2006–07 Ottawa Senators season


The 2006–07 Ottawa Senators season was the 15th season of the Ottawa Senators of the National Hockey League. This season saw the team rebound from a disappointing early exit from the 2006 playoffs. The team made its first appearance in the Stanley Cup Finals, losing to the Anaheim Ducks. After numerous personnel changes at the start of the season, the team had a poor record until December. The poor record sparked numerous trade rumours in the media. The team turned their play around to place second in the division and won three playoff series to make it to the Stanley Cup Finals, the first in Ottawa in 80 years.
This was also the year that the relatively new salary cap system changed the course of two franchises. Having to decide between one of their two star defensemen. Wade Redden was ultimately the choice over Zdeno Chara based on his impressive past couple of seasons. In the 2005–06 season, Redden was selected for the Canadian Olympic team, along with teammate Dany Heatley, and finished the season with a career-high 50 points and an NHL-leading +35 plus-minus rating in 65 games. The Senators chose Redden and the Senators and Redden agreed on a two-year contract worth $13 million with a no-trade clause; Chara signed with the Boston Bruins. Redden's salary made him the highest paid player on the team and the media and fans expected another top-notch season. Chara would eventually become a Norris Trophy- and Stanley Cup-winner in Boston, whereas Redden would nix a couple of trade attempts from Ottawa and eventually leave via free agency to a massive contract and further decline. Many speculate that if Ottawa signed Chara, the team might have remained a top-tier team.

Off-season

Player Changes

In July 2006, the Senators lost four players to free agency; the aforementioned defencemen Zdeno Chara, Brian Pothier, goalie Dominik Hasek and forward Vaclav Varada.
Former Carolina Hurricanes starter Martin Gerber was signed to fill the void left by Hasek, and Ottawa also signed defenceman Joe Corvo, formerly of the Los Angeles Kings. A short time later, they traded star forward Martin Havlat and centre Bryan Smolinski to the Chicago Blackhawks for Tom Preissing, Josh Hennessy, Michal Barinka and a second-round draft pick in 2008.
The club signed Russian centre Alexei Kaigorodov to a two-year, entry-level contract. They also signed blueliner Jamie Allison and re-signed Antoine Vermette, Chris Neil and Peter Schaefer to avoid arbitration proceedings. In addition, Ottawa re-signed Chris Kelly and Jason Spezza to two-year contracts each, as well as Christoph Schubert. Midway through the season, the Senators acquired centre Mike Comrie and left wing Oleg Saprykin from the Phoenix Coyotes. They would also acquire defenceman Lawrence Nycholat from the Washington Capitals.

Regular season

The goaltending duty was platooned between Ray Emery and Martin Gerber at first. Gerber struggled and Emery eventually won the starting job.

Highlights

After starting with a 17–18–1 record by December 21, Ottawa played better from that point on.
On January 3, 2007, Ottawa acquired centre Mike Comrie from the Phoenix Coyotes in exchange for prospect Alexei Kaigorodov. Ottawa was in need of another centre due to injuries and was eager to shed Kaigorodov, who was suspended for refusing an assignment to the Senators' American Hockey League affiliate, the Binghamton Senators, instead opting to play in Russia.
Dany Heatley was the representative for Ottawa at the 2007 All-Star Game for the East, managing a 94.0 MPH slapshot in the skills competition and a goal and two assists in the East's 12–9 loss to the West. For the YoungStars Game, sophomore defenceman Andrej Meszaros and forward Patrick Eaves participated.
On February 22, 2007, the Senators were involved in a huge brawl with the Buffalo Sabres over an alleged late hit by the Senators' Chris Neil on Sabres' co-captain Chris Drury. Although the referees ruled it was a legal hit, a fight ensued after play restarted. Eight players were assessed a total of 100 penalty minutes, and five players, including Senators Ray Emery and Chris Phillips, were ejected. The Senators lost the match, 6–5, in a shootout, one of a record eight overtime games and four shootouts that night.
The team finished second in the Northeast Division, behind the Presidents' Trophy-winning Buffalo Sabres, and third in the Conference in points. Because the Montreal Canadiens and the Toronto Maple Leafs both narrowly missed the playoffs, the Senators were the only Canadian-based team in the Eastern Conference to qualify for the playoffs. They also tied the Canadiens for most shorthanded goals scored during the regular season, with 17.

