As the Olympic men’s hockey tournament gets underway this week, it also marks the 20th anniversary of a moment that derailed one of the Ottawa Senators’ greatest Stanley Cup opportunities.
On this date in 2006, the Senators led the old Northeast Division with a record of 36-14-5 and stood fourth overall in the NHL with what many people believe was the most talented roster in the franchise’s history.
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It was backstopped by future Hall of Famer Dominik Hasek, who had a record of 28-10-4, a goals against of 2.09, and a save percentage of .925.
But now it was time for the Olympic break, and Hasek headed for Italy to play in the Olympics.
As good as he still was, Hasek had missed two of the previous three NHL seasons. He retired and didn’t play in 2002-03, but came back the following year, before a lockout wiped out the year after that.
It was remarkable that Hasek was going as strongly as he was for the Sens, not to mention appearing in 42 of their first 55 games.
As far as the Senators’ Stanley Cup hopes went, it would have been the perfect time for the 41-year-old to get some rest instead of being thrust into a best-on-best Olympic tournament, filled with huge emotional and physical intensity.
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Sure enough, just six minutes into the Czech Republic’s first game, Hasek suffered an adductor injury while making a split-leg save against Germany. Just over three minutes later, he left the game.
Hasek left Italy and returned to Ottawa to try to rehab the injury in time for the playoffs, but wasn’t successful. The six-time Vezina winner reportedly offered to return in 2006-07, but the Sens weren’t interested.
Hasek would eventually sign back with Detroit and win a Stanley Cup with the Red Wings in 2007-08, but the Senators’ best chance at a Cup may have slipped away two years earlier in Turin.
Nearly two decades later, Sens fans were again left wondering about the potentially high cost of midseason best-on-best hockey.
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They had just snapped an eight-year Stanley Cup playoff drought and drew a first-round matchup against their arch rivals, the Toronto Maple Leafs, a team they’d never beaten in the postseason. The Senators quickly fell behind in the series 3-0, and despite a valiant comeback effort, they lost in six games.
But would things have gone any differently if captain Brady Tkachuk had been anywhere close to 100 percent?
Like Hasek, Tkachuk was also injured in a midseason tournament, the league’s brand new 4 Nations Face-Off.
No one knew if fans and players would truly embrace the event’s debut or not. But even those who thought it would be kind of a big deal weren’t ready for just how big it was, and amidst the intensity of it all, both Tkachuk and his brother, Matthew, suffered injuries with Team USA.
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Brady missed a couple of games after the tournament, then powered his way through March before being shut down. He insisted he was fine, but the eye test told a different tale. He also suffered an upper-body injury and missed 8 of the last 9 games before the playoffs.
In his final postseason availability, after still managing to lead the Sens in playoff scoring with 7 points in 6 games, he admitted he wasn’t physically right.
“Yeah, I mean, everyone’s got something going on,” Tkachuk said. “So yeah, I was battling through a couple of things. But I don’t think injuries are an opportunity to be an excuse, because everybody’s got something going on. So now it’s just time to take care of it, deal with it, and make sure I’m 100 percent come next year.”
Tkachuk was excellent in the series, but how much better could he have been?
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The effect of these important mid-season tournaments isn’t just physical. When it’s best on best, and players are wearing their country’s colours, these players will always pour all of their emotion into this event.
An Olympic gold medal in hockey is as cherished as a Stanley Cup ring.
For example, the Olympic finalists will have to play three straight sudden-death games, the equivalent of playing a Game 7 three times in five days.
Once this tournament is done, win or lose, they’ll almost need a decompression chamber to transition back to the NHL.
For fans, the league’s return to the Olympics for a true best on best event feels long overdue, and it’s going to be fantastic theatre that hockey fans should appreciate while they can. Because while the NHL has a much better deal with the IIHF and the IOC now, you never know what the league’s bigwigs will decide to do in the future.
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But when you look at it through the lens of an NHL owner, it’s easy to understand why they walked away from the past two Olympics. They were being asked to risk the health of their players, pause the momentum of their NHL season, and cover insurance and travel costs, with little tangible return.
At least with the 4 Nations, it was their event.
Regardless, as Ottawa knows all too well, midseason best-on-best tournaments can come with a price. Senators fans are simply hoping their players return healthy and ready to push for another playoff spot.
Steve Warne
The Hockey News
This article was first published at The Hockey News. Check out other THN Senators articles here:
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