The calendar has informed me that today is Friday. Mid-April, apparently.
In an alternate reality, the first round of the NHL playoffs is well underway.
The Toronto Maple Leafs are on the verge of being swept by the Tampa Bay Lightning. The Flyers and Penguins are locked in a series for the ages. And Pageau’s Islanders are giving the Washington Capitals fits.
Meanwhile in the Western Conference, the Battle of Alberta is alive and well. Mark Stone and Matt Duchene are going head to head in a surprisingly even series and the St. Louis Blues are having their way with the Winnipeg Jets, which is strange because they have Dylan DeMelo.
Under normal circumstances, these are some of the best days of the year for a sports fan. Early MLB games collide with NHL and NBA playoffs and it usually means big games on every night of the week.
Instead, our society is fighting far more important battles and sports, the thing we sort of take for granted, has rightly been placed on the back-burner.
But the trickle down effect of this prolonged stoppage is going to hit every pro sports organization and the Ottawa Senators are no exception.
Not only is it likely to have a huge impact off the ice, in terms of the business side of the operation (which was already operating on razor-thin margins, by the way) but it’s also going to impact the on-ice rebuild.
Pierre Dorion hinted at it during his conference call the other day but the experience lost, especially in the form of a lengthy Calder Cup run in Belleville, is going to hurt this team down the road. For so many of the organization’s top prospects, a playoff run in the American Hockey League could have been a key step in their development.
We’re also seeing recently that it may be impacting the decisions of players close to making the jump to professional hockey. In the last week, both Jacob Bernard-Docker and Shane Pinto have decided to return to University of North Dakota.
Obviously there is a lot that goes into those decisions (like a crowded prospect pool) and there are certainly benefits to having those players return to a strong North Dakota program but it clearly adjusts their timeline in transitioning to the NHL.
Meanwhile, Gary Bettman and the National Hockey League continue to insist that a return to normal, or some variation of it anyway, is a possibility.
His official guess- a return sometime this summer.
As long as that scenario is on the table, things like the Draft Lottery and the Draft itself remain a huge unknown.
-Thomas Chabot was the latest Ottawa Senator to check-in with the local media, taking some time yesterday to connect via video conference. Plenty of topics covered but of note is the fact that Chabot still thinks there is a legitimate chance they’ll have an opportunity to play out what’s left of the NHL regular season. Without fans, of course.
-Things have been fairly quiet in Ottawa’s search for a new President and CEO. Last we heard back in early-March, the Senators had an executive search firm on the case and candidates were already being considered. Obviously priorities shifted for most of the world shortly after that statement but presumably the search continued. From what I’ve heard recently, the Senators may in fact be closing in on a candidate and if the rumoured name is accurate, it’s likely to raise a few eye-brows around the league.
-Still nothing official from the organization but it does sound like the Senators are still in the mix for KHL defenceman Artyom Zub. The 24-year old defenceman has apparently cut his list down to two teams and a decision is expected any day now. Dorion talked about the full-court press the Senators had put on to convince Zub, which included a detailed presentation from Head Coach DJ Smith. The Senators feel like Zub could fit in their line up next season.
-Despite attempts by some to try and make a story of it, the Senators obviously did the right thing in respecting the privacy of the players dealing with a COVID-19 diagnosis. Not only does the law uhh require it but it’s entirely reasonable to respect the privacy of the player in that situation. Yesterday, Ottawa forward Jayce Hawryluk revealed that he was one of the players that had been diagnosed with the virus. You can read more about his experience here.
-Sens Owner Eugene Melnyk isn’t the most popular guy around these parts but he does deserve credit for the way he has responded during the COVID-19 crisis. Melnyk and the Senators have used their platform and resources for good and provided help to those in need during this challenging time. Yesterday, we heard that the Sens Owner bought lunch for health care workers around the city. Great gesture by Mr. Melnyk and exactly the type of connection with the community that is going to be required more often in the future.
