2016–17 Ottawa Senators season

2016–17 Ottawa Senators
Division	2nd Atlantic
Conference	6th Eastern
2016–17 record	44–28–10
Home record	22–11–8
Road record	22–17–2
Goals for	212
Goals against	214
Team information
General manager	Pierre Dorion
Coach	Guy Boucher
Captain	Erik Karlsson
Alternate captains	Chris Neil Dion Phaneuf Kyle Turris
Arena	Canadian Tire Centre
Average attendance	16,744 (87.4%)
Minor league affiliate(s)	Binghamton Senators (AHL) Wichita Thunder (ECHL)
Team leaders
Goals	Kyle Turris (27)
Assists	Erik Karlsson (54)
Points	Erik Karlsson (71)
Penalty minutes	Mark Borowiecki (154)
Plus/minus	Mike Hoffman (+17)
Wins	Craig Anderson (25)
Goals against average	Craig Anderson (2.28)

The 2016–17 Ottawa Senators season was the 25th season of the Ottawa Senators of the National Hockey League (NHL). After failing to make the 2016 Stanley Cup playoffs, the Senators replaced their management and coaching staff, promoting Pierre Dorion to general manager, and hiring Guy Boucher and Marc Crawford and assistants to coach the team. The team would defy the predictions of much of the media by qualifying for the 2017 playoffs, and then by winning two rounds in the playoffs before losing in double overtime in game seven of the Eastern Conference Final to the eventual Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins.

As of 2024, this is the only time in the post-Daniel Alfredsson era where the Senators have come close to playing in the Stanley Cup Finals. It would have been their first appearance in the Finals since 2007. Coincidentally they were close to a rematch with the Anaheim Ducks, whom they lost to in the 2007 Finals. As of 2024, this is the most recent season the Senators qualified for the playoffs.

The season was notable for off-ice issues. Despite the success of the team, attendance at Canadian Tire Centre dropped during the regular season, to the lowest average gate by the team in 20 seasons. The team fired its head of marketing early in the season. The team also replaced its president, co-founder Cyril Leeder, with Tom Anselmi in January 2017.

Off-season

On April 10, 2016, the day after the final game of the 2015–16 season, general manager Bryan Murray announced his resignation as manager and that he would continue in an advisory role with the club. Assistant general manager Pierre Dorion was elevated to the general manager position. On April 12, the Senators fired head coach Dave Cameron. On May 8, the Senators hired former Tampa Bay Lightning head coach Guy Boucher as their new head coach. On the following day, Marc Crawford was announced as associate coach. On June 15, the Senators hired Rob Cookson as an assistant coach. Cookson had spent the last four seasons as an assistant to Crawford with ZSC Lions of Switzerland's National League A, with whom he contributed to the team's championship in the 2013–14 season. Prior to this, he was a member of the Calgary Flames coaching staff for 11 seasons from the 2000–01 to 2010–11 seasons.

The Senators announced the retirement of the #11 jersey of former team captain Daniel Alfredsson. The ceremony took place on December 29, prior to the Senators' home game against the Detroit Red Wings. This is the second jersey to be retired by the current Senators franchise since they came back into the league. The first jersey retirement ceremony the club held was for the late Frank Finnigan of the original Ottawa Senators, who had his #8 jersey retired prior to the current franchise's inaugural game on October 8, 1992, against the Montreal Canadiens.

The Senators changed their ECHL affiliate after their former affiliate, the Evansville IceMen, went dormant for the season due to arena lease issues. On July 14, 2016, the Senators announced an affiliation agreement with the Wichita Thunder. On September 26, the Senators announced that they would move their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate Binghamton Senators to Belleville, Ontario, for the 2017–18 season. The club was renamed the Belleville Senators.

Preseason

The Senators played a seven-game pre-season schedule. The schedule included two home games against the Montreal Canadiens and Buffalo Sabres, three road games against the Montreal Canadiens, Buffalo Sabres, and Winnipeg Jets, and two neutral-site games against the Toronto Maple Leafs with one taking place in Halifax, Nova Scotia and the other in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.

Regular season

The Senators opened the regular season at home on Wednesday, October 12 against their provincial rivals, the Toronto Maple Leafs. The first away game of their schedule was Monday, October 17 in Detroit against the Red Wings. They will conclude their home schedule on Saturday, April 8 against the New York Rangers. Their last regular season game will take place a day later in Brooklyn, New York against the Islanders.

