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Our Ottawa Senators Alumni recently held its annual Christmas party. As you could imagine, we all had a lot of fun. There were plenty of stories, thoughts, opinions and commentary about all sorts of things.

I always joke that, by the following morning after these get-togethers, the world will be a better place. That's because we solved all of the world’s problem the night before talking it out over a few cold ones. All topics are on the table and it’s always interesting to get so many opinions on the various issues that are in the news, whether it’s sports-related or otherwise.

With the Sens being a relative newcomer into the NHL (they entered the NHL in the 1992 expansion along Tampa Bay), our Alumni group is very much different than most. When the decision was made to form an Alumni association, there weren’t enough former Senators players that stayed in the Ottawa area when they retired to form an association. For this reason, the decision was made to include players who had played elsewhere in the NHL but now call Ottawa their home.

We have quite a cross-section of guys. Many of us had never met personally, but we battled against each other for years. It’s a very unique situation to hear another player’s thoughts about some of my former teammates, former teams, and their thoughts on some of the big games in which we squared off against each other.

Our members have pretty much every era covered. Fleming MacKell, our oldest member, played in the NHL in the ‘40s, a couple of players that played in the ‘50s, several from the ‘60s, and the bulk of our Alumni played in the ‘70s, ‘80s and ‘90s.

Like most Alumni associations, we do a lot charity and community work. It’s something we understand, something we have done most of our careers, and something that we enjoy doing.

Anyway, that's how we are set up. Now let's get back to the party!

The state of the game, both pro and minor hockey, is always a hot topic up here in Canada, and usually comes up pretty quick with the guys. We talked about hitting, concussions, and the lack of respect shown by many of today's players for their fellow players. It seems like we’ve been saying a lot of the same things on those same topics for a while.

Politics is always on the agenda, this topic usually clears the wives out of the room, some might argue it gets brought up on purpose for that reason alone. I won’t get into specifics of the political stuff but I can say that in a room full of old hockey players who tend to lean towards the right side of the political spectrum, the president of our neighbours to the south was a frequent target for most of the night.

Education was a big topic this year. I'm not sure why, but we had a few former teachers participating so it was interesting. Many of us speak in schools on a regular basis and we are all surprised at the sense of complacency that seems to be in the schools these days.

Common sentiment: When did it become okay to be just average? Not many kids strive to be the best anymore.

Since most of us played for several different NHL teams, when we discuss the NHL games we talk about pretty much the entire league, not just the Senators. After an Alumni event, I’m pretty sure I can tell you the good, the bad, and the ugly about almost every team in the league. It’s nice to get those updates, it’s like a more opinionated, more biased, version of SportsCentre.

I'll let you, my readers, in on a little trade secret that tends to be a truism around this game. Most of the best inside scoops on what's going on with a team do not come from active players, coaches or especially from front office people, even if they are former teammates and longtime friends. Rather, the best stuff often comes from trainers, equipment managers and support staff (scouts, for example) who still work for the team and with whom former players still keep in touch.

At our get-togethers, much of the evening is spent poking fun at ourselves from our playing days. Our Alumni has been together for 21 years, so we’ve all heard most of the stories several times, but it’s always great to hear the latest retelling. The tales tend to get more and more grandiose with each new version.

Additionally, our Alumni plays in several charity hockey games each year. I am pretty sure we’ve only lost twice in all the years we’ve been playing. The games are primarily for fun, but fun for hockey players also means winning. The competitive juices still flow.

The first loss was my first game as a Sens Alumni in 1995 and the second was our last game prior to the Christmas party. In that last game, we got killed.

As you can imagine, the games can be tough up here. Everyone can play hockey and the games can be very hotly contested with big-time bragging rights claimed by any team that beats us. With the loss still fresh, the jabs were vicious but I was reminded of the first game I played with the Senators Alumni.

My first game as a member of the Ottawa Senators Alumni was in Shawville, Quebec. I had been retired for three years and had not played a game since my final NHL game. Like many players when they first retire, I initially resisted playing in Alumni games for various reasons.

