Ottawa hockey fans carry a particular kind of hope — the kind forged from heartbreak and tempered by history. But there was one playoff run that felt genuinely different, a season when the Ottawa Senators weren't just participants but genuine contenders for the ultimate prize in hockey.
The Team That Had Everything
The 2006–07 Ottawa Senators were built to win. With Daniel Alfredsson captaining the squad, Dany Heatley lighting up the scoresheet, and Jason Spezza orchestrating the offence, Ottawa had the kind of star power that made opposing coaches nervous. The blueline was anchored by Wade Redden and Chris Phillips, and Ray Emery was delivering the goods between the pipes.
Heading into that postseason, the Senators weren't just a good team — they were the team. Eastern Conference dominance had been the expectation all season, and Ottawa delivered, finishing as one of the most dangerous clubs in the NHL.
A Nation Watching
For a hockey-obsessed city like Ottawa, the stakes felt enormous. The Senators had tantalized their fans before — deep runs, heartbreaking exits — but this felt different. Canadian hockey fans coast to coast were tuning in, hoping to see a Canadian franchise hoist the Cup for the first time in over a decade.
The Sens punched through the early rounds with purpose, silencing doubters and confirming what Ottawa fans had believed all season: this was their year.
The Cup Run That Captured a City
There's something uniquely electric about a hometown team going deep in the playoffs. Ottawa's bars and living rooms were packed. Sens flags flew from car windows along Bank Street and the Glebe. The Canadian Tire Centre was a cauldron of noise, and the city's identity wrapped itself entirely around the chase.
The Senators ultimately reached the Stanley Cup Finals — a monumental achievement and the franchise's first Finals appearance since the early days of the original Senators in the 1920s. They fell to the Anaheim Ducks in five games, a result that still stings for long-time Ottawa fans, but the journey had cemented that team's place in the city's collective memory.
Why It Still Matters
Looking back through the archive, that Senators squad represents something Ottawa doesn't always get to feel: being the favourite. Not the scrappy underdog, not the surprise contender — the team everyone else had to beat.
As the current Senators build toward their own contention window, with a young core generating genuine excitement across the city, revisiting that 2006–07 squad is a reminder of what Ottawa hockey can look like at its peak. The city has done it before. The belief is that it can happen again.
For now, that archive moment lives on as both a source of pride and a motivational north star for a franchise and fanbase hungry to feel that kind of hope once more.
Source: The Hockey News via Google News
