Senators To Honour Ray Emery, 20 Years After Stanley Cup Final Run

Twenty-five years after the Ottawa Senators drafted him, and eight years after his tragic death, Ray Emery will be remembered at the club's home opener on Thursday night.

Emery was the starting goalie for the only modern-day Senators entry to make it to the Stanley Cup Final, and his family will be on hand to help them begin a new season. 

The Hamilton native spent six seasons in the Senators organization. He eventually won a Cup with the Chicago Blackhawks in 2013 and finished that regular season with a 1.94 GAA, a .922 save percentage, and a 17-1 record.

Tragically, a couple of years after his 2016 retirement, Emery died in a swimming accident in Hamilton. He was only 35.

This season marks the 20th anniversary of the Sens' amazing run to the Cup final, where they eventually fell to the Anaheim Ducks. It was a time Sens fans will never forget as they watched the club make short work of Pittsburgh, New Jersey, and Buffalo that year, winning every series in five games.

Emery started all 20 playoff games that spring.

After the disappointing end to Dominik Hasek's one season in Ottawa, Emery was a perfect fit for that Senators team.

He was a talented goalie, fearless and occasionally unpredictable. He had one of those smiles that made you instantly like him. 

And he was tough.

He loved the sweet science and wore masks during his career that featured legendary boxers like Marvin Hagler, Mike Tyson, Jack Johnson, George Chuvalo, and in Philadelphia, the fictional Rocky Balboa.

Even on a team with brawlers Chris Neil and Brian McGrattan, Emery was in the discussion for guys on the team you'd least like to fight. Who could forget that wild night in Buffalo during the 2006-07 season, when Emery fought two Sabres in the same line brawl, smiling his way through both tilts?

As they open the home portion of a new season at Canadian Tire Centre, the building where fans once chanted Emery's name, his family has been invited to ring the ceremonial bell before the Senators take on the Philadelphia Flyers, another of Emery's former teams. 

According to Ian Mendes, the Sens' Vice President of Communications, Ottawa is now home for Emery's family.

His parents, Paul and Sharlene, moved here from Cayuga, Ontario during COVID. They live in Ashton, while their other two sons, Andrew and Nick, live here with their families as well.

“Being in Ottawa means a lot to us,” Sharlene told Mendes. “It’s comforting and healing. Lots of memories, and it’s the healing steps we’re taking. It’s the place to be.”

By Steve Warne
The Hockey News Ottawa