This column usually opens with the phrase, “Well that was quite a week around here.”
And this week is no different.
In fact, these past seven days have been a perfect microcosm for this season as a whole.
A lot of noise.
A ton of lively debates on social media.
And a group of players who find a way to silence the outside chatter and deliver a couple of crucial wins.
This was captured perfectly by the post-game interview with Brady Tkachuk and Claire Hanna on the bench Sunday evening. The home crowd at Canadian Tire Centre chanting ‘Brady, Brady’ was a reminder of one crucial element in the midst of all this chaos: Winning solves everything.
The temperature from fans and media gets turned up when the team is in the midst of a frenetic playoff drive. And earning two points at this time of year is the equivalent of tossing a tray of ice cubes into a pot of boiling water.
Nowhere is this more evident than listening to the post-game show on TSN 1200.
Each game feels like a referendum on the state of the organization as a whole.
Every loss is met with a demand for wholesale changes. Every caller after a win is filled with delusional overconfidence. And there is rarely space for anything in between.
The canvas of sports talk radio is unique and that is why we’re excited that TSN 1200 is part of the new regional broadcast agreement with Bell Media. As Michael Andlauer mentioned on his TSN intermission interview last week, TSN 1200 is a gathering place for our most passionate fans.
The terrestrial radio landscape remains perilous at best, but to have TSN 1200 survive in 2026 is a testament to how the station has woven itself into the fabric of the Ottawa sports community.
The larger Bell Media deal – which includes television rights for TSN and RDS – is a massive pillar for our organization. At a time when regional sports networks are faltering across various sports leagues, to have our television rights locked up on long-term deal is crucial.
And I would put our TSN 5 broadcast up against any regional broadcast in the NHL. The on-air talent and production rivals what you would expect from a national broadcast, which is all you can ask for as a viewer.
As we move forward with our new broadcasting agreement, I would love to hear your feedback about our regional broadcasts. What do you like? What would you like to see improved? And are there are other potential broadcasters and analysts you’d like to hear from?
Send us an email to [email protected]
Trivia time:
Drake Batherson scored his 30th goal of the season last week against the Florida Panthers. It was the first time Batherson hit that plateau in his career.
Even though Batherson grew up in Nova Scotia, he was born in Fort Wayne, Indiana. So this week’s trivia question is this: Which Canadian-born player owns the record for the most goals scored in a season with the Ottawa Senators?
Answer at the bottom of this column.
Final podcast guest of the regular season: Michael Andlauer
Our final Absolute Non Sens podcast episode of the regular season will drop on Wednesday and we’ve saved our biggest guest for the end. Or at least our tallest one.
Sens owner Michael Andlauer drops by the podcast to put a bow on our first season.
Among the topics we broach with Michael:
- We ask him about the story of his red glasses, which have become his trademark look.
- He tells us about the one household chore that he finds relaxing.
- As a former goalie, he details the best save he ever made.
- And he shares a great anecdote about how Napster forced him to shift his business philosophy.
It’s another light and whimsical episode, which is why we’re going to put the brakes on recording here at the end of the regular season. Fingers crossed, we can qualify for the playoffs and if we do, the tone of our podcast doesn’t quite mesh with the intensity of the post-season.
We’ll be sure to sprinkle in some off-season content, but for now we’re going to end the first season on the interview with Michael.
In this final episode, we will reveal the details of the red mystery jersey that has been hanging on the wall behind Jackson. Incredibly, of all the emails we received into our inbox, only one person correctly guessed the identity of the jersey.
If you have ideas for some creative off-season content you’d like to see with our podcast, please shoot us an email to [email protected].
Media roundup: Looking back at some interesting and fun Senators stories you might have missed over the past seven days.
One of the cool elements of our Pride Night game last week against the Sabres was an appearance from Heated Rivalry author Rachel Reid. She was kind enough to drop by the TSN set for a terrific conversation with Claire Hanna.
Cyril Leeder was also a guest on the TSN set with Claire on Sunday evening. They spoke about a wide range of topics – including a little insight on Mark Carney’s visit to Canadian Tire Centre on the weekend.
Random thoughts:
Wanted to wrap this week’s column with a huge congratulations to Scott Oake, who announced that he will be retiring from Hockey Night in Canada at the end of this season. Scott is the epitome of professionalism and class, always managing to strike the right tone when interviewing his subjects.
There are two great moments involving Scott and the Senators that come to my mind. The first is from the 2000 playoffs, when Scott interviewed a very spicy Tom Barrasso after a Game 4 Ottawa win over Toronto. I could not find the original video anywhere on the internet – which was extremely disappointing – but this article perfectly recaps the controversy around Barrasso’s comments that night. If anybody can track down that original video, please send it my way.
And of course one of Scott’s great moments in broadcasting came during the Senators-Ducks Stanley Cup Final in 2007. His interview with Snoop Dogg is legendary stuff – with the toss back to Bob Cole being one of the greatest things ever seen on Hockey Night in Canada.
Trivia answer: Claude Giroux scored 35 goals for Ottawa in the 2022-23 season – the most ever by a Canadian-born player with the Sens. Jason Spezza did have three separate seasons where he scored 34 goals with Ottawa.
