NHL trade deadline a pickle for Ottawa, Montreal, Toronto

 Complex and potentially puzzling are a couple of ways to project the upcoming National Hockey League trade deadline for the three Eastern-based Canadian operations. Take any one of the above descriptions and apply it to your favourite Canadian team around these parts if you want, but you can also and

Hockey’s back, Part II! (Well, almost)

 Last week Ottawa had its fill, this week we move on to its chief rival(s) in Montreal and Toronto. In case you missed it, what we’re attempting to do here is toss together a number of questions-and-answers-and-observations regarding said teams, as National Hockey League training camps and the regular season

The Sens get a bounce, and “Hoggy” bounces back

 After beating the Montreal Canadiens and snapping a nine-game winless streak two weeks ago, the Ottawa Senators lost their next four games, and almost lost every game last week. Almost. Enter Brady Tkachuk. The Senators began the week with two losses to the Edmonton Oilers, followed by a loss to

Good and bad: Senators have changed their look

 Above: Alex Galchenyuk Are the Ottawa Senators accelerating, or just blocking the path towards achieving their self-proclaimed rebuilding plan? It’s a little bit of both from this corner. Let’s put it this way, general manager Pierre Dorion was definitely not “sit-tight-and-let-the-process-playout” during this very odd off-season. You likely knew that

Canadian teams look to post-season and draft

 Above: Morgon Reilley will return to the Leafs lineup (Courtesy NHLI via Getty Images) It’s lonely at the bottom. The Ottawa Senators – as discussed at great length in this space last week – won’t be taking part in the 24-team slap-and-tickle know as the NHL playoffs later this summer.

Senators’ decision-making is taking its sweet time

 Photo courtesy NHLI via Getty Images Rip the bandage off already, would you? Pull the bloody plug. Here we sit less than a week away from the NHL’s trade deadline (Feb. 25 at 3 p.m. ET) and still no definitive word on which direction, if any, the Ottawa Senators’ rebuilding

SENATORS: A Week in Review – November 14-20, 2016

 SENATORS: A Week in Review is a weekly column looking back at the week in Ottawa Senators hockey written by #OLMSports Dave Gross. Images from NHL.com. The timing couldn't be better for - well - bad timing. Let's face it, as the Ottawa Senators' brain-trust was reminiscing about two stinkers this past

A Matter of Time for the Senators

 The old saying “Better late than never” worked in favour of the Montreal Canadians Saturday but for two Ottawa Senators players the message from new coach Guy Boucher was pretty clear: don’t be late at all. Defenceman Cody Ceci and right winger Bobby Ryan had a pretty good view when

Montreal flying the flag for Canada in the NHL

 Canadian NHL teams have, for many years, maintained a proud tradition of having a strong presence in the Stanley Cup Play-Offs. Although America considerably outweigh Canada in the number of ice hockey teams that participate in the National Hockey League, there is considerable quality North of the border which regularly