2010–11 Ottawa Senators season

2010–11 Ottawa Senators
Division	5th Northeast
Conference	13th Eastern
2010–11 record	32–40–10
Home record	16–20–5
Road record	16–20–5
Goals for	192
Goals against	250
Team information
General manager	Bryan Murray
Coach	Cory Clouston
Captain	Daniel Alfredsson
Alternate captains	Mike Fisher (Oct.–Feb.) Chris Phillips Rotating (Feb.–Apr.)
Arena	Scotiabank Place
Average attendance	18,379 (95.9%)
Team leaders
Goals	(21) Jason Spezza
Assists	(36) Jason Spezza
Points	(57) Jason Spezza
Penalty minutes	(210) Chris Neil
Plus/minus	(+7) David Hale
Wins	(13) Brian Elliott
Goals against average	(2.05) Craig Anderson

The 2010–11 Ottawa Senators season was the team's 19th season of operation in the National Hockey League (NHL). The Senators posted a regular season record of 32 wins, 40 losses and 10 overtime/shootout losses for 74 points, failing to qualify for the Stanley Cup playoffs for the second time in three seasons. After falling to last place in the Eastern Conference by the end of January, the Senators started a rebuild, trading away several veterans for draft choices. Head coach Cory Clouston was fired at the end of the season.

Off-season

Early in the off-season, the Senators signed several players including summer development camp attendee Colin Greening on April 28 and Binghamton Senators forward Ryan Keller on May 19, as well as goaltender Mike Brodeur on May 26. After some media speculation, the Senators also bought-out Jonathan Cheechoo's contract on June 29 after he cleared waivers, making Cheechoo a free agent.

At the Entry Draft, the Senators traded their first-round pick to the St. Louis Blues for defenceman David Rundblad, who had been the Blues' first-round pick (17th overall) in the 2009 Draft. Having now previously traded their first, second- and fifth-round picks, the Senators picked Jakub Culek in the third round (76th overall), Marcus Sorensen in the fourth round (106th overall), Mark Stone in the sixth round (178th overall) and Bryce Aneloski in the seventh round (196th overall).

Throughout July, the Senators made various signings. On July 13, they signed Swiss forward and 2004 Senator draft pick Roman Wick to a one-year, entry-level contract, and re-signed Derek Smith to a one-year contract. On July 22, they re-signed forward Cody Bass to a one-year, two-way contract and forward Mike Hoffman to a one-year, entry-level contract.

Having fired Goaltending Coach Eli Wilson in January, the Senators signed former goaltender Rick Wamsley as goaltending coach on July 27. His most recent job was interim head coach of the St. Louis Blues' American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Peoria Rivermen. He had at one time been Pascal Leclaire's goaltending coach with the Columbus Blue Jackets.

On August 5, the Senators re-signed Binghamton defenceman Geoff Kinrade to a one-year, two-way contract as well as signing forward and local prospect Corey Cowick to an entry-level contract. Cowick was an assistant captain with Ottawa's Ontario Hockey League (OHL) team, the Ottawa 67's, and was the Senators' sixth-round pick at the 2009 Draft.

Free agents

The Senators entered the off-season with four restricted free agents (RFAs): Chris Campoli, Nick Foligno, Peter Regin and Jesse Winchester. The team also had six unrestricted free agents (UFAs): Matt Cullen and Andy Sutton acquired via late 2009–10 season trades; Shean Donovan and Anton Volchenkov, as well as Binghamton players Martin St. Pierre and Josh Hennessy.

Of the four RFAs, all re-signed with the Senators. Winchester and Foligno each signed two-year deals on July 1 and July 21, respectively. Campoli and Regin both filed for arbitration, however they each re-signed before it reached that point. Regin signed a two-year deal on July 29, while Campoli signed a one-year deal on July 30.

Of the six UFAs, none re-signed with the Senators. On July 1, the first day of free agency, Volchenkov signed with the New Jersey Devils while Cullen signed a three-year deal with the Minnesota Wild. On August 2, Sutton signed with the Anaheim Ducks in a two-year deal. Donovan did not sign with any NHL team. St. Pierre and Hennessy both signed with teams overseas.

In terms of acquisitions, the Senators made a notable move in signing former Pittsburgh Penguins defenceman Sergei Gonchar to a three-year deal in the first hours after the July 1 free agency deadline. Other free agency acquisitions include forward Corey Locke, defenceman and enforcer Francis Lessard, defenceman David Hale and defenceman Andre Benoit.

Spezza trade speculation

In early June, an Ottawa Sun article reported that star centre Jason Spezza was "unhappy" and that there were "indications [he] may have asked for a trade." Though purely speculation, the article prompted various other Ottawa sports media sources to issue their own perspectives. Theories ranged from conjuring up various trade rumours, noting the similarity to the previous year's Dany Heatley trade demand, or to suggesting that it was just "lazy rumor mongering." Meanwhile, the Sun received criticism for its journalistic integrity to the point where they had to defend accusations that they were "anti-Spezza" This did not stop speculation, however, which was emboldened by silence both from Spezza and General Manager Bryan Murray.

