How attractive is Ottawa?

[ChocolateLeclaire]

Hmm, I seem to recall there were a few teams in on Clarkson, and he took less to go to Toronto. I don’t remember any other UFAs they were reported to be after. Can you? They re-signed Kessel, when many seemed to think he was as good as gone. I’ll be curious to see if Ottawa can keep Ryan. I have my doubts.

You have your doubts? Even after Ryan said that they were working on an extension and hope to have it done early in the summer?

Clarkson had two other suitors, Edmonton and Ottawa. He chose Toronto because they were the only ones dumb enough to give him 7 years (Ottawa and EDM offered 5) and it was his hometown. A decision he probably regrets now as he can't walk three feet without someone wanting to throw a tomato at him for how awful he is as a player.

Please stop, you know not what you speak.

 

[PeterSidorkiewicz]

8/10, knees are too square though.

 

[torlev*]

You have your doubts? Even after Ryan said that they were working on an extension and hope to have it done early in the summer?

Clarkson had two other suitors, Edmonton and Ottawa. He chose Toronto because they were the only ones dumb enough to give him 7 years (Ottawa and EDM offered 5) and it was his hometown. A decision he probably regrets now as he can't walk three feet without someone wanting to throw a tomato at him for how awful he is as a player.

Please stop, you know not what you speak.

Hmm, I seem to recall the reports were of Edmonton offering more.

As far as Ryan goes, I don't recall seeing any quotes from him that are anything out of the norm of what UFAs say typically when they're coming up to free agency.

Further, isn't it against the CBA to discuss contract extensions prior to July 1 of the year preceding free agency? I'm pretty sure that's true, in which case, I'd say you're most likely full of crap in saying that they're "working on an extension" already. If I recall, he said something along the lines of "I would be happy to stay in Ottawa, and if that's what Bryan Murray wants to do, at that time we'll sit down and have conversations". Umm, yeah. So he's willing to hear what they're offering. Sounds as good as signed to me!

 

[Hullois]

So I was bored at work and read the 12 pages... seems like the consensus is:

Ottawa is a nice town that's good for families because it is more quiet and its easier to go around, less traffic, lots of parks/Gatineau park type of thing. Hence why the Alfie and Phillips type would love it here.

But Ottawa, for the same reason, is boring for younger/more "nightlife" type of players who are looking for what St-Laurent has to offer in MTL for example.

As a 26 years old who lived all my life in Hull, seems like a fair description. When my friends and I want to go out, we go to Montréal. But then its nice to come back here and be able to own a $150k condo that is a 10 minutes bus ride from downtown, or 15 minutes bike ride along the river.

 

[coladin]

Personal Attack. Love it. Thanks for proving my point.

Says the guys who states some people here live in ghettos!

 

[PoutineSp00nZ]

It probably dates back to the legitimate broke years.

I know Matt Barnaby never wanted to play here.

No he didn't. Barnaby used to be a real ***** though, not sure what he's like anymore but leopards don't change their spots.

 

[coladin]

So long as I don't take my time machine back to the 80's I think we will all be ok

But thanks for the heads up

Those stats will really affect our ability to sign Bobby Smith out of the OHL, what do you think our chances are of getting Rick Vaive?

 

[Hammertyme]

Break it down into a scale.

Competitive Team 4/10
Ownership 2/10
Coaching 6/10
Chances of holding
current GOOD players 4/10
Top money for position 4/10
City Dynamic 4/10
Nightlife 4/10
Weather 5/10
Fan Support 6/10
Media support 3/10

Average 4.2/10

 

[PeterSidorkiewicz]

Here, you can lock this up now, I will give you all the correct answer of why players choose places.

99%

1%
Everything else

You're welcome.

 

[sexytime]

Break it down into a scale.

Competitive Team 4/10
Ownership 2/10
Coaching 6/10
Chances of holding
current GOOD players 4/10
Top money for position 4/10
City Dynamic 4/10
Nightlife 4/10
Weather 5/10
Fan Support 6/10
Media support 3/10

Average 4.2/10

How is weather a 5/10, Cold in Winter, Humid in Summer. More like a 1 or 2.

 

[PoutineSp00nZ]

Here, you can lock this up now, I will give you all the correct answer of why players choose places.

99%

1%
Everything else

You're welcome.

Gotta agree with you there. That, and to a lesser extent how close to a contender the team is. Everything else is minor in comparison.

 

[General Zodd]

Having been born and raised in Ottawa and now living elsewhere - I have a new prospective on my home city. As a kid I always thought Ottawa WAS the big city. Hell I even thought the 10,000 Civic Centre was big until I started watching NHL Hockey in real arenas.

