The 2023–24 Ottawa Senators season was the 32nd season of the Ottawa Senators of the National Hockey League (NHL). The Senators failed to return to the

Stanley Cup playoffs The Stanley Cup playoffs () is the annual elimination tournament to determine the winner of the Stanley Cup, and the league champion of the National Hockey League (NHL). The four-round, best-of-seven tournament is held after the NHL's regular s ...

for the seventh straight season after losing 4–3 to the

New Jersey Devils The New Jersey Devils are a professional ice hockey team based in Newark, New Jersey. The Devils compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The club w ...

on April 6, 2024 at the 76th game of the season. This was the Senators' first season under the new ownership of

Michael Andlauer Michael Andlauer (born 1966) is a French-born Canadian businessman, who is known for being the founder of Andlauer Healthcare Group and the majority owner of National Hockey League (NHL) team, Ottawa Senators. He is the founder of businesses AT ...

Off-season

The biggest change for the Senators was the change in ownership, from the estate of the late

Eugene Melnyk Eugene Nestor Melnyk (May 27, 1959 – March 28, 2022) was a Canadian businessman, philanthropist, and owner, governor, and chairman of the National Hockey League (NHL)'s Ottawa Senators and the American Hockey League's Belleville Senators. He w ...

to the ownership of a group of investors led by

. The change became official in September 2023. Andlauer made changes in the executive staff, bringing back founder

Cyril Leeder Cyril Leeder (born September 20, 1959) is a Canadian businessman. He is the current president of the Ottawa Senators professional ice hockey team in the National Hockey League (NHL) and its corporation, the Senators Sports & Entertainment Corporat ...

as CEO and club president, and

Steve Staios Steve Staios (born July 28, 1973) is a Canadian ice hockey executive and former professional player. He currently serves as president of hockey operations and general manager for the Ottawa Senators. Staios played right defence in the National Ho ...

as president of hockey operations. On the ice, the team traded

Alex DeBrincat Alexander DeBrincat (born December 18, 1997) is an American professional ice hockey right winger for the Detroit Red Wings of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected by the Chicago Blackhawks in the second round, 39th overall, of the ...

to the

Detroit Red Wings The Detroit Red Wings (colloquially referred to as the Wings) are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit. The Red Wings compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the East ...

, in return for Dominik Kubalik, prospect Donovan Sebrango and two draft picks. In free agency, the Senators picked up goaltender

Joonas Korpisalo Joonas Korpisalo (; born 28 April 1994) is a Finnish professional ice hockey goaltender for the Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League (NHL). He previously played for the Columbus Blue Jackets, Los Angeles Kings, and Ottawa Senators. Playin ...

, and forwards

Vladimir Tarasenko Vladimir Andreyevich Tarasenko (; born 13 December 1991) is a Russian professional ice hockey right winger for the Detroit Red Wings of the National Hockey League (NHL). Prior to playing in the NHL, he played in the system of Sibir Novosibirs ...

and Zack MacEwen.

Regular season

The Senators started the season with centre Shane Pinto unsigned as a restricted free agent. Speculation in the media was that the Senators did not have salary cap room and would have to trade a player. However, the NHL announced on October 26 a 41-game suspension of Pinto due to gambling activities. The Senators had been advised prior to the start of the season. The suspension was negotiated with the

National Hockey League Players' Association The National Hockey League Players' Association (NHLPA, ) is the trade union, labour union for the group of professional List of NHL players, hockey players who are under Standard Player Contracts to the 32 member clubs in the National Hockey ...

(NHLPA) and back-dated to the start of the season. The NHL stated that there was no evidence that Pinto had bet on NHL games himself. As a condition of the suspension, Pinto will not require special permission to return to the NHL and can re-sign with the Senators at any time before the 42nd game of the season to be able to play this season. On November 1, 2023, the NHL announced that the Senators would forfeit a first-round pick in either the 2024, 2025 or 2026 NHL Entry Drafts. This was levied by the NHL as punishment for failing to disclose the no-trade list of

Evgeni Dadonov Yevgeny Anatolyevich Dadonov (; born 12 March 1989) is a Russian professional ice hockey player for the New Jersey Devils of the National Hockey League (NHL). He previously played in two stints for the Florida Panthers where he was originally ...

to the

Vegas Golden Knights The Vegas Golden Knights are a professional ice hockey team based in the Las Vegas Valley, Las Vegas metropolitan area. The Golden Knights compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division ...

when he was traded to the Knights. The list came to light when the Knights attempted to trade Dadonov to the

Anaheim Ducks The Anaheim Ducks are a professional ice hockey team based in Anaheim, California. The Ducks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Confere ...