Season standings

Schedule and results

October

#DateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionAttendanceRecordPts
1October 4Ottawa4 – 1TorontoGerber19,5201–0–02
2October 5Toronto6 – 0OttawaGerber19,2371–1–02
3October 7Buffalo4 – 3OttawaGerber19,2021–2–02
4October 12Calgary1 – 0OttawaEmery18,4041–3–02
5October 14Ottawa3 – 2MontrealSOEmery21,2732–3–04
6October 19Colorado2 – 1OttawaGerber17,7282–4–04
7October 21New Jersey1 – 8OttawaEmery19,1663–4–06
8October 24Ottawa6 – 2TorontoGerber19,4854–4–08
9October 26Toronto2 – 7OttawaEmery19,1785–4–010
10October 28Ottawa1 – 2BostonGerber13,2815–5–010
11October 31Ottawa2 – 4MontrealEmery21,2735–6–010

November

#DateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionAttendanceRecordPts
12November 4Carolina4 – 2OttawaGerber19,5485–7–010
13November 6Ottawa3 – 4WashingtonOTGerber10,4855–7–111
14November 8Ottawa4 – 5AtlantaGerber16,2535–8–111
15November 10Ottawa6 – 3PittsburghGerber17,0526–8–113
16November 11Ottawa3 – 4BostonGerber15,7726–9–113
17November 13Montreal6 – 3OttawaGerber20,0516–10–113
18November 15Ottawa4 – 2BuffaloEmery18,6907–10–115
19November 17Ottawa2 – 3New JerseyEmery15,1337–11–115
20November 18Buffalo1 – 4OttawaEmery19,7708–11–117
21November 20Minnesota3 – 5OttawaEmery18,0949–11–119
22November 22Ottawa3 – 2PhiladelphiaOTEmery18,99010–11–121
23November 24Ottawa6 – 4FloridaEmery16,54411–11–123
24November 26Ottawa1 – 3Tampa BayEmery19,81911–12–123
25November 28Ottawa4 – 1CarolinaGerber14,39312–12–125
26November 30Florida0 – 6OttawaEmery17,81413–12–127

December

#DateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionAttendanceRecordPts
27December 2Tampa Bay2 – 5OttawaEmery18,61814–12–129
28December 5Ottawa4 – 2NY IslandersGerber8,74115–12–131
29December 6Ottawa2 – 6WashingtonEmery10,92615–13–131
30December 9NY Rangers3 – 1OttawaEmery19,19215–14–131
31December 10Ottawa2 – 6ColumbusGerber15,79715–15–131
32December 12Ottawa3 – 2DetroitEmery20,06616–15–133
33December 14Ottawa0 – 6NashvilleEmery12,71816–16–133
34December 16Ottawa3 – 1BuffaloEmery18,69017–16–135
35December 19Boston7 – 2OttawaEmery19,15317–17–135
36December 21Tampa Bay4 – 2OttawaEmery18,60317–18–135
37December 23Ottawa6 – 3PhiladelphiaGerber19,26818–18–137
38December 27NY Islanders0 – 2OttawaEmery20,19219–18–139
39December 29NY Rangers0 – 1OttawaEmery20,21420–18–141
40December 30Ottawa3 – 2TorontoOTEmery19,48321–18–143

January

#DateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionAttendanceRecordPts
41January 1Atlanta3 – 2OttawaOTEmery19,70721–18–244
42January 3Buffalo3 – 6OttawaEmery19,77722–18–246
43January 6New Jersey3 – 2OttawaEmery19,54822–19–246
44January 7Philadelphia1 – 6OttawaGerber18,50923–19–248
45January 9Boston2 – 5OttawaEmery18,29224–19–250
46January 11Ottawa6 – 4NY RangersEmery18,20025–19–252
47January 13Montreal3 – 8OttawaEmery20,03826–19–254
48January 16Washington2 – 5OttawaEmery18,81027–19–256
49January 18Vancouver2 – 1OttawaEmery19,16127–20–256
50January 20Ottawa3 – 0BostonEmery17,56528–20–258
51January 27Boston1 – 3OttawaEmery19,84629–20–260
52January 29Ottawa1 – 3MontrealEmery21,27329–21–260
53January 30Washington2 – 3OttawaGerber19,17830–21–262

