Prospal Elects Not to Dwell on Years as Senator

Mighty Duck forward Vaclav Prospal has few fond memories from his nearly three seasons playing for Ottawa.

In fact, Prospal refers to his last season with the Senators as “the worst year of my life.”

Prospal, who signed a five-year, $16.5-million contract with the Ducks, played in Ottawa from midway through the 1997-98 season until midway through the 2000-01 season. His time there was marked by a feud with Coach Jacques Martin and a demand to be traded.

Still, playing Ottawa on Friday was no big deal.

“I really don’t think about it that much,” Prospal said. “It’s a little pressure playing against one of my former teams, but on the other hand, it’s not a huge deal or anything like that. ... I’ve been on two teams since I was playing with them. So it’s not like I’m excited to play them.”

He had little excitement when he last played for them. He scored only one goal in 40 games before being traded to Florida. He spent the last two seasons with Tampa Bay, where his career was rejuvenated.

Things between Prospal and Martin were so bad that Ottawa players, in an effort to relieve the pressure, bought Prospal a T-shirt that read, “Jacques Martin’s Biggest Fan.”

“Hopefully one day I’ll be able to look back, say that one year when I didn’t play that great helped turn things around,” Prospal said.

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In a national sports magazine, NHL coaches were asked to predict which team would be the most disappointing this season. The Ducks ranked No. 1, getting six votes among 24 coaches who responded. The New York Rangers were second with five votes.