Comparing The State Of The Franchise: Ottawa Senators vs Toronto Maple Leafs
By Jack Leiper
Apr 5, 2015; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Ottawa Senators forward Jean-Gabriel Pageau (44) and Toronto Maple Leafs forward Tyler Bozak (42) battle for the puck at the Air Canada Centre. Toronto defeated Ottawa 3-2 in an overtime shootout. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports
The cross-ontario rivalry has died down in recent years, but it’s still always interesting to compare the NHL’s richest in Toronto to Ottawa, a cap-team who has probably been managed better than the leafs.
Toronto has been a poorly managed team and one who just can’t seem to catch a break. They haven’t made the playoffs in a full-season since 2004 when Joe Nieuwendyk was their leading scorer. The rebuild has been going for a few years now, and it hasn’t succeeded.
Phil Kessel and Dion Phaneuf have come into Toronto expecting to be franchise players yet both have commanded high salaries and have had their fair share of disappointments.
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Ottawa has seen a number of changes themselves. With 3 captains in 3 years including Daniel Alfredsson and Jason Spezza leaving on poor terms, the team was able to make the playoffs in a year they weren’t supposed to. Ottawa has been an interesting team to follow and should continue to be moving forward.
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With each team expected to make changes, perhaps some more dramatic in Toronto, here’s comparing the state of the franchise in each of Ontario’s two NHL teams.