# 2010–11 Ottawa Senators season

The 2010–11 Ottawa Senators season was the team's 19th season of operation in the National Hockey League (NHL). The Senators posted a regular season record of 32 wins, 40 losses and 10 overtime/shootout losses for 74 points, failing to qualify for the Stanley Cup playoffs for the second time in three seasons. After falling to last place in the Eastern Conference by the end of January, the Senators started a rebuild, trading away several veterans for draft choices. Head coach Cory Clouston was fired at the end of the season.

## Off-season

Early in the off-season, the Senators signed several players including summer development camp attendee Colin Greening on April 28 and Binghamton Senators forward Ryan Keller on May 19, as well as goaltender Mike Brodeur on May 26. After some media speculation, the Senators also bought-out Jonathan Cheechoo's contract on June 29 after he cleared waivers, making Cheechoo a free agent.
At the Entry Draft, the Senators traded their first-round pick to the St. Louis Blues for defenceman David Rundblad, who had been the Blues' first-round pick (17th overall) in the 2009 Draft. Having now previously traded their first, second- and fifth-round picks, the Senators picked Jakub Culek in the third round (76th overall), Marcus Sorensen in the fourth round (106th overall), Mark Stone in the sixth round (178th overall) and Bryce Aneloski in the seventh round (196th overall).
Throughout July, the Senators made various signings. On July 13, they signed Swiss forward and 2004 Senator draft pick Roman Wick to a one-year, entry-level contract, and re-signed Derek Smith to a one-year contract. On July 22, they re-signed forward Cody Bass to a one-year, two-way contract and forward Mike Hoffman to a one-year, entry-level contract.
Having fired Goaltending Coach Eli Wilson in January, the Senators signed former goaltender Rick Wamsley as goaltending coach on July 27. His most recent job was interim head coach of the St. Louis Blues' American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Peoria Rivermen. He had at one time been Pascal Leclaire's goaltending coach with the Columbus Blue Jackets.
On August 5, the Senators re-signed Binghamton defenceman Geoff Kinrade to a one-year, two-way contract as well as signing forward and local prospect Corey Cowick to an entry-level contract. Cowick was an assistant captain with Ottawa's Ontario Hockey League (OHL) team, the Ottawa 67's, and was the Senators' sixth-round pick at the 2009 Draft.

### Free agents

The Senators entered the off-season with four restricted free agents (RFAs): Chris Campoli, Nick Foligno, Peter Regin and Jesse Winchester. The team also had six unrestricted free agents (UFAs): Matt Cullen and Andy Sutton acquired via late 2009–10 season trades; Shean Donovan and Anton Volchenkov, as well as Binghamton players Martin St. Pierre and Josh Hennessy.
Of the four RFAs, all re-signed with the Senators. Winchester and Foligno each signed two-year deals on July 1 and July 21, respectively. Campoli and Regin both filed for arbitration, however they each re-signed before it reached that point. Regin signed a two-year deal on July 29, while Campoli signed a one-year deal on July 30.
Of the six UFAs, none re-signed with the Senators. On July 1, the first day of free agency, Volchenkov signed with the New Jersey Devils while Cullen signed a three-year deal with the Minnesota Wild. On August 2, Sutton signed with the Anaheim Ducks in a two-year deal. Donovan did not sign with any NHL team. St. Pierre and Hennessy both signed with teams overseas.
In terms of acquisitions, the Senators made a notable move in signing former Pittsburgh Penguins defenceman Sergei Gonchar to a three-year deal in the first hours after the July 1 free agency deadline. Other free agency acquisitions include forward Corey Locke, defenceman and enforcer Francis Lessard, defenceman David Hale and defenceman Andre Benoit.

### Spezza trade speculation

In early June, an Ottawa Sun article reported that star centre Jason Spezza was "unhappy" and that there were "indications [he] may have asked for a trade." Though purely speculation, the article prompted various other Ottawa sports media sources to issue their own perspectives. Theories ranged from conjuring up various trade rumours, noting the similarity to the previous year's Dany Heatley trade demand, or to suggesting that it was just "lazy rumor mongering." Meanwhile, the Sun received criticism for its journalistic integrity to the point where they had to defend accusations that they were "anti-Spezza" This did not stop speculation, however, which was emboldened by silence both from Spezza and general manager Bryan Murray.
Spezza finally broke the silence during his annual Celebrity Classic golf tournament on July 20:
   I just want to clear up a lot of the talk going on, at no point did I ever demand a trade to Bryan Murray. At the end of the year, I was pretty emotional and upset. I was upset at losing, I was upset at the response I got. I talked to Bryan about it, I see it in the newspapers every year, they talk about me, and I said, if you want to move me, you can move me. I wanna be here, but if he thinks it's best for the team and the city, then he can move me. He told me he wasn't going to move me. To be honest I was happy about it, cause I like being here in Ottawa. It seems like every year it's been talk of "should I get traded, should I not get traded?" My priorities are here in Ottawa, I want to win in Ottawa. It was just a whole lot of hearsay that was going on. I had prior conversations with Bryan, I talked to [head coach] Cory [Clouston], we were all clear on what was going on.
Further, he expressed regret that the issue had become public at all. "Me and Bryan have talked since then and probably our conversation should have stayed between us", he said. "We probably wouldn't even be talking here today. But it happened and it's a reality." His statement largely settled the rumour, apart from some minor speculation (again by Ottawa Sun columnists) that Spezza had in fact demanded a trade similar to Heatley. However, sources confirmed with Spezza's team members that the situation was "not even close to the Dany situation."

