Ottawa Senators Started Off as an Unlikely Dream

The Ottawa Senators are about to turn 25 this next season, and the fact that Ottawa even got an NHL franchise again is amazing to look back on.

An important date in the history of this organization is December 5, 1990. Coincidentally, that happens to be Walt Disney’s birthday, which is so fitting for a narrative worthy of being turned into one of those inspirational Disney movies.

Ottawa’s bidding team of Terrace Investments President Bruce Firestone, Terrace CEO Cyril Leeder, Terrace Vice President Randy Sexton, city mayor Jim Durrell, and accountant Gary Burns met with the NHL Board of Governors in West Palm Beach to convince them of the viability of Ottawa as an NHL city.

It was the capital of Canada, after all, and although Ontario already had the Maple Leafs, the city was rich in hockey lore, having the original Ottawa Senators play in the very first NHL game.

After the presentation was over, one of the governors coldly proclaimed “Not you, not Ottawa, not ever,” with distinct authoritative disgust.

The Senators were the brainchild of Firestone, who shrewdly envisioned the opportunity that lay before him, although he knew that it was going to be a challenging task right from the beginning.

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He had recently made a large real estate purchase of 600 acres at Huntmar Road and the Queensway.

It was largely up to this group of real estate developers to convince the league that Ottawa could support an NHL franchise.

The pitch centered around an arena being built in Kanata, and pointing out that 1.7 million people lived within an hour of that location. 15,000 people had already pledged for season tickets. The fan support was there.

Ottawa was one of eight cities making a presentation that December 5th, and got a response back from the league on December 6th.

With no knowledge of whether it would be a positive or negative announcement, the group was taken through the dreary basement of the Breakers Hotel, which seemed too dull of a setting to lead eventual big-wigs of an NHL franchise through.

They immediately felt as though their bid had been rejected, as water leaked in drops onto their heads from the pipes above them. Why would the winners be given a route like this?

However, they eventually got to a luxurious ballroom where they were greeted by an ecstatic Phil Esposito, who was leading the Tampa Bay bid.

It was the winners’ area, and the two groups were lead into another business room where they were met by an applauding Board of Governors.

Apparently the one guy who said “Not you, not Ottawa, not ever” had a change of heart in 24 hours, or was simply overruled and had to put on a plastic smile.

Next: Ottawa Senators Rank High in Goals Despite Low Shot Totals

25 years later, the dream lives on. The financial realities of the market sometimes make things difficult, but nobody can deny that the fanbase has done a great job supporting this team over the years.