New Ottawa Senators head coach D.J. Smith wants a culture change in Ottawa. A lot will have to change for that to happen.
On the first day of free agency, the Ottawa Senators made a splash not with a signing, but with a trade. Ottawa acquired former Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Nikita Zaitsev after he requested a trade. Zaitsev and forward Connor Brown were sent over to Ottawa as part of a six-player trade that sent Cody Ceci and Ben Harpur to the Senators.
Initial reaction to the Zaitsev trade has been a positive reaction from Sens fans and management alike. The trade has been a brief bright spot in the doom and gloom that surrounded the Senators organization the past few years.
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Ever since an Eastern Conference final appearance in 2017, the Senators have been a shining example of how not to run a professional hockey team. They’ve been unsuccessful on the ice with mounting fan frustration.
The Senators newly minted head coach D.J. Smith welcomed the addition of Zaitsev with a few choice words.
"“I’m looking for people to change the culture here and up the work ethic. I just explained to him how much I needed him, and we needed him here in Ottawa to help us with that. He was sold right away.”"
Smith wants Zaitsev to help change Ottawa’s culture, but first, Smith has to ask himself what is Ottawa’s culture and what does he want Ottawa’s culture to be? Right now, their culture is toxic at worst and melancholy at best. The organization has been the NHL’s resident dumpster fire the past two seasons with problems around every corner.
Disgruntled fans still hold the Scrooge-like owner Eugene Melnyk in contempt for the team’s shortcomings. Most of the team’s best and most beloved players, such as Daniel Alfredsson and Erik Karlsson, have since retired or moved onto greener pastures.
And to make matters worse, last season was marred with the remnants of the drama between the wives of former teammates Karlsson and Mike Hoffman.
The Senators have become a circus and not an entertaining one at that. Almost all those problems could be forgiven and forgotten if the team was successful on the ice. But they found themselves at the bottom of the standings.
If that wasn’t bad enough, it seems the worst pain of the rebuild has yet to come. While it stung to see the first round pick they traded away to the Colorado Avalanche in that ill-fated Matt Duchene trade turn into a lottery selection, it might have been just the wake-up call the franchise needed.
By no means does trading for Zaitsev make the Senators a cup contender, or even get them into the playoff conversation, but it was a statement. It was a statement that they are ready to leave the label of the NHL’s dumpster fire behind them and get back to business.
If anything else, it made the rest of the NHL turn their heads and take notice. It might take a few seasons, but no longer will subpar decisions be made in the name of cost saving. The Senators are going to start bringing people here who want to be here. After all, Zaitsev waived a no-trade clause to come to Ottawa.
Then there’s the culture of the fan base. Senator’s fans love their team but hate their owner. While they can’t take over the reins and change the team themselves, they have voiced their displeasure through their wallets, contributing to the Senators attendance woes.
Even in hockey-crazed Canada, where the worst of teams can still draw a sizable crowd, the Senators had problems at the box office. That’s an impressive, yet depressing, feat.
When Smith said Ottawa needs to change their culture, he meant everyone – the players, the ownership, the management, and the fans. The Senators have gotten so used to being mediocre, it has become their culture – a culture of expecting a lack of success.
To fix it, first, you have to bring in players who want to be in Ottawa and who want to accomplish something in Ottawa. That gives the fans a reason to be excited. If the fans are happy, and the owner and his stingy purse strings will begin to be happy. The Senators need to build a winning team but, to steal a line from “Field of Dreams”, if you build it they will come.
The players will come. The fans will come. The winning will come. And maybe the championship will come.
While the Senators still have a long ways to go, the first step to fixing a problem is realizing there is one. All those seemingly precious years wasted through Melnyk’s frugality and a lack of commitment seem like a thing of the past. The Senators and their fans may not see a championship this year, but they should see some hope.