, a team on the no-trade list. The trade was nullified by the NHL. Also on November 1, 2023 the team announced the departure of general manager Pierre Dorion, as a 'mutual parting of ways.' Hockey president Steve Staios took over as interim general manager. The Senators played two games in

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

at the

Avicii Arena Avicii Arena, originally known as the Stockholm Globe Arena and previously as the Ericsson Globe, but commonly referred to in Swedish simply as Globen (; ), is an indoor arena located in Stockholm Globe City, Johanneshov district of Stockho ...

on November 16 and 18 as part of the

NHL Global Series Throughout the history of the National Hockey League (NHL), there has been a long-standing tradition of international games played by NHL teams. The following is a list of games played by NHL teams against other NHL teams and non-NHL teams outside ...

. After a four-game losing streak, and the Senators in the Eastern Conference basement, the Senators fired head coach D. J. Smith and assistant coach Davis Payne on December 18, 2023. Coaching advisor Jacques Martin, a former head coach of the Senators, was named interim head coach. Former player

Daniel Alfredsson Daniel Alfredsson (; born 11 December 1972), nicknamed "Alfie", is a Swedish-Canadian former professional ice hockey player and assistant coach for the Ottawa Senators. He spent 18 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL), primarily with the ...

replaced Payne as assistant coach. Changes continued as Staios was named permanent general manager, the team added

Dave Poulin David James Poulin (born December 17, 1958) is a Canadian professional ice hockey executive and former player. A centre, Poulin played 13 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Philadelphia Flyers, Boston Bruins and Washington Cap ...

as vice-president of hockey operations in late December. In January 2024, Zac Bierk was relieved of his goaltending coach duties and re-assigned as a scout within the organization and was replaced by Justin Peters. The Senators missed the playoffs again. The team finished 13 points behind the final wild card position, held by the

Washington Capitals The Washington Capitals (colloquially known as the Caps) are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C. The Capitals compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NH ...

. After the season, on May 7, the Senators announced their new head coach

Travis Green Travis Vernon Green (born December 20, 1970) is a Canadian professional ice hockey coach and former player who is the head coach for the Ottawa Senators of the National Hockey League (NHL). Green formerly served as head coach for the Vancouver C ...

, a former head coach with the

Vancouver Canucks The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver. The Canucks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conferenc ...

, and former player.

Standings

Divisional standings

Conference standings

Schedule and results

Preseason

The pre-season schedule was published on June 23, 2023.

Regular season

The Ottawa Senators regular season schedule was released on June 27, 2023.

Players statistics

Final statistics

Skaters

Goaltenders

^†Denotes player spent time with another team before joining the Senators. Stats reflect time with the Senators only.
^‡No longer with the Senators.

Awards and milestones

Milestones

Transactions

The Senators have been involved in the following transactions during the 2023–24 season.

Trades

Notes

# The Ottawa Senators will receive either the 2024 first-round pick of the

Boston Bruins The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The t ...

or the Detroit Red Wings. However, if the Bruins' pick is in the top ten, the Bruins will send their 2025 first-round draft pick. The Red Wings will then have the choice of sending Detroit's 2024 1st-round pick or the Bruins' 2025 1st-round pick. # The fourth-round pick in 2024 became a

2026 Predicted and scheduled events * January 1 – Bulgaria is expected to adopt the euro and become the 21st member state of the eurozone. * January 6 – The 2025 Jubilee will end on this day. * February 5 – The New START Treat ...

third-round pick after the Florida Panthers won the 2024

Stanley Cup The Stanley Cup () is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, and the International Ic ...

. # The first-round pick the Ottawa Senators traded to the Boston Bruins was Boston's pick from the

trade.

Players acquired

Players lost

Player signings

Key

Contract is entry-level.
Contract takes effect in the 2024–25 season.

Draft picks

The 2023 NHL entry draft was held June 28–29, 2023 in

Nashville Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

, Tennessee, USA. The Senators had previously traded their first-round, second-round, third-round and sixth-round picks. The Senators' first pick was made in the fourth round - defenceman Hoyt Stanley with the 108th overall pick.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2023-24 Ottawa Senators season Ottawa Senators seasons

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

Senators Ottawa Senators season 2024 in sports in Ontario 2023 in Ottawa 2024 in Ottawa