Now that lived in places like Los Angles, San Francisco/Napa and now Toronto it's really not that perfect of a city (that I once thought it was). It seems a lot smaller now even though it's grown to over 1.2 million inhabitants. It does lack the hustle and bustle of big booming metropolises but perhaps that's why they call Ottawa the big little city. Ottawa is still a pretty safe and picturesque city and I love coming back here to visit but it doesn't hold a candle to the West Coast of NA. Place like California, Oregon or BC offers so much more IMO. But as a player I'd WANT to play here if the money was right! I could be the bug fish in the little pond and get my way! lol If I was an older guy with a family then Ottawa would actually be perfect! True the winters are brutal but summers are actually nice compared to Toronto's heavy smog days. I live in Toronto now where we get quite a lot of overcast days here in the winter months. It rains a lot here I find so you get the good with the bad. While Toronto can be a blast for young adults and has more events/tourist attractions it does have its fair share of issues too so you take good with the bad.

 

[pepty]

I have had two NHL hockey players tell me, in person, that no one really wants to go to Ottawa. One was George Laraque and the other asked to remain nameless.

George told me it was not only his opinion, but a general consensus throughout the league.

The older guys with families might not mind it, but the younger guys do. If you make millions of dollars, you want to live in Toronto, not Ottawa. It's pretty simple.

To each his own, Laracque loved Edmonton and didn't want to leave so it seems as though he didn't share the mindset of most players.

Hossa was heartbroken when Muckler puled his sign and trade, others who have come here want to stay.Some dont.

But I dont think Toronto is the Valhalla that you seem to consider it either, it is probably okay for some players while others dont care for it like anywhere else.
There has hardly been a rush of top line free agents that want to go to Toronto.

Some players want to play in Canadian markets for others it is the last thing they want.

 

[pepty]

Says the guys who states some people here live in ghettos!

He's a Canucks fan, he's thinking about the Downtown East Side.

He really knows nothing about Ottawa but seems to be over excited with this topic, so he is just throwing stuff out there for whatever reason.

 

[CanadianHockey]

We are talking about the city, not the team.

True or False

In a poll of all NHL players on which city they would prefer to play hockey in, Ottawa would rank in the bottom half.

The OP wasn't talking about the city necessarily. He was talking about whether FAs would want to play here.

The state of the franchise is extremely relevant to the OP's question.

 

[NyQuil]

Vancouver is a hole.

 

[Do Make Say Think]

Vancouver is a lot of things but a hole it is not

Surrey is but that's one suburb

 

[Filatov2Kovalev2Bonk]

Vancouver is a hole.

Gastown/Hastings area is, sure.

But Ottawa has holes too: Vanier, most of downtown around Rideau Centre, Dalhousie, stretches of Bank Street, clubspots Gatineau/Hull. Like most cities, the suburbs are liveable and the downtown core is gray despair.

That said, Ottawa is still a pretty nice place. There's no pressure from the media or management so you can have fun playing hockey then go to World Championships or so on come May, or maybe the team gets hot and we have a real run.

 

[smithy]

But Ottawa has holes too: Vanier, most of downtown around Rideau Centre, Dalhousie, stretches of Bank Street, clubspots Gatineau/Hull. Like most cities, the suburbs are liveable and the downtown core is gray despair.

That's not entirely accurate. The suburbs are fine, but the Glebe, Ottawa South, Westboro and West Wellington are much better than any Ottawa suburb and they are more urban/central. I agree with your list of ugly parts of the city, but all of the ugly locations you listed are a far cry from some of the "holes" in other cities, particularly large American ones, where crime is much higher and urban blight and degradation even greater.

 

[Knave]

I used to think Ottawa summers were oppressively humid but then I spent a summer in Victoria and Vancouver and learned how wrong I was.

 

[PeterSidorkiewicz]

If anyone wants a tour of some of the holes in Detroit let me know.

 

[Knave]

If anyone wants a tour of some of the holes in Detroit let me know.

Did you really need to qualify it?

 

[PeterSidorkiewicz]

Did you really need to qualify it?

Yeah I should have said, if anyone wants a tour of the two nice blocks in Detroit let me know.

 

[sam2020]

Gastown/Hastings area is, sure.

But Ottawa has holes too: Vanier, most of downtown around Rideau Centre, Dalhousie, stretches of Bank Street, clubspots Gatineau/Hull. Like most cities, the suburbs are liveable and the downtown core is gray despair.

That said, Ottawa is still a pretty nice place. There's no pressure from the media or management so you can have fun playing hockey then go to World Championships or so on come May, or maybe the team gets hot and we have a real run.

The Rideau Centre is going to be very intersting when the renos are done its going from a good mall to more of a upscale mall.

 

[NyQuil]

I'm just poking fun at our friend who thinks Ottawa is a crime-ridden cess pool.