Ottawa Senators
| Ottawa Senators | |
|---|---|
| File:OttawaSenators.png | |
| Conference | Eastern |
| Division | Northeast |
| Founded | 1992 |
| History | Ottawa Senators 1992-present |
| Home arena | Scotiabank Place |
| City | Ottawa, Ontario |
| Team colours | Red, Black, White and Gold |
| Media | A-Channel Rogers Sportsnet East TEAM (1200 AM) Réseau des sports (RDS) |
| Owner(s) |  Eugene Melnyk |
| General manager | Bryan Murray |
| Head coach | John Paddock |
| Captain |  Daniel Alfredsson |
| Minor league affiliates | Binghamton Senators (AHL) |
| Stanley Cups | 0 |
| Conference championships | 2006-07 |
| Division championships | 1998-99, 2000-01, 2002-03, 2005-06 |
The Ottawa Senators (French: Les Sénateurs d'Ottawa) are a professional ice hockey team based in Ottawa, Ontario. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League (NHL). The team is the successor [1] of the famous original Senators hockey club of 1893 to 1934 which won 10[2] Stanley Cups and was one of the founding five[3] teams of the NHL. The team operates under the reinstated NHL franchise of the original club, which operated from 1917 to 1935.[4] The present organization was founded in 1992 by Bruce Firestone, who was President and CEO of a local Ottawa real estate firm. It has been owned since 2003 by Eugene Melnyk.
Franchise history
The original era 1893-1955
The original-era Ottawa Senators NHL franchise itself evolved from the Ottawa Hockey Club, which dates from 1893. The club won seven Stanley Cup challenges under the names Ottawa Silver Seven and Ottawa Senators prior to the founding of the NHL. The team was strictly amateur at first, playing in various leagues until becoming fully professional in the Canadian Hockey Association, after losing players such as Cyclone Taylor to professional clubs.
The Senators helped found the National Hockey Association, the precursor of the NHL, and was one of the founding five franchises of the NHL. As an NHL team from 1917 through 1934 it won four Stanley Cups and is considered the first dynasty of the league.[5] The NHL franchise operated for one more season (1934-35) as the St. Louis Eagles before folding.[6].
After the original Senators moved to St. Louis, a senior-level amateur team revived the Ottawa Senators name. They played as an amateur/semi-pro team in the Ottawa City League, and later the Quebec Senior Hockey League, winning the Allan Cup in 1949. See Ottawa Senators (senior hockey).
Bring back the Senators
The NHL's planned 1992 expansion had several strong contenders, but starting in 1989, real estate developer Bruce Firestone put together a bid to bring NHL hockey back to Ottawa. Firestone was President & CEO of Terrace Investments, a local commercial real estate development company. Current Senators chief operating officer Cyril Leeder was President of Terrace, and Bell Sensplex Executive Director Randy Sexton was vice president.
In June 1989, the group announced their intentions to acquire an NHL franchise and to build a $55 million, 22,500 seat arena in Kanata, then a suburb of Ottawa and now part of the city. 18,000 fans sent in $25 pledges toward season-tickets. The theme song for the franchise drive was Tom Petty's "I Won't Back Down". The group employed the last surviving original Senator to win a Stanley Cup, Frank Finnigan, as its public face, and intended for Finnigan to drop the first puck if they emerged victorious.
The Senators' bid had been considered something of a long-shot[7], but the NHL executives were reportedly impressed by the Ottawa presentation, and the fact that the group was one of the few willing to pay the $50 million franchise fee. On December 6, 1990, the new Senators group was approved to purchase one of the two franchises (along with the Tampa Bay Lightning) to start play in the 1992-93 season.
Reinstatement
In the history of the NHL, the Senators are the only failed NHL franchise to be reinstated. A certificate was issued (and presented publicly at the first game) by the NHL to the owners of the new Ottawa club, proclaiming reinstatement to the league. The connection is honoured in several ways:
- Banners honoring the original Senators' Stanley Cups hang from the rafters of Scotiabank Place.