On December 29, 2016, before a game against the Detroit Red Wings, the Senators retired the #11 jersey of former player Daniel Alfredsson. On January 24, 2017, the Senators honoured Bryan Murray as the first member of their "Ring of Honour" at the Canadian Tire Centre, before a game against the Washington Capitals. On January 25, 2017, the Senators announced a new team president Tom Anselmi, replacing founder Cyril Leeder who steps down as president of the team.

On March 17, 2017, the NHL announced that an outdoor game would be played at the TD Place Stadium in Ottawa on December 16, 2017. Known as the NHL 100 Classic, it is a regular-season game for the Senators and the Montreal Canadiens. This will commemorate the first NHL game, held in Ottawa on December 19, 1917, between the Senators and Canadiens. It is one of the events to commemorate the 100-year anniversary of the NHL and the 150-year anniversary of the founding of Canada. According to NHL president Gary Bettman: "To launch our next 100 years, we believe it is only right to bring the Canadiens and the Senators back together."

The attendance at home games dropped in 2016-17 according to ESPN. The Senators drew an average of 16,744 per game for a total of 686,534 for the season. This was 87% of capacity. In 2015–16, the Senators drew an average of 18,084 per game. The drop in attendance was noticed by the media, especially after games in the playoffs did not sell out. The drop, which was the third-largest in the league in the last ten years, was attributed to various factors, including a payroll systems issue for Government of Canada employees, lack of support for francophone fans, grumbling about the owner and other factors. Early in the season, the club fired persons in its marketing department, which led to at least one lawsuit.

Playoffs

On April 6, the Ottawa Senators qualified for the 2017 playoffs with a 2–1 shootout win over Boston Bruins. On April 8, the Ottawa Senators clinched home-ice advantage in the first round for the first time since 2007 after a 3–1 victory over the New York Rangers.

The Senators played the Boston Bruins in the first round. This was the first Ottawa–Boston series since the 1927 Stanley Cup Finals, the first for the contemporary Ottawa franchise versus the Bruins. The Senators defeated the Bruins four games to two and moved on to the second round.

The Senators faced the New York Rangers in the second round. This was the second postseason meeting in the last five years between the two teams. The New York Rangers won the series 4-3 back in 2012. The Senators defeated the Rangers four games to two and advanced to the Eastern Conference Final. It marked the third time in franchise history that the Senators made it to the third round, and the first time since 2007, when they advanced to the Stanley Cup Finals after defeating the Buffalo Sabres in five games.

In the conference final, the Senators took on the Pittsburgh Penguins. This marked the fourth time that the two teams met in a postseason series, with the Penguins taking three out of the four matchups. The Ottawa Senators are the only Canadian team to advance to the Conference Final in three different seasons in the last 20 years. The Senators would fall in seven games to the Penguins, with the seventh game being decided in double overtime. The Penguins would go on to defeat the Nashville Predators to win the Stanley Cup.

Standings

Atlantic Division

Pos	Team	GP	W	L	OTL	ROW	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	y – Montreal Canadiens	82	47	26	9	44	226	200	+26	103
2	x – Ottawa Senators	82	44	28	10	38	212	214	−2	98
3	x – Boston Bruins	82	44	31	7	42	234	212	+22	95
4	x – Toronto Maple Leafs	82	40	27	15	39	251	242	+9	95
5	Tampa Bay Lightning	82	42	30	10	38	234	227	+7	94
6	Florida Panthers	82	35	36	11	30	210	237	−27	81
7	Detroit Red Wings	82	33	36	13	24	207	244	−37	79
8	Buffalo Sabres	82	33	37	12	31	201	237	−36	78

Source: National Hockey League
x – Clinched playoff spot; y – Clinched division

Schedule and results

Preseason

2016 Pre-season Game Log: 3–2–2 (Home: 1–1–1 ; Road: 2–1–1)
#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Decision	Attendance	Record	Recap
1	September 26	Ottawa	6–3	Toronto (in Halifax, NS)		–	–	1–0–0
2	September 27	Ottawa	2–3	Buffalo	OT	O'Connor	17,868	1–0–1
3	September 29	Ottawa	4–3	Montreal	OT	O'Connor	21,288	2–0–1
4	October 1	Montreal	3–2	Ottawa	OT	Hammond	17,147	2–0–2
5	October 3	Ottawa	2–4	Winnipeg		Hammond	15,294	2–1–2
6	October 4	Toronto	2–3	Ottawa (in Saskatoon, SK)	OT	–	–	3–1–2
7	October 7	Buffalo	4–2	Ottawa		Anderson	14,216	3–2–2

