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Ottawa Senators - Modern
Craig Billington
Alexander Daigle
Steve Duchesne
Darcy Loewen
Norm MacIver
Ron Tugnutt
Ottawa Senators - Original
Clint Benedict
Bill Beveridge
Punch Broadbent
Sprague Cleghorn
Alec Connell
Jack Darragh
Frank Finnigan
Dubbie Kerr
Fred Lake
Percy Lesueur
Bruce Ridpath
Hamby Shore
Cyclone Taylor
Marty Walsh
Most people have a soft spot for huge underdogs. Maybe that's why I cheered on Norm MacIver so much. At 5'11" and 180lbs MacIver was a small defenseman by NHL standards, but he often carried a big load on his shoulders.
He was a fantastic catalyst from the blue line, generating offense with strong clearing passes, by rushing the puck out of the zone or by jumping into the zone for the extra attacker. He handled prime minutes quarterbacking the power play. He was a superb puckhandler and a quick skater who used his wits and intelligence to survive in the NHL.
The problem was he was not physically able to withstand the rigours of the NHL. That is why he was ignored at the NHL draft. He survived trades, demotions and injuries, reappearing with a team equally as bad as the previous one. He would wear down as the season progressed, and fizzled out before crunch time.
Give the Rangers credit - after he graduated with a communications degree in 1986 they signed MacIver out of the University of Minnesota-Duluth where he was an all star and finalist for the Hobey Baker Award as best player in US College hockey. Two years later he was off to Hartford, then Edmonton the year after that. He would earn AHL defenseman of the year status in 1991, finally forcing the NHL to give him a look-see.
The Oilers called him up for their lengthy playoff run in 1991 and played him regularly in 1991-92. He showed he could play in the league by scoring 8 goals and 47 points in a total of 79 games in Edmonton.
The Oilers left MacIver unprotected for the 1992 NHL expansion draft, and the Ottawa Senators were quick to grab him. He became a workhorse for the Senators, who at that time were one of the worst teams in NHL history. MacIver gave it everything he had, and on many nights was the most noticable Senator on the ice for both his effort and creativity. He actually led the Sens in scoring in their debut season of 1992-93 with 17 goals and 46 assists for 63 points in 80 games.
MacIver's magical season came to a dramatic end, though. While representing Canada at the World Championships, MacIver was crunched with a body check and immediately had breathing problems. Doctors discovered his heart was bruised.
He made a full recovery, but he could not reach the heights of his previous campaign in year two in Ottawa. The constant losing must have zapped the energy and drive out of all those players. Even MacIver looked worn down at times.
The Sens moved MacIver to Pittsburgh in 1995. He subsequently jumped around with Pittsburgh, Winnipeg/Phoenix and the minor leagues before hanging up the skates in 1999. The vastly underrated MacIver finished his career with 500 games played, 55 goals, 230 assists and 285 points. Not bad for a undersized defenseman nobody wanted in the first place.
MacIver stayed in the game after retiring, first coaching in the minor leagues and with Boston then serving as Chicago's director of player development.
Alexandre Daigle was a highly touted 1st overall draft pick that would become a much celebrated bust.
Daigle was selected by the Ottawa Senators in their second stab at the draft table. The Victoriaville Tigres center combined blazing speed with soft hands and spectacular point totals to quickly be dubbed as not only the future of the Ottawa Senators, but of the NHL. He was even compared to the incomparable Mario Lemieux.
Daigle took great pride in being drafted first overall, surpassing the likes of Chris Pronger and Paul Kariya. "Nobody remembers number 2" was his famous quote at the time. How wrong he proved that to be!
On top of all this perhaps unrealistic pressure being thrust upon the youngster was a much discussed five-year, $12.25- million deal he signed after being drafted. It was a ridiculously high contract that would become the driving force behind a rookie salary cap agreed to shortly afterwards by the NHL and the Players Association.
Daigle showed brief glimpses of brilliance in his first three years, but they were few and far between. As the Senators struggled as perhaps the worst team in NHL history, the pressure never let up on the young Daigle. To make matters worse many were starting to question Daigle's heart.
"The guy has just never lived up to his potential. He refuses to use his biggest asset, which is his speed. I just don't think anybody in the league is going to want a guy who really isn't interested in playing hockey." said one NHL official.
Daigle was traded to Philadelphia early in 1998 in exchange for Vinnie Prospal and another first round bust in Pat Falloon. He lasted about a year in Philly after showing up for training camp out of shape. He was traded to Tampa Bay via Edmonton for the remainder of the 98-99 season. In 1999-2000 he played with the New York Rangers after accepting a $1 million pay cut. However Daigle's play continued to be lethargic as he ended up playing out the season in the minor leagues.
No contract offers were coming in for Daigle's services in the year 2000. There was some rumors about interest coming out of both Edmonton and Montreal, but neither team made a move.
Daigle is one of hockey's pretty boys, and he likes to hang out in the bright lights of Hollywood. In fact he was briefly linked as both Sheryl Crow's and Pamela Anderson's love interest. Daigle said he'd take the 2000-01 season off from hockey in order to pursue another passion in his life - acting.
"I know the guy wants to pursue an acting career, but he's a pretty bad actor on the ice. It's hard to hide that. He's got good speed, but he lacks the skills necessary to be a superstar. It's a tough fall to watch." said the same unnamed executive.
There was an article during the 2000-2001 season that showed Daigle still played the game - as a defenseman in a Los Angeles beer league.
