In a bit of a slower day, let’s make an All Time Ottawa Senators Team. For the purposes of this article, tenure does not matter as much, I will just assemble a team of the greatest players to suit up with the Senators throughout their careers. We’re going to break this into two separate articles, the first one breaking down the forward lines.
First Line
Dany Heatley – Jason Spezza – Daniel Alfredsson
The greatest line this team has ever seen, there was no way I could ignore the pizza line, and more importantly, I had to put them on the same line. Dany Heatley is easily the greatest goalscorer this team has ever seen, scoring 50 goals in a season on two separate occasions. Skill-wise alone, Jason Spezza is probably the greatest center in Ottawa Senators’ history, although that may change soon. The greatest Ottawa Senators is next in Daniel Alfredsson. He holds virtually every offensive team record, and was the first player to have his jersey number retired (I don’t count Frank Finnigan because his number was retired for his contributions in bringing the NHL back to Ottawa).
Second Line
Brady Tkachuk – Tim Stützle – Marian Hossa
The current captain of the Ottawa Senators, Brady Tkachuk is already establishing himself as one of the greatest players in franchise history. At 125 career goals, he’s already in the top 10 for goals as a Senator. You might think Tim Stützle is too young to be added to this list but I beg to differ, his 90 points this past season put him as the first Ottawa Senator to score 90 or more points in a season since Jason Spezza did it in 2007-08. Stützle is also probably going to be the next Ottawa Senator to score 100 points in a season. By the time his career is over, he will most likely be in the top 3 when it comes to the greatest players in franchise history. The final player of this trio is none other than Marian Hossa. Hossa was drafted by the Ottawa Senators and began his career with the team. In 7 seasons with the Senators, he was able to score 188 goals, and 202 assists for 390 points. These 390 points are the seventh most in team history.
Third Line
Martin Havlat – Alexei Yashin – Mark Stone
Probably one of the first pure goalscorers in franchise history, Martin Havlat suited up in Ottawa for 5 seasons. In those five seasons, he managed 105 goals and 130 assists for 235 points. Although his time with the Ottawa Senators did not end well, it’s impossible to deny Alexei Yashin‘s talent. The team’s first-ever draft pick was very good when he played with the Senators. In 504 games with the Ottawa Senators, Yashin scored 218 goals and 273 assists for 491 points. These numbers are good for third in franchise history for goals, fifth in assists, and fourth in points. Did you know that there are only 3 players to have scored 500 or more points as an Ottawa Senator? The last player on this line is Mark Stone. Stone was drafted in the sixth round of the 2011 draft, and is probably the second biggest draft steal in Ottawa Senators’ history. Unfortunately, he was one of the victims of the rebuild, being traded away to the Vegas Golden Knights.
Fourth Line
Mike Hoffman – Kyle Turris – Claude Giroux
While things did not end the right way for Mike Hoffman with the team that drafted him, it’s important to remember how great of a player he was with the team. Hoffman was the team’s best goalscorer for about half a decade, scoring no less than 22 goals in a full season with the team. Next is one of my favorite players of all time, Kyle Turris. Turris was a disgruntled young player that was acquired for a very cheap price and realized his potential with the Ottawa Senators. Turris started as the team’s second-line center and then was pushed to a number-one center role when Jason Spezza left. Although Turris was better suited as a second liner, he impressed on the first line. With Ottawa, Turris was good for about 50-60 points on any given year and his impact was felt even more off the ice with his numerous acts of charity within the community of Ottawa. Finally, let’s mention a player who’s only played in one season with the team so far, Claude Giroux. In his first season in Ottawa, Giroux was able to score the most goals in a season in his entire career with 35 goals and was able to even score his 1000th point in the same year. Giroux has been phenomenal in Ottawa thus far and has established himself as a great leader on the team.
Honorable Mentions / Extra Forwards
Alex DeBrincat – Radek Bonk – Chris Neil
Alex DeBrincat might be in his first season as an Ottawa Senator, and even though he had a bit of a down year, he’s the 50-goal potential player the Sens have had since Dany Heatley, so he had to be mentioned in this list. Radek Bonk was pretty great with the Senators, as he’s currently 7 all-time in goals with the team with 152, sixth in franchise assists with 247, and 6th in points with 399. Finally, it’s time to mention the latest player to have his number retired, Chris Neil. Neil wasn’t a superstar in the NHL at any point in his career, but every single list has him there, why? One word, intangibles. Chris Neil is the greatest enforcer in team history, and arguably one of the greatest enforcers in NHL history as a whole. Another thing to mention is that Chris Neil could also contribute offensively. He was the perfect bottom 6 forward during his time in the NHL. He was good for 10-15 goals per year during his prime, and even out of it could score 5-10 easily.
Want your voice heard? Join the SenShot team!
Closing Thoughts
The Ottawa Senators have had many great forwards on their forwards, and I know I missed quite a lot, but I felt it was important to limit the number of honorable mentions in this mini-series to pretty much be able to theoretically “ice” this team in an imaginary game. To sum it up, here is the forward lines to this teams
Dany Heatley – Jason Spezza – Daniel Alfredsson
Brady Tkachuk – Tim Stützle – Marian Hossa
Martin Havlat – Alexei Yashin – Mark Stone
Mike Hoffman – Kyle Turris – Claude Giroux
Extra Forwards: Alex DeBrincat, Radek Bonk, Chris Neil
That’s it for this one, look for my piece on goalies and defense tomorrow!