# 2017–18 Ottawa Senators season

The 2017–18 Ottawa Senators season was the 26th season of the Ottawa Senators of the National Hockey League (NHL). The Senators failed to return to the Stanley Cup playoffs after advancing to game seven of the Eastern Conference Final in the 2017 playoffs.

## Team business

The team moved their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate team, the Binghamton Senators, to Belleville, Ontario, becoming the Belleville Senators for the 2017–18 season. The AHL team plays in a refurbished Yardmen Arena, equipped with CA$20 million in upgrades.
The team completed some work on the Canadian Tire Centre in time for the season. The team reduced seating in the upper bowl while adding a stage and special event areas. Team president Tom Anselmi explained the changes in part as that the Centre had too many upper bowl seats and not enough lower bowl seating. The team and Senators fans had been criticized during the 2017 playoffs for not selling out every playoff game. The seating capacity was reduced to 17,000 (standing areas were retained). After the season, Eugene Melnyk stated that he thought the move was a mistake and the tarps over the seats in the upper bowl would be removed for next season.
In January 2018, the Senators reached an agreement with the National Capital Commission government agency in Ottawa to redevelop the downtown LeBreton Flats site. The site would be redeveloped for CA$3.5 billion in a partnership with private developers known as the Rendezvous Group and would include new residential buildings, a public square and tourist attractions. As part of the redevelopment, the Senators would build a new ice hockey arena to replace the Canadian Tire Centre, an arena considered by many fans to be remote and having access problems. A new arena is not expected to open before 2022.
In February 2018, team president Anselmi resigned his position with the Senators, without explanation. The same day, the Senators extended the contract of general manager Pierre Dorion by three years, given the task by owner Melnyk to rebuild the team as necessary.
A group of fans, disappointed in the team in general and owner Melnyk in particular, organized the "#MelnykOut" campaign to prod Melnyk into selling the team or otherwise not be involved with the team. Billboards promoting the "#MelnykOut" campaign were crowd-funded and located around Ottawa. Melnyk and Dorion held "town-hall" meetings with season ticket subscribers after the season in an effort to win back the fan base. The club announced a reduction in parking rates, concession incentives and the removal of the tarps from seats in the arena. Melnyk told the fans that the team was not for sale. Former captain Daniel Alfredsson later told former Ottawa Sun columnist Susan Sherring that he and Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson were in agreement that "it was time for a new owner." Asked about Alfredsson's comments, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman stated that the club was not for sale, that Melnyk was "committed to the Senators and is passionate about them."
In May 2018, the club announced the appointment of Nicolas Ruszkowski as its new chief operating officer. Ruszkowski has a background in public relations. Ruszkowski will be in charge of business operations and will not have a role in hockey operations.
In June 2018, Melnyk negotiated a CA$135 million refinancing of a long-term loan on the franchise. At the same time, Melnyk had to comment on rumours that he had received an offer for the franchise and turned it down, stating that the team was not for sale and no negotiations had occurred.

## Off-season

On June 14, 2017, the Senators announced that long-time winger Chris Neil would not be re-signed and he became a free agent on July 1. Neil had played over 1,000 games for the Senators since being drafted by the team in 1998, accumulating 2,522 penalty minutes during this time, the 20th-most of any player in league history. Neil would not be signed by any other NHL team and he chose to retire. He was honoured by the Senators with a ceremony at the January 25, 2018, Senators' home game.
On July 1, 2017, former Senators team captain Daniel Alfredsson announced that he was stepping down in his role as senior advisor of hockey operations. He said that he wanted to take a complete break from the game to spend time with his family. Alfredsson held the role for two seasons.
The team had a significant turnover in personnel. Senators did not resign forwards Chris Kelly, Tommy Wingels or Viktor Stalberg, and lost Clarke MacArthur to long-term injury related to his ongoing issues with concussions. Defenceman Marc Methot was lost to the Vegas Golden Knights through the 2017 NHL Expansion Draft. Kelly would later join the Senators' Belleville affiliate. The Senators signed free agents Johnny Oduya and Nate Thompson.

## Pre-season

On June 16, 2017, the Senators announced their pre-season schedule. They played a six-game schedule starting September 18, including a home-and-home set against their provincial rivals, the Toronto Maple Leafs, and a game against the New Jersey Devils in O'Leary, Prince Edward Island, as part of Kraft Hockeyville on September 25. The team also played two games against their closest geographical rival, the Montreal Canadiens, and one game against the Winnipeg Jets.

