This documents the records and playoff results of seasons completed by the original-era Ottawa Senators ice hockey club, officially known as the Ottawa Hockey Club from the period of 1883 until 1934. The first reference to the name 'Senators' is in 1901, although the nickname only apparently came into common use in the 1910s. For the period 1903–1906, the club is best known as the 'Silver Seven', although this may be a later invention.
The club began as a community-based sports club, founded in 1883. In 1889, the club joined the Ottawa Amateur Athletics Club, an offshoot of the Ottawa Amateur Athletics Association. Until the latter 1890s, the association's logo was on the club's jerseys. Prior to 1893, most play was either exhibition, tournament or challenge series. Regular season round-robin play began in the 1893 season, partly due to the influence of Governor General Lord Stanley who donated his Stanley Cup at this time also.
Over its history, the Ottawa club changed leagues regularly as leagues were disbanded over disputes and the progression from amateur community sporting club to professional hockey business. In the early 1890s, the club played in its own Ottawa City League, the Ontario Hockey Association (OHA), and the Amateur Hockey Association of Canada (AHAC) simultaneously. The club left the OHA in 1894 over a dispute over the OHA championship. The club kept a 'seconds' team in the City League, while the first team played in the AHAC. The AHAC league met its end in 1898 partly due to the Ottawa Hockey Club wanting to keep out the rival Ottawa Capitals hockey club. In 1905, the Ottawa Hockey Club left the AHAC's successor, the Canadian Amateur Hockey League (CAHL) over a dispute regarding replaying games, joining the Federal Amateur Hockey League for a season before forming the Eastern Canada Amateur Hockey Association (ECAHA).
In the period of 1906–1909, the club changed from a purely non-paid amateur club to one with a mix of amateurs and paid players, and finally fully professional. From the period of 1910 onwards, the club held a franchise in the fully professional National Hockey Association (NHA) and its descendant the National Hockey League (NHL). In 1934, the NHL franchise and players moved to St. Louis, Missouri and the organization started operating a Senators club in senior amateur and semi-professional hockey. The end of all descendants of the original Ottawa Hockey Club came in 1954 when Tommy Gorman folded the Senators organization due to declining attendance in competition with televised hockey.
Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against
| Stanley Cup Champions | League Champion |
Ottawa HC played AHAC challenges in the league in 1887, 1891 and 1892, however regular seasons were not played until 1893.
In the 1889 and 1890 seasons, after the opening of the new Rideau Skating Rink, Ottawa played only exhibitions games against AHAC opponents.
| Season | Team name | GP | W | L | T | PTS | GF | GA | Finish | Playoffs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1886–87 | Ottawa HC | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | — | Played in one challenge |
| 1890–91 | Ottawa HC | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 | — | Won two exhibitions, lost one challenge. |
| 1891–92 | Ottawa HC | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 23 | 9 | — | Won Canadian championship Lost in final AHAC Challenge |
| 1892–93 | Ottawa HC | 8 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 12 | 49 | 22 | 2nd | — |
| 1893–94 | Ottawa HC | 8 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 10 | 24 | 16 | 2nd | Lost in final |
| 1894–95 | Ottawa HC | 8 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 8 | 25 | 24 | 3rd | — |
| 1895–96 | Ottawa HC | 8 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 12 | 22 | 26 | 2nd | — |
| 1896–97 | Ottawa HC | 8 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 10 | 25 | 18 | 2nd | — |
| 1897–98 | Ottawa HC | 8 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 28 | 44 | 5th | — |
| Season | Team name | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | Playoffs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1890–91 | Ottawa HC | 4 [a] | 4 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 2 | Won Ontario Championship |
| 1891–92 | Ottawa HC | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 4 | Won Ontario Championship |
| 1892–93 | Ottawa HC | 2 [b] | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 4 | Won Ontario Championship |
| Season | Team name | GP | W | L | T | PTS | GF | GA | Finish | Playoffs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1898–99 | Ottawa HC | 8 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 8 | 21 | 43 | 3rd | — |
| 1899–1900 | Ottawa HC | 8 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 8 | 28 | 19 | 3rd | — |
| 1900–01 | Ottawa HC | 8 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 15 | 33 | 20 | 1st | Won league title |
| 1901–02 | Ottawa Senators | 8 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 10 | 35 | 15 | 2nd | — |
| 1902–03 | Ottawa Senators | 8 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 12 | 47 | 26 | 1st | Won Stanley Cup |
| 1903–04 | Ottawa Senators | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 32 | 15 | incomplete [c] | Won Stanley Cup |
| Season | GP | W | L | T | PTS | GF | GA | Finish | Playoffs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1903–04 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Won league title vs. Wanderers, retained Stanley Cup |
| 1904–05 | 8 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 14 | 60 | 19 | 1st | Won Stanley Cup |
Ottawa Hockey Club joined the FAHL in 1903–04 but did not play in the regular season. A series was arranged against the Montreal Wanderers for the Stanley Cup and the FAHL title. Ottawa won the series after the Wanderers withdrew in a dispute over the series after the first game was tied 5–5.
