Ottawa Senators emerge as genuine contenders

Source: Technology Digital

Date :12/10/2007 7:59:22 AM

Cyril Leeder, chief operating officer (COO) of the Ottawa Senators, talks openly about the hockey team’s remarkable emergence as Stanley Cup contenders.

Members of the Northeast Division of the NHL’s Eastern Conference, Ottawa Senators, who play their home games at the 19,153 capacity Scotiabank Place, are the current Eastern Conference champions, holders of the Prince of Wales Trophy and runners-up in the 2007 Stanley Cup finals.

After reaching their first finals in 80 years, the Senators missed out, losing to the Anaheim Ducks four games to one. Despite this setback, the team has returned this season stronger than ever, determined to go one better and bring the trophy back to Ottawa.

Last season’s head coach Bryan Murray has moved up to general manager and assistant coach John Paddock assumed head coaching responsibilities. Both know the system well and this, coupled with a strong squad of players, makes the team from Canada’s capital city the one to beat in the Eastern Conference.

Fears of a Stanley Cup finals hangover have been quickly put to rest this term - the Senators have won 16 of 21 games so far this season and top the Northeast Division. “We have an elite team, which is only going to get better,” explains Cyril Leeder. They are realistic contenders for hockey’s ultimate price.

Tying several young, highly talented hockey stars to long term contracts, the Senators will continue to bring top-class hockey to Canada’s capital for the foreseeable future – much to the delight of the hockey-crazed locals.

Cup tradition

Founded and established by Ottawa real estate developer Bruce Firestone, the team as we know it today is the namesake of the original Ottawa Senators hockey club, which won eleven Stanley Cups and played in the NHL until 1934. An expansion franchise was awarded on December 6, 1990, after a public campaign to return the NHL to Ottawa. The club began regular season play in 1992-93.

Leeder was instrumental in writing the key document and in presenting it to the NHL’s Board of Governors. This led to the successful return of the Ottawa Senators Hockey Club in 1990 after a nearly 60 year absence. He says: “It gives me huge satisfaction to have played a part in bringing the Senators back to the NHL. Since then, I have witnessed every triumph and disappointment, so the day we hoist the Stanley Cup will be a very special one.”

The puck stops here

Both on and off the ice, the Senators have been through it all. The team has had two changes of ownership, from Mr. Firestone to Rod Bryden, due to the arena development process and its financing, and then to Eugene Melnyk, after the team filed for bankruptcy in 2003. On the ice, the club placed last in the league for its first four seasons, before changes in hockey management led to a steady improvement in the club’s placing, and a streak of ten straight qualifications for the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Today the club is one of the most successful in the league, featuring several top star players, consistently high placings and is one of the top teams in average attendance.

“We have been through a lot,” says Leeder. “Although we have emerged as Stanley Cup contenders and have improved vastly on and off the ice, we will not be satisfied until we bring the Cup home…

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