The current Ottawa Senators franchise was established in 1992, reviving the historic Senators name for a new NHL expansion team in Canada’s capital 1)
The name honors the original Ottawa Senators club, founded in 1883, which won 11 Stanley Cups and played in the NHL from 1917 to 1934 2)
On December 6, 1990, the NHL formally approved Ottawa’s expansion bid, clearing the way for the modern Senators to begin play in 1992–93 3)
In their inaugural 1992–93 season, the Senators finished with just 10 wins and 24 points, one of the lowest totals in modern NHL history 4)
The Senators play home games at the Canadian Tire Centre in the Ottawa suburb of Kanata, an arena that opened in 1996 with a hockey capacity of around 18,500 5)
That building has gone through several corporate names over time, including the Palladium, Corel Centre, Scotiabank Place, and now Canadian Tire Centre 6)
Ottawa competes in the Atlantic Division of the NHL’s Eastern Conference, sharing a division with rivals like Montreal, Toronto, and Boston 7)
The team’s popular nickname “Sens” is simply a shortened, informal version of “Senators” that appears on merchandise and in fan communities 8)
The modern Senators reached the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time in 1996–97, clinching a spot in their final regular-season game 9)
In 1997–98, Ottawa recorded its first playoff series victory by upsetting the heavily favored New Jersey Devils in the opening round 10)
The Senators won the Presidents’ Trophy as the NHL’s top regular-season team in 2002–03, finishing with 113 points and 52 wins 11)
Ottawa’s 52 victories in both 2002–03 and 2005–06 stand as the most wins in a single season in franchise history 12)
The 24 points earned in 1992–93 remain the lowest single-season point total in Senators history 13)
During that rough first season, Ottawa endured a 38-game road winless streak, going 0–38–0 away from home 14)
The Senators have captured four division championships—1998–99, 2000–01, 2002–03, and 2005–06 15)
Ottawa reached the Stanley Cup Final in 2007 with stars like Daniel Alfredsson, Dany Heatley, and Jason Spezza, ultimately losing to the Anaheim Ducks in five games 16)
The Senators came within one win of the Final in 2017, falling in double overtime of Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Final against the Pittsburgh Penguins 17)
Defenseman Erik Karlsson’s dominant two-way performance in the spring of 2017 is often cited as one of the greatest playoff runs by a Senators player 18)
Daniel Alfredsson, drafted in 1994, became the face of the franchise, serving as long-time captain and leading the team in many all-time offensive categories 19)
Alfredsson scored his 400th career NHL goal in his final season with Ottawa, becoming the first Senators player to reach that milestone 20)
Alfredsson also appears prominently in franchise leader lists for playoff games and points 21)
Dany Heatley recorded back-to-back 50-goal seasons in 2005–06 and 2006–07 22)
Alexei Yashin set the franchise rookie record with 79 points in 1993–94 23)
Enforcer Mike Peluso amassed 318 penalty minutes in 1992–93, the single-season franchise record for penalty minutes 24)
Goaltender Patrick Lalime set club records with 39 wins and 8 shutouts in the 2002–03 season 25)
Craig Anderson posted a 1.69 goals-against average and .941 save percentage in the lockout-shortened 2012–13 season 26)
Ottawa retired the number 8 in honor of Frank “The Shawville Express” Finnigan, a star from the original Senators era 27)
The original Senators produced numerous Hall of Famers and were voted Canada’s greatest hockey team from the sport’s early era in 1950 28)
In their early years the modern Senators faced financial instability until businessman Eugene Melnyk purchased the team in 2003 29)
Recent seasons have focused on rebuilding around a young core including Brady Tkachuk and other prospects 30)
The team’s primary colors—red, black, gold, and white—evoke strength, tradition, and a Roman-inspired senators’ motif 31)
Ottawa’s crest features the profile of a Roman-style senator, tying the visual identity to the team name 32)
The franchise has inspired its own sets of dedicated trivia quizzes and fan challenges 33)
The Senators’ first-year total of 24 points became a common trivia question 34)
The early-to-mid-2000s are widely viewed as Ottawa’s peak era 35)
A team-produced “Top 25 Moments of the Last 25 Years” highlights milestones such as Alfredsson’s key goals and the 2017 playoff run 36)
Fans and writers often reference compiled franchise records when discussing where current players rank in team history 37)
A current standings snapshot shows Ottawa at 9–5–4 with 22 points early in the 2025–26 season 38)
From 2021–22 through 2024–25, the Senators improved from 73 to 97 points, reflecting steady regular-season progress 39)