- Original Senator Frank Finnigan participated in the campaign to win a NHL franchise, and his old jersey number 8 is retired by the current team. However, he died before the first game.
- The Sens' 'S' logo (worn on the shoulders of the jersey) has Est. MDCCCXCIV (1894).
- Several roadways around Scotiabank Place honour the Silver Seven, Frank Nighbor and Fred 'Cyclone' Taylor.
- The new Senators use the old team's colours of black and red (Ottawa's traditional sporting colours).
Firestone obtained permission from original-era / Senior Senators club owner Tommy Gorman's descendants to use the old Senators name.[8] Joe Gorman, son of Tommy, participated in the campaign to win the franchise.
Unlike the Cleveland Browns of the NFL, also a professional sports franchise revived after a hiatus, records and statistics of the two eras of the Senators are kept separately.
The financing struggle and the Rod Bryden era
The new Senators was a limited partnership between Terrace Investments, which could not finance the project itself, and community ownership.[9] The first investor other than Terrace was the Ottawa Nepean Canadians Sports Club, who with 66 other limited partners would own 48% of the club[10].
The Senators ran into financial trouble almost at once, as Terrace Investments had borrowed money to meet the $50-million franchise fee. The original franchise fee had been expected to be $30 million and the arena--initially called "the Palladium"--to be $55 million. The strain to complete the payment on the franchise to the NHL and to build the arena led to Firestone's resignation on August 17, 1993, after Terrace missed mortgage and development payments. He was replaced by Rod Bryden, a founder of SHL Systemhouse, who would lead the franchise for the next ten years. Within a year, he managed to borrow enough to pay for the $188-million arena project.
Since the location for the new arena was on land designated for agriculture, the new arena and development had to be approved by the Ontario government. The Ontario New Democratic Party government of Bob Rae was not sympathetic to the conversion of farmland and would not lend any assistance to the project. Eventually, the rezoning was approved with the club being forced to pay for all infrastructure required for the project. The team initially was promised a $6 million dollar grant from the federal government, but the ruling Progressive Conservatives were heavily defeated in a 1993 election and the newly elected Liberal government did not honour the arrangement. As it became clear that the Senators could not finance a needed highway interchange without government backing, the provincial government was persuaded successfully to provide loan guarantees for the highway interchange construction[11]. In the end, the firm of Ogden Entertainment, a New York city facilities management firm, backed the project with the promise of a 25 year contract to manage the facility.
After three seasons in the Ottawa Civic Centre, the Senators moved into the Palladium (later renamed the Corel Centre and now Scotiabank Place), playing their first game there on January 15, 1996.
Although widely acknowledged as a well-designed arena, in the years since construction, the Palladium arena has been criticized for being remote. It is located in the far west end of Ottawa, and is a long trip from many other areas, especially the eastern parts of the city and the Outaouais, which is the area around Gatineau, Quebec. Difficulties are compounded by frequent traffic jams before and after games.
Over the years, the arena has become one of the driving forces for development in Kanata. What was once an arena surrounded by farmland is a growing commercial and residential area.
The financing struggle, part 2: Eugene Melnyk
For several years, Bryden tried to reschedule the debt on the arena. There were various attempts at filing tax losses to write off the debt, all rejected by the federal government. Finally, Ogden went bankrupt. It had re-invented itself as Covanta Energy and failed not long after the Enron scandal. The Senators filed for bankruptcy on January 9, 2003, when it could not arrange financing to pay all it owed to Covanta, becoming due because of Covanta's bankruptcy.
In September 2003, the team was purchased by pharmaceutical magnate Eugene Melnyk, the current owner. He had shown interest for several years in the team and finally, after the bankruptcy, was able to buy the team and the arena. The limited partnership between Terrace and the limited partners was dissolved; Covanta received the proceeds of the sale for the money it was owed for the NHL franchise fee and the Palladium.