Regular season

2016–17 Game Log (Record: 44–28–10; Home: 22–11–8 Road: 22–17–2)

October: 5–3–0 (Home: 3–1–0 ; Road: 2–2–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 1 October 12 Toronto 4–5 Ottawa OT Anderson 17,618 1–0–0 2 2 October 15 Montreal 3–4 Ottawa SO Anderson 18,195 2–0–0 4 3 October 17 Ottawa 1–5 Detroit Hammond 20,027 2–1–0 4 4 October 18 Arizona 4–7 Ottawa Anderson 11,061 3–1–0 6 5 October 22 Tampa Bay 4–1 Ottawa Anderson 15,918 3–2–0 6 6 October 25 Ottawa 3–0 Vancouver Anderson 18,471 4–2–0 8 7 October 28 Ottawa 2–5 Calgary Driedger 18,132 4–3–0 8 8 October 30 Ottawa 2–0 Edmonton Anderson 18,347 5–3–0 10 November: 9–5–1 (Home: 5–4–1 ; Road: 4–1–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 9 November 1 Carolina 1–2 Ottawa OT Anderson 13,049 6–3–0 12 10 November 3 Vancouver 0–1 Ottawa Condon 13,260 7–3–0 14 11 November 5 Buffalo 2–1 Ottawa Anderson 16,225 7–4–0 14 12 November 8 Ottawa 1–3 Nashville Anderson 17,113 7–5–0 14 13 November 9 Ottawa 2–1 Buffalo SO Condon 17,884 8–5–0 16 14 November 11 Los Angeles 1–2 Ottawa Anderson 15,622 9–5–0 18 15 November 13 Minnesota 2–1 Ottawa OT Anderson 14,265 9–5–1 19 16 November 15 Ottawa 3–2 Philadelphia SO Anderson 19,358 10–5–1 21 17 November 17 Nashville 5–1 Ottawa Condon 15,480 10–6–1 21 18 November 19 Florida 4–1 Ottawa Anderson 14,132 10–7–1 21 19 November 22 Ottawa 4–3 Montreal Anderson 21,288 11–7–1 23 20 November 24 Boston 1–3 Ottawa Anderson 17,191 12–7–1 25 21 November 26 Carolina 1–2 Ottawa Anderson 18,042 13–7–1 27 22 November 27 Ottawa 2–0 NY Rangers Anderson 18,006 14–7–1 29 23 November 29 Buffalo 5–4 Ottawa Anderson 14,259 14–8–1 29 December: 6–4–3 (Home: 3–0–3 ; Road: 3–4–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 24 December 1 Philadelphia 3–2 Ottawa OT Condon 14,434 14–8–2 30 25 December 3 Florida 0–2 Ottawa Condon 15,149 15–8–2 32 26 December 5 Ottawa 5–8 Pittsburgh Anderson 18,414 15–9–2 32 27 December 7 Ottawa 4–2 San Jose Condon 17,349 16–9–2 34 28 December 10 Ottawa 1–4 Los Angeles Condon 18,230 16–10–2 34 29 December 11 Ottawa 1–5 Anaheim Condon 15,714 16–11–2 34 30 December 14 San Jose 4–3 Ottawa SO Condon 17,273 16–11–3 35 31 December 17 New Jersey 1–3 Ottawa Condon 15,111 17–11–3 37 32 December 18 Ottawa 6–2 NY Islanders Condon 13,102 18–11–3 39 33 December 20 Ottawa 4–3 Chicago Condon 21,614 19–11–3 41 34 December 22 Anaheim 1–2 Ottawa OT Condon 17,125 20–11–3 43 35 December 27 Ottawa 3–4 NY Rangers Condon 18,006 20–12–3 43 36 December 29 Detroit 3–2 Ottawa OT Condon 20,011 20–12–4 44 January: 6–4–2 (Home: 3–2–2 ; Road: 3–2–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 37 January 1 Ottawa 1–2 Washington Condon 18,506 20–13–4 44 38 January 7 Washington 1–0 Ottawa Condon 18,696 20–14–4 44 39 January 8 Edmonton 3–5 Ottawa Condon 17,724 21–14–4 46 40 January 12 Pittsburgh 1–4 Ottawa Condon 17,769 22–14–4 48 41 January 14 Toronto 4–2 