Original Senators (1883–1954)

Lore & Background

Generally acknowledged by hockey historians as one of the greatest teams of the early days of the sport, the club won numerous championships, starting with the 1891 to 1893 Ontario championships. Ottawa HC played in the first season during which the Stanley Cup was challenged in 1893, and first won the Cup in 1903, holding the championship until January 1907, when they lost it to the Montreal Wanderers (the Silver Seven years). The club repeated its success in the 1920s, winning the Stanley Cup in 1920, 1921, 1923 and 1927 (the Super Six years). In total, the club won the Stanley Cup 11 times, including challenge victories as defending champion in years they did not win the season championship. In 1950, Canadian sports editors selected the Ottawa HC/Senators as Canada's greatest team in the first half of the 20th century.

In Their Own Story

The air inside the Dey's Arena was thick with smoke and anticipation as the final seconds ticked away on the clock. A sea of red-and-white jerseys surged forward, their skates carving deep grooves into the ice. As the puck dropped past the opposing goalie for the winning goal, the roar of the Ottawa faithful shook the very foundations of the building. It was another night where history was made, cementing the Senators' place as the undisputed kings of hockey.

Reader's Guide

The club was one of the first organized clubs in the early days of the sport of ice hockey, playing in the Montreal Winter Carnival ice hockey tournaments in the early 1880s and founding the Amateur Hockey Association of Canada and the Ontario Hockey Association. Along with the rise of professionalism in ice hockey in the first decade of the 1900s, the club changed to a professional team and were founding members of the National Hockey Association (NHA) and its successor, the National Hockey League. The club competed in the NHL until the 1933–34 season. Due to financial difficulties, the NHL franchise relocated to St. Louis, Missouri, to become the St. Louis Eagles. The organization continued the Senators as an amateur, and later semi-professional, team in Quebec senior men's leagues until 1954. The 'Senior Senators' would win two Allan Cup titles: in 1943, and 1949.

Did You Know?

• The club was founded in 1883, not 1903.
• The 'Punch Line' nickname historically refers to the Montreal Canadiens' line of Toe Blake, Elmer Lach, and Maurice Richard, not to Ottawa players.
• The club won the Stanley Cup 11 times, including challenge victories as defending champion in years they did not win the season championship.