Johnny and Freddie Barrett kept calling me and I always said, "No, not yet." For whatever reason, when Johnny called for the Shawville game I said yes.

I always knew this, but I was reminded again that night, the Quebecois take their hockey very seriously! We were supposed to be playing the Alumni from their Jr. B team, the Shawville Pontiacs, a team steeped in tradition and success. Junior hockey in Canada is played by players that are under 20 years old, so the assumption was that we would be playing a team consisting of players basically the same age, somewhere around the 40-plus age category.

Boy, were we wrong!

The Pontiacs that evening were Alumni, but barely, I pretty sure the average age on their team was around 23 years old. With their young and active legs, they took it to us old guys. We got killed. We only had three defensemen that night. After not playing at all for three years, I don’t think that I made it off the ice that night.

Just like after a bad NHL game, I was tired and angry that we lost; both Johnny and Freddie Barrett were sure that I wouldn’t come back; but I felt like I'd gone back home. The small tiny dressing room that we got dressed in that night was perfect, and to top it all off, they had Labatt 50 on ice (my personal favourite beer, in case anyone was wondering).

I was hooked. I couldn’t wait to get back on the ice again.

Since then, I’ve played in more Alumni games than I can count. Each one is unique in its own way. Some are competitive and can even get a little chippy, and in some we feel a little like we're the Harlem Globetrotters putting on an athletic comedy show.

We might be playing in a corporate tournament, raising thousands of dollars for charity or we might be playing in a small town raising just enough money to install a defibrillator in the local arena, lately we’ve been putting on hockey clinics to raise money.

We charge an admission fee for the games but always donate it back to a local charity and we simply ask that a few beers be put in our dressing for after the game. We are old-school hockey players after all; meaning that a) we love beer and b) the liquid refreshment tastes even better when we don't have to pay for it ourselves!

Many people wouldn’t understand this or think it's trite, but as I said in a previous blog, the dressing room is everything. The dressing room environment is what the vast majority of athletes miss in retirement. Sitting around in our sweaty, smelly equipment and shooting the breeze with a cold beer in our hands is, as that credit card commercial says: PRICELESS.

Here’s a neat side note to one of our games: We were playing a men’s team in Barry’s Bay, Ontario. One player for the Barry’s Bay team was spectacular! One of our Alumni is a player agent and he got that guy a professional contract to play in the East Coast Hockey League.

We generally like to keep that story quiet, the games are hard enough without everyone thinking that they are auditioning to get a contract.

I digress again. Back to the party…

From beginning to end, accountability kept coming up, accountability on the ice and off the ice. Now I know I’ve touched on this in previous blogs, but tonight’s discussion was special.

First off, you have to understand the Alumni player. With most players from my era, even those of us who played into the 1990s, hanging up the skates meant you had to get a job in the real-life working world. We didn’t make the money that they do now, so our Alumni group -- most NHL Alumni associations will have a similar make up, by the way -- consists of teachers, lawyers, construction workers, hockey coaches, health professionals, restaurant owners, blue and white collar workers and, unfortunately, many who have a rough go of adapting to life after hockey.

When these guys talk about accountability, or any other topic for that matter, they talk about it from a wealth of experience. I honestly believe that the most recent hockey work stoppage could have been solved without missing a single game if they would have let a select group of Alumni do the negotiating. That work stoppage was all about two sides greedily fighting over their fractional slices of a very large, lucrative financial pie. It wasn't about survival of the teams or about players being able to support their families.

An interesting thought that came up during our many discussions at the party was the issue of hitting form behind. We can all agree that hitting from behind is dangerous and causes many of the injuries in today’s game.

When a player hits from behind he gets a penalty – that is the problem. Ever since they made it a penalty, hits from behind are on the rise. Why? As soon as it became a penalty many coaches began encouraging their players to turn their backs in order to draw a penalty.

If you watch a game today at any level, many players turn their backs to protect the puck knowing that they will not be hit. Back in the day we were taught never to turn your back on the play, never turn back into the play, you had to have your head on a swivel and know were you are going.

