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

It was a roller coaster of a ride for me as the Sens wound down the season with no post-season in sight. When I'd pick up the newspaper, I'd cringe if I saw them overtake another team in the standings as it jeopardized their chances of getting a high draft pick. But when the game was on, I wanted them to win. And since the trade deadline in late February, where they unloaded their veteran players and brought in a bunch of young, minor league guys, they've managed to win more than they lose. This at a time when, depending on the time of day, you didn't want them to.

So it should not come as a surprise that, not only did they not land the #1 pick in the draft lottery, they managed to fall from 5th to 6th spot as the New Jersey Devils, a team no one likes, managed to bump up to the #2 selection. All the articles I read about the draft lottery didn't even mention the Devils, but they did have a 3.8% chance of moving up. One of the few teams that would be a detriment to the Senators draft position, managed to do so.

The 2010-11 season will go down as perhaps the worst in Senators history. Not in terms of point production, as their inaugural season in 1992-93 holds that distinction, but in terms of disappointing the fan base in so many ways, through their performance on their ice, through the actions of management, through to this draft lottery where the team couldn't even lose properly heading to the 2011 draft.

This might sounds like a bit of a pipe dream on my part in hindsight, but at the start of the season, I had high expectations for the Senators. I figured that with their decent showing in the playoffs against the defending Cup champion Penguins while missing some key veteran guys, I figured with a healthy lineup and some now experienced younger players such as Peter Regin and Nick Foligno, they could take the next step. On top of that, and this may sound even crazier, but with the birth of my daughter, I thought that all the pains of seeing my Senators lose when they came so close was so that I could share a Stanley Cup victory with my baby daughter held in my arms. Isn't there some hockey gods out there watching, doing whatever it is that they do, that could make this can happen?

Well I guess some other lucky fella is going to enjoy their team take it all while they hold their newborn child. That's how it rolls, and that's the turmoil of supporting a team that has yet to win it all. But I'm going to end this on a positive note. Looks like the Senators have a goalie that can stop the frickin' puck for a change. Jason Spezza has been playing the best hockey of his career. The young callups from the AHL such as Colin Greening and Erik Condra have been playing with enthusiasm and excitement, something we haven't seen in a little while.

Maybe things are slowly starting to take shape to bring the team back to where I want it to be. Hopefully for me and the rest of Senators supporters, it's not another pipe dream.