Ottawa Condon 19,782 22–15–4 48 42 January 17 Ottawa 6–4 St. Louis Condon 18,922 23–15–4 50 43 January 19 Ottawa 2–0 Columbus Condon 15,823 24–15–4 52 44 January 21 Ottawa 3–2 Toronto SO Condon 19,544 25–15–4 54 45 January 22 Columbus 7–6 Ottawa OT Condon 16,702 25–15–5 55 46 January 24 Washington 0–3 Ottawa Condon 16,683 26–15–5 57 47 January 26 Calgary 3–2 Ottawa OT Condon 16,263 26–15–6 58 January 27–29 All-Star Break in Los Angeles 48 January 31 Ottawa 5–6 Florida Condon 11,933 26–16–6 58 February: 7–6–0 (Home: 2–3–0 ; Road: 5–3–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 49 February 2 Ottawa 5–2 Tampa Bay Condon 19,092 27–16–6 60 50 February 4 Ottawa 0–4 Buffalo Condon 19,070 27–17–6 60 51 February 7 St. Louis 6–0 Ottawa Hammond 16,787 27–18–6 60 52 February 9 Dallas 2–3 Ottawa Condon 17,676 28–18–6 62 53 February 11 NY Islanders 0–3 Ottawa Anderson 18,211 29–18–6 64 54 February 14 Buffalo 3–2 Ottawa Anderson 16,832 29–19–6 64 55 February 16 Ottawa 3–0 New Jersey Condon 13,908 30–19–6 66 56 February 18 Ottawa 6–3 Toronto Anderson 19,527 31–19–6 68 57 February 19 Winnipeg 3–2 Ottawa Condon 19,288 31–20–6 68 58 February 21 Ottawa 2–1 New Jersey Anderson 12,343 32–20–6 70 59 February 24 Ottawa 0–3 Carolina Anderson 11,327 32–21–6 70 60 February 26 Ottawa 2–1 Florida Anderson 14,118 33–21–6 72 61 February 27 Ottawa 1–5 Tampa Bay Condon 19,092 33–22–6 72 March: 8–4–3 (Home: 4–1–2 ; Road: 4–3–1) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 62 March 2 Colorado 1–2 Ottawa Anderson 16,932 34–22–6 74 63 March 4 Columbus 2–3 Ottawa Anderson 17,516 35–22–6 76 64 March 6 Boston 2–4 Ottawa Anderson 17,046 36–22–6 78 65 March 8 Ottawa 5–2 Dallas Anderson 17,689 37–22–6 80 66 March 9 Ottawa 3–2 Arizona OT Condon 10,611 38–22–6 82 67 March 11 Ottawa 4–2 Colorado Anderson 15,317 39–22–6 84 68 March 14 Tampa Bay 2–1 Ottawa OT Condon 16,894 39–22–7 85 69 March 16 Chicago 2–1 Ottawa Condon 18,638 39–23–7 85 70 March 18 Montreal 4–3 Ottawa SO Anderson 19,653 39–23–8 86 71 March 19 Ottawa 1–4 Montreal Anderson 21,273 39–24–8 86 72 March 21 Ottawa 3–2 Boston Anderson 17,565 40–24–8 88 73 March 23 Pittsburgh 1–2 Ottawa SO Condon 18,102 41–24–8 90 74 March 25 Ottawa 1–3 Montreal Anderson 21,288 41–25–8 90 75 March 28 Ottawa 2–3 Philadelphia SO Anderson 19,706 41–25–9 91 76 March 30 Ottawa 1–5 Minnesota Anderson 19,044 41–26–9 91 April: 3–2–1 (Home: 2–0–0 ; Road: 1–2–1) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 77 April 1 Ottawa 2–4 Winnipeg Condon 15,294 41–27–9 91 78 April 3 Ottawa 4–5 Detroit SO Anderson 20,027 41–27–10 92 79 April 4 Detroit 0–2 Ottawa Anderson 17,166 42–27–10 94 80 April 6 Ottawa 2–1 Boston SO Anderson 17,565 43–27–10 96 81 April 8 NY Rangers 1–3 Ottawa Anderson 18,976 44–27–10 98 82 April 9 Ottawa 2–4 NY Islanders Condon 13,303 44–28–10 98 Legend:   Win (2 points)   Loss (0 points)   Overtime/shootout loss (1 point)