## Pre-season

On June 18, the Senators announced that they would play eight pre-season games, which includes three home games, four road games and one neutral site game. The Senators faced the Toronto Maple Leafs three times, and had home-and-home sets against the Montreal Canadiens and New York Rangers. The Senators also played in the 2010 Kraft Hockeyville game in Dundas, Ontario, against the Buffalo Sabres. The game was played on September 28, 2010, at the J.L. Grightmire Market Street Arena.

## Regular season

The Senators' regular season schedule was announced on June 22, 2010. The Senators opened the season at home against the Buffalo Sabres on October 8, 2010. The Senators end the season on the road against the Boston Bruins on April 9, 2011.
The Senators' goal for the season was to return to the playoffs for the 13th time in 14 seasons. Media predictions were mostly negative. The Hockey News predicted in their 2010–11 Yearbook that the Senators will finish tenth in the Eastern Conference, thereby missing the playoffs. The Hockey News writer Adam Proteau predicted the Senators will finish ninth in the Conference. The Las Vegas Hilton SportsBook set the odds at 40–1 that the Senators will win the Stanley Cup.
Within a few days of each other, two of the Senators celebrated milestones in wins. On October 22, Daniel Alfredsson scored a hat trick to reach 1,000 points in his career in a win against the Buffalo Sabres. On October 26, Sergei Gonchar played in his 1,000th game in his career. The game saw the Senators set a new team record for fastest two goals. Erik Karlsson and Alexei Kovalev scored only nine seconds apart, breaking the record of ten seconds set in 1995. The Senators defeated the Phoenix Coyotes 5–2.
On November 13, 2010, the 14-year-old daughter of Assistant Coach Luke Richardson died. The team, on a four-game road trip, returned to Ottawa for a "celebration of life" memorial service held at Scotiabank Place on November 17. Five-thousand and six-hundred mourners attended the service, including former NHL players Paul Coffey, Wendel Clark, Doug Gilmour and Tie Domi. The team flew out after the ceremony for a game against the Carolina Hurricanes that night. Richardson took a personal leave from the club. He returned to his duties with the Senators in January.
Another player reached the 1,000-point plateau on November 22 when Alexei Kovalev scored at the 10:00-minute mark of the first period. He became the third Russian player to reach the mark. Kovalev later assisted on the game-winning goal as the Senators prevailed over the Los Angeles Kings at home, 3–2.
The Senators set a new modern franchise record starting in the first period of a game of November 29 against the Edmonton Oilers through the game of December 5 against the New York Rangers. The team went through a scoring drought that lasted 202 minutes and 57 seconds without a goal. The Senators were shut out by the San Jose Sharks and Buffalo Sabres before Chris Kelly broke the streak in the second period of a game against the Rangers.
The Senators' poor performances led to constant rumours of a shakeup right through until December. The rumours were heightened in January after the team went on a lengthy losing streak. Owner Eugene Melnyk, who had remained silent during much of the streak, finally broke his silence in an exclusive interview with the Ottawa Sun. He made it clear that, despite rumours in the media to the contrary, general manager Bryan Murray and Head Coach Cory Clouston would be allowed to finish out their contracts and would not be replaced mid-season. Melnyk also assured the team's fanbase that a "plan [was] now in motion" to return the Senators to the status of Stanley Cup contenders, and that "difficult decisions" would be made in the coming months.
Those "difficult decisions" began on February 10, 2011, when the club traded long-time centre and fan favourite Mike Fisher to the Nashville Predators for a first-round and a conditional draft pick. The trade was met with mixed reaction from the Senators' fanbase. Some viewed it as an important step in the team's rebuilding process, while others were outraged at the loss of a player who was adored within the community. That outrage was most palpable when a local Ottawa radio station suggested that Fisher's new wife Carrie Underwood was largely responsible for his move to Nashville, and subsequently banned the play of her music. Underwood is a country music singer who is based in Nashville, where Fisher had recently begun living during the off-season.
Following the Fisher trade, the Senators traded another lifetime Senator, forward Chris Kelly, to the Boston Bruins in another move which was met with mixed reaction. The team shed salary by trading Jarkko Ruutu and the under-achieving Alexei Kovalev, both of whom were to become unrestricted free agent at season's end, to playoff contenders Anaheim Ducks and Pittsburgh Penguins, respectively.
Struggling goaltender Brian Elliott, a pending restricted free agent, was sent to the Colorado Avalanche in exchange for goalie Craig Anderson, who had also been struggling through an inconsistent season. Anderson, scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season, was auditioned for a possible contract extension by the organization. Ottawa later acquired goaltender Curtis McElhinney on waivers on February 28. With Pascal Leclaire's injury status unknown and future with the team in doubt, the Senators finished their schedule with a vastly different goal-tending tandem than they had begun the season with.
Following speculation that longtime Senators defenceman and looming unrestricted free agent Chris Phillips would be dealt as part of the rebuilding process, the club instead signed him to a three-year extension on February 27, the day before the trade deadline. With a group of inexperienced young defencemen expected to stock the Senators' blueline in 2011–12, Phillips' experience was deemed an important asset. Defenceman Chris Campoli was traded on deadline day to the Chicago Blackhawks for forward Ryan Potulny and a conditional second-round draft pick, as Ottawa's rebuilding process continued.
For the rest of the season, the Senators rotated call-ups from Binghamton. On March 21, after 11 games with Ottawa, Craig Anderson was signed to a four-year extension by GM Murray. After media speculation on the future of Murray within the organization, Murray re-signed as general manager on April 8 to a three-year extension. After the final game of the season on April 9, Murray dismissed Cory Clouston and his assistant coaches.

