The return of Brady Tkachuk has been on the minds of many Senators fans since the NHL regular-season schedule was published on July 16.
Everyone in the organization will suggest that October 21 is just another game on the calendar.
Okay.
That's good for public consumption, and the team can't be seen as being out on a vendetta against its former captain. You hear the same rhetoric when players leave via trade, free agency or the waiver wire in far less dramatic circumstances.
"It's just another game."
"This won't affect my preparation."
"I loved my time there."
But what happens when the dressing room door closes and the cameras and microphones are turned off?
The real truth is that, of course, this game matters more.
After being swept by the Carolina Hurricanes, Tkachuk said in a media scrum that he was fully committed and frustrated by all the trade speculation.
According to GM Steve Staios, a trade was requested about two weeks later. The guy the Senators had stood by as their captain for five years requested a trade. Then he forced the organization's hand in negotiations with his no-trade clause so that he might play with his brother.
How does any player, team, organization or fan base not take that personally?
If Tkachuk had played out his deal and gone the free-agent route, it would have left a bad taste in everyone's mouth, but at least it would have felt like part of the normal process.
Everyone could see at the Four Nations Face-Off and the Olympics how much he enjoyed playing alongside his brother. So, it wouldn't have surprised anyone if he'd eventually made that decision after this season or in free agency.
But that's not how it happened.
The outcome of Wednesday's game isn't really the key issue. Points are valuable, but these two points are no more valuable in the standings than any others.
What's different is what this game represents.
The Senators can't afford to look or play like a team that's indifferent to the departure of its former captain. They need to look like they've taken it personally. Like they have something to prove to themselves and their fan base.
That something is that the promise shown in their back-to-back runs to the playoffs wasn't in vain, and that this team can rise again without Brady Tkachuk.
This doesn't mean someone has to challenge Brady mano a mano. In fact, they probably shouldn't. It's hard to think of anyone on the everyday roster who would be able to handle him.
Staios announced at a season-ticket holder event in August that he wasn't concerned about the lack of players who could fight and that he felt the team was very difficult to play against.
He pointed to Jake Sanderson, who has yet to play a full game this season, in particular, as being a "nightmare" to play against.
Time to back that up on Wednesday, when Sanderson is projected to make his return to the lineup.
All the jersey-exchange promotions and internet banter are meaningless if the team doesn't show up and show up hard.
The Senators don't have to admit that Wednesday's game means more. They don't have to fight Tkachuk, and they don't even have to beat him.
But they do have to play like it matters.
Because to the fans who watched their captain walk away, it absolutely does.
By Pat Maguire
The Hockey News Ottawa