Let’s collectively admit it was tough to roll out of bed this morning if you live in Ottawa.
The fresh dusting of snow – coupled with the minus-16 windchill – was a painful reminder that we’ve reached the month of December. Add in a disappointing 6-1 loss on Sunday evening to the Dallas Stars and it’s the perfect recipe to start the new month in a sour mood.
But since I’m now leading a PR department, it probably falls somewhere within my job description to try and change your perspective. (Important caveat: I can’t do anything about the weather except to urge you to not look at the long-range forecast on your smartphone).
So let’s zoom out and take a big picture look at things, shall we?
Using December 1, 2024 as our starting point, the Senators have the third-best record in the Eastern Conference over the past 12 months. In that span, Ottawa has played 84 games and accumulated 104 points (.619 points percentage) – a mark that has only been bettered by Tampa (110 points) and Washington (108 points).
And the team finally busted out of those November shackles that have been holding them back for years. The Sens finished the month with a .577 points percentage in November – the first time the team has been better than .500 in November since 2016.
I understand that you’re worried and frustrated about the last four periods of Senators hockey, in which the team has been outscored 9-2. There is no amount of spin doctoring that can enhance the cosmetics around that ugly stat line.
But the big-picture view hopefully provides a dash of perspective and comfort.
And if it doesn’t, that’s quite alright too because being a sports fan isn’t supposed to be about being rational, methodical and deliberate. We’re a weird, quirky, irritable and superstitious bunch. (Anybody who has watched me take in a Dallas Cowboys game can vouch that I fit seamlessly into this bucket).
So I will reluctantly admit something for you this week, because I feel like I should own part of the blame for our loss in Dallas – even though I’m not on this road trip with the team.
On Sunday evening, my family booked a dinner to celebrate my mom’s birthday. The reservation was made for the same time as the Sens game and since my parents are in town visiting from Seattle, I couldn’t exactly switch the timing of this because it’s not like I see them on a regular basis.
This was the first Sens game I’ve missed in its entirety since I started this job 16 months ago and the result was nothing short of disastrous.
So my vow to you moving forward is that I won’t miss another Senators game.
And I’m genuinely sorry for putting my mom ahead of the Senators.
I’m not sure what I was thinking, but I can promise you that it won’t happen again.
Trivia time:
Since the calendar has flipped to December, let’s try a little trivia tied to this month. Daniel Alfredsson was born on December 11, but can you name the only other player in Sens history who was born in the month of December and scored 100 goals for the franchise?
Answer at the bottom of the column.
Next podcast guest: Kyle Turris
Our next Absolute Non-Sens podcast episode is set to drop Wednesday and we’re going to try something a bit different. So far we’ve done current players – Tim Stützle, Jake Sanderson, Drake Batherson – and our head coach Travis Green.
This week, we’re going to take a stroll down memory lane by connecting with Kyle Turris. Among the topics we hit on:
- I try and convince Kyle that he should apply to be a reader for the Calm app because his voice is so soothing and relaxing.
- Kyle goes into detail about some of his injuries, including a horrifying story about a needle mishap and how that high-ankle sprain he suffered in 2015 still bothers him to this day.
- A full breakdown of how he scored this weird OT goal against Montreal in the 2013 playoffs.
- And some behind-the-scenes stories of Daniel Alfredsson’s table tennis dominance.
Have any ideas for future podcast guests, segments or ideas? Hit us up at [email protected]
Media roundup: Looking back at some interesting and fun Senators stories you might have missed over the past seven days.
Linus Ullmark was willing to join the Daily Faceoff podcast with just three hours of sleep under his belt after a huge win in Vegas. Why? Because his old goalie partner from Buffalo Carter Hutton was the co-host.
Our reporter Jackson Starr caught up with Brady Tkachuk for a 1-on-1 on the ice in St. Louis just before his return to the lineup.
American Thanksgiving means it’s time to hand out first semester report cards. The Athletic staff did that last week and Sens beat writer Julian McKenzie handed out a B+ to Ottawa. (This brought back a complete random memory for me, to when I handed out grades to the Ottawa media during the 2011-12 season when I was a writer for Sportsnet.ca. I’m not sure if any of those jokes still hold up, but at least I gave my future Senators co-worker Sylvain St. Laurent an A).
Random thoughts:
We wanted to have some fun on social media with the return of Brady Tkachuk to our lineup after a 20-game absence. We tossed around some ideas and eventually settled on this: Putting up a No. 7 like a ‘bat signal’ above the Ottawa skyline. I have to give noted X humourist Julio Hashem some credit for suggesting that we had the light emanating from LeBreton Flats. That would have been a clever easter egg, but I can’t admit that we did that intentionally.
I wrote last week’s column about how Stephen Halliday’s dad grew up as a die-hard Maple Leafs fan. I can confirm that Jim Halliday reached out to me after reading the column last week and confirmed he has switched allegiances to the Senators, after five decades of Toronto fandom. Since I’m all about the big picture this week, that’s one down and about 2.7 million to go when it comes to converting Toronto fans into Ottawa ones.
Trivia answer:
Milan Michalek was born on December 7, 1984 and scored 115 goals with the Senators.