Spezza finally broke the silence during his annual Celebrity Classic golf tournament on July 20:

I just want to clear up a lot of the talk going on, at no point did I ever demand a trade to Bryan Murray. At the end of the year, I was pretty emotional and upset. I was upset at losing, I was upset at the response I got. I talked to Bryan about it, I see it in the newspapers every year, they talk about me, and I said, if you want to move me, you can move me. I wanna be here, but if he thinks it's best for the team and the city, then he can move me. He told me he wasn't going to move me. To be honest I was happy about it, cause I like being here in Ottawa. It seems like every year it's been talk of "should I get traded, should I not get traded?" My priorities are here in Ottawa, I want to win in Ottawa. It was just a whole lot of hearsay that was going on. I had prior conversations with Bryan, I talked to [head coach] Cory [Clouston], we were all clear on what was going on.

— Jason Spezza,

Further, he expressed regret that the issue had become public at all. "Me and Bryan have talked since then and probably our conversation should have stayed between us", he said. "We probably wouldn’t even be talking here today. But it happened and it's a reality." His statement largely settled the rumour, apart from some minor speculation (again by Ottawa Sun columnists) that Spezza had in fact demanded a trade similar to Heatley. However, sources confirmed with Spezza's team members that the situation was "not even close to the Dany situation."

Pre-season

On June 18, the Senators announced that they would play eight pre-season games, which includes three home games, four road games and one neutral site game. The Senators faced the Toronto Maple Leafs three times, and had home-and-home sets against the Montreal Canadiens and New York Rangers. The Senators also played in the 2010 Kraft Hockeyville game in Dundas, Ontario, against the Buffalo Sabres. The game was played on September 28, 2010, at the J.L. Grightmire Market Street Arena.

Regular season

The Senators' regular season schedule was announced on June 22, 2010. The Senators opened the season at home against the Buffalo Sabres on October 8, 2010. The Senators end the season on the road against the Boston Bruins on April 9, 2011.

The Senators' goal for the season was to return to the playoffs for the 13th time in 14 seasons. Media predictions were mostly negative. The Hockey News predicted in their 2010–11 Yearbook that the Senators will finish tenth in the Eastern Conference, thereby missing the playoffs. The Hockey News writer Adam Proteau predicted the Senators will finish ninth in the Conference. The Las Vegas Hilton SportsBook set the odds at 40–1 that the Senators will win the Stanley Cup.

Within a few days of each other, two of the Senators celebrated milestones in wins. On October 22, Daniel Alfredsson scored a hat trick to reach 1,000 points in his career in a win against the Buffalo Sabres. On October 26, Sergei Gonchar played in his 1,000th game in his career. The game saw the Senators set a new team record for fastest two goals. Erik Karlsson and Alexei Kovalev scored only nine seconds apart, breaking the record of ten seconds set in 1995. The Senators defeated the Phoenix Coyotes 5–2.

On November 13, 2010, the 14-year-old daughter of Assistant Coach Luke Richardson died. The team, on a four-game road trip, returned to Ottawa for a "celebration of life" memorial service held at Scotiabank Place on November 17. Five-thousand and six-hundred mourners attended the service, including former NHL players Paul Coffey, Wendel Clark, Doug Gilmour and Tie Domi. The team flew out after the ceremony for a game against the Carolina Hurricanes that night. Richardson took a personal leave from the club. He returned to his duties with the Senators in January.

Another player reached the 1,000 point plateau on November 22 when Alexei Kovalev scored at the 10:00 minute mark of the first period. He became the third Russian player to reach the mark. Kovalev later assisted on the game-winning goal as the Senators prevailed over the Los Angeles Kings at home, 3–2.

The Senators set a new modern franchise record starting in the first period of a game of November 29 against the Edmonton Oilers through the game of December 5 against the New York Rangers. The team went through a scoring drought that lasted 202 minutes and 57 seconds without a goal. The Senators were shut out by the San Jose Sharks and Buffalo Sabres before Chris Kelly broke the streak in the second period of a game against the Rangers.

The Senators' poor performances led to constant rumours of a shakeup right through until December. The rumours were heightened in January after the team went on a lengthy losing streak. Owner Eugene Melnyk, who had remained silent during much of the streak, finally broke his silence in an exclusive interview with the Ottawa Sun. He made it clear that, despite rumours in the media to the contrary, General Manager Bryan Murray and Head Coach Cory Clouston would be allowed to finish out their contracts and would not be replaced mid-season. Melnyk also assured the team's fanbase that a "plan [was] now in motion" to return the Senators to the status of Stanley Cup contenders, and that "difficult decisions" would be made in the coming months.

Those "difficult decisions" began on February 10, 2011, when the club traded long-time centre and fan favourite Mike Fisher to the Nashville Predators for a first-round and a conditional draft pick. The trade was met with mixed reaction from the Senators' fanbase. Some viewed it as an important step in the team's rebuilding process, while others were outraged at the loss of a player who was adored within the community. That outrage was most palpable when a local Ottawa radio station suggested that Fisher's new wife Carrie Underwood was largely responsible for his move to Nashville, and subsequently banned the play of her music. Underwood is a country music singer who is based in Nashville, where Fisher had recently begun living during the off-season.

