Ray Emery’s family to return to Canadian Tire Centre for Senators home opener

Nearly two decades after Ray Emery helped carry the Ottawa Senators to the Stanley Cup Final, his family is returning to the arena where thousands of fans once chanted his name. The Emery family has been invited to ring the ceremonial bell at Canadian Tire Centre ahead of the Senators’ home opener against the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday, as Ottawa marks 20 years since the memorable 2006–07 team that reached the Stanley Cup Final.

For Ray’s parents, Paul and Sharlene Emery, the night will be about much more than hockey. Their son remains deeply connected to Ottawa, the city where his NHL career took off and where some of the family’s most cherished memories were made. Emery was selected 99th overall by the Senators in the 2001 NHL Draft. The Hamilton native eventually established himself as Ottawa’s starting goaltender and played a defining role in the team’s 2007 playoff run.

With Emery in net, the Senators defeated Pittsburgh, New Jersey and Buffalo on their way to the Stanley Cup Final, where they ultimately fell to the Anaheim Ducks. Emery’s personality made him just as memorable as his play.

Growing up, he had aspirations of becoming a professional boxer and maintained a love for fighting and combat sports throughout his life. That toughness followed him onto the ice, where he became known as one of the NHL’s most fearless goaltenders and was never shy about dropping the gloves.

His career eventually took him from Ottawa to Philadelphia, Anaheim and Chicago. While playing for the Flyers, Emery was diagnosed with a serious hip condition that threatened to end his career. He underwent surgery and fought his way back to the NHL before eventually joining the Chicago Blackhawks. In 2013, Emery reached the pinnacle of the sport when he became a Stanley Cup champion with Chicago.

Five years later, tragedy struck. Ray Emery died in a swimming accident in 2018 at just 35 years old. His loss left a lasting impact on the hockey world and especially in Ottawa, where Emery had become one of the defining personalities of an unforgettable era of Senators hockey.

In the years since his death, Ottawa has taken on an even deeper meaning for his family. Paul and Sharlene eventually moved from Cayuga, Ontario, to the Ottawa area during the COVID-19 pandemic. Ray’s two brothers, Andrew and Nick, also live in Ottawa with their families. For his parents, living here means being surrounded by reminders of their son.

There is the apartment on Bronson Avenue where Ray once lived. There is the Bell Sensplex, where he practised as a Senator and where his family can now watch the next generation skate. And then there is Canadian Tire Centre, the building where Emery became a household name and where chants of “EM-ER-EE” once echoed through the stands.

Returning to the arena has not always been easy for the family. But over time, being close to the places connected to Ray has also become a source of comfort and healing. Thursday’s home opener will bring those memories full circle. The Emery family will be back at Canadian Tire Centre together, with Ray’s grandchildren, nieces and nephews expected to be part of the occasion. Among them is his young nephew Michael, whose middle name, Raymond, honours the uncle he never had the chance to know.

This time, the family won’t simply be watching quietly from the stands. They’ll step back into the spotlight and ring the ceremonial bell to begin another season of Senators hockey in the same building where Ray created some of the greatest memories of his career. Nearly 20 years after Ottawa rallied behind Emery during that remarkable run to the Stanley Cup Final, his family will once again be surrounded by the city that embraced him. Ray may be gone, but in Ottawa, the memories of Razor remain.