The 50 Greatest Ottawa Senators Of All Time: #50 – #41
By Jack Leiper
Editor’s Note: Edit – July 20th. This is the first part in a five-part series, all 5 parts will be rolled out in the coming days. I will update this post at the top and make sure the proper links are there when other parts are released!
Edit – July 21st: part two is here!
Part Two: #40 – #31
Part Three: #30 – #21
Part Four: #20 – #11
Part Five: #10 – #1
For now, enjoy players ranked #50 – #41 and share your thoughts below..
50. Bryan Smolinski
Stats: 171 GP, 39G, 102P
Height/Weight: 6foot1, 205lbs
Acquired: Trade with Los Angeles (Bryan Smolinkski for Tim Gleason and Future Considerations)
After a few productive seasons in Los Angeles, the Senators, needing depth down the middle sent promising youngster Tim Gleason to the Kings in exchange for Smolinski. Smolinski would provide three productive years to the Senators in the middle of the team’s best years. He worked as a support player from 2003 – 2005, putting up 46 and 48 point seasons.
His name might get lost in talk of what was an amazing 2005-06 roster (Heatley, Alfredsson, Spezza, Vermette, Havlat, Chara, Redden, Fisher, etc. etc.) but Smolinkski was 6th in regular season scoring that year. He only spent 171 games in Ottawa, but the usefulness and impact he had on the team puts him at number 50 on the list.
Next: #49: The 1992 Erik Karlsson?