From expansion to the Stanley Cup Finals
Beginning of a new era
The modern-day Senators played their first game on October 8, 1992, in the Ottawa Civic Centre against the Montreal Canadiens, winning 5-3. The ceremonial face-off between Laurie Boschman and Denis Savard was done by Frank Finnigan, Jr. (his father having died on Christmas day, 1991), Bruce Firestone and Gil Stein. There was lots of pre-game spectacle--the skating of Brian Orser, the banner raising of the Senators' Stanley Cup wins, retirement of Frank Finnigan's jersey number and the singing of the anthem by Alanis Morissette.[12]
Unfortunately, good public relations could not disguise the lack of talent. The win against Montreal was one of the few tastes of glory the new Sens would experience; as they would have the worst record in the league that year, winning only 10 games with 70 losses and 4 ties (24 points) in the 1992-93 season. The Senators would finish last in the league four seasons in a row.
Among their many disappointments during this period was Alexandre Daigle, the number one overall pick in the 1993 NHL Entry Draft. He signed a $12.25 million contract--the largest rookie salary in league history,[13] which would lead to a cap on rookie contracts a few years later. However, Daigle never even approached his potential. After scoring only 74 goals in just over four seasons, he was traded to the Philadelphia Flyers. He is widely regarded as one of the biggest draft busts in sports history.
Ottawa's turnaround
Two major events occurred for the Sens in January 1996: Jacques Martin became their head coach, and the team moved into the Palladium. While Ottawa finished last in the league for the fourth year in a row, it marked the start of a remarkable franchise turnaround. Daniel Alfredsson became the first Senator to win the Calder Memorial Trophy, the NHL Rookie of the Year Award. Alfredsson, selected 133rd overall in 1994, was also selected to play in the 1996 NHL All-Star Game.
The Senators made the playoffs for the first time in 1997. They clinched the seventh seed on the last game of the regular season thanks to a late goal from Steve Duchesne against Dominik Hasek, then of the Buffalo Sabres, giving the Senators a 1-0 win. The Senators then faced the Sabres in the first round of the playoffs and lost in the full seven games. In game seven despite holding a lead, Alexei Yashin put the puck in his own net, allowing Buffalo to tie and eventually win the game.
The first winning record came in the 1997-98 season, finishing one game over .500. The Senators would then upset the top-seeded New Jersey Devils in six games. Despite defeating the heavily favoured Devils in the opening round, the Senators' lack of depth and experience was easily exposed in the second round against the team that became that season's Stanley Cup runner-up, the Washington Capitals, who quickly disposed of the Sens in five mostly one-sided games.
Ottawa has made the playoffs every year since their original visit. However, they met with limited success at first, only winning five series in their first nine trips. For example, in 1998-99, the Senators jumped from 14th in the previous season to 3rd, with 103 points--the first 100-point season in franchise history. However, they took an embarrassing pratfall in the playoffs; they were swept by the Sabres and only scored three goals in the process. They had several consecutive losses to the Maple Leafs, leading to a heated rivalry between the two teams, added to by their geographic proximity in Ontario. Between 1999 and 2001, the Senators were swept by the Sabres and Maple Leafs, and lost another series to the Leafs all in the first round.
Ottawa was locked in a contract dispute with then-captain Alexei Yashin during 1999-2000. Yashin, who earned the nickname "Alexei Cashin" for his actions, held out for the entire season, but the NHL ruled that he remained committed to the Senators for another season. The regular season was successful as they finished with 93 points, in sixth place in the Eastern Conference. However, they had a quick playoff exit after losing in six games in the first round to the Toronto Maple Leafs.
New millennium
Yashin played during the 2000-01 season, but was stripped of the captaincy before the season began. He was traded in the following off-season to the New York Islanders for Zdeno Chara, Bill Muckalt, and the Isles' second overall pick, which the Sens used to draft Jason Spezza. The Senators lost again to the Maple Leafs in the first round, this time in a 4-0 sweep, in which they were repeatedly stymied by Leaf goaltender Curtis Joseph.
