1992–93 Ottawa Senators season



The 1992–93 Ottawa Senators season was the inaugural season of the franchise. Despite winning the first game on October 8, 1992, the Senators would only win nine more en route to their worst season ever. The team still holds three NHL records that were set that season: longest home losing streak of eleven, from October 27 to December 8, and the longest road losing streak with a total of 38, from October 10 to April 3 (nearly the whole season) and fewest road wins of 1.

Expansion and Entry drafts
The team's struggles started before the season when, at the expansion draft, Senators management attempted to make three draft picks who were ineligible. They had wanted to select players from the Canadiens and Maple Leafs after they had both lost two, the maximum. To top it off, the Sens selected C. J. Young from Calgary off the wrong master list of players. The players the Senators did select were "journeymen NHLers or player who had good years in minor leagues but no longer were considered prospects." At the 1992 NHL Entry Draft, the Sens selected "relative unknown" Alexei Yashin as their first choice, second overall. Yashin opted to play in Moscow for the 1992–93 season instead of with the Sens.

Highlights
The new Senators played their first game on October 8, 1992, in the Ottawa Civic Centre against the Montreal Canadiens, winning 5–3. The game was televised on Hockey Night In Canada and was in front of a sold-out Ottawa Civic Centre with 10,449 in attendance. The ceremonial face-off between Laurie Boschman and Denis Savard was done by Frank Finnigan, Jr. (his father having died on Christmas Day, 1991), Bruce Firestone and Gil Stein. There was lots of pre-game spectacle—the skating of Brian Orser, the 9 banners being raised to honour the Senators' Stanley Cup wins, retirement of Frank Finnigan's jersey number and the singing of the anthem by Alanis Morissette.

Starting Lineup
Starting Players:


 * Peter Sidorkiewicz, goal
 * Ken Hammond, defence
 * Brad Shaw, defence
 * Neil Brady, centre
 * Jody Hull, right wing
 * Sylvain Turgeon, left wing

Others: Mark Lamb, Doug Smail, Darcy Loewen, Jamie Baker, Laurie Boschman, Andrew McBain, Norm Maciver, Chris Luongo, Tomas Jelinek, Marc Fortier, Mark Osiecki, Darren Rumble, Mike Peluso, Steve Weeks


 * Source:

Neil Brady scored the first goal for the modern-day Ottawa Senators franchise in the game.

It would take the Sens 39 games to win a road game, their third last road game of the season. It would be the only road win for the Sens in the entire season, and the only points won on the road as well. After the season, General Manager Mel Bridgman was fired, and eventually would be replaced by Randy Sexton.

Regular season

 * Scoring
 * Goaltending

Note: Pos = Position; GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/- = Plus/minus; PIM = Penalty minutes; PPG = Power-play goals; SHG = Short-handed goals; GWG = Game-winning goals

MIN = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GA = Goals-against; GAA = Goals-against average; SO = Shutouts; SA = Shots against; SV = Shots saved; SV% = Save percentage;

Awards

 * Molson Cup - Sylvain Turgeon
 * NHL All-Star Game selection - Brad Marsh, Peter Sidorkiewicz

Milestones
Source:

Waivers
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Expansion Draft
The Senators participated in the 1992 NHL Expansion Draft on June 18, 1992 to fill their roster for the 1992–93 NHL Season.

Entry Draft
Ottawa's draft picks at the 1992 NHL Entry Draft in Montreal, Quebec.

Farm teams

 * New Haven Senators (American Hockey League)
 * Thunder Bay Senators (Colonial Hockey League)