It was a busy year on and off the ice for the Ottawa Senators organization. There was the good, the bad and the ugly, heartwarming stories and tragic ones. Today I will begin my countdown of the top 10 stories of 2014 from the Ottawa Senators standpoint, with number 10 through number 6, and I will do the top 5 tomorrow.
10. Parliament Hill Tragedy / Tribute
October 22, 2014 will go down as the day the City stopped. Shootings in downtown Ottawa at the War Memorial and at Parliament Hill paralyzed Canada's Capital for the better part of a full day and caused the postponement of the Toronto Maple Leafs/Ottawa Senators game set to take place later that night. The Leafs were near the epicentre of the activity, watching much of it from their downtown hotel rooms.
The next game played was the following Saturday night, and three bitter rivals joined together for a once in a lifetime tribute to the two Canadian Forces members Nathan Cirillo and Patrice Vincent, who had lost their lives in separate attacks that week. Ottawa was joined by Montreal and Toronto in a simulcast of the tribute and singing of the Canadian National Anthem.
It was a tasteful and emotional tribute, essentially perfect considering the terrible situation that necessitated it. I was there and I have never heard 20,000 people be quiet enough to hear a pin drop on a bed of cottonballs like that night.
9. The Emergence Of Curtis Lazar
The Senators used their first round pick in 2013 on a centre from the WHL's Edmonton Oil Kings, Curtis Lazar. After joining the Senators organization, there was much focus on him as fans kept tabs on the future of the franchise and they were rewarded for their attention.
Lazar had a monster year, starting with a standout personal performance as a member of Team Canada at the 2014 World Juniors. Although disappointed to come away without a medal, Lazar was named the team's best forward, in a lineup that included 2013 3rd overall pick Jonathan Drouin as well as future #1 overall pick Connor McDavid.
Lazar followed that effort up with being named a first team WHL Eastern Conference All-Star , winning the WHL Championship and then a Memorial Cup Championship.
Lazar made the Senators in his second camp as a 19 year old Despite solid all-around play he struggled to find the back of the net, and in his 26th game he finally notched his first NHL goal. Days later he was released to play for Canada again, this time being named captain of the team. The rest of that story has yet to be written.
The emergence of Lazar as a legitimate NHLer now and for the future was a big positive to some of the negatives that happened over the past year, and watching him develop throughout the year and to have success that he will build upon personally is only a good thing.
Lazar could be the most anticpated prospect in the Senators system since Jason Spezza, with the pedigree and legacy of winning he brings. Not to mention the fact that the attitude he brings, the maturity he possesses and the constant smile on his face makes him impossible not to like.
8. Moving Downtown?
Late in the year, the Senators announced that they were putting in a bid to be a part of the redevelopment of the Lebreton Flats area of Ottawa, and with that a new downtown arena. That sparked debate about whether it was needed, if the downtown core could handle the inevitable traffic, who would pay for it and what would be the fate of the current building.
This story is still a long way from writing even the first chapter in what will be a very long and winding story, but will begin in earnest early in 2015.
7. Marc Methot's Nightmare
It has been a nightmare 8 or 9 months for Marc Methot. An injury that forced him to miss the opportunity to represent Canada at the 2014 World Championships never healed, and that injury still haunts him to date. He managed to suit up for 2 games with the Senators in early December, but the injury flared up again and there is still no timetable for a return.
The injury has left a big hole in the Senators' blue line, as his expected spot alongside Erik Karlsson on the top pair has become a mish-mash of stop gap measures and forcing players to play outside their comfort zone.
Combine that with the fact that Methot was set to cash in on a multi-year, multi-million dollar contract as his unrestricted free agency approached and you can sense the frustration all around with the situation. Methot had turned down a pretty lucrative offer from the Senators before the season, one that has subsequently been taken off the table. The result could end up being Methot signing a 1 year contract to show he can still bring his skills to the table, because I am not sure he will be able to secure the types of dollars he was counting on even if he can return from the injury at some point this season.
6. Contract Extensions Get Done
Methot's contract worries aside, there was good news on the contract extension front as the Senators opened their wallets to keep a group of pending free agents in the organization. The debate can and will rage on about the wisdom of the level of spending on certain players (I am looking at you, Milan Michalek), but keeping Clarke MacArthur, Bobby Ryan and Craig Anderson in the fold with healthy extensions shows a commitment to spending on behalf of the ownership and management.
I know some of you would like to have the budget instantly closer to the cap, and for a long time I was among that group. But things like this need to be done slowly, and within a couple of years with new contracts to the likes of Mika Zibanejad, Mike Hoffman, Mark Stone among others it will be in the neighborhood of the big spenders.
So that was the first half of my countdown, with the rest to come tomorrow.
The World Juniors tournament really kicks off this afternoon in Montreal when Team Canada faces Team USA in a showdown that will determine the #1 seed in their group, and in all likelihood get to avoid playing Sweden until the Gold Medal game.
Long predicted to be a showdown between McDavid and Eichel, the two frontrunners for the first overall pick in the 2015 NHL draft have each taken a bit of a back seat to more veteran teammates. Maybe it is the expectations that were probably too high for 17 year olds (Eichel turned 18 two months ago) to fulfill, but I think more has been expected, especially from McDavid. That isn't to say he hasn't been good in this tournament, but he hasn't been dominant although there is a lot of hockey left to be played. Aside from Eichel's pretty spectacular wraparound goal where he used his incredible reach, he hasn't really stood out either.
They say it is a 19 year old's tournament, and that is continuing to be the case with the likes of Sam Reinhart, Anthony Duclair, Max Domi Darnell Nurse and Shea Theodore leading the way. That isn't to say there can't be impact from McDavid and Eichel, because there is still a lot of tournament left and like I said, it pretty much starts today for both of the teams widely considered to be the favorites.
I am heading to Montreal again for the game, and from what I have seen I would give the advantage to Canada because of their 4 line depth. The Americans might be able to match Canada in their top 6, but 7 though 13 Canada has a distinct edge, and that is where the game will be won or lost.