Following the Fisher trade, the Senators traded another lifetime Senator, forward Chris Kelly, to the Boston Bruins in another move which was met with mixed reaction. The team shed salary by trading Jarkko Ruutu and the under-achieving Alexei Kovalev, both of whom were to become unrestricted free agent at season's end, to playoff contenders Anaheim Ducks and Pittsburgh Penguins, respectively.

Struggling goaltender Brian Elliott, a pending restricted free agent, was sent to the Colorado Avalanche in exchange for goalie Craig Anderson, who had also been struggling through an inconsistent season. Anderson, scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season, was auditioned for a possible contract extension by the organization. Ottawa later acquired goaltender Curtis McElhinney on waivers on February 28. With Pascal Leclaire's injury status unknown and future with the team in doubt, the Senators finished their schedule with a vastly different goal-tending tandem than they had begun the season with.

Following speculation that longtime Senators defenceman and looming unrestricted free agent Chris Phillips would be dealt as part of the rebuilding process, the club instead signed him to a three-year extension on February 27, the day before the trade deadline. With a group of inexperienced young defencemen expected to stock the Senators' blueline in 2011–12, Phillips' experience was deemed an important asset. Defenceman Chris Campoli was traded on deadline day to the Chicago Blackhawks for forward Ryan Potulny and a conditional second-round draft pick, as Ottawa's rebuilding process continued.

For the rest of the season, the Senators rotated call-ups from Binghamton. On March 21, after 11 games with Ottawa, Craig Anderson was signed to a four-year extension by GM Murray. After media speculation on the future of Murray within the organization, Murray re-signed as general manager on April 8 to a three-year extension. After the final game of the season on April 9, Murray dismissed Cory Clouston and his assistant coaches.

Standings

Northeast Division

		GP	W	L	OTL	ROW	GF	GA	Pts
1	y – Boston Bruins	82	46	25	11	44	246	195	103
2	Montreal Canadiens	82	44	30	8	41	216	209	96
3	Buffalo Sabres	82	43	29	10	38	245	229	96
4	Toronto Maple Leafs	82	37	34	11	32	218	251	85
5	Ottawa Senators	82	32	40	10	30	192	250	74

Eastern Conference

R		Div	GP	W	L	OTL	ROW	GF	GA	Pts
1	z – Washington Capitals	SE	82	48	23	11	43	224	197	107
2	y – Philadelphia Flyers	AT	82	47	23	12	44	259	223	106
3	y – Boston Bruins	NE	82	46	25	11	44	246	195	103
4	Pittsburgh Penguins	AT	82	49	25	8	39	238	199	106
5	Tampa Bay Lightning	SE	82	46	25	11	40	247	240	103
6	Montreal Canadiens	NE	82	44	30	8	41	216	209	96
7	Buffalo Sabres	NE	82	43	29	10	38	245	229	96
8	New York Rangers	AT	82	44	33	5	35	233	198	93
8.5
9	Carolina Hurricanes	SE	82	40	31	11	35	236	239	91
10	Toronto Maple Leafs	NE	82	37	34	11	32	218	251	85
11	New Jersey Devils	AT	82	38	39	5	35	174	209	81
12	Atlanta Thrashers	SE	82	34	36	12	29	223	269	80
13	Ottawa Senators	NE	82	32	40	10	30	192	250	74
14	New York Islanders	AT	82	30	39	13	26	229	264	73
15	Florida Panthers	SE	82	30	40	12	26	195	229	72

bold – qualified for playoffs; y – Won division; z – Placed first in conference (and division)
AT – Atlantic Division, NE – Northeast Division, SE – Southeast Division

Schedule and results

Pre-season

2010 Pre-season
#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Decision	Record
1	September 21	Ottawa Senators	5–0	Toronto Maple Leafs		Lehner	1–0–0
2	September 22	Ottawa Senators	1–4	Toronto Maple Leafs		Elliott	1–1–0
3	September 24	Ottawa Senators	2–4	Montreal Canadiens		Leclaire	1–2–0
4	September 25	Montreal Canadiens	2–6	Ottawa Senators		Elliott	2–2–0
5	September 28 (in Dundas, Ontario)	Buffalo Sabres	2–1	Ottawa Senators		Lehner	2–3–0
6	September 29	Toronto Maple Leafs	4–3	Ottawa Senators		Leclaire	2–4–0
7	October 1	Ottawa Senators	4–5	New York Rangers	SO	Elliott	2–4–1
8	October 2	New York Rangers	5-8	Ottawa Senators		Leclaire	3–4–1

