The 2026–27 Ottawa Senators season is the 35th season of operation of the Ottawa Senators of the National Hockey League (NHL). The team will attempt to return to the playoffs for a third consecutive season.

Team business The team reached an agreement with the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL), owners of the Ottawa Charge, allowing the team to move to the Canadian Tire Centre (CTC) for the 2026–27 season. This followed the plans of the TD Place Arena's owners to demolish the arena and replace it with a smaller arena. The Charge played their 2026 playoff games at the CTC with near sell-outs.

The team announced that it would host a four-team NHL Prospect Challenge prospects tournament in Gatineau, Quebec, at Centre Slush Puppie arena in September 2026. Other teams participating include Montreal Canadiens, Toronto Maple Leafs, and Winnipeg Jets.

The team announced the renovation of the upper seating area at one end of the Canadian Tire Centre. A new 'Fan Deck' for standing room replaced the upper level seats of the 300-level, reducing the seating capacity of the arena while allowing an open bar area for people to congregate and view the hockey games. The zone is open to all attendees at games, with separate ticketing for selected events.

Off-season After requesting a trade, team captain Brady Tkachuk was traded on June 21, 2026, to Florida Panthers for three first-round draft picks and a second-round draft pick. Tkachuk was under increased scrutiny after celebrating with the United States national team at the White House and other events. His term with the club ended with a disappointing loss in the 2026 Stanley Cup playoffs, where he failed to register a point. Tkachuk met with general manager Steve Staios and informed him that he would not re-sign with the club after his contract ended, and discussions concluded with his trade request and a list of teams acceptable for trade. Tkachuk joined the Panthers in a similar way to his brother Matthew Tkachuk, who refused to re-sign with the Calgary Flames and was traded.

Continuing in the week before the draft, the Senators traded the ninth-overall pick received for Tkachuk to San Jose Sharks for William Eklund and two prospects. The Senators traded for Andre Burakovsky from the Chicago Blackhawks and goaltender Samuel Ersson from the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Pre-season

Regular season

Divisional standings

Conference standings

Schedule and results Preseason The preseason schedule was published on June 24, 2026.

2026 preseason game log: 1–3–1 (home: 1–1–0; road: 0–2–1) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Recap 1 September 21 Ottawa 2–3 Montreal OT Ersson 4,500 0–0–1 2 September 23 Ottawa 1–6 Toronto Merilainen 17,996 0–1–1 3 September 23 Toronto 4–2 Ottawa Ullmark 11,785 0–2–1 4 September 26 Ottawa 2–4 Montreal Ersson 20,962 0–3–1 5 September 26 Montreal 3–4 Ottawa Ullmark 14,032 1–3–1 Notes: Game played at Colisée Vidéotron in Trois Rivieres, Quebec. Split-squad games.