The Senators finished 2001-02 in third place in the Northeast division, with 94 points. In the playoffs, they defeated the Philadelphia Flyers in five games, limiting the Flyers' high-powered offence to just two goals for the franchise's second playoff series win, but fell again to their arch-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 Presidents' Trophy in 2002-03, finishing with a league-best 113 points, making them the first Canadian team to have won it since the Calgary Flames in 1989. In the playoffs they defeated Yashin and his New York Islanders and the Philadelphia Flyers before coming within one game of making it into the finals, falling to the eventual champions, the New Jersey Devils.
On March 5th 2004, in a game against the Philadelphia Flyers, a record was set for the most penalty minutes in a game by both teams at 419 minutes. Five brawls broke out in the last two minutes of the game. It took the officials until 90 minutes after the game was over to sort out the penalties. By the end of the game Philadelphia had 213 penalty minutes and seven men left on the bench, while Ottawa finished with 203 penalty minutes and six men left.
In the first round of the 2004 NHL playoffs, the Senators lost to the Toronto Maple Leafs for the fourth time in four series against the Leafs. However, the Toronto goalie this time was Ed Belfour, not Curtis Joseph. By now, 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, coach Jacques Martin was fired, and goaltender Patrick Lalime was later traded to the St. Louis Blues. Martin had been coach of the Senators for eight and a half years. He was well respected, earned a 341-255-96 regular season record with the Senators, had led the team to eight consecutive playoff appearances, and was widely credited with changing the team into a league leader. He also won the Jack Adams Trophy in 1999. However, after losing eight of twelve playoff series, including all four series in five years versus the Leafs, team management felt that a new coach was required for playoff success. On June 8, 2004, a mere day after their expansion brethren, the Tampa Bay Lightning, drank from Lord Stanley's Mug for the first time ever, Bryan Murray became the team's fifth head coach.
2005-06 season and playoffs
2006-07 season and playoffs
The Senators' season went off to a poor start, and was marked by a struggle to reach a .500 win-loss ratio. Until December, the team had a 21-18-1 record; however, they played better in the remaining half of the season, finishing second in the division after the President's Trophy-winning Buffalo Sabres and earning the fourth seed in the East. Heatley was the representative for Ottawa at the 2007 All-Star Game for the East, managing a 94.0 slapshot and a goal in the East's 12-9 loss to the West.
On January 3, 2007, Ottawa acquired centre Mike Comrie from the Phoenix Coyotes in exchange for prospect Alexei Kaigorodov. Ottawa was in need of another centre, and was eager to shed Kaigorodov, who was suspended for refusing an assignment to the the Senators' AHL affiliate, the Binghamton Senators, instead opting to play in Russia. Phoenix will continue his suspension, meaning he will not be paid until he returns to the NHL.
Ottawa's first-round playoff series was against the fifth-seeded Pittsburgh Penguins. The Senators won easily by a score of four games to one, including a 3-0 win in the fifth game. The next series was versus the Atlantic Division-leading New Jersey Devils, in a rematch of the 2003 Eastern Conference Finals; the Senators again won by a score of four games to one, to face the Buffalo Sabres in the Conference Final. Once again, the Senators took the series and the Prince of Wales Trophy by a score of four games to one. They advanced to the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time in modern franchise history, becoming the third Canadian franchise to reach the Final consecutively. However, they suffered the same fate as the Calgary Flames of 2004 and the Edmonton Oilers of 2006, losing to the Western Conference champion Anaheim Ducks in five games.
On Sunday, June 17, 2007 general manager John Muckler was fired; he had been in the last year of his contract. Head coach Bryan Murray stepped up as the GM. Almost a month later, assistant coach John Paddock was named head coach. [14] John Paddock was named head coach on July 6, 2007. [15]
Team colours and mascot
Jerseys
The current home sweater of the Ottawa Senators was originally introduced as a third sweater in 1997, and in 1999 replaced the Senators' original black sweater, which was identical in design to the white sweater still in use today.
