A Heartfelt Goodbye

After nearly four years at the helm here at Silver Seven Sens, it’s time to say goodbye. I wasn’t sure I was going to be able to balance being the manager here with the next steps in my life, and I’d rather make sure someone’s at the helm who can give the site the attention it needs.

I’m not really one for goodbyes. For one, in the digital age, they hardly seem genuine. They also quickly turn awkward. Telling people you’re leaving often turns into them thinking you’re asking for praise in return. But I also think that after nearly four years here, it doesn’t seem fair for a piece to go up tomorrow searching for a new site manager without a bit of warning and without me expressing just how much I’ve enjoyed being here.

I will say that I’ve loved being here. It’s funny for me to think about my journey with S7S. I first discovered this site back in 2010. I was doing a university coop term with an extremely low amount of work, so I spent a lot of time looking for things to entertain me on the internet. I found this article by Peter Raaymakers suggesting the NHL cover the ice with a bubble dome, and I was hooked. Living in Toronto while a Sens fan probably helped. From there, I slowly became a member, got active in the comments, and started to contribute satirical FanPosts. I never imagined I’d end up being managing editor of the site. I’d never played hockey competitively, I didn’t do any kind of statistical analysis, I had no understanding of hockey systems. But the previous managing editor A first hired me, and then trusted me to take over. And like I said, it’s been great.

My favourite stuff to do always is the jokes. Probably my favourite was my satirical piece explaining all the reasons Drew Doughty should be Erik Karlsson for the Norris Trophy. But I tried to do little things like that every so often in the URL or the photo captions. One line I think never got enough due was saying the playing of Seven Nation Army at Sens games with Ben Harpur called up made sense when Wichita was then named the team’s ECHL affiliate. I’ve loved working in an environment that let me do things like that. Yes, we had to cover serious aspects of the sport, but for the most part it’s ridiculous that we devote so much time and energy to other people playing a game. I love the Sens, and SB Nation let me be a fan and spend lots of time with other fans.

I’ve given my thank yous to the writers on the site, but I’m also grateful for you, the readers. Without avid readers, there’d be no reason for the site. Without commenters, this wouldn’t be a community. Thank you to all of you who made us a part of your life, who continued to give us reason to write recaps when all the media would say that there were no more Sens fans. And thank you to those of you who (respectfully) disagreed with me. Without those dissenting opinions, this would just become and echo chamber.

Make sure to keep coming back next year. We might not know yet who’s at the top, but the staff will still be here, energized and ready to bring you more as we suffer through the short-term future of being a Sens fan, hoping for a brighter tomorrow. And I’ll still check in, commenting and maybe even still writing as I get the chance.

It’s truly been an honour, and I’m looking forward to the next chapter of Silver Seven Sens. Go Sens Go!