronger played in dismissing the Senators in five games. The Norris and Stanley Cup winning living legend likely would have put the Sens over the top while providing a decade worth of stabilization on the blue line.
#9 Alexandre Daigle Was The Worst Draft Bust In History
One might argue that in terms of numbers, Alexandre Daigle wasn’t the worst first-round bust ever. When you examine the details and timeline after the 1993 NHL draft, it becomes obvious that Daigle was one of the rare busts that spanned decades. To begin, the Senators might have been able to deal the pick for Peter Forsberg, Owen Nolan or other talented Nordiques, taking advantage of the French-Canadian preference for French-speaking stars. Even worse was Daigle’s declaration that nobody remembers the second pick of the draft – a statement of intense irony when you consider that Chris Pronger, slayer of Sens hopes and dreams, was drafted with the very next pick. Instead of hockey, Daigle appeared more interested in an acting career, while ten of the other first-round picks ended up becoming All-Stars, Stanley Cup winners and even Hall-of-Fame inductees.
#10 Daniel Alfredsson Deserved Better… Much Better
Fortunately for the Senators, the 1994 draft was much better because they stole Daniel Alfredsson with the 133rd overall pick. He made an immediate impression on Sens fans, earning 26 goals and 61 points in his first year in Ottawa. Despite his solid, steady play, Alfredsson had to overcome criticism the hard way, proving that, unlike Yashin, Daniel didn’t shrink like plastic wrap under the spotlight. After all was said and done, he earned more than 1,000 points during the regular season and notched 100 points in the playoffs, making him the by far the best and most consistent player and leader that Ottawa ever had. Since it was the style at the time, Ottawa ownership cheaped out on their biggest revenue generator, forcing him to join the Detroit retirement squad after 17 years with the Senators. If there’s one fact that all Ottawa fans can agree upon, it’s that Captain Alfie deserved better.
As the 2016/2017 NHL regular season approaches, Ottawa Senators fans have plenty of reasons to feel optimistic, including greater offensive depth, better health, and another year of Erik Karlsson. Perhaps this young, talented core will etch another notable chapter into the Sens history book, giving Ottawa fans the chance to hurl the same insult that Montreal fans rub into Toronto’s salty wounds: “1967”.
