NHL Hockey Trivia: Modern Version Of The Ottawa Senators

The Ottawa Senators entered the National Hockey League for the 1992-93 season and, for a short while, were the eighth Canadian based team in the league. With the departure of the Quebec Nordiques to Colorado and the Winnipeg Jets to Phoenix, they became the sixth Canadian based team in the NHL. Of course, the Atlanta Thrashers relocated to Winnipeg to put a seventh team back in the country.

Although the team has a short history, it can be divided into two fairly distinct periods. The beginning was very, very bad. That era was followed by the Senators being very, very good. This Ottawa Senators should not be seen as the same team that played in the NHL until 1934. The two teams are by no means related, other than in name.

Test and expand your hockey trivia knowledge with the following four trivia questions based on the Ottawa Senators.

Q. To date, who is the only Ottawa Senator to win the Calder Memorial Trophy as the NHL’s top rookie?

A. Daniel Alfredsson was picked way down in the 1994 NHL Entry Draft by the Senators, 133^rd overall. Yet, he rose to become the face of the Senators just two years later. In 1995-96, he led the Senators with 26 goals, 35 assists and 61 points to earn the Calder. However, Alfredsson had spent the previous three seasons in Sweden’s Elitserien as a pro with HC Frolunda.

Daniel played for the Senators from 1995-96 to 2012-13, appearing in 1,178 regular season games and totalling 1,108 points. His 1,108 points, 426 goals and 682 assists all stand as career records for the Senators.

 

Q. Which player holds the record for the most points in a single regular season for the Ottawa Senators?

A. In 2006-07, Dany Heatley finished fourth in the race for the Art Ross Trophy, behind Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins, Joe Thornton of the San Jose Sharks and Vincent Lecavalier of the Tampa Bay Lightning. His 105 points that season stand as an Ottawa Senators record. He broke his own record of 103 points, set the previous season. In both those years, Heatley scored an even 50 goals, which also stands as a single season record for the Senators.

Dany played for Ottawa from 2005-06 to 2008-09. He has also played for the Atlanta Thrashers, San Jose Sharks, Minnesota Wild and Anaheim Ducks in the National Hockey League.

Q. Which Ottawa Senators player holds the team record for most points in a rookie season?

A. Daniel Alfredsson might have won the Calder Trophy in 1995-96 but Alexei Yashin totalled 79 points two years earlier in his rookie season. Yashin was a nominee for the Calder but Martin Brodeur of the New Jersey Devils took home the prize.

Alexei played for Ottawa from 1993-94 to 2000-01. He also played for the New York Islanders before jumping to the KHL for the 2007-08 season. In Russia, Yashin played for Yaroslavl Lokomotiv, SKA St. Petersburg and CSKA Moscow before retiring after the 2011-12 season.

Q. One off the league record, how many losses did the Ottawa Senators accumulate during their inaugural NHL season?

A. The Senators went a dismal 10 wins, 70 losses and four ties in their first season in the NHL. The same season, the San Jose Sharks lost 71, a mark which remains an NHL record. It should be noted that each team in the league played and 84 game schedule in that 1992-93 season, two more than the norm today.

 

5 That Played 1,000 Games In A Toronto Maple Leafs Jersey

Throughout the long and storied National Hockey League history of the Toronto Maple Leafs, five players have appeared in over 1,000 regular season games with the club. The team has existed in the NHL since 1917. However, four of the five players played during generally the same era.

George Armstrong – 1,187

George Armstrong leads the way with 1,187 regular season games played in a Toronto Maple Leafs jersey. Armstrong played from 1949-50 to 1970-71, always with Toronto. In that time, he totaled 713 points and appeared on four Stanley Cup winning teams (1961-62, 1962-63, 1963-64 and 1966-67). His number 10 is honoured by the Maple Leafs and George was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame 1975.

Tim Horton – 1,185

Tim Horton fell just two games shy of Armstrong with 1,185 games played with Toronto. However, Horton did play more NHL games, totaling 1,446 in a career that spanned from 1949-50 to 1973-74. Horton finished his career, playing with the New York Rangers, Pittsburgh Penguins and Buffalo Sabres.

