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This article discusses the original Ottawa Senators franchise. For the modern-day (1992-current) franchise, see Ottawa Senators.

Ottawa Senators
Founded	1893
Home ice	Dey's Arena (1907-1920) </br>Ottawa Arena (1920-1934) </br>
Based in	Ottawa, Ontario
Colours	Red, black and white
League	AHA, CAHL, NHA, and NHL

The Ottawa Senators (aka. Ottawa Silver Seven) were a professional ice hockey team based in Ottawa from 1893 to 1934. They competed in the National Hockey League from 1917 until the franchise relocated to St. Louis, Missouri after the 1933-34 NHL season.

Founded: 1893

Folded: 1934

Arena: Dey's Arena (1907-1920), Ottawa Arena (1920-1934)

Uniform colours: Red, black and white

Stanley Cups won: 9; 1909, 1910 (2), 1911 (2), 1920, 1921, 1923, 1927

Contents 1 Team History 1.1 Glory years (1893-1927) 1.2 Decline (1927-34) 2 Career Leaders 2.1 List of Stanley Cup final appearances 2.2 Season-by-season record (NHL only) 3 Modern Franchise 4 Notable players 4.1 Hall of Famers 4.2 Team Captains 5 See also 6 References

[edit] Team History

[edit] Glory years (1893-1927)

Generally acknowledged by hockey historians as the greatest team of the early days of the sport, the original Ottawa Senators franchise played in the first season during which the Stanley Cup was challenged in 1893. They competed in numerous leagues: Amateur Hockey Association, the Canadian Amateur Hockey League and the National Hockey Association prior to the National Hockey League's formation in 1917.

The team's first recorded senior league game took place on January 7th, 1893, where it was defeated by the Montreal Victorias 4-3. The key matchup in that first season was against the Montreal AAA on February 18th, when the AAA defeated the Senators 7-1, thus securing the one game margin of victory which led to Lord Stanley of Preston awarding the initial Cup to the AAA.

The Senators won a total of nine Stanley Cups dating back to when the Cup was still a "challenge trophy". Originally known as the Ottawa Hockey Club, they were renamed the Senators in 1902. However, until 1907 or 1908 (depending on the source), the team was unofficially known as the Silver Seven. In those days, hockey teams iced seven men--a goaltender, three forwards, two defensemen and a rover. Also, the team's owner was known for paying the team "under the table" with silver nuggets, since they were technically amateurs. [1]

According to Champions: The Illustrated History of Hockey's Greatest Dynasties, the Senators were decimated by World War I, and would have suspended operations for the war's duration in 1916 had the NHA permitted it. In the fall of 1917, Montreal Canadiens owner George Kennedy loaned Ottawa Citizen sports editor Tommy Gorman (who also doubled as a press representative for the Canadiens]] $2,500 to help buy into the Senators. Kennedy was leading an effort to get rid of Toronto Blueshirts owner Eddie Livingstone, and felt that with Gorman running the Senators, he could pull it off. As it turned out, Gorman attended the famous meeting at Montreal's Windsor Hotel in which the Canadiens, Senators, Montreal Wanderers and Quebec Bulldogs pulled out of the NHA and formed the NHL. Within a year, Gorman and partner Ted Dey had made enough money to pay back Kennedy.

The Senators won four more Cups in their NHL days, three against western league teams. Their last Stanley Cup win in 1926-1927 against the Boston Bruins marked the first year that the NHL gained sole ownership of the trophy, which meant for the first time teams outside the league could no longer issue a challenge to compete for the title. Up until their final Stanley Cup in 1927 they had won more championships, more games and had more Hall of Famers than any team to date in organized hockey.

[edit] Decline (1927-34)

According to Champions, the NHL soon outgrew the Senators. When the league expanded into the United States, fans simply weren't interested in seeing teams from Boston and Detroit. Frank Finnigan, one of the stars of the Senators' last Cup-winning season, recalled that they frequently played home games before crowds of 2,500 or fewer.

