Headline: Canucks at Front of the Class, Senators Still Finding Their Seat

 In another life I absolutely cringed when they dished out the bi-annual report cards at school. “Take this home and have your parents look at it, AND sign it,” said the schoolmarm with a prim smirk and knowing smile. “AND make sure you bring it back for us to see

Are we Already at Make-or-Break?

 I’m pretty sure you’re familiar with the projected math (and what it all can signify) approaching U.S. Thanksgiving: If you’re ‘in,’ come the final days of November, you’re likely ‘in.’ Subsequently, if you’re ‘out,’ you’re likely ‘out,’ come season’s end. In-and-out? The playoffs. Yeah, it happens this early. American Thanksgiving

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

Perception of Dorion Never Impressed Ottawa’s Fan Base

 Scotty Bowman – savvy technician and genius evaluator. Sam Pollock – larger than life, deal-stealer. Glen Sather – cigar-smoking dynasty maker. Cliff Fletcher – courageous wheeler-and-dealer. Brian Kilrea – legendary manager; bigger than the game. As a hockey fan, perception can be king. Case in point is the above collection

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

It’s Crack-of-Dawn Early but Ottawa’s Wide Awake

 One down, 27-ish to go. It’s just one full week into the NHL season and already proclamations are being made league-wide: “The Canucks are soft,” “The Oilers stink,” “Seattle stinks too,” “It’s either Vegas-Ottawa in the final or Colorado-Detroit in the final!” One full week in and we’re thrust into

It’s here, it’s finally here

 Never let a good idea get untold . . . again? Well, it’s a damn good idea. With that in mind, after discovering Sportsnet’s National Hockey League regular season primer sitting on my laptop earlier this morning, my interest and ability to pilfer were fully engaged. In essence, the crew

Blue is the colour of Toronto

 It’s here. The first installment of ‘real’ hockey; hockey that matters. It’s happening and gets started Tuesday night as Vegas hosts Seattle, where-and-when the Knights unveil their Stanley Cup banner, Pittsburgh entertains Chicago where Crosby and new-Crosby face each other, and Nashville is at Tampa in the first entry into

Ottawa Fan Should Be Thinking: ‘Pinto-Shminto’

 Folks will tell you to try and appreciate what you have, as opposed to what you don’t. You’ve heard of it I’m sure: Gratitude. So try laying down this wisdom on a hockey fanatic. Go ahead, try it. In most cases it doesn’t go very far . . . a

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

NHL Quiz Show

 What’s up this week? Well, I’ll tell you what’s up this week: questions and answers that potentially could carry great relevance to a 2023-34 National Hockey League season, which opens in less than one month. That’s what’s up. The one caveat here – as it tends to be since we

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.

Nine Players Who Will Help the Senators Break Their Playoff Drought This Season

 Ottawa Senators fans haven’t had it easy over the last several years. The team has failed to make the playoffs for the last six seasons, marking the longest playoff drought in the franchise’s history. And if you were to check the gambling odds and potential favourites for playoff bets going

Subtraction not in Dorion’s vocabulary anymore

 “The final mystery is oneself.” — Oscar Wilde Brainy quotes aside, if this is in fact the start of the final frontier for Ottawa Senators’ General Manager Pierre Dorion, even his toughest critics would have to admit that this is a guy who knows himself. As a self-identifier, Dorion must

DeBrincat takeaway – fans disenchanted with deal

 Based on what we’ve seen and read from the fan base in the past 12 hours, Ottawa Fan is not quite starting the work week on their happy feet. What happened was Ottawa Senators General Manager Pierre Dorion traded away sniper Alex DeBrincat to the Detroit Red Wings and wise-man

The Canadian NHL Teams With the Best Championship Potential

 Regarding the National Hockey League (NHL,) Canada has a rich hockey history and a passionate fan base. However, it has been over 30 years since a Canadian team last hoisted the Stanley Cup, leaving fans eager to see which team will break the championship drought. This article will delve into

Ottawa’s pipes are calling, while Leafs are done wilting

 Photo: Courtesy Columbus Dispatch The draft is done and the meat-and-guts of free agency – for the most part – in the National Hockey League is over and out. Some outstanding storylines emerged from an intense week of study and action. It’s never a dull time, league-wide, so let’s dip

The Most Common Ice Hockey Bets Explained

 Ice hockey is the most popular sport in Canada. While soccer rules on a global scale and basketball, baseball, and American football are huge in North America, ice hockey has millions of fans in Canada. Some will say it’s almost a religion in some parts of the country, and betting

Helping others makes Ottawa’s Higgins a true hall-of-famer

 Here he is folks, Tim Higgins - Ottawa 67’s star, eventual first-round NHL draft pick (10th-overall, Chicago), roommate of Bob Probert’s (easily the most important detail), player of 706 regular-season games and another 65 playoff clashes, and yes, he is on his way to the Ottawa Sports Hall of Fame.

Montreal and Toronto: opposites on ice

 It really is a tale of two cities. And while I’m certainly no Charles Dickens, I’ll spin this story out as best as I can. We’ll leave your Ottawa Senators out of this one, people. They’ve been microscoped (new word eh?) to death from this corner. Better yet, we circle

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

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

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

Canada, who ya’ got?

 Want 6/7th of the country after your scalp? Put together a ranking – top to bottom – of Canadian NHL clubs. So, with that in mind . . . here we go. And for the first time in many a year, the disgruntlement won’t be zinging out of Eastern Ontario.