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2 List of Stanley Cup final appearances by Ottawa based teams 3 Current Franchise 4 Players of Note |
The original Ottawa Senators franchise was based in Ottawa from 1901 to 1934. They competed in the National Hockey Association and the National Hockey League and won a total of nine Stanley Cups. This franchise was originally nicknamed Silver Seven, and later nicknamed Senators. The original Senators relocated to St. Louis, Missouri and played its finally season 1934-1935 as the St. Louis Eagles. This franchise was completely separate from the modern-day Senators franchise.
In 1992, the Ottawa Senators began play in the modern era, under original owner Bruce Firestone. The Senators suffered through several miserable seasons, among the worst in the NHL record book, after they started play. The Senators began play in the Ottawa Civic Centre a small arena by professional standards, seating approximately 10,500.
Two major things happened for the Ottawa Senators in January 1996, Jacques Martin became coach in January 1996 and they moved into a new arena, the 18,500-seat Palladium (now known as the Corel Centre, in Kanata, a former suburb of Ottawa and now part of the city of Ottawa. While Ottawa finished the 95-96 season with a poor record, this marked the start of a remarkable franchise turnaround. Daniel Alfredsson became the first Senator to win the Calder Trophy. The 96-97 season saw the Senators make the playoffs for the first time, where they lost a thrilling seven-game series to the Buffalo Sabres.
The Senators won their first playoff series following the 1997-98 season, defeating the New Jersey Devils in six games.
Ottawa was locked in a contract dispute with Alexei Yashin during the 1999-2000 season. Yashin held out for the entire season, but it was ruled that he still owed the Senators a year. The regular season was successful, as they finished with 93 points, in second place, however a 4-2 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs ended the playoffs quickly. Yashin played during the 2000-2001 season, but was traded in summer 2001 to the New York Islanders for Zdeno Chara, Bill Muckalt and the Islanders' first round, and second overall, pick, which the Senators used to draft Jason Spezza. The Senators lost again to the Maple Leafs in the first round, this time in a 4-0 sweep, where they were repeatedly stymied by Leafs' goaltender Curtis Joseph.
The Senators finished the 2001-02 season with 94 points, in third place. In the playoffs, they defeated the Philadelphia Flyers for the franchise's second playoff series win, but fell again to their nemesis, the Maple Leafs, in a tense seven-game affair.
The Senators filed for bankruptcy on January 9, 2003, after a long history of debt. They continued regular season play after getting some emergency financing from the NHL. Despite the off-ice problems, Ottawa won the President's Cup in the 2002-03 season, finishing with a league-best 113 points. In the playoffs they defeated the New York Islanders and Philadelphia Flyers before falling to the eventual Stanley Cup champions, and came within one game of the Stanley Cup final before being defeated by the New Jersey Devils. In September 2003, the team was purchased by pharmaceutical magnate Eugene Melnyk.
The Senators are considered by many to be one of the favourite teams to win the 2004 Stanley Cup. As of the start of the 2003-04 season, the general manager is John Muckler and the head coach is Jacques Martin.
Ottawa has made the playoffs every year since their original visit, however, they have had limited success in the playoffs, having won only four series in their seven trips to the postseason.
Original Franchise
List of Stanley Cup final appearances by Ottawa based teams
Current Franchise
Players of Note
Current stars:
Not to be forgotten:
Retired Numbers:
Ottawa Senators official web site