# 2005–06 Ottawa Senators season

The 2005–06 Ottawa Senators season was the 14th season of the Ottawa Senators of the National Hockey League (NHL). After one of their franchise-best regular seasons, finishing with 113 points, the Senators made it to the Eastern Conference Semifinals, in which the Buffalo Sabres eliminated Ottawa in five games.

## Off-season

Changes occurred to the Senators roster before the season. First, Ottawa acquired the playoff-experienced goaltender Dominik Hasek for his Stanley Cup experience. Second, a blockbuster trade on August 23, 2005, involved Marian Hossa and Greg de Vries being sent to the Atlanta Thrashers for Dany Heatley. The trade occurred on the day that Hossa had signed a new contract. The value of Hossa's contract was beyond what General Manager John Muckler felt that Hossa was worth and so he was dealt away. Marian had led the Senators in scoring.

## Regular season

Dany Heatley, together with Daniel Alfredsson and Jason Spezza, formed one of the NHL's top offensive lines, dubbed the "CASH line" by fans in a contest held by the Ottawa Citizen. The name is made from the initials of Captain Alfredsson, Spezza, and Heatley. Cash Line won out over finalists 'Dash Line' and 'Dazzle Line,' which Spezza reputedly despised and wanted to veto. Another nickname the line picked up was the "Pizza Line", used by the Ottawa Sun, a rival to the Citizen. However, during the press conference to introduce the teams for the 2007 Stanley Cup Finals, Heatley went on record to say he likes the "CASH line" name.
The Senators team sent nine players to the 2006 Winter Olympics as part of the NHL's commitment. Daniel Alfredsson, Zdeno Chara, Martin Havlat, Dany Heatley, Andrej Meszaros, Wade Redden, Christoph Schubert and Anton Volchenkov all played for their respective country's national teams, while Jason Spezza was named a substitute for Canada. The experience, however, was poor for the Senators: Dominik Hasek was having an impressive season prior to Olympic play, but the team lost him to a hamstring injury he suffered while playing for the Czech Republic. He would not play again for the Senators.
In addition to leading the NHL with most goals for (312, excluding shootout-winning goals), the Senators also led the NHL in shorthanded goals (25), scoring points (840) and shots on goal (2,811).

### Highlights

The "CASH line" made a dramatic and historic debut, playing in the first game of the 2005–06 season on October 5, 2005, against the Toronto Maple Leafs in Toronto. In the pre-season, right winger Brandon Bochenski had been playing on the line as he had played with Spezza in the American Hockey League (AHL) during the 2004–05 NHL lockout. But with five minutes to go, with the Senators trailing, then Senators' Head Coach Bryan Murray replaced Bochenski with Daniel Alfredsson, who scored a game-tying goal with 62 seconds left. Heatley and Alfredsson would then go on to score the first shootout goals in NHL history to win the game that night.
Other highlights of the Senators' season included an 8–0 road win over their Ontario rivals, the Maple Leafs, on October 29, 2005. Dany Heatley scored four consecutive goals in that game. Just four nights later, the Senators defeated the Buffalo Sabres in Buffalo, 10–4. Martin Havlat and Daniel Alfredsson each scored four goals and Jason Spezza provided four assists. It was the first time that an NHL team had scored ten goals in a regular-season game since January 11, 2003, when the Washington Capitals defeated the Florida Panthers at home by a score of 12–2. It was also the first time that the Senators had scored ten goals in a regular-season game since November 13, 2001, when they defeated the Capitals 11–5 away in Washington, D.C. On November 29, 2005, the Senators defeated the Montreal Canadiens 4–0 and, in doing so, improved to a 19–3–0 record through their first 22 games of the regular season. Over that span, Ottawa outscored its opponents 102–45. Spezza had reached 41 points (11 goals and 30 assists) and Alfredsson had reached 40 points (20 goals and 20 assists) by this point. Heatley recorded a point in every one of these games and had 17 goals and 21 assists for 38 points.
In an 8–2 win over Toronto on December 17, 2005, the Senators set a franchise record for most power play goals scored in one game, with six. On February 2, 2006, the Senators scored three short-handed goals in a 7–2 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins. It was the second time in franchise history that the Senators scored three shorthanded goals in a single game, as the Senators had scored three shorthanded goals in a 5–2 home win over the Florida Panthers on November 18, 2000.
Dany Heatley became the first Senator in franchise history to reach 100 points on April 13, 2006, recording two assists during a 5–4 overtime loss to the Florida Panthers and five days later became the first Senator to score 50 goals in a season. Meanwhile, defenceman Wade Redden became the first Senator to win the NHL Plus/Minus Award, tied with New York Ranger Michal Rozsival, with a +35 rating. Despite missing 14 games, Jason Spezza finished second in the NHL in assists, with 71.