## Regular season

The Senators' home opener was against the Washington Capitals on October 5. On November 10 and November 11, the Senators played two games against the Colorado Avalanche in Stockholm, Sweden. This marked the first time an NHL regular season game has been played outside of North America since 2011.
The Senators made a major trade on November 5, 2017. The team traded Kyle Turris, Andrew Hammond, Shane Bowers and draft picks to the Colorado Avalanche for Matt Duchene, who had requested a trade from the Avalanche. Turris was moved by the Avalanche to the Nashville Predators in a second phase of the deal. Turris had been in unsuccessful salary negotiations with the Senators and reportedly (probably not) turned down a contract offer from the Senators which was similar to one he accepted from the Predators. Hammond had been playing for the Senators' minor league Belleville team, and the Senators wanted to clear his contract. Hammond would remain with Belleville after the trade and was eventually elevated by the Avalanche. Bowers was the Senators' 2017 first round entry draft pick, playing in NCAA ice hockey.
To mark the NHL's centennial, the Senators hosted the "NHL 100 Classic" outdoor game on December 16 at TD Place Stadium in Ottawa. The game between Ottawa and the Montreal Canadiens comes nearly 100 years after the first game of the NHL's 1917–18 season, between the Ottawa Senators and the Montreal Canadiens. The regular season game was also a Canada 150 event. The stadium's capacity was increased with temporary stands, which were also used for the 105th Grey Cup game to be held a few weeks earlier. The Senators had hoped to host the event on Parliament Hill, but the Government of Canada decided it was not feasible. An alumni game was held at an NHL-sized rink installed on Parliament Hill. In the 100 Classic, the Senators defeated the Canadiens 3–0. The game was preceded by controversial comments by owner Eugene Melnyk about the team's attendance, the move to Lebreton Flats and a possible move of the team.
The Senators began the season without captain Erik Karlsson, who had had off-season surgery, and he returned late in October, at less than 100%, but the team managed to have a winning record in October. After the trade for Duchene, the Senators played the games against the Avalanche in Sweden, winning both. The rest of November was unkind, as the Senators then lost seven in a row, one in overtime. December was also a losing month, as the Senators had five-game and four-game losing streaks and won only one game of eight on the road. January saw the Senators lose six in a row, the first time the team had lost six in a row in regulation since 1996.
As the trade deadline of February 26 approached, the Senators were still well outside of a playoff spot. After having his contract extended, general manager Dorion went to work to rebuild the roster. The Senators traded Chris DiDomenico to the Chicago Blackhawks and Dion Phaneuf and Nate Thompson to the Los Angeles Kings. Derick Brassard went to the Pittsburgh Penguins in a three-team swap with the Vegas Golden Knights. Defenceman Johnny Oduya went to the Philadelphia Flyers via waivers. The Senators notified other teams that they would consider offers for team captain Erik Karlsson, and also suggested a package including Bobby Ryan, but neither player was traded. GM Dorion later stated he would not trade Karlsson at the 2018 NHL Entry Draft and would offer him an eight-year extension on his contract on July 1, 2018, the first day the team is allowed to do so.

## Playoffs

The Senators were eliminated from playoff contention on March 22, 2018.

