Ottawa Senators: Ugly New Heritage Uniforms Make Sens More of an NHL Eyesore

Extreme Makeover: Hockey Edition has come to Ottawa to fix up the Senators during the 2011-2012 NHL season, though Ty Pennington will need more than a hideous fan-designed uniform to hide just how moribund this franchise really is.

In a move that is sure to turn off their few remaining fans, the Sens will debut their new "Heritage" jerseys tonight against the Colorado Avalanche in a game that figured to be about as unwatchable as any hockey game to begin with.

The "Heritage" design, concocted by Ottawan graphic designer and Sens devotee Jacob Barrette, is meant to invoke memories of the original Senators, one of the NHL's founding franchises, who claimed the Stanley Cup 11 times between 1903 and 1927.

The sweater itself, though, seems more to reflect the mediocrity the team has endured since it returned to the ice in 1992.

The new Sens threads, sported by oft-injured forward Daniel Alfredsson in the promotional materials, is queasily reminiscent of the proto-hipster, barbershop quartet look the team sported between 1930 and 1934.

A period during which, by the way, the team went through tremendous tumult before skipping town. The Sens finished fifth in the NHL's Canadian Division four times, the only reprieve being the team's hiatus from the league during the 1931-1932 season.

The Senators were in such bad shape financially that they had to rather blatantly sell off their players, and even attempted to merge with another struggling franchise (the New York Americans) just to stay afloat.

The Sens ultimately moved to St. Louis in 1934 and became the Eagles, leaving Canada's capital without a hockey team for 58 years.

Sens fans needn't worry about their favorite sons skating out of Ontario anytime soon, though it is rather fitting that they would sport sweaters that are so offensive both aesthetically and historically.

Like those Ottawa teams of the 1930s, the Sens of 2011 are a team in turmoil.

They finished the 2010-2011 season just two points ahead of the Florida Panthers to escape the basement of the Eastern Conference, and don't figure to fare much better this time around. Their roster is replete with aging and oft-injured stars of yesteryear, young but green talent of tomorrow and a slew of short-term signings filling the gaps in between.

What's more, in yet another feeble attempt to save his own job, general manager Bryan Murray brought in Paul MacLean, the former coach of the Quad City Mallards, to give the youngsters some life before the whole facade comes crashing down.

It's perfect, then, that the "O" for Ottawa on the front of the new sweaters is so reminiscent of a zero, correlating quite well with the Sens' chances of putting together a winning campaign this season.

I feel bad for hockey fans in Ottawa, I really do.

They've endured nearly-constant heartache from their beloved Senators after going nearly six decades without an NHL team in their midst. Now, all they get is a lousy team with an even lousier look that offends the city's sensibilities, both aesthetically and historically.