Houston Sports: The three best options for landing an NHL team in Houston
By T.A. Mock
Ottawa Senators
Of the three options, the Ottawa Senators appear to be the least likely candidate for relocation. However, the Senators have been held back by a bad stadium in a poor location. If nothing changes soon, the Senators could be headed out of Canada.
Their current stadium, Canadian Tire Centre, is far from the downtown Ottawa hub, about 17 miles. It’s far from an ideal location especially since a lot of fans live to the North/Northeast of the city which can make it a hassle to get to games.
After trending up in recent years, the Senators had their best season in a while in 2016-17. The went 44-28-10 and finished second in their division but that did not stop their attendance continuing to drop.
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Since the end of the 2012-13, the Senators have dropped nearly 4,000 attendees per game. During the 2017-18 season, the attendance fell to an average of 15,829 per game which isn’t bad but it’s their lowest mark in over a decade when the 1996-97 team averaged a little over 15,300 attendees per game.
This dramatic drop in attendance plus the constant struggle for a new stadium, the Senators could very well be on the move. Though, this is probably the most unlikely option and would likely have to undergo a name change if the move to Houston were to happen.