Horton was part of the same four Stanley Cup winning teams as George Armstrong. His number 7 is honoured by the team and he posthumously entered the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1977.

 

Borje Salming – 1,099

Borje Salming played 1,099 games with Toronto from 1973-74 to 1988-89. He played one more NHL season with the Detroit Red Wings and retired with 1,148 regular season games. He totalled 768 points from the Toronto blue line and his 620 assists are a Toronto Maple Leafs record for most career assists. Borje’s number 21 has been honoured by the Maple Leafs. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1996 and two years later he became a member of the IIHF Hall of Fame.

Dave Keon – 1,062

Dave Keon played 1,062 of his 1,296 NHL games with the Toronto Maple Leafs between 1960-61 and 1974-75. Keon played an additional 301 games in the World Hockey Association with the Minnesota Fighting Saints, Indianapolis Racers and New England Whalers. 

Keon returned to the NHL to play three years with the Hartford Whalers before retiring. Dave was part of the four Stanley Cup teams in the 1960’s. He won the Calder Trophy as NHL rookie of the year in 1960-61, the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP in 1966-67 and two Lady Byng Trophies. Keon was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1986.

Ron Ellis – 1,034

Ron Ellis played 1,034 games with Toronto in an NHL career that spanned from 1963-64 (1 game) to 1980-81. In that time, he scored 332 goals and accumulated 640 points. He was a big part of the 1966-67 Stanley Cup winning team. Ellis is the only one of the five not in the Hockey Hall of Fame. If there were an honourable mention category, Ron would be there.

 

Benefits Of Being Traded For Paul Coffey

Paul Coffey is one of just 20 players in National Hockey League history to play for nine or more teams during their career. It goes without saying that Coffey was part of a fair share of big trades, considering he was one of the best defensemen of all time.

Three players traded for Paul Coffey stand out above the rest. Each of these three saw instant success with the team that was trading Paul away. Ironically, each was a second round pick in their NHL Entry Draft. Despite his nine teams, Coffey never played with any of these three players during his National Hockey League career.

Craig Simpson

In November of 1987, Coffey was part of a multi-player trade between the Edmonton Oilers and Pittsburgh Penguins with Paul leaving the Gretzky gang. Among the players going to Edmonton was Craig Simpson. Simpson played in the NHL from 1985-86 to 1994-95 with the Penguins, Oilers and Buffalo Sabres. Originally, he was the second overall pick of the Penguins at the 1985 NHL Entry Draft.

That season, the Oilers went on to meet Boston in the Stanley Cup finals where they swept the Bruins in four games. Pittsburgh did not qualify for the post season. Simpson won another Stanley Cup with Edmonton in 1989-90. Once again, it was the Boston Bruins that fell victim to the Oilers, this time in five games.

Jimmy Carson

Fast forward to January of 1993. After being reunited with Wayne Gretzky in Los Angeles for a short time, Coffey was traded by the Kings to the Detroit Red Wings. Headed in the other direction was Jimmy Carson. Carson played in the NHL from 1986-87 to 1995-96 with the Kings, Oilers, Red Wings, Vancouver Canucks and Hartford Whalers. He had been the second overall pick at the 1986 NHL Entry Draft, going to the Kings.

In the 1992-93 season, the Steve Yzerman led Red Wings made an early first round exit from the playoffs. Jimmy Carson and the Kings moved on to the Stanley Cup finals before falling to the Montreal Canadiens in seven games.

Brendan Shanahan

In October of 1996, the Red Wings sent Paul Coffey to the Hartford Whalers. Among the players coming in the other direction was Brendan Shanahan. Shanahan played in the National Hockey League from 1987-88 to 2008-09 with the New Jersey Devils, St. Louis Blues, Whalers, Red Wings and New York Rangers. He was the second overall pick at the 1987 NHL Entry Draft, going to the Devils.

Detroit reached the Stanley Cup finals in 1996-97 and swept the Philadelphia Flyers to become champions. It was the first time the Red Wings had won the Stanley Cup since 1954-55. Hartford, however, did not qualify for post season action. But, Coffey wasn’t with the Whalers at the season’s end. Paul was traded again in December to those same Philadelphia Flyers and played in the finals against the team that he started the season with.