2019–20 Ottawa Senators season

The 2019–20 Ottawa Senators season was the 28th season of the Ottawa Senators of the National Hockey League (NHL). The Senators attempted to return to the playoffs after missing the playoffs in the past two seasons.
The season was suspended by the league officials on March 12, 2020, after several other professional and collegiate sports organizations followed suit as a result of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. On May 26, the NHL regular season was officially declared over with the remaining games being cancelled and the Senators missed the playoffs for the third straight year.
==Team business==
On October 5, 2019, the Senators announced that Chris Phillips would have his jersey number (#4) retired by the team on February 18, 2020. He is the third Senators' player to have their jersey retired by the franchise, the others being Daniel Alfredsson's #11, and original Senator Frank Finnigan's #8.
The team named a new CEO in January 2020. The team had operated without a permanent one since 2018. Owner Eugene Melnyk had temporarily filled the post. The team named Jim Little who had served as executive VP and chief marketing and culture officer with Shaw Communications. Little was given the priority to repair community relations and boost ticket attendance among other business issues. Less than two months later, the Senators dismissed Little on March 4, 2020, and promised to announce a new CEO within a few weeks's time.
==Off-season==
In May 2019, the Ottawa Senators announced that D. J. Smith agreed to a three-year contract to be the team's head coach. The team filled out the coaching staff by hiring associate coach Jack Capuano, assistant coach Davis Payne, assistant coach Bob Jones and video coach Mike King. Capuano and Payne are both former head coaches in the NHL. Goaltending coach Pierre Groulx was retained from the previous staff.
==Regular season==
The Senators started their season with a 5–3 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs on October 2. Scott Sabourin scored a goal in his NHL debut during the season opener.
Veteran player Bobby Ryan missed approximately three months while attending an NHL player assistance program. It was later revealed by Ryan that he had entered the program due to ongoing struggles with alcohol abuse. He would return to NHL action on February 25 in an away game versus the Nashville Predators. In his first post-rehab home game on February 27, Ryan made headlines by scoring his fifth career hat trick.
At the trade deadline in February 2020, the club continued to build for the future, trading away Dylan DeMelo, Jean-Gabriel Pageau, Vladislav Namestnikov and Tyler Ennis for draft picks. All were pending unrestricted free agents. After the trades, the Senators hold a total of 13 2020 NHL Entry Draft draft picks, including three in the first round and four in the second round.
The season was suspended by the NHL on March 12, 2020, after several other professional and collegiate sports organizations followed suit as a result of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. On March 17, it was announced that an unnamed Senators player had tested positive for the virus, the first case identified among NHL players. The team announced on March 21 that a second player has also tested positive.
==Standings==
===Divisional standings===
===Eastern Conference===
==Schedule and results==
===Pre-season===
The pre-season schedule was published on June 18, 2019.
2019 pre-season game log: 3–2–1 (Home: 1–1–0 ; Road: 2–1–1)	2019 pre-season game log: 3–2–1 (Home: 1–1–0 ; Road: 2–1–1)	2019 pre-season game log: 3–2–1 (Home: 1–1–0 ; Road: 2–1–1)	2019 pre-season game log: 3–2–1 (Home: 1–1–0 ; Road: 2–1–1)	2019 pre-season game log: 3–2–1 (Home: 1–1–0 ; Road: 2–1–1)	2019 pre-season game log: 3–2–1 (Home: 1–1–0 ; Road: 2–1–1)	2019 pre-season game log: 3–2–1 (Home: 1–1–0 ; Road: 2–1–1)	2019 pre-season game log: 3–2–1 (Home: 1–1–0 ; Road: 2–1–1)	2019 pre-season game log: 3–2–1 (Home: 1–1–0 ; Road: 2–1–1)	2019 pre-season game log: 3–2–1 (Home: 1–1–0 ; Road: 2–1–1)
# 	Date 	Visitor 	Score 	Home 	OT 	Decision 	Attendance 	Record 	Recap
1 	September 17 	Ottawa 	3–1 	Toronto 	 	Hogberg 	— 	1–0–0 	Recap
2 	September 18 	Toronto 	3–4 	Ottawa 	 	Gustavsson 	11,531 	2–0–0 	Recap
3 	September 21 	Montreal 	4–0 	Ottawa 	 	Anderson 	11,185 	2–1–0 	Recap
4 	September 23 	Ottawa 	4–6 	Vancouver 	 	Nilsson 	7,046 	2–2–0 	Recap
5 	September 25 	Ottawa 	6–2 	Vancouver 	 	Anderson 	18,781 	3–2–0 	Recap
6 	September 28 	Ottawa 	3–4 	Montreal 	OT 	Nilsson 	20,746 	3–2–1 	Recap
Notes:
 Game was played at Mile One Centre in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador.
 Game was played at Abbotsford Centre in Abbotsford, British Columbia.	
Notes:
 Game was played at Mile One Centre in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador.
 Game was played at Abbotsford Centre in Abbotsford, British Columbia.	
Notes:
 Game was played at Mile One Centre in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador.
 Game was played at Abbotsford Centre in Abbotsford, British Columbia.	
Notes:
 Game was played at Mile One Centre in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador.
 Game was played at Abbotsford Centre in Abbotsford, British Columbia.	
Notes:
 Game was played at Mile One Centre in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador.
 Game was played at Abbotsford Centre in Abbotsford, British Columbia.	
Notes:
 Game was played at Mile One Centre in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador.
 Game was played at Abbotsford Centre in Abbotsford, British Columbia.	
Notes:
 Game was played at Mile One Centre in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador.
 Game was played at Abbotsford Centre in Abbotsford, British Columbia.	
Notes:
 Game was played at Mile One Centre in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador.
 Game was played at Abbotsford Centre in Abbotsford, British Columbia.	
Notes:
 Game was played at Mile One Centre in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador.
 Game was played at Abbotsford Centre in Abbotsford, British Columbia.	
Notes:
 Game was played at Mile One Centre in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador.
 Game was played at Abbotsford Centre in Abbotsford, British Columbia.
===Regular season===
The regular season schedule was published on June 25, 2019.
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October: 3–7–1 (Home: 3–4–0 ; Road: 0–3–1)	October: 3–7–1 (Home: 3–4–0 ; Road: 0–3–1)	October: 3–7–1 (Home: 3–4–0 ; Road: 0–3–1)	October: 3–7–1 (Home: 3–4–0 ; Road: 0–3–1)	October: 3–7–1 (Home: 3–4–0 ; Road: 0–3–1)	October: 3–7–1 (Home: 3–4–0 ; Road: 0–3–1)	October: 3–7–1 (Home: 3–4–0 ; Road: 0–3–1)	October: 3–7–1 (Home: 3–4–0 ; Road: 0–3–1)	October: 3–7–1 (Home: 3–4–0 ; Road: 0–3–1)	October: 3–7–1 (Home: 3–4–0 ; Road: 0–3–1)	October: 3–7–1 (Home: 3–4–0 ; Road: 0–3–1)
# 	Date 	Visitor 	Score 	Home 	OT 	Decision 	Attendance 	Record 	Pts 	Recap
1 	October 2 	Ottawa 	3–5 	Toronto 	 	Anderson 	19,612 	0–1–0 	0 	Recap
2 	October 5 	NY Rangers 	4–1 	Ottawa 	 	Anderson 	15,135 	0–2–0 	0 	Recap
3 	October 10 	St. Louis 	6–4 	Ottawa 	 	Nilsson 	9,204 	0–3–0 	0 	Recap
4 	October 12 	Tampa Bay 	2–4 	Ottawa 	 	Anderson 	11,023 	1–3–0 	2 	Recap
5 	October 14 	Minnesota 	2–0 	Ottawa 	 	Anderson 	11,500 	1–4–0 	2 	Recap
6 	October 17 	Ottawa 	2–3 	Vegas 	SO 	Nilsson 	18,171 	1–4–1 	3 	Recap
7 	October 19 	Ottawa 	2–5 	Arizona 	 	Anderson 	17,125 	1–5–1 	3 	Recap
8 	October 21 	Ottawa 	1–2 	Dallas 	 	Nilsson 	17,896 	1–6–1 	3 	Recap
9 	October 23 	Detroit 	2–5 	Ottawa 	 	Nilsson 	11,026 	2–6–1 	5 	Recap
10 	October 25 	NY Islanders 	4–2 	Ottawa 	 	Nilsson 	11,189 	2–7–1 	5 	Recap
11 	October 27 	San Jose 	2–5 	Ottawa 	 	Anderson 	9,740 	3–7–1 	7 	Recap
==Players==
===Statistics===
====Skaters====
Regular season
Player	 	 	 	 	 	
 	71	21	23	44	−14	106
 	71	16	27	43	−6 	24
‡ 	60	24	16	40	10 	32
 	66	23	17	40	−5 	18
 	71	6 	33	39	−18	42
 	71	11	26	37	−6 	20
‡ 	61	14	19	33	−5 	16
†‡ 	54	13	12	25	−5 	35
 	61	7 	16	23	−12	39
 	49	15	5 	20	−15	8
 	56	9 	11	20	0 	24
 	53	7 	11	18	1 	58
 	58	1 	11	12	−8 	22
† 	30	1 	11	12	−8 	18
 	64	1 	11	12	10 	12
 	23	3 	7 	10	−12	13
‡ 	49	0 	10	10	3 	31
 	24	5 	3 	8 	3 	22
 	23	1 	7 	8 	0 	4
† 	11	2 	5 	7 	2 	8
 	31	3 	3 	6 	−7 	10
 	35	2 	4 	6 	−6 	33
 	20	2 	2 	4 	−1 	0
 	31	0 	4 	4 	−9 	16
 	15	1 	2 	3 	−2 	0
 	24	0 	3 	3 	−8 	12
 	13	0 	3 	3 	−2 	6
‡ 	24	1 	1 	2 	−2 	8
† 	9 	0 	2 	2 	−2 	0
 	2 	1 	0 	1 	0 	2
 	6 	0 	1 	1 	0 	0
 	22	0 	1 	1 	−4 	7
 	3 	0 	0 	0 	0 	2
 	6 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	3 	0 	0 	0 	2 	0
‡ 	4 	0 	0 	0 	−2 	0
 	3 	0 	0 	0 	1 	0
====Goaltenders====
Regular season
Player	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	34	31	1,845:11	11	17	2	100	3.25	1,018	.902	0	0	1	0
 	20	19	1,093:16	9 	9 	2	58 	3.18	628 	.908	0	0	0	0
 	24	21	1,344:33	5 	8 	8	70 	3.12	728 	.904	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 and honours===
Player 	Award 	Date
Anders Nilsson	NHL 1st Star of Week	November 11, 2019
====Milestones====
Player 	Milestone 	Date
Scott Sabourin 	1st career NHL game1st career NHL goal1st career NHL point	October 2, 2019
Connor Brown 	100th career NHL point 	October 2, 2019
Vitalii Abramov 	1st career NHL goal1st career NHL point 	October 10, 2019
Scott Sabourin 	1st career NHL assist 	October 10, 2019
Ron Hainsey 	300th career NHL point 	October 12, 2019
Bobby Ryan 	300th career NHL assist 	October 12, 2019
J. C. Beaudin 	1st career NHL game 	October 23, 2019
Jonathan Davidsson	1st career NHL game 	November 7, 2019
J. C. Beaudin 	1st career NHL assist1st career NHL point 	November 9, 2019
Jonathan Davidsson	1st career NHL assist1st career NHL point 	November 9, 2019
Brady Tkachuk 	100th career NHL game 	December 5, 2019
Craig Anderson 	200th win as Ottawa Senator 	February 18, 2020
==Transactions==
The Senators have been involved in the following transactions during the 2019–20 season.
===Trades===
Date	Details 	Details 	Ref
 	To Toronto Maple LeafsCody CeciBen HarpurAaron LuchukCBJ's 3rd-round pick in 2020	To Ottawa SenatorsConnor BrownMichael CarconeNikita Zaitsev 	
 	To Chicago BlackhawksZack Smith 	To Ottawa SenatorsArtem Anisimov 	
 	To Tampa Bay LightningMike Condon6th-round pick in 2020 	To Ottawa SenatorsRyan Callahan5th-round pick in 2020 	
 	To New York RangersNick Ebert4th-round pick in 2021 	To Ottawa SenatorsVladislav Namestnikov 	
 	To Florida PanthersJack Rodewald 	To Ottawa SenatorsChris Wilkie 	
 	To Montreal CanadiensAndrew Sturtz5th-round pick in 2021 	To Ottawa SenatorsMike Reilly 	
 	To Winnipeg JetsDylan DeMelo 	To Ottawa Senators3rd-round pick in 2020 	
 	To Toronto Maple LeafsMax Veronneau 	To Ottawa SenatorsAaron Luchukconditional 6th-round pick in 2021 	
 	To New York IslandersJean-Gabriel Pageau 	To Ottawa Senators1st-round pick in 2020 or 20212nd-round pick in 2020conditional 3rd-round pick in 2021	
 	To Colorado AvalancheVladislav Namestnikov 	To Ottawa Senators4th-round pick in 2021 	
 	To Montreal CanadiensAaron Luchuk7th-round pick in 2020 	To Ottawa SenatorsMatthew Peca 	
 	To Edmonton OilersTyler Ennis 	To Ottawa Senators5th-round pick in 2021 	
===Free agents===
Date	Player 	Team 	Contract term	Source
 	Stefan Elliott 	to Dinamo Minsk (KHL) 	1-year 	
 	Ron Hainsey 	from Toronto Maple Leafs 	1-year 	
 	Tyler Ennis 	from Toronto Maple Leafs 	1-year 	
 	Jordan Szwarz 	from Boston Bruins 	1-year 	
 	Brian Gibbons 	to Carolina Hurricanes 	1-year 	
 	Darren Archibald	to Toronto Marlies (AHL) 	1-year 	
 	Erik Burgdoerfer	to Hershey Bears (AHL) 	1-year 	
 	Scott Sabourin 	from Stockton Heat (AHL) 	1-year 	
 	Jonathan Aspirot	from Belleville Senators (AHL) 	3-year 	
 	Artyom Zub 	from SKA Saint Petersburg (KHL)	1-year 	
===Waivers===
Date	Player 	Team 	Ref
 	Jayce Hawryluk	from Florida Panthers	
 	Cody Goloubef 	to Detroit Red Wings 	
===Contract terminations===
Date	Player	Via	Source
 	 	 	
===Retirement===
Date	Player	Source
 	 	
===Signings===
Date	Player 	Contract term	Source
 	Cody Goloubef 	1-year 	
 	Jack Rodewald 	1-year 	
 	Nick Paul 	1-year 	
 	Christian Wolanin	2-year 	
 	Michael Carcone 	2-year 	
 	Lassi Thomson 	3-year 	
 	Colin White 	6-year 	
 	Thomas Chabot 	8-year 	
 	Mark Kastelic 	3-year 	
 	Kevin Mandolese 	3-year 	
==Draft picks==
Below are the Ottawa Senators' selections at the 2019 NHL Entry Draft, which was held on June 21 and 22, 2019, at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
Round	Overall	Player 	Position	Nationality	Club team
1 	191 	Lassi Thomson 	D 	 	Kelowna Rockets (WHL)
2 	32 	Shane Pinto 	C 	 	Tri-City Storm (USHL)
2 	372 	Mads Sogaard 	G 	 	Medicine Hat Tigers (WHL)
4 	94 	Viktor Lodin 	C 	 	Örebro (SHL)
5 	125 	Mark Kastelic 	C 	 	Calgary Hitmen (WHL)
7 	187 	Maxence Guenette	D 	 	Val-d'Or Foreurs (QMJHL)
Notes:
# The Columbus Blue Jackets' first-round pick went to the Ottawa Senators as the result of a trade on February 22, 2019, that sent Matt Duchene and Julius Bergman to Columbus in exchange for Vitalii Abramov, Jonathan Davidsson, a conditional first-round pick in 2020 and this pick (being conditional at the time of the trade).
# The New York Rangers' second-round pick went to the Ottawa Senators as the result of a trade on June 22, 2019, that sent Florida's second-round pick and Pittsburgh's third-round pick both in 2019 (44th and 83rd overall) to Carolina in exchange for this pick.
==References==
Category:Ottawa Senators seasons
Ottawa Senators
Senators
Category:Ice hockey in Ottawa