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

NHL Free Agency conjures Questions in Need of Answers

 By mid-afternoon on an unusually bright and sunny Canada Day (doesn’t it always rain on July 1st?), the National Hockey League was zipping along quite nicely as the free agency period opened with a slew of deals and decisions. The price tag was enormous as teams spent more than $1
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

Bad habits just won’t go away – Senators

 Expectations can create resentments? Yep. Especially those darned unfulfilled ones. So when you’re the Ottawa Senators – the new golden child of the National Hockey League’s collective media as well as the club’s jacked and re-juiced fan base – and you watch what came about during the team’s last two

NHL’s Eastern Conference: change is in the air

 It’s been the ignition switch triggering many a discussion since the salary cap came into play 17 years ago – the days of dynasties in the National Hockey League are done. The Montreal Canadiens of the 1970s, NY Islanders and Edmonton Oilers of the 1980s dominated hockey at its grandest

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

NHL draft won’t be the next Haul of Fame

 Nineteen years ago this summer the National Hockey League conjured something quite remarkable – the absolute best draft in modern-day history. The year was 2003 - for those who have problems with math - and not only was that first round a bonanza but the following rounds proved rich with

On Avs, Alfie and St. Nick

 Various blips in need of a blast in this week’s special National Hockey League roundup. Lots to cover off as hockey melts the ice on another season and has already fired up a jump-start towards the next. Enjoy. Avs Trump a Dynasty It was bound to happen. In fact, I

Senators will have company in playoff chase

 If the playoffs do eventually come knocking, who steps out of the Ottawa Senator’s way? Realistically the organization would need to take a significant jump in order to rally and compete for a spot as early as next season. Could it happen? Sure, but unless Senators management can figure out

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,

Senators not alone on the Isle of Stink

 I always kind of wondered what it would be like to live full-time in Phoenix. You know, the warm days throughout the year, world-class golf courses, thin, clean air, superb dining, the constant hum of air conditioners and a perpetually bad hockey team. Well now I know. We’ve got all

Senators: Productivity required now

 Welcome back. With a full week off – graciously granted by the National Hockey League to the Ottawa Senators due to COVID precautions – it’s given Ottawa Fan plenty of time to think on what has happened so far on the ice this season. Unfortunately for said Ottawa Fan, the

No man is an island

 ABOVE: Islanders and Tampa, game 5 of the playoffs. Photo: NBCSN Well, at the very least, there’s the Islanders. Let’s just say if I was in Las Vegas my shirt would already have been lost (by my own accord). Betting on who does what and when and to who is

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

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

Canadian Clubs Lead the Way with Calgary Surprise

 Photo courtesy of NHLI via Getty Images How ya doin’ out there Canada? Well, we’re about to hit elongated home stretch and the run to the NHL trade deadline (3 pm ET, Feb. 25) so let’s take a gander at who’s done what so far and what is likely to

Senators can’t stop the onslaught

 Photo credit: NHLI via Getty Images The Buffalo Bills can’t seem to score touchdowns. No problem for the Buffalo Sabres though. (Plus a two-point conversion). That 9-2 pounding by Buffalo’s hockey team on the foreheads of the Ottawa Senators Saturday afternoon represented a very low point in what – to this

Senators up-and-down season so far is not a bad thing

 Photo credit: NHLI via Getty Images National Hockey League brain-boxes like to measure the success rate of their hockey club in 10-game segments. So, here we sit roughly 10 games into the season with lots to mull over. Here’s a glance at how Canada’s seven teams are faring so far .

Patience takes a vacation for fans of NHL draft

 Photo courtesy NHLI via Getty Images What’s the most entertaining fallout from a National Hockey League draft? Rampant speculation. Year after year after year, we get loads of it once the picking gets done. When the Ottawa Senators snagged Boston College forward Brady Tkachuk with the fourth overall pick Friday

Book Review: Of Myths and Sticks

 Hockey Facts, Fictions and Coincidences TSN stats archaeologist Kevin Gibson, whose book Of Myths and Sticks blows the whistle on all hockey matters from the mainstream to the obscure. Fascinating, and at times unbelievable, the stories behind the National Hockey League are as engaging as the great game itself. Yet

Get Acquainted With Ottawa’s Top Sports Teams

 Photo by Craig Dow. When it comes to sports, Ottawa is spoiled rotten. Our city is home to numerous professional and amateur sports teams, making Ottawa a four season sports destination. From professional soccer and CFL football in the summer to the Ottawa Senators in the cooler months, there is an array

NHL Developments: A Quick Recap of Pre-Season News

 Photo courtesy of Falling Heavens. As you know, the 2015-16 season gets under way on October 7th, which is just two months away. There has been a lot developing in pre-season, including some controversy for the league as a whole. The NHL is placed under legal scrutiny Concussion and head

The Importance of Sample Size and the Senators’ Hot Start

 The Ottawa Senators celebrate after a road win against the Montreal Canadiens. Photo credit: Francois Lacasse/Getty Images If the early going of the NHL regular season has taught us anything over the years, it’s that small sample sizes can be deceiving. Just ask the Toronto Maple Leafs, or the latest sample

Reinventing the Traditional Hockey Game Experience, One Interaction at a Time

 A lot has changed since the Ottawa Senators returned to the NHL in 1992. Hockey has changed, technology has changed and fan expectations have changed. One thing that hasn’t changed, however, is our commitment to delivering a best in class fan experience for our loyal supporters to keep them coming