## Standings

Atlantic Division :
| Pos | Team v t e | GP | W | L | OTL | ROW | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | z – Tampa Bay Lightning | 82 | 54 | 23 | 5 | 48 | 296 | 236 | +60 | 113 |
| 2 | x – Boston Bruins | 82 | 50 | 20 | 12 | 47 | 270 | 214 | +56 | 112 |
| 3 | x – Toronto Maple Leafs | 82 | 49 | 26 | 7 | 42 | 277 | 232 | +45 | 105 |
| 4 | Florida Panthers | 82 | 44 | 30 | 8 | 41 | 248 | 246 | +2 | 96 |
| 5 | Detroit Red Wings | 82 | 30 | 39 | 13 | 25 | 217 | 255 | −38 | 73 |
| 6 | Montreal Canadiens | 82 | 29 | 40 | 13 | 27 | 209 | 264 | −55 | 71 |
| 7 | Ottawa Senators | 82 | 28 | 43 | 11 | 26 | 221 | 291 | −70 | 67 |
| 8 | Buffalo Sabres | 82 | 25 | 45 | 12 | 24 | 199 | 280 | −81 | 62 |
Eastern Conference Wild Card :
| Pos | Div | Team v t e | GP | W | L | OTL | ROW | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | ME | x – Columbus Blue Jackets | 82 | 45 | 30 | 7 | 39 | 242 | 230 | +12 | 97 |
| 2 | ME | x – New Jersey Devils | 82 | 44 | 29 | 9 | 39 | 248 | 244 | +4 | 97 |
| 3 | AT | Florida Panthers | 82 | 44 | 30 | 8 | 41 | 248 | 246 | +2 | 96 |
| 4 | ME | Carolina Hurricanes | 82 | 36 | 35 | 11 | 33 | 228 | 256 | −28 | 83 |
| 5 | ME | New York Islanders | 82 | 35 | 37 | 10 | 32 | 264 | 296 | −32 | 80 |
| 6 | ME | New York Rangers | 82 | 34 | 39 | 9 | 31 | 231 | 268 | −37 | 77 |
| 7 | AT | Detroit Red Wings | 82 | 30 | 39 | 13 | 25 | 217 | 255 | −38 | 73 |
| 8 | AT | Montreal Canadiens | 82 | 29 | 40 | 13 | 27 | 209 | 264 | −55 | 71 |
| 9 | AT | Ottawa Senators | 82 | 28 | 43 | 11 | 26 | 221 | 291 | −70 | 67 |
| 10 | AT | Buffalo Sabres | 82 | 25 | 45 | 12 | 24 | 199 | 280 | −81 | 62 |

## Schedule and results
### Pre-season

The pre-season schedule was announced on June 16, 2017.

### Regular season

The regular season schedule was released on June 22, 2017.
2017–18 game log (Record: 28–43–11; Home: 16–19–6; Road: 12–24–5) :
Legend:
  Win (2 points)
  Loss (0 points)
  Overtime/shootout loss (1 point) :

## Players
### Statistics

Final Stats

#### Skaters

Regular season :
| Player | GP | G | A | Pts | +/− | PIM |
| Mark Stone | 58 | 20 | 42 | 62 | 9 | 10 |
| Erik Karlsson | 71 | 9 | 53 | 62 | −25 | 36 |
| Mike Hoffman | 82 | 22 | 34 | 56 | −20 | 32 |
| Matt Duchene† | 68 | 23 | 26 | 49 | −23 | 14 |
| Ryan Dzingel | 79 | 23 | 18 | 41 | −17 | 35 |
| Derick Brassard‡ | 58 | 18 | 20 | 38 | −1 | 30 |
| Bobby Ryan | 62 | 11 | 22 | 33 | −12 | 14 |
| Jean-Gabriel Pageau | 78 | 14 | 15 | 29 | −14 | 36 |
| Thomas Chabot | 63 | 9 | 16 | 25 | −12 | 14 |
| Tom Pyatt | 81 | 7 | 15 | 22 | −12 | 10 |
| Cody Ceci | 82 | 5 | 14 | 19 | −27 | 12 |
| Zack Smith | 68 | 5 | 14 | 19 | −32 | 54 |
| Dion Phaneuf‡ | 53 | 3 | 13 | 16 | −8 | 34 |
| Alex Burrows | 71 | 6 | 8 | 14 | −8 | 59 |
| Nate Thompson‡ | 43 | 4 | 7 | 11 | 0 | 10 |
| Mark Borowiecki | 52 | 3 | 8 | 11 | −6 | 64 |
| Chris DiDomenico‡ | 24 | 6 | 4 | 10 | −4 | 8 |
| Kyle Turris‡ | 11 | 3 | 6 | 9 | −3 | 2 |
| Magnus Paajarvi† | 35 | 6 | 2 | 8 | −8 | 4 |
| Johnny Oduya‡ | 51 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 2 | 32 |
| Chris Wideman | 16 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 5 | 6 |
| Marian Gaborik† | 16 | 4 | 3 | 7 | −7 | 6 |
| Fredrik Claesson | 64 | 1 | 6 | 7 | −7 | 35 |
| Colin White | 21 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 1 | 8 |
| Max McCormick | 30 | 3 | 2 | 5 | −5 | 37 |
| Filip Chlapík | 20 | 1 | 3 | 4 | −5 | 4 |
| Christian Wolanin | 10 | 1 | 2 | 3 | −4 | 0 |
| Gabriel Dumont‡ | 23 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
| Nick Paul | 11 | 1 | 0 | 1 | −4 | 0 |
| Patrick Sieloff | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | −2 | 0 |
| Ben Harpur | 41 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −21 | 21 |
| Jim O'Brien | 10 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −1 | 0 |
| Nick Shore‡ | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Erik Burgdoerfer | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| Logan Brown | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Andreas Englund | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Jack Rodewald | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 2 |
| Alex Formenton | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ben Sexton | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 0 |
| Mike Blunden | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Christian Jaros | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