Regular season

2010–11 season
October: (11) (home: 6; road: 5) (record: 4–6–1; home: 3–3–0; road: 1–3–1) Game October Opponent Score Location (attendance) Record Decision Points Recap 1 8 Buffalo Sabres 1 – 2 Scotiabank Place (19,350) 0–1–0 Leclaire 0 2 9 @ Toronto Maple Leafs 1 – 5 Air Canada Centre (19,157) 0–2–0 Leclaire 0 3 11 @ Washington Capitals 2 – 3 (OT) Verizon Center (18,398) 0–2–1 Leclaire 1 4 14 Carolina Hurricanes 3 – 2 Scotiabank Place (16,270) 1–2–1 Elliott 3 5 16 @ Montreal Canadiens 3 – 4 Bell Centre (21,273) 1–3–1 Elliott 3 6 18 @ Pittsburgh Penguins 2 – 5 Consol Energy Center (18,101) 1–4–1 Elliott 3 7 22 @ Buffalo Sabres 4 – 2 HSBC Arena (18,009) 2–4–1 Elliott 5 8 23 Montreal Canadiens 0 – 3 Scotiabank Place (20,301) 2–5–1 Elliott 5 9 26 Phoenix Coyotes 5 – 2 Scotiabank Place (16,686) 3–5–1 Elliott 7 10 28 Florida Panthers 5 – 3 Scotiabank Place (16,294) 4–5–1 Elliott 9 11 30 Boston Bruins 0 – 3 Scotiabank Place (18,959) 4–6–1 Elliott 9
November: (14) (home: 7; road: 7) (record: 7–7–0; home: 4–3–0; road: 3–4–0) Game November Opponent Score Location/attendance Record Decision Points Recap 12 2 @ Toronto Maple Leafs 3 – 2 Air Canada Centre (19,409) 5–6–1 Elliott 11 13 4 New York Islanders 4 – 1 Scotiabank Place (17,752) 6–6–1 Elliott 13 14 6 @ Montreal Canadiens 3 – 2 Bell Centre (21,273) 7–6–1 Elliott 15 15 9 Atlanta Thrashers 5 – 2 Scotiabank Place (16,583) 8–6–1 Elliott 17 16 11 Vancouver Canucks 2 – 6 Scotiabank Place (19,191) 8–7–1 Leclaire 17 17 13 @ Boston Bruins 2 – 0 TD Garden (17,565) 9–7–1 Elliott 19 18 15 @ Philadelphia Flyers 1 – 5 Wells Fargo Center (19,256) 9–8–1 Elliott 19 19 17 @ Carolina Hurricanes 1 – 7 RBC Center (12,938) 9–9–1 Elliott 19 20 19 @ St. Louis Blues 2 – 5 Scottrade Center (19,150) 9-10-1 Elliott 19 21 22 Los Angeles Kings 3 – 2 Scotiabank Place (18,315) 10-10-1 Leclaire 21 22 24 Dallas Stars 1 – 2 Scotiabank Place (16,281) 10–11–1 Leclaire 21 23 26 @ Pittsburgh Penguins 1 – 2 Consol Energy Center (18,299) 10–12–1 Leclaire 21 24 27 Toronto Maple Leafs 3 – 0 Scotiabank Place (20,275) 11–12–1 Elliott 23 25 29 Edmonton Oilers 1 – 4 Scotiabank Place (17,002) 11–13–1 Elliott 23
December: (14) (home: 8; road: 6) (record: 5–5–4; home: 2–4–2; road: 3–1–2) Game December Opponent Score Location/attendance Record Decision Points Recap 26 2 San Jose Sharks 0 – 4 Scotiabank Place (18,017) 11–14–1 Leclaire 23 27 4 Buffalo Sabres 0 – 1 (SO) Scotiabank Place (16,364) 11–14–2 Elliott 24 28 5 @ New York Rangers 3 – 1 Madison Square Garden (18,200) 12–14–2 Leclaire 26 29 7 @ Montreal Canadiens 1 – 4 Bell Centre (21,273) 12–15–2 Leclaire 26 30 9 New York Rangers 3 – 5 Scotiabank Place (16,324) 12–16–2 Elliott 26 31 10 New Jersey Devils 3 – 2 Scotiabank Place (16,471) 13–16–2 Leclaire 28 32 13 Atlanta Thrashers 3 – 4 (OT) Scotiabank Place (18,184) 13–16–3 Elliott 29 33 16 @ Minnesota Wild 3 – 1 Xcel Energy Center (17,366) 14–16–3 Leclaire 31 34 17 @ Colorado Avalanche 5 – 6 (OT) Pepsi Center (15,113) 14–16–4 Elliott 32 35 19 Washington Capitals 2 – 3 Scotiabank Place (19,516) 14–17–4 Elliott 32 36 23 @ Nashville Predators 2 – 1 Bridgestone Arena ( 17,113) 15–17–4 Elliott 34 37 26 Pittsburgh Penguins 3 – 1 Scotiabank Place (20,146) 16–17–4 Elliott 36 38 29 Carolina Hurricanes 0 – 4 Scotiabank Place (20,221) 16–18–4 Elliott 36 39 31 @ Columbus Blue Jackets 3 – 4 (OT) Nationwide Arena (17,652) 16–18–5 Elliott 37
