Ottawa Senators' Uber video serves as good reminder for Bruins to watch what they say

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BRIGHTON, Mass – By now everybody has seen the video that surfaced earlier this week of a group of Ottawa Senators players blasting the Sens coaching staff while being unknowingly filmed by an Uber driver in Arizona.

Thomas Chabot, Dylan DeMelo, Matt Duchene, Alex Formenton, Chris Tierney, Chris Wideman and Colin White were all caught trashing the Sens penalty kill, and mocking Ottawa assistant coach Marty Raymond for his inability to instruct the players. The argument has gone back and forth as to what level of culpability the players had in what they thought was a candid conversation, and the level of impropriety for the Uber driver to release that kind of video publicly.

Whatever the case, the group of Sens players released a prepared statement apologizing to the assistant coach they bashed in the video.

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"We want to apologize publicly to Marty Raymond, our teammates and coaches for our comments in Phoenix, Arizona on October 29," read the statement. "Our private conversation was recorded without our knowledge or consent. We're passionate about our team, and focusing on growing together. We are grateful for the support of our fans and organization. This is an important learning experience, and we will do better."

At one point in the video, Duchene boasts that he “hasn’t paid attention in three weeks” during the penalty kill meetings and that’s reflected in their 29th ranking among teams in the NHL. Perhaps Duchene should be worried that questions about his attitude were part of the reason he was dealt out of Colorado last season, and the video serves to confirm that maybe all the Senators players should be paying a little more attention.

Still, players and coaches around the NHL were asked their opinions about the incident and the Bruins were no different.

“I think players talk about coaches all the time at any level of any sport, and coaches talk about players all the time at every level of every sport. You just hope you’re not [being recorded]. They got caught in a tough spot. I don’t know the players or that staff well, but hopefully they’re able to put it behind them. Because that does suck for everybody involved,” said Cassidy. “If you don’t trust the players to have your back as a coach and vice-versa – if the players don’t believe the coach has the…I don’t know… intelligence or whatever…you pick the word…to do the job. That’s a tough way to go to work every day, so hopefully they put it behind them.”

The incident was also a reminder to the B’s players, particularly the younger guys, that you can’t be too careful in the public where every camera phone can detail poorly chosen actions and words. Clearly some onus is on the players to be professionals whenever they’re out in public, but nobody expects a conversation in an Uber or a taxi to be put on social media blast for millions to pick apart in the ensuing days.

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“It’s a tough thing for sure. I think the privacy issues there…that really wasn’t cool by the Uber driver,” said Anders Bjork. “I don’t know. It’s a tough situation. Hockey is an emotional game, and sometimes you get upset and you say things that you don’t mean and stuff. You might say things and about coaches or the way things are going especially when the season isn’t going your way.

“Most hockey guys are good, down-to-earth people and they don’t mean to say things where they’re ripping on their coaches, the players, or the staff or whatever. You take it as a lesson that’s important to keep your cool for a lot of reasons.”

Certainly something like the Uber video could happen at any time to any group of professional athletes given how often they use services like that when they’re on the road. But an Ottawa Senators group that’s had plenty of turmoil over the last couple of years, fairly or unfairly, is once again serving as the poster boys of what not to do if you’re an NHL organization.  

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