The current third sweater, introduced in 2000, was designed by Ottawa firm Hoselton Brunet. It was black with coloured stripes of red, white, and gold. The gold strip is modeled after an ivy length around the jersey. The same striping pattern is found on the sleeves. The logo is the same as on the home jersey, with a Roman soldier at a three-quarters view instead of at a profile view.
The Senators are set to unveil new jerseys for the upcoming 2007/2008 season on August 22. The two main logos can be found here.
Spartacat
Spartacat is an anthropomorphic lion and the official mascot of the Senators. He is unable to talk but expresses himself through wild gestures and a constant smile. He is also known to be quite an acrobat as he has been seen swinging through the Scotiabank Place arena to get the crowd pumped up before games.
Season-by-season record
This is a partial list of the last five seasons completed by the Senators. For the full season-by-season history, see Ottawa Senators seasons
Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, OTL = Overtime Losses, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against, PIM = Penalties in minutes
Records as of February 20, 2007. [16]
| Season | GP | W | L | T | OTL | Pts | GF | GA | PIM | Finish | Playoffs |
| 2001-02 | 82 | 39 | 27 | 9 | 7 | 94 | 243 | 208 | 1347 | 3rd, Northeast | Lost in Conference Semifinals, 3-4 (Maple Leafs) |
| 2002-03 | 82 | 52 | 21 | 8 | 1 | 113 | 263 | 182 | 1135 | 1st, Northeast | Lost in Conference Finals, 3-4 (Devils) |
| 2003-04 | 82 | 43 | 23 | 10 | 6 | 102 | 262 | 189 | 1270 | 3rd, Northeast | Lost in Conference Quarterfinals, 3-4 (Maple Leafs) |
| 2004-05 | Season cancelled due to 2004-05 NHL Lockout | ||||||||||
| 2005-061 | 82 | 52 | 21 | — | 9 | 113 | 314 | 211 | 1443 | 1st, Northeast | Lost in Conference Semifinals, 1-4 (Sabres) |
| 2006-07 | 82 | 48 | 25 | — | 9 | 105 | 288 | 222 | 2nd, Northeast | Lost in Finals, 1-4 (Ducks) | |
- 1 As of the 2005-06 NHL season, all games will have a winner; the OTL column includes SOL (Shootout losses).
Players
Current roster
| # | Player | Catches | Acquired | Place of Birth | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
|
Ray Emery | L | 2001 | Cayuga, Ontario |
| 29 | 
|
Martin Gerber | L | 2006 | Burgdorf, Switzerland |
| # | Player | Shoots | Acquired | Place of Birth | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 |
|
Lawrence Nycholat | L | 2007 | Calgary, Alberta |
| 4 |
|
Chris Phillips – A | L | 1996 | Calgary, Alberta |
| 5 | 
|
Christoph Schubert* | L | 2001 | Munich, West Germany |
| - |
|
Luke Richardson | L | 2007 | Ottawa, Ontario |
| 6 |
|
Wade Redden – A | L | 1996 | Lloydminster, Saskatchewan |
| 7 | 
|
Joe Corvo | R | 2006 | Oak Park, Illinois |
| 14 | 
|
Andrej Meszaros | L | 2004 | Považská Bystrica, Czechoslovakia |
| 24 | 
|
Anton Volchenkov | L | 2000 | Moscow, U.S.S.R. |
| # | Player | Position | Shoots | Acquired | Place of Birth | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| - |
|
Shean Donovan | RW | R | 2007 | Timmins, Ontario |
| 5 |
|
Christoph Schubert* | LW | L | 2001 | Munich, West Germany |
| 11 |
|
Daniel Alfredsson – C | RW | R | 1994 | Gothenburg, Sweden |
| 12 |
|
Mike Fisher | C | R | 1998 | Peterborough, Ontario |
| 15 |
|
Dany Heatley | LW | L | 2005 | Freiburg, West Germany |
| 16 |
|
Brian McGrattan | RW | R | 2002 | Hamilton, Ontario |
| 19 |
|
Jason Spezza | C | R | 2001 | Mississauga, Ontario |
| 20 |
|
Antoine Vermette | LW | L | 2000 | Saint-Agapit, Quebec |
| 22 |
|
Chris Kelly | C | L | 1999 | Toronto, Ontario |
| 25 |
|
Chris Neil | RW | R | 1998 | Markdale, Ontario |
| 37 |
|
Dean McAmmond | LW | L | 2006 | Grande Cache, Alberta |
| 44 |
|
Patrick Eaves | RW | R | 2003 | Calgary, Alberta |
* Christoph Schubert regularly plays both defence and forward, sometimes in the same game
To see the Senators' individual player pages, click here.