## Standings

Northeast Division vte :
| | | GP | W | L | OTL | ROW | GF | GA | Pts |
| 1 | y – Boston Bruins | 82 | 46 | 25 | 11 | 44 | 246 | 195 | 103 |
| 2 | Montreal Canadiens | 82 | 44 | 30 | 8 | 41 | 216 | 209 | 96 |
| 3 | Buffalo Sabres | 82 | 43 | 29 | 10 | 38 | 245 | 229 | 96 |
| 4 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 82 | 37 | 34 | 11 | 32 | 218 | 251 | 85 |
| 5 | Ottawa Senators | 82 | 32 | 40 | 10 | 30 | 192 | 250 | 74 |
Eastern Conference :
| R | vte | Div | GP | W | L | OTL | ROW | GF | GA | Pts |
| 1 | z – Washington Capitals | SE | 82 | 48 | 23 | 11 | 43 | 224 | 197 | 107 |
| 2 | y – Philadelphia Flyers | AT | 82 | 47 | 23 | 12 | 44 | 259 | 223 | 106 |
| 3 | y – Boston Bruins | NE | 82 | 46 | 25 | 11 | 44 | 246 | 195 | 103 |
| 4 | Pittsburgh Penguins | AT | 82 | 49 | 25 | 8 | 39 | 238 | 199 | 106 |
| 5 | Tampa Bay Lightning | SE | 82 | 46 | 25 | 11 | 40 | 247 | 240 | 103 |
| 6 | Montreal Canadiens | NE | 82 | 44 | 30 | 8 | 41 | 216 | 209 | 96 |
| 7 | Buffalo Sabres | NE | 82 | 43 | 29 | 10 | 38 | 245 | 229 | 96 |
| 8 | New York Rangers | AT | 82 | 44 | 33 | 5 | 35 | 233 | 198 | 93 |
| 8.5 |||||||||||
| 9 | Carolina Hurricanes | SE | 82 | 40 | 31 | 11 | 35 | 236 | 239 | 91 |
| 10 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NE | 82 | 37 | 34 | 11 | 32 | 218 | 251 | 85 |
| 11 | New Jersey Devils | AT | 82 | 38 | 39 | 5 | 35 | 174 | 209 | 81 |
| 12 | Atlanta Thrashers | SE | 82 | 34 | 36 | 12 | 29 | 223 | 269 | 80 |
| 13 | Ottawa Senators | NE | 82 | 32 | 40 | 10 | 30 | 192 | 250 | 74 |
| 14 | New York Islanders | AT | 82 | 30 | 39 | 13 | 26 | 229 | 264 | 73 |
| 15 | Florida Panthers | SE | 82 | 30 | 40 | 12 | 26 | 195 | 229 | 72 |
bold – qualified for playoffs; y – Won division; z – Placed first in conference (and division)
AT – Atlantic Division, NE – Northeast Division, SE – Southeast Division

