Ottawa Senators’ Short-Stays Starting Six
Written By: Trent Raynard
Linus Ullmark is an Ottawa Senator! In Steady-Steve Staios’ first major move as the GM of the Senators, he brought in the former Vezina Trophy winner to solidify the team’s goaltending position. As exciting as that is right now, there are some Ottawa fans who are concerned about the fact that Ullmark is arriving without an extension in place. On a recent episode of the Coming in Hot podcast, Shawn Simpson talked about how it makes sense to be wary of players with one year left on their deals.
These concerns make sense considering the Senators’ history. It was less than two years ago when the team traded a first-round pick (Kevin Korchinski), a second-round pick (Paul Ludwinski), and a 2024 third-round pick to Chicago for Alex DeBrincat. Unwilling to sign an extension, DeBrincat only played one mediocre season for the Sens before he was moved to Detroit for (with all due respect to Dominik Kubalik) spare parts.
But DeBrincat isn’t the only player who had a “short stay” as a member of the Senators. Like all teams, the Sens have a glut of players who have only played a handful of games for them. I thought it would be fun to put together a “starting six” (three forwards, two defenders, and one goalie) of the best players who have played 82 or fewer games for Ottawa. To be clear, these players didn’t necessarily have great numbers while they were in the nation’s capital, but they had exceptional (or at least solid) NHL careers.
Centre: Martin Straka
Martin Straka is best known for playing two stints for the Penguins in the 1990s and into the 2000s and for his final NHL years with the Rangers. But between his two stops in Pittsburgh, he played 49 games for Ottawa. Arriving in a trade that sent fan-favourite Norm MacIver to the Penguins, Straka put up 10 goals and 27 points over parts of two seasons for the Sens. He ended up being dealt to the Islanders in a three-team deal that brought legend Wade Redden to Ottawa.
Straka had a 15-season career, though he only played 954 regular season games due to various injuries. Despite these setbacks, he managed to put up 257 goals and 717 points. He also added 26 goals and 70 points in 106 career playoff games. Though he never won any NHL awards, he did win a gold (1998) and a bronze (2006) medal at the winter Olympics and a gold medal at the 2005 World Championships. After retiring from the NHL, he played four more seasons in the Czech Extraliga, averaging more than one point/game played.
Honourable mentions: Cory Stillman, Matt Cullen
Left Wing: Pavel Demitra
Drafted by the Senators 227th overall in 1993, Demitra spent three seasons in the Ottawa organization. During those years, he split his time between the NHL and the Senators’ AHL affiliate, the Prince Edward Senators. He was electric in junior where he recorded 54 goals and 155 points in 109 games. His numbers with the big club were decent (12 goals and 36 points in 59 games), but not spectacular. Demitra held out at the start of the 1996-97 season, and the Senators traded him to the team that he was most known for: the St. Louis Blues.
Demitra experienced a stellar career, putting up 304 goals and 768 points in 847 career games. He was a three time all-star for the Blues, also winning the Lady Byng Trophy in 2000. He was also prolific internationally, representing Slovakia 11 times at senior events, scoring 18 goals and 51 points in 60 games. He was the leading scorer of the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver. Tragically, Pavel Demitra died in the 2011 Lokomotiv Yaroslavl plane crash that killed all the players on the main roster of the Lokomotiv hockey team.
Honourable mentions: Vladamir Tarasenko, Alex DeBrincat
Right Wing: Peter Bondra
Peter Bondra had already played 961 games in the NHL (all for the Washington Capitals) before he joined the Senators. Bondra was a star with that Caps, twice leading the NHL in goals and four times scoring more than 40. He was a five-time all-star, and won two World Championship medals for Slovakia, including gold in 2002. During a 2004 Capitals fan vote, Bondra was voted the second best player in franchise history.
