Sens History

Ottawa Hockey History

YEAR EVENT

pre-1902 -- Ottawa's first hockey club originates in the Ontario amateur hockey leagues.

1902-03 -- The Ottawa Silver Seven win their first Stanley Cup

1904-05 -- The Ottawa Silver Seven win their second Stanley Cup

1905-06 -- The Ottawa Silver Seven win their third Stanley Cup

1909 -- The Ottawa Senators' first Stanley Cup Championship as a member of the Canadian Hockey Association.

1910 -- The Ottawa Senators join the National Hockey Association (NHA).

1911 -- The Ottawa Senators win second Stanley Cup Championship.

1917 -- The Ottawa Senators become one of the four charter members of the first National Hockey League (NHL). (Other teams are the Montreal Wanderers, Montreal Canadiens, and Toronto St. Pats.)

1917-18 -- The Montreal Wanderers disband after their home rink burns down on January 2, 1918.

1919-20 -- The Ottawa Senators defeat Seattle for their third Stanley Cup Championship (first in the NHL).

-- The Sens wear white home uniforms for the first time during the finals because their black, red and white sweaters looked too much like the green, red and white sweaters of the visiting Seattle team.

-- Ottawa goaltender Clint Benedict leads the league with a 2.7 GAA and 5 shutouts in a 24-game schedule. He is the only goalie to record a shutout that season.

-- The Quebec Bulldogs join the NHL, but disband at the end of the season.

1920-21 -- The Ottawa Senators defeat Vancouver for their fourth Stanley Cup Championship (second in the NHL).

-- Ottawa goaltender Clint Benedict once again leads the league with a 3.1 GAA and 2 shutouts.

-- Sens forward Cy Denneny finishes second in league scoring with 34 goals and 5 assists for 39 points in a 24-game schedule. Montreal Canadiens forward Newsy Lalonde leads the league that year with 33 goals and 8 assists for 41 points.

1922-23 -- The Ottawa Senators defeat Edmonton for their fifth Stanley Cup Championship (third in the NHL).

-- The Senators get roughed up by the Canadiens in the playoffs and as a result are shortmanned due to a myriad of injuries. Nonetheless, they travel west to defeat Vancouver and then Edmonton in the Stanley Cup Finals. The great feat leads PCHA president Frank Patrick to call that Senators team the greatest team he has ever seen.

-- Ottawa goaltender Clint Benedict again leads the league with a 2.3 GAA and 4 shutouts in 24 games. He is the top NHL goalie for the fifth straight year.

-- In March, at Toronto's Mutual Street Arena, Foster Hewitt calls the first hockey game ever broadcast on radio.

1923-24 -- Ottawa Senators center Frank Nighbor is awarded the first ever Hart Trophy as the league's most valuable player. He edges out Canadiens defenceman Sprague Cleghorn by just one vote.

-- Ottawa Senators forward Cy Denneny captures the league scoring title with 22 goals and 1 assist for 23 points. This despite falling down a well while the Sens train was snowbound en route to a game in Montreal (Canadiens).

-- Ironically, the Sens get bumped out of the playoffs by the Montreal Canadiens and their rookie Howie Morenz, and do not win the Stanley Cup that year.

1924-25 -- The Boston Bruins and Montreal Maroons join the NHL, making it a league of six teams. The schedule is expanded from 24 to 30 games.

-- Goalie Clint "Benny" Benedict joins the Montreal Maroons roster.

-- Ottawa center Frank Nighbor is awarded the first ever Lady Byng Trophy as the player who best combined sportsmanship with effective play.

1925-26 -- The Pittsburgh Pirates join the NHL, the Hamilton team moves to New York to become the Americans.

-- Ottawa goaltender Alex O'Connell posts 15 shutouts and a 1.2 GAA in 36 games.

-- Sens forward Frank Nighbor receives the Lady Byng Trophy for the second straight year.

1926-27 -- The Ottawa Senators defeat the Boston Bruins for their sixth Stanley Cup Championship (fourth in the NHL).

-- The Chicago Black Hawks, Detroit Cougars and New York Rangers join the NHL.The 10-team NHL is divided into a Canadian division and an American division.

-- The Toronto St. Pats change their name to the Maple Leafs.

1927-28 -- Ottawa goaltender Alex O'Connell sets an NHL record with six consecutive shutouts (444 minutes and nine seconds of shutout hockey) but does not win the Vezina, that award goes to Montreal Canadiens netminder George Hainsworth for the second straight year.

