Five Greatest NHL Players Who Had Whirlwind Stops in Ottawa

The Senators have had some fantastic players over the years, but a few were only here for a cup of coffee. We round up the top five greatest players from that list.

Between the game against Detroit and the NHL all-star game, it was hard for Senators fans not to notice Alex DeBrincat zipping around on the ice this week, now representing another franchise. A year and a half ago, the Sens acquired DeBrincat in a trade with Chicago, in hopes he'd be part of their team for the next decade.

But he didn't want to be here and the rest is history. DeBrincat was one and done, playing just 82 games before his trade to Detroit.

So it got us wondering, what other excellent players have only had brief stops in Ottawa – the proverbial cups of coffee – before moving on? As it turns out, there have been plenty. But we've narrowed it down to the five best. And we've used 1-60 regular season games as our "cup of coffee" benchmark.

Most were here near the end of their careers, one was just getting started, and nobody thinks of the Senators when they remember these players. 

So here are the five greatest NHL players who had whirlwind stops in Ottawa. 

Peter Bondra - 23 games

Bondra played 1081 games in the NHL, scoring 892 points. He had five all-star appearances, two 50-goal seasons and was one of the game's fastest skaters. Washington got all of his best years before trading him to the Senators in 2004 for Brooks Laich and a second round draft pick. 

At the time of the deal, which had Bondra in tears, GM John Muckler insisted that Bondra, a pending free agent, "was not a rental." But he never counted on Bondra getting zero points in a seven game first round loss to Toronto, nor did he count on the following NHL season being cancelled. By the time the NHL returned, the Sens had made other plans and Bondra signed with the Atlanta Thrashers.

Pavol Demitra - 59 games

Demitra played in 847 NHL games, scoring 768 points. But his career started in Ottawa where he played just 59 games over three seasons. When new GM Pierre Gauthier arrived on the scene, he promptly made one of the worst trades in franchise history, sending Demitra to St. Louis for defenceman Christer Olsson. 

A trade involving a ninth-rounder for an eleventh-rounder shouldn't hurt much. But it did. Olsson played 25 career games for Ottawa while Demitra immediately began a brilliant career, becoming a point per game player for the next decade.

Marian Gaborik - 16 games

In Minnesota and New York, Gaborik was one of the game's best. But after six seasons in Columbus and LA, his body was obviously done. Gaborik and Nick Shore were traded to the Sens for Dion Phaneuf and Nate Thompson. The Sens got out from a bad contract with Phaneuf and traded it for a less expensive bad contract with Gaborik, who played 16 games here and then rode out of the rest of his contract and career on LTIR.

Gaborik's NHL career lasted 1035 games and he scored 815 points. He spent eight seasons with the Minnesota Wild from 2000 to 2009, becoming the team's all-time leading goal scorer.

Tom Barrasso - 7 games

I have zero issues in labelling Tom Barrasso as the single most abrasive personality I've ever encountered in the history of the Ottawa Senators. And it isn't close. But he was a Hall of Famer, so he belongs on this list. 

Barrasso was acquired from Pittsburgh at the 2000 trade deadline for Ron Tugnutt and Janne Laukkanen. Just like Matt Murray, Barrasso was a free agent the Penguins weren't planning to re-sign. He played just seven career games for the Senators and then six more in the playoffs in a first round loss to Toronto. He opted not to re-sign that summer, taking the following season off for family reasons.

Dominik Hasek - 43 games

When the Senators got their hands on Dominik Hasek in 2005-06, there was a ton of excitement. After a cancelled season, the NHL was back, the Sens were a contender, and they had just added Hasek and Dany Heatley. 

But there were obviously big concerns about Hasek's age, rust and injury. Hasek was 40-years-old and this was how his previous three seasons looked:

2002-03: Retired

2003-04: 14 games, groin injury

2004-05: Cancelled NHL season

But Hasek looked as good as ever, going 28-10-4 with a 2.09 goals against average and a .925 save percentage. 

But then the Olympics came around and Hasek injured his adductor muscle, ending his season. Looking back, it probably wasn't wise for the long haul that Sens head coach Bryan Murray started Hasek 43 times in Ottawa's first 58 games.

Amidst rumours that Hasek might be able to return for the playoffs, he never could. The Senators opted not to re-sign Hasek that summer, who was reportedly willing to re-sign for $500,000 plus bonuses. He, instead, one of the greatest goalies in NHL history returned to Detroit and had two more excellent seasons, including a Stanley Cup win.