Team Captains
- Laurie Boschman, 1992-93
- Brad Shaw, Mark Lamb &
Gord Dineen, 1993-94 - No captain, 1994-95 (Lockout)
- Randy Cunneyworth, 1995-98
- Alexei Yashin, 1998-99
- Daniel Alfredsson, 1999- present
Honoured members
Hall of Famers: The Senators assistant coach & head coach Roger Neilson (2001-03), was inducted in 2002 (as a Builder) for his career in NHL coaching.
Retired Numbers: The Senators retired number 8 for Frank Finnigan, on October 8, 1992. Finnigan actually played in the original era(as a RW, 1923-31 & 1932-34), but he was instrumental in getting Ottawa an NHL franchise again (see Frank Finnigan). The number 99 of Wayne Gretzky was retired league-wide by the NHL February 6, 2000.
First-round draft picks
- 1992: Alexei Yashin (2nd overall)
- 1993: Alexandre Daigle (1st overall)
- 1994: Radek Bonk (3rd overall)
- 1995: Bryan Berard (1st overall)
- 1996: Chris Phillips (1st overall)
- 1997: Marian Hossa (12th overall)
- 1998: Mathieu Chouinard (15th overall)
- 1999: Martin Havlat (26th overall)
- 2000: Anton Volchenkov (21st overall)
- 2001: Jason Spezza (2nd overall) & Tim Gleason (23rd overall)
- 2002: Jakub Klepis (16th overall)
- 2003: Patrick Eaves (29th overall)
- 2004: Andrej Meszaros (23rd overall)
- 2005: Brian Lee (9th overall)
- 2006: Nick Foligno (28th overall)
- 2007: Jim O'Brien (29th overall)
Franchise scoring leaders
These are the top-ten point-scorers in franchise history, post-1992. Figures are updated after each completed NHL regular season.
Note: Pos = Position; GP = Games Played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; P/G = Points per game; * = current Senators player
| Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | P/G |
| Daniel Alfredsson* | RW | 783 | 291 | 467 | 758 | .97 |
| Alexei Yashin | C | 504 | 218 | 273 | 491 | .97 |
| Radek Bonk | C | 689 | 152 | 247 | 399 | .58 |
| Marian Hossa | RW | 467 | 188 | 202 | 390 | .84 |
| Wade Redden* | D | 758 | 95 | 277 | 372 | .49 |
| Shawn McEachern | LW | 454 | 142 | 162 | 304 | .67 |
| Jason Spezza* | C | 246 | 82 | 171 | 253 | 1.03 |
| Martin Havlat | LW | 294 | 105 | 130 | 235 | .79 |
| Magnus Arvedson | RW | 393 | 92 | 118 | 210 | .53 |
| Dany Heatley* | LW | 164 | 100 | 108 | 208 | 1.27 |
NHL awards and trophies
- Wade Redden: 2005-06 (shared with Michal Rozsival of the New York Rangers)
Franchise individual records
| Franchise record | Name of player | Statistic | Year(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Most Goals in a season | Dany Heatley | 50 | 2005-06, 2006-07 |
| Most Assists in a season | Jason Spezza | 71 | 2005-06 |
| Most Points in a season | Dany Heatley | 105 | 2006-07 |
| Most Points in a season, defenseman | Norm MacIver | 63 | 1992-93 |
| Most Points in a season, rookie | Alexei Yashin | 79 | 1993-94 |
| Most Penalty Minutes in a season | Mike Peluso | 318 | 1992-93 |
| Highest +/- rating in a season | Daniel Alfredsson | +42 | 2006-07 |
| Most playoff games played | Daniel Alfredsson | 99 | (milestone) |
| Most goaltender wins in a season | Patrick Lalime | 39 | 2002-03 |
| Most shutouts in a season | Patrick Lalime | 8 | 2002-03 |
| Lowest G.A.A. in a season | Ron Tugnutt | 1.79 | 1998-99 |
| Best SV% in a season | Dominik Hasek | .925 | 2005-06 |
Miscellaneous
Television broadcasting
Local coverage of the Ottawa Senators can be found on Rogers Sportsnet and A-Channel. National coverage is less frequent; however national broadcasting is usually done by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), which has increased the number of Senators games broadcast on Hockey Night in Canada in 2006-07 compared to previous seasons. Five games in 2006-07 were broadcasted on pay-per-view in the Ottawa area; this started with a game at Detroit on December 12, 2006. The Senators won the game 3-2 in regulation even though they were badly outshot 45-22.
