History of the Ottawa Senators (since 1992)
The team changed hands from Firestone's Terrace Investments to Canadian businessman Rod Bryden in 1993 due to the arena development process and difficulties in financing.
Finnigan, the last surviving member of the Senators' last Stanley Cup championship (in 1927), was presented with a new number 8 jersey and the promise to have him drop the first puck at the first game if they emerged victorious.
"[8] Jim Durrell, the mayor of Ottawa at the time, but later part of the Senators' front office, said, "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.
"[9] National Hockey League Players' Association (NHLPA) head Alan Eagleson was quoted as saying, "Local fans are being led through the petunia patch if Bruce Firestone thinks he can land an NHL expansion franchise for Ottawa this century, well into the next or ever.
A well-financed bid from Tim Hortons founder Ron Joyce for Hamilton, Ontario, where an NHL-size arena (Copps Coliseum) was already in place, was considered a front-runner,[12] and it was widely assumed the NHL would not add more than one franchise in Canada.
Beneficial factors included that Ottawa was Canada's capital, had several television stations, had a reasonably large metropolitan population, and had a history of ice hockey.
[15] On December 6, 1990, NHL President John Ziegler announced that the Terrace group was approved to purchase one of the two franchises (the other being the Tampa Bay Lightning) to start play in the 1992–93 season.
There was much pre-game spectacle — the skating of Brian Orser, the raising of banners commemorating the original Senators' eight Stanley Cup wins,[32] retirement of Frank Finnigan's jersey number and the singing of the anthem by Ottawa native Alanis Morissette.
[34][35] The ceremonial face-off between Laurie Boschman and Denis Savard was done by Frank Finnigan, Jr., (his father having died on December 25, 1991), Firestone, Stein and original Senator Ray Kinsella.
Firestone had set beating the old record the Senators' goal for the season, as the team planned to finish low in the standings for its first few years in order to receive high draft picks.
[39] As the season progressed, both the Senators and the San Jose Sharks were neck-and-neck in last place, and at that time, NHL rules meant the worst team would receive the first overall pick.
[42] Finally, the Senators refused to trade with Quebec, selected Daigle first overall and signed him to a US$12.25 million contract (including marketing rights), the largest rookie salary in league history.
[52] The turnaround process started with the firing of Sexton on December 11, 1995, and the hiring of the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim assistant general manager Pierre Gauthier as GM, Ottawa's first with previous NHL executive experience.
[53] Before the end of January, Gauthier signed Yashin to a three-year contract, traded Berard to the New York Islanders for Wade Redden,[54] and hired Jacques Martin as head coach.
They clinched the seventh seed on the last game of the regular season thanks to a late goal from Steve Duchesne against the Buffalo Sabres' Dominik Hasek, giving the Senators a 1–0 win and the first playoff appearance for an Ottawa-based team in 67 years.
In the 2003 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 Stanley Cup champions, the New Jersey Devils.
In February, Hasek had suffered an adductor muscle injury while playing for the Czech Republic men's national ice hockey team during the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin.
[88] Hopes were raised in the first round, however, when Emery would become the first rookie goaltender since Philadelphia's Brian Boucher in 2000 to win a playoff series when the Senators defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning four games to one.
Until December, the team had a 21–18–1 record, though they had much more success in the remaining half of the season, eventually finishing second in the Division after the Presidents' Trophy-winning Sabres and earning the fourth seed in the East.
The Senators took the series, again by a score of four games to one, earning the Prince of Wales Trophy as the Eastern Conference champions and advancing to the Stanley Cup Finals to face the Western Conference-winning Anaheim Ducks.
[108] On November 6, six Senators were named to the All-Star Game ballot: Daniel Alfredsson, Ray Emery, Dany Heatley, Chris Phillips, Wade Redden and Jason Spezza[109].
[116] Long-time Senator Wade Redden left via free-agency, and 2007–08 trade acquisitions Mike Commodore, Cory Stillman and Martin Lapointe were not re-signed.
[117] From the free agent market, the Senators signed goaltender Alex Auld, defenceman Jason Smith, and agitating forward Jarkko Ruutu.
In exchange for Meszaros, defencemen Filip Kuba, Alexandre Picard and a 2009 first-round draft pick (later dealt for defenceman Chris Campoli) were acquired from the Tampa Bay Lightning.
[128] On Monday, January 24, The Globe and Mail newspaper reported that the plan included hiring a new general manager before the June entry draft and that Murray would be retained as an advisor to the team.
The trading of Fisher, a fan favorite in Ottawa, lead to a small anti-Underwood backlash in the city with the banning of her songs from the play lists of some local radio stations.
After starting goalie Craig Anderson injured his hand in a kitchen accident at home, the Senators called up Robin Lehner from Binghamton and acquired highly regarded goaltender Ben Bishop from the St. Louis Blues.
[149] The next season, Ottawa was challenged to repeat the success they had in 2011–12, but sustained long-term injuries to key players such as Erik Karlsson, Jason Spezza, Milan Michalek and Craig Anderson.
[185] After several seasons near the bottom of the standings, the team contended for a playoff spot in 2022–23 after adding veterans Claude Giroux, Alex DeBrincat and Jakob Chychrun.
[196] After the Senators lost a first-round pick due to a mistake in the trade of Evgeni Dadonov, Andlauer fired Pierre Dorion, naming Staios as interim general manager.
