NHL Team Guide: Ottawa Senators

The Ottawa Senators are not the first NHL team in the city to use the name. The original Senators played in the NHL from 1917 to 1934 and had a history of success with 11 Stanley Cups. The new Senators franchise was founded in 1992 by Canadian real estate developer Bruce Firestone.

The new Senators do not have the tradition of the old Senators just yet. Ottawa has played in just one Stanley Cup since joining the league in 1992. Still, fans enjoy the entire Ottawa TV schedule watching a combination of national broadcasts and regional telecasts.

Ottawa fans can watch most Senators games on TV on TSN5. The Senators are also featured on national television on NBC, NBCSN, and CBC. Fans can also live stream games via NHL.com or YouTubeTV.

NHL Standings

When the NHL expanded in 1992, Ottawa was one of two new teams to join the league (Tampa Bay was the other).The Senators were placed in the Adams Division of the Wales Conference. The following year, the NHL realigned and changed the conference names to Eastern and Western. Currently, the Senators are in the Atlantic Division and the Eastern Conference.

Championship History

Ottawa has made 16 playoff appearances in its 27-year existence. The Senators first qualified for the postseason in 1996-97 but were eliminated in the conference quarterfinals by Buffalo. Ottawa has won four division titles: 1998-99, 2000-01, 2002-03, 2005-06. All four division titles were won when the Senators were members of the old Northeast Division.

Ottawa won a conference championship in 2006-07 when the Senators defeated Buffalo four games to one. Ottawa lost in the Stanley Cup Finals to Anaheim. The 2002-03 team won the President’s Trophy for most points (113) but ended up losing in the conference finals to New Jersey.

Senators Home

Ottawa plays its home games at the Canadian Tire Centre. The arena opened in 1996 as the Palladium and took its current name in 2013. Canadian Tire Centre seats 18,652 for hockey games. The Senators arena is actually located in an Ottawa suburb, Kanata, which is approximately 16 miles (25 km) from downtown Ottawa.

Best Senators

Any discussion of the best players in Ottawa Senators history has to include Swedish-born Daniel Alfredsson who played 17 seasons with the franchise. He is the Senators all-time leading scorer by a large margin. Alfredsson totaled 426 goals – also a team-high – and 1,108 points. His closest competitor is former linemate Jason Spezza who scored 251 goals and registered 687 points.

Alfredsson won the Calder Memorial Trophy in 1995-96 as the NHL’s Rookie of the Year. He scored 26 goals and 61 points that season. He played in six NHL All-Star games and won a gold medal with Sweden at the 2006 Winter Olympics.

Third on the Senators all-time scoring list is defenseman Erik Karlsson. Considered by many to be one of the best back-liners to ever play, Karlsson scored 518 points in Ottawa before moving on to San Jose. While with the Senators, Karlsson won the James Norris Memorial Trophy, given to the legue’s best defenseman, twice (2011-12 and 2014-15).

Author: Dan Anderson