Yashin, Hossa, Chara, Heatley And Alfredsson Softened Spezza Exit

Is it just me, or has the Ottawa Senators fan based become so jaded that they really don’t care any more?

First there was Alexei Yashin. His messy departure was the first in a long string of Senators stars letting their fan base down because they didn’t want to be here or the organization forced them out.

After Yashin came Marian Hossa, whose contract demands priced himself out of the Senators market and hours after signing a new deal was on a flight to Atlanta as a member of the Thrashers in exchange for Dany Heatley

After Hossa came Zdeno Chara, who spurned an Ottawa contract offer to join the Bruins as an unrestricted free agent. That was entirely his choice, although many fans’ revisionist history still blame the club for his departure.

Chara begat Heatley, who was a 2 time 50 goal scorer in his 4 years in Ottawa and never scored less than 39 goals, but couldn’t see eye to eye with Cory Clouston and demanded a trade and then held the Senators hostage in making a suitable deal by enforcing his no trade clause.

Then, last summer might have been the straw that broke the camel’s back and also the spirit of the Ottawa Senators fan when Daniel Alfredsson bailed. The long-time captain of the Senators and the man that had developed into the most beloved player in franchise history jumped ship after a pissing match with the Senators that neither side benefited from.