Former Ottawa Senators defenceman Jason York says his induction into the Ottawa Sport Hall of Fame is a "really big honour." The Nepean native was a fixture on the Senators' blue line during the team's rise to prominence in the late 1990s.
York, along with forward Shaun Van Allen, was acquired from the Anaheim Mighty Ducks just before the 1996-97 season in a trade that sent centre Ted Drury and the rights to defenceman Marc Moro to Anaheim. The deal is often considered one of the most lopsided in Senators history.
A turning point for the Senators
At the time, the Senators had promising young players like Daniel Alfredsson, Alexei Yashin, and Alexandre Daigle, but had missed the playoffs in their first four NHL seasons. York and Van Allen brought stability to a young team coached by Jacques Martin.
"Jacques' system changed my style," York said in a phone interview. "I was running the first power play in Anaheim with Paul Kariya, and then when I got to Ottawa we had Steve Duchesne as our power play guy, so I became more of a two-way guy."
In York's first season, the Senators improved by 36 points and clinched their first playoff berth. The following season, he partnered with sophomore Wade Redden, further solidifying the defence.
Underdog mentality
The Senators entered the 1998 playoffs as the No. 8 seed and faced a stacked New Jersey Devils team with future Hall of Famers Martin Brodeur, Scott Stevens, Doug Gilmour, and Scott Niedermayer. Despite being heavy underdogs, Ottawa pushed the Devils to six games.
"Our coaches did a really good job of keeping everyone in the moment because we were severe underdogs," York said. "New Jersey was built to win the Cup."
York credits Martin's attention to detail for the team's success. The coach drilled the players on fundamentals like dump-ins, ensuring they executed perfectly every time.
"You had to chip the puck two feet off the ice so the opposing player couldn't get stick on puck," York recalled. "And you had to put it on an angle so a guy could skate onto it. If you didn't do it the right way, the whistle was blown, and then a demonstration, 'It has to be like this.' And this went on all season long."
York added: "It was crazy what we would do. But then they became habits, and as the year went on we had all these great habits that would give you an edge in a game."
Martin was teaching his team how to beat the neutral zone trap, a tactic perfected by the Devils. When it came time to face New Jersey, the Senators were well prepared.
