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 –

Under .500 Again? It’s not all on the Coach

 It’s the justification I just don’t get. Ottawa management, yeah the new group, keeps bringing up the suggestion that sending Senators’ head coach D.J. Smith and his crew packing would just simply be . . . a bad idea. The reason? ‘The players have told us there’s already been far

Battle? What battle?

 What we have here is a national crisis. When one of our country’s most established, venerated, respected institutions tumbles into near obscurity, what else would you call it? Yep, crisis pretty well sums it up. The Battle of Ontario? Please. Nerf Ball war is more like it. Ottawa and Toronto

Senators Relishing the Pressure?

 The elevation from doormat to Golden Boy couldn’t have happened quicker. Last year, two years ago (. . . three years ago, four years ago, five years ago . . .) when asked about the pending fate and fortunes of the Ottawa Senators, hockey panellists would kind of look awkwardly

Fresh Fish in The NHL’s Atlantic

 Last season the gun was jumped by this corner in regard to the ever-evolving Atlantic Division. Sure, the thing was evolving but not evolving as rapidly as we’d thought and forecasted. The young ones on the block – the Ottawa’s, Buffalo’s, and Detroit’s were on the move, but only incrementally.

Hockey’s back! (Well, not quite yet)

 I get it. I mean seriously – National Hockey League training camps don’t even open for nearly another three weeks so anything resembling the wording season preview needs to be shelved for the immediate future. . . in an appropriate world. But my world is anything but appropriate (or insert

Time to make hay, Ottawa

 The year 2017 seems like, well, a very long time ago. And in hockey speak, it really was. Five ‘very long’ seasons. To not be even competing for a playoff spot post-Christmas for that amount of time, year after year, is inexcusable, right? But there you are Ottawa Fan. And

Pierre’s Summer of Love

 It is officially off-season for the National Hockey League. For the journalists who cover the circuit pretty well every day from a stretch linking September to early July, this time of year signals a blessed six-to-seven week break. (Having stated that, said journalists are never far from their phones in

Senators season coming to abrupt stop

 Less than two weeks until closing time. Seems like kind of a ‘hard stop’ here in Ottawa as interest seems to be gaining on a hockey team that is poised to do . . . well what, exactly? The Ottawa Senators are at a significant, meaningful stage in recovery (I

Norris takes that next big step

 Need a little sunshine? Here you go. One of the biggest obstacles potentially facing the Ottawa Senators and ‘taking that next big step’ is the lack of elite star power. Sure they have Thomas Chabot, but until now, not much else in the realm of A-quality offensive talent. It’s becoming

Senators vying for better grades in second half

 Give or take a few days or games or COVID breaks, the National Hockey League hits the halfway point during a very intriguing season. In Ottawa, this season was hailed as the end of the rebuild. While the phrase wasn’t exactly plastered on the facing of the Canadian Tire Centre,

Young trio making waves where waves are needed

 For right now the Ottawa Senators are awfully thin. Thinner than Twiggy, thinner than Victoria Beckham. But you know what . . . the meat that IS on the bone, is getting the job done currently. Ottawa has won four of its last five games and the locals can lay

All thoughts remain on Brady as NHL season hits pavement

 And I quote: “When these things stretch on, they take on a bit of a life of their own. And, unfortunately, and this may be a little bit of news for you, you can’t believe everything you see on social media. But, unfortunately, what we’ve seen in the last couple

Senators’ rebuild is over? Really?

 “The rebuild is done . . .” "We've had a plan since we started this rebuild. I feel that we're in the next stage now, it's time to start to win.” The previous comments brought to you by Pierre Dorion (from various sources). In some respects, I guess this is

Grades improving; this student has potential

 I remember those dreaded days: Getting the sealed envelope with my school’s emblem adorning the front. “Please bring this home for your parents to look at (‘pick apart,’ you mean) and have them sign it and bring it promptly back to your home-room teacher.” The cringe-worthy report card. Twice a

Future looking rosy in Senator land

 The heat was on last week after what appeared in this corner of the page. Maybe a little too harsh? Unsympathetic? Sure. Perhaps. But after another solid week on the ice, the Ottawa Senators surely appear that they’re about to take another step forward. There’s just too much going well

Time to get a move on, Ottawa

 Put up or shut up. Can Ottawa folk finally agree we are there? I mean, come on, the leeway given this franchise (that would be the Ottawa Senators) – especially by some members of the local media – for the past 3-4 years has been especially generous. Especially. And especially

A shutout for the Senator while Vancouver heads into marathon month

 Just a little more than three weeks left to dip in and get a taste of what you like and – perhaps – don’t like when looking at the Ottawa Senators’ future up closely. With that in mind, as the playoffs draw near for four of the Senators compatriots in

Tim Stützle has arrived

 On Tuesday night, it looked like the week would tell the same old story for the Ottawa Senators. The Edmonton Oilers took an early 4-0 lead over Ottawa, giving Senators fans an excuse to go to bed rather than stay up for the third period of a game that started

After a tough week, Ottawa Senators need to give young players a chance

 Last week was a tough one for the Ottawa Senators, losing all three games versus Winnipeg. They led 3-2 until the last minutes of the game on Tuesday, before allowing an equalizer with 1:17 left, and then losing in overtime. The Senators outshot the Jets 41-28, they deserved to win.

The NHL is back! And what a start to the season it was for the Sens

 Ottawa launched their 2020-21 NHL season with a gift to fans who waited 310 long days to see them play, defeating the Toronto Maple Leafs 5-3 on Friday night. The convincing win was no small feat, as the majority of NHL analysts had pegged the Maple Leafs as the top

Camps open league-wide, prompting questions and answers

 Above: Ottawa’s Brady Tkachuk This past Sunday hockey returned across the board in the National Hockey League with the opening of training camps. The Ottawa Senators, one of seven teams to not qualify for the playoffs last season, opened up a few days earlier on Dec. 30th. And so it

Hockey’s finally here . . . hear-hear!

 This week the Ottawa Senators open camp. Quickly putting together the math, it will be roughly nine-and-a-half months since the organization last stepped on to the ice as a unit. There will be loads to evaluate and examine as the club prepares for the official start to the season. Here’s

Work just underway for Dorion after trade deadline day

 If you thought NHL trade deadline day was ripe with activity for the Ottawa Senators, wait ‘til June 26th in Montreal. June 27th too. That’s when general manager Pierre Dorion will strap on his thinking cap for what promises to be an extremely frantic NHL entry draft. Dorion – already

Figuring out Senators’ near future is going to be a puzzle

 The possibilities are endless. This is the reality of the world where Ottawa Senators’ general manager Pierre Dorion exists. The next few weeks – and months – are rich with ifs, ands, buts, maybes and maybe nots. In Ottawa the only sure thing is there’s no sure thing. Here’s what