How attractive is Ottawa?

[pm88]

Just wondering what you guys think... take the emotion out of it.

If you were a free agent, would you actually see yourself saying that Ottawa is definately a place where you would want to come and have success?

Where do you think we rank in the league in terms of players wanting to play here?

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[pm88]

I honestly feel like we barely register on anyone's radar unless players are drafted by us or we've traded for them

 

[jbeck5]

Not very attractive.

It can be attractive to an older player who wants to retire in the suburbs. But those are the older players. I don't see Ottawa being very attractive to 20-something year old stars who hit the market.

A big factor is if the team is a contender.

Another big factor is if the owner is willing to pay for a contender.

 

[Jerk Store*]

One of the worst. Small, boring as hell market but with the added pressure of a Canadian market

 

[saskriders]

My favourite team. Would take league minimum to play there

 

[SuperDuper101]

One of the worst. Small, boring as hell market but with the added pressure of a Canadian market

We're also a 2 hour drive from Montreal (a pretty damn attractive place to visit whenever the hell you want) and a 1 hour or so flight from Toronto. It's not like families of players who play in Ottawa are stuck year 12 months a year. There is lots of opportunity for fun not only in this city but in the surrounding areas. Ottawa is also quite nice in the summer. I mean it's not California or Vancouver, but realistically few cities are. I think the closeness of Montreal predicates that if there is any really big culture thing someone wants to do, they can make the short drive or train ride and go do it. I'm sure players wives shop there often.

 

[Sun God Nika]

I would want to play in cali or new york, not boring ottawa.

 

[aragorn]

I don't think so & mostly because of our crazy cheapskate owner. He has an opportunity to put together a pretty good team if he would just keep the guys that ended the season here together. I would have added signing a good veteran D-man too but I think the Sens think they already did that when they re-signed Phillips (mistake).

But it doesn't look like Melnyk will allow that to happen, he seems to be determined to keep his budget well under $60 mil & I think that is a deterrent to free agents who see a team that won't spend to stay competitive especially if they trade Spezza to save money. Not too many players want to keep rebuilding, at some point the team has to go for it, it's basically the reason Alfredsson left to join a contending team.

I think the team that ended the season is a playoff team but not a contender & when you add a healthy Zibanejad & Ryan to the mix they are even better. Their defense is still young but I expect they will be better next season with a tough season this yr under their belts. They could be a contender within two yrs by just improving on the weak links on the team & with great goaltending but that will take a little more money but the owner won't budge. If The Pittsburgh Penquins played in Ottawa there would be lots of draw for free agents without having anything to do with the city & what it provides. Pittsburgh isn't the nicest US city & they draw top talent to the Penquins, it's about the team & contending for the cup for most players.

 

[PoutineSp00nZ]

One of the worst. Small, boring as hell market but with the added pressure of a Canadian market

Meh, players who want to party it up are on the road half of the regular season, and go home during the offseason. I don't think the night life factors that much into it. The difference between going out in Ottawa and a bigger city means fewer clubs to chose from, there are still places to go.

Small Canadian market has a bigger impact. Players can't float under the radar here, and get recognized when grocery shopping.

At the end of the day, if the Senators offer more money than other teams to a free agent he's going to come here regardless 9 times outa 10.

 

[pm88]

I don't know how many of you follow the NFL..

but we should aspire to be the Seattle Seahawks of the NHL. A kick-ass small market team with a F-U attitude to everyone else but our fans.

 

[pm88]

what's irritating about our city ( or maybe the media) is that we don't seem to accept players with big personalities or some swagger on out team. I blame the morons in the media for that.

Patrick Kane would have been run out of this town years ago based on his past

 

[Tak7]

From an outsider's perspective (Leafs fan - works in Ott) I get the perceived negativity of the market; however, I don't think it's all that bad.

You get to sample the passion and craze and interest of playing in a Canadian market, without nearly as much scrutiny as in Vancouver, Montreal, or Toronto.

So I do think there are some positives to Ottawa.

I think American-based players have a skewed perception of Ottawa, based on what many of you have already said - it's probably an unfair perception, as I don't think big market UFAs are lining up to play in Ottawa.

what's irritating about our city ( or maybe the media) is that we don't seem to accept players with big personalities or some swagger on out team. I blame the morons in the media for that.

