History of the Senators in the NHL

[SENATOR]

I was very surprised during the telecast of the game between Toronto Maple Leafs and the Montreal Canadians, when the announcer declared the first game played in NHL between those two clubs.

The history of the league sheds the light on this in a different way. Unfortunately the announcer was grossly misleading the public. The predecessor of the NHL was NHA, which was at first no more then the Ottawa valley league, created by the local tycoon Ambrose O'Brien in Renfrew Ontario in 1909. The town just a stone thrown away from Kanata, where the Ottawa Senators play right now. He also sold the rights of one of his clubs to Toronto for 50$ in cash. Where eventually local businessmen Eddie Livingstone took over, and the Toronto blue shorts were founded. Disagreement between Ambrose O'Brien and Eddie Livingstone, ended up in creating the new league NHL by Ambrose O'Brien and other owners, but the trophies, the rules and regulations were continued from NHA. Ottawa valley businessman Ambrose O'Brien founded also the Montreal Canadians. The first games of the newly formed league, were played three weeks later on December 19. Joe Malone scored five goals in a 7–4 victory for the Canadians over the Senators on opening night. Newly formed Toronto Arenas played at the same time Montreal Wanderers, club which was collapsed the same year for good, due to the fire which destroyed its rink. Montreal Wanderers have nothing to do with the Montreal Canadians. And the real Montreal Canadians lived on, and the actual first game in the newly formed NHL was played between the Ottawa Senators and the Montreal Canadians. The only two original and founding teams in the newly formed league NHL. There were no original 6, because it does not make any sense. Because the first American team to join the league, was Boston Bruins in 1924. In a way the Ottawa valley is the birth place of the North American organized hockey. The real museum of NHL is located not in Toronto, but in Renfrew Ontario.

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[DrunkUncleDenis]

I was very surprised during the telecast of the game between Toronto Maple Leafs and the Montreal Canadians, when the announcer declared the first game played in NHL between those two clubs.

The history of the league sheds the light on this in a different way. Unfortunately the announcer was grossly misleading the public. The predecessor of the NHL was NHA, which was at first no more then the Ottawa valley league, created by the local tycoon Ambrose O'Brien in Renfrew Ontario in 1909. The town just a stone thrown away from Kanata, where the Ottawa Senators play right now. He also sold the rights of one of his clubs to Toronto for 50$ in cash. Where eventually local businessmen Eddie Livingstone took over, and the Toronto blue shorts were founded. Disagreement between Ambrose O'Brien and Eddie Livingstone, ended up in creating the new league NHL by Ambrose O'Brien and other owners, but the trophies, the rules and regulations were continued from NHA. Ottawa valley businessman Ambrose O'Brien founded also the Montreal Canadians. The first games of the newly formed league, were played three weeks later on December 19. Joe Malone scored five goals in a 7–4 victory for the Canadians over the Senators on opening night. Newly formed Toronto Arenas played at the same time Montreal Wanderers, club which was collapsed the same year for good, due to the fire which destroyed its rink. Montreal Wanderers have nothing to do with the Montreal Canadians. And the real Montreal Canadians lived on, and the actual first game in the newly formed NHL was played between the Ottawa Senators and the Montreal Canadians. The only two original and founding teams in the newly formed league NHL. There were no original 6, because it does not make any sense. Because the first American team to join the league, was Boston Bruins in 1924. In a way the Ottawa valley is the birth place of the North American organized hockey. The real museum of NHL is located not in Toronto, but in Renfrew Ontario.

The term "original 6" had always made me laugh. What about the Americans, Pirates, Senators, etc? Kind of pompous to declare "we were the original 6 franchises", and basically forget about the first 30 years of NHL history. Guarenteed more than half of the fans of original 6 teams don't know they weren't actually the first 6 teams before the expansion era.

 

[Benjamin]

Yeah. That kind of annoyed me.

 

[YouGotAStuGoing]

The NHA became the NHL, but it wasn't the NHL in the same way that the AFL eventually joined the NFL, but isn't part of its official records.

 

[SENATOR]

The NHA became the NHL, but it wasn't the NHL in the same way that the AFL eventually joined the NFL, but isn't part of its official records.