1929-30 -- Ottawa's Hec Kilrea leads the Canadian division in scoring with 58 points, three more than Hart Trophy winner Nels Stewart of the Montreal Maroons.

1930-31 -- Ottawa wins just 10 games, finishes last in the Canadian division, suffers financial problems and requests (and is granted) a one-year leave of absence from the league.

-- The Pittsburgh franchise moves to Philadelphia due to poor attendance, changes nickname from the Pirates to the Quakers, but they too leave the league after that season.

1932-33 -- Ottawa returns to the NHL after a year of absence. Cy Denneny is appointed head coach, the team wins 11 games and finishes last in the Canadian division and last overall.

1933-34 -- Ottawa wins 13 games and again finishes last in the Canadian division and the NHL.

1934-35 -- The Ottawa Senators franchise moves to St. Louis to become the Eagles. The team lasts one season, wins 11 games, finishes last in the Canadian division and NHL and is dissolved.

1992-93 -- The Ottawa Senators return to the city of Ottawa via NHL expansion, and finish last in the league.

1993-94 -- Ottawa finishes last in the league again.

1994-95 -- Ottawa again finishes last in the league.

1995-96 -- Ottawa again finishes last in the league.

1996-97 -- The Ottawa Senators finish the regular season at 31-36-15--77 and make the playoffs for the first time in modern history as the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference. They are eliminated in overtime in Game 7 of the first-round, 3-2, by the second-seeded Buffalo Sabres.

1997-98 -- The Ottawa Senators finish at 34-33-15--83, completing the NHL regular season over .500 for the first time in modern history. The Sens clich a playoff berth with two games left in the season. They also set a club record for points in a season with 83 points, eclipsing the previous year's mark of 77. They head into the playoffs as the No. 8 seed and defeat top-seeded New Jersey in six games. The Senators face the fourth-seeded Washington Capitals in second round and lose the series 4-1. The Capitals advance all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals, where they are swept in four games by the defending champion Detroit Red Wings.

STANLEY CUP CHAMPIONSHIPS: 6 (4 before the formation of the NHL)

YEARS: 1909, 1911, 1920, 1921, 1923, 1927

* Much of the information courtesy of THE COMPLETE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF HOCKEY, ed. Zander and Hollander, Visible Ink Press, 1993.