Ottawa had been by far the smallest market in the NHL even before American teams began playing in 1924. The team sought financial relief from the league as early as 1927. They had to sell their star right wing Hooley Smith to the Montreal Maroons for $22,500 and the return of former star Punch Broadbent to pay debts. In 1929-30, the team had to transfer a scheduled home game to Atlantic City due to declining attendance in Ottawa.

With the onset of the Great Depression, the team had to slowly sell its stars to other clubs, which included the famous King Clancy deal that sent the star defenseman to the rival Toronto Maple Leafs for an unprecedented $35,000, following which the team fell into last place for the first time in their history. The team suspended operations and sat out the entire 1931-1932 season. Returning after a one year hiatus but depleted of talent, the Senators finished last in the two seasons that followed. The once-proud franchise barely survived the 1933-34 season, and it appeared to be a foregone conclusion that the team's last game would be a 3-1 loss to the equally strapped New York Americans.

The league, however, was not willing to lose another team a year after the Philadelphia Quakers suspended operations (but, as it turned out, never returned). It persuaded the Senators' backers to move the franchise to St. Louis, where it was renamed the Eagles. However, the team only played one season (1934-35) before folding for good.

The last active Senators players were Syd Howe and William Hollett, who played their last NHL games in 1946.

This franchise has no ties to the modern-day Senators franchise, except for a certificate that was issued by the NHL with the new Senators franchise, proclaiming re-instatement to the league. However, banners honouring the original Senators' eight Stanley Cups hang from the rafters of Scotiabank Place.

[edit] Career Leaders

• Games: Frank Finnigan, 368
• Goals: Cy Denneny, 245
• Assists: Denneny, 67
• Points: Denneny, 312
• Penalty Minutes: George Boucher, 604
• Goaltending Games: Alec Connell, 293
• Goaltending Wins: Connell, 158
• Shutouts: Connell, 70

[edit] List of Stanley Cup final appearances

• 1903- Ottawa Silver Seven defeat the Montreal Victorias March 7 & 8 (1-1, 8-0) and they defeat the Rat Portage Thistles March 12 & 14).
• 1904- Ottawa Silver Seven defeat the Winnipeg Rowing Club December 30, 1903, January 1, & 4 (9-1, 2-6, 2-0) they defeat the Toronto Marlboros February 23 & 25 (6-3, 11-2) they defeat the Montreal Wanderers March 2 (5-5- Montreal loses by default) and they defeat the Brandon Wheat Kings March 9 & 11 (6-3, 9-3).
• 1905- Ottawa Silver Seven defeat Dawson City Nuggets January 13 & 16 (9-2, 23-2) and the Rat Portage Thistles March 7, 9, & 11 (3-9, 4-2, 5-4)
• 1906- Ottawa Silver Seven defeat Queen's University February 27, & 28 (16-7, 12-7) and Smiths Falls March 6 & 8 (6-5, 8-2).
• 1906- Montreal Wanderers defeat the Ottawa Silver Seven March 14, & 17 (9-1, 9-3).
• 1909- Ottawa Senators go unchallenged
• 1910- Ottawa Senators defeat Galt January 5, & 7 (12-3, 3-1) and the Edmonton Eskimos January 18, & 20 (8-4, 13-7).
• 1911- Ottawa Senators defeat Galt March 13 7-4, and Port Arthur March 16 13-4.
• 1915- Vancouver Millionaires defeat the Ottawa Senators March 22, 24, & 26 (6-2, 8-3, 12-3).
• 1920- Ottawa Senators defeat the Seattle Metropolitans March 22, 24, 27, 30, & April 1 (3-2, 3-0, 1-3, 2-5, 6-1).
• 1921- Ottawa Senators defeat the Vancouver Millionaires March 21, 24, 28, 31, & April 4 (1-2, 4-3, 3-2, 2-3, 2-1).
• 1923- Ottawa Senators defeat the Vancouver Maroons March 16, 19, 23, & 26 (1-0, 1-4, 3-2, 5-1) and the Edmonton Eskimos March 29, & 31 (2-1, 1-0).
• 1927- Ottawa Senators defeat the Boston Bruins April 7, 9, 11, 13 (0-0, 3-1, 1-1, 3-1).

