The 50 Greatest Ottawa Senators Of All Time: #50 – #41
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?
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49. Norm MacIver
Stats: 161 GP, 24G, 97P
Height/Weight: 5foot11, 180lbs
Acquired: Waiver Claim (Edmonton Oilers)
Before there was Erik Karlsson, before there was Wade Redden, there was Norm MacIver.
While his last two seasons weren’t very memorable, MacIver led the innagural Senators in points as a defender. His -46 plus/minus line also nearly led those innagural Senators. However, 63 points in 80 games was a stat-line that Wade Redden didn’t beat and led the Senators in defensive scoring until Erik Karlsson’s 76 point total in 11-12 beat him out.
MacIver entered the Senators organization a waiver claim from the Oilers. He would eventually leave the organization in a trade that brought back Martin Straka.
MacIver gets the nod in our top 50 list, considering what he accomplished for the innagural Senators and how his 63 points led Senators defencemen for almost 20 years.
Next: #48: A Former First Rounder, Top Rookie
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48. Patrick Eaves
Stats: 157 GP, 38G, 71P
Height/Weight: 6foot0, 200lbs
Acquired: Draft Pick (29th OA, 2003)
A former Senators first rounder, Patrick Eaves was an impressive rookie and a player the Senators once viewed as a future piece. He would later be shipped out in the Joe Corvo Carolina deal and still plays today in Dallas, where he registered a career year in terms of point production.
Eaves’ is on a list with just Mika Zibanejad, Jason Spezza, and Erik Karlsson as 2000’s Senators draft picks who would go on to score 20 goals in a season, and Eaves was the only who did it in his rookie season.
He didn’t put up a ton of points in Ottawa, and his stay wasn’t long. However, the promise he showed as a rookie and his near 500 games of NHL experience gives him a spot on this list.
47. Joe Corvo
Stats: 152 GP, 17G, 74P
Height/Weight: 6foot1, 210lbs
Acquired: Free Agent Signing (Los Angeles)
Joe Corvo was once a prominent piece to a Senators defensive group that included Wade Redden, Chris Phillips, Anton Volchenkov, and Andrej Meszaros.
Corvo was part of the Senators team that went to the 2007 Stanley Cup finals where Corvo became an important piece by recording 9 points in 20 playoff games. He’s also remembered for scoring an important game 2 playoff OT winner vs Buffalo.
Corvo later left the organization as a cap dump that returned the Senators two UFAs in Mike Commodore and Cory Stillman. He would come back to bite the team in his return, as he scored a hat-trick as a member of the Hurricanes in Ottawa.
His second stint with the team wasn’t as memorable, as he dressed on occasion as a 7th defender in 2013-14. Today, Corvo is out of the pro game as he remains a UFA following his last professional game being played with the AHL’s Chicago Wolves in 2013-14.
Next: #46: Top 50 Ottawa Senators Of All-Time: Number 46
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46. Sylvain Turgeon
Stats: 152 GP, 47G, 88P
Height/Weight: 6foot0, 190lbs
Acquired: 1992 NHL Expansion Draft (20th overall, Montreal Canadiens)
Turgeon was one of Ottawa’s better scorers during the early years and as an expansion pick, he had a few decent seasons in Ottawa, but was never anything spectacular. He’s remembered for scoring the Senators first game winning goal, against his former team, the Montreal Canadiens.
Turgeon was a former 2nd overall pick by the Hartford Whalers with whom he played 7 years of good hockey with. It was in Hartford where he would record a career high 79 points. He would finish his career with the Senators and just a hair under 500 points; 88 came with the Senators.
He played three years in Ottawa, playing at around a 0.50 PPG pace. He suffered some injuries, which led to his departure from the NHL, but gets put on the list due to his early and mildly productive years in Ottawa.
Next: #45: 19 Goals As A Defender, Playoff Clincher
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45. Steve Duchesne
Stats: 140 GP, 31G, 83P
Height/Weight: 5foot11, 195lbs
Acquired: Trade with St. Louis (2nd Round Pick)
Win an you’re in. The scenario the Senators are faced with in early may 1997. The only thing that stands between the Senators and the playoffs are the league leading Buffalo Sabres and all-star goaltender Dominik Hasek. Both Goaltenders (Tugnutt and Hasek) are pitching a shutout heading into the last five minutes.
Then comes along last minute hero, Steve do do dooo do Duchesne (seriously, listen to that call). With a 1-0 victory, the Senators clinched their first ever playoff birth. Duchesne with the winner.
Duchesne was another early defender for the Senators who was rather productive. His record of most single season goals by a Senators defenceman (19) stood until Erik Karlsson’s 13-14 campaign (21) bettered it nearly 15 years later.
Duchesne played 140 games in Ottawa, while recording 80 points during that time. His time in Ottawa was short, as it lasted just two seasons, but his seasons of 36 and 47 points led Senators defenders until he was shipped out of town in exchange for Igor Kravchuk, a player who would spend 4 years in Ottawa.
