... the Toronto Maple Leafs. That's pretty obvious. However, my inaugural blog post is not to talk about the Leafs. It is to say why their Ontario brethren are not so far off, and how a team I once liked has become a team I hate.
Ottawa, Ontario. It's not exactly the most vibrant city in North America. There's an axiom in Ottawa that is not widely known but many would agree with that the only people who live here are public servants or suicidal. Ottawa's highlights are government buildings, maple syrup farms, national museums, and the Sunshine Girl every day in the Ottawa Sun. It's safe to say that the residents of Ottawa don't see much excitement, which is odd for a city of about 1,000,000. Ottawa wasn't a happy place for much of anything... that is, until Cyril Leeder and Bruce Firestone decided to resurrect the Ottawa Senators. The media went gaga. The city went gaga. All of a sudden, Ottawa had something to look forward to.
The new Senators were bad at the beginning. Real bad. Like three consecutive last-place seasons bad. Like second-worst record in NHL history bad. Despite this, public enthusiasm was not tempered in the slightest. Even though these four years saw two owners, three GM's, and two head coaches, the people were still enthusiastic about their Sens, especially when a young Daniel Alfredsson won the first major trophy in club history with his 1996 Calder.
After Alfie won the Calder, Ottawa's promise suddenly turned into reality with the hiring of Jacques Martin, the longest-tenured coach in club history. Martin preached a defensive-style game which worked wonders with the speedy and hustling Senators and, in his very first season with the Senators, they made the playoffs largely on the back of stud goaltenders Ron Tugnutt and Damian Rhodes. In fact, they almost upset the heavily favoured Buffalo Sabres in the first round, losing by one goal in the seventh game of the series. This seemed to dawn the era of good hope however, even before, the stench of dysfunction had begun to pervade the Senators with the arrival of two mercurial young prospects: Alexandre Daigle and Alexei Yashin.
Stay tuned for Part Two: Daigle and Yashin, The Worst of Times and the Best of Times
Jessica Hart
Hilary Rhoda
NFL Fantasy Studs Week 11
Back in Time: November 23
Comments (6) Add A Comment
Good start.
I grew up in Ottawa and have followed every step of the franchise back from the early days --- When the thought of Ottawa getting a franchise again was just rumor and speculation - to the absurd original jerseys they were going to go with (that they unveiled during the bidding process) - the ones where the two TTs in Ottawa formed the parliament buildings.
As for excitement in Ottawa, you are right. A lot of the early exciting days were spend road-tripping to Montreal (via bus) for a Habs game or an Expos game. The Canal - the world's largest skating rink - was a winter plus - as was walking the bridge over to Hull in a drunken stupor at 1 a.m to get 2 more hours of bar time in.
I am starting to ramble. Please go harder on Yashin that Daigle in part 2.
YODA
Total Comments (16875)
Harder on Yashin than Daigle? You don't need to worry about that.
Redwing19: retired
Halifax, NS
Total Comments (35151)
Good start, and welcome aboard FanNation... glad to see more hockey writing on the site...
Bigalke
Springfield, OR
Total Comments (22305)
The two Parliament building??? That's horrible.
This has somewhat to do with what I was trying to say in my recent TD, but didn't outright say it: the Canadian teams seem to be able to pile up the points and sometimes lead the east, but then they usually tank in the playoffs. Not sure why that is. Generally that thought was held for the Senators, since they did so well, but Leafs have crashed before and you just saw it with Montreal.
Good blog, keep rolling.
santapig
Kansas City , MO
Total Comments (1318)
Thank you very much.
Redwing19: retired
Halifax, NS
Total Comments (35151)
Daigle= Biggest bust in NHL history.
Roberts#1: ROLL…
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