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

Keep your eyes on these guys.

 Being a ‘person of interest’ isn’t likely a good thing when relating it to the police. Being the same in this column could be good . . .  or it could be bad. Let’s put it this way, and either way, the 10 guys (close to home) listed and detailed

NHL sagas we’re waiting to see unfold

 ABOVE: Early indications are that Juraj Slafkovsky was a good pick. Canadians love a good story almost as much as they love their hockey. So, pairing the two together makes sense, no? In each of our seven centres – Calgary, Edmonton, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Vancouver and Winnipeg (just in case you forgot

Wacky day ends with Ottawa’s offence jacked up

 Let me get this straight, did Matt Murray just do what he seemingly hasn’t been able to do since he landed in Ottawa? That’d be, making a key save? It certainly looked that way following a somewhat crazy morning then afternoon leading up to Thursday night’s NHL entry draft. To

Trade-deadline turmoil in Toronto?

 It’s expected the Ottawa Senators will look a lot like the Ottawa Senators come Monday next week. In other words, don’t expect much noise at the trade deadline (3 p.m. ET March 21st). Outside of shipping out a couple of minor role players and potentially Swiss army knife Nick Paul,

Senators’ neighbours going through angst of their own

 As Ottawa’s Senators continue a season swimming (and sinking at times) in unpredictability, the guys next door and across the street are drafting their own stories. Ottawa’s greatest rivals, for the uninitiated, are of course the Montreal Canadiens and the Toronto Maple Leafs. As the two most recognized teams in

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,

Social media pushes the envelope, for once

 The days of turning a blind eye are over. If there is one good thing about social media – and there really is not much, truly – it’s that information and deplorable, inappropriate behaviors can no longer be swept under the rug. (Ask certain characters currently in public office). When

No surprises as Senators start season

 ABOVE: Anton Forsberg has filled in while Matt Murray recovers from a flu bug. (PHOTO: courtesy NHL.com) It certainly is, as they say, a small sample size. Nevertheless if this is what the Ottawa Senators ‘are,’ no one should be terribly surprised. (Add in a Brady Tkachuk who plays Thursday against

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

Sens kick into high gear

 ABOVE: Pierre McGuire is the new VP of Player Development for the Ottawa Senators. The Ottawa Senators are pushing forward in rapid fashion. The first big move of the early summer (is it actually summer yet?) was the surprising hiring of long-time broadcaster and former NHL coach (he won the

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

Leafs-Jets setting intriguing tone

 Maybe next year Johnny Senators Hockey Fan will be invested in the realm of baited-breath as well. But for this year? Enjoy what lies ahead . . . regardless. The playoffs loom and for close followers of the all-Canadian division, it promises to be a Christmas-morning-style experience. First off, the

The Ottawa Senators are 20 games away from finishing this shortened 2020-21 season

 The Senators score during the third period in their 3-1 victory over the Flames, March 24. (PHOTO: NHL.COM/SENATORS) The Sens sit eleven points out of the final playoff spot in the North Division currently held by the Montreal Canadiens. It may sound like less than you’d expect given how poorly the

Goalie woes continue, prospects shine, and Karlsson makes news

 ABOVE:  Joey Daccord injured himself in the third period of Wednesday's game against the Canucks. (PHOTO: SPORTSNET.CA) The Ottawa Senators played two games last week, and both were spirited efforts against the Vancouver Canucks. Ottawa played well enough to win each game, but, unfortunately for them, both ended in an overtime loss. Canucks

The underdog Sens come to life against the juggernaut Leafs, once again

 Joey Daccord dreamt of earning his first NHL win for a long time, it didn’t come in a way he could’ve imagined. Starting goaltender Matt Murray was supposed to start Sunday night’s game. It wasn’t until minutes before hitting the ice that Murray warned the backup Daccord that he didn’t

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

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

Senators a ‘fragile group’ after stretch of losses

 Well, where do I start? It's going to be a long season for the Ottawa Senators. In three games versus the Vancouver Canucks this week, the Senators combined for 116 shots on goal, besting Vancouver’s tally of 95. The combined score was 16 to 3 in favour of Vancouver, and

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

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

Naughty or nice: the ABC’s of Xmas

 It’s been one helluva year, said everyone everywhere. Even in the usual sanctified domain of the sports world, the Year of COVID-19 hit hard and fast and repeatedly. But we’re moving on here, good people. ‘Tis the season for some much-required joy and boy do we need that lift, especially

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

The transition from terrible to contender may be closer than you think

 NBC analyst Pierre McGuire believes the Ottawa Senators will be a Stanley Cup contender in the next 2-3 years. The veteran broadcaster made the comments this past week on Ottawa sports radio. While ownership and management continue to rub their collective hands in glee and proclaim the Senators will soon

Dorion strikes potential gold in NHL off-season

 Touch ‘em all Pierre, you’ll never hit a bigger home run. We’ll see, but early indications indicate Ottawa Senators’ General Manager Pierre Dorion swung for the fences the past two weeks and connected big time. (Hence the bit-of-a-stretch comparable to Tom Cheek’s famous call of Toronto Blue Jay slugger Joe