### Season standings

Northeast Division :
| No. | CR | | GP | W | L | OTL | GF | GA | Pts |
| 1 | 1 | Ottawa Senators | 82 | 52 | 21 | 9 | 314 | 211 | 113 |
| 2 | 4 | Buffalo Sabres | 82 | 52 | 24 | 6 | 281 | 239 | 110 |
| 3 | 7 | Montreal Canadiens | 82 | 42 | 31 | 9 | 243 | 247 | 93 |
| 4 | 9 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 82 | 41 | 33 | 8 | 257 | 270 | 90 |
| 5 | 13 | Boston Bruins | 82 | 29 | 37 | 16 | 230 | 266 | 74 |
Note: CR = Conference rank; GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; OTL = Overtime/Shootout loss; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; Pts = Points Bolded teams qualified for the playoffs.
Eastern Conference :
| R | | Div | GP | W | L | OTL | GF | GA | Pts |
| 1 | Z- Ottawa Senators | NE | 82 | 52 | 21 | 9 | 314 | 211 | 113 |
| 2 | Y- Carolina Hurricanes | SE | 82 | 52 | 22 | 8 | 294 | 260 | 112 |
| 3 | Y- New Jersey Devils | AT | 82 | 46 | 27 | 9 | 242 | 229 | 101 |
| 4 | X- Buffalo Sabres | NE | 82 | 52 | 24 | 6 | 242 | 239 | 110 |
| 5 | X- Philadelphia Flyers | AT | 82 | 45 | 26 | 11 | 267 | 259 | 101 |
| 6 | X- New York Rangers | AT | 82 | 44 | 26 | 12 | 257 | 215 | 100 |
| 7 | X- Montreal Canadiens | NE | 82 | 42 | 31 | 9 | 243 | 247 | 93 |
| 8 | X- Tampa Bay Lightning | SE | 82 | 43 | 33 | 6 | 252 | 260 | 92 |
| 8.5 ||||||||||
| 9 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NE | 82 | 41 | 33 | 8 | 257 | 270 | 90 |
| 10 | Atlanta Thrashers | SE | 82 | 41 | 33 | 8 | 281 | 275 | 90 |
| 11 | Florida Panthers | SE | 82 | 37 | 34 | 11 | 240 | 257 | 85 |
| 12 | New York Islanders | AT | 82 | 36 | 40 | 6 | 230 | 278 | 78 |
| 13 | Boston Bruins | NE | 82 | 29 | 37 | 16 | 230 | 266 | 74 |
| 14 | Washington Capitals | SE | 82 | 29 | 41 | 12 | 237 | 306 | 70 |
| 15 | Pittsburgh Penguins | AT | 82 | 22 | 46 | 14 | 244 | 316 | 58 |
Divisions: AT – Atlantic, NE – Northeast, SE – Southeast
Z – Clinched Conference; Y – Clinched Division; X – Clinched Playoff spot

## Playoffs

The Ottawa Senators ended the 2005–06 regular season as the Eastern Conference's first seed, qualifying for the playoffs for the ninth time in the franchise's 13 seasons of play.
Ray Emery took over the starting goaltender duties; he became the first rookie netminder since Philadelphia's Brian Boucher in 2000 to win a playoff series when the Senators defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs, four games to one. The Senators were then defeated by the Buffalo Sabres in the second round, four games to one.
After the playoff loss, Senators owner Eugene Melnyk comforted fans in an open letter by saying that their team would not only win the Stanley Cup in the future but, once they had it, they would, he boasted, "hoard" it year after year.