#### Goaltenders

Regular season :
| Player | GP | GS | TOI | W | L | OT | GA | GAA | SA | SV% | SO | G | A | PIM |
| Craig Anderson | 58 | 55 | 3,250:32 | 23 | 25 | 6 | 180 | 3.32 | 1,768 | .898 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Mike Condon | 31 | 26 | 1,625:55 | 5 | 17 | 5 | 88 | 3.25 | 898 | .902 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Danny Taylor | 1 | 1 | 58:29 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 4.10 | 34 | .882 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
$^†$Denotes player spent time with another team before joining the Senators. Stats reflect time with the Senators only. $^‡$No longer with team. Bold denotes team leader in that category.

### Awards

Regular Season :
| Player | Award | Awarded |
| Jean-Gabriel Pageau | NHL Third Star of the Week | October 30, 2017 |

### Milestones

| Player | Milestone | Date |
| Logan Brown | 1st career NHL game | October 5, 2017 |
| Alex Formenton | 1st career NHL game | October 7, 2017 |
| Christian Jaros | 1st career NHL game | October 10, 2017 |
| Thomas Chabot | 1st career NHL assist 1st career NHL point | October 13, 2017 |
| Johnny Oduya | 800th career NHL game | October 14, 2017 |
| Alex Burrows | 200th career NHL goal | October 19, 2017 |
| Logan Brown | 1st career NHL assist 1st career NHL point | October 21, 2017 |
| Filip Chlapik | 1st career NHL game 1st career NHL assist 1st career NHL point | October 26, 2017 |
| Chris DiDomenico | 1st career NHL assist 1st career NHL point | October 26, 2017 |
| Jack Rodewald | 1st career NHL game | October 27, 2017 |
| Chris DiDomenico | 1st career NHL goal | October 27, 2017 |
| Mike Condon | 100th career NHL game | October 30, 2017 |
| Mark Stone | 200th career NHL point | November 2, 2017 |
| Alex Burrows | 400th career NHL point | November 4, 2017 |
| Cody Ceci | 300th career NHL game | November 11, 2017 |
| Mike Hoffman | 100th career NHL assist | November 25, 2017 |
| Thomas Chabot | 1st career NHL goal | December 1, 2017 |
| Matt Duchene | 600th career NHL game | December 9, 2017 |
| Derick Brassard | 400th career NHL point | December 12, 2017 |
| Mike Hoffman | 200th career NHL point | January 5, 2018 |
| Bobby Ryan | 700th career NHL game | January 6, 2018 |
| Zack Smith | 500th career NHL game | January 6, 2018 |
| Mike Hoffman | 300th career NHL game | January 6, 2018 |
| Alex Burrows | 200th career NHL assist | January 10, 2018 |
| Erik Karlsson | 600th career NHL game | February 1, 2018 |
| Colin White | 1st career NHL assist 1st career NHL point | February 3, 2018 |
| Colin White | 1st career NHL goal | February 6, 2018 |
| Jean-Gabriel Pageau | 300th career NHL game | February 8, 2018 |
| Mike Hoffman | 100th career NHL goal | February 8, 2018 |
| Derick Brassard | 700th career NHL game | February 19, 2018 |
| Mark Stone | 300th career NHL game | February 22, 2018 |
| Erik Karlsson | 500th career NHL point | February 27, 2018 |
| Magnus Paajarvi | 100th career NHL point | March 8, 2018 |
| Fredrik Claesson | 100th career NHL game | March 12, 2018 |
| Alex Burrows | 900th career NHL game | March 13, 2018 |
| Erik Burgdoerfer | 1st career NHL assist 1st career NHL point | March 13, 2018 |
| Christian Wolanin | 1st career NHL game | March 22, 2018 |
| Bobby Ryan | 500th career NHL point | March 22, 2018 |
| Filip Chlapik | 1st career NHL goal | March 22, 2018 |
| Tom Pyatt | 400th career NHL game | March 24, 2018 |
| Ben Sexton | 1st career NHL game | March 26, 2018 |
| Christian Wolanin | 1st career NHL goal 1st career NHL point | April 2, 2018 |
| Matt Duchene | 200th career NHL goal | April 2, 2018 |