| Stanley Cup Champions | League Champion |
| Year | GP | W | L | T | PTS | GF | GA | Finish | Playoffs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1905–06 | 10 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 18 | 90 | 42 | 1st (tie) | Won two Stanley Cup challenges, tied for league title Lost playoff against Montreal Wanderers for Stanley Cup |
| 1906–07 | 10 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 76 | 54 | 14 | 2nd | — |
| 1907–08 | 10 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 86 | 51 | 14 | 2nd | — |
| 1908–09 | 12 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 117 | 63 | 20 | 1st | Won Stanley Cup |
| Season | GP | W | L | T | Pts | GF | GA | Finish | Playoffs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1909–10 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 29 | 9 | — | Defeated Galt in Stanley Cup challenge |
League was abandoned after two games.
| Season | GP | W | L | T | Pts | GF | GA | Finish | Playoffs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1909–10 | 12 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 18 | 89 | 66 | 2nd | Defeated Edmonton in Stanley Cup challenge |
| 1910–11 | 16 | 13 | 3 | — | 26 | 122 | 69 | 1st | Won League Title to Win Stanley Cup Won two Stanley Cup single-game challenges |
| 1911–12 | 18 | 9 | 9 | — | 18 | 99 | 93 | 2nd | — |
| 1912–13 | 20 | 9 | 11 | — | 18 | 87 | 81 | 3rd | — |
| 1913–14 | 20 | 11 | 9 | — | 22 | 65 | 71 | 4th | — |
| 1914–15 | 20 | 14 | 6 | — | 28 | 74 | 65 | 1st | Won league title, 4–1 (TG), Wanderers Lost Stanley Cup Final, 0–3, Millionaires |
| 1915–16 | 24 | 13 | 11 | 0 | 26 | 78 | 72 | 2nd | — |
| 1916–17 | 10 | 7 | 3 | — | 14 | 56 | 41 | 2nd | Lost league final, 6–7 (TG), Canadiens |
| Totals | 140 | 85 | 55 | 0 | Series record: 2–2 |
Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against, PIM= Penalties in minutes
| Stanley Cup Champions | Division Champions/Reg. Season Leader | League Leader |
| Season | GP | W | L | T | Pts | GF | GA | PIM | Finish | Playoffs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1917–18 | 22 | 9 | 13 | 0 | 18 | 102 | 114 | — | 3rd in NHL | Out of playoffs |
| 1918–19 | 18 | 12 | 6 | 0 | 24 | 71 | 54 | 192 | 1st in NHL | Lost in NHL championship, 1–4 (Montreal Canadiens) |
| 1919–20 | 24 | 19 | 5 | 0 | 38 | 121 | 64 | 237 | 1st in NHL Won O'Brien Cup | Defeated Seattle Metropolitans (3–2) Won Stanley Cup |
| 1920–21 | 24 | 14 | 10 | 0 | 28 | 97 | 75 | 151 | 1st in NHL | Defeated Toronto St. Patricks (7–0 TG) Won O'Brien Cup Defeated Vancouver Millionaires (3–2) on Stanley Cup |
| 1921–22 | 24 | 14 | 8 | 2 | 30 | 106 | 84 | 99 | 1st in NHL | Lost to Toronto St. Patricks (4–5 TG) |
| 1922–23 | 24 | 14 | 9 | 1 | 29 | 77 | 54 | 188 | 1st in NHL | Defeated Montreal Canadiens (3–2 TG) Won O'Brien Cup Defeated Vancouver (PCHA) (3–1) Defeated Edmonton (WCHL) (2–0) Won Stanley Cup |
| 1923–24 | 24 | 16 | 8 | 0 | 32 | 74 | 54 | 154 | 1st in NHL | Lost to Montreal Canadiens (2–5 TG) |
| 1924–25 | 30 | 17 | 12 | 1 | 35 | 83 | 66 | 331 | 4th in NHL | Out of playoffs |
| 1925–26 | 36 | 24 | 8 | 4 | 52 | 77 | 42 | 341 | 1st in NHL | Lost to Montreal Maroons (1–2 TG) |
| 1926–27 | 44 | 30 | 10 | 4 | 64 | 86 | 69 | 607 | 1st in Canadian Division Won Prince of Wales Trophy | Defeated Montreal Canadiens (5–1) TG in NHL semifinal Defeated Boston Bruins 2–0–2 (best-of-five) Won O'Brien Cup Won Stanley Cup |
| 1927–28 | 44 | 20 | 14 | 10 | 50 | 78 | 57 | 483 | 1st in Canadian Division | Lost in quarterfinal (Montreal Maroons) |
| 1928–29 | 44 | 14 | 17 | 13 | 41 | 54 | 67 | 461 | 4th in Canadian Division | Out of playoffs |
| 1929–30 | 44 | 21 | 15 | 8 | 50 | 138 | 118 | 536 | 5th in Canadian Division | Lost in quarterfinal (3–6 TG) (New York Rangers) |
| 1930–31 | 44 | 10 | 30 | 4 | 24 | 91 | 142 | 486 | 5th in Canadian Division | Out of playoffs |
| 1931–32 | Team on hiatus | |||||||||
| 1932–33 | 48 | 11 | 27 | 10 | 32 | 88 | 131 | 398 | 5th in Canadian Division | Out of playoffs |
| 1933–34 | 48 | 13 | 29 | 6 | 32 | 115 | 143 | 344 | 5th in Canadian Division | Out of playoffs |
| Relocated to St. Louis | ||||||||||
| Totals | 542 | 258 | 221 | 63 | Series record: 8–6 | |||||
NHL Records as of June 11, 2007. [1]