## Schedule and results
### Regular season

2005–06 regular season :
October: 8–2–0 (home: 4–1–0; road: 4–1–0)
GameDateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionAttendanceRecordPointsRecap
1October 5Ottawa3–2Toronto Maple LeafsSOHasek19,4521–0–02Recap
2October 8Buffalo Sabres0–5OttawaHasek19,6612–0–04Recap
3October 10Toronto Maple Leafs5–6OttawaSOHasek18,6803–0–06Recap
4October 11Ottawa4–2Montreal CanadiensEmery21,2734–0–08Recap
5October 15Boston Bruins1–5OttawaHasek19,3795–0–010Recap
6October 21Ottawa4–1Tampa Bay LightningHasek20,4946–0–012Recap
7October 24Ottawa2–3Carolina HurricanesHasek12,1166–1–012Recap
8October 27Montreal Canadiens3–4OttawaOTEmery18,8407–1–014Recap
9October 29Ottawa8–0Toronto Maple LeafsHasek19,4808–1–016Recap
10October 30Philadelphia Flyers5–3OttawaHasek19,3358–2–016Recap :
November: 11–1–0 (home: 7–1–0; road: 4–0–0)
GameDateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionAttendanceRecordPointsRecap
11November 2Ottawa10–4Buffalo SabresEmery13,9059–2–018Recap
12November 3Tampa Bay Lightning4–2OttawaHasek18,60410–2–020Recap
13November 5New York Islanders0-6OttawaHasek19,77611–2–022Recap
14November 10Ottawa5–2Boston BruinsHasek17,15912–2–024Recap
15November 12Buffalo Sabres1–6OttawaEmery19,41413–2–026Recap
16November 15Carolina Hurricanes2–1OttawaHasek19,54413–3–026Recap
17November 17Florida Panthers1–4OttawaHasek18,65014–3–028Recap
18November 19New Jersey Devils4–5OttawaEmery19,53415–3–030Recap
19November 22Ottawa5–3Carolina HurricanesHasek13,42716–3–032Recap
20November 25Ottawa6–2New York IslandersHasek15,56417–3–035Recap
21November 26Boston Bruins2–4OttawaHasek19,69118–3–036Recap
22November 29Montreal Canadiens0–4OttawaEmery19,85819–3–038Recap :
December: 8–3–3 (home: 5–1–0; road: 3–2–3)
GameDateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionAttendanceRecordPointsRecap
23December 1Ottawa0–3Boston BruinsHasek15,63919–4–038Recap
24December 2Los Angeles Kings1–5OttawaHasek19,67120–4–040Recap
25December 5Ottawa6–3Florida PanthersHasek10,88321–4–042Recap
26December 9Ottawa2–3Vancouver CanucksSOHasek18,63021–4–144Recap
27December 10Ottawa1–2Calgary FlamesOTEmery19,28921–4–244Recap
28December 12Ottawa6–2Colorado AvalancheHasek18,00722–4–246Recap
29December 15Dallas Stars2–0OttawaEmery19,59822–5–246Recap
30December 17Toronto Maple Leafs2–8OttawaHasek19,93523–5–248Recap
31December 20Ottawa3–4Montreal CanadiensSOHasek21,27323–5–349Recap
32December 22Ottawa3–4Philadelphia FlyersHasek19,81723–6–349Recap
33December 23Ottawa4–2New York IslandersEmery11,42524–6–351Recap
34December 26New York Rangers2–6OttawaHasek19,80625–6–353Recap
35December 28Carolina Hurricanes2–6OttawaHasek20,05026–6–355Recap
36December 30New York Islanders3–4OttawaEmery20,05527–6–357Recap :
January: 7–5–1 (home: 4–2–1; road: 3–3–0)
GameDateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionAttendanceRecordPointsRecap
37January 2Ottawa3–8Atlanta ThrashersEmery12,53627–7–357Recap
38January 4Ottawa3–1Washington CapitalsHasek10,04728–7–359Recap
39January 5Ottawa2–4Boston BruinsHasek15,48128–8–359Recap
40January 7Ottawa1–4Montreal CanadiensHasek21,27328–9–359Recap
