Tomorrow, the National Hockey League will make its long-awaited Return to Play.
While there were times along the way where it looked like they were attempting the impossible, the league deserves some credit. Other sports have been a tad reckless and in some cases, rushed their plans a little bit (see: MLB) but so far anyway, the NHL has gone about it the right way.
A bubble city in a relatively safe location.
And even though there may still be some challenges to come, hockey has at least given itself a fighting chance. The idea of a Stanley Cup being presented sometime this Fall no longer seems impossible.
The action gets started in a big way tomorrow with five, count ’em, five playoff hockey games in a single day. It’s the best part of what may be one of the greatest, or at least busiest, sports weekends of all time.
Just look at it.
And even though I am quite excited to socially distance myself from my responsibilities for the weekend and enter my own sports bubble, I am feeling a bit jealous.
The Ottawa Senators should be there. Okay maybe not but did the league even look at it?
I was so wrapped up in the lottery format that I really didn’t think much about how unfair (that’s not the right word but we’ll go with it) it is that some non-playoff teams got shoe-horned into the Return to Play but not others. Seems like they could have organized a play-in to the play-in somehow and allowed the unfortunate seven an opportunity to earn a spot. This possibility looks even better now that one of the play-in losers is walking away with a first overall pick.
But I digress. Again.
This weekend is going to be great.
But I do miss the Ottawa Senators and I think some of you probably do too. With that in mind, for no particular reason at all, here is my ranking of the best teams in Sens history.
Honourable Mention- 2012/2013 Ottawa Senators
25-17-6 (56 pts)- Lost in Round 2 vs. Penguins
The original Pesky Sens. This is a group that really wasn’t much to look at on paper but that always seemed to find a way to hang around in games they had no business being in. Pesky may not be sustainable in the long run but it sure is fun to watch. The Sens snuck into the playoffs that year as the number seven seed and that earned them a first round match-up with the Montreal Canadiens. What was awesome about that first round beat-down of one of our biggest rivals is it was never really in doubt. Just domination from start to finish. The hit on Lars Eller, the Pageau Hat Trick, the time out by the bug-eyed walrus…it was just all so perfect. Do I want to talk about what happened in Round 2? Probably not.
5. 2014-2015 Ottawa Senators
43-26-13 (99 pts)- Lost in Round 1 vs. Canadiens
It seems strange to include a team that didn’t even win a round in the post-season but this was a strange team. And looking back, there really was no team like it. One word- “Hamburglar”- will send any Sens fan on a wild and wonderful walk down memory lane. I often find myself googling moments from this particular season just to confirm that the whole thing wasn’t a weird dream. Fourteen points out of a playoff spot in early-February and with a random but soon to be legend in net, the Ottawa Senators went on a once-in-a-lifetime run that to this day, stands out as one of the best times in franchise history. Hammond’s numbers from that run- 20-1-2 with a .942 sv% and a 1.79 GAA. Ya know what? Maybe it was a dream.
4. 2016/2017 Ottawa Senators
44-28-10 (98 pts)- Lost in Round 3 vs. Penguins
Speaking of those times where the whole thing felt like a dream, that’s probably a pretty good way to describe the 2016/2017 team too. To this day, there are few Sens-related things that bug me more than when a Sens fan calls the 2016/2017 run…lucky. It’s a word that gets thrown around a lot in pro sports and in my opinion, over-simplifies some of the things that make sports great. That team was magic. That team had a soul. I said it shortly after my heart was ripped out of my chest in Game 7 but that team brought out the young Sens fan in me again. I had sort of thought that maybe I was growing out of my “die hard” stage of Sens fandom but that playoff run reminded me why I love the Ottawa Senators. And if it were possible, with the help of time machines and what not, I think this team gives the next three teams a run for their money in a seven-game series. One goal away.
3. 2005/2006- Ottawa Senators
52-21-9 (113 pts)- Lost in Round 2 vs. Sabres
Probably the most controversial inclusion on this list and it’s where the definition of “best” becomes pretty important. Because this 2005/2006 version of the Ottawa Senators is mostly remembered as a disappointment. They dominated…errr they uhh controlled the regular season and were without a doubt one of the dominant…damn it…excellent teams in Sens history. 314 goals scored, two 100-point scorers in Dany Heatley and Daniel Alfredsson (Spezza had 90) and 52 regular season wins. Yet all anyone remembers about this particular season is a torn adductor, “maybe Friday” and the eerie silence in the building following Jason Pominville’s overtime winner. It ended poorly but this is probably the most talented team the Senators have ever iced.
2. 2006/2007 Ottawa Senators
48-25-9 (105 pts)- Lost in Round 4 vs. Ducks
In terms of results though, nobody can really hold a candle to the 2006/2007 team. Three wins away. Not only did they have a great regular season but they made the first three rounds of the playoffs look absurdly easy. And perhaps it was that, combined with a lengthy break before the Finals, that ended up as their undoing. As entertaining as those first three rounds were, I’ll never forget the frustration of watching Ottawa play Anaheim in the Finals and just knowing that they weren’t quite good enough. Funny story, a friend of mine got me into a Stanley Cup party of one of the Anaheim Ducks and if not for a quick-thinking bouncer, I may have made off with the Cup that night. It was mine, damn it.
1. 2002/2003 Ottawa Senators
52-21-8-1 (113 pts)- Lost in Round 3 vs. Devils
In 2007, they got as close as they ever have. In 2006, they probably had their best chance on paper. In 2017, they almost stole one. But the 2002/2003 Ottawa Senators should have won the Stanley Cup. Plain and simple. On paper, they were as skilled as any team in franchise history and really, just about everyone agrees, they fell one goal short. The original “one goal away”. The difference between this team and the 2017 run is that nobody called this one smoke and mirrors or pointed to a fortunate post-season path. The Senators were one of the top teams in the league all year, they had home ice advantage in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals and they would have been a clear favourite in the Stanley Cup Final against the Ducks. I can’t quite remember how it ended because I’ve had that particular memory permanently wiped from my mind but I know everything up until May 23, 2003 at about 10:00 PM was great.
Loading …Here’s hoping we get to add a couple teams to this list in the years to come.
Disagree? Who cares. Don’t like this topic? Too bad. Think you could do better? You’re probably right but what the hell are you waiting for?!
If anybody needs me, I’ll be in my weekend sports bubble.
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-Some Sens news making the rounds earlier today on Twitter as according to Graeme Nichols, the Ottawa Senators have filled a couple vacancies in their Front Office. Tom Hoof is in as the new VP of Marketing and Jeff Morander has been hired as the Executive VP of Ticketing Sales and Service. Both guys know Anthony LeBlanc well from his time in Arizona.