January: (11) (home: 7; road: 4) (record: 1–7–3; home: 0–4–2; road: 1–3–1) Game January Opponent Score Location/attendance Record Decision Points Recap 40 1 Toronto Maple Leafs 1 – 5 Scotiabank Place (20,027) 16–19–5 Elliott 37 41 7 @ Chicago Blackhawks 2 – 3 (SO) United Center (21,657) 16–19–6 Elliott 38 42 8 Tampa Bay Lightning 1 – 2 Scotiabank Place (19,698) 16–20–6 Elliott 38 43 11 Boston Bruins 0 – 6 TD Garden (17,565) 16–21–6 Elliott 38 44 13 @ New York Islanders 6 – 4 Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum (8,670) 17–21–6 Lehner 40 45 14 Calgary Flames 2 – 3 Scotiabank Place (19,984) 17–22–6 Elliott 40 46 16 @ Washington Capitals 1 – 3 Verizon Center (18,398) 17–23–6 Elliott 40 47 18 Anaheim Ducks 1 – 2 (SO) Scotiabank Place (19,515) 17–23–7 Elliott 41 48 20 @ Philadelphia Flyers 2 – 6 Wells Fargo Center (19,721) 17–24–7 Elliott 41 49 21 Montreal Canadiens 1 – 7 Scotiabank Place (20,337) 17–25–7 Brodeur 41 50 25 Buffalo Sabres 2 – 3 (OT) Scotiabank Place (18,990) 17–25–8 Elliott 42
February: (12) (home: 5; road: 7) (record: 4-7-1; home: 2-2-1; road: 2-5-0) Game February Opponent Score Location/attendance Record Decision Points Recap 51 1 @ New Jersey Devils 1 – 2 Prudential Center (7,218) 17–26–8 Lehner 42 52 2 Detroit Red Wings 5 – 7 Scotiabank Place (18,011) 17–27–8 Elliott 42 53 5 @ New York Islanders 3 – 5 Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum (10,415) 17–28–8 Lehner 42 54 7 @ Vancouver Canucks 2 – 4 Rogers Arena (18,860) 17–29–8 Elliott 42 55 9 @ Calgary Flames 2 – 5 Pengrowth Saddledome (19,289) 17–30–8 Lehner 42 56 12 @ Edmonton Oilers 5 – 3 Rexall Place (16,839) 18-30-8 Elliott 44 57 15 New York Islanders 3 – 4 (SO) Scotiabank Place (17,565) 18-30-9 Elliott 45 58 18 Boston Bruins 2 – 4 Scotiabank Place (18,521) 18-31-9 Lehner 45 59 19 @ Toronto Maple Leafs 1 – 0 (SO) Air Canada Centre (19,460) 19-31-9 Anderson 47 60 23 Florida Panthers 5 – 1 Scotiabank Place (16,520) 20–31–9 Anderson 49 61 25 @ Buffalo Sabres 2 – 4 HSBC Arena (18,690) 20–32–9 Anderson 49 62 26 Philadelphia Flyers 4 – 1 Scotiabank Place (19,934) 21–32–9 Anderson 51
March: (16) (home: 6; road: 10) (record: 9–6–1; home: 3–3–0; road: 6–3–1) Game March Opponent Score Location/attendance Record Decision Points Recap 63 1 Boston Bruins 0 – 1 Scotiabank Place (16,826) 21–33–9 Anderson 51 64 3 @ Atlanta Thrashers 3 – 1 Philips Arena (10,461) 22–33–9 Anderson 53 65 4 New York Rangers 1 – 4 Scotiabank Place (17,497) 22–34–9 Anderson 53 66 8 @ New Jersey Devils 2 – 1 Prudential Center (15,978) 23–34–9 Anderson 55 67 10 @ Florida Panthers 2 – 1 BankAtlantic Center (12,310) 24–34–9 Anderson 57 68 11 @ Tampa Bay Lightning 2 – 1 St. Pete Times Forum (18,777) 25–34–9 McElhinney 59 69 13 @ Buffalo Sabres 3 – 6 HSBC Arena (18,690) 25–35–9 Anderson 59 70 15 Pittsburgh Penguins 1 – 5 Scotiabank Place (19,249) 25–36–9 Anderson 59 71 17 New Jersey Devils 3 – 1 Scotiabank Place (17,758) 26–36–9 McElhinney 61 72 19 Tampa Bay Lightning 3 – 2 (OT) Scotiabank Place (18,883) 27–36–9 McElhinney 63 73 22 @ Carolina Hurricanes 3 – 4 RBC Centre (16,189) 27–37–9 McElhinney 63 74 24 @ New York Rangers 2 – 1 (SO) Madison Square Garden (18,200) 28–37–9 Anderson 65 75 25 Washington Capitals 2 – 0 Scotiabank Place (18,329) 29–37–9 Anderson 67 76 27 @ Atlanta Thrashers 4 – 5 (SO) Philips Arena (16,392) 29–37–10 Anderson 68 77 29 @ Tampa Bay Lightning 2 – 5 St. Pete Times Forum (16,626) 29–38–10 McElhinney 68 78 31 @ Florida Panthers 4 – 1 BankAtlantic Center (15,672) 30–38–10 Anderson 70
April: (4) (home: 3; road: 1) Game April Opponent Score Location/attendance Record Decision Points Recap 79 2 Toronto Maple Leafs 2 – 4 Scotiabank Place (19,243) 30–39–10 Anderson 70 80 5 Philadelphia Flyers 5 – 2 Scotiabank Place (18,397) 31–39–10 Anderson 72 81 7 Montreal Canadiens 3 – 2 (OT) Scotiabank Place (19,809) 32–39–10 Anderson 74 82 9 @ Boston Bruins 1 – 3 Boston Garden (17,565) 32–40–10 McElhinney 74
Source: Ottawa Senators
Legend:   Win (2 points)   Loss (0 points)   Overtime/shootout loss (1 point)