[edit] Season-by-season record (NHL only)

QF = Quarter Final, CD = Canadian Division

Year	Team name	GP	W	L	T	PTS	GF	GA	PIM	Finish	Playoffs
1917-18	Ottawa Senators	22	9	13	0	18	102	114	--	3rd in NHL	Out of playoffs
1918-19	Ottawa Senators	18	12	6	0	24	71	54	192	1st in NHL	Lost in finals
1919-20	Ottawa Senators	24	19	5	0	38	121	64	237	2nd in NHL	Won Stanley Cup
1920-21	Ottawa Senators	24	14	10	0	28	97	75	151	1st in NHL	Won Stanley Cup
1921-22	Ottawa Senators	24	14	8	2	30	106	84	99	1st in NHL	Lost in finals
1922-23	Ottawa Senators	24	14	9	1	29	77	54	188	1st in NHL	Won Stanley Cup
1923-24	Ottawa Senators	24	16	8	0	32	74	54	154	1st in NHL	Lost in finals
1924-25	Ottawa Senators	30	17	12	1	35	83	66	331	4th in NHL	Out of playoffs
1925-26	Ottawa Senators	36	24	8	4	52	77	42	341	1st in NHL	Lost in finals
1926-27	Ottawa Senators	44	30	10	4	64	86	69	607	1st in CD	Won Stanley Cup
1927-28	Ottawa Senators	44	20	14	10	50	78	57	483	3rd in CD	Lost in QF
1928-29	Ottawa Senators	44	14	17	13	41	54	67	461	4th in CD	Out of Playoffs
1929-30	Ottawa Senators	44	21	15	8	50	138	118	536	5th in CD	Lost in QF
1930-31	Ottawa Senators	44	10	30	4	24	91	142	486	5th in CD	Out of playoffs
1931-32	Ottawa Senators	--	--	--	--	--	--	--	--	--	--
1932-33	Ottawa Senators	48	11	27	10	32	88	131	398	5th in CD	Out of playoffs
1933-34	Ottawa Senators	48	13	29	6	32	115	143	344	5th in CD	Out of playoffs

[edit] Modern Franchise

The NHL's planned 1992 expansion had several strong contenders, but businessman Bruce Firestone put together an energetic bid to bring the NHL back to Ottawa, using the last surviving original Senator, Frank Finnigan, as its public face. The new-look Senators won one of the two slots (along with the Tampa Bay Lightning) and began play in 1992. See Ottawa Senators.

[edit] Notable players

[edit] Hall of Famers

• Clint Benedict
• George Boucher
• Punch Broadbent
• King Clancy
• Sprague Cleghorn
• Alex Connell
• Bill Cowley
• Jack Darragh
• Cy Denneny
• Eddie Gerard
• Syd Howe
• Billy Gilmour
• Percy Lesueur
• Frank McGee
• Frank Nighbor
• Harvey Pulford
• Alf Smith
• Hooley Smith
• Bruce Stuart
• Marty Walsh
• Harry Westwick

[edit] Team Captains

• Harvey Pulford 1902-1906
• Bruce Stuart 1908-1911
• Marty Walsh 1911-1912
• Jack Darragh 1916-1919
• Eddie Gerard 1919-1923
• Cy Denneny 1924-1926
• George Boucher 1927-1928
• King Clancy 1929-1930
• Frank Finnigan 1931-1933
• Syd Howe 1933-1934

[edit] See also

• List of Stanley Cup champions
• List of Ottawa Senators (Original) players
• Head Coaches of the Ottawa Senators (Original)
• List of ice hockey teams in Ontario

[edit] References

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