## Schedule and results
### Pre-season

2010 Pre-season
#DateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionRecord
1September 21Ottawa Senators5–0Toronto Maple LeafsLehner1–0–0
2September 22Ottawa Senators1–4Toronto Maple LeafsElliott1–1–0
3September 24Ottawa Senators2–4Montreal CanadiensLeclaire1–2–0
4September 25Montreal Canadiens2–6Ottawa SenatorsElliott2–2–0
5September 28 (in Dundas, Ontario)Buffalo Sabres2–1Ottawa SenatorsLehner2–3–0
6September 29Toronto Maple Leafs4–3Ottawa SenatorsLeclaire2–4–0
7October 1Ottawa Senators4–5New York RangersSOElliott2–4–1
8October 2New York Rangers5-8Ottawa SenatorsLeclaire3–4–1 :

### Regular season

2010–11 season :
October: (11) (home: 6; road: 5) (record: 4–6–1; home: 3–3–0; road: 1–3–1)
GameOctoberOpponentScoreLocation (attendance)RecordDecisionPointsRecap
18Buffalo Sabres1 – 2Scotiabank Place (19,350)0–1–0Leclaire0
29@ Toronto Maple Leafs1 – 5Air Canada Centre (19,157)0–2–0Leclaire0
311@ Washington Capitals2 – 3 (OT)Verizon Center (18,398)0–2–1Leclaire1
414Carolina Hurricanes3 – 2Scotiabank Place (16,270)1–2–1Elliott3
516@ Montreal Canadiens3 – 4Bell Centre (21,273)1–3–1Elliott3
618@ Pittsburgh Penguins2 – 5Consol Energy Center (18,101)1–4–1Elliott3
722@ Buffalo Sabres4 – 2HSBC Arena (18,009)2–4–1Elliott5
823Montreal Canadiens0 – 3Scotiabank Place (20,301)2–5–1Elliott5
926Phoenix Coyotes5 – 2Scotiabank Place (16,686)3–5–1Elliott7
1028Florida Panthers5 – 3Scotiabank Place (16,294)4–5–1Elliott9
1130Boston Bruins0 – 3Scotiabank Place (18,959)4–6–1Elliott9 :
November: (14) (home: 7; road: 7) (record: 7–7–0; home: 4–3–0; road: 3–4–0)
GameNovemberOpponentScoreLocation/attendanceRecordDecisionPointsRecap
122@ Toronto Maple Leafs3 – 2Air Canada Centre (19,409)5–6–1Elliott11
134New York Islanders4 – 1Scotiabank Place (17,752)6–6–1Elliott13
146@ Montreal Canadiens3 – 2Bell Centre (21,273)7–6–1Elliott15
159Atlanta Thrashers5 – 2Scotiabank Place (16,583)8–6–1Elliott17
1611Vancouver Canucks2 – 6Scotiabank Place (19,191)8–7–1Leclaire17
1713@ Boston Bruins2 – 0TD Garden (17,565)9–7–1Elliott19
1815@ Philadelphia Flyers1 – 5Wells Fargo Center (19,256)9–8–1Elliott19
1917@ Carolina Hurricanes1 – 7RBC Center (12,938)9–9–1Elliott19
2019@ St. Louis Blues2 – 5Scottrade Center (19,150)9-10-1Elliott19
2122Los Angeles Kings3 – 2Scotiabank Place (18,315)10-10-1Leclaire21
2224Dallas Stars1 – 2Scotiabank Place (16,281)10–11–1Leclaire21
2326@ Pittsburgh Penguins1 – 2Consol Energy Center (18,299)10–12–1Leclaire21
2427Toronto Maple Leafs3 – 0Scotiabank Place (20,275)11–12–1Elliott23
2529Edmonton Oilers1 – 4Scotiabank Place (17,002)11–13–1Elliott23 :
December: (14) (home: 8; road: 6) (record: 5–5–4; home: 2–4–2; road: 3–1–2)
GameDecemberOpponentScoreLocation/attendanceRecordDecisionPointsRecap
262San Jose Sharks0 – 4Scotiabank Place (18,017)11–14–1Leclaire23
274Buffalo Sabres0 – 1 (SO)Scotiabank Place (16,364)11–14–2Elliott24
285@ New York Rangers3 – 1Madison Square Garden (18,200)12–14–2Leclaire26
297@ Montreal Canadiens1 – 4Bell Centre (21,273)12–15–2Leclaire26
309New York Rangers3 – 5Scotiabank Place (16,324)12–16–2Elliott26
3110New Jersey Devils3 – 2Scotiabank Place (16,471)13–16–2Leclaire28
3213Atlanta Thrashers3 – 4 (OT)Scotiabank Place (18,184)13–16–3Elliott29
3316@ Minnesota Wild3 – 1Xcel Energy Center (17,366)14–16–3Leclaire31
3417@ Colorado Avalanche5 – 6 (OT)Pepsi Center (15,113)14–16–4Elliott32
3519Washington Capitals2 – 3Scotiabank Place (19,516)14–17–4Elliott32
3623@ Nashville Predators2 – 1Bridgestone Arena ( 17,113)15–17–4Elliott34
3726Pittsburgh Penguins3 – 1Scotiabank Place (20,146)16–17–4Elliott36
3829Carolina Hurricanes0 – 4Scotiabank Place (20,221)16–18–4Elliott36
3931@ Columbus Blue Jackets3 – 4 (OT)Nationwide Arena (17,652)16–18–5Elliott37 :