Player statistics

Skaters

Regular season

Player GP G A Pts +/− PIM Jason Spezza 62 21 36 57 -7 28 Erik Karlsson 75 13 32 45 -30 50 Nick Foligno 82 14 20 34 -19 43 Milan Michalek 66 18 15 33 -12 49 Daniel Alfredsson 54 14 17 31 -19 18 Sergei Gonchar 67 7 20 27 -15 20 Ryan Shannon 79 11 16 27 3 26 Alexei Kovalev‡ 54 14 13 27 -9 28 Mike Fisher‡ 55 14 10 24 -19 33 Chris Kelly‡ 57 12 11 23 -12 27 Bobby Butler 36 10 11 21 -16 10 Peter Regin 55 3 14 17 -4 12 Filip Kuba 64 2 14 16 -26 16 Chris Neil 80 6 10 16 -14 210 Chris Campoli‡ 58 3 11 14 -3 34 Colin Greening 24 6 7 13 2 10 Jesse Winchester 72 4 9 13 -9 42 Erik Condra 26 6 5 11 -1 12 Jarkko Ruutu‡ 50 2 8 10 -2 59 Zack Smith 55 4 5 9 -11 120 Chris Phillips 82 1 8 9 -35 32 Matt Carkner 50 1 6 7 0 136 David Hale 25 1 4 5 7 6 Marek Svatos† 19 3 2 5 -1 8 Brian Lee 50 0 3 3 -10 24 Patrick Wiercioch 8 0 2 2 0 4 Andre Benoit 8 0 1 1 -1 6 Corey Locke 5 0 1 1 -1 0 Derek Smith 9 0 1 1 3 0 Roman Wick 7 0 0 0 -4 0 Cody Bass 1 0 0 0 0 0 Jim O'Brien 6 0 0 0 -3 2 Francis Lessard 24 0 0 0 0 78 Stephane Da Costa 4 0 0 0 -1 0 Ryan Potulny† 7 0 0 0 0 0

Goaltenders

Regular season
Player GP Min W L OTL GA GAA SA Sv% SO G A PIM Brian Elliott‡ 43 2293 13 19 8 122 3.19 1147 .894 3 0 0 0 Craig Anderson† 18 1055 11 5 1 36 2.05 589 .939 2 0 0 0 Pascal Leclaire 14 763 4 7 1 36 2.83 391 .908 0 0 0 0 Curtis McElhinney† 7 399 3 4 0 17 2.56 205 .917 0 0 0 0 Robin Lehner 8 341 1 4 0 20 3.52 178 .888 0 0 0 2 Mike Brodeur 4 97 0 1 0 7 4.33 42 .833 0 0 0 0

^†Denotes player spent time with another team before joining Senators. Stats reflect time with Senators only.
^‡Traded mid-season.

Note:

Pos = Position; GPI = Games played in; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes; +/- = Plus/minus; PPG = Power-play goals; SHG = Short-handed goals; GWG = Game-winning goals

Min, TOI = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T,T/OT = Ties; OTL = Overtime losses; GA = Goals-against; GAA = Goals-against average; SO = Shutouts; SA = Shots against; SV = Shots saved; SV% = Save percentage;

