As I wrote yesterday, the lack of an alumni game as part of the Heritage Classic is disappointing. However, that doesn’t stop me for proposing a group of former Ottawa Senators that could make up an Alumni Team. Ottawa doesn’t have the storied history of many other teams in the NHL because of their recent inception.
There would be no criteria like the Red Wings had where you had to have Stanley Cups or individual awards to qualify to be on the team. Ottawa’s alumni would be pretty sparse if that were the case.
So, here are the players I would have on my Senators Alumni team.
GOALIES
Ron Tugnutt – fan favorite from 1997-2000, sits 3rd in franchise wins.
Damian Rhodes – Split time with Tugnutt between 1996-1999. 5th in franchise wins.
Patrick Lalime – Was great for Senators until one 3rd period against Toronto. 2000-2004, Franchise leader in wins by a mile.
DEFENSEMEN
Mar 3, 2013; Dallas, TX, USA; St. Louis Blues defenseman Wade Redden (6) warms up before the game against the Dallas Stars at the American Airlines Center. The Stars defeated the Blues 4-1. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
Wade Redden – 838 games in 11 seasons, 410 points leads all Sens blueliners. The only defenseman with 100 goals in a Sens uniform
Norm Maciver – Original Senator. Led the team in scoring in their inaugural season with 63 points.
Steve Duchesne – Scored the goal that clinched the Senators’ first ever playoff berth in 1997.
Brad Marsh – Original Senator. Fan favorite in that first season. First Senators representative in the All-Star game.
Brad Shaw – Original Senator. Was co-captain in the 2nd year of the franchise.
Lance Pitlick – Hard nosed defensive defenseman did the little things during his 228 games over 5 seasons in Ottawa.
Jason York – 380 games in an Ottawa uniform, now a radio personality on TSN 1200 in Ottawa.
FORWARDS
Neil Brady – Original Senator. Scored the first goal in the franchise’s history in an opening night win against the Canadiens.
Laurie Boschman – Original Senator. First captain in franchise history
Alexandre Daigle – First overall draft pick. Very underwhelming and disappointing career. Two 20 goal seasons. 300 games.
Randy Cunneyworth – Senators Captain for 4 seasons
Sylvain Turgeon – First ever selection in expansion draft. Original Senator. Led the team with 25 goals in the inaugural season.
Radek Bonk – A 3rd overall pick never really panned out offensively, but turned into a reliable shutdown forward under Jacques Martin. Played almost 700 games in Ottawa, and is 7th in goals (5th in points) in franchise history.
Shawn McEachern – Speedy winger had 4 20 goal seasons in Ottawa. Sits 8th in all time goals for the Senators.
Magnus Arvedson – The Machine was one of the strongest wingers along the boards in the franchise’s history. Didn’t have much finish for a Swede.
Bob Kudelski – Was on pace for a 50 goal season in the second year of the franchise before he was dealt away because the Senators apparently didn’t want to win too much.
Mike Peluso – Original Senator. Holds franchise record with 318 PIMs in a season, set during the first year.
Denny Lambert – Was Chris Neil before Chris Neil. Fought anyone despite being undersized for that role.
Dennis Vial – Complete the tough guy line. Had 30 fights in 1995-96.
Noticable by his absence because a) he would never be invited and b) probably wouldn’t accept the invitation anyway is Alexei Yashin.
With so many former players still active (Marian Hossa, Mike Fisher, Zdeno Chara etc.), it is tough to come up with a star studded roster.
Who would you have on your team that I may have missed? Comment below…