The "Alfie situation"

It's now been a few days since Alfie has signed with the Detroit Red Wings for this upcoming season.  The shock has worn off for me and I'm ready to move on to next season and cheer for the Ottawa Senators.  I've read many blogs/comments/twitter posts about it in the last 4-5 days and see hate for both sides in this situation.

Here is my opinion, whether you like it or not.

Unless you were in the room with Bryan Murray and Alfie's agent, or unless you are a family member or close friend of Alfie's, you have ABSOLUTELY NO IDEA WHAT HAPPENED!!!!

I understand that in situations like this, people feel the need to blame someone for what happened.  It's easy to point a finger at the Sens for "low-balling" Alfie, or to blame Alfie for taking his ball home and leaving after being insulted.  Honestly though...does anyone really know what happened to make Alfie decide to go play somewhere else?

Can you really blame the Sens?  Can you really blame Alfie?

Unless you can give me solid facts for what happened between the end of the Sens playoff run and Alfie signing with the Red Wings, I refuse to blame anyone.

I'm not going to cancel my season tickets because I think the Sens mishandled the situation, because I don't know that they did.  They went in to a negotiation expecting to get a deal done and they were blindsided.

I'm not going to burn or throw out my Alfie jersey because I think he made the wrong decision.  The decision was his to make and he had every right to make it.  Just because you work for a company for 20 years and they treat you like a king, doesn't mean you're obligated to retire with that company.  You make the choice you feel is right for you and will make you happy.  You're not in Alfie's mind, you don't know what he's thinking.

Sure, I'm not happy with the way it all happened and I was as shocked as anyone else in Ottawa when the announcement was made.  I actually refused to believe it until it was officially announced and even still hoped it wasn't true until I heard the interviews.  I was sad, shocked and disbelieving of the whole situation.

I'm really not sure how I will react to seeing him in a Red Wings jersey next season, or how I'll react in his first game in Ottawa against the Sens.  I do know that I want the Sens to beat the Wings every single time they play them next season AND I want the Sens to beat them in the playoffs.  I want Alfie to be proven wrong.

I hope this year's team takes this as a challenge from Alfie to the Sens.  He doesn't think we're good enough, let's show him that we have just as good of a chance as Detroit to win the Cup.

It's now up to the veterans on this team to fill up the hole left by Alfie in the leadership department.  Phillips, Spazza, Neil and everyone else need to step it up.

I'm excited at the upcoming season and I can't wait to see what the team will be able to do.

In the meantime, I'll fondly remember the good times with Alfie in this city and wish him well in his career...just never against the Sens.

NHL Hockey 2013!!!

I wanted to wait a couple of days before I wrote this post because I wasn’t sure how I’d truly feel, but now that the season has started…

WOOHOO!!!!

I’m so happy about it.   I watched the Sens game on Saturday vs Winnipeg and went to their home opener on Monday!  I wore my Chris Phillips jersey to work as I always do on home game nights.  There were some negative comments, but mostly they were positive!!

When I walked into ScotiaBank Place that night, even before the gates opened, it was like coming back home.

That might sound odd but I’ve had season tickets for 12+ years now and spend a lot of time at the rink, but, other than a concert a few months ago and a Season seat holder event last week, I hadn’t been in the building since April.  

I got my ticket scanned by the same person who’s been doing it for years.  The same people were standing at the gate selling the 50/50 tickets.  I loved it!

I walked around the lower concourse a few times and absorbed the atmosphere.  There was excitement all around.  I saw Cyril Leeder and he looked really happy to have the season start again.  I also saw and spoke to our PA announcer, Stuntman Stu.   It was all just very familiar.

I went up to the upper concourse where my seats are located and saw some other familiar faces.  The same people were working in the concession stand behind my section when I went to buy my food.  They were happy to be there. 

