Quick Facts about the Ottawa Senators |
Date Founded: 1883; 1990 (began playing in 1992) |
Venue: Canadian Tire Centre |
Team Colours: Red, black, gold, white |
Stanley Cup Victories: 11 (as Ottawa Hockey Club/original Senators) |
Original Ottawa Senators (1883–1934)
The first team to play professional hockey under the name Senators dominated the sport in the early 20th century. Known officially as the Ottawa Hockey Club, the team won the Stanley Cup in 1903, 1904, 1905 and 1906 as the Ottawa Silver Seven, and won in 1909, 1910, 1911, 1920, 1921, 1923 and 1927 as the Ottawa Senators. The Senators were charter members of the original National Hockey League in 1917, with key players such as Frank "King" Clancy, Cy Denneny, Eddie Gerard, Frank Nighbor and Art Ross (for whom the Art Ross Trophy is named).
One of the first teams to suffer from the "small-market" malaise that now afflicts professional sports teams in Canada, the Senators began experiencing financial difficulties in the late 1920s as the NHL expanded into larger American cities. The most dramatic attempt to recover involved the sale of Clancy, Ottawa's most popular player, to the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1930 for two players and $35,000. The team suspended operations in the spring of 1931 and the league leased its players to the rest of the league. The Senators returned after a year of inactivity but in the fall of 1934, the team moved to St Louis, where it became the Eagles. The financial difficulties continued, however, and the team folded for good at the end of the 1934–35 season.