Monday, May 28, 2007
 | | Former Wheat King blueliner Wade Redden |
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Canadian teams have reached the last three Stanley Cup Finals, but that hockey-loving nation is still looking for its first championship since the Montreal Canadiens won it all in 1993.
Not only is the capital city rooting for the Senators to bring the Cup back home, the Sens have become a bit of Canada’s adopted team as well. Canadian teams have reached the last three Finals, and each year the entire country seems to rally behind them. In 2004, Canada supported the Calgary Flames against the Tampa Bay Lightning. In 2006, the Edmonton Oilers were the favorite sons against the Carolina Hurricanes.
And this time around, the country seems pumped for the Senators.
They are Canada’s team and thanks to two former members of the Western Hockey League's Brandon Wheat Kings, they're easily western Manitoba's team. Although the Ducks boast ex-Winnipeg Jets' Teemu Selanne and coach Randy Carlyle, the Sens have two former WHL all stars - defenceman Wade Redden and left-winger Peter Schaefer.
While Schaefer was a valuable member of the Wheat Kings when they travelled to back to back Memorial Cup Tournaments in the mid nineties, Redden led Brandon to the '95 event in Kamloops.
Redden, who had seven goals and 36 points in 64 games for Ottawa this past season, was the WHL's Rookie of the Year in 1994 while Schaefer was the League's Player of the Year after scoring 49 goals and 123 points during the 1996-97 campaign.
“For the couple of weeks we have a chance to be that,” head coach Bryan Murray said. “I think there's such an interest and a fascination and emotional attachment to hockey in Canada that when you are representing the country, I think that it's remiss not to think that everybody gets or most everybody gets caught up into it.
“So I think that's a great thing. I remember when other Canadian teams like the Montreal Canadiens won the Cup, whether we were Montreal fans or not, we're attached to that fact. Right now in the city of Ottawa, the involvement in the game, the emotion, because of the position the team is in, has certainly brought a lot of pride to the community. So it would mean a lot. There's no question. As I say, I hope we're Canada's team and I think at least for now we are.”
While the nation may be pulling for the Sens, the city of Ottawa is expected to be completely berserk. We’re talking dancing-in-the-streets mania. If they win, the party will be one for the ages.
“They're extremely fired up,” captain Daniel Alfredsson said. “Obviously it's a little bit -- it's not as high now as it was Saturday night or Sunday after we beat out Buffalo, but I think everybody is real excited to get going.
“I know our home games is going to be crazy. It's going to be an unbelievable atmosphere in our building, no question. It's a lot of fun walking out around town for small periods of time, not too much. But it's been a fun time.”
Earlier in the playoffs, Murray couldn’t get into a restaurant in the market district after a home game because there were so many people packed in the joint. The city has wrapped itself around the Senators. They’re four wins from winning their first Stanley Cup and people can’t get enough of them.
It wasn’t always like that.
There was a time when the Senators seemed fragile in the playoffs. Even before then, there was a period when they were just an expansion team in 1992, trying to keep their heads above water. There were lean years when the team ran out of money. The Yashin Years.
“My first year, 95-96 was obviously an interesting year,” Alfredsson said. “We had a tough year as a team. I think we won 14 games. Dead last.
“It started to change when Jacques Martin came in, in January that year and took over as the coach. He really got us playing much more of a defense-style game, playing with less skill than most teams. We had to really look after our own end. And I think it had results pretty much right away. The following year we squeezed into the playoffs for the first time and I think we lost to Buffalo in seven games. We've been in the playoffs ever since. But even though we've had some failures, I think this franchise has done a lot of great things. Playoffs 10 years in a row. Scouting staff has obviously done a great job scouting some great players throughout the years.
“It's been an evolution here and we had a couple of disappointments,” he said. “Some really good teams. Changes were made and Murray came in. I think he's been able to take us to another level.”
Now it’s almost impossible to buy a ticket to the games without a small fortune at your disposal. But it wasn’t always that way. So few people used to attend games that the Senators always seemed in danger of relocating.
“It was hard times, no question,” Alfredsson said. “But for us players, we talked about it quite a bit … At the end of the day the best thing we could do is go out and win games to get people to jump on board and the season ticket drive that was going on. We felt we wanted to stay in this city, there's no question.
“And I think we played really well under a couple of weeks period there. And obviously now with the change in ownership for us and the stability we have now, it feels really good to be able to still be in Ottawa.”
They may have become Canada’s team this spring. But first and foremost, they are Ottawa’s team.
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