This story is part of ESPN The Magazine's Oct. 12 Owners Issue. Subscribe today!
Ottawa Senators
Overall: 58
Title track: 88
Ownership: 77
Coaching: T71
Players: 78
Fan relations: 63
Affordability: 53
Stadium experience: 96
Bang for the buck: 24
Change from last year: +34
In early 2015, things seemed to be going from bad to worse for a franchise that dropped 83 spots between the 2013 and '14 rankings. The Senators were 14 points out of a playoff spot in February, two months after coach Paul MacLean had been replaced by rookie bench boss Dave Cameron. Then starting goalie Robin Lehner got injured. Enter minor league call-up Andrew Hammond, who carried the Senators all the way to the postseason, where they put a scare into top-seeded rival Montreal in the opening round. The Sens lost the series in six, but their unlikely resurgence helped propel them back to respectability, not to mention 34 places up our poll.
What's good
Ever since he bought the bankrupt team in 2003, the knock against Sens owner Eugene Melnyk has been that he's, well ... frugal. But even if Melnyk's claim of a $76 million loss over the past dozen years is true, Ottawa fans still get a better bang for the buck than fans in almost every other NHL market. For those who reside in Canada's hockey-mad capital city, that's no small thing. (The average in this category of the country's six other clubs is 98). In fact, only Anaheim, Dallas and Tampa Bay offer their backers better value.
What's bad
While Ottawa doesn't excel in any particular area, the soulless, suburban arena predictably gets the worst mark even if the stadium experience is slightly better than it was last year. No wonder Melnyk is keen to move his team downtown during the next decade -- provided taxpayers foot some of the bill.
What's new
If money can't buy love, how does one explain ownership's 39-spot improvement from last year? Maybe it was the one-day contract Melnyk gave Daniel Alfredsson in December, a public mea culpa after playing hardball with the classy former captain, who ended up playing the final season of his Hall of Fame career in Detroit. Whatever the reason, a 51-position improvement in affordability probably didn't hurt; with a total annual cost of $2,410 for season-ticket holders (that's less than half of what fans would pay in Toronto), supporting the Senators is a steal whatever the standings say.
Next: Buffalo Sabres | Full rankings