January: (11) (home: 7; road: 4) (record: 1–7–3; home: 0–4–2; road: 1–3–1)
GameJanuaryOpponentScoreLocation/attendanceRecordDecisionPointsRecap
401Toronto Maple Leafs1 – 5Scotiabank Place (20,027)16–19–5Elliott37
417@ Chicago Blackhawks2 – 3 (SO)United Center (21,657)16–19–6Elliott38
428Tampa Bay Lightning1 – 2Scotiabank Place (19,698)16–20–6Elliott38
4311Boston Bruins0 – 6TD Garden (17,565)16–21–6Elliott38
4413@ New York Islanders6 – 4Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum (8,670)17–21–6Lehner40
4514Calgary Flames2 – 3Scotiabank Place (19,984)17–22–6Elliott40
4616@ Washington Capitals1 – 3Verizon Center (18,398)17–23–6Elliott40
4718Anaheim Ducks1 – 2 (SO)Scotiabank Place (19,515)17–23–7Elliott41
4820@ Philadelphia Flyers2 – 6Wells Fargo Center (19,721)17–24–7Elliott41
4921Montreal Canadiens1 – 7Scotiabank Place (20,337)17–25–7Brodeur41
5025Buffalo Sabres2 – 3 (OT)Scotiabank Place (18,990)17–25–8Elliott42 :
February: (12) (home: 5; road: 7) (record: 4-7-1; home: 2-2-1; road: 2-5-0)
GameFebruaryOpponentScoreLocation/attendanceRecordDecisionPointsRecap
511@ New Jersey Devils1 – 2Prudential Center (7,218)17–26–8Lehner42
522Detroit Red Wings5 – 7Scotiabank Place (18,011)17–27–8Elliott42
535@ New York Islanders3 – 5Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum (10,415)17–28–8Lehner42
547@ Vancouver Canucks2 – 4Rogers Arena (18,860)17–29–8Elliott42
559@ Calgary Flames2 – 5Pengrowth Saddledome (19,289)17–30–8Lehner42
5612@ Edmonton Oilers5 – 3Rexall Place (16,839)18-30-8Elliott44
5715New York Islanders3 – 4 (SO)Scotiabank Place (17,565)18-30-9Elliott45
5818Boston Bruins2 – 4Scotiabank Place (18,521)18-31-9Lehner45
5919@ Toronto Maple Leafs1 – 0 (SO)Air Canada Centre (19,460)19-31-9Anderson47
6023Florida Panthers5 – 1Scotiabank Place (16,520)20–31–9Anderson49
6125@ Buffalo Sabres2 – 4HSBC Arena (18,690)20–32–9Anderson49
6226Philadelphia Flyers4 – 1Scotiabank Place (19,934)21–32–9Anderson51 :
March: (16) (home: 6; road: 10) (record: 9–6–1; home: 3–3–0; road: 6–3–1)
GameMarchOpponentScoreLocation/attendanceRecordDecisionPointsRecap
631Boston Bruins0 – 1Scotiabank Place (16,826)21–33–9Anderson51
643@ Atlanta Thrashers3 – 1Philips Arena (10,461)22–33–9Anderson53
654New York Rangers1 – 4Scotiabank Place (17,497)22–34–9Anderson53
668@ New Jersey Devils2 – 1Prudential Center (15,978)23–34–9Anderson55
6710@ Florida Panthers2 – 1BankAtlantic Center (12,310)24–34–9Anderson57
6811@ Tampa Bay Lightning2 – 1St. Pete Times Forum (18,777)25–34–9McElhinney59
6913@ Buffalo Sabres3 – 6HSBC Arena (18,690)25–35–9Anderson59
7015Pittsburgh Penguins1 – 5Scotiabank Place (19,249)25–36–9Anderson59
7117New Jersey Devils3 – 1Scotiabank Place (17,758)26–36–9McElhinney61
7219Tampa Bay Lightning3 – 2 (OT)Scotiabank Place (18,883)27–36–9McElhinney63
7322@ Carolina Hurricanes3 – 4RBC Centre (16,189)27–37–9McElhinney63
7424@ New York Rangers2 – 1 (SO)Madison Square Garden (18,200)28–37–9Anderson65
7525Washington Capitals2 – 0Scotiabank Place (18,329)29–37–9Anderson67
7627@ Atlanta Thrashers4 – 5 (SO)Philips Arena (16,392)29–37–10Anderson68
7729@ Tampa Bay Lightning2 – 5St. Pete Times Forum (16,626)29–38–10McElhinney68
7831@ Florida Panthers4 – 1BankAtlantic Center (15,672)30–38–10Anderson70 :
April: (4) (home: 3; road: 1)
GameAprilOpponentScoreLocation/attendanceRecordDecisionPointsRecap
792Toronto Maple Leafs2 – 4Scotiabank Place (19,243)30–39–10Anderson70
805Philadelphia Flyers5 – 2Scotiabank Place (18,397)31–39–10Anderson72
817Montreal Canadiens3 – 2 (OT)Scotiabank Place (19,809)32–39–10Anderson74
829@ Boston Bruins1 – 3Boston Garden (17,565)32–40–10McElhinney74 :
Source: Ottawa Senators :
Legend:
  Win (2 points)
  Loss (0 points)
  Overtime/shootout loss (1 point) :