41January 10Phoenix Coyotes2–7OttawaHasek19,77329–9–361Recap
42January 12San Jose Sharks2–0OttawaHasek19,53829–10–361Recap
43January 14Ottawa5–3Edmonton OilersHasek16,83930–10–363Recap
44January 16Ottawa6–1Minnesota WildHasek18,56831–10–365Recap
45January 19Anaheim Ducks4–3OttawaSOHasek19,38731–10–466Recap
46January 21Toronto Maple Leafs0–7OttawaHasek20,09332–10–468Recap
47January 23Toronto Maple Leafs3–4OttawaHasek19,86533–10–470Recap
48January 26Montreal Canadiens0–3OttawaHasek19,90834–10–472Recap
49January 30Boston Bruins5–0OttawaEmery19,55134–11–472
Recap :
February: 3–3–1 (home: 2–1–0; road: 1–2–1)
GameDateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionAttendanceRecordPointsRecap
50February 1Ottawa3–5New Jersey DevilsHasek10,14234–12–472Recap
51February 2Ottawa7–2Pittsburgh PenguinsHasek14,71435–12–474Recap
52February 4Ottawa1–2Buffalo SabresSOHasek17,45135–12–575Recap
53February 6Pittsburgh Penguins2–5OttawaEmery19,87736–12–577Recap
54February 8Ottawa1–5New York RangersHasek18,20036–13–577Recap
55February 9Atlanta Thrashers2–1OttawaHasek19,60436–14–577Recap
56February 11Philadelphia Flyers2–3OttawaHasek19,83437–14–579Recap :
March: 12–2–2 (home: 5–0–1; road: 7–2–1)
GameDateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionAttendanceRecordPointsRecap
57March 1Ottawa4–3Pittsburgh PenguinsEmery14,02638–14–581Recap
58March 2Washington Capitals1–7OttawaEmery19,34639–14–583Recap
59March 4Ottawa4–2Toronto Maple LeafsEmery19,48640–14–585Recap
60March 6Ottawa4–0Tampa Bay LightningEmery19,85541–14–587Recap
61March 8Ottawa2–6Florida PanthersEmery15,19641–15–587Recap
62March 10Ottawa3–1Atlanta ThrashersEmery15,05742–15–589Recap
63March 12Ottawa5–2Washington CapitalsEmery15,74043–15–591Recap
64March 14Tampa Bay Lightning3–4OttawaEmery19,81044–15–593Recap
65March 16Ottawa2–3Boston BruinsSOEmery15,06644–15–694Recap
66March 18Buffalo Sabres2–4OttawaEmery19,94745–15–696Recap
67March 19Ottawa4–0New Jersey DevilsEmery14,68146–15–698Recap
68March 21Pittsburgh Penguins2–5OttawaEmery19,36047–15–6100Recap
69March 24Ottawa3–1Buffalo SabresEmery18,69048–15–6102Recap
70March 25Ottawa3–6Philadelphia FlyersEmery19,86948–16–6103Recap
71March 28New Jersey Devils3–2OttawaSOEmery18,66848–16–7103Recap
72March 30New York Rangers1–4OttawaEmery18,71049–16–7105
Recap :
April: 3–5–2 (home: 2–3–1; road: 1–2–1)
GameDateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionAttendanceRecordPointsRecap
73April 1Washington Capitals1–0OttawaEmery19,40349–17–7105Recap
74April 3Atlanta Thrashers4–6OttawaEmery18,74250–17–7107Recap
75April 5Ottawa4–5Buffalo SabresOTEmery17,62250–17–8108Recap
76April 6Montreal Canadiens5–3OttawaEmery19,92950–18–8108Recap
77April 8Buffalo Sabres6–2OttawaEmery19,57550–19–8108Recap
78April 10Ottawa2–3Montreal CanadiensEmery21,27350–20–8108Recap
79April 11Boston Bruins3–4OttawaOTMorrison18,27951–20–8110Recap
80April 13Florida Panthers5–4OttawaOTMorrison19,17351–20–9111Recap
81April 15Ottawa1–5Toronto Maple LeafsEmery19,41051–21–9111Recap
82April 18Ottawa5–1New York RangersEmery18,20052–21–9113Recap :
Legend:
  Win (2 points)
  Loss (0 points)
  Overtime/shootout loss (1 point) :

