Ottawa Senators
About the Ottawa Senators
The modern Ottawa Senators are the second major professional hockey franchise to use the Senators name in Canada's capital.
The original Ottawa hockey club was one of the sport's early powers and became a founding member of the NHL in 1917. That franchise played in the league through the 1933-34 season before relocating to St. Louis.
Ottawa's earlier hockey teams won 11 Stanley Cups between 1903 and 1927, including four during the original Senators' NHL years in 1920, 1921, 1923 and 1927.
Professional NHL hockey returned to Ottawa more than half a century later. An expansion effort led by businessman Bruce Firestone brought a new Senators franchise to the city, and the modern team began play during the 1992-93 season.
The NHL treats the original and modern Senators as separate franchises for statistical purposes.
Division History
When the modern Senators entered the NHL in 1992, they were placed in the Adams Division of the Wales Conference.
The following season, the NHL reorganized its conferences and divisions. The Wales Conference became the Eastern Conference, and Ottawa became a member of the newly named Northeast Division.
The Senators remained in the Northeast Division for 20 seasons.
Another NHL realignment in 2013 moved Ottawa into the Atlantic Division, where the Senators remain today.
The exception was the shortened 2020-21 season, when the NHL temporarily reorganized its divisions and placed all seven Canadian teams together in the North Division.
Championship History
The modern Senators reached the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time during the 1996-97 season.
Ottawa then developed into one of the Eastern Conference's most consistent contenders. The Senators won four Northeast Division championships between 1998-99 and 2005-06.
The 2002-03 season produced one of the greatest teams in modern Senators history. Ottawa finished with 113 points and won the Presidents' Trophy for the first time after posting the best regular-season record in the NHL.
The Senators advanced to the Eastern Conference Final that spring but lost a seven-game series to the eventual Stanley Cup champion New Jersey Devils.
Ottawa finally reached the Stanley Cup Final in 2007.
The Senators defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins, New Jersey Devils and Buffalo Sabres during the playoffs before facing the Anaheim Ducks in the championship series. Anaheim defeated Ottawa in five games.
It remains the modern franchise's only appearance in the Stanley Cup Final.
Another memorable postseason run came in 2017. Ottawa defeated the Boston Bruins and New York Rangers to reach the Eastern Conference Final against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
The series went to double overtime in Game 7 before Pittsburgh scored the deciding goal, ending Ottawa's bid for a second trip to the Stanley Cup Final.
A lengthy playoff absence followed. The Senators did not return to the postseason until 2025, when they faced the Toronto Maple Leafs in the opening round. Ottawa fell behind 3-0 in the series before winning the next two games, but Toronto eventually eliminated the Senators in six.
Ottawa qualified for the playoffs again in 2026, marking the franchise's first consecutive postseason appearances since 2012 and 2013. The Carolina Hurricanes swept the Senators in four games in the opening round.
The modern Senators have yet to win the Stanley Cup.
Senators Home
The Senators play their home games at Canadian Tire Centre in the Kanata area of western Ottawa.
When the modern franchise began play in 1992, the Senators initially used the Ottawa Civic Centre as their home arena.
The team moved into a new purpose-built arena in January 1996. Originally known as the Palladium, the building was later renamed the Corel Centre and then Scotiabank Place.
It adopted the Canadian Tire Centre name in 2013 and remains the Senators' home.
Notable Senators
Daniel Alfredsson became the defining player of the modern Senators franchise.
Ottawa selected the Swedish forward in the sixth round of the 1994 NHL Draft, and Alfredsson went on to spend 17 seasons with the Senators.
He remains the franchise's all-time leader in goals, assists and points, recording 426 goals, 682 assists and 1,108 points in 1,178 regular-season games for Ottawa.
Alfredsson won the Calder Trophy as NHL Rookie of the Year in 1996 and served as Senators captain for 13 seasons. He helped lead Ottawa to the 2007 Stanley Cup Final and won an Olympic gold medal with Sweden in 2006.
The Senators retired Alfredsson's No. 11 in 2016, and he was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2022.
Jason Spezza became another of Ottawa's leading offensive players after the Senators selected him with the second overall pick in the 2001 NHL Draft.
Spezza recorded 251 goals, 436 assists and 687 points during his time with Ottawa, ranking second in franchise history in each of those scoring categories.
Alongside Alfredsson and Dany Heatley, Spezza formed the high-scoring line that helped lead the Senators to the 2007 Stanley Cup Final.
Erik Karlsson became the greatest offensive defenseman in modern Senators history.
Ottawa selected Karlsson with the 15th overall pick in the 2008 NHL Draft, and he spent nine seasons with the franchise.
Karlsson recorded 126 goals, 392 assists and 518 points for Ottawa and remains the franchise leader among defensemen in all three categories.
He won the Norris Trophy as the NHL's top defenseman in both 2012 and 2015 and later served as Senators captain.
Chris Phillips became one of the longest-serving players in franchise history after Ottawa selected him with the first overall pick in the 1996 NHL Draft.
The defenseman spent his entire 17-season NHL career with the Senators and played more regular-season games for Ottawa than any player other than Alfredsson.
Phillips was part of the Senators teams that reached the 2003 Eastern Conference Final and 2007 Stanley Cup Final. His No. 4 was retired by the franchise in 2020.
Craig Anderson established himself as the most successful goaltender of the modern Senators era.
Anderson spent parts of 10 seasons with Ottawa and became the franchise leader in regular-season victories by a goaltender. He was also a key part of the Senators' run to the 2017 Eastern Conference Final.
Other prominent players in modern Senators history include Alexei Yashin, Wade Redden, Marian Hossa, Dany Heatley, Chris Neil, Mark Stone and Brady Tkachuk.