Write, write, write.
In the late stages of what is always the longest month for an NHL fan, those words of wisdom sent my way by Bruce Garrioch more than 15 years ago echo in my hockeyless mind like a skate blade cutting through the ice in an empty rink.
Damn. Hot start.
If the content strategy for August was to wait for Sens news to hit me upside the head, it’s clear that the plan may need some tinkering. And if we’ve learned anything from Eugene Melnyk’s 112-page master plan, it’s that you need to be flexible. And so we write.
At last check, it’s more than 20 degrees outside. According to my calculations, there is nothing even resembling Sens hockey happening for 30 days. That’s right folks- grainy videos of the first players trickling into the SensPlex are still a little less than a month away. Sure, a handful of Sens prospects tore it up at that weird World Junior type thingy that just happened but it’s not quite the same.
The sun is shining and summer is on its last legs. You’d have to be crazy to be thinking about hockey right now. Yet on this random afternoon on the back nine of summer, my mind is drifting to the Ottawa Senators. I can’t be the only one.
To call this summer a roller coaster ride would be an understatement.
After years of being relegated to doormat status, the team we know and love very quickly threw everyone for a loop this off-season. The same Pierre Dorion that had been openly mocked, most often by “Sens fans” by the way, kicked the door down at the NHL Draft.
With one blockbuster trade, Pierre let it be known that he was here to shake things up a little bit. From the full-scale meltdown that accompanied the rumoured Matt Murray trade with the Sabres to the general amazement and prolonged jubilation that followed the Alex DeBrincat heist and the Claude Giroux signing (you heard it here first folks), we’ve been through some dizzying highs over the last couple months.
And by all accounts, there may be at least one more twist and/or turn coming before Training Camp begins in September. Because as we all know and read right here on SensChirp.ca, Adding a Defenceman Remains a Priority. Jakob Chychrun remains a defenceman, he remains available, he remains interested in being an Ottawa Senator and most importantly, he remains extremely local. It’s a dangerous mix and one to keep a close eye on over the next few weeks.
We are so back.
For Sens fans, this is an unfamiliar position and one that will take some getting used to. The past five years conditioned us to expect the worst. Even when there were obvious signs that this team had a real plan in place and that the franchise was turning a corner, some refused to believe it. Sure there’s a light at the end of that tunnel but how do we know it’s not that damn LRT, ready to fly off the tracks at any moment? When disappointment hits you upside the head so many times, you start to expect it.
But this is different. This is our time.
After all the shit this fan base has been through, both real and imagined, and the criticism we’ve endured, both from around the league and around the city, it’s finally our time again.
It’s gonna take the rest of the league awhile to take notice. Because like the fan base here in Ottawa, they expect a certain thing from the Senators. Even as Ottawa made that transition from laughing stock to hard-working young team with a bright future, there was an almost condescending tone that prevailed in the discourse. Golly gee, look how hard those Ottawa Senators try out there.
That changes this year. Not the work ethic part- that shit is engrained at this point. Ultimately it will be what puts them over the top. But when that puck drops in October, this is a team that will that will turn heads with a dazzling collection of offensive talent and command respect on a nightly basis. They will not only compete in hockey games but they’ll win them too. With a startling consistency.
And then in November, you’ll notice that shift in the way the talking heads refer to our Senators. It’s already started actually. Some self-proclaimed experts are already smartly carving out their spots on the bandwagon. Good plan because it’s gonna get crowded in a hurry.
Once the media takes notice, rival fan bases won’t be far behind.
That will naturally take the form of an undeniable jealousy. Again, you could see it playing out this summer. Sure Ottawa acquired a 24-yearold two-time 40-goal scorer for peanuts but they probably won’t be able to sign him because they don’t pay….SENATORS SIGN THOMAS CHABOT, BRADY TKACHUK, JOSH NORRIS TO LONG-TERM DEALS, SENATORS SIGN TOP UFA FORWARD CLAUDE GIROUX….their players. It will be a joy to watch Habs fans struggle through their own rebuild and think, why can’t we just do what the Senators did?! At the same time, we’ll get to watch Leaf fans realize that the objects in the mirror are a lot closer than they appear. By the time they notice, it will be way too late.
It’s going to be a wild ride.
Now that doesn’t mean it’s going to happen right away. It may take some time for the new pieces to get settled in with a new team. At the same time, the team’s core players may need a bit of time to adjust too. Playing to be competitive is one thing. Playing with expectation is a whole different challenge. So it wouldn’t be at all surprising if it took the Senators a bit of time to figure things out. On the other hand…
Look. there have been some low points since that bullshit knucklepuck of a shot fluttered in 1917 days ago. The league hasn’t seen many rebuilds like it actually. Scorched earth is one thing but this teardown cut to the core of this franchise and tested this fan base in ways we never could have imagined. It turned us against the team we love at times and we started to turn on each other. If there weren’t times in the last five years where you worried about the long-term stability of the franchise here in Ottawa, then you just weren’t paying attention.
But that’s all a distant memory now. We’re through it. LeBreton is still a thing, Alfie is a Hall of Famer and the Ottawa Senators will soon be a league powerhouse again. We made it out on the other side. And now, it’s our time.
Oh boy. Now I’ve got myself all riled up and it’s still August apparently. This hype video should help calm me down a bit.
Eeep.
