Ottawa Senators

:This article discusses the current National Hockey League team. For the original NHL team, see Ottawa Senators (Original).

Team History

One of the greatest and most famous teams of the early years of hockey, the Ottawa Senators existed from 1901 to 1934 -- winning nine Stanley Cups in that time -- before folding as a casualty of the Great Depression.

Related Topics:
Hockey - Ottawa Senators - Stanley Cup - Great Depression

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The NHL's planned 1992 expansion had several strong contenders, but, starting in 1989, original owner Bruce Firestone put together an energetic bid to revive NHL hockey in Ottawa, using the last surviving original Senator, Frank Finnigan, as its public face. The new-look Senators won one of the two slots (along with the Tampa Bay Lightning) and began play in 1992.

Related Topics:
1992 - Bruce Firestone - Frank Finnigan - Tampa Bay Lightning

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The Senators' bid had been considered something of a long-shot, and ran into financial trouble immediately. Firestone had trouble borrowing money to meet the 50 million dollar expansion fee. For several years management had trouble securing financing for the construction of an arena. The team received no financial help from government, including a refusal by the Ontario government to pay for a new $25M highway interchange. On August 17, 1993, Bruce Firestone resigned after missing mortgage and development payments and was replaced by Rod Bryden, a former high tech tycoon. A year later he managed to borrow enough to pay for a $188 million arena called the Palladium. Although widely acknowledged as a well-designed arena, in the years since construction the arena has been criticized for being difficult to reach. It is located in the far west end of Ottawa, and is a long trip from many other areas, especially in the east or the Outaouais. Difficulties are compounded by frequent traffic difficulties at game time, as well as the isolation of the arena, which makes it difficult for celebrations to continue naturally after the game. Highway improvements are planned.

Related Topics:
August 17 - 1993 - Outaouais

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Unfortunately, as with the Lightning (who many felt won its bid over a more favoured St. Petersburg group by virtue of its leadership of NHL great Phil Esposito), PR could not disguise the lack of talent. The modern-day Senators played their first game in the Ottawa Civic Centre, a small arena by professional standards, seating 9,862, and beat the Montreal Canadiens 5-3. Tragically, Finnigan died before the team started play, and the win against the Habs was the last bit of glory the new Senators would see; they lost more games in the 1992-93 season (70) than any team ever had, and suffered through several miserable seasons thereafter.

Related Topics:
St. Petersburg - Phil Esposito - Ottawa Civic Centre - Montreal Canadiens

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Two major things happened for the Ottawa Senators in January 1996: Jacques Martin became their head coach and the team moved into their new arena, the 18,500-seat Palladium (now known as the Corel Centre)(now seats 19,311) in Kanata, a suburb of Ottawa and now part of the city of Ottawa. While Ottawa finished the 1995-96 season with a poor record, it marked the start of a remarkable franchise turnaround. Daniel Alfredsson became the first Senator to win the Calder Trophy. The 1996-97 NHL season saw the Senators make the playoffs for the first time, where they lost a thrilling seven-game series to the Buffalo Sabres.

Related Topics:
1996 - Jacques Martin - Corel Centre - Kanata - Ottawa - Daniel Alfredsson - Calder Trophy - 1996-97 NHL season - Buffalo Sabres

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The Senators won their first playoff series following the 1997-98 NHL season, defeating the New Jersey Devils in six games.

Related Topics:
1997-98 NHL season - New Jersey Devils

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Ottawa was locked in a contract dispute with Alexei Yashin during the 1999-00 NHL 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 2000-01 season, but was traded in the summer of 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.

Related Topics:
Alexei Yashin - 1999-00 NHL season - Toronto Maple Leafs - 2000-01 - New York Islanders - Zdeno Chara - Bill Muckalt - Jason Spezza - Curtis Joseph

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The Senators finished the 2001-02 NHL 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.

Related Topics:
2001-02 NHL season - Philadelphia Flyers

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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 Trophy in the 2002-03 NHL season, finishing with a league-best 113 points. In the playoffs they defeated the New York Islanders and Philadelphia Flyers before coming within one game of making it into the Stanley Cup final series, falling to the eventual champions, the New Jersey Devils. In September 2003, the team was purchased by pharmaceutical magnate Eugene Melnyk.

Related Topics:
January 9 - 2003 - President's Trophy - 2002-03 NHL season - New York Islanders - Philadelphia Flyers - Stanley Cup - New Jersey Devils - Eugene Melnyk

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Ottawa has made the playoffs every year since their original visit. However, they have had limited success, having won only four series in their eight trips to the postseason, including several consecutive losses to the Maple Leafs, leading to a heated rivalry between the two teams.

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In the first round of the 2004 NHL playoffs, the Senators lost to the Toronto Maple Leafs for the 4th time in 5 years. Ottawa had developed a strong rivalry with their Ontario cousins and there was a great deal of pressure on the team to finally defeat their archrivals. Two days after the Senators' loss, Jacques Martin was fired. He had been coach of the Senators for 8 and a half years. Martin was widely respected, had a 341-255-96 regular season record with the Senators and had led the team to eight consecutive playoff appearances, and was widely credited with changing the team into a strong league leader. However, after losing eight of twelve playoff series, including four straight to the Maple Leafs, team management felt that a new coach was required for playoff success.

Related Topics:
2004 - Toronto Maple Leafs - Jacques Martin

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On June 8, 2004, Bryan Murray became the team's fifth head coach.

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Season-by-season record

CQF = Conference Quarter Finals, CSF = Conference Semi Finals, CF = Conference Finals

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