The Senators "created some intrigue with a guerrilla campaign promoting some new mascots, but they also ran afoul of city bylaws," according to Michael Woods of the OTTAWA CITIZEN. The Senators on Thursday "introduced four giant former prime ministers as new mascots." The promotion "started earlier this week when mysterious signs started popping up around the city, often near existing municipal election campaign signs." The signs "created confusion among people who thought they were election signs but had no idea what they meant." It turns out "they were also illegal." Ottawa Emergency & Protective Services GM Susan Jones said that the signs "don’t comply with city bylaws." A Senators spokesperson "confirmed the team was putting together a plan to take the signs down." Woods notes the signs "caused confusion because only registered election candidates are allowed to put up signs during the campaign." But Jones said that the Senators "broke rules regarding business signs, not election signs." Woods notes the idea is "reminiscent of the Presidents Race" held at Nationals games (OTTAWA CITIZEN, 10/10). In Ottawa, Dani-Elle Dube writes the mascots "left some fans scratching their heads." Senators fan Patrick Smith said, "Old, grey-haired men with straight faces or frowns don't really scream 'get excited for hockey,' unless the face is Don Cherry's" (OTTAWA SUN, 10/10).
HOT TOPIC: The CALGARY HERALD noted the AHL Adirondack Flames were "forced to issue an apology on Thursday after a skit introducing new mascot Scorch the Flame drew the ire of fans." In an "attempt to explain the backstory of the new mascot, the Flames produced a skit with the local fire department." But when photos "showed a firefighter being overpowered by the flaming stuffie, Twitter went alight with backlash" (CALGARY HERALD, 10/10).
