6 things to know about the Ottawa Senators this season

The puck drops for a new season for the Ottawa Senators tonight.

The Senators host the defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers at Canadian Tire Centre to start the 2024-25 season. The Senators will play 41 games at home this season.

"I don't think there's any doubt that this is a more confident sounding team and probably a more confident looking team. You can't win a Stanley Cup in October and November, but you can certainly lose the chance to play for it. So, my guess is this team is going to want to come out guns a blazing starting tonight," Gord Wilson, TSN 1200 Senators commentator said.

"It's disappointing, obviously, over the last seven years of missing the playoffs, but when you add pieces like, David Perron, Mike Amadio, Nick Cousins, all three with Stanley Cup rings, you're bringing in a wealth of experience, and obviously the signing of the goaltender Linus Allmark, just leaves everybody with a real good feeling about what lies ahead."

You can catch tonight’s game on TSN 5 and TSN 1200, with the puck drop at 7 p.m.

CTVNewsOttawa.ca looks at what you need to know about the Senators this season.

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What’s new at Canadian Tire Centre

The Senators have upgraded the fan experience at Canadian Tire Centre for the upcoming season.

More self-serve concessions have been set up on both the 100 and 200 level, and there is a new drink market near the main entrance. There is now a Wayne Gretzky Distillery Cocktail Lounge at section 109.

• IN PICTURES: New foods and other goodies at Canadian Tire Centre

There’s a variety of new food options, including a Canadian Cubano sandwich, crispy Korean chicken bowl, shawarma nachos, steak and potatoes, sushi, salads and a sugar bush cheesecake.

"My excitement is just getting the stadium ready and then people coming in and enjoying the good food that we're going to do," says John Mitchell, Aramark executive chef. "It is quite amazing when you're actually almost cooking for a small town in one night, but it's exciting to see all the moving parts and get this thing going."

Fans will also be able to purchase new souvenir cups and containers this season.

Staff say it takes a lot of work to prepare food for thousands of fans a night.

"We dive into about at least 2,000 hot dogs we produce. Probably about 25 tonnes almost of popcorn to average, we order over 800 pizza doughs to roll and press to have that ready in the building," Mitchell says.

"We're constantly cooking pulled pork, probably got about 150 pounds of pulled pork throughout the building. So it's endless and we just have to stay in front of it, and then we do it all over again in two days to make sure that we're good for the next game and making sure that we're putting smiles on people's faces."

Ottawa Senators souvenir cups and popcorn buckets. (Tyler Fleming/CTV News Ottawa)

Highway 417 access

Senators fans parking in Lot 1 will be able to access Highway 417 directly from the Canadian Tire Centre parking lot this season.

Sens president Cyril Leeder says drivers will be able to exit directly from Lot 1 to the highway following games.

"Cars are able now in Lot 1 to leave directly post game. That's good for the folks in Lot 1, but it's good for everybody else because it takes the Lot 1 folks off the internal road network," Leeder told Newstalk 580 CFRA's Ottawa at Work with Patricia Boal.

Fans have complained about long waits to exit the parking lots following the Senators games.

Chris Phillips, vice-president of business operations at the Ottawa Senators, says during pre-season games, Lot 1 pass holders have been able to slash their exit time from a half-hour or more, to just minutes.

"This is a big step forward, for us to, alleviate that egress time," said Phillips. 

He adds there is a future potential for other parking lots to follow suit.

"As the season progresses, we've had a couple exhibition games, we've seen that time decrease for people getting out of here for sure. We're going to have to sit down with the province and see how this goes, (and) see how fast they clear out. We're all monitoring it to see how it goes," he said.

"There may be some tweaks and learn from the traffic flows and at the end of the day, our objective is to get everybody out as quickly and safely as possible."

Four new faces to watch

The Ottawa Senators have several new faces on the opening night roster. Here is a look at four key new additions.

Linus Ullmark

The Senators acquired Ullmark to be their number one goaltender just before the NHL draft in June.  Ullmark had a record of 22-10-7 with a 2.57 goals against average with the Boston Bruins last season. Ullmark won the Vezina Trophy as the NHL’s top goaltender in 2022-23.

The Sens announced on Wednesday that Ullmark signed a four-year, $33 million contract extension.

Nick Jensen

Jensen arrives in Ottawa after a trade with the Washington Capitals in July. Jensen spent the past five and a half seasons in Washington.

The 33-year-old defenceman had 14 points with the Capitals last season.

David Perron

The 36-year-old Perron signed a two-year contract with the Senators in the off-season. Perron won the Stanley Cup with St. Louis in 2018-19. He had 17 goals and 30 assists with the Detroit Red Wings last season.

Nick Cousins

Cousins brings Stanley Cup pedigree to the Ottawa Senators this season. Cousins signed a one-year contract with the Senators this summer after spending last season with the Florida Panthers. Cousins had 15 points in 69 games last season.

Ottawa Senators' Nick Jensen (3) and Montreal Canadiens' Brendan Gallagher (11) try to control the puck in front of Ottawa Senators goaltender Linus Ullmark (35) during first period NHL pre-season hockey action in Ottawa on Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024. (Patrick Doyle/The Canadian Press)

Five key players for the Senators this season

The Senators will need the entire team firing on all cylinders this season to make the playoffs, but some players will have bigger roles than others. Here is a look at five key players (besides Ullmark).

Brady Tkachuk

After watching his brother Matthew win the Stanley Cup with the Florida Panthers in June, Sens captain Brady Tkachuk will have his sights set on the playoffs this season. Tkachuk led the club with 37 goals and 37 assists last season.

Tim Stutzle

Stutzle enters the season as the Senators number one centre, after posting 70 points last season. This is Stutzle’s fifth season in Ottawa and is a key part of the core.

Jake Sanderson

This is the first season of Sanderson’s eight-year, $64.4 million contract with the Senators, and expectations are high for the defenceman that will be part of the club’s core moving forward. Sanderson had 10 goals and 28 assists last season, and NHL.com names him as a breakout star for the Senators this season.

Josh Norris

All eyes will be on Josh Norris this season, particularly his shoulder. Norris enters the season coming off the third shoulder surgery of his career in March, after injuring his shoulder in February.  Norris had 16 goals and 30 points in 50 games last season.

Shane Pinto

Shane Pinto will be in the lineup opening night after missing the first 41 games last season following a suspension. Pinto signed a two-year, $7.5 million contract with the Senators in the off-season, and scored a hat trick in a pre-season game against Montreal. NHL.com names Pinto as a breakout candidate for the Senators this season.

Key games for the Senators

Here is a look at some of the key dates and facts for the Ottawa Senators this season:

• The Ottawa Senators longest road trip is Dec. 17 to Jan. 7 (nine games), while Ottawa hosts the World Junior Hockey Championship.
• The defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers visit on Oct. 10
• Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers make their only visit to Ottawa on Nov. 19
• The Calgary Flames visit Ottawa for the only time this season on Nov. 25
• The first round of the Battle of Ontario is November 12 in Toronto. The Maple Leafs make their first visit to Ottawa on Jan. 25.
• The Montreal Canadians make their first visit to Canadian Tire Centre on Feb. 22. Montreal is also in Ottawa on April 11.
• The Winnipeg Jets visit Ottawa for their only time this season on Feb. 26.
• Connor Bedard and the Chicago Blackhawks are in Ottawa on April 15.

Senators promo nights

Here is a look at the Senators promotional schedule:

• Oct. 14 – Sensgiving
• Oct. 19 – Spartacat’s Birthday
• Nov. 2 – Oktoberfest
• Nov. 14 – Indigenous Culture Celebration
• Nov. 19 – Hockey Fights Cancer
• Nov. 23 – Thomas Chabot Bobblehead Giveaway
• Dec. 5 – Country Night
• Dec. 11 – First Responders Night
• Jan. 16 – Hockey Talks mental health awareness night
• Jan. 30 – Canadian Armed Forces Night
• Feb. 1 – Star Wars Game
• March 1 – Jake Sanderson Bobblehead Giveaway
• March 8 - Kids Takeover
• March 10 – Women in Sport
• March 29 – Apres Ski
• April 3 – Pride Night
• April 13, April 15 and April 17 – Fan Appreciation Week

Throwback Thursday’s games will be held on Oct. 17, Nov. 7, Nov. 21, Jan. 9, March 13 and March 20.

The Throwback Thursdays include throwback concession prices, throwback music and an "epic poster series giveaway," according to the Sens.

With files from CTV News Ottawa's Tyler Fleming