What is wrong with Ottawa

The Canadian capital is similar to the American capital for a variety of ways. It was founded at the divide of two major portions of the national population - Washington along the border of North and South, while Ottawa is along the border of Francophone and Anglophone Canada. They have both recently been besieged by right wing nuts, angry about the government, and until recently, they've been unlucky in sports, most particularly in the NHL.

That changed for Washington, as the Capitals won the Stanley Cup in 2018, but the Senators, who lost in the Eastern Conference Finals to the Penguins the year before, haven't finished better than 6th since. It's not going any better this season, either. 

That's a longer drought than every team except the Sabres and the Red Wings. Buffalo and Detroit look a little less moribund this season, and have a steady stream of youth, and the Red Wings can lean on their history. Also, this season, they have the pleasure of beating up on the Senators to bolster their record.

The Senators thought this was the year to start their ascent back to relevance, and were aggressive in their attempts to get there. They traded - swindled, really - for Alex DeBrincat, and signed Claude Giroux, and swapped one unhappy goaltender for another, getting Cam Talbot to replace Matt Murray, who they dealt to Toronto. 

And by and large, the Sens seem like they are better. Their goal differential is only -3, which is respectable for a rebuilding team, though it hasn't born out in the results. They are behind Montreal and Washington, who have goal differentials in the the negative double digits. In the Eastern Conference, only Columbus has a worse goal differential AND fewer points than Ottawa. 

The team is looking for new owners, among them Ryan Reynolds who apparently just snaps up sports franchises now, and they may be loathe to blow the team up and keep trying to find the right mix of talented youth. But would Deadpool want to buy a persistent loser, either? 

Whatever the Sens have tried, it hasn't worked. It seems like there is some misfortune involved, but there must be some incompetence involved as well. If you are positive, it's easy to look at their two wins to start December as the correction of a rough start to the year. If you are negative, it's easy to this season as more of the same from Ottawa.