Are they listening, Jacques?

 It wasn’t an oil painting. Hell, it wasn’t even a decent watercolour effort. Baby steps though, right? Ottawa’s won back-to-back games under ‘new’ head coach Jacques Martin, and for at least one night (for most of the night anyway) the team that couldn’t-wouldn’t play collective defence if its life depended

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

Let me get this straight – Ottawa is, um, fun?

 If Ottawa is indeed the town that fun forgot, no one stepped up to tell the local hockey community to keep the noise down after sunset. That was pretty evident Tuesday night at the usually vacant, silent-as-a-library (shh!) Canadian Tire Centre during the Ottawa Senators’ home opener. A sell-out? Come

Leafs’ lesson a tough pill to swallow

 I hope you were watching, Ottawa Fan. I hope you were listening, Ottawa Fan. ‘Cause Saturday night you were schooled, and even though you despise your teacher, best you’d been paying attention. In the Toronto Maple Leafs’ 6-0 dummying of the Ottawa Senators a number of things stood out. And

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

Leafs house in disrepair

 ABOVE: Sheldon Keefe, head coach of the Leafs. (courtesyNHL.com) Supposing you bought a house and decided to invest millions of dollars into upgrades. A few months into renovations you discovered there were enormous cracks in the foundation and all that money you’d shot into the home were wasted. Then supposing you decided

Playoffs is Ottawa’s goal, but is it realistic?

 Will or can the Ottawa Senators conclude the upcoming season with a spot in the playoffs? Apparently that’s what the general manager thinks, given his contention the rebuild is over. We know what the Senators are, and that’s a young, assertive team with good pace; a team with questionable goaltending,

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

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

Senator win string is perplexing for fans

 Winning has never been so confusing. It’s the genesis of the angst Ottawa Senator fans are facing right now. In the case that you’ve been residing outside the nation’s capital (where no one seems to care what’s happening with this hockey club), Ottawa is a tidy 7-2 since Nov. 7th.