Awards/Milestones

• Ryan Shannon – Ottawa Senators' nominee for Bill Masterton Trophy

Milestones

Regular season

Player Achievement Date Robin Lehner 1st NHL game October 16, 2010 Daniel Alfredsson 1,000th NHL point October 23, 2010 Sergei Gonchar 1,000th NHL game October 26, 2010 Jarkko Ruutu 1,000th NHL PIM October 28, 2010 Brian Elliott 50th NHL win October 28, 2010 Sergei Gonchar 1st goal w/ Ottawa November 2, 2010 Nick Foligno 200th NHL game November 4, 2010 David Hale 1st goal w/ Ottawa November 4, 2010 Peter Regin 100th NHL game November 6, 2010 Matt Carkner Brian Elliott 100th NHL Game November 13, 2010 Ryan Shannon 200th NHL game November 19, 2010 Alexei Kovalev 1,000th NHL point November 22, 2010 Milan Michalek 400th NHL game November 22, 2010 Chris Neil 600th NHL game November 22, 2010 Jarkko Ruutu 600th NHL game November 22, 2010 Chris Kelly 1st NHL hat-trick December 5, 2010 Jason Spezza 1st NHL penalty shot goal December 13, 2010 Sergei Gonchar 700th NHL point December 16, 2010 Chris Phillips 900th NHL game December 26, 2010 Jim O'Brien 1st NHL game December 31, 2010 Erik Karlsson 100th NHL game January 8, 2011 Corey Locke 1st NHL assist 1st NHL point January 13, 2011 Robin Lehner 1st NHL start 1st NHL win January 13, 2011 Brian Lee 100th NHL game January 21, 2011 Colin Greening 1st NHL game February 1, 2011 Chris Kelly 100th NHL assist February 5, 2011 Bobby Butler 1st NHL goal 1st NHL assist 1st NHL point February 12, 2011 Jason Spezza 500th NHL game February 12, 2011 Erik Condra 1st NHL game 1st NHL assist 1st NHL point February 15, 2011 Jason Spezza 500th NHL point February 15, 2011 Andre Benoit 1st NHL game February 18, 2011 Craig Anderson 1st win w/ Ottawa 1st shutout w/ Ottawa February 19, 2011 Colin Greening 1st NHL assist 1st NHL point February 23, 2011 Roman Wick 1st NHL game February 25, 2011 Erik Condra 1st NHL goal February 26, 2011 Filip Kuba 700th NHL game March 1, 2011 Colin Greening 1st NHL goal March 3, 2011 Derek Smith 1st NHL assist 1st NHL point March 3, 2011 Francis Lessard 100th NHL game March 8, 2011 Sergei Gonchar 500th NHL assist March 10, 2011 Patrick Wiercioch 1st NHL Game March 22, 2011 Marek Svatos 1st Goal w/Ottawa March 22, 2011 Marek Svatos 100th NHL goal March 27, 2011 Patrick Wiercioch 1st NHL assist 1st NHL point March 27, 2011 Nick Foligno 100th NHL point March 31, 2011 Andre Benoit 1st NHL assist 1st NHL point April 2, 2011 Stephane Da Costa 1st NHL game April 2, 2011 Jesse Winchester 200th NHL game April 7, 2011

Regular season
Team Achievement Date Ottawa Senators 4,000th franchise goal November 9, 2010

Transactions

Trades

Date	Details
June 25, 2010	To St. Louis Blues 1st-round pick in 2010	To Ottawa Senators David Rundblad
February 10, 2011	To Nashville Predators Mike Fisher	To Ottawa Senators 1st-round draft pick in 2011 Conditional 2nd- or 3rd-round pick in 2012
February 15, 2011	To Boston Bruins Chris Kelly	To Ottawa Senators 2nd-round pick in 2011
February 17, 2011	To Anaheim Ducks Jarkko Ruutu	To Ottawa Senators 6th-round pick in 2011
February 18, 2011	To Colorado Avalanche Brian Elliott	To Ottawa Senators Craig Anderson
February 24, 2011	To Pittsburgh Penguins Alexei Kovalev	To Ottawa Senators Conditional 7th-round pick in 2011
February 28, 2011	To Chicago Blackhawks Chris Campoli Conditional 7th-round pick in 2012	To Ottawa Senators Ryan Potulny Conditional 2nd-round pick in 2011

Free agents acquired

Player	Former team	Date	Contract terms
Sergei Gonchar	Pittsburgh Penguins	July 1, 2010	Three years, $16.5 million contract.
Corey Locke	Hartford Wolf Pack	July 7, 2010	Two years, $1.1 million two-way contract.
Roman Wick	Kloten Flyers	July 14, 2010	One year, $625,000 entry-level contract
Francis Lessard	San Antonio Rampage	August 4, 2010	One year, $550,000 two-way contract
David Hale	Tampa Bay Lightning	August 4, 2010	One year, $675,000 two-way contract
Andre Benoit	Hamilton Bulldogs	August 6, 2010	One-year, $550,000 two-way contract
Wacey Hamilton	Medicine Hat Tigers	March 8, 2011	Three years, $2.145 million entry-level contract
Stephane Da Costa	Merrimack College	March 31, 2011	Two years, $1.8 million entry-level contract
Pat Cannone	Miami University	April 8, 2011	One year, $600,000 entry-level contract

Free agents lost

Player	New team	Contract terms
Josh Hennessy	HC Lugano	1 year
Martin St. Pierre	Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk	1 year
Jonathan Cheechoo	Worcester Sharks	Contract bought out
Anton Volchenkov	New Jersey Devils	6 years, $25.5 million
Matt Cullen	Minnesota Wild	3 years, $10.5 million
Andy Sutton	Anaheim Ducks	2 years, $4.25 million

Claimed via waivers

Player	Former team	Date claimed off waivers
Marek Svatos	Nashville Predators	February 24, 2011
Curtis McElhinney	Tampa Bay Lightning	February 28, 2011