### Playoffs

2006 Stanley Cup playoffs :
Eastern Conference Quarterfinals vs. (8) Tampa Bay Lightning – Senators win 4–1
GameDateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionAttendanceSeriesRecap
1April 21Tampa Bay1–4OttawaEmery19,660Senators lead 1–0Recap
2April 23Tampa Bay4–3OttawaEmery19,745Series tied 1–1Recap
3April 25Ottawa8–4Tampa BayEmery20,815Senators lead 2–1Recap
4April 27Ottawa5–2Tampa BayEmery20,682Senators lead 3–1Recap
5April 29Tampa Bay2–3OttawaEmery20,004Senators win 4–1Recap :
Eastern Conference Semifinals vs. (4) Buffalo Sabres – Sabres win 4–1
GameDateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionAttendanceSeriesRecap
1May 5Buffalo7–6OttawaOTEmery19,544Sabres lead 1–0Recap
2May 8Buffalo2–1OttawaEmery19,816Sabres lead 2–0Recap
3May 10Ottawa2–3BuffaloOTEmery18,690Sabres lead 3–0Recap
4May 11Ottawa2–1BuffaloEmery18,690Sabres lead 3–1Recap
5May 13Buffalo3–2OttawaOTEmery20,024Sabres win 4–1Recap :
Legend:
  Win
  Loss :

## Player statistics
### Scoring

* Position abbreviations: C = Centre; D = Defence; G = Goaltender; LW = Left wing; RW = Right wing
* † = Joined team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, signing) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Senators only.
* ‡ = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Senators only.
| No. | Player | Pos | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs |
| No. | Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | PIM |
| 15 | Dany Heatley | LW | 82 | 50 | 53 | 103 | 29 | 86 | 10 | 3 | 9 | 12 | 1 | 11 |
| 11 | Daniel Alfredsson | RW | 77 | 43 | 60 | 103 | 29 | 50 | 10 | 2 | 8 | 10 | 2 | 4 |
| 19 | Jason Spezza | C | 68 | 19 | 71 | 90 | 23 | 33 | 10 | 5 | 9 | 14 | −1 | 2 |
| 27 | Peter Schaefer | LW | 82 | 20 | 30 | 50 | 16 | 40 | 10 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 2 | 14 |
| 6 | Wade Redden | D | 65 | 10 | 40 | 50 | 35 | 63 | 9 | 2 | 8 | 10 | −2 | 10 |
| 21 | Bryan Smolinski | C | 81 | 17 | 31 | 48 | 8 | 46 | 10 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 3 | 2 |
| 12 | Mike Fisher | C | 68 | 22 | 22 | 44 | 23 | 64 | 10 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 12 |
| 3 | Zdeno Chara | D | 71 | 16 | 27 | 43 | 17 | 135 | 10 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 23 |
| 14 | Andrej Meszaros | D | 82 | 10 | 29 | 39 | 34 | 61 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 18 |
| 2 | Brian Pothier | D | 77 | 5 | 30 | 35 | 29 | 59 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 2 |
| 20 | Antoine Vermette | C | 82 | 21 | 12 | 33 | 17 | 44 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 2 | −1 | 4 |
| 25 | Chris Neil | RW | 79 | 16 | 17 | 33 | 9 | 204 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 1 | −1 | 14 |
| 22 | Chris Kelly | C | 82 | 10 | 20 | 30 | 21 | 76 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −4 | 2 |
| 44 | Patrick Eaves | RW | 58 | 20 | 9 | 29 | 7 | 22 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 1 | −3 | 10 |
| 26 | Vaclav Varada | RW | 76 | 5 | 16 | 21 | 2 | 50 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 2 | −2 | 12 |
| 4 | Chris Phillips | D | 69 | 1 | 18 | 19 | 19 | 90 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 2 | −2 | 6 |
| 24 | Anton Volchenkov | D | 75 | 4 | 13 | 17 | 21 | 53 | 9 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 8 |
| 9 | Martin Havlat | RW | 18 | 9 | 7 | 16 | 6 | 4 | 10 | 7 | 6 | 13 | 0 | 4 |
| 10 | Brandon Bochenski‡ | RW | 20 | 6 | 7 | 13 | 7 | 14 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 5 | Christoph Schubert | D | 56 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 4 | 48 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 4 |
| 16 | Brian McGrattan | RW | 60 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 141 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 10 | Tyler Arnason† | C | 19 | 0 | 4 | 4 | −4 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 36 | Steve Martins | C | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 45 | Denis Hamel | LW | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1 | Ray Emery | G | 39 | 0 | 1 | 1 | | 2 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 1 | | 0 |
| 30 | Mike Morrison† | G | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 39 | Dominik Hasek | G | 43 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 16 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 42 | Tomas Malec | D | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 33 | Brad Norton† | D | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 31 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 17 | Filip Novak | D | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −2 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | — |

### Goaltending

* † = Joined team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, signing) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Senators only.
| No. | Player | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs |
| No. | Player | GP | W | L | OT | SA | GA | GAA | SV% | SO | TOI | GP | W | L | SA | GA | GAA | SV% | SO | TOI |
| 39 | Dominik Hasek | 43 | 28 | 10 | 4 | 1202 | 90 | 2.09 | .925 | 5 | 2584 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1 | Ray Emery | 39 | 23 | 11 | 4 | 1045 | 102 | 2.82 | .902 | 3 | 2168 | 10 | 5 | 5 | 289 | 29 | 2.88 | .900 | 0 | 604 |
| 30 | Mike Morrison† | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 96 | 12 | 3.48 | .875 | 0 | 207 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |

## Awards and records
### Awards

| Type | Award/honour | Recipient |
| League (annual) | NHL All-Rookie Team | Andrej Meszaros (Defence) |
| League (annual) | NHL Second All-Star Team | Daniel Alfredsson (Right wing) |
| League (annual) | NHL Second All-Star Team | Zdeno Chara (Defence) |
| League (annual) | NHL Second All-Star Team | Dany Heatley (Left wing) |
| League (annual) | NHL Plus-Minus Award | Wade Redden |
| League (in-season) | NHL Defensive Player of the Month | Ray Emery (March) |
| League (in-season) | NHL Offensive Player of the Month | Daniel Alfredsson (November) |
| League (in-season) | NHL Offensive Player of the Week | Daniel Alfredsson (November 7) |
| League (in-season) | NHL Offensive Player of the Week | Jason Spezza (November 28) |
| League (in-season) | NHL Rookie of the Month | Ray Emery (March) |
| Team | Molson Cup | Daniel Alfredsson |

### Milestones

| Milestone | Player | Date |
| First game | Brandon Bochenski | October 5, 2005 |
| First game | Brian McGrattan | October 5, 2005 |
| First game | Andrej Meszaros | October 5, 2005 |
| First game | Patrick Eaves | October 11, 2005 |
| First game | Christoph Schubert | October 29, 2005 |
| First game | Filip Novak | March 24, 2006 |

## Transactions

The Senators were involved in the following transactions from February 17, 2005, the day after the 2004–05 NHL season was officially cancelled, through June 19, 2006, the day of the deciding game of the 2006 Stanley Cup Finals.

### Trades

| Date | Details | Details |
| July 30, 2005 (2005-07-30) | To Minnesota Wild Todd White | To Ottawa Senators 4th-round pick in 2005 |
| August 23, 2005 (2005-08-23) | To Atlanta Thrashers Greg de VriesMarian Hossa | To Ottawa Senators Dany Heatley |
| October 5, 2005 (2005-10-05) | To Florida Panthers Conditional 6th-round pick in 2007 | To Ottawa Senators Filip Novak |
| March 9, 2006 (2006-03-09) | To Chicago Blackhawks Brandon Bochenski2nd-round pick in 2006 | To Ottawa Senators Tyler Arnason |
| May 26, 2006 (2006-05-26) | To Boston Bruins Peter Chiarelli | To Ottawa Senators 3rd-round pick in 2006 |

### Players acquired

| Date | Player | Former team | Term | Via |
| August 19, 2005 (2005-08-19) | Brett Clouthier | New Jersey Devils | 1-year | Free agency |
| August 19, 2005 (2005-08-19) | Tomas Malec | Anaheim Mighty Ducks | 1-year | Free agency |
| August 19, 2005 (2005-08-19) | Steve Martins | JYP (Liiga) | 1-year | Free agency |
| August 26, 2005 (2005-08-26) | Jeff Heerema | Vancouver Canucks | 1-year | Free agency |
| August 26, 2005 (2005-08-26) | Lance Ward | Anaheim Mighty Ducks | 1-year | Free agency |
| September 17, 2005 (2005-09-17) | Joe Cullen | Edmonton Oilers | 1-year | Free agency |
| September 30, 2005 (2005-09-30) | Brennan Evans | Calgary Flames | 1-year | Free agency |
| March 8, 2006 (2006-03-08) | Brad Norton | Binghamton Senators (AHL) | 1-year | Free agency |
| March 9, 2006 (2006-03-09) | Mike Morrison | Edmonton Oilers | | Waivers |

