Yahoo Sports Who Made The Ottawa Senators All-Quarter Century Team?
For the past few weeks, the NHL has been unveiling each team's best players from the first 25 years of this millennium. On Saturday morning, it was finally the Ottawa Senators' turn to name their All-Quarter Century Team. And to steal a line from Field of Dreams, it brought back memories so thick you have to brush them away from your face.
As with all NHL clubs, the media was charged with choosing two all-star teams – each with three forwards, two defensemen and a goalie – from the pool of players who toiled for the franchise from Jan. 1, 2000 - Dec. 31, 2004.
First Team
Forwards
Daniel Alfredsson (2000-2013)
Alfie holds the Senator team records for career goals (426), assists (682) and points (1,108) with 1,178 games played. Except for that last year in Detroit that fans in Ottawa hate to even acknowledge, Alfie went wire-to-wire with the Senators, and was named to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2022.
Dany Heatley (2005-2009)
He was here for a good time, not a long time. Trade demands and diminished roles aside, one simply cannot ignore two 50-goal seasons, still the only ones in Senator history.
Jason Spezza (2002-2014)
Spezza holds Senator records for career goals, assists, and points by players not named Daniel Alfredsson. Another easy choice.
Defensemen
Erik Karlsson (2009-2018)
Karlsson certainly isn't the greatest defender in Sens history, but he is the most skilled by far. Karlsson nailed down two Norris Trophies in his time here, and probably should have had a third here.
Wade Redden (2000-2008)
Redden and Chris Phillips were never defencemen who would attract Norris Trophy love. But they were reliable, minute-munching, do-the-right-thing defencemen who excelled for the Senators for a long time. With very similar personalities, Redden had a little more offence and skill to his game. Phillips had a little more defence and physicality. More on Phillips in a moment.
Goalie
Craig Anderson (2010-2020)
Anderson is tops in nearly every category so there really is no debate.
Second Team
Forwards
Marian Hossa (2000-2004)
Marian Hossa was the complete package. High skill, blazing fast, good at both ends, and deceptively tough to knock off the puck. He went on to become a crucial member of a Chicago Blackhawks dynasty that won three Stanley Cups.
Mark Stone (2013-2019)
Had the Senators managed things better with Stone, the rebuild might not have gone on this long. For a few seasons at the end, he was the emotional leader of the club and scored a ton of big goals in a ton of big situations.
Brady Tkachuk (2018-Present)
The Sens captain can play it any way you like. It feels like he just got here, but he's already in his seventh season and stands fourth in franchise scoring during the time period we're measuring.
Defensemen
Zdeno Chara (2001-2006)
Chara hadn't emerged yet as the player he'd become in Boston, but he was still pretty damn good. He hovered near 40 points in his last three seasons here and six-foot-nine, 250 pounds speaks for itself. And what a reach. The guy could poke check you at your blue line while standing at his.
Chris Phillips (2000-15)
It's interesting that the media added Phillips to the second team, He's the one who had his number retired, but the media added Redden to the first team. Redden didn't get his number retired by the team. He was added to the wall of fame.
Goalie
Patrick Lalime
Anderson is the only goalie who can compare with Lalime. Lalime is ranked second to Anderson in wins (137), was first in shutouts (29), and is tied with him for most postseason wins (21) in the past quarter-century. He also holds Ottawa's single-season record for wins with 39 in 2002-03.
The six players voted to each NHL club's First Team will be on the ballot for the NHL All Quarter-Century Team that will be chosen via a fan vote that will start next month.
Here's to the next 25 years of Ottawa Senators hockey.
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