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YEAR	EVENT
pre-1902	-- Ottawa's first hockey club originates in the Ontario amateur hockey leagues.
1902-03	-- The Ottawa Silver Seven win their first Stanley Cup
1904-05	-- The Ottawa Silver Seven win their second Stanley Cup
1905-06	-- The Ottawa Silver Seven win their third Stanley Cup
1909	-- The Ottawa Senators' first Stanley Cup Championship as a member of the Canadian Hockey Association.
1910	-- The Ottawa Senators join the National Hockey Association (NHA).
1911	-- The Ottawa Senators win second Stanley Cup Championship.
1917	-- The Ottawa Senators become one of the four charter members of the first National Hockey League (NHL). (Other teams are the Montreal Wanderers, Montreal Canadiens, and Toronto St. Pats.)
1917-18	-- The Montreal Wanderers disband after their home rink burns down on January 2, 1918.
1919-20	-- The Ottawa Senators defeat Seattle for their third Stanley Cup Championship (first in the NHL).
	-- The Sens wear white home uniforms for the first time during the finals because their black, red and white sweaters looked too much like the green, red and white sweaters of the visiting Seattle team.
	-- Ottawa goaltender Clint Benedict leads the league with a 2.7 GAA and 5 shutouts in a 24-game schedule. He is the only goalie to record a shutout that season.
	-- The Quebec Bulldogs join the NHL, but disband at the end of the season.
1920-21	-- The Ottawa Senators defeat Vancouver for their fourth Stanley Cup Championship (second in the NHL).
	-- Ottawa goaltender Clint Benedict once again leads the league with a 3.1 GAA and 2 shutouts.
	-- Sens forward Cy Denneny finishes second in league scoring with 34 goals and 5 assists for 39 points in a 24-game schedule. Montreal Canadiens forward Newsy Lalonde leads the league that year with 33 goals and 8 assists for 41 points.
1922-23	-- The Ottawa Senators defeat Edmonton for their fifth Stanley Cup Championship (third in the NHL).
	-- The Senators get roughed up by the Canadiens in the playoffs and as a result are shortmanned due to a myriad of injuries. Nonetheless, they travel west to defeat Vancouver and then Edmonton in the Stanley Cup Finals. The great feat leads PCHA president Frank Patrick to call that Senators team the greatest team he has ever seen.
	-- Ottawa goaltender Clint Benedict again leads the league with a 2.3 GAA and 4 shutouts in 24 games. He is the top NHL goalie for the fifth straight year.
	-- In March, at Toronto's Mutual Street Arena, Foster Hewitt calls the first hockey game ever broadcast on radio.
1923-24	-- Ottawa Senators center Frank Nighbor is awarded the first ever Hart Trophy as the league's most valuable player. He edges out Canadiens defenceman Sprague Cleghorn by just one vote.
	-- Ottawa Senators forward Cy Denneny captures the league scoring title with 22 goals and 1 assist for 23 points. This despite falling down a well while the Sens train was snowbound en route to a game in Montreal (Canadiens).
	-- Ironically, the Sens get bumped out of the playoffs by the Montreal Canadiens and their rookie Howie Morenz, and do not win the Stanley Cup that year.
1924-25	-- The Boston Bruins and Montreal Maroons join the NHL, making it a league of six teams. The schedule is expanded from 24 to 30 games.
	-- Goalie Clint "Benny" Benedict joins the Montreal Maroons roster.
	-- Ottawa center Frank Nighbor is awarded the first ever Lady Byng Trophy as the player who best combined sportsmanship with effective play.
1925-26	-- The Pittsburgh Pirates join the NHL, the Hamilton team moves to New York to become the Americans.
	-- Ottawa goaltender Alex O'Connell posts 15 shutouts and a 1.2 GAA in 36 games.
	-- Sens forward Frank Nighbor receives the Lady Byng Trophy for the second straight year.
1926-27	-- The Ottawa Senators defeat the Boston Bruins for their sixth Stanley Cup Championship (fourth in the NHL).
	-- The Chicago Black Hawks, Detroit Cougars and New York Rangers join the NHL.The 10-team NHL is divided into a Canadian division and an American division.
	-- The Toronto St. Pats change their name to the Maple Leafs.
1927-28	-- Ottawa goaltender Alex O'Connell sets an NHL record with six consecutive shutouts (444 minutes and nine seconds of shutout hockey) but does not win the Vezina, that award goes to Montreal Canadiens netminder George Hainsworth for the second straight year.
1929-30	-- Ottawa's Hec Kilrea leads the Canadian division in scoring with 58 points, three more than Hart Trophy winner Nels Stewart of the Montreal Maroons.
1930-31	-- Ottawa wins just 10 games, finishes last in the Canadian division, suffers financial problems and requests (and is granted) a one-year leave of absence from the league.
	-- The Pittsburgh franchise moves to Philadelphia due to poor attendance, changes nickname from the Pirates to the Quakers, but they too leave the league after that season.
1932-33	-- Ottawa returns to the NHL after a year of absence. Cy Denneny is appointed head coach, the team wins 11 games and finishes last in the Canadian division and last overall.
1933-34	-- Ottawa wins 13 games and again finishes last in the Canadian division and the NHL.
1934-35	-- The Ottawa Senators franchise moves to St. Louis to become the Eagles. The team lasts one season, wins 11 games, finishes last in the Canadian division and NHL and is dissolved.
1992-93	-- The Ottawa Senators return to the city of Ottawa via NHL expansion, and finish last in the league.
1993-94	-- Ottawa finishes last in the league again.
1994-95	-- Ottawa again finishes last in the league.
1995-96	-- Ottawa again finishes last in the league.
1996-97	-- The Ottawa Senators finish the regular season at 31-36-15--77 and make the playoffs for the first time in modern history as the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference. They are eliminated in overtime in Game 7 of the first-round, 3-2, by the second-seeded Buffalo Sabres.
1997-98	-- The Ottawa Senators finish at 34-33-15--83, completing the NHL regular season over .500 for the first time in modern history. The Sens clich a playoff berth with two games left in the season. They also set a club record for points in a season with 83 points, eclipsing the previous year's mark of 77. They head into the playoffs as the No. 8 seed and defeat top-seeded New Jersey in six games. The Senators face the fourth-seeded Washington Capitals in second round and lose the series 4-1. The Capitals advance all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals, where they are swept in four games by the defending champion Detroit Red Wings.