The 50 Greatest Ottawa Senators Of All-Time: #10 – #1
By Jack Leiper
We are into the final piece of our top 50 Senators list.
If you missed the other parts, be sure to check them out here:
Part One: #50 – #51
Part Two: #40 – #31
Part Three: #30 – #21
Part Four: #20 – #11
Kicking off part number 5..
10. Martin Havlat
Dec 13, 2014; Dallas, TX, USA; New Jersey Devils right wing Martin Havlat (9) skates against the Dallas Stars during the game at the American Airlines Center. The Stars defeated the Devils 4-3. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
Stats: 171 GP, 39G, 102P
Height/Weight: 6foot2, 210lbs
Acquired: 1999 NHL Draft (26th Overall)
Martin Havlat left Ottawa far too soon. The Senators had a young star under their control who was capable of 60-70 points each year and made a regrettable move by sending him away as a young player. He was a home-grown product and had already put up 59 and 68 point years in his 4 seasons with the club.
His departure to Chicago came after a contract dispute and the Senators wouldn’t receive any impact pieces back (just Tom Preissing, Josh Hennessey, Michael Barinka, and a 2nd round pick). Havlat would join Chicago and play at a point-per-game pace there, leading to what was a productive career after Ottawa.
Why is he so high on this list? He wasn’t a Senator for very long, but when he was he was a great Senator. He appeared as one of the NHL’s youngest and brightest talents and would prove he was an NHL force over his 800 game NHL career by recording nearly 600 points during that time. Havlat played at a 0.78 ppg pace in Ottawa and is still top 15 in all-time Senators scoring, leaving us no choice but to rank him highly on this list.