Ottawa Senators

Lore & Background

Ottawa had been home to the original Senators, a founding NHL franchise and 11-time Stanley Cup champions. The original Senators' eventual financial losses forced the franchise to be suspended by the NHL after the 1933–34 season; a new franchise, the St. Louis Eagles, was granted for the 1934–35 season using many of the Senators' players, but the Senators did not move to St. Louis as a direct relocation. The NHL team was unsuccessful in St. Louis and planned to return to Ottawa, but the NHL decided instead to suspend the franchise and transfer the players.

Fifty-four years later, after the NHL announced plans to expand, Ottawa real estate developer Bruce Firestone decided along with colleagues Cyril Leeder and Randy Sexton that Ottawa was now able to support an NHL franchise, and the group proceeded to put a bid together. This effort was supported by key individuals including Jeff Kyle and Mark Bonneau who later became executives with the Senators. Firestone's firm, Terrace Investments, did not have the liquid assets to finance the expansion fee and the team, but the group conceived a strategy to leverage land development.

In 1989, after finding a suitable site on farmland just west of Ottawa in Kanata on which to construct a new arena, Terrace announced its intention to win a franchise and launched a successful 'Bring Back the Senators' campaign to both woo the public and persuade the NHL that the city could support an NHL franchise. Public support was high, and the group would secure over 11,000 season ticket pledges. On December 12, 1990, the NHL approved a new franchise for Firestone's group to start play in the 1992–93 season.

Reader's Guide

The new team hired former NHL player Mel Bridgman, who had no previous NHL management experience, as its first general manager in 1992. Ottawa signed former Boston Bruins head coach Rick Bowness. The new Senators were placed in the Adams Division of the Wales Conference and played their first game on October 8, 1992, in the Ottawa Civic Centre against the Montreal Canadiens with much pre-game spectacle. The Senators defeated the Canadiens 5–3 in one of the few highlights that season.

Following the initial excitement of the opening night victory, the club floundered badly. Eventually, it tied the San Jose Sharks for the worst record in the league, winning only 10 games with 70 losses and four ties for 24 points, three points better than the NHL record for futility. The Senators had aimed low and considered the 1992–93 season a small success, as Firestone had set a goal for the season of not setting a new NHL record for fewest points in a season.

The long-term plan was to finish low in the standings for its first few years to secure high draft picks and eventually contend for the Stanley Cup. Terrace needed a partner to make the final franchise payment to the NHL. Firestone sold 50% of Terrace to Rod Bryden, a technology executive and entrepreneur. A limited partnership was set up to own the hockey team and a new company, Palladium Corp., which was charged with building the new arena.

The partnership included local high-tech executives and singer Paul Anka, who was born in Ottawa. Bryden would become the sole owner of Terrace and majority owner of the Senators in August 1993, buying out Firestone. Bridgman was fired after one season and team president Randy Sexton took over the general manager duties. The strategy of aiming low and securing a high draft position did not change.

The Senators finished last overall for the next three seasons. For the 1993–94 season, the team now played in the Eastern Conference's Northeast Division. Although 1993 first overall draft choice Alexandre Daigle wound up being one of the greatest draft busts in NHL history, they chose Radek Bonk in 1994, Bryan Berard (traded for Wade Redden) in 1995, Chris Phillips in 1996 and Marian Hossa in 1997, all of whom would become solid NHL players and formed a strong core of players in years to come.