Regular season The Ottawa Senators regular season schedule was released on July 16, 2026. 2026–27 game logOctober: 2–1–0 (home: 0–0–0; road: 2–1–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 1 October 3 Ottawa 3–2 Toronto Ullmark 18,434 1–0–0 2 2 October 5 Ottawa 4–1 Boston Ullmark 17,850 2–0–0 4 3 October 6 Ottawa 3–5 Detroit Ersson 17,583 2–1–0 4 4 October 8 Philadelphia – Ottawa 0–0–0 5 October 10 Nashville – Ottawa 0–0–0 6 October 12 Ottawa – New Jersey 0–0–0 7 October 13 St. Louis – Ottawa 0–0–0 8 October 15 NY Islanders – Ottawa 0–0–0 9 October 17 Ottawa – Philadelphia 0–0–0 10 October 21 Florida – Ottawa 0–0–0 11 October 22 San Jose – Ottawa 0–0–0 12 October 24 NY Rangers – Ottawa 0–0–0 13 October 27 Ottawa – Vegas 0–0–0 14 October 29 Ottawa – Los Angeles 0–0–0 15 October 31 Ottawa – San Jose 0–0–0 November: 0–0–0 (home: 0–0–0; road: 0–0–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 16 November 1 Ottawa – Anaheim 0–0–0 17 November 4 Ottawa – Buffalo 0–0–0 18 November 7 Utah – Ottawa 0–0–0 19 November 10 Washington – Ottawa 0–0–0 20 November 12 Colorado – Ottawa 0–0–0 21 November 14 Ottawa – Pittsburgh 0–0–0 22 November 17 Ottawa – Winnipeg 0–0–0 23 November 19 Philadelphia – Ottawa 0–0–0 24 November 21 Los Angeles – Ottawa 0–0–0 25 November 23 Calgary – Ottawa 0–0–0 26 November 25 Ottawa – Florida 0–0–0 27 November 27 Ottawa – Tampa Bay 0–0–0 28 November 28 Ottawa – Carolina 0–0–0 29 November 30 Ottawa – Nashville 0–0–0 December: 0–0–0 (home: 0–0–0; road: 0–0–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 30 December 3 New Jersey – Ottawa 0–0–0 31 December 5 Tampa Bay – Ottawa 0–0–0 32 December 6 Ottawa – Montreal 0–0–0 33 December 8 Anaheim – Ottawa 0–0–0 34 December 10 Vegas – Ottawa 0–0–0 35 December 12 Edmonton – Ottawa 0–0–0 36 December 14 Buffalo – Ottawa 0–0–0 37 December 18 Chicago – Ottawa 0–0–0 38 December 20 Ottawa – Chicago 0–0–0 39 December 27 Ottawa – NY Islanders 0–0–0 40 December 29 Dallas – Ottawa 0–0–0 41 December 31 Pittsburgh – Ottawa 0–0–0 January: 0–0–0 (home: 0–0–0; road: 0–0–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 42 January 2 Ottawa – Washington 0–0–0 43 January 5 Ottawa – Utah 0–0–0 44 January 6 Ottawa – Colorado 0–0–0 45 January 8 Ottawa – St. Louis 0–0–0 46 January 12 Ottawa – Dallas 0–0–0 47 January 14 Winnipeg – Ottawa 0–0–0 48 January 16 Ottawa – Tampa Bay 0–0–0 49 January 18 Ottawa – Florida 0–0–0 50 January 20 Toronto – Ottawa 0–0–0 51 January 23 Columbus – Ottawa 0–0–0 52 January 25 Carolina – Ottawa 0–0–0 53 January 28 Boston – Ottawa 0–0–0 54 January 30 NY Rangers – Ottawa 0–0–0 February: 0–0–0 (home: 0–0–0; road: 0–0–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 55 February 9 Columbus – Ottawa 0–0–0 56 February 11 Ottawa – Columbus 0–0–0 57 February 13 Toronto – Ottawa 0–0–0 58 February 15 Ottawa – Minnesota 0–0–0 59 February 17 Ottawa – Seattle 0–0–0 60 February 18 Ottawa – Vancouver 0–0–0 61 February 21 Ottawa – Calgary 0–0–0 62 February 22 Ottawa – Edmonton 0–0–0 63 February 25 Detroit – Ottawa 0–0–0 64 February 26 Ottawa – Buffalo 0–0–0 March: 0–0–0 (home: 0–0–0; road: 0–0–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 65 March 2 Ottawa – New Jersey 0–0–0 66 March 4 Boston – Ottawa 0–0–0 67 March 6 Seattle – Ottawa 0–0–0 68 March 7 Buffalo – Ottawa 0–0–0 69 March 9 Ottawa – Pittsburgh 0–0–0 70 March 11 Minnesota – Ottawa 0–0–0 71 March 13 Montreal – Ottawa 0–0–0 72 March 14 Vancouver – Ottawa 0–0–0 73 March 16 Ottawa – NY Rangers 0–0–0 74 March 18 Florida – Ottawa 0–0–0 75 March 20 Tampa Bay – Ottawa 0–0–0 76 March 24 Ottawa – Montreal 0–0–0 77 March 25 Ottawa – Boston 0–0–0 78 March 27 Ottawa – Toronto 0–0–0 79 March 30 Ottawa – Detroit 0–0–0 April: 0–0–0 (home: 0–0–0; road: 0–0–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 80 April 2 Ottawa – NY Islanders 0–0–0 81 April 4 Detroit – Ottawa 0–0–0 82 April 7 Ottawa – Carolina 0–0–0 83 April 8 Washington – Ottawa 0–0–0 84 April 10 Montreal – Ottawa 0–0–0 Legend:

Notes: Game played at PSD Bank Dome in Düsseldorf, Germany

Roster

Transactions The Senators have been involved in the following transactions during the 2026–27 season. Key

Contract is entry-level. Contract takes effect in the 2027–28 season.

Trades Date Details Ref To Tampa Bay LightningFuture considerations To Ottawa SenatorsJonas Johansson

Players acquired Date Player Former team Term Via Ref July 1, 2026 Sammy Blais Montreal Canadiens 2-year Free agency NHL Christian Kyrou Dallas Stars 1-year Free agency Ryan Suzuki Carolina Hurricanes 1-year Free agency Philip Tomasino Philadelphia Flyers 1-year Free agency

Players lost Date Player New team Term Via Ref July 1, 2026 Lars Eller Florida Panthers 1-year Free agency NHL Dennis Gilbert Buffalo Sabres 1-year Free agency NHL Nick Jensen Anaheim Ducks 2-year Free agency NHL Garrett Pilon Barys Astana (KHL) 1-year Free agency Mads Sogaard Tampa Bay Lightning 1-year Free agency NHL July 19, 2026 Jamieson Rees Straubing Tigers (DEL) 1-year Free agency + September 7, 2026 Graeme Clarke Frölunda HC (SHL) 1-year Free agency Leevi Merilainen Vancouver Canucks Waivers

Signings

Date Player Term Ref July 1, 2026 Nick Cousins 2-year TSN Samuel Ersson 2-year The Hockey News Philippe Daoust 1-year NHL July 2, 2026 Leevi Merilainen 1-year NHL July 7, 2026 Claude Giroux 1-year NHL July 9, 2026 Xavier Bourgault 1-year NHL July 10, 2026 Tyler Boucher 1-year NHL September 15, 2026 Drake Batherson 8-year TSN

Draft picks The 2026 NHL entry draft was held on June 26 and 27 at KeyBank Center in Buffalo, New York. Ottawa made the following selections: Round Overall Player Position Nationality Club team1 25 Jonas Lagerberg Hoen RW Sweden Leksands IF (SHL) 1 32 Jaxon Cover LW Canada London Knights (OHL) 3 72 Adam Nemec LW Slovakia Sudbury Wolves (OHL) 3 87Oscar Holmertz C Sweden Linkoping HC (SHL-Jr) 3 91 Louis Felix Bourque RW Canada Drummondville Voltigeurs (QMJHL) 4 110 Elliot Lennon G Canada Deerfield (Massachusetts HS) 5 151 Harris Pangretitsch D Canada Sault Ste Marie Greyhounds (OHL) 6 183 Alexander Grunin D Russia Sibirskie Snaipery Novosibirsk (MHL Russia Jr)

Source: NHL

Notes

References