The Ottawa Senators, a professional ice hockey team based in Ottawa, have a logo history as unique as their franchise. This franchise has never fielded a truly winning crest, and maybe the name deserves the blame. When you're called the Senators, your logo is doomed to be boring or inaccurate - or both. From their early days to the modern NHL era, the team's logos have reflected their identity and evolution.
The Ottawa Senators (French: Sénateurs d'Ottawa), officially the Ottawa Senators Hockey Club and colloquially known as the Sens, are a professional ice hockey team based in Ottawa. The Senators compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. Founded and established by Ottawa real estate developer Bruce Firestone, the team is the second NHL franchise to use the Ottawa Senators name.
Ottawa had been home to the original Senators, a founding NHL franchise and 11-time Stanley Cup champions. The original Ottawa Senators, founded in 1883, won the Stanley Cup 11 times, playing in the NHL from 1917 until 1934. The original Senators' eventual financial losses forced the franchise to move to St. Louis in 1934 operating as the Eagles while a Senators senior amateur team took over the Senators' place in Ottawa.
Fifty-four years later, after the NHL announced plans to expand, Ottawa real estate developer Bruce Firestone decided along with colleagues Cyril Leeder and Randy Sexton that Ottawa was now able to support an NHL franchise, and the group proceeded to put a bid together. On December 6, 1990, after a two-year public campaign by Firestone, the NHL awarded a new franchise, which began play in the 1992-93 season. The Senators have made 17 playoff appearances, won four division titles, and won the 2003 Presidents' Trophy.
Let's delve into the fascinating history of the Ottawa Senators logo, tracing its evolution from the early days to its current form.
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Early Logos and the "O" Tradition (1883-1934)
Hockey appeared in Ottawa in 1883 when the amateur club Ottawa HC was founded in Ontario. From 1883 to 1909, the team changed its name several times. For example, in 1890, the team was renamed “Ottawa Generals.” From 1903 to 1907, it was called the Silver Seven. The team received this name for quite prosaic reasons: Silver - the team owner paid players silver nuggets for each Stanley Cup won (in the era of amateur hockey, players were forbidden to receive money for playing), Seven - in honor of the number of players on the team and the rink.
In 1909, the team became fully professional and changed its name to the Senators. The first mention of the nickname “Senators” appeared in a game report in 1901. It was related to the fact that the team was based in the capital of Canada, where the country’s Senate was located. From 1917 to 1934, the team won 11 Stanley Cups.
The “Ottawa Senators” wore red-white-black sweaters with horizontal stripes. This color scheme was maintained until 1934 when the team was forced to leave the NHL for a long due to financial difficulties. Before disbanding, in the 1929-1930 season, the team introduced an “O” logo on the chest of the sweater.
The team’s first graphic symbol looked like a Kolovrat, only not with eight but with nine rays. It looked very strange, consisting of three legs pointing in different directions and connected in the center. These were three “claws” or six protruding pointed stripes. This Ottawa Senators logo was completely painted in a rich red color. It symbolized tremendous speed and sports enthusiasm. The legs, bent at the knees, resembled stylized hockey sticks.
After the redesign, the “Kolovrat” disappeared, giving way to a large black letter “O” with a white stroke and a red outline. It used a contrasting font with vertically elongated glyphs. The background was a flag divided into two color blocks: a red top and a black bottom. It was placed in a dark rectangular frame.
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Ottawa Senators "O" Logo
The Modern Era: Centurion Emerges (1992-Present)
In 1990, businessman Bruce Firestone, a native of Ottawa, approached the NHL with a proposal to create a new franchise with the old name and old black-red-white color scheme. It took Bruce Firestone two years to convince the NHL leadership to accept a new franchise from the capital of Canada. In October 1992, the “Senators” played their first game against the “Montreal Canadiens” as an NHL member. The “Ottawa Senators” emblem features a profile of a Roman legionnaire. Throughout its modern history, the “Ottawa Senators” franchise has maintained the same key visual concept of the logo.
The original logo of the modern (1990s-born) Senators was about as exciting as a stack of Premium Plus crackers, which is what you'd expect for a team called the Senators. The "new" Ottawa Senators were founded in 1990, and a pre-launch logo popped up on T-shirts and hoodies all over the city by 1991. It was accurate, with the two Ts forming a representation of the Peace Tower. But it wasn't pretty. Think for a moment how plain and ugly the logo is... then stop and realize what the Washington Capitals have gotten away with for years.
The first real logo debuted on jerseys in time for Ottawa's inaugural season, 1992-93. The design was simple, more symbolic than detailed, and represented the Centurion/Roman general figure who connected (loosely) to the term Senator. Strength and determination - that’s what the “Ottawa Senators” logo conveys. It was adopted in May 1993, shortly before the hockey players’ first season, which ended at the end of that year. Tony Milchard designed it. In addition, the logo contained the team name and was placed on a military shield. It was later removed.
The main reason for giving the face more features was to address criticism that the logo too closely resembled that of the USC Trojans or Trojan condoms. It became one of the few teams that simply modernized, slightly altered, or adjusted the main team logo.
