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

Are the Senators heading down a familiar road of disappointment?

 The Ottawa Senators are heading down a familiar path at the start of the 2021/22 NHL season after making a poor start to the campaign. D.J Smith’s men ranked bottom of the Atlantic Division and Eastern Conference after the opening 15 games of the term, ramping up the pressure on

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

Sigh Erik, sigh

 Photo: via senators/news/sens-beat-pens-to-get-back-into-win-column/ Erik Brannstrom must feel a lot like that shy little kid who gets selected last for a game of pick-up football. Nobody really wants him but he’s the last kid standing. Sigh Erik, sigh. Look people, it’s not like he chose this path. He wasn’t the one

String of losing needs to be snipped

 Photo: Courtesy iHeart Radio You know about that saying re-insanity right: Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results? If you’re the latest rendition of the Toronto Maple Leafs that means, of course, nailing it repeatedly during the regular season then coughing up a hairball in

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

You can breathe now, Tkachuk’s a done deal

 Hear that? A collective deep intake of breath (lasting, um, about 12 months), then a collective, cleansing exhale. It’s meditation practice at its best. And that’s the only way the collective fan base of the Ottawa Senators has plowed its way through an exceedingly stressful past few months. Patience is

Q&A with Victor Mete ahead of the home opener against the Leafs

 By Lukas Weese (Photo: NHL.com) Victor Mete is entering his first full season with the Ottawa Senators. With the 2021-22 campaign being his fifth year in the NHL, Mete arrived to the Senators via the team claiming him off waivers last season after starting his career with the Montreal Canadiens. Over the summer,

All thoughts remain on Brady as NHL season hits pavement

 And I quote: “When these things stretch on, they take on a bit of a life of their own. And, unfortunately, and this may be a little bit of news for you, you can’t believe everything you see on social media. But, unfortunately, what we’ve seen in the last couple

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,

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

Goal getters: The top goal scorers for the Ottawa Senators

 Nothing excites sports fans around the world more than a player who consistently scores points, or goals, for their team. These are the players that kids will want to have on the back of their replica shirts, the one future children will be named after. When boiled down to its

Senators to strike big? Preview of the upcoming NHL season for the Ottawa Senators

 In recent years the MLS (Soccer) has moved into the conversation as one of the biggest sports in North America, with both enthusiasm and attendances for Major League Soccer games steadily rising over the past fifteen years. This is mainly down to one man; David Beckham. The soccer superstar moved

Rebuild over, next steps please?

 Photo: Courtest OttawaSenators.com Back-to-back against the Ontario rival. Great way to get started, eh? For the Ottawa Senators ‘getting started’ has been the tale of the tape since the spring of 2017. Making it all the way to the Eastern Conference finale – against the eventual Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh

Sens go heavy and hard at NHL draft

 The Palladium Drive Destroyers? The Frank Finnegan Way Warlords? The Cyclone Taylor Boulevard Bullies? You getting all this?  A new nickname perhaps? One of the prevailing and consistent themes about building a successful franchise is – you just gotta have an identity. The Ottawa Senators stamp is likely to read

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

Locked On Senators: A podcast for fans, by the fans

 ABOVE: Ross Levitan and Brandon Piller co-host the Locked On Senators Podcast. It was an after-class downtown Toronto subway ride in 2016 that brought two future broadcasters together. Brandon Piller and Ross Levitan, both students at the College of Sports Media, were headed home when Piller took a seat next to

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

NHL season ends on a high note with win over Toronto

 Ottawa Senators completed the NHL season with a thrilling 4-3 overtime win over Toronto Maple Leafs. It was Josh Norris who scored the winning goal just nine seconds into overtime, his 17th of the season. Connor Brown, who scored the second goal for the Senators, struck an optimistic note as

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

Future looking rosy in Senator land

 The heat was on last week after what appeared in this corner of the page. Maybe a little too harsh? Unsympathetic? Sure. Perhaps. But after another solid week on the ice, the Ottawa Senators surely appear that they’re about to take another step forward. There’s just too much going well

Time to get a move on, Ottawa

 Put up or shut up. Can Ottawa folk finally agree we are there? I mean, come on, the leeway given this franchise (that would be the Ottawa Senators) – especially by some members of the local media – for the past 3-4 years has been especially generous. Especially. And especially

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

A shutout for the Senator while Vancouver heads into marathon month

 Just a little more than three weeks left to dip in and get a taste of what you like and – perhaps – don’t like when looking at the Ottawa Senators’ future up closely. With that in mind, as the playoffs draw near for four of the Senators compatriots in