Ottawa Senators to host NHL All-Star Game in 2012
National Hockey League commissioner Gary Bettman has announced that the Ottawa Senators will play host to the NHL All-Star Game festivities at Scotiabank Place in 2012.
The game is slated to take place on 29 January 2010, and the festivities will get underway on 26 January. This will mark the very first time that Ottawa has hosted the All-Star Game since
they officially re-joined the league in 1992.
Ottawa’s original Senators team began as an amateur squad in 1883, but they later joined the professional ranks. They were known as the Senators from 1908 onwards, and were one of the
greatest teams of their day, with eleven Stanley Cup wins. They joined the NHL in 1917, but fell on hard times financially. The team eventually folded in 1934, citing massive monetary losses as the reason for closure.
When the Senators were revived in the 1992-93 season, their first few years were rather unsuccessful. From draft busts to an inaugural season that featured only 10 wins, the team was a
mess until the mid 1990s. Star players like Alexei Yashin and current captain Daniel Alfredsson emerged as both leaders and potent scoring threats, and the team began to establish a concrete identity for themselves.
In 2006-07, the Sens had one of their best and most exciting seasons to date. After a 105-point regular season, the team enjoyed a lengthy and successful playoffs. They made it all the
way to the Stanley Cup final that year, but were bested by the Anaheim Ducks, who won the series four games to one.
Last season, Ottawa had a 44-32-6 record, which was good for second place in the NHL’s North-eastern Division, and fifth overall in the Eastern Conference. They finished the season with
94 points, and earned a trip to the post-season after missing the playoffs in 2008-09. However, they ended up losing to the Pittsburgh Penguins in six games.
This season’s All-Star Game is being hosted by the Carolina Hurricanes at the RBC Centre in Raleigh, North Carolina. The game will take place on 30 January 2011.
Tags: