2023–24 Ottawa Senators season

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 for the seventh straight season after losing 4–3 to the New Jersey Devils on April 6, 2024 at the 76th game of the season. This was the Senators' first season under the new ownership of Michael Andlauer.
==Off-season==
The biggest change for the Senators was the change in ownership, from the estate of the late Eugene Melnyk to the ownership of a group of investors led by Michael Andlauer. The change became official in September 2023. Andlauer made changes in the executive staff, bringing back founder Cyril Leeder as CEO and club president, and Steve Staios as president of hockey operations.
On the ice, the team traded Alex DeBrincat to the Detroit Red Wings, in return for Dominik Kubalik, prospect Donovan Sebrango and two draft picks. In free agency, the Senators picked up goaltender Joonas Korpisalo, and forwards Vladimir Tarasenko 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 (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 to the Vegas Golden Knights when he was traded to the Knights. The list came to light when the Knights attempted to trade Dadonov to the Anaheim Ducks, 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 at the Avicii Arena on November 16 and 18 as part of the NHL Global Series.
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 replaced Payne as assistant coach. Changes continued as Staios was named permanent general manager, the team added Dave Poulin 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.
==Standings==
===Divisional standings===
===Conference standings===
==Schedule and results==
===Preseason===
The pre-season schedule was published on June 23, 2023.
2023 preseason game log: 6–2–0 (home: 3–1–0; road: 3–1–0)	2023 preseason game log: 6–2–0 (home: 3–1–0; road: 3–1–0)	2023 preseason game log: 6–2–0 (home: 3–1–0; road: 3–1–0)	2023 preseason game log: 6–2–0 (home: 3–1–0; road: 3–1–0)	2023 preseason game log: 6–2–0 (home: 3–1–0; road: 3–1–0)	2023 preseason game log: 6–2–0 (home: 3–1–0; road: 3–1–0)	2023 preseason game log: 6–2–0 (home: 3–1–0; road: 3–1–0)	2023 preseason game log: 6–2–0 (home: 3–1–0; road: 3–1–0)	2023 preseason game log: 6–2–0 (home: 3–1–0; road: 3–1–0)	2023 preseason game log: 6–2–0 (home: 3–1–0; road: 3–1–0)
# 	Date 	Visitor 	Score 	Home 	OT 	Decision 	Attendance 	Record 	Recap
1 	September 24 	Toronto 	2–3 	Ottawa 	 	Forsberg 	15,013 	1–0–0 	
2 	September 25 	Ottawa 	4–3 	Toronto 	OT 	Sogaard 	14,296 	2–0–0 	
3 	September 27 	Ottawa 	3–4 	Montreal 	 	Korpisalo 	20,225 	2–1–0 	
4 	September 29 	Winnipeg 	1–3 	Ottawa 	 	Mandolese 	12,276 	3–1–0 	
5 	October 1 	Florida 	2–4 	Ottawa 	 	Forsberg 	4,926 	4–1–0 	
6 	October 2 	Ottawa 	3–0 	Pittsburgh 	 	Korpisalo 	10,595 	5–1–0 	
7 	October 5 	Ottawa 	3–0 	Winnipeg 	 	Forsberg 	13,601 	6–1–0 	
8 	October 7 	Montreal 	6–4 	Ottawa 	 	Sogaard 	17,601 	6–2–0 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
===Regular season===
The Ottawa Senators regular season schedule was released on June 27, 2023.
2023–24 game log 	2023–24 game log 	2023–24 game log 	2023–24 game log 	2023–24 game log 	2023–24 game log 	2023–24 game log 	2023–24 game log 	2023–24 game log 	2023–24 game log 	2023–24 game log
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October: 4–4–0 (home: 3–2–0; road: 1–2–0)	October: 4–4–0 (home: 3–2–0; road: 1–2–0)	October: 4–4–0 (home: 3–2–0; road: 1–2–0)	October: 4–4–0 (home: 3–2–0; road: 1–2–0)	October: 4–4–0 (home: 3–2–0; road: 1–2–0)	October: 4–4–0 (home: 3–2–0; road: 1–2–0)	October: 4–4–0 (home: 3–2–0; road: 1–2–0)	October: 4–4–0 (home: 3–2–0; road: 1–2–0)	October: 4–4–0 (home: 3–2–0; road: 1–2–0)	October: 4–4–0 (home: 3–2–0; road: 1–2–0)	October: 4–4–0 (home: 3–2–0; road: 1–2–0)
# 	Date 	Visitor 	Score 	Home 	OT 	Decision 	Attendance 	Record 	Pts 	Recap
1 	October 11 	Ottawa 	3–5 	Carolina 	 	Korpisalo 	18,893 	0–1–0 	0 	
2 	October 14 	Philadelphia 	2–5 	Ottawa 	 	Forsberg 	20,011 	1–1–0 	2 	
3 	October 15 	Tampa Bay 	2–5 	Ottawa 	 	Korpisalo 	15,584 	2–1–0 	4 	
4 	October 18 	Washington 	1–6 	Ottawa 	 	Forsberg 	15,021 	3–1–0 	6 	
5 	October 21 	Detroit 	5–2 	Ottawa 	 	Korpisalo 	18,834 	3–2–0 	6 	
6 	October 24 	Buffalo 	6–4 	Ottawa 	 	Forsberg 	14,278 	3–3–0 	6 	
7 	October 26 	Ottawa 	2–3 	NY Islanders 	 	Korpisalo 	14,911 	3–4–0 	6 	
8 	October 28 	Ottawa 	5–2 	Pittsburgh 	 	Korpisalo 	17,631 	4–4–0 	8 	
==Players statistics==
Final statistics
===Skaters===
Regular season
Player	 	 	 	 	 	
 	81	37	37	74	+1 	134
 	75	18	52	70	−17	28
 	82	28	38	66	−9 	42
 	82	21	43	64	−14	26
‡ 	57	17	24	41	+13	12
 	82	14	27	41	−30	60
 	79	10	28	38	+8 	23
 	72	11	24	35	−4 	51
 	50	16	14	30	−6 	22
 	51	9 	21	30	−3 	22
 	41	9 	18	27	+9 	14
 	72	13	13	26	+11	66
 	69	5 	20	25	+5 	32
 	76	3 	17	20	+5 	36
 	80	8 	10	18	−8 	30
 	74	11	4 	15	−30	19
 	72	4 	10	14	−7 	25
 	63	5 	5 	10	−5 	63
 	48	2 	4 	6 	−10	40
† 	21	2 	2 	4 	−4 	0
 	37	2 	1 	3 	−4 	14
 	30	2 	1 	3 	−4 	57
 	13	2 	1 	3 	−3 	4
 	20	1 	1 	2 	−6 	4
 	7 	0 	2 	2 	0 	0
 	7 	0 	1 	1 	−5 	4
 	9 	0 	1 	1 	−1 	2
 	7 	0 	0 	0 	−1 	2
 	7 	0 	0 	0 	−1 	0
 	6 	0 	0 	0 	+1 	7
 	4 	0 	0 	0 	+1 	0
===Goaltenders===
Regular season
Player	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	55	49	3080:28	21	26	4	168	3.27	1522	.890	0	0	1	0
 	30	28	1569:09	15	12	0	84 	3.21	766 	.890	2	0	1	2
 	6 	5 	281:34 	1 	3 	0	19 	4.05	135 	.859	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 the Senators.
==Roster==
==Awards and milestones==
===Milestones===
Player 	Milestone 	Date 	Ref.
Parker Kelly 	100th NHL game 	October 15, 2023 	
Drake Batherson 	100th NHL assist 	October 24, 2023 	
Travis Hamonic 	800th NHL game 	October 26, 2023 	
Rourke Chartier 	1st NHL assist 	October 26, 2023 	
Nikolas Matinpalo 	1st NHL game 	October 28, 2023 	
Roby Jarventie 	1st NHL game 	November 4, 2023 	
Josh Norris 	100th NHL point 	November 4, 2023 	
Roby Jarventie 	1st NHL assist1st NHL point	November 8, 2023 	
Mathieu Joseph 	300th NHL game 	November 9, 2023 	
Jakob Chychrun 	400th NHL game 	November 18, 2023	
Erik Brannstrom 	200th NHL game 	November 18, 2023	
Dominik Kubalik 	300th NHL game 	November 27, 2023	
Tim Stuetzle 	200th NHL point 	December 2, 2023 	
Jacob Bernard-Docker	1st NHL goal 	December 7, 2023 	
Jiri Smejkal 	1st NHL game 	December 9, 2023 	
Joonas Korpisalo 	100th NHL win 	December 9, 2023 	
Jake Sanderson 	100th NHL game 	December 12, 2023	
Artem Zub 	200th NHL game 	December 17, 2023	
Angus Crookshank 	1st NHL game 	December 17, 2023	
Vladimir Tarasenko 	700th NHL game 	December 19, 2023	
Angus Crookshank 	1st NHL goal1st NHL point 	December 19, 2023	
Jiri Smejkal 	1st NHL assist1st NHL point	December 21, 2023	
Brady Tkachuk 	300th NHL point 	December 27, 2023	
Angus Crookshank 	1st NHL assist 	December 29, 2023	
Jakob Chychrun 	200th NHL point 	December 31, 2023	
Mark Kastelic 	100th NHL game 	January 2, 2024 	
Zack MacEwen 	200th NHL game 	January 2, 2024 	
Vladimir Tarasenko 	600th NHL point 	January 11, 2024 	
Thomas Chabot 	400th NHL game 	January 20, 2024 	
Brady Tkachuk 	400th NHL game 	January 20, 2024 	
Shane Pinto 	100th NHL game 	January 21, 2024 	
Claude Giroux 	700th NHL assist 	January 27, 2024 	
Drake Batherson 	200th NHL point 	February 22, 2024	
Zack Ostapchuk 	1st NHL game 	March 12, 2024 	
Drake Batherson 	300th NHL game 	March 30, 2024 	
Jacob Bernard-Docker	100th NHL game 	April 9, 2024 	
Jiri Smejkal 	1st NHL goal 	April 16, 2024 	
==Transactions==
The Senators have been involved in the following transactions during the 2023–24 season.
===Trades===
Date	Details 	Details 	Ref
 	To Detroit Red WingsAlex DeBrincat 	To Ottawa SenatorsDominik KubalikDonovan SebrangoConditional 1st-round pick in 202414th-round pick in 2024	
 	To Florida PanthersVladimir Tarasenko 	To Ottawa SenatorsConditional 4th-round pick in 202423rd-round pick in 2025 	
 	To Winnipeg JetsFuture considerations 	To Ottawa SenatorsWyatt Bongiovanni 	
 	To Carolina Hurricanes6th-round pick in 2024	To Ottawa SenatorsJamieson Rees 	
====Notes====
# The Ottawa Senators will receive either the 2024 1st-round pick of the Boston Bruins or the Detroit Red Wings. However, if the Bruins' pick is in the top 10, the Bruins will send their 2025 1st-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 4th-round pick in 2024 becomes a 2026 3rd-round pick if the Florida Panthers win the 2024 Stanley Cup.
===Players acquired===
Date	Player 	Former team 	Term 	Via 	Ref
 	Josh Currie 	Metallurg Magnitogorsk (KHL)	1-year	Free agency	
 	Matthew Highmore 	St. Louis Blues 	1-year	Free agency	
 	Bokondji Imama 	Arizona Coyotes 	1-year	Free agency	
 	Joonas Korpisalo 	Los Angeles Kings 	5-year	Free agency	
 	Garrett Pilon 	Washington Capitals 	1-year	Free agency	
 	Zack MacEwen 	Los Angeles Kings 	3-year	Free agency	
 	Vladimir Tarasenko	New York Rangers 	1-year	Free agency	
 	Lassi Thomson 	Anaheim Ducks 	 	Waivers 	
 	Boris Katchouk 	Chicago Blackhawks 	 	Waivers 	
===Players lost===
Date	Player 	New team 	Term 	Via 	Ref
 	Patrick Brown 	Boston Bruins 	2-year	Free-agency	
 	Jake Lucchini 	Minnesota Wild 	1-year	Free-agency	
 	Cam Talbot 	Los Angeles Kings 	1-year	Free-agency	
 	Scott Sabourin 	San Jose Sharks 	2-year	Free agency	
 	Dylan Gambrell 	Toronto Maple Leafs	1-year	Free agency	
 	Julien Gauthier	New York Islanders 	2-year	Free agency	
 	Antoine Bibeau 	AIK IF (HA) 	1-year	Free agency	
 	Dylan Ferguson 	Dinamo Minsk (KHL) 	N/A 	Free agency	
 	Nick Holden 	 	 	Retirement 	
 	Lassi Thomson 	Anaheim Ducks 	 	Waivers 	
 	Austin Watson 	Tampa Bay Lightning	1-year	Free-agency	
===Player signings===
Date	Player 	Term 	Ref
 	Jacob Bernard-Docker	2-year	
 	Erik Brannstrom 	1-year	
 	Rourke Chartier 	1-year	
 	Travis Hamonic 	2-year	
 	Kevin Mandolese 	1-year	
 	Jake Sanderson 	8-year	
 	Egor Sokolov 	1-year	
 	Djibril Toure 	3-year	
 	Shane Pinto 	1-year	
 	Stephen Halliday 	2-year	
====Key====
 Contract is entry-level.
 Contract initially takes effect in the 2024–25 season.
==Draft picks==
The 2023 NHL Entry Draft was held June 28–29, 2023 in Nashville, 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.
Round	Overall	Player 	Position	Nationality	Club team
4 	108 	Hoyt Stanley 	D 	 	Victoria Grizzlies (BCHL)
5 	140 	Matthew Andonovski 	D 	 	Kitchener Rangers (OHL)
7 	204 	Owen Beckner 	C 	 	Salmon Arm Silverbacks (BCHL)
7 	207 	Vladimir Nikitin 	G 	 	Snezhnye Barsy (PHL)
7 	215 	Nicholas Vantassell	C 	 	Green Bay Gamblers (USHL)
==References==
Category:Ottawa Senators seasons
Ottawa
Senators