## Player statistics
### Skaters

Regular season :
| Player | GP | G | A | Pts | +/− | PIM |
| Jason Spezza | 62 | 21 | 36 | 57 | -7 | 28 |
| Erik Karlsson | 75 | 13 | 32 | 45 | -30 | 50 |
| Nick Foligno | 82 | 14 | 20 | 34 | -19 | 43 |
| Milan Michalek | 66 | 18 | 15 | 33 | -12 | 49 |
| Daniel Alfredsson | 54 | 14 | 17 | 31 | -19 | 18 |
| Sergei Gonchar | 67 | 7 | 20 | 27 | -15 | 20 |
| Ryan Shannon | 79 | 11 | 16 | 27 | 3 | 26 |
| Alexei Kovalev$^‡$ | 54 | 14 | 13 | 27 | -9 | 28 |
| Mike Fisher$^‡$ | 55 | 14 | 10 | 24 | -19 | 33 |
| Chris Kelly$^‡$ | 57 | 12 | 11 | 23 | -12 | 27 |
| Bobby Butler | 36 | 10 | 11 | 21 | -16 | 10 |
| Peter Regin | 55 | 3 | 14 | 17 | -4 | 12 |
| Filip Kuba | 64 | 2 | 14 | 16 | -26 | 16 |
| Chris Neil | 80 | 6 | 10 | 16 | -14 | 210 |
| Chris Campoli$^‡$ | 58 | 3 | 11 | 14 | -3 | 34 |
| Colin Greening | 24 | 6 | 7 | 13 | 2 | 10 |
| Jesse Winchester | 72 | 4 | 9 | 13 | -9 | 42 |
| Erik Condra | 26 | 6 | 5 | 11 | -1 | 12 |
| Jarkko Ruutu$^‡$ | 50 | 2 | 8 | 10 | -2 | 59 |
| Zack Smith | 55 | 4 | 5 | 9 | -11 | 120 |
| Chris Phillips | 82 | 1 | 8 | 9 | -35 | 32 |
| Matt Carkner | 50 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 0 | 136 |
| David Hale | 25 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 7 | 6 |
| Marek Svatos$^†$ | 19 | 3 | 2 | 5 | -1 | 8 |
| Brian Lee | 50 | 0 | 3 | 3 | -10 | 24 |
| Patrick Wiercioch | 8 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 |
| Andre Benoit | 8 | 0 | 1 | 1 | -1 | 6 |
| Corey Locke | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | -1 | 0 |
| Derek Smith | 9 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| Roman Wick | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -4 | 0 |
| Cody Bass | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jim O'Brien | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -3 | 2 |
| Francis Lessard | 24 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 78 |
| Stephane Da Costa | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 | 0 |
| Ryan Potulny$^†$ | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

