Finally, Good Things Come to the Canadian Capital

You know, every sport has that one playoff clinch that you see and it hits some fans in the feels. Not just fans of the team involve, but fans of the central sport. When a team makes good, and especially when it's a team that's had a lot of hardship, bad luck, and black clouds hovering over them, it's among the best stories of that season. Regarding this NHL season, we expected the Buffalo Sabres to be said team, but they blew it. Again. 14 years without a postseason.

So who ended up taking that nod this year? None other than the Ottawa Senators. Before I mention the happy news, I have to start with this:

May 25, 2017. Game Seven of the Eastern Conference Final. The Senators made one hell of a run that year. They ousted the Boston Bruins and the New York Rangers to earn the right to represent the Atlantic Division in that year's Eastern Conference Final. The Sens faced off against the Pittsburgh Penguins, who were the defending Cup Champions looking to get back. It was a back and forth series that made it to Game Seven, and after 60 minutes, Game Seven was tied at two. After 80 minutes, Game Seven was tied at two. Overtime is always unpredictable, and an extra OT increases the variables. Sens were looking to reach the Stanley Cup Final for the second time in their franchise history, but fate had other plans.

Chris Kunitz ended it in the fifth period, and a Senators dream season saw them come very, very close to the Final. The pic above: Erik Karlsson and Sidney Crosby meeting in that single file line back then. Can you believe those two are teammates now?

The Trade

Barely a month into the following season was the now infamous three team trade that sent Matt Duchene to the Senators. The trade included the Nashville Predators and the Colorado Avalanche. The Preds were coming off reaching the Final. The Avs were coming off our worst season ever. The deal also sent Kyle Turris to the Preds, while the Avs received Samuel Girard, Andrew Hammond, Shane Bowers (who we dealt later on), and--among a few other picks--Ottawa's 1st round pick in the 2019 Draft. Preds won the Presidents' Trophy that season, Avs made a surprise run to the playoffs, but the Sens missed out. It got worse in 2018-19. That year, the Sens finished dead last in the Eastern Conference, and the team who really benefitted the most? The Avs. That year, the Avs fell one win short of reaching the Final Four, and because we had Ottawa's pick, we were in the Jack Hughes lottery that year.

Avs didn't win that lottery, we ended up drafting 4th and getting Bowen Byram, but he still ended up being a key piece for us. Preds remained a strong team. Avs eventually went on to win the Stanley Cup in 2022. Sens? Death. Horrendous season after horrendous season, despite some promise in recent years. However, this year, it appeared to be different. The Senators had a good first half, but would it stick? The Four Nations break saw the Sens in the Atlantic's Top 3, but they would slip out of there. Even so, they remained in the Wild Card standings, which were close until the Sens broke out on a winning tear. As a result, the Sens entered this day, April 8, 2025, with the right to end their playoff drought with a win. The win did not come, but another team's win did: the Canadiens over the Wings.

As a result:

April 8, 2025

It's over. It's finally over. The Ottawa Senators are Stanley Cup Playoff bound for the first time since 2017. I'm very happy about this, because this team was really destroyed by that trade (yes, my Avs really benefitted from it, but still). The Sens are a team who definitely deserves good things, and good thing came to them in the eighth day of April 2025. The Sens have a bit of a chance to pass the Panthers in the standings and move into the Top 3 in the Atlantic, but honestly, I want that Battle of Ontario. It's been 21 years since the Leafs and Sens went at it in the playoffs. We need this. BADLY.

Congratulations, Sens. You finally got back in. Regardless of what happens beyond this point, this year has been an awesome season for the Senators, without question.