However, Washington needed to drop salary during the 2003-04 season, and Bondra ended up being one of the casualties. He was traded to the Senators for a second-round pick (Chris Durand) and prospect Brooks Laich. Bondra finished out the season for the Sens, recording five goals and 14 points in 23 games. Unfortunately, the next season was the lockout, and when play finally resumed the following year, Bondra was a member of the Thrashers. Bondra retired before the 2007-08 season having collected 503 goals and 892 points in 1081 career games. He is currently one of only four eligible players to have scored 500 NHL goals without being inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame.
Honourable mentions: Marian Gaborik, Ales Hemsky
Defense: Grant Ledyard
Probably the player with the least amount of name recognition on this list, Grant Ledyard played 18 seasons in the NHL during the 80s, 90s, and 2000s. Signed as an undrafted free agent by the Rangers in 1982, the journeyman played 1028 career games for nine different teams. Over this span, he accumulated 90 goals, 366 points, and 766 penalty minutes. He also played in 83 Stanley Cup Playoff games, scoring six goals and 18 points. Though he never won any major hockey awards, he did represent Canada at the 1985 (silver medal) and 1986 (bronze medal) World Championships.
His stop with the Senators was in the 1999-2000 season at the tail-end of his career. He was signed in November 1999 to a multi-year contract but was released at the end of the year because Ottawa planned to use rookie defenseman Karel Rachunek instead the next season. In total, Ledyard played 40 regular season games (two goals, six points, eight PIMs) and six playoff games (zero points, 16 PIMs) for the Senators.
Defense: Johnny Oduya
Talking of players who arrived in Ottawa at the end of their career, two-time Stanley Cup Champion Johnny Oduya had already played 94 per cent of his total NHL games before arriving in Ottawa. Oduya played the beginning of his professional hockey career in Europe and did not play his first NHL game until he was 25. Probably best known for his time with Chicago (where he won both of his Cups), Oduya was known for his smooth skating and two-way ability. He also played for Team Sweden internationally, winning a silver medal at the 2014 Olympic Games.
Brought in on a one-year, one-million-dollar contract, the hope was that Oduya’s veteran presence would help mitigate the team’s loss of Marc Methot in the 2017 expansion draft. Unfortunately, age and injuries were catching up to Oduya, and he only ended up playing 51 games for the Senators (recording four goals and eight points) before being placed on waivers. He was claimed by the Flyers for the 2018 playoff run, but he only ended up playing in one regular season game for Philadelphia due to injury and did not suit up at all in the post season. He retired after the season ended.
Honourable mentions: Ron Hainsey, Greg de Vries
Goalie: Dominik Hasek
Well, you had to have seen this one coming. Of all of the players who spent less than one season with the Senators, this one has to leave fans with the biggest “what if?”. Acquired by Ottawa before the 2005-06 season after signing a one-year deal with the Senators, Hasek had already had a Hall of Fame career before he arrived. During his tenure with the Sabres and Red Wings, Hasek had won six Vezina Trophies, two Hart Memorial Trophies, two Lester B. Pearson Awards, two William M. Jennings Trophies, and a Stanley Cup. On top of these, he had also been named a six-time first team NHL all-star and won a gold medal at the 1998 Olympic Games.
It might be hard to remember (or even imagine) now, but the Senators had made the playoffs the previous eight seasons before Hasek arrived, and the addition of arguably the best goalie in the NHL made Ottawa a favourite to win the Stanley Cup. Hasek did not disappoint, putting up a 28-10-4 record with a 2.09 GAA and a .925 SV%. Unfortunately, disaster struck at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin where Hasek injured his right adductor muscle in a game against Germany. The injury prevented him from playing another game that season. Hasek told the Senators that he would be willing to return for another season on a bonus-laden $500,000 salary, but the team declined. Hasek ended up signing with Detroit where he won his second Stanley Cup.
Honourable mentions: Tom Barrasso, Ben Bishop
Excitement is beginning to build for the Ottawa Senators again. The addition of Linus Ullmark (and hopefully more moves during the offseason) should move the team into the “should make the playoffs” category. It’s been far too long since Ottawa fans have experienced playoff hockey, and this is the year to end the drought. I am confident that if they do, Ullmark will sign an extension and will not end up on a “short-stay” list like this one in the future.