### Goaltenders

Regular season :
| Player | GP | Min | W | L | OTL | GA | GAA | SA | Sv% | SO | G | A | PIM |
| Brian Elliott$^‡$ | 43 | 2293 | 13 | 19 | 8 | 122 | 3.19 | 1147 | .894 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Craig Anderson$^†$ | 18 | 1055 | 11 | 5 | 1 | 36 | 2.05 | 589 | .939 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Pascal Leclaire | 14 | 763 | 4 | 7 | 1 | 36 | 2.83 | 391 | .908 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Curtis McElhinney$^†$ | 7 | 399 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 17 | 2.56 | 205 | .917 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Robin Lehner | 8 | 341 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 20 | 3.52 | 178 | .888 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Mike Brodeur | 4 | 97 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 4.33 | 42 | .833 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
$^†$Denotes player spent time with another team before joining Senators. Stats reflect time with Senators only. $^‡$Traded mid-season.
    Pos = Position; GPI = Games played in; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes; +/- = Plus/minus; PPG = Power-play goals; SHG = Short-handed goals; GWG = Game-winning goals
    Min, TOI = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T,T/OT = Ties; OTL = Overtime losses; GA = Goals-against; GAA = Goals-against average; SO = Shutouts; SA = Shots against; SV = Shots saved; SV% = Save percentage;

### Awards/Milestones

* Ryan Shannon – Ottawa Senators' nominee for Bill Masterton Trophy

#### Milestones

Regular season :
| Player | Achievement | Date |
| Robin Lehner | 1st NHL game | October 16, 2010 |
| Daniel Alfredsson | 1,000th NHL point | October 23, 2010 |
| Sergei Gonchar | 1,000th NHL game | October 26, 2010 |
| Jarkko Ruutu | 1,000th NHL PIM | October 28, 2010 |
| Brian Elliott | 50th NHL win | October 28, 2010 |
| Sergei Gonchar | 1st goal w/ Ottawa | November 2, 2010 |
| Nick Foligno | 200th NHL game | November 4, 2010 |
| David Hale | 1st goal w/ Ottawa | November 4, 2010 |
| Peter Regin | 100th NHL game | November 6, 2010 |
| Matt Carkner Brian Elliott | 100th NHL Game | November 13, 2010 |
| Ryan Shannon | 200th NHL game | November 19, 2010 |
| Alexei Kovalev | 1,000th NHL point | November 22, 2010 |
| Milan Michalek | 400th NHL game | November 22, 2010 |
| Chris Neil | 600th NHL game | November 22, 2010 |
| Jarkko Ruutu | 600th NHL game | November 22, 2010 |
| Chris Kelly | 1st NHL hat-trick | December 5, 2010 |
| Jason Spezza | 1st NHL penalty shot goal | December 13, 2010 |
| Sergei Gonchar | 700th NHL point | December 16, 2010 |
| Chris Phillips | 900th NHL game | December 26, 2010 |
| Jim O'Brien | 1st NHL game | December 31, 2010 |
| Erik Karlsson | 100th NHL game | January 8, 2011 |
| Corey Locke | 1st NHL assist 1st NHL point | January 13, 2011 |
| Robin Lehner | 1st NHL start 1st NHL win | January 13, 2011 |
| Brian Lee | 100th NHL game | January 21, 2011 |
| Colin Greening | 1st NHL game | February 1, 2011 |
| Chris Kelly | 100th NHL assist | February 5, 2011 |
| Bobby Butler | 1st NHL goal 1st NHL assist 1st NHL point | February 12, 2011 |
| Jason Spezza | 500th NHL game | February 12, 2011 |
| Erik Condra | 1st NHL game 1st NHL assist 1st NHL point | February 15, 2011 |
| Jason Spezza | 500th NHL point | February 15, 2011 |
| Andre Benoit | 1st NHL game | February 18, 2011 |
| Craig Anderson | 1st win w/ Ottawa 1st shutout w/ Ottawa | February 19, 2011 |
| Colin Greening | 1st NHL assist 1st NHL point | February 23, 2011 |
| Roman Wick | 1st NHL game | February 25, 2011 |
| Erik Condra | 1st NHL goal | February 26, 2011 |
| Filip Kuba | 700th NHL game | March 1, 2011 |
| Colin Greening | 1st NHL goal | March 3, 2011 |
| Derek Smith | 1st NHL assist 1st NHL point | March 3, 2011 |
| Francis Lessard | 100th NHL game | March 8, 2011 |
| Sergei Gonchar | 500th NHL assist | March 10, 2011 |
| Patrick Wiercioch | 1st NHL Game | March 22, 2011 |
| Marek Svatos | 1st Goal w/Ottawa | March 22, 2011 |
| Marek Svatos | 100th NHL goal | March 27, 2011 |
| Patrick Wiercioch | 1st NHL assist 1st NHL point | March 27, 2011 |
| Nick Foligno | 100th NHL point | March 31, 2011 |
| Andre Benoit | 1st NHL assist 1st NHL point | April 2, 2011 |
| Stephane Da Costa | 1st NHL game | April 2, 2011 |
| Jesse Winchester | 200th NHL game | April 7, 2011 |
Regular season :
| Team | Achievement | Date |
| Ottawa Senators | 4,000th franchise goal | November 9, 2010 |

