SENShobo
Mumble Mumble, Something About Ends Being New Beginnings In Ottawa
by SENShobo on 04/01/09 at 09:06 AM ET
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If you’re reading this, then you must have heard the news. Ottawa’s 11-year playoff appearance streak has officially come to an end at the hands of man’s greatest friend, mathematics. Ok, so Florida and Montreal played a role as well, but there no longer need be any questions about the issue.
There are six games left, but don’t be left in dismay; there’s still plenty left for you to ponder.
I’m not going to talk about the game, because either you saw it, or all you need to know about it was that it was clear that it was a team without any kick or drive playing a team whose playoff drought is bookended by the fears of Y2K and the fears that should materialize today of the Conficker.c worm.
What’s left is a string of six games that goes Boston, Philadelphia, Montreal, Boston, New Jersey, Toronto. Ok, so there’s little chance that victories and losses in four of those games will mean anything, but you have to wonder about the other two.
Can Ottawa beat Montreal in the final week of the season, perhaps dooming the playoffs to be absent any eastern-Canadian team representation? There’s no real spoiling left except for this, and it’s hard to think of any spoiler role being more satisfying.
Except for that last game, against Toronto. How do you spoil a team whose egg was spoiled so long ago that it’s now grown legs? For all their perseverance, the highlight of the season came on opening night, when they outworked Detroit to their most impressive victory. From there, it’s been nothing but a long, slow slide down into Tavares-Hedman lottery draft seating position, to the cheers of Leaf Nation. Wouldn’t it be grand to see the Leafs sitting in fifth in the draft on Saturday, fans dreaming of taking the long shot odds and winding up with a franchise forward or defenceman?
Then, to hear a collective scream emanate from Ontario and parts unknown for every goal the Leafs scored, and the dream utterly destroyed by moving into seventh place, with no shot at either of the big boys, and Burke rolling over the idea of drafting Luke’s younger brother, Brayden Schenn. That’s the kind of impossible backwards logic odds spoiler role I can really sink my teeth into. Either way, when Buffalo finishes the season on the outside looking in, it will be the mere 3 of 12 points Ottawa let them take away from their meetings that will ultimately stand as the greatest factor in their disappointing finish.
Those other games are important too, mind you. Pre-season games are still a cash grab to some extent, but they are one of the few times when a coach and GM can test out roster options in real (if less competitive) game situations, without the concern of points being on the line. Because of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic break next season, the pre-season will be especially tight, as well. Since nothing is on the line now, it’s the best chance they have of seeing who can really pour their sweat and effort into Clouston’s system, and will play the biggest role in determining who makes the cut on one of the largest potential rosters Ottawa has seen in ages, at all positions.
Oh, and according to the Ottawa Sun, the Senators may indeed be on hotshot college standout Tyler Bozak’s shortlist, so things could wind up even more crowded before any draft day swaps and Canada Day free agent deals.
But, rest assured, even as things slow down, you will still be able to find me here, facts and opinions all a-jumbled, from now until the game begins anew. Even now I’m plotting my points and cases to be made, really I swear, and as soon as the rest of my life calms down, things will finally start to pour out, like liquid from a sponge thoroughly rung after a good cleaning. Or something less like that.
For now, let your mind wander and imagine the possibilities of this utterly free off-season.
For all the players and all the years they have played in Ottawa uniforms, only Alfredsson has seen Ottawa without playoff hockey; will the team look different out of the gates and through the season as fully rested and ready as any team for once?
Will Hugo benefit from having Papa Alfie around to help him as the school season winds down and tests ramp up, or will he groan and call out to Mama Bibi and ask if she can set him up a tee time or forty nine?
Will Fisher spend his time pensive in Peterborough, or making up for all the time that Carrie Underwood just had to spend in a box at Ottawa games by doing the same for her at her concerts?
Will Comrie have enough time to convince Hilary Duff that Ottawa is a great place to live, and that with the salary he’d have to accept to play here, she can be his sugar momma?
Will Murray, unburdened with any playoff thoughts, get a chance to do some scouting of his own in advance of the draft and free agency, or will he focus on signing every member of the Frozen Four so that Ottawa ‘has options’?
Will Ottawa people discover for the first time that Canada is more than just winter, winter, winter, and construction, that there’s actually a ‘spring’ and a ‘pre-construction’ that take place during a couple weeks in April when they’ve normally been glued to their televisions?
Will Senators fans discover the joy of watching playoff-quality hockey that doesn’t involve the Senators, picking their teams based solely on whoever’s playing against the teams that Toronto fans knew long ago they’d be relegated to watching come April?
Will Melnyk change the satellite hookup in Bert’s Bar in Barbados from Ottawa Senators playoff hockey to Binghamton Senators playoff hockey to avoid withdrawal and somehow throw off the SEC?
Will the notoriously short memory of Ottawa fans — the one that let them forget a season sweep at the hands of the Islanders, countless road trips’ worth of proving themselves as they fell to the bottom three in road record, and that saw the Senators occupying what could have reasonably been the draft-lottery-winning position for long stretches during the year — cause them to forget who they were cheering for, leading to trips east and west during the summer and greater numbers of Leafs and Canadiens flags flying double- and triple-strong from every roll-down-able window come September in the nation’s capital?
Ok, now I’m giving myself shudders, enough.
Filed in: NHL Teams, Ottawa Senators | SENShobo | Permalink
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