For those who don't know Ottawa is the capital of Canada, you certainly will hear a lot about Ottawa in the next 4 days.
The NHL All-Star Game comes to Ottawa, a city that rarely gets showcased on U.S. hockey telecasts.
The Senators have been on the NHL Network once this year, a Saturday matinee at Madison Square Garden back on October 29. The NHL Network blew off two really good attempts to show Ottawa November 12 (at Toronto) and December 10 (hosting Vancouver), choosing not to carry a Hockey Night in Canada game those nights.
The NHL Network added a Saturday matinee late in the year when Ottawa travels to Philadelphia on March 31. NBC hasn't carried Ottawa since the last trip to the Stanley Cup finals. Versus/NBC Sports Network hasn't carried Ottawa in quite a long time.
That will change if Ottawa plays as well in the second half as the Senators have so far. After all, we've been promised that every single playoff game will air on a prominent U.S. cable channel. But when those playoffs come, Ottawa will likely be the only team out of the East that received virtually zero U.S. TV coverage. You'll see the Jets more than the Senators in the regular season.
The Comcast/NBC properties see Canada in much the same way as typical Americans: Toronto, Montréal, and Vancouver are important; everywhere else isn't as well-known.
Long-time Ottawa Senators star Daniel Alfredsson will be one of the captains for the NHL All-Star Draft, which will actually be held in nearby Quebec (suburbs of Ottawa) tonight. If nothing else, the location will teach those who don't know that Ottawa is on the Ontario-Quebec border. In my brief journey into Canada's capital, I marveled at seeing Quebec from the back of the Parliament building.
The All-Star Skills competition is Saturday night. And the NHL All-Star Game airs Sunday night from Scotiabank Place in Ottawa on CBC and the NBC Sports Network at 6 pm Eastern.
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