## Transactions
### Trades

| Date | Details | Details |
| June 25, 2010 | To St. Louis Blues 1st-round pick in 2010 | To Ottawa Senators David Rundblad |
| February 10, 2011 | To Nashville Predators Mike Fisher | To Ottawa Senators 1st-round draft pick in 2011 Conditional 2nd- or 3rd-round pick in 2012 |
| February 15, 2011 | To Boston Bruins Chris Kelly | To Ottawa Senators 2nd-round pick in 2011 |
| February 17, 2011 | To Anaheim Ducks Jarkko Ruutu | To Ottawa Senators 6th-round pick in 2011 |
| February 18, 2011 | To Colorado Avalanche Brian Elliott | To Ottawa Senators Craig Anderson |
| February 24, 2011 | To Pittsburgh Penguins Alexei Kovalev | To Ottawa Senators Conditional 7th-round pick in 2011 |
| February 28, 2011 | To Chicago Blackhawks Chris Campoli Conditional 7th-round pick in 2012 | To Ottawa Senators Ryan Potulny Conditional 2nd-round pick in 2011 |
* ↑ Pick became 3rd-round pick.
* ↑ Condition satisfied.
* ↑ Condition not satisfied.
* ↑ Condition satisfied.

### Player signings

| Player | Date | Contract terms |
| Colin Greening | April 28, 2010 | One-year, $735,000 entry-level contract |
| Ryan Keller | May 19, 2010 | One-year, $525,000 two-way contract |
| Mike Brodeur | May 26, 2010 | One-year, $600,000 two-way contract |
| Jesse Winchester | July 1, 2010 | Two-years, $1.5 million |
| Derek Smith | July 13, 2010 | One year, $550,000 |
| Nick Foligno | July 21, 2010 | Two-years, $2.4 million |
| Mike Hoffman | July 22, 2010 | Three-years, $1.83 million entry-level contract |
| Cody Bass | July 22, 2010 | One-year, $500,000 two-way contract |
| Peter Regin | July 29, 2010 | Two-years, $2 million |
| Chris Campoli | July 30, 2010 | One-year, $1.4 million |
| Geoff Kinrade | August 5, 2010 | One-year, $550,000 two-way contract |
| Corey Cowick | August 5, 2010 | Three years, $1.835 million entry-level contract |
| Chris Phillips | February 28, 2011 | Three years, $9.25 million contract extension |
| Derek Grant | March 10, 2011 | Three-years, $1.815 million entry-level contract |
| Mark Borowiecki | March 11, 2011 | Two-years, $1.22 million entry-level contract |
| Craig Anderson | March 21, 2011 | Four-years, $12.75 million contract extension |
| Andre Petersson | April 8, 2011 | Three-years, $2.19 million entry-level contract |

## Draft picks

The 2010 NHL Entry Draft was held at the Staples Center in Los Angeles June 25–26, 2010.
| Round | Overall pick | Player | Position | Nationality | College/junior/club team (League) |
| 3 | 76 | Jakub Culek | LW | Czech Republic | Rimouski Oceanic (QMJHL) |
| 4 | 106 | Marcus Sorensen | RW | Sweden | Sodertalje SK Jr. (J20 SuperElit) |
| 6 | 178 (from San Jose) | Mark Stone | RW | Canada | Brandon Wheat Kings (WHL) |
| 7 | 196 | Bryce Aneloski | D | United States | Cedar Rapids RoughRiders (USHL) |

## Farm teams

* Binghamton Senators (American Hockey League (AHL))
* Elmira Jackals (ECHL)
The Senators signed Kurt Kleinendorst to a two-year deal to be head coach of Binghamton. He was previously the head coach of the USA Hockey National Team Development Program, which won the Under-18 World Championship in 2010.
Binghamton qualified for the Calder Cup playoffs for the first time since 2005. After nearly being eliminated in the first round by the Manchester Monarchs, the Senators defeated the Portland Pirates in the second round and swept the Charlotte Checkers in the third round series to advance to the team's first-ever Calder Cup Final. The Senators defeated the Houston Aeros in six games to win the Calder Cup championship. Goaltender Robin Lehner was named the playoffs' Most Valuable Player and received the Jack A. Butterfield Trophy.