I want to start by expressing I have been a Senators fan for a long time; I started back during Alfy's Calder year. I mention this to preface the fact that I have seen this team during the best of times and the worst of times.
Despite peaks and crashes, I have always supported the team and was proud to be a fan. I would get angry, dislike (or outright hate) some players, get pissed off, annoyed, sad, and every other type of emotion one could experience during those very bad or heartbreaking seasons.
During all that time though, I never was embarrassed to be a Senators fan. That has all changed this season. I never thought I would see the day that I pass on putting on one of my Sens hoodies, hats, or jackets before leaving the house, or throwing on a Sens shirt for the day.
But this iteration of the Ottawa Senators is so dysfunctional, so poorly managed, and so poorly led that I can't even stomach throwing one of these on and wearing it. My house is littered with tasteful Senators decor, and I get disgusted sometimes just walking through my house.
On paper this is one of the most talented Senators teams the franchise has ever assembled. On the ice it is an absolute embarrassment. What makes this season so much different for me in accepting the results, is an honest lack of understanding why. There are some obvious answers that immediately come out - but I reject those answers as being to coincidence. Can we really believe this many guys are just having "bad years?" It defies logic.
This franchise has a deep and cancerous tumor that needs to be rooted out. As much as I disliked Bryan Murray, I feel like he was the one holding everything together and keeping this systematic rot bottled up. With his passing, this has all bubbled over and its spilling out; and we're seeing the results.
I struggle to find someone to blame for this. Is it one person? Is it a lot of people?
Do I blame Melnyk for not being able to financially support the team as he promised and as a good hockey owner would? Do I blame him for meddling too much in hockey operations and driving away key components that would make this franchise a success instead of a laughing stock?
Do I blame Dorion for making the roster decisions he has made? Should he be blamed for letting Boucher dictate the guys the Senators keep and go after to sign? But how can one believe that the loss of Neil, Methot, Kelly, and Stalberg really could sink this team so low after the success of last year? How could one believe that a swap of Turris for Duschene would be the reason for such a meteoric fall in the standings? Logically these personnel choices make sense (for the sake of on ice talent, not asset management).
Do I blame Karlsson for an utter and total lack of leadership? I know Alfredsson's skates are tough to fill, but I haven't seen this team so leaderless perhaps ever. During the lowest points of other seasons you could visibly see Alfredsson trying to set an example on the ice. He showed leadership, he showed emotion. He took responsibility for things. He spoke to the media with care and the right words. He held closed door meetings and held players responsible. Karlsson does none of this. When we need him most he seems to have disappeared and is having perhaps the worst season of his career, and all he seems to have anything to say is about his contract and what he is worth.
He has taken no responsibility, and he as shown zero leadership on the ice. It begs the question if he even wants to be here. And if not, why? Is it ownership? Is it coaching? Is it the city? If he doesn't want to be here why do we want to keep him? Should we rebuild the franchise around his value?
Do I blame Boucher for playing a system that handcuffs our teams offensive potential, and stifles creativity for some of our most creative and gifted offensive talents? Are the players responsible for listening to the coach and playing his system, or is the coach responsible for designing a system that best suits the players abilities? Is Boucher's system just junk? Has the rest of the league figured it out? Why does he continue to seem optimistic and show no concern for the pitiful on ice performance night in and night out?
Do I blame the goaltending? Could it really be that one of the best tandems in the NHL last year have become arguably the worst this year? What would cause such a thing? There were no major changes to their life, offseason surgeries, new equipment, new coaches, or any other significant changes whatsoever that you could point to and say "ahhh thats what happened." Yet night in and night out they leak pucks into their net like a sieve.
There are so many questions, and so few answers - it is heartbreaking. I am do disgusted with the state of this franchise, I don't even know how to begin to offer suggestions to fix it. There are ZERO encouraging signs that things are going to get better, only worse. With depleted draft picks, albatross salaries, a checked out superstar captain, a broken play-style, an inept GM, and to top it all off a meddling owner who can't afford to provide the capital an NHL franchise needs to be successful.
One might take solace in the fact that we have guys like White, Chabot, Chlapik, and Brown to look forward to, but chance can we hope that these players will succeed on a franchise as ruinous as ours?
TL;DR - A longtime fan who has been through the good and the bad, but never seen things so bad before. Feels like there is no hope in near future, and the franchise is ****ed. Totally depressed about it, and embarrassed to be a Sens fan right now.