Patrick Kane would have been run out of this town years ago based on his past

In fairness, I think Patrick Kane et al get run out of almost all Canadian markets except Winnipeg. Not just an Ottawa / Ottawa media thing.

 

[OmniSens]

As much as it pains me to say, we're definitely in the basement. If we didn't have star players to attract others (IE: Karlsson, Turris, Spezza) No one would want to play with us with this management.

 

[StefanW]

I think the city is amazing, and Canadian fans are always passionate. The situation with team finances would worry me, because it would be frustrating to get lowballed during contract negotiations. This would be especially true after raising a family here.

 

[Benjamin]

One of the worst. Small, boring as hell market but with the added pressure of a Canadian market

and isn't Ottawa one of the higher taxed cities?

 

[Baby Ryan]

Someone said it in another thread, Ottawa is a big enough city that you can get what you need, but small enough that it feels like a town and you are connected around the whole city.

If one would ever want partying, just head over to Gatineau/Montreal.
Very good family place.

But, like someone mentioned before, not spending to be competitive has a negative impact as well.

 

[The Waffler]

Bias aside I can't love a place where the bars close at 2am.

 

[LynxBud]

I'd think Ottawa's one of the least attractive cities to play in right now.
7-10 years ago, players would've loved to have been part of this team, or so I'd like to think.

Right now with the way Eugene is handling finances and the way the team has played this year with several players in the locker room claiming that some players don't even appear to care, this team's just become an ugly destination. Keeping Alfie could have been huge for this team, but losing him the way we did, I think will be detrimental to it for at least a couple more years. I just hope I'm totally wrong about that.

 

[DrunkUncleDenis]

Bias aside I can't love a place where the bars close at 2am.

Wasn't the mayor of Gatineau trying to get bars to stay open until 6am or something?

Ottawa has plenty of places for hockey players to hang out. I worked at Whiskey Bar for a while and we used to see the guys and players from other teams come in semi regularly. The more wild guys used to go to liquor store or one of the ultra clubs. It's no Catherine Street in Mtl, but it's not like Ottawa doesn't have a night life.

I think to most players, money and a competitive team are the major factors, making Ottawa not that attractive.

 

[FuriousSenator]

We're also a 2 hour drive from Montreal (a pretty damn attractive place to visit whenever the hell you want) and a 1 hour or so flight from Toronto. It's not like families of players who play in Ottawa are stuck year 12 months a year. There is lots of opportunity for fun not only in this city but in the surrounding areas. Ottawa is also quite nice in the summer. I mean it's not California or Vancouver, but realistically few cities are. I think the closeness of Montreal predicates that if there is any really big culture thing someone wants to do, they can make the short drive or train ride and go do it. I'm sure players wives shop there often.

It says a lot about your city if the best thing about it is that you can easily get to other cities for your entertainment.

 

[PoutineSp00nZ]

It says a lot about your city if the best thing about it is that you can easily get to other cities for your entertainment.

It says a lot about the people in the city when they constantly need to complain about where they choose to live.

 

[Icelevel]

Depends on the type of person you are.
Example turris MacArthur Spezza Alfie really like it here.

 

[PeterSidorkiewicz]

I always enjoyed Ottawa, still a city feel but also has great greenspace, Portland is another city I like a lot.

If you want a truly urban environment everything falls short of NYC.

 

[PoutineSp00nZ]

I always enjoyed Ottawa, still a city feel but also has great greenspace, Portland is another city I like a lot.

If you want a truly urban environment everything falls short of NYC.

Exactly. I went to college in Toronto, so I spent years there when I was in the prime years of my partying lifestyle. And I lived that **** hard. There were more options in Toronto, that's about it really. More versions of very similar bars and clubs, more than 2 major strips of places to go. More after hours places, that was another advantage. That is really the only difference. It's just more of the same when compared to Ottawa.

Maybe some people need to go to a different club everytime they go out, I don't know. Its not like nhlers can't just go party it up in NYC, LA or Montreal whenever they play a game there and stay the night without playing the next day.

 

[Indrew]

Not every player values a nightlife.