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The following table summarizes the evolution of the Ottawa Senators logo:
| Years | Description |
|---|---|
| 1992-1997 | Roman emperor or centurion in profile, golden helmet with laurels, "Ottawa Senators" inscription. |
| 1997-2007 | Almost identical to the previous one, but the team name was replaced with a black laurel. |
| 2007-2020 | Roman emperor head-on, stoic and stern, golden helmet, burgundy feathers, shield with laurel wreath pattern. |
| 2020-Present | Return to the classic logo with the centurion facing right. Semicircle, supplemented with a laurel wreath and the symbolic elements on the left. |
Logo Variations and Alternate Designs
Ottawa has experimented with some alternate jersey logos in recent years. One is a crime against humanity. Not only is it a word - which I'm not a fan of - it's a nickname. Placing the word 'Sens' on a sweater was a pathetic attempt to capitalize on a new-age fad. They may as well have called themselves the Ottawa Pogs or the Ottawa Gangnam Styles.
Thankfully, Ottawa saved the best for last. The Heritage Jersey logo, which is a simple 'O,' honors the original incarnation of the Senators - the team that won Stanley Cups. It's simplistic and hardly exciting, but it's oh-so classy and carries plenty of historical weight.
When the Ottawa Senators promoted the modernized version of their former third-jersey logo to the primary status, the Ottawa Senators logo featuring the side view of a centurion became a secondary one. They also use a shield with black and red fields, as well as an emblem featuring a large “O” and a flag.
Ottawa Senators Alternate Logos
The Centurion's Evolution
In 1996-97, the logo also underwent a slight transformation, as the words "Ottawa Senators" disappeared in favor of laurels. Next came the more detailed, cartoonish Centurion character. It appeared on alternate unis as early as 1997-98. Also not helping: the cartoony look. It's almost too detailed, too comic booky, to place on a hockey sweater. The poor, overly serious fella attracts teasing. You want to swipe the helmet off his head and run circles around him until he complains you'll get him in trouble with his manager at the Caesar's Palace casino.
The current incarnation of our Roman buddy has been Ottawa's primary emblem since 2007-08. It's slightly more upright than the alternate jersey version, and the additional squint in the eyes makes him more stoic. Mirroring the shift toward visor use in the NHL, his helmet also protects more of his face. Good on him.
The latest incarnation mostly elicits guffaws in the THN office. We can't take the character seriously. Maybe it's the fact he's dressed in battle gear like a Spartan or, more accurately, a Roman soldier, when his government title is Senator. If we subscribe to the idea of a general from the Roman senate, as the franchise originally described this logo, the armor isn't what most Senators wore in ancient Rome. And it would've been awfully tough to win wars or hockey games wearing that. Also, nothing about the logo connects to the Canadian, Ottawa-based idea of a senator in the Canadian Parliament. The disconnect between team name and image puts the Ottawa logo at an immediate disadvantage.
In 2008, the “Senators” updated the old logo and have used it ever since. Club owner Eugene Melnyk said the new “Ottawa Senators” logo symbolizes “strength and determination.”
Colors and Symbolism
The “Ottawa Senators” hockey team borrowed the official palette of the Ottawa Amateur Athletic Association, of which it was a part. After the dissolution and disappearance of the sports association, the club owners began to use it as a successor. The logo includes all four corporate colors: white, black, red Hex: #CF0820, and gold Hex: #C09205.
The character on the logo has always remained the same - the image of a Roman general or centurion. Only the position of his head changed. In the earliest versions (the first two), he is depicted in profile and looks to the left. In 2007, after the redesign, the developers turned his head, drawing him almost head-on. The artists also detailed their facial expressions, depicting them with dark strokes, which had not been observed before. Until that moment, the eyes, nose, and lips were shaped like triangles.
The Roman general’s head is adorned with a golden helmet and a raised visor. Metal plates also protect the sides of the face, and burgundy feathers protrude from the top. The collar of the cloak draped over the shoulders is the same color. The facial features are formed by intersecting thick black lines.
Dissenting opinion: "No. 22 feels a bit harsh for the Senators logo. It's at least crisp and clean, unlike some of the ugly abstract symbols popping up on jerseys nowadays. And while using a Roman general to depict a senator in Ottawa is a stretch, it can't really be faulted. Roman soldiers are far more intimidating than modern politicians. Well, most of them." -Matt Larkin
Ottawa Senators New LOGO?
Conclusion
The Ottawa Senators logo history reflects a journey from a simple "O" to the iconic Centurion, embodying strength and determination. While opinions on the logo's design may vary, its evolution tells a story of a team rooted in history and striving for success.
Think you can improve on the Senators design? Time to let you take your best shot at a new Sens logo. When we complete our logo rankings, we'll share our favorite redesigns from readers. You can submit a drawing for all 30 NHL logos if you desire. Maybe we'll pick yours at the end of the ranking series, when we announce our favorite designs from all 30 franchises.