### Players lost

| Date | Player | New team | Via |
| July 22, 2005 (2005-07-22) | Jesse Fibiger | Grizzlys Wolfsburg (ESBG) | Free agency (VI) |
| August 4, 2005 (2005-08-04) | Martin Prusek | Columbus Blue Jackets | Free agency (UFA) |
| August 12, 2005 (2005-08-12) | Andy Hedlund | Krefeld Pinguine (DEL) | Free agency (II) |
| August 22, 2005 (2005-08-22) | Pat Kavanagh | Philadelphia Flyers | Free agency (VI) |
| September 12, 2005 (2005-09-12) | Josh Langfeld | San Jose Sharks | Free agency (UFA) |
| May 12, 2006 (2006-05-12) | Jan Platil | Lukko (Liiga) | Free agency |
| June 5, 2006 (2006-06-05) | Lance Ward | HV71 (SHL) | Free agency |

### Signings

| Date | Player | Term | Contract type |
| July 27, 2005 (2005-07-27) | Dominik Hasek | 1-year | Option exercised |
| August 2, 2005 (2005-08-02) | Denis Hamel | 2-year | Re-signing |
| August 10, 2005 (2005-08-10) | Mike Fisher | 3-year | Re-signing |
| August 10, 2005 (2005-08-10) | Martin Havlat | 1-year | Re-signing |
| August 11, 2005 (2005-08-11) | Ray Emery | 1-year | Re-signing |
| August 12, 2005 (2005-08-12) | Chris Neil | 1-year | Re-signing |
| August 12, 2005 (2005-08-12) | Christoph Schubert | 1-year | Re-signing |
| August 12, 2005 (2005-08-12) | Jason Spezza | 1-year | Re-signing |
| August 12, 2005 (2005-08-12) | Antoine Vermette | 1-year | Re-signing |
| August 12, 2005 (2005-08-12) | Anton Volchenkov | 2-year | Re-signing |
| August 16, 2005 (2005-08-16) | Chris Kelly | 1-year | Re-signing |
| August 16, 2005 (2005-08-16) | Brian McGrattan | 1-year | Re-signing |
| August 22, 2005 (2005-08-22) | Patrick Eaves | 3-year | Entry-level |
| August 23, 2005 (2005-08-23) | Dany Heatley | 3-year | Re-signing |
| August 23, 2005 (2005-08-23) | Marian Hossa | 3-year | Re-signing |
| August 25, 2005 (2005-08-25) | Andrej Meszaros | 3-year | Entry-level |
| September 16, 2005 (2005-09-16) | Jeff Glass | 3-year | Entry-level |
| September 17, 2005 (2005-09-17) | Charlie Stephens | 1-year | Re-signing |
| June 5, 2006 (2006-06-05) | Cody Bass | multi-year | Entry-level |
| June 5, 2006 (2006-06-05) | Arttu Luttinen | multi-year | Entry-level |
| June 19, 2006 (2006-06-19) | Andy Hedlund | 1-year | Re-signing |
| June 19, 2006 (2006-06-19) | Brian McGrattan | 2-year | Re-signing |

## Draft picks

Ottawa's picks at the 2005 NHL entry draft in Ottawa, Ontario.
| Round | # | Player | Nationality | NHL team | College/Junior/Club team (League) |
| 1 | 9 | Brian Lee (D) | United States | Ottawa Senators | Moorhead High School (USHS-MN) |
| 3 | 70 | Vitali Anikienko (D) | Russia | Ottawa Senators | Lokomotiv Yaroslavl (RSL) |
| 4 | 95 | Cody Bass (C) | Canada | Ottawa Senators (from Colorado Avalanche) | Mississauga IceDogs (OHL) |
| 4 | 98 | Ilya Zubov (C) | Russia | Ottawa Senators (from St. Louis) | Chelyabinsk (Russia) |
| 4 | 115 | Janne Kolehmainen (LW) | Finland | Ottawa Senators | SaiPa (SM-liiga) |
| 5 | 136 | Tomas Kudelka (D) | Czech Republic | Ottawa Senators | HC Zlín Jr. (Czech Jr.) |
| 6 | 186 | Dmitri Megalinsky | Russia | Ottawa Senators | Lokomotiv Yaroslavl (RSL) |
| 7 | 204 | Colin Greening | Canada | Ottawa Senators | Upper Canada College (CCL) |

## Farm teams

* Binghamton Senators (American Hockey League)
* Charlotte Checkers (ECHL)