God’s Senators Heading to Hell in a Handbasket

This is a guest post by Nick, an Ottawa Senators fan living in Toronto.

Ecclesiastes 4:9: "Two are better than one because they have a good reward for their labour. For if they fall, one will lift up his companion. But woe to him who is alone when he falls, for he has no one to help lift him up."

Okay, let me clarify. “God” in this post’s title is not a reference to any superior being and it certainly isn’t meant to suggest that some omnipotent thing is on the Senators’ side. In fact, one thing is certain, there aren’t many on the Senators’ side these days. With their early turn of the century, elite team disappearing, Ottawa isn’t home to many bandwagon jumpers nowadays. The face of the franchise, however, remains as it’s been for over 15 years: Daniel Alfredsson (a.k.a. God). I’m not too sure how the nickname came into effect from Sens fans, but it wouldn’t be hard to see a connection from the early disappointments of the team (e.g., the 70 losses in the 1992-1993 season) and that first overall draft selection whose name I just can’t quite remember despite his legendary quote that will live on in infamy ("I'm glad I got drafted first, because no one remembers number two"). Then there was the Yashin debacle and despite the eventual payoff, courtesy of Mike Milbury, Alfredsson has remained the brightest light in the team’s history since his Calder win at 23 years of age.

With God aging, fans of the faded, powerhouse team were hoping that some of the other players around him would step up their game this season. A quick analysis of how this has turned out is beyond disappointing:

1. Jason Spezza – let me get it out of my system first, Heatley is a bastard. A backstabbing, greedy, unidimensional son of a bitch. That said, his chemistry with Spezza was unparalleled for several seasons there. Michalek’s play hasn’t been able to replicate even 50% of that and Spezza looks as though he’s drifting out of the ice, lost in a sea of mediocrity.
2. Mike Fisher – hockey players: don’t date Hollywood celebrities. Just don’t do it… unless you want your career to fizzle. The proof is in the pudding. Mike Fisher shows up to 20.5 games/year. Dion Phaneuf’s game has fallen off considerably to a point where I don’t think his mindset is even on the game at hand sometimes, and Mike Comrie… does anyone even know what team Mike plays for these days?
3. Chris Phillips – another case of the “I miss you” story. This time it’s due to the departure of Anton Volchenkov. Granted, things aren’t going down too well for A-Train in New Jersey, but Phillips’ play has dropped off considerably. He still possesses great smarts for the game but without a defensive partner, age is catching up to Ol’ Phillips and he can’t be responsible for Erik Karlsson’s continual brain cramps on every play.
4. Milan Michalek – cushy contract of 4.33 million/year for 5 goals this season and lingering injuries thus far. It’s just what the doctor ordered.
5. Nick Foligno – I’ll keep it short; he’s playing his way out of Ottawa. I’m thinking conspiracy?

I admit I’ve written this piece with a rather bleak outlook following two, appalling losses this week in which the Senators decided to show up to the game with no heart or vigor. Hell, icing the Binghamton Senators would’ve been a step in the right direction the other night against the Sharks.

So, where does this all leave us? Sitting seven points out of a playoff berth with a widening gap between the playoff-bound and non-playoff-bound teams growing in the East; you can bet one thing in Ottawa: heads are about to roll.

And, what’s the good news in all this? I just found who Mike Comrie apparently plays for! His newest union with the Pittsburgh Penguins isn’t going too well as he is a 0-goal player. Who would’ve thought…