I walked through the tunnel to go to my section and felt the same excitement I always have on season opening night.  When I got to the end and saw the ice and the HD scoreboard, it struck me just how much I had missed it and was looking forward to this day

I walked up to my seats where some of the “old guard” were already sitting.  All season ticket holders I’ve gotten to know in the past few years, but hadn’t seen in months.  It was a family reunion of sorts.  Contrary to what people believed, they were all excited about the game and upcoming season.

The anticipation grew as the time to puck drop got closer.  I looked around and saw the crowd getting larger and larger.  There were so many fans, just happy to be back; so many children looking forward to seeing their idols again.

The HD scoreboard had multiple montages showing highlights of the past seasons which served to make us even more excited than we already were.  Then it started….

Stuntman Stu started announcing our 2012-2013 Ottawa Senators team one player at a time.  The biggest cheers and ovation of course reserved for our captain, Daniel Alfredsson.  I got chills I tell you.  I cheered extra loud for Phillips, as I always do.

There was a ceremonial puck drop featuring our Owner, Eugene Melnyk and a double lung transplant recipient, Hélène Campbell.  She is such an inspiration to many out there. 

We were then treated to Lyndon Slewidge singing the American and Canadian national anthems.  Sens fans know who he is.  Again, I got chills.  On a side note, I did not recognize him without his hat.

Then the moment we were all waiting for, the actual puck drop and start of the game.

It certainly didn’t take long for the crowd to get into the game.  They were cheering for the saves and the goals.  They jeered ex-Sens players on the Panthers team and they complained about Jason Spezza…one part I had almost forgotten about.  For the record, I’m not one of those complainers, I happen to love Jason.

The music was great and Stuntman Stu was on his game, not showing any rust after an 8 month break from PA announcing.

All in all, I left the arena after the game and couldn’t have been happier.  It does help that the Sens won, but the whole experience was fantastic.

I guess no matter how mad I was at the situation, I still love hockey and the Ottawa Senators and I don’t really think that will ever change.

Now on to a packed season!!!

Hockey in Summer?

I was sitting here today contemplating the meaning of life, OK, who am I kidding? No, I wasn’t.

I was actually at the office, talking to someone and looking outside at the beautiful weather and the people enjoying it when suddenly, the oddest thought crossed my mind.

I really miss hockey.

Where in the world did this come from? It certainly wasn’t from looking outside at all the greenery and the people in shorts and t-shirts. The hockey pre-season is a full two months away, and we’re still in the middle of summer!!

Am I going nuts? Some might say I passed nuts a few years ago, but those aren’t my real friends. ;)

I think it might have to do with the fact that the Ottawa Senators were eliminated 3 months ago, thus making this a very long off-season. There are so many things to miss about the hockey season. Here are a few of my favorites.

1. Lyndon Slewidge – The best National Anthem singer ever!!

2. My favorite Ottawa Senators Player – Chris Phillips #4

3. The atmosphere at the games – Yes, even in Ottawa we know how to have fun, at least in the upper level.

4. The Ottawa Senators Goal horn and the accompanying goal songs for individuals – my favorites being “Beautiful Day” for Alfie and “Save a Horse, Ride a Cowboy”, for Chris Phillips!!.

5. Spartacat – The most awesome mascot in the NHL

6. Stuntman Stu – Our PA announcer extraordinaire.

7. I even miss the overpriced pizza, popcorn and pop at the arena.

Now for the other side of the coin, some things I do NOT miss from the hockey season.

1. The horrible wind tunnel at the entrance to the building in winter. As if winter isn’t cold enough already.

2. Living 45 kms away from the rink, making me run to the car after a game so that I don’t end up stuck in the parking lot, so I can get to bed at a decent time.

3. Seeing the hockey rink start emptying a full 10 minutes before the end of the game.

4. Toronto Maple Leaf Fans and Montreal Canadiens Fans invading our rink too many times a year.

5. Never winning the 50/50 or any other contest for that matter.

All in all, I think I will just enjoy the rest of the summer while looking forward to what promises to be an interesting hockey season.

GO SENS GO!!!

Julie / @Flip_4