Daigle did make a NHL come back. After showing little in 2002-03 with Pittsburgh, Daigle actually turned in a commendable season with Minnesota in 2003-04. With Wild coach Jacques Lemaire simplifying Daigle's game, he seemed re-invigorated and passionate about the game again. He scored 21 goals and 51 points, and even was showing signs of transforming himself into an effective support player, using his speed to forecheck and backcheck.
The success of that season did not carry over into the following season. He struggled, scoring just 5 goals in 46 games. He would finish the season in the minor leagues, forever ending his NHL days.
Daigle headed to Europe, playing in Switzerland with the legendary Davos team.
"A lot of teams wanted nothing to do with me for good or bad reasons," Daigle said. "It was tough, but that's the way it was."
Nobody questions his talent," John Muckler, his coach in New York, said. "You can question other things, but you can't question his talent."
Despite losing an eye in the rough International League in northern Michigan, Fred Lake of Moosomin, Saskatchewan played nine years as a professional hockey player.
Lake's most prominent years came alongside defense partner Hamby Shore. The two first teamed up in Winnipeg in the Manitoba Hockey League before spending 4 years together in Ottawa. Standing tall before goalie Percy Lesueur, the duo of Lake and Shore helped the Senators capture the 1909 and 1911 Stanley Cup!
In addition to be a hockey star, Fred Lake was an astute businessman in his days in Ottawa. But perhaps a business deal went horribly wrong, as Lake was found dead in 1937 under very suspicious circumstances.
According to ace hockey researcher James Milks at his excellent website LostHockey.com:
"Fred Lake's body was found under suspicious circumstances on November 30, 1937.
"Lake's body was found in an automobile on a deserted farm near Connaught park Jockey Club in Aylmer, Quebec. He had been dead for 36 to 48 hours, so his exact date of death is unsure, but either the 27th or 28th of November.
"An extension had been placed on the exhaust pipe and twisted into the interior of the car. Lake's head was resting on two small pillows, his body stretched out on the seat. The mystery deepened with the discovery of two sets of footsteps in the frozen snow leading away from the car. An auto crank was also found on the ground near the back wheels."
Samuel Hamilton Shore, known forever by his moniker Hamby, was born to play hockey. And with a few seasons' exceptions spent in Winnipeg, Shore would play in his hometown of Ottawa with the original Senators.
Shore, no relation to Eddie Shore who would later dominate the NHL, was versatile player, playing both wing and defense. With his steady influence the Senators won the Stanley Cup two times, in 1905 and 1911.
Earlier in his career Shore was a scoring forward, registering 114 goals in 186 career games. Later in his career he played on the blue line, most often with Fred Lake in Ottawa. The duo formed a fearsome pairing in front of Sens goalie Percy Lesueur for four seasons before Lake's departure to Montreal.
Without Lake it is said that Shore's play began to slip. Perhaps that led to a rift with the Ottawa coaching staff. Shore apparently demanded to be let out of his contract and to leave the Senators but the team refused to comply. Shore continued to play for the Senators until 1918 when sadly Shore lost his life due to the terrible influenza epidemic that plagued North America in that time frame.
Hamby Shore was just 32 years old at the time of his death.
Marty Walsh was one of the most remarkable goal scorers of his day. In a playoff game against Port Arthur in 1911, he scored 10 times, placing him at the top of the list for single game totals. A newspaper reported the next day "this is a decidedly great performance for Walsh not only tallied at will, but he did a great deal of checking as well and was on top of the rubber from beginning to end." In five seasons with Ottawa he scored an unbelievable 135 goals in 59 games!
Walsh first came to prominence while playing for Queen's University in 1906, when they challenged the Ottawa Silver Seven for the Stanley Cup. Even though Queen's was defeated, Walsh's superb play against Ottawa superstar Frank McGee did not go unnoticed. The Silver Seven immediately made Walsh an offer when McGee retired in 1906. Accepting a contract in the International Hockey League instead, Walsh headed south of the border in 1907.
Playing in what was regarded as the roughest league in hockey history, Marty broke his leg early on in the season. Too bad for Marty but it was a blessing in disguise for a newcomer named Fred Taylor who was waiting on the bench. Taylor is better known as Cyclone Taylor, the most famous pre-NHL hockey player.
When Marty's bones healed, the Ottawa offer was extended again and in 1908 he joined the ranks of the legendary Silver Seven.
Walsh captured the scoring title during his first two seasons and was instrumental in Ottawa's Stanley Cup wins in 1909 and 1911. He was elected to the Hockey Hall of fame in 1962.
Bruce Ridpath was a high scoring right winger who netted better than a goal per game in his four years of professional hockey.
Starting out with Toronto in the Ontario Professional Hockey League, Ridpath helped the team skate to the league championship in 1908. Unfortunately, the Toronto Professionals lost a challenge to the Montreal Wanderers for the Stanley Cup that season.
Ridpath would taste Stanley Cup success soon enough, however. In 1910 he joined the Ottawa Senators and immediately settled in on a line with Marty Walsh and Dubbie Kerr. The trio were hockey's highest scoring line, especially in the 1911-12 season. Ridpath scored an impressive 22 goals in 16 regular season games then added 4 more in 2 playoff games as the Sens won the Stanley Cup.
Ridpath was on his way to a glorious hockey legacy before tragedy struck. On Toronto's busy Yonge Street an automobile ran into him, fracturing his skull. Though he attempted a comeback, the accident cut his career short in 1912.
Born in beautiful Lakefield, Ontario, Ridpath also loved the canoe. He put on shows internationally displaying his stunt paddling and canoe racing ability.
Ridpath died far too young after suffering a severe stroke in 1925. The never-married Ridpath was just 40.
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