Following, also known as 'Sens Army'
The fans of the Senators are known as the Sens Army, participating in fan activities organized by the club. Like most hockey fanatics, fans are known to dress up for games; most in some sort of Roman legionary clothing. For the 2006-2007 playoff run, more fans then ever before would wear red, and fan activities included 'Red Rallies' of decorated cars, fan rallies at Ottawa City Hall Plaza and the 'Red Mile' along Elgin Street where fans would congregate.
At many home games the fans are entertained both outside and inside ScotiaBank Place with a myriad of talent - live music, rock bands, giveaways and promotions. A fixture on the concourse before regular season and playoff games is the official-unofficial pipe band of the Ottawa Senators, The Sons of Scotland.
References
- ^ "Ottawa bid taking shape", Ottawa Citizen, August 26, 1989.
{{citation}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ According to the Hockey Hall of Fame, the original team won it 10 times. Since only four wins occurred outside the "challenge era" of the Stanley Cup, the count is debatable.
- ^ Four of the NHA teams, including the Senators, voted to suspend the NHA, form a new league, and add a new Toronto franchise, at least partly due to disputes with the Toronto NHA franchise. Four teams played in the 1917-18 NHL season, as one of the founding teams, the Quebec Bulldogs suspended operations for two years.
- ^ The franchise operated for one season in St. Louis, before being cancelled by the league. The NHL granted the new team the 'reinstated' tag as part of the franchise purchase.
- ^ "Stanley Cup Dynasties". nhl.com. Retrieved 2007-07-06.
- ^ "Ottawa Interests Through;NHL Purchase Franchise", Toronto Star, October 16,1935.
{{citation}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Jim Durrell, mayor of Ottawa at the time, was quoted as saying "It's not that the area isn't a big enough market to support a professional hockey team, it's just that we're not going to get it." MacGregor, Roy, Ottawa Senators, 1996, pg. 14.
- ^ "Ottawa bid taking shape", Ottawa Citizen, August 26, 1989.
{{citation}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "list of partners".
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|retrieved=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help) - ^ "Senators cash crunch sidelines little guys", The Ottawa Citizen, February 8, 1996.
- ^ "Palladium wins loan; all systems go; Infrastructure financing opens flow of money", The Ottawa Citizen, December 22, 1993.
- ^ "Maybe Rome was built in a day; Senators in stunning 5-3 debut victory over Habs; 10,449 fans went wild and it was magical", The Ottawa Citizen, October 9, 1992
- ^ The team justified the large contract, by stating that it included his 'marketing rights.'
- ^ "Muckler out, Murray in". OTTAWA (CP). Retrieved 2007-06-18.
- ^ "Bulletin: John Paddock Named Senators Head Coach". Ottawa Senators. Retrieved 2007-07-06.
- ^ Hockeydb.com, Ottawa Senators season statistics and records.
- MacGregor, Roy (1996). Ottawa Senators.
See also
External links
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