Lost via waivers

Player

New team

Date claimed off waivers

Player signings

Player	Date	Contract terms
Colin Greening	April 28, 2010	One-year, $735,000 entry-level contract
Ryan Keller	May 19, 2010	One-year, $525,000 two-way contract
Mike Brodeur	May 26, 2010	One-year, $600,000 two-way contract
Jesse Winchester	July 1, 2010	Two-years, $1.5 million
Derek Smith	July 13, 2010	One year, $550,000
Nick Foligno	July 21, 2010	Two-years, $2.4 million
Mike Hoffman	July 22, 2010	Three-years, $1.83 million entry-level contract
Cody Bass	July 22, 2010	One-year, $500,000 two-way contract
Peter Regin	July 29, 2010	Two-years, $2 million
Chris Campoli	July 30, 2010	One-year, $1.4 million
Geoff Kinrade	August 5, 2010	One-year, $550,000 two-way contract
Corey Cowick	August 5, 2010	Three years, $1.835 million entry-level contract
Chris Phillips	February 28, 2011	Three years, $9.25 million contract extension
Derek Grant	March 10, 2011	Three-years, $1.815 million entry-level contract
Mark Borowiecki	March 11, 2011	Two-years, $1.22 million entry-level contract
Craig Anderson	March 21, 2011	Four-years, $12.75 million contract extension
Andre Petersson	April 8, 2011	Three-years, $2.19 million entry-level contract

Roster

Final roster as of the April 9, 2011, game.

No.	Nat	Player	Pos	S/G	Age	Acquired	Birthplace
11		Daniel Alfredsson (C)	RW	R	38	1994	Gothenburg, Sweden
41		Craig Anderson	G	R	29	2011	Park Ridge, Illinois
58		Cody Bass	C	R	24	2005	Owen Sound, Ontario
47		Andre Benoit	D	L	27	2010	St. Albert, Ontario
16		Bobby Butler	RW	R	23	2010	Marlborough, Massachusetts
39		Matt Carkner	D	R	30	2007	Winchester, Ontario
38		Erik Condra	RW	R	24	2006	Trenton, Michigan
24		Stephane Da Costa	RW	R	21	2011	Paris, France
71		Nick Foligno	LW	L	23	2006	Buffalo, New York
55		Sergei Gonchar	D	L	36	2010	Chelyabinsk, Soviet Union
52		Colin Greening	C	L	25	2005	St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador
36		David Hale	D	L	29	2010	Colorado Springs, Colorado
65		Erik Karlsson	D	R	20	2008	Landsbro, Sweden
17		Filip Kuba	D	L	34	2008	Ostrava, Czechoslovakia
33		Pascal Leclaire	G	L	28	2009	Repentigny, Quebec
5		Brian Lee	D	R	24	2005	Fargo, North Dakota
49		Francis Lessard	RW	R	31	2010	Montreal, Quebec
31		Curtis McElhinney	G	L	27	2011	London, Ontario
9		Milan Michalek	LW	L	26	2009	Jindřichův Hradec, Czechoslovakia
25		Chris Neil	RW	R	31	1998	Flesherton, Ontario
4		Chris Phillips (A)	D	L	33	1996	Calgary, Alberta
13		Peter Regin	C	L	24	2004	Herning, Denmark
26		Ryan Shannon	C/RW	R	28	2008	Darien, Connecticut
51		Derek Smith	D	L	26	2007	Belleville, Ontario
15		Zack Smith	C	R	23	2008	Maple Creek, Saskatchewan
19		Jason Spezza	C	R	27	2001	Mississauga, Ontario
10		Marek Svatos	RW	R	28	2011	Košice, Czechoslovakia
18		Jesse Winchester	C	R	27	2008	Cornwall, Ontario

Note: During Alfredsson's absence due to injury, the Senators have used five alternate captains on a game-to-game basis: Gonchar, Michalek, Neil, Phillips and Spezza.

Draft picks

The 2010 NHL Entry Draft was held at the Staples Center in Los Angeles June 25–26, 2010.

Round	Overall pick	Player	Position	Nationality	College/junior/club team (League)
3	76	Jakub Culek	LW	Czech Republic	Rimouski Oceanic (QMJHL)
4	106	Marcus Sorensen	RW	Sweden	Sodertalje SK Jr. (J20 SuperElit)
6	178 (from San Jose)	Mark Stone	RW	Canada	Brandon Wheat Kings (WHL)
7	196	Bryce Aneloski	D	United States	Cedar Rapids RoughRiders (USHL)

Farm teams

• Binghamton Senators (American Hockey League (AHL))
• Elmira Jackals (ECHL)

The Senators signed Kurt Kleinendorst to a two-year deal to be head coach of Binghamton. He was previously the head coach of the USA Hockey National Team Development Program, which won the Under-18 World Championship in 2010.

Binghamton qualified for the Calder Cup playoffs for the first time since 2005. After nearly being eliminated in the first round by the Manchester Monarchs, the Senators defeated the Portland Pirates in the second round and swept the Charlotte Checkers in the third round series to advance to the team's first-ever Calder Cup Final. The Senators defeated the Houston Aeros in six games to win the Calder Cup championship. Goaltender Robin Lehner was named the playoffs' Most Valuable Player and received the Jack A. Butterfield Trophy.

See also

• 2010–11 NHL season

References