Players

Statistics

Final Stats

Scoring

Regular Season

Player	GP	G	A	Pts	+/-	PIM
Erik Karlsson	77	17	54	71	10	28
Mike Hoffman	74	26	35	61	17	51
Kyle Turris	78	27	28	55	−3	47
Mark Stone	71	22	32	54	12	25
Derick Brassard	81	14	25	39	12	24
Jean-Gabriel Pageau	82	12	21	33	13	24
Zack Smith	74	16	16	32	6	61
Ryan Dzingel	81	14	18	32	7	30
Dion Phaneuf	81	9	21	30	−6	100
Bobby Ryan	62	13	12	25	−3	24
Tom Pyatt	82	9	14	23	9	16
Chris Wideman	76	5	12	17	7	46
Cody Ceci	79	2	15	17	−11	20
Chris Kelly	82	5	7	12	−17	23
Marc Methot	68	0	12	12	13	24
Alex Burrows†	20	6	5	11	6	9
Fredrik Claesson	33	3	8	11	5	4
Tommy Wingels†	36	2	2	4	−9	12
Viktor Stalberg†	18	2	2	4	−3	8
Chris Neil	53	1	3	4	−11	63
Mark Borowiecki	70	1	2	3	−3	154
Curtis Lazar‡	33	0	1	1	−10	4
Matt Puempel‡	13	0	0	0	−5	7
Max McCormick	7	0	0	0	−3	0
Casey Bailey	7	0	0	0	−1	0
Phil Varone	7	0	0	0	−3	2
Ben Harpur	6	0	0	0	−1	0
Andreas Englund	5	0	0	0	−3	2
Buddy Robinson‡	4	0	0	0	0	2
Clarke MacArthur	4	0	0	0	−1	0
Chris DiDomenico	3	0	0	0	0	6
Jyrki Jokipakka†	3	0	0	0	−1	0
Mike Blunden	2	0	0	0	0	4
Colin White	2	0	0	0	0	0
Thomas Chabot	1	0	0	0	−2	0
Nick Paul	1	0	0	0	−2	0

Playoffs

Player	GP	G	A	Pts	+/-	PIM
Erik Karlsson	19	2	16	18	13	10
Bobby Ryan	19	6	9	15	1	14
Mike Hoffman	19	6	5	11	3	10
Derick Brassard	19	4	7	11	−3	8
Jean-Gabriel Pageau	19	8	2	10	5	16
Kyle Turris	19	4	6	10	2	25
Clarke MacArthur	19	3	6	9	5	12
Mark Stone	19	5	3	8	5	20
Zack Smith	19	1	5	6	−5	12
Dion Phaneuf	19	1	4	5	−3	17
Alex Burrows	15	0	5	5	0	8
Marc Methot	18	2	2	4	5	10
Chris Wideman	15	1	3	4	−4	4
Ryan Dzingel	15	2	1	3	−1	4
Fredrik Claesson	14	0	3	3	3	4
Tom Pyatt	14	2	0	2	−3	0
Viktor Stalberg	17	0	2	2	−8	2
Ben Harpur	9	0	2	2	−3	4
Cody Ceci	19	0	1	1	−7	2
Tommy Wingels	9	0	0	0	0	4
Mark Borowiecki	2	0	0	0	0	2
Chris Neil	2	0	0	0	0	12
Chris Kelly	2	0	0	0	0	0
Colin White	1	0	0	0	0	0

Goaltenders

Regular Season

Player	GP	GS	TOI	W	L	OT	GA	GAA	SA	SV%	SO	G	A	PIM
Craig Anderson	40	40	2,421:14	25	11	4	92	2.28	1,247	.926	5	0	1	0
Mike Condon†	40	38	2,304:25	19	14	6	96	2.50	1,115	.914	5	0	0	4
Andrew Hammond	6	4	205:39	0	2	0	14	4.08	86	.837	0	0	0	0
Chris Driedger	1	0	40:00	0	1	0	4	6.00	15	.733	0	0	0	0

Playoffs

Player	GP	GS	TOI	W	L	GA	GAA	SA	SV%	SO	G	A	PIM
Craig Anderson	19	19	1,178:08	11	8	46	2.34	590	.922	1	0	1	0
Mike Condon	2	0	61:17	0	0	4	3.92	32	.875	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

