The SBP Archives - Your less than frequent dose of SBP!

Sometimes it's easy to forget that, as much as a fan we might be of a certain team or sport and our emotions can attain the highest of highs or lowest of lows on any given night, the bottom line is that in the end, it's just entertainment. Players on any team come and go; we get the rare occurrence of a Daniel Alfredsson declaring Ottawa his home and plans to stay in the same city he plays hockey for, but that's the exception more than the rule. So as I pull my hair out wondering if the Ottawa Senators are attempting to become the most dysfunctional team in the NHL by having a player that wants to leave (Heatley) and signing a player that probably couldn't care less he was here (Kovalev), I remind myself it's just an escape for a few hours when the play, and I should try to leave it at that. It's the pessimist in me that's trying to turn optimist.

So with all these sideshows going on, when the NHL released the 2009-10 schedule, it was nice to imagine hockey starting up and what my Sens have to look forward to when the season starts. They play the Rangers and Leafs on the road before they come home to play the New York Islanders. As one of the worst teams in the league, this would normally be a bad choice, but with the #1 pick John Tavares in town, this makes it a must see. My only complaint is that the entire Central division is visiting Ottawa EXCEPT the Detroit Red Wings. This doesn't make any sense and would be a guaranteed sellout, but I don't work for the NHL so it's probably in our best interests. I also enjoy looking up what team the Sens will be matched up against on my birthday, but this year is a little different, as the NHL will be shut down for the Olympics. Hopefully, we'll have a meaningful Team Canada victory around that time.

Anyway...good times to look forward to starting in about 2 1/2 months!