It has come to my attention that the Ottawa Senators, a once proud National Hockey League franchise, have ceased operations.
Now this is based only on a quick review of the schedule, which features no Sens hockey on Wednesday, Thursday or Friday. The only logical conclusion for such a prolonged stretch without a game this early in the season is the team as we know it, no longer exists.
Good bye, Ottawa Senators and best of luck in your future endeavors.
To help fill the void, a new SensChirp feature I’ve been working on (frantically cobbled together this morning) called “You Can’t Handle the Truth”.
Apologies to anyone that had their volume up as high as I did while viewing that video.
The idea is pretty simple. It’s a once a month venting of sorts, where I serve up a collection of scorching hot takes (mostly forced) that you, the reader, are going to hate. Fun right?!
Ready? No. You’re not. That’s the point.
The Senators Dodged a Bullet with Erik Karlsson
Swinging for the fences on the first pitch. Erik Karlsson is one of the best players in franchise history. Not the best obviously (that title belongs to Daniel Alfredsson) but he’s right up there. But watching the way he’s played in San Jose this year (and most of last year actually) it’s becoming quickly apparent that the eight year contract he signed this summer has the potential to be an unmitigated disaster for the San Jose Sharks. Ottawa’s financial limitations have held them back in a number of ways over the last few years but this is one of the instances where having limited financial resources may ultimately work out in Ottawa’s favour.
Nick Paul’s success is because he finally decided to put in the effort
It’s sort of amazing how much of Nick Paul’s recent success is being attributed to a “real opportunity”. His under-lying numbers have always been there and it was Coaches that were holding him back. Rubbish. Hogwash. Bologna. Nick Paul’s very recent and still very limited success is because Nick Paul himself finally decided to take his hockey career seriously and seize the opportunity that is before him here in Ottawa. It started last year in the American Hockey League and even though it’s only been a few games, the results are finally starting to show at the NHL level. He’s moving his feet. He’s holding on to the puck. He’s looking to make plays. What’s most encouraging about the recent run is Nick Paul himself seems to recognize why things are different this time around. At 24 years of age, Nick Paul is finally realizing what it takes to be an everyday NHL hockey player.
It’s not all Eugene Melnyk’s fault
Okay, it’s mostly his fault. Assuming that it is considered a fault to not have lots and lots of money. As easy, and as therapeutic, as it has been to blame one guy for all our woes, the reality is the unraveling of the franchise in the last couple of years can be attributed to a perfect storm of shit, a lot of which is beyond the Owner’s area of influence. Poorly timed trades, questionable player evaluation, an absence of leadership at all levels (on the hockey and business side of things), the cyclical nature of pro sports and just some plain ol’ bad luck. It’s easy to blame one guy (it starts at the top and all that) but there have been a combination of factors that have led to the recent struggles of the Ottawa Senators. And a new Owner wouldn’t automatically address all those issues. At the same time, should a new Owner come in and save the day, there is going to be a moment where Sens fans will have to take a long look in the mirror about what kind of fan base we want to be.
Local buyers are not lining up to buy the Ottawa Senators
With each passing day, it should be increasingly clear that there just isn’t a long line of suitors interested in operating an NHL hockey team in Ottawa. Not at the price the NHL thinks a franchise is worth, anyway. Eugene Melnyk has been actively looking for someone to take the team off his hands now for the better part of a year and yet to this point, nobody has stepped up. It doesn’t mean that there aren’t people that are interested, especially if LeBreton is back on the table, but it’s certainly not a slam dunk. Meanwhile, it’s safe to assume that other markets see the current look of the franchise (deep prospect pool, tons of draft picks, tons of contract flexibility) and see a pretty tempting situation. This is no longer about Melnyk’s willingness to sell but rather about someone local stepping up. Relocation is always a last resort for the NHL and it really shouldn’t be a current concern for fans in Ottawa but to avoid that frightening possibility, we need someone like 2003 Eugene Melnyk to show up. And soon.
It was time to rebuild
The last couple years have been hard for Sens fans. Some big name players have walked out the door and at times, it feels like the team has been collapsing before our eyes. And then at the same time, we’ve had to watch some of those former players excel in their new home. But the reality, it was time to blow this thing up. They came damn close in 2017 but the next season made it abundantly clear that this current group just wasn’t going to get over the hump. Maybe they could have tried a reset around those star players that were up for contract but would they have been able to still build a competitive team under the cap? Was there enough coming down the pipeline in terms of prospect depth to compliment a core of Karlsson, Stone and Duchene, for example. Probably not. Fans are right to question the motivations behind the rebuild but from team building perspective, the justification was sound. Stocking up on draft picks and bottoming out during one the deepest drafts of all-time seems like pretty ideal timing too.
Bobby Ryan is not Ottawa’s worst forward
There has been a lot of criticism directed towards Bobby Ryan over the last few days. DJ Smith, eager to send a message to his new team, benched Bobby Ryan on Sunday night saying that he was going with the 20 hardest working guys. It’s a pretty clear shot across the bow not just at Bobby Ryan but at the entire team. If a high-paid veteran can sit, well then anyone can. Bobby Ryan certainly hasn’t been Ottawa’s worst forward to this point but because of his contract, he becomes an easy target of sorts. How DJ Smith handles this situation over the next couple weeks will be important. The message he’s sending to Ryan has to apply to the whole group. If he sees the work ethic (or whatever the issue with Ryan was) drop in another player, the same approach should be taken. Consistency is the key.
The Ottawa Senators are not going to finish in last place
Like the rest of you, I too have found myself lost in YouTube highlight reels of both Alexis Lafreniere and Quinton Byfield. The idea of adding one of those players to an already impressive prospect pool is basically all I can think about actually. But watching the Senators through the first 11 games of the season, I just don’t think this is a last place team. Partly because there are some other truly awful teams around them (Detroit and New Jersey come to mind) and partly because early in this season, DJ Smith seems to have this roster buying in and at least on some nights, believing they can play with anyone. They almost beat the defending Champs, they beat the President’s Trophy winners, they pushed one of the top teams in the West to the limit in Vegas and they dominated in their last two wins over Detroit and San Jose. The good news is, the San Jose Sharks are far more terrible than any of us could have dreamed.
That wasn’t so bad, was it? Disagree? Let me know. Got a Sens Truth of your own? Leave it in the comment section below.
Eeep.
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Here’s how the Senators lined up at practice yesterday.
