The Ottawa Senators were founded in 1992, and it is safe to say they do not share the same history as some of their fellow Canadian NHL counterparts. Throughout their history the Senators have won their division just four times- 1999, 2001, 2003, and 2006. The Senators have won the Presidents' Trophy once, in 2003. In addition, the Senators have also won their conference one time, in 2007. They have never won the Stanley Cup in the modern era, but have had the chance fifteen of the past eighteen season. Currently, as of May of 2015, their head coach is Dave Cameron, and their general manager is Bryan Murray. The Senators play at the Canadian Tire Centre, which was opened in 1996 as the Palladium.
After taking the Pittsburgh Penguins to seven games in the 2017 Eastern Conference Finals, the Ottawa Senators have fallen on some very hard times, finishing near the bottom of the league in each of the last two seasons. Where does the team stand now?
The good news is, when you finish with the league’s best record you get a high draft choice. Following the draft lottery, the Senators used the third selection overall on center Kirby Dach from Saskatoon of the Western Hockey League. The big issue for the Senators last season was their defense, as they finished second to last in goals allowed. To fix this they made one of the big trades of the NHL offseason, sending a pair of defensemen who really didn’t fit, Cody Ceci and Ben Harpur to the Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange for defensemen Nikita Zaitsev and forward Connor Brown. Zaitsev is tough on the back line and Brown is excellent on penalty kills, another issue for the Senators. In free agency, the team added right winger Jordan Szwarz, defenseman Ron Hainsey, and left winger Tyler Ennis to one-year contracts. Nobody is quite sure what the Senators are doing. Perhaps given enough time the rest of us will be able to figure it out.
This team is the “new” Senators, as the original team folded in 1934. That team was a powerhouse of NHL hockey. In the decades leading up to the mid 1930’s those Senators won nearly one dozen Stanly Cups. Ottawa fans would have to wait fifty five years before a new franchise would come back to town. Their first season was a disaster, winning just ten games. They had to find a new head coach, as this new franchise would not make it if things didn’t turn around quickly. The team further hampered their chances when their first round draft pick didn’t live up to the hype. His team mate held out for a better contract, as he was the better player. By 1995, fans were losing faith in the franchise. Enter Jacques Martin, a promising head coach, and his focus on team defense. The Senators started wining, and made the playoffs seven years straight.
The Senators were eliminated in round one of the Stanley Cup playoffs this year by the Montreal Canadians. This is a fairly young team though, that has a lot of players in their early-to-mid 20's who are just hitting their prime. One such player is defensemen Erik Karlsson who led the team with 66 points this season. Another is left winger Mike Hoffman who led the team with 28 goals this season. Expect this team to be even better next season.
The Ottawa Senators are coming off a very good 2016-2017 season, finishing the season 98 points, good for the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference. Due to the unusual nature of the NHL playoff format, they found themselves matched up against the seventh seed Boston Bruins in round one, of which they won in six games. In the second round, Ottawa found themselves matched up against the fifth seed New York Rangers, whom they defeated in six games as well.
In the Eastern Conference Finals, they found themselves matched up against the powerhouse Pittsburgh Penguins. Ottawa put up a good fight, but lost in seven games to the eventually Stanley Cup champions. Outside of signing center Jean-Gabriel Pageau to a three-year contract, the Senators had a very quiet offseason. They did hold the 28th selection overall in the draft, which they used to add center Shane Bowers to their system, although he won’t be contributing much right now. We will see if the Senators can take that next step, and finished what they started a year ago.
