Each NHL team’s biggest burning question in 2018

Ottawa Senators: Is the team even fixable?

Oh, Ottawa.

It’s a narrative that has been at the helm of the hockey world ever since the team’s epic departure from the 2016-17 playoffs. Just a goal away from the Stanley Cup Finals in a battle for the ages against the Pittsburgh Penguins — soon to become champions for the second year in a row — the Senators were the Cinderella story of the NHL, using off-ice emotional trauma as the central driving force behind the implementation of on-ice prowess.

Then, the 2017-18 season rolled around. Regarded as one of the league’s more prominent dark horse candidates to enter into the ranks of contention for success, the Senators acquired Matt Duchene in a three-team trade that sent Kyle Turris to the Nashville Predators, as well as Shane Bowers, Andrew Hammond, a 2018 first-round pick and a 2018 third-round pick to the Colorado Avalanche. A sure sign of the fact that GM Pierre Dorion and club owner Eugene Melnyk had embraced a “win-now” mentality, the move seemed puzzling to the casual observer, as Avalanche GM Joe Sakic was widely declared the winner of the deal at hand.

After that, it seemed like everything was a whirlwind of emotion. Here is a short summary of what ensued (along with a few notes regarding matters that preceded the infamous trade):

• The Senators were the hosts of the “NHL 100 Classic” outdoor game. Prior to the matchup, owner Eugene Melnyk made contentious comments about attendance at games, gesturing to the possibility of moving the team from Ottawa “[i]f it becomes a disaster.”
• Duchene started incredibly slow.
• Tom Anselmi — the team president and CEO — resigned without providing an explanation. The Senators responded by rewarding GM Pierre Dorion with a three-year contract and Melnyk assumed the CEO duties of his own team.
• A #MelnykOut campaign was organized by a group of fans distressed with the overarching direction of the franchise. Billboards were crowd-funded and placed throughout Ottawa.
  Efforts to rebuild were largely unsatisfactory, as Derick Brassard, Dion Phaneuf and others were shipped out for relatively low asking prices.
• Goaltenders Craig Anderson and Mike Condon had particularly awful seasons.
• On Fan Appreciation Night, the organization gave away a host of McDonald’s gift cards that had not been activated.
• Town hall meetings were held in which Melnyk told fans that the club was not for sale. Dorion also made a point of stating that team captain Erik Karlsson would not be traded by the NHL entry draft in June.
• On May 4, 2018, Karlsson’s wife, Melinda, filed an application for an order of protection against Monika Caryk — the longtime girlfriend of none other than Karlsson’s teammate, Mike Hoffman. She alleged that a campaign of harassment had been geared toward the Karlssons after their infant son had died. Hoffman was traded from the team in a deal that saw the Senators receive a relatively minor return for a player of Hoffman’s caliber.
• Hockey analytics specialist and TSN contributor Travis Yost alleged that a strange pattern of behavior had been making the rounds of Senators-related Twitter. His claims were twofold in nature, alleging that strange tweets were strangely supportive of the franchise’s decision-makers.
• An “off the record” interview with team legend Daniel Alfredsson was published. In it, Alfredsson allegedly remarked, “We hope to get a new owner.” During the previous summer, the former captain had stepped down from his role as Senior Advisor of Hockey Operations.
• Thousands of the Senators’ onesies for babies were recalled due to choking hazards.
• Assistant GM Randy Lee was charged with a harassment violation against a shuttle bus driver.
• Karlsson was traded to the San Jose Sharks. Ottawa was categorically regarded as having been the recipients of the short end of the deal.
• This video of Melnyk was posted to the Senators’ Twitter page.
• A video recorded by an Uber driver of seven Senators was publicized. In it, the players involved mocked assistant coach Martin Raymond and relentlessly criticized the club’s special teams units. A debate about privacy — or lack thereof — had slipped its way into the hockey world.
• Noted writers Drake Fenton and James Gordon tapped into yet another disturbing trend on Senators-related Twitter. This time, it was alleged that “more than 20 accounts” promoting similar rhetoric against a common enemy was the subject of cause for concern.

And that’s it — for now. We haven’t even bothered to delve into the nitty gritty details.

You be the judge. Are the Ottawa Senators broken beyond repair?