Isles-Bruins East finale? You betcha’

 The Great Eight. With apologies for the steal on Alex Ovechkin’s nickname, that’s where we stand right now. Eight teams with a shot at Lord Stanley. After a qualifying round record of 5-3, Round 1 of the true playoffs produced a resounding 5-3 record (resounding?) of guess-taking. So be it.

Tough decisions at the Draft for Ottawa Senators in October

 After a third straight season of missing out on the NHL Playoffs, many Ottawa Senators fans will probably be watching the 2020 Conference Finals and Stanley Cup contest with merely a passing interest, wondering what might have been were their team competing. Of course, some of us will be glued

NHL gets it right in bright return

 It’s rare that National Hockey League commissioner Gary Bettman lands any kind of praise from this corner. As rare as the steak my step-mother orders (Hi Marion!). Poor, far-reaching similes aside – kudos for the long-time head of hockey don’t come easy. This is a guy who thought a glowing

Qualifying round highlights summer’s hottest time

 Nothing like a hot August day-and-night to get you set for hockey. I guess fans of the sport will have to take what they can get this year. Such is life under the heavy heft of a pandemic The National Hockey League’s first-ever qualifying round – involving all of Canada’s

Ottawa’s draft pick — Stuetzle or Byfield, who’s your guy?

 Above: Quinton Byfield (Photo:Terry Wilson, OHL images) It’s the biggest question in Ottawa. (Not if the LRT is running, that’s not so much a question as a gamble). Just who the heck is going at No. 2? And furthermore, who the heck is then going at No. 3? The ball’s

NHL swings and misses, big time

 Stephen King has notched his rightful place high up on the pole as one of my more revered writers (especially his earlier stuff). He came to mind Friday night shortly after 8. From the perspective of many an Ottawa Senator fanatic, only King – the Sultan of Scare – could

Draft lottery awaits, Super A.J. returns, COVID still hitting hard

 A number of thoughts, observances, and opinions as we head towards Friday’s NHL draft lottery. Some of these thoughts are actually salient. Really. Hold tight. Tick-tock on an early Senators’ Christmas Finally, it’s here. There hasn’t been much of anything to get charged up about – for local NHL fans

Canadian teams look to post-season and draft

 Above: Morgon Reilley will return to the Leafs lineup (Courtesy NHLI via Getty Images) It’s lonely at the bottom. The Ottawa Senators – as discussed at great length in this space last week – won’t be taking part in the 24-team slap-and-tickle know as the NHL playoffs later this summer.

Senators set to play Wheel of Fortune

 Everything’s coming up roses? In the case of the Ottawa Senators, at the very least, the seeds have been sown. While much of the rest of the National Hockey League concerns itself with how the upcoming playoffs will look this summer, which involves 24 clubs, Ottawa likely won’t be paying

DJ Prosper offers some “Mental Motivation” during trying times

 In the midst of the alarming, global pandemic we are currently living through, we can all use a little uplifting as we deal with feelings of helplessness and struggles adapting to a new and very different way of life. Ottawa's very own DJ Prosper is striving to make people feel good

Some Netflix selections in lieu of news about the NHL draft

 As the Ottawa Senators prepare for the NHL draft – whenever that’s intended to take place – whilst (‘whilst?’) the rest of the world attempts to untangle what the hell dunce-caps Donald Trump and our vaunted say-nothing leader Justin Trudeau spout about COVID-19 (IMHO), there are more important things to

A work in progress?

 Upon reflection, maybe we should have called her Darcy Tucker, or maybe Ken Linesman or even Sean Avery. We settled on Maggie. Now, Maggie can mean many, many things and is ‘short’ for many, many things as well. Maggie can mean Magnificent or Magnanimous or Marvelous. Maggie can also mean

Report cards come a little – too – early

 We are supposed to be gunning for a playoff season just around the corner. We’re supposed to be talking about who’s going to win the goal-scoring race, Auston Matthews, Alex Ovechkin or David Pastrnak. We’re supposed to be talking about MVP and whether the unexpected Leon Draisaitl can accomplish the

Netflix ratings must be through the roof

 What to do, what to do, what to do? Seems like sports fans jonesing for something – anything – to fill their suddenly vast and endless free time now that hockey, baseball, basketball, golf, tennis, etc., etc. and etc. have been quarantined, the eyes and ears are turning to Netflix.

How will the NHL end its 2019/20 season?

 The NHL is currently at a standstill. Many predicaments lie ahead, but the one thing that all fans want to know is how will the NHL end its 2019/20 season? Truth be told, this probably doesn’t matter too much to the Ottawa Senators, they are currently in 30th position and

Dearth of hockey brings about ‘classic’ possibilities

 If you could have your choice of NHL games or series to re-watch, what would populate your list? That thought popped into my head Saturday night as I sat in front of my TV going: something’s missing . . . right – Hockey Night in Canada. Sure it was great

Few certainties in the Senators’ picture

 Anticipation, anticipation Is makin' me late Is keepin' me waitin' Carly Simon   Pretty cheesy lede, eh? Point being, in Ottawa playing the anticipation game is a daily occurrence, whether you’re a fan of the Senators or a finger-crossing rider on LRT. Things are seemingly never a certainty around these

Senators must be asking – where is everyone?

 So, here’s a question – would you hand over your hard-earned dollars to watch a young, mistake-prone yet energetic pro hockey team play in the world’s toughest league? The answer in Ottawa – yep, I’m talking to you – is apparently, not so much. Ottawa’s sad-sack attendance numbers have become

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

Senators latest skid nothing to gloss over

 Well, it could be more problematic, you could be Detroit. Actually we take that back, you WERE Detroit this past weekend. The Ottawa Senators took a plunge in to the pool that tells themselves they are the worst team in the NHL during their last collection of games. During this

Canadian clubs: the good and the bad and the in-between

 We’re right around the halfway point in this NHL season and as we are prone to do a couple of times per season, let’s have a glance at how our seven Canadian teams are faring, and what might lie ahead in the upcoming months. Across Canada? It’s truly a mixed

Making the grade – your Ottawa Senators

 A new year, and for a change, the Ottawa Senators head in with a modicum of hope. Couldn’t say that on the brink of 2019, or 2018. Been a while, eh? Face it, the farm is filled with potential plums and if you’ve been watching the world junior tourney, there

Brown/Senators: A marriage of disappointment

 You have to start wondering at this point – if you haven’t already - just what the heck is the game plan for one Logan Brown here in Ottawa? Sure, he’s up here with the big boys at the NHL level, but seriously, I think the guys who scrape the

Pageau, Duclair success clouds picture

 This wasn’t supposed to be so complicated. Rebuild, lose a bunch of games, play the kids and trade any or all of the veteran assets you hold. That was the intended plan, as far as we know. But Anthony Duclair and Jean-Gabriel Pageau spoiled it. Here’s the deal: At the

Tkachuk ka-chunks the opposition, repeatedly

 To Johnny (. . . and Jenny) Senator Fan, a few pressing internal thoughts and proposals and questions that need your attention. Have a look. Brady Tkachuk is a somewhat captivating character. This could be the understatement of the year. The second-year winger is kind of the anti-Mister Rogers. Instead