Regular Season

Player	Award	Awarded
Craig Anderson	NHL First Star of the Week	October 31, 2016
Craig Anderson	NHL First Star of the Week	November 28, 2016
Erik Karlsson	NHL Third Star of the Week	March 13, 2017
Craig Anderson	NHL First Star of the Week	April 10, 2017

NHL awards

Trophy	Player	Status
Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy	Craig Anderson	Winner
James Norris Memorial Trophy	Erik Karlsson	Finalist
NHL general manager of the Year Award	Pierre Dorion	Finalist

Records

Player	Record	Date
Erik Karlsson	Franchise record for most career goals by a defenceman (102)	October 18, 2016
Erik Karlsson	Franchise record for most career points by a defenceman (411)	December 7, 2016
Erik Karlsson	Franchise record for most career assists by a defenceman (310)	December 27, 2016
Mike Condon	Franchise record for most consecutive appearances by a goaltender (26)	February 2, 2017
Erik Karlsson	Franchise record for most consecutive games played (312)	March 4, 2017
Erik Karlsson	Franchise record for most career overtime winners scored by a defenceman (4)	March 9, 2017
Craig Anderson	Franchise record for career wins by a goaltender (147)	March 11, 2017
Team	Record	Date
Ottawa Senators	Franchise record for most shots against in an overtime period (8)	November 9, 2016
Ottawa Senators	Franchise record for most consecutive penalty kills (35)	October 22, 2016 - November 22, 2016
Ottawa Senators	Franchise record for most consecutive games scoring 2 goals or less (12)	October 28, 2016 - November 22, 2016
Ottawa Senators	Franchise record for most shots on goal in a period in a playoff game (21)	April 27, 2017
Ottawa Senators	Franchise record for scoring the quickest three goals in a postseason game (2:18)	May 17, 2017

Milestones

Player	Milestone	Date
Thomas Chabot	1st NHL game	October 18, 2016
Mike Hoffman	200th NHL game	November 11, 2016
Erik Karlsson	400th NHL point	November 22, 2016
Erik Karlsson	500th NHL game	November 26, 2016
Mark Stone	200th NHL game	November 29, 2016
Erik Karlsson	300th NHL assist	November 29, 2016
Mike Hoffman	1st NHL hat-trick	November 29, 2016
Andreas Englund	1st NHL game	December 3, 2016
Chris Neil	1000th NHL game	December 10, 2016
Jean-Gabriel Pageau	200th NHL game	December 17, 2016
Derick Brassard	600th NHL game	January 1, 2017
Chris Wideman	100th NHL game	January 14, 2017
Kyle Turris	500th NHL game	January 22, 2017
Mark Stone	100th NHL assist	January 31, 2017
Chris Kelly	800th NHL game	February 2, 2017
Tom Pyatt	300th NHL game	February 16, 2017
Mark Borowiecki	200th NHL game	February 27, 2017
Kyle Turris	300th NHL point	February 27, 2017
Fredrik Claesson	1st NHL goal	March 8, 2017
Chris DiDomenico	1st NHL game	March 9, 2017
Ryan Dzingel	100th NHL game	March 18, 2017
Craig Anderson	500th NHL game	March 25, 2017
Colin White	1st NHL game	April 3, 2017
Dion Phaneuf	900th NHL game	April 4, 2017
Jean-Gabriel Pageau	100th NHL point	April 8, 2017

Transactions

Trades

Date	Details		Reference
June 25, 2016 (2016-06-25)	To New Jersey Devils OTT's 1st-round pick (12th overall) in 2016 NYI's 3rd-round pick (80th overall) in 2016	To Ottawa Senators NJD's 1st-round pick (11th overall) in 2016
June 27, 2016 (2016-06-27)	To Calgary Flames Alex Chiasson	To Ottawa Senators Patrick Sieloff
July 18, 2016 (2016-07-18)	To New York Rangers Mika Zibanejad 2nd-round pick in 2018	To Ottawa Senators Derick Brassard 7th-round pick in 2018
November 2, 2016 (2016-11-02)	To Pittsburgh Penguins 5th-round pick in 2017	To Ottawa Senators Mike Condon
January 24, 2017 (2017-01-24)	To San Jose Sharks Buddy Robinson Zack Stortini 7th-round pick in 2017	To Ottawa Senators Tommy Wingels
February 1, 2017 (2017-02-01)	To Minnesota Wild Future considerations	To Ottawa Senators Marc Hagel
February 27, 2017 (2017-02-27)	To Vancouver Canucks Jonathan Dahlen	To Ottawa Senators Alex Burrows
February 28, 2017 (2017-02-28)	To Carolina Hurricanes 3rd-round pick in 2017	To Ottawa Senators Viktor Stalberg
March 1, 2017 (2017-03-01)	To Calgary Flames Curtis Lazar Michael Kostka	To Ottawa Senators Jyrki Jokipakka 2nd-round pick in 2017
March 6, 2017 (2017-03-06)	To New Jersey Devils Future considerations	To Ottawa Senators Brandon Gormley

