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No overnight success Sens have built steadily after tough first few seasonsPosted: Wednesday May 07, 2003 6:46 PMOTTAWA (AP) -- The best season in the Ottawa Senators' 11-year history is particularly satisfying for the core group of veterans who helped the team make the long climb upward. Before this season, the Senators had won a total of two playoff series. But now they're contending for the Stanley Cup finals. After beating the New York Islanders and Philadelphia Flyers in the first two rounds, Ottawa will play the New Jersey Devils in the Eastern Conference finals. Game 1 is Saturday in Ottawa. "You can argue with our lack of success in the playoffs, but at the same time, we've been building something together for some time, and with the way we're going, we don't want to stop," right winger and team captain Daniel Alfredsson said Wednesday. Alfredsson is among a group of players -- which also includes Wade Redden, Chris Phillips, Marian Hossa and Magnus Arvedson -- who have been with the Senators for at least six years. Another eight players came up through the farm system during that time, and coach Jacques Martin is in his eighth season with the team. "We've had the same coaches for a number of years, and the core of players has been around a long time, so you build trust and you believe in each other," Alfredsson said. That stability not only helped the Senators lead the NHL with 113 points, it got them through a difficult financial period. The team filed for bankruptcy protection earlier this season and were delayed in paying the players at New Year's. Before the trade deadline on March 11, Alfredsson and some other veterans agreed to have their contracts restructured. That freed up money for general manager John Muckler to trade for Brian Smolinski, Vaclav Varada and Rob Ray. "It wasn't hard," Alfredsson said. "It was more of a distraction for the media. The good thing was that we were going good at the time, and that kept us focused." Ottawa was beaten by Toronto in the playoffs the past three years, but the Senators have learned from those failures, Alfredsson said. "We learned that it doesn't come easy," he said. "You've got to work hard, you need some luck and you need to stay fairly healthy. "We're in our seventh year in a row (in the playoffs), and I think you learn how to handle situations, like if you get down a goal or if you get a bad call against you. It definitely helps to have experience to get through that." |
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