Let me preface this article by acknowledging the extent to which I expose myself to shame and ridicule here. The Ottawa Senators have missed the playoffs five years in a row! They haven’t fixed their defence! They don’t have proven goaltending! Contextually speaking, the Sens don’t look like a group poised for any individual accolades next summer. At the same time, I would argue that to some extent, the low expectations around this team almost lend themselves to the potential for some hardware—I’ll explain, I promise!
But first, remember how cool it was when Alfie won the Calder, and Paul MacLean won the Jack Adams, and Erik Karlsson won those Norrises?