February

#DateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionAttendanceRecordPts
54February 3Toronto3 – 2OttawaSOEmery20,11230–21–363
55February 7Ottawa2 – 3BuffaloEmery18,69030–22–363
56February 8Montreal1 – 4OttawaEmery19,91531–22–365
57February 10Ottawa5 – 3MontrealEmery21,27332–22–367
58February 14Florida0 – 4OttawaGerber18,56133–22–369
59February 17Atlanta3 – 5OttawaGerber19,88134–22–371
60February 20Edmonton3 – 4OttawaSOGerber19,71635–22–373
61February 22Ottawa5 – 6BuffaloSOGerber18,69035–22–474
62February 24Buffalo5 – 6OttawaEmery20,04036–22–476
63February 27Ottawa4 – 2CarolinaGerber17,81237–22–478
64February 28Carolina0 – 2OttawaEmery19,26138–22–480

March

#DateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionAttendanceRecordPts
65March 2Ottawa2 – 4AtlantaEmery16,19038–23–480
66March 4Ottawa3 – 4ChicagoSOGerber13,91738–23–581
67March 6Pittsburgh5 – 4OttawaSOEmery20,07438–23–682
68March 8Toronto1 – 5OttawaEmery20,01839–23–684
69March 10Ottawa3 – 4TorontoOTEmery19,52739–23–785
70March 13Ottawa3 – 2NY RangersEmery18,20040–23–787
71March 15NY Islanders2 – 5OttawaEmery19,98941–23–789
72March 17Philadelphia2 – 3OttawaEmery19,63942–23–791
73March 18Ottawa3 – 4PittsburghSOEmery17,13242–23–892
74March 20Ottawa4 – 2St. LouisGerber13,18843–23–894
75March 22Ottawa4 – 2FloridaEmery14,20244–23–896
76March 24Ottawa7 – 2Tampa BayEmery20,34245–23–898
77March 27Boston3 – 2OttawaEmery19,78645–24–898
78March 30Montreal2 – 5OttawaEmery20,18546–24–8100
79March 31Ottawa5 – 2NY IslandersGerber15,59847–24–8102

April

#DateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionAttendanceRecordPts
80April 3Ottawa1 – 2New JerseySOEmery11,64247–24–9103
81April 5Pittsburgh3 – 2OttawaEmery20,06447–25–9103
82April 7Ottawa6 – 3BostonEmery17,56548–25–9105

The Ottawa Senators ended the 2006–07 regular season as the Eastern Conference's fourth seed.
The Senators started the playoffs against the fifth-seeded Pittsburgh Penguins, whom they defeated four games to one. The second-seeded New Jersey Devils were their next opponent, with the same four-games-to-one result, again in favor of the Senators. In the Eastern Conference Final, the Senators faced the top-seeded Buffalo Sabres. Once again, Ottawa won in five games, which gave the Senators their first-ever trip to the Stanley Cup Finals. This was also the Sens' first series win against the Sabres.
;Finals
The Anaheim Ducks were the Senators' opponents in the Finals and the four-games-to-one result stayed the same for the Senators, the only difference being this time it was in the opposing team's favor. The Ducks were successful in shutting down the Senators's top line to the point where it was broken up in game five. All games were close except for game five which the Senators lost 6–2, when two goals went in off Senators defencemen and Chris Phillips caused an own-goal, which turned out to be the game-winning and Cup-winning goal attributed to Travis Moen, and possibly the only such goal in Finals history. Daniel Alfredsson was the Senators' top forward in the series as he had been all playoffs, scoring four goals. Dany Heatley and Jason Spezza were held to one goal and two assists in total.

Key contributors

After a poor start to the season, several players picked up their play and the Senators played well from December to the Stanley Cup Finals. The defence pairing of Chris Phillips and Anton Volchenkov won praise from the media for their "shutdown effectiveness" against opposing top lines. The 'CASH line' of Spezza, Heatley, and Alfredsson was outstanding offensively, scoring nearly half of the Senators' goals in the post-season, appearing on The Hockey News cover for their play. The line tied for the NHL and team scoring lead with 22 points in 20 playoff games. Goaltender Ray Emery played all 20 games and posted 13 wins.