Another thing that came up several times was the compete level from years ago compared to today, especially when guys were talking about their former teams. Basically, the level in which the players compete game in and game out was brought into question.

The general consensus of NHL Alumni is that everyone is too comfortable, their contracts are so secure and so many have a no trade clause. The modern athlete has nothing to worry about therefore he does not play with an edge often enough. Not to sound too much the old timer preaching about “back in my day” but in my day you didn’t want to miss a shift.

If you weren’t proving yourself, you knew damn well that there was someone hungry for your spot in the starting line up. Ask some of our older members who played in the league when there were only a dozen teams. There was so much talent in the minors that if you didn’t compete, you could be replaced at the drop of a hat. That fear was unspoken but very real and very powerful.

Inevitably, the issue of the concussion lawsuit was brought up. None of the Alumni at the party had joined the lawsuit against the NHL. Most think it was silly. It looks like it’s a money grab by lawyers who see visions of a hefty cut for themselves as they tell their former hockey-playing client, "I can get you money, so just sign right here."

Another member thought was that it was an ill-timed, copycat lawsuit based on the NFL one. It’s a shame, because I won’t be surprised if some of the shadier participants end up ruining the case for someone with a legitimate claim down the road.

The majority of us grew up watching Hockey Night In Canada on CBC as kids so the big TV deal that the NHL just signed with Rogers in Canada was yet another big topic. I think it’s a strong deal, actually it is hard to believe or imagine. But what does it really mean? The owners get richer, the players get richer (some of them) and the salary cap is predicted to go to 80 million dollars in the next few years.

Unfortunately, all I think that the fans of the game will get out of it are higher ticket prices, higher concession prices, and higher parking fees.

Yet another passionate discussion: Crosby or Ovechkin? Just the same as the average hockey fan, our Alumni constantly debates the best player in the league. Especially with the Sochi Olympics coming up, we were all trying to decide which player we’d like to have on our team if we were competing for Olympic gold.

Hands down, the unanimous decision is Crosby. What has Ovechkin ever won? Yes, he’s won the individual awards, but never any team championships even when he's had suitable talent around him. Crosby has done both.

I know the debate will go on, especially with Ovechkin winning the MVP last year and scoring at record pace this year, but Crosby goes about his business. Yes, I know he whines too much, but so did Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux. In businesslike fashion, Crosby has collected a Stanley Cup and Olympic gold in addition to the individual honors.

To me, the debate over who is the best player might be a close one, but when it comes to who is the most valuable to a team, the answer is obvious. Go with the guy who has stepped up to deliver his team to the ultimate prize.

At our Alumni events, so much of the conversation ultimately boils down to our perspectives on the state of the game. When you’ve been a part of something so special as playing in the NHL, you feel an urge to maintain the things that made it so good.

On the surface, it seems that things in the NHL are good. In fact, listening to some, things are really good. But if you step back and take a look at it or in this case, listen to some former players, it is in trouble in many areas.

Attendance is down in many cities and the league is searching for an identity. Skill vs. toughness, toughness vs. fighting, skill vs. both of them, should fighting be a part of the game or should it be taken out. The players have no respect for each other, cheap shots or acts of violence are a part of far too many games. Suspensions seem to be at an all-time high and yet the cheapshots continue.

Perhaps most distressing to us is that hockey registration is way down in Canada. I’m not sure about the States but it is now deemed an expensive sport and far too risky and dangerous for some parents to let their kids play.

I hope you don't think that we gather just to complain about the decline of the game. As we get on in years, none of us want to become that cranky old guy rambling on and on about how things used to be so much better.

When I think about it, all of us just want everyone to experience the best parts of the game the way we did. With the Winter Classic on the horizon, the media really loves to play up the idea of hockey being played outside, the way everyone did when they were kids.

I don’t think I’m alone in saying that I wish there was a lot more of that spirit that you see on the outdoor rink, or in any of the best hockey moments. You work hard, you do your best and, in doing both of those things, you have fun. At the end of the day, that’s why me and my Alumni buddies turn out time and time again. We still have a lot of fun.

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