Leafs in Command, Senators Need to Step on the Gas

 Not trying to downplay a 2-0 series lead here, but we’ll take the hesitant approach before proclaiming this best-of-seven Battle of Ontario series as being ‘over.’ Recent history – which includes a number of repeat offenders on the roster – tells us that until they actually hop the fence, the

Battle of Ontario Should be Worth Waiting For

 In the classic(?) words of the legendary(??) Spice Girls: Tell me what you want, what you really, really want. And here we are. You wanted the provincial gob smacker? You got it. Upon further consideration, if you’re rooting for the Ottawa Senators, you’re more than happy with the card pull.

Ottawa’s Kissin’ Cozens in Big Deal with Buffalo

 For the past two seasons (at the very least) the cry from disgruntled Ottawa Senators followers growing exhausted with another playoff-less spring was essentially – ‘Gotta start tinkering with the team’s core!’ Tinker, meet trade deadline. Gone on this Friday is core, core-member Josh Norris. One of captain Brady Tkachuk’s

Canada’s Power While Ottawa’s Sour

 It’s an odd time to head to the beach but that’s what the bulk of the National Hockey League’s skaters are up to for the next week. The others? The top stars from Canada, the United States, Sweden and Finland? It’s the awaited return of best-on-best international play as the

Road Swing to Determine Senator Playoff Hopes

 At the very least, the Ottawa Senators have placed themselves into a potentially opportunistic position. So, when we look back at the most recent homestand and hand it a grading: Mission accomplished. Now the demanding work truly begins. With the world junior tournament taking over the friendly confines of the

Hope Remains for Senators, but it’s Dimming

 Another pointlessly disappointing post-Christmas slog through winter and spring, or an unexpected turnaround on deck for a franchise much more used to the former? As Tom Jones and Donny Osmond would sing – ‘I’m leavin’ it all up to you.’ Here we are; here we sit, in all-too-familiar territory for

The Ghosts of Ottawa’s Goalie Graveyard Rear Up Again

 One of my favourite things to bounce around my mouth is this word: Bailiwick. Definition – “one's sphere of operations or particular area of interest.” Contextually this week, we’re using it to address the netminding graveyard known as the Ottawa Senators. A ‘particular area of interest?’ You betcha. Tuesday night’s

NHL: A League of Knee-Jerks

 A few months back I foraged my way into a very heated argument with a friend. It began with me accusing him of things – we’ll call them character flaws - and then he fired back accusing me of other things – also known as character flaws. On my side

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

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 –

NHL’s Atlantic Rich with Talent and Troubles

 It’s a relatively quiet time in the National Hockey League. Late August. Camps still a few weeks away. Outside of a Laine trade here, a Blues-Oilers offer sheet tussle there, not a whole heck of a lot rocking on. Hence, the dawning of the month-of-the-lists. TSN’s been at it. So

NHL: Where the Captaincy Really Means Something

 Outside of battling and baffling offer sheets, it’s been the hot topic in hockey this past week. It’s Toronto. It’s a new captain. And his name is Auston Matthews. Which hauls me into today’s discussion and debate – does it really, truly matter who your captain is in this day

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

On the Cup, Tkachuk and Marner

 Trudging the road to happy destiny – aka, the Stanley Cup finale - is taking its sweet time. Many, many steps it seems on this journey. So, while we have a moment or two (or a day or two or six) to get set for what should be dynamite on

Oilers, Leafs, Jets and Canucks takin’ care of business

 The most fabulous time of the year hasn’t disappointed, and we are what, only three-days-and-change in? Fabulous. Lots to chew on from a Canadian team perspective as the NHL post-season rages onward. It is – after all - the most fabulous time of the year . . .   WHERE

Panthers Boast What Senators Do Not

 Here are a few words and phrases I collected from print, online and broadcast late Tuesday night and early into Wednesday morning after the Ottawa Senators were shut out (again) by the Florida Panthers. ‘Blueprint for success.’ ‘Playoff-hardened.’ ‘Clutch.’ ‘Smothering.’ ‘Team identity.’ ‘Another level.’ ‘Pack mentality.’ . . . And
Maggie the coonhound enjoying her family retreat at Barkwells in NC.

Dogs, endless driving, hockey, connections and Carolina

 I’ve never been a fan of Carolina – but in this instance we’re talking about the hockey team, not the state (or states) in the good, old USA. This past week and a half though, I tasted a touch of both state and hockey as we packed up our newish

Ottawa Senators: Rebuild Part II?

 “I think the Senators are going to be a really, really busy team in the off-season.” Hockey’s pre-eminent insider Elliotte Friedman (Sportsnet, HNIC) had those words earlier this week and they are all of being the following: Predictable, believable, somewhat alluring to Ottawa fans and somewhat frightening to Ottawa fans.

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

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

Dorion’s firing . . . and spinning the wheel on Senators, Habs and Leafs

 Collectively they should be recognized as the Holy Trinity of hockey around these parts. Three entities that swallow the large majority of fan support in the Eastern Ontario region. So in no particular order, here we have Montreal, Toronto and Ottawa, and if you’re a hockey follower in the region,

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

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, 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