Eastern Conference Quarter-final: vs. (5) [Pittsburgh Penguins]

#DateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionAttendanceSeries
1April 11Pittsburgh3 – 6OttawaEmery19,6111 – 0
2April 14Pittsburgh4 – 3OttawaEmery20,1331 – 1
3April 15Ottawa4 – 2PittsburghEmery17,1322 – 1
4April 17Ottawa2 – 1PittsburghEmery17,1323 – 1
5April 19Pittsburgh0 – 3OttawaEmery20,1794 – 1

Ottawa wins series 4–1

Eastern Conference Semi-final: vs. (2) [New Jersey Devils]

#DateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionAttendanceSeries
1April 26Ottawa5 – 4New JerseyEmery15,5121 – 0
2April 28Ottawa2 – 3New Jersey2OTEmery19,0401 – 1
3April 30New Jersey0 – 2OttawaEmery19,6362 – 1
4May 2New Jersey2 – 3OttawaEmery20,2483 – 1
5May 5Ottawa3 – 2New JerseyEmery19,0404 – 1

Ottawa wins series 4–1

Eastern Conference Final: vs. (1) [Buffalo Sabres]

#DateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionAttendanceSeries
1May 10Ottawa5 – 2BuffaloEmery18,6901 – 0
2May 12Ottawa4 – 3Buffalo2OTEmery18,6902 – 0
3May 14Buffalo0 – 1OttawaEmery20,1713 – 0
4May 16Buffalo3 – 2OttawaEmery20,2943 – 1
5May 19Ottawa3 – 2BuffaloOTEmery18,6904 – 1

Ottawa wins series 4–1

Stanley Cup Final: vs. (W2) [Anaheim Ducks]

#DateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionAttendanceSeries
1May 28Ottawa2 – 3AnaheimEmery17,2740 – 1
2May 30Ottawa0 – 1AnaheimEmery17,2580 – 2
3June 2Anaheim3 – 5OttawaEmery20,5001 – 2
4June 4Anaheim3 – 2OttawaEmery20,5001 – 3
5June 6Ottawa2 – 6AnaheimEmery17,3721 – 4

Anaheim wins series 4–1

Regular season

;Scoring
PlayerPosGPGAPtsPIM+/-PPGSHGGWG
LW825055105743117310
C6734538745191315
RW772958874242727
C682226484115723
LW77123446327502
C7719203952-2232
C/LW821523384028120
D80731381840300
D7682937428302
D6472936501403
D8272835102-15001
RW73141832361311
C811415292811021
RW821216281776303
D82818268036013
C4113122524-1302
D80817255630101
D78118196737000
LW43437104000
LW121124-3000
RW45022100-1000
C1010140000
G58011300000
C601101000
RW100070000
G2900000000
D100000000
D100000000
C50000-1000

;Goaltending
PlayerMINGPWLT/OTGAGAASOSASVSV%
335158331661382.47516911553.918
1599291593742.781784710.906
Team:495082482592122.57624752263.914

Playoffs

;Scoring
PlayerPosGPGAPtsPIM+/-PPGSHGGWG
RW2014822104614
LW2071522144202
C2071522105300
C20551024-2211
D203710106301
D2027964101
C18538115011
C/LW2034740000
D20257103101
D20167125000
C2024617-1000
D2024624-2001
LW20156101000
C2023562000
RW20224200000
LW1511240001
RW702220000
G2002200000
D2001122-5000
D2000024-2000

;Goaltending
PlayerMINGPWLGAGAASOSASVSV%
124920137472.263505458.907
Team:124920137472.263505458.907

Awards and records

Trades

Free agents acquired

Free agents lost

Lost on waivers

Roster

Sources:
Ottawa's picks at the 2006 NHL Entry Draft in Vancouver, British Columbia.
Round#PlayerNationalityCollege/Junior/Club Team
128Nick Foligno United StatesSudbury Wolves
368Eric Gryba CanadaGreen Bay Gamblers
391Kaspars Daugavins HK Riga 2000
4121Pierre-Luc Lessard CanadaGatineau Olympiques
5151Ryan Daniels CanadaSaginaw Spirit
6181Kevin Koopman CanadaBeaver Valley Nitehawks
7211Erik Condra United StatesUniversity of Notre Dame

Notes: