Twenty-five years after the nation’s capital was awarded an NHL franchise, the Ottawa Senators’ biggest victory is arguably their community work.

That may not have been the vision of the team’s founder Bruce Firestone when he won a bid for the franchise on Dec. 6, 1990. He spearheaded a two year campaign with business colleagues and friends Cyril Leeder, now the Senators’ President, and Randy Sexton to bring an NHL team back to Ottawa.

Two and a half decades later, the team has yet to win a Stanley Cup for the city. But they’ve invested more than $100 million into the Ottawa community.

While the team has donated to charities and financed scholarships, the players have become regular visitors at CHEO and given their free time to champion causes like mental health awareness.

“I believe that they have probably been as strong a community organization as an NHL franchise,” said Michael Allen, CEO and President of the United Way.

Allen was “thrilled” when he learned Ottawa was gaining an NHL team. He had recently moved from Winnipeg which had just lost its franchise to Phoenix. 

Since the early days, Allen has worked closely with the team. In 2007, the Ottawa Senators Foundation contributed $1.2 million over 10 years to a United Way project tackling youth drug addictions through counselling, treatment and early intervention.

The Senators have also supported United Way’s Social Rec Connect project.

“In many communities across Ottawa, for a variety of reasons, some of them socio-economic, lack of facilities or cultural barriers, kids don’t participate in the same way in sports across all our neighbourhoods,” said Allen. 

Allen explained that with the foundation, counsellors go into at-risk communities to get youth involved in sports and try to overcome those challenges.

“We are committed to ensuring that kids are given the opportunity to be active, engaged and to feel good about themselves,” said Brad Weir, who oversees community investments with the Ottawa Senators Foundation.

The foundation was launched in 1998. Since then, the players have used their celebrity status to attract attention and raise money.

“What makes us special is our ability to leverage the brand of the hockey club and get our players involved in generating funds and awareness for organizations, programs and initiatives we support in the community,” said Weir.

Their largest investment is Roger’s House, a palliative care home built by the foundation for children and their families right next door to CHEO. Weir said the foundation has set up an endowment fund to ensure it’s still operating for many years to come.

The team has also made small, but significant contributions in the community by simply donating their time.

Kanata South Councillor Allan Hubley remembers when four players and their families showed up to a community meeting where they were raising money for an anti-bullying school program. 

In the spur of the moment, veteran defenceman Chris Phillips offered to play a game of hockey in his backyard rink with the highest bidder and friends.

“We raised $8,000 on that one item off the floor. They didn’t plan it. It was just done at the event,” said Hubley.

Next week on Mar. 5, Mayor Jim Watson is presenting former Senators captain Daniel Alfredsson with a key to the city, amongst the highest recognition that a citizen can receive.

“He worked hard to be a community ambassador. His work with mental health, CHEO and the United Way, all are a testament to the kind of commitment both he and the team hold for community work,” said Allen.

Documentation

Senators Foundation Infographic

(1) This infographic represents some of the contributions the Ottawa Senators Foundation has made within the city. It includes investments of money and the team’s time.
(2) Brad Weird from the Ottawa Senators Foundation sent me the document after our interview.
(3) The infographic helped me understand the breadth of community work the team does and the magnitude of their investments. It also gave me basic facts and figures that were useful when writing my article.

Senators Sport and Entertainment Impact Study