Free agents acquired

Date	Player	Former team	Contract terms (in U.S. dollars)	Ref
July 1, 2016	Mike Blunden	Tampa Bay Lightning	2-year, $1.475 million two-way
July 1, 2016	Chad Nehring	Hartford Wolf Pack (AHL)	1-year, $600,000 two-way
July 7, 2016	Chris Kelly	Boston Bruins	1-year, $900,000
February 27, 2017	Chris DiDomenico	SCL Tigers (NLA)	2-years, $1.25 million, two-way

Free agents lost

Date	Player	New team	Contract terms (in U.S. dollars)	Ref
July 1, 2016	Patrick Wiercioch	Colorado Avalanche	1-year, $800,000

Claimed via waivers

Player	Previous team	Date	Ref

Lost via waivers

Player	New team	Date	Ref
Matt Puempel	New York Rangers	November 21, 2016

Player signings

Date	Player	Contract terms (in U.S. dollars)	Ref
July 1, 2016	Michael Kostka	1 year, $800,000 two-way
July 1, 2016	Max McCormick	1 year, $650,000 two-way
July 1, 2016	Casey Bailey	1 year, $874,125 two-way
July 1, 2016	Phil Varone	1 year, $700,000 two-way
July 5, 2016	Ryan Dzingel	1 year, $750,000 two-way
July 6, 2016	Fredrik Claesson	1 year, $700,000 two-way
July 15, 2016	Matt Puempel	1 year, $900,000 two-way
July 27, 2016	Mike Hoffman	4 years, $20.75 million
August 23, 2016	Cody Ceci	2 years, $5.6 million
September 23, 2016	Gabriel Gagne	3 years, $2.775 million entry-level contract
October 3, 2016	Maxime Lajoie	3 years, $2.4 million entry-level contract
December 22, 2016	Filip Chlapik	3 years, $2.775 million entry-level contract
January 23, 2017	Zack Smith	4 years, $13 million contract extension
February 20, 2017	Fredrik Claesson	1 year, $650,000 one-way contract extension
February 27, 2017	Alex Burrows	2-year, $5 million contract extension
March 30, 2017	Marcus Hogberg	2-year, entry-level contract
April 2, 2017	Colin White	3-year, entry-level contract
May 30, 2017	Christian Jaros	3-year, entry-level contract

Suspensions/fines

Player	Reason	Length	Salary	Date issued
Mark Borowiecki	Illegal boarding of Los Angeles Kings forward Tyler Toffoli during NHL game no. 412 in Los Angeles on December 10	2 games	$12,222.22	December 11, 2016
Mike Hoffman	Illegal check to the head of San Jose Sharks forward Logan Couture during NHL game no. 441 in Ottawa on December 14	2 games	$57,638.88	December 16, 2016

Draft picks

See also: List of Ottawa Senators draft picks

Below are the Ottawa Senators' selections at the 2016 NHL Entry Draft, held on June 24–25, 2016, at the First Niagara Center in Buffalo, New York.

Round	Overall	Player	Position	Nationality	Club team
1	11	Logan Brown	Centre	United States	Windsor Spitfires (OHL)
2	42	Jonathan Dahlen	Left wing	Sweden	Timra IK (HockeyAllsvenskan)
4	103	Todd Burgess	Right wing	United States	Fairbanks Ice Dogs (NAHL)
5	133	Maxime Lajoie	Defence	Canada	Swift Current Broncos (WHL)
6	163	Markus Nurmi	Right wing	Finland	TPS (Jr. A Liiga)

Draft Notes

• The New Jersey Devils' first-round pick (#11 overall) went to the Ottawa Senators as a result of trade that was made on June 25, 2016 that sent Ottawa's first-round pick (#12 overall) and a conditional third-round pick (#80 overall) to the Devils.
• The Ottawa Senators' seventh-round pick went to the New York Islanders as part of a trade that saw Shane Prince being traded to the Islanders on February 29, 2016.