Hope Remains for Senators, but it’s Dimming

 Another pointlessly disappointing post-Christmas slog through winter and spring, or an unexpected turnaround on deck for a franchise much more used to the former? As Tom Jones and Donny Osmond would sing – ‘I’m leavin’ it all up to you.’ Here we are; here we sit, in all-too-familiar territory for

Sens, Habs and Leafs Headed in Different Directions

 No matter how well your team is going, as an NHL general manager, worry and anxiety are common bedfellows. Teams can be one major injury or a couple of poor goaltending outings away from singing sayonara to the post-season. Here in Eastern Ontario – and readers of this space will

On Battles and JR . . .

 This week, it’s a little game of questions in search of answers. Let’s get it rolling.   WHATEVER HAPPENED TO THE ‘BATTLE OF ONTARIO?’ Seriously, where have you been? When Ottawa and its Senators travel to Toronto to face its Maple Leafs tonight, there just doesn’t appear to be any

The Ghosts of Ottawa’s Goalie Graveyard Rear Up Again

 One of my favourite things to bounce around my mouth is this word: Bailiwick. Definition – “one's sphere of operations or particular area of interest.” Contextually this week, we’re using it to address the netminding graveyard known as the Ottawa Senators. A ‘particular area of interest?’ You betcha. Tuesday night’s

NHL: A League of Knee-Jerks

 A few months back I foraged my way into a very heated argument with a friend. It began with me accusing him of things – we’ll call them character flaws - and then he fired back accusing me of other things – also known as character flaws. On my side

Early season look at Senators shows improvement

 It’s a smallish sample size, no doubt. Still, a 4-2 record six games into this youngish season gives birth to optimism. Make that optimism . . . about . . . change. The Ottawa Senators godawful recent history of poor starts to the year has been documented ad nauseum. Pretty

Kilrea tribute checks all the boxes

 It was almost about the huge amount of hockey folks I didn’t get to talk with . . . than the huge amount I did. Sunday night at Lansdowne was quite a gathering. If you missed the notice, it was all in honour of former Ottawa 67’s coach and general

The good and the bad among Senators, Habs and Leafs

 Known collectively on this particular page as the Holy Trinity of Eastern Ontario, the Ottawa Senators and their chief rivals in Montreal and Toronto are off and running (some faster than others) in the drag race known as the 2024-25 NHL season. As we’ve discovered though, it’s not so much

Senators need to avoid slow start (again)

 Heard kind of an odd statement coming out of the mouth of one of my choice hockey insiders this morning. (And one Ottawa Senator fans would take issue with, no doubt). Sportsnet and Hockey Night in Canada’s Elliotte Friedman relayed to his co-host, Stittsville resident Kyle Bukauskas, that Buffalo –

New rink and new look for Ottawa’s Senators

 It’s pre-season . . . or exhibition . . . whatever or whichever you prefer calling it, but it’s still the National Hockey League and it’s here. Ottawa opened its ‘before-regular-season-hits’ schedule Sunday night with a pretty wild 6-5 overtime win in Toronto. We’ll get to that and a couple

Senators reach agreement to build new rink downtown

 It came down to the final hour, but the Ottawa Senators are on their way to seeing a new arena being built at LeBreton Flats in the downtown core. The new facility won’t see shovels hit the ground for quite a while as several hurdles need to be dealt with

Rink deal in the offing, again

 Nothing like near record setting warm temperatures to inspire thoughts of hockey, but here we are. The long summer is making way for fall in stubborn “I’m not going anywhere yet” fashion as the gauge closes in on 30 C. At the same time, all 32 National Hockey League clubs

Eastern Playoff Chase Gets Tougher

 Is the Great 8 the only thing standing in the way of qualifying for the great eight? While likely not completely accurate, it sure makes for an awe-inspiring lede. (Withholding judgement on that for now . . .). But seriously people, when you truly break it down, is it Alex

Young Blood Could Dictate Success in Ottawa, Montreal and Toronto

 If you’ve read this corner of the page with any regularity over the past year or two or six or eight, you’ll recognize my three favourite centres for topic and discussion – Toronto, Montreal and Ottawa. Reasoning here is pretty simple: Eastern Ontario is predisposed to root for one or

Meet the anti-homer

 Figuring out fans - and who and why they worship – isn’t quite an enigmatic, complicated process. In my experience it generally kind of goes like this: Person is born in Toronto, Montreal or Ottawa. Said person then follows and adopts the Toronto Maple Leafs, Montreal Canadiens or Ottawa Senators

NHL: Where the Captaincy Really Means Something

 Outside of battling and baffling offer sheets, it’s been the hot topic in hockey this past week. It’s Toronto. It’s a new captain. And his name is Auston Matthews. Which hauls me into today’s discussion and debate – does it really, truly matter who your captain is in this day

Questions and queries surround the NHL’s East

 From shakeups to shakedowns, it hasn’t exactly been a quiet summer in the National Hockey League’s Eastern Conference. Your Ottawa Senators added in the way of veteran help (as advertised), your Toronto Maple Leafs shook up that targeted, beleaguered blueline, and your Montreal Canadiens stuck to due diligence on the

Junior Hockey Delivers the Goods

 It’s an undeniably great scene. Early in Season 2 of the generally exceptional Disney+ drama The Bear, pain-in-the-ass semi-main character Richie Jerimovich sits in the basement of the tumbling down, soon to be demolished and renovated restaurant he and ‘cousin’ Carmy Berzatto run, lamenting the state of his life. Richie

NHL’s Best Draft Happened 21 Years Ago

 It was a weekend to remember at the Gaylord Entertainment Center in Nashville in late June, so many years ago. It was an enormously successful event – that summer’s entry draft – and its impact is still, some how, being felt around the National Hockey League today. It not only

The Extraordinary Connor McDavid . . . (and other noteworthy observations)

 Back in college and - eventually - university days we had what we called The Gretzky Rule. It was pretty simple: Any playoff hockey pool worth its salt would eliminate any of the participants from having the ability to select Wayne Gretzky. The thinking was equally simple: The gap between

Florida Panthers – Inevitable or What?

 So unlikeable. So abrasive. So damn good. There’s absolutely nothing ‘so-so’ associated with this year’s Florida Panthers who stepped to within a pair of wins from a franchise-first Stanley Cup triumph after Monday night’s 4-1 win over a game Edmonton Oilers hockey team. Yup, the Oilers were very game in

On the Cup, Tkachuk and Marner

 Trudging the road to happy destiny – aka, the Stanley Cup finale - is taking its sweet time. Many, many steps it seems on this journey. So, while we have a moment or two (or a day or two or six) to get set for what should be dynamite on
Matthew Tkachuk, Courtesy ESPN.com

Panthers’ identity has outcasts dying to grow and bare teeth

 “There is a creature alive today who has survived millions of years of evolution, without change, without logic, it lives to kill. A mindless eating machine, it will attack, it will devour. Anything. It is as if God created the Devil and gave him . . . jaws.”   This

Oils well that ends well? You bet

 June 9, 1993. The day, and last time a Canadian entrant won the Stanley Cup. The Montreal Canadiens. “Amazing it’s been 30 years,” said Guy Carbonneau to Global last year at this time. Carbonneau remains the last captain from a Canadian team to take home the trophy. “Not just Montreal,
Ottawa Senators GM Steve Staios

‘Summer of Steve’ well underway

 Like the result or not, Step 1 in the Ottawa Senator ‘rebuild’ was accomplished lickety-split. The hiring of Travis Green just last week, while certainly not universally lauded, quickly took care of some much-needed business during what promises to be a busy off-season. Quite simply, there’s lots-to-do in Ottawa as