Ottawa Senators is the oldest hockey franchise in the world, not only in NHL. And NHA is the same as NHL. Montreal Canadians celebrate their birth which was done near Kanata in 1909.

 

[YouGotAStuGoing]

Ottawa Senators is the oldest hockey franchise in the world, not only in NHL.

True, if you think of today's franchise as a continuation of the old franchise and not a separate one that started in 1992.

And NHA is the same as NHL.

False. The NHA was the NHL's direct predecessor and had a lot of its traditions/trophies brought over. But the NHL was initially created to freeze Eddie Livingstone out from ownership. The NHA suspended operations before the NHL was formed. Officially, the first game in the NHL (not NHA) was Toronto versus the Montreal Wanderers in 1917.

 

[Big Papi]

I'm a big Aussie Rules fan, and this kinda reminds me of the sketchy sense of history they have in the 'AFL'...

The AFL is a national league in Australia, before which there was a league in each state, with Aussie Rules being particularly strong in South Australia, Western Australia and Victoria.

although they all had strong histories, the AFL only counts the championships of the Victoria teams in its 'history' (Pre-AFL), despite these never being national championships. Although they did hold national championship tournaments 20 times, these aren't held to any significance either. So, for example my team from South Australia won 36 SA championship and 4 national championships, over the course of its 144 year history, but despite that it is only given credit for its 1 AFL championship

 

[Golden_Jet]

True, if you think of today's franchise as a continuation of the old franchise and not a separate one that started in 1992.



False. The NHA was the NHL's direct predecessor and had a lot of its traditions/trophies brought over. But the NHL was initially created to freeze Eddie Livingstone out from ownership. The NHA suspended operations before the NHL was formed. Officially, the first game in the NHL (not NHA) was Toronto versus the Montreal Wanderers in 1917.

First game actual facts.
Ottawa hockey historian Paul Kitchen looks back at the Senators first game as part of the National Hockey League:

For Ottawa hockey fans 95 years ago, on the sub-zero evening of Dec. 19, 1917, the match they were eagerly anticipating as they pushed and shoved their way into the downtown Dey’s Arena was as auspicious as it was the opposite. On the one hand, this was opening night of the inaugural season of the National Hockey League. On the other hand, the badly disorganized Senators were about to be trounced by their longtime rivals, Les Canadiens de Montréal.

There had been bad feelings among the owners of teams in the predecessor league, the National Hockey Association. So much so that they suspended operations and formed a new circuit, the National Hockey League, at a Nov. 26, 1917, meeting in Montreal’s Windsor Hotel. The four teams were the Toronto Arenas, Ottawa Senators, Montreal Canadiens and Montreal Wanderers. Within a month, the Wanderers’ rink caught fire and the team disbanded, leaving only three clubs to complete the season. But there were high hopes for the NHL, even as the First World War recruitment drained talent from pro hockey. Yes, Ottawa’s great star Punch Broadbent was overseas, but one of the game’s most prolific scorers, Joe Malone, was in uniform for the visitors. So to was Montreal goalkeeper Georges Vezina, who would be facing the magnificent Clint Benedict in the Senators’ net.

Imagine the shock and dismay when the Sens skated out minus two of their additional stalwarts, defenceman Hamby Shore and winger Jack Darragh. They remained in the dressing room brooding. Shore because he was claiming back pay; Darragh because his contract was for 20 games, while the schedule called for 24. In fact, the other players were also upset but finally made peace and appeared on the ice. Minus Shore and Darragh, the Senators fell behind 3-0 in the first period as the two holdouts huddled under the stands haggling with management. Shore settled in time to start the second period and Darragh followed midway through the middle frame. It was too late. Though Cy Denneny for the barberpoles whipped three pucks past Vezina, Malone countered with five in a 7-4 Canadiens victory.

It was indeed an inauspicious start for the Senators in their first game in the new league. But hockey fans are always optimistic and are sometimes rewarded. Over the next 10 years the NHL Senators would win four Stanley Cups – 1920, 1921, 1923 and 1927. They were known as “The Super Six.”

For the record, there was one other game on that Dec. 19 opening night. The Wanderers defeated Toronto 10-9 at the Montreal Arena.

 

[YouGotAStuGoing]

For the record, there was one other game on that Dec. 19 opening night. The Wanderers defeated Toronto 10-9 at the Montreal Arena.

And that game started earlier, making it the first official game in the NHL.

The NHL's inaugural 22 game schedule opened on December 19th, 1917. Montreal Wanderers defenseman Dave Ritchie scored the first goal in NHL history (one minute into the NHL's first game)

http://www.greatesthockeylegends.com/2014/07/1917-18-birth-of-national-hockey-league.html

 

[Qward]

The term "original 6" had always made me laugh. What about the Americans, Pirates, Senators, etc? Kind of pompous to declare "we were the original 6 franchises", and basically forget about the first 30 years of NHL history. Guarenteed more than half of the fans of original 6 teams don't know they weren't actually the first 6 teams before the expansion era.

Original 6 teams that are still around. History doesn't care about franchises that folded.

 

[Back in Black]

And Toronto weren't even The Leafs until 1927. Before that they were the Toronto Arena's, then the St. Pats

And speaking of 1927, the Year The Sens won their last Cup!

 

[tony d]

Maybe it's just me but I've always found this current version of the Senators different than the Senators teams that played back in the early days of the NHL.

 

[Germz]

The 'Original Six' era is more about broadcasting and cultural significance than the NHL itself.

Before the 40s and 50s, the NHL competed not only with other pro leagues (in its early years) but more importantly with amateur and semi-pro senior men's hockey. That's why the history of the original Ottawa Senators doesn't actually end in 1934, when the NHL franchise relocated to St. Louis, but in the early 1950s, when the senior amateur franchise folded.

National broadcasting (first radio, then TV) of the NHL took off in the Original Six era. These were the teams that were welcomed into the homes of Canadians across the country. The local senior amateur men's teams couldn't people's interest the way that they used to, especially when televising began. The quality of the NHL talent was obviously superior. Being a Canadian hockey fan became less local and more national.

The desire for local hockey re-emerged with the rise of junior hockey in Canada as a big spectator sport. No coincidence that the team that ultimately replaced the Senior Senators in Ottawa was the 67s, founded by some former Senators. This was the new way to engage hockey fans in smaller cities. People had a chance to see the NHL stars of the future, still just ordinary kids, in their hometowns.

But the NHL's stranglehold on Canadian fan support at the senior level began only with national broadcasting, and has continued uninterrupted since then (except maybe for the short-lived WHA, which in itself tried to give franchises to Canadian cities feeling 'left out' of the NHL).

So I feel like the term 'Original Six' is perfectly fair, when speaking in terms of broader cultural significance. It shouldn't stop Ottawa fans from being proud of our city's 120 years of hockey tradition, but our team was never a household name across the country the way those six teams were.

 

[Nets Cash]

True, if you think of today's franchise as a continuation of the old franchise and not a separate one that started in 1992.



False. The NHA was the NHL's direct predecessor and had a lot of its traditions/trophies brought over. But the NHL was initially created to freeze Eddie Livingstone out from ownership. The NHA suspended operations before the NHL was formed. Officially, the first game in the NHL (not NHA) was Toronto versus the Montreal Wanderers in 1917.

Exactly. The Toronto Arenas versus the Montreal Wanderers.

Neither of those teams are the Canadiens or the Maple Leafs.

 

[thinkwild]

But it always struck me as a little curious though that we should see this Ottawa Senators as not the same franchise as the early Ottawa Senators. Yes they were both Ottawa teams, both called the Senators, both in the NHL, but the formal ownership chain was broken and thus we fans cant consider the old team ours. Only if we could establish a formal chain of ownership through rich men can we take credit for that team.

As far as i see it, of course they are the same franchise. It is our cities franchise and it has returned. Who owned it or not doesnt change things for me.

 

[saskriders]

But it always struck me as a little curious though that we should see this Ottawa Senators as not the same franchise as the early Ottawa Senators. Yes they were both Ottawa teams, both called the Senators, both in the NHL, but the formal ownership chain was broken and thus we fans cant consider the old team ours. Only if we could establish a formal chain of ownership through rich men can we take credit for that team.

As far as i see it, of course they are the same franchise. It is our cities franchise and it has returned. Who owned it or not doesnt change things for me.

I agree. It is just two different eras in my opinion.