Editor’s Note: To complement your happy holidays, enjoy this festive flow of poetry from Ross. We’ll be back on the 27th with regular coverage. – Shaan
If you consume any amount of pop culture — kids entertainment, sitcoms, Hallmark movies, pop music, classic film — you’ll find an obsession with the concept of the true meaning of Christmas. However, the lyricists and scribes of our time have been woefully silent the nearly as important Sensmas. So let’s change that, shall we? What is the true meaning of Sensmas?
Now there is a whole religious background to Sensmas that we won’t delve into. As a multicultural hub, the only religious affiliation Silver Seven would come close to condoning is the Church of Alfie. Instead, let’s start with the (pine) roots of the season. The date of Christmas was originally ​chosen to coincide with traditional Winter Solstice festivals. During the shortest days of the year, the start of the coldest season, many northern cultures established traditions to encourage warmth, love, family, and joy. Celebrating was an antidote to what could be a bleak time of year. And maybe that is the message of Sensmas. We bond together ​through our bleakest moments. We face relocation threats, crippling injuries, stars chased out of town, and multiple last-place finishes, but we face them together. Even this year, the Sens started awfully in December, letting a bunch of winnable games slip through their fingers as they failed to take advantage of a weak Eastern Conference. Somehow this team overcame an injury to Tkachuk, only to be worse when losing Chabot and Pinto. And they were doing all this without a first-round pick to tank for. Thankfully they gave us a few consecutive wins right before the break to relax us. So Sensmas could be about choosing to celebrate our shared highs and lows rather than mourning them. Maybe Sensmas is the friends we made along the way.
In nearly every cheesy Hallmark movie, the meaning of Christmas is a shallow busy person learning to take things slow and enjoy the little things in life. ​In the case of the Sens, it’s easy to get swept up in the chaos of checking the standings, analyzing stats, poring over strategies, and figuring out the scenarios that do or don’t lead to the playoffs. For Sensmas, we could take a collective deep breath, and look back fondly on Tim Stützle’s goal against the Habs ​​(just don’t check how that game ended) or the pleasant calm of having an owner who isn’t a basket case. And that idea of life being about more than the material? That’s right up the Sens’ cost per point alley. Sensmas can’t be bought or acquired via trade, it can only be found and felt within your heart.
My favourite Christmas episode of any TV show is the claymation episode of Community. At the climax of the episode, Abed opens a box that contains the true meaning of Christmas, revealing Season 1 of Lost on DVD. He explains, “It’s a metaphor. It represents a lack of payoff.”​ And perhaps that should be our takeaway. If we build anything up to have one singular colossal meaning, we will be disappointed. The Sens are similar record-wise to last season at this time, but we feel disappointed because we came into this season with expectations. Now, it would be a very depressing message to say the meaning of Sensmas is that if you have expectations you will be disappointed. Rather,​ I’d suggest that looking for one true meaning will lead to disappointment. Sensmas can be about Stützle’s absurd recent point total, the Sens’ impressive record with MacDermid in the lineup, overcoming lacklustre goaltending, and hoping for a Pinto return. Sensmas can be celebrating the Leafs’ pedestrian start, praying for the Red Wings’ luck to run out, and enjoying seeing Joonas Fourpisalo getting pulled for another team. Sensmas can be time with friends and family celebrating Brady goals, ​arguing about goalie interference, and brainstorming new ways to chirp Habs fans. There is no one meaning, but rather multiple equally worthy meanings.
Much like the writers of Lost, we have no idea where this is going. But unlike them, we can do our best to make sure the end is enjoyably satisfying. After all, last season most of us would call a success, but if you’d said the outcome at the start of the year (“Make the playoffs in a wild card spot, need an OT goal to avoid getting swept by the Leafs in the first round”), most of us would’ve been scared of that outcome. And I think that’s the true meaning of Sensmas. Recognizing the gifts we’ve received. It’s a privilege to watch Stützle dangle and Tkachuk plow through defenders and Sanderson do literally everything. Also, for many of us, it’s a privilege to be able to enjoy Sens hockey because we’re not dealing with either tragedy or crisis this year. For others, it’s a welcome escape, a simple pleasure while dealing with struggle and heartbreak. For me, I recognize it’s a privilege that I got to write for this site for many years, and that I got to leave on my own terms rather than a drastic life event forcing me to step away. Sensmas should be about finding all the ways to spread love and feel loved, made easier by a shared love of the Sens.
Wherever you’re at this holiday season, a merry Sensmas to you. May you find warmth and cheer. May Sparty bring you presents, and don’t forget to leave some fake teeth out for Chris Neil. Eat well, get some rest, and let’s head into 2026 as ready as ever to laugh, cheer, .gif, cry, and stress watch our team on. Go Sens Go!