Ottawa Senators banish fan to Taiwan for rest of playoffs series against Hurricanes after viral song

After a video hyping up the Ottawa Senators’ playoff run went viral for the wrong reasons, Kyle Ivan is making amends.

Ivan, an Ottawa-based singer, has been under fire for releasing a music video earlier this week that fans say have jinxed the team’s postseason. But in a facetious video posted by the Senators on Thursday — captioned “You’re welcome Sens fans” — Ivan announced that he would be spending the rest of the series against the Carolina Hurricanes in Asia as punishment for cursing the team.

“I have been sent here by the Ottawa Senators organization because they wanted me as far from the Canadian Tire Centre as possible before Game 3 tonight,” Ivan said, later clarifying that he was in Taiwan.

Ivan released the video on social media last week — a parody of Eminem’s “Without Me” in front of the Canadian Tire Centre, where the Senators play. But the video went viral on multiple platforms, with a repost of the video on X receiving several responses that were not complimentary.

Warning: the following post contains strong language.

In the days since, the Senators lost both games to the Hurricanes in Raleigh to start the series — first a 2-0 loss in Game 1, before a 3-2 double overtime loss in Game 2.

In his video statement posted on Thursday, Ivan admitted that the video had “backfired,” instead making him into “the biggest Sens villain since Chris Kunitz” — the former Anaheim Ducks and Pittsburgh Penguins winger.

“Many of you have blamed me for the goal posts, the crease clears and the overall bad luck we have faced in the first two games. And, upon further reflection, I think you’re right,” Ivan said. “I realize now what I’ve done is wrong. It was wrong of me to put out another music video. It was wrong to film in front of the CTC without the team’s blessing. And it was wrong of me to unleash this string of bad luck on our favorite team.

“Because of this, I will be watching the rest of the series from Taiwan, a punishment that is harsh, but fair. I’m hoping this will help change the outcome of the rest of the series from the Sens,” he continued.

Ivan also released a video last year, celebrating the Senators’ first postseason appearance in eight years with a parody of Blur’s “Song 2.” Ottawa went on to lose to the Toronto Maple Leafs in the first round.

The Senators host the next two games of the best-of-seven series in Ottawa, with Game 3 on Thursday and Game 4 on Saturday. If Ottawa is able to get a win (perhaps with Ivan’s help), the series will return to North Carolina next week.