## Transactions
### Trades

| Date | Details | Details |
| November 5, 2017 (2017-11-05) | To Colorado AvalancheKyle Turris Shane Bowers Andrew Hammond Conditional 1st-round pick in 2018 or 2019 3rd-round pick in 2019 | To Ottawa SenatorsMatt Duchene |
| February 13, 2018 (2018-02-13) | To Los Angeles KingsDion Phaneuf Nate Thompson | To Ottawa SenatorsMarian Gaborik Nick Shore |
| February 15, 2018 (2018-02-15) | To Chicago BlackhawksChris DiDomenico | To Ottawa SenatorsVille Pokka |
| February 23, 2018 (2018-02-23) | To Vegas Golden KnightsDerick Brassard | To Ottawa SenatorsPIT 3rd-round pick in 2019 |
| February 23, 2018 (2018-02-23) | To Pittsburgh PenguinsVincent Dunn 3rd-round pick in 2018 | To Ottawa SenatorsIan Cole Filip Gustavsson 1st-round pick in 2018 |
| February 26, 2018 (2018-02-26) | To Columbus Blue JacketsIan Cole | To Ottawa SenatorsNick Moutrey 3rd-round pick in 2020 |
| February 26, 2018 (2018-02-26) | To Calgary FlamesNick Shore | To Ottawa Senators7th-round pick in 2019 |
| June 19, 2018 (2018-06-19) | To San Jose SharksMike Hoffman Cody Donaghey 5th-round pick 2020 | To Ottawa SenatorsMikkel Boedker Julius Bergman 6th-round pick 2020 |

### Player signings

| Date | Player | Contract terms (in U.S. dollars) |
| June 26, 2017 | Tom Pyatt | 2-year, $2.2 million |
| June 27, 2017 | Max McCormick | 2-year, $1.3 million |
| June 28, 2017 | Mike Condon | 3-year, $7.2 million |
| July 5, 2017 | Chris Driedger | 1-year, $735,000 two-way |
| July 11, 2017 | Patrick Sieloff | 1-year, $650,000 two-way |
| July 17, 2017 | Jean-Gabriel Pageau | 3-year, $9.3 million |
| July 21, 2017 | Ryan Dzingel | 2-year, $3.6 million |
| September 29, 2017 | Craig Anderson | 2-year, $9.5 million contract extension |
| October 2, 2017 | Alex Formenton | 3-year, $2.775 million entry-level contract |
| October 3, 2017 | Drake Batherson | 3-year, $2.4 million entry-level contract |
| October 5, 2017 | Mark Borowiecki | 2-year, $2.4 million contract extension |
| February 9, 2018 | Ben Harpur | 2-year, $1.45 million contract extension |
| March 21, 2018 | Christian Wolanin | 2-year, $1.85 million entry-level contract |
| May 22, 2018 | Patrick Sieloff | 2-year, $1.4 million two-way contract extension |
| May 30, 2018 | Magnus Paajarvi | 1-year, $900,000 contract extension |

### Suspensions/fines

Suspensions/fines :
| Player | Reason | Length | Salary | Date issued |
| Fredrik Claesson | Illegal check to the head of Boston Bruins forward Noel Acciari during NHL game no. 558 in Boston on December 27. | 2 games | $6,989.24 | December 28, 2017 |
| Alex Burrows | Illegal knee to the head of New Jersey Devils forward Taylor Hall during NHL game no. 816 in Ottawa on February 6, 2018. | 10 games | $134,408.60 | February 7, 2018 |

## Draft picks

The Senators participated in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft, which was held on June 23–24, 2017 at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois.
| Round | Overall | Player | Position | Nationality | Club team |
| 1 | 28 | Shane Bowers | Centre | Canada | Waterloo Black Hawks (USHL) |
| 2 | 47$^1$ | Alex Formenton | Left Wing | Canada | London Knights (OHL) |
| 4 | 121 | Drake Batherson | Centre | Canada | Cape Breton Screaming Eagles (QMJHL) |
| 6 | 183 | Jordan Hollett | Goalie | Canada | Medicine Hat Tigers (WHL) |
Draft notes:
* The Calgary Flames' second-round pick went to the Ottawa Senators as the result of a trade on March 1, 2017 that sent Curtis Lazar and Mike Kostka to Calgary in exchange for Jyrki Jokipakka and this pick.