Duchesne played productive hockey elsewhere and would end up with over 1100 games of NHL experience and 750 NHL points. Perhaps he’s best remembered by NHL fans as a piece in the Eric Lindros trade and by Senators fans for holding the most goals as a defender record as well as scoring the Senators first playoff clinching goal.
Duchesne is put at 45 due to his two productive years in Ottawa as he was an asset to the organization over two seasons.
44. Shaun Van Allen
Stats: 495 GP, 44G, 133P
Height/Weight: 5foot11, 195lbs
Acquired: Trade with St. Louis (Trade with Anaheim w. Jason York for Marc Moro, Ted Drury)
It seems like if you weren’t an obvious choice for this list, you better at least have a big OT winner or clinching goal to your name. Shaun Van Allen is no exception to that rule.
Van Allen’s OT winner came in 2003 during game one vs the New Jersey Devils. Although the Senators would fall to the Devils as they would win the Stanley Cup, the energy of the building in the clip above displays how monumental the goal was.
Van Allen spent 6 seasons in Ottawa, mostly acting as a 4th line center for the team. He’s top 10 in games played for the organization as he posted 133 points in 465 games. He had two stints with the club, with his best season coming during the second when he posted 32 points.
He entered the organization with a trade that also brought important piece, Jason York to town. The return going the other way included the rights to Marc Moro and Ted Drury. Van Allen and York would become good pieces for the Senators as it was one of GM Pierre Gauthier’s better trades.
Van Allen is remembered as being a productive, career Senator. He spent the majority of his career in Ottawa and his OT winner, combined with nearly 500 games puts him on the list.
Next: #43: The Most Skilled Senator Of All Time?
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43. Alexei Kovalev
Stats: 131 GP, 32G, 76P
Height/Weight: 6foot1, 224lbs
Acquired: Free Agent Signing
It’s easy to forget that Alexei Kovalev was an Ottawa Senator. He played two seasons from 2009-2011 and was a regretable UFA signing following his time in Montreal.
His first year as a Senator wasn’t a complete bust, as Kovalev posted nearly 50 points. He’s recognized as one of the NHL’s most skilled players of all-time, but his time in Ottawa was more recognized for inconsistencies. That said, he’s arguably the most skilled player the Senators have ever seen, and that’s including Erik Karlsson.
He was shipped out in 2011 to the Pittsburgh Penguins for a 7th round pick, which would end up being current Binghamton Senator, Ryan Dzingel.
While he only played 130 games in Ottawa and recorded 76 points, it’s hard to ignore Kovalev’s skill and prowess elsewhere. Kovalev, now retired (but not officially), finished his NHL career with a Stanley Cup, over 1300 games of experience and 1100 NHL points.
Next: #42: A Current Ottawa Senator On The Rise
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42. Mike Hoffman
Stats: 105 GP, 30G, 54P
Height/Weight: 6foot0, 185lbs
Acquired: Draft Pick (5th round, 2009)
Mike Hoffman just completed his first full season in the NHL. He certainly has potential to jump up this list as he’s still only 25-years-old.
Currently, he’s ranked above other players as he’s already done something that only 10 other Ottawa Senators have done and that’s lead the Ottawa Senators in goal scoring over a regular season.
He, like Kovalev is an incredibly skilled player who could be the fastest guy to ever lace them up in a Senators jersey. His year ended poorly, as he was used on the 4th line by coach Dave Cameron, but he’s projected to bounce back and have another good year inside the Senators top 6.
Hoffman just graduated to the NHL. He only has 100 NHL games of experience and has what seems like a full career ahead of him. I’d expect he would jump this list, as pending a move, his speed and skill projects to bring the Senators some solid point production for a few more seasons.
Next: The Greatest Goaltender To Ever Appear In A Senators Uniform
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41. Dominik Hasek
Stats: 43 GP, .925sv%, 2.09 GAA
Height/Weight: 6foot2, 180lbs
Acquired: Free Agent Signing
Hasek only played 43 games in Ottawa, but he’s put on the list because of who he is—arguably the best goaltender in NHL history. Hasek suited up for the Senators in the 05-06 season, and performed well. He went 28-10-4 with a .925sv%, as the Senators had the makings to take a cup run with Hasek.
The issue, came during the 2006 Turin Olympics. Hasek represented the Czech Republic but was injured during competition. When it came to a north american return, Hasek wasn’t in game shape and didn’t play for the Sens in the playoffs.
Many say it cost the Senators a cup as Ray Emery would get into the second round, but the eastern conference leading Senators weren’t able to reach the end of an incredible season.
It was reported that Hasek was willing to take a reduced salary to join the Senators for the next season, but the Sens would decline the offer, leading Hasek to return to Detroit where he would win another Stanley Cup in 2008-09, however with Chris Osgood leading Detroit in the playoffs.
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Wrap-Up:
Hasek concludes the first part of our Top 50 list. Coming up soon are the next 4 parts, all in segments of 10. Stay tuned!
Next: Top 10 Ottawa Senators Prospects: Post NHL Draft