"Meaningful Games" has now entered the Ottawa Senator lexicon of annoying phrases.
There are certain historical phrases that make the average Ottawa Senators fan cringe.
"Ottawa apologizes." That's what former GM Mel Bridgman said repeatedly at their NHL expansion draft after the Senators brass, with no charger for their laptop, kept trying to select guys who weren't actually eligible.
"Probably not." That's what former captain Daniel Alfredsson replied when asked by the media if he thought the Senators could come back in a playoff series.
"Rest is a weapon." That's what former head coach Guy Boucher would say when asked about the team not practicing again today.
Even GM Pierre Dorion grew weary of Boucher's weapon talk. "If I hear 'rest is a weapon' one more time, I’ll go crazy," Dorion said.
Meanwhile, that's actually how a lot of fans have begun to feel about last year's fairly underwhelming goal of playing meaningful games near the end of the season. The team would frequently echo this mantra throughout the season, as though they had a "2022-23 Meaningful Games Banner" to play for.
As Dorion appeared on TSN 1200 Tuesday, host Steve Lloyd gave him a chance to bury the phrase for good. Lloyd asked him, "Is it time to start openly talking about making the playoffs? (Perhaps we're) not going to hear 'meaningful games' anymore?
"How about I say this?," Dorion said. "I'll go and make bold statements at training camp when I know what our team looks like, if that's fair. But I think last year I said, 'Let's play meaningful games at the trade deadline. And that's exactly what we did...
"So I'll say (about the coming season), let's play meaningful games until April... and let's just see what our team looks like when camp starts and then I'll give everyone our expectations."
Even with Dorion's promise of providing a proper prediction in September, the mere mention of the words "meaningful games" was like jagged nails on a chalkboard.
As eyes rolled from Rockland to Renfrew, earnest Ottawa sports reporters took to photoshop and social media.
With six straight playoff absences under his belt and a new owner coming in, there's absolutely no reason for Dorion not to say confidently right now, "Our goal is to make the playoffs."
Because if he's wrong, it's not like he'll be around to have to answer questions about it.
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