20 Years Ago, Two Choices Changed the Senators’ Future
Sometimes the hardest thing for a hockey fan is looking back at a really close team. Steve Warne reminded fans in an article in The Hockey News that the Ottawa Senators of the mid-2000s were more than just a good team. They were one of the best teams in hockey. The 2005-06 Senators won 52 games, finished with 113 points, and had one of the most dangerous lines in the NHL with Daniel Alfredsson, Dany Heatley, and Jason Spezza.
They had everything you wanted. Skill. Depth. Experience. And maybe most importantly, they had a window. But 20 years ago this summer, two decisions helped change the franchise’s direction.
Decision One: The Senators Chose Martin Gerber over Dominik Hasek.
At the time, you can understand why Ottawa made the decision. Hasek was 41 years old and had just suffered an injury at the Olympics that kept him out of the playoffs. The Senators wanted some stability in goal, and Gerber had just been part of a Stanley Cup-winning team in Carolina. It made sense.
The problem was that Hasek wasn’t finished. After leaving Ottawa, he went to Detroit and won 38 games with a 2.05 goals-against average. The following season, he helped the Red Wings win the Stanley Cup.
Meanwhile, Gerber struggled, and the Senators eventually turned to Ray Emery. Emery played well enough to help Ottawa reach the Cup Final in 2007, but you can’t help wondering what a healthy Hasek could have done with that team.
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Decision Two: The Senators Let Zdeno Chara Leave.
Chara wasn’t just a big defenceman. He was the kind of player every championship team needs. He was physical, he could play big minutes, and he became one of the best leaders in the NHL. The Senators had a choice between keeping their defensive anchor or keeping Wade Redden. They chose Redden.
Redden was a good player. But Chara became a Hall of Fame defenceman, won a Norris Trophy, became captain of the Bruins, and lifted the Stanley Cup in Boston. Looking back, the Senators didn’t fall because of one bad season. They fell because they lost two pieces that made them special.
The Senators Reached the Stanley Cup Final in 2007, but They Were Missing Key Pieces.
The Senators were a talented group. But it was never quite the same team. That’s the painful part for Senators fans. They weren’t starting from scratch. They weren’t rebuilding. They were right there on the edge of greatness.
Sometimes a championship window closes because a team gets old. Sometimes it closes because of injuries. And sometimes it closes because of two choices that looked reasonable at the time but changed everything afterward. That was the story of the Senators twenty years ago this summer.