Ottawa Senators will open the 2025-26 campaign with a trip to the Sunshine State
Article content
The Ottawa Senators will learn that the hard way when they open their National Hockey League season on the road with a trip through the Sunshine State before facing the Nashville Predators in a matinee home opener on Oct. 13 at the Canadian Tire Centre.
Article content
Article content
The NHL released its schedule on Tuesday.
Article content
The Senators will begin the 2025-26 campaign against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday, Oct. 9, at Amalie Arena before facing the difficult test of the two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers on Saturday, Oct. 11, at the Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise.
Article content
Article content
Fortunately, the Senators won't have to endure a banner raising before the puck is dropped at 7:30 p.m. The Panthers will open the season four days earlier against Connor Bedard and the Chicago Blackhawks at 5 p.m. as part of an ESPN tripleheader on Oct. 7.
Article content
Article content
Don't expect to see captain Brady Tkachuk face off against his brother, Matthew, an alternate captain with the Panthers. Coming off his second straight Cup win, it sounds like Matthew will be undergoing surgery for a sports hernia and a torn adductor.
Article content
The Senators will host the Predators at 1 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day in the club's home opener.
Article content
After making the playoffs for the first time in eight years before losing in Round 1 to the Toronto Maple Leafs in the first post-season Battle of Ontario in 21 years, the Senators are hoping that continued success on the ice will lead to better numbers at the box office.
Article content
Article content
The Leafs will visit Ottawa twice, on Saturday, March 21, and on Thursday, April 15, while the Montreal Canadiens will be in town on Saturday, Jan. 17, and on Wednesday, March 11.
Article content
Article content
The Senators went into last year with approximately 7,500 season tickets and the club is trying to move closer to the league average of 11,000. Ottawa saw an uptick in season-ticket sales, and the Senators had a 90% renewal rate heading into the summer.
Article content
The club had 13 sellouts in the 18,652-seat arena last season.
Article content
Last year, the Senators hosted the 2025 IIHF world junior championship, which meant the club spent nearly a month on the road. That isn't going to happen this year and the Senators will be able to capitalize on the popular home games that are held during the holiday season in Ottawa.
Article content
That doesn't mean this schedule won't have its challenges.
Article content
The Senators will have one of the longest trips in franchise history, which will get underway Nov. 20 against the Anaheim Ducks at the Honda Center.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Edmonton Journal
2 days ago
- Edmonton Journal
'So much noise': Social media attacks on NHLers out of hand, Oilers GM says
The excellent 100% Hockey Talk podcast with John Shannon and Daren Millard's meaty incident with Edmonton Oilers GM Stan Bowman had Bowman refer a few times to the intense social media maelstrom now around National Hockey League players, something Bowman would know well by the heated discussion around his own career following the Kyle Beach incident in Chicago. Article content Article content Bowman first dug into the subject when he was asked for his thoughts on the Oilers coming back with goalies Stuart Skinner and Calvin Pickard in net, even as the two had inconsistent seasons and playoffs performances. Skinner, in particular, has come in for heavy social media criticism, though generally mainstream media commentators have back the goalie. Article content Article content While Skinner and Pickard are the Oiler goalies heading into the 2025-26 season, Bowman targeted bringing in another goalie this summer but failed to close any deal. He did, however, not renew the contract of goalie coach Dustin Schwartz, instead bringing in Peter Aubry, a former goalie coach in Bowman's old Blackhawks organization. Article content 'I think to change something, just to change it, I don't know that I've ever been a big fan of that..,' Bowman said. 'I think you have to be confident that the change that you're making is an improvement. And I think when we looked around at the options, I think there was nothing that made sense to give us a better look.' Article content Article content Bowman continued: 'I recognize why people feel that way. But also you have to do things that you and your group feel are the most wise moving forward. And that's how we landed where we are now.' Article content Bowman then talked about Aubry's coming on board.'There's, number one, establishing that relationship, because the goalie has to feel connected to their goalie coach and be on the same level and know that they're there to try to make them better. So then there's the technical components, which they're going to watch a lot of video. They're going to have, there may be adjustments that, you know, I mean, when I thought we interviewed through the process, of course, Peter presented his thoughts and sort of the other candidates like on things that they think could help our goaltenders… I listened and they all made sense. And I think I'm open minded to that. But as far as how he goes about that, that's what they're (the coaches) there for. I'm not really going to meddle in any of that. I'm just going to hopefully have them establish like some good communication and collaboration, I guess would be the best thing that I want to make sure happens. And then from there, you know, the goalie and the goalie coach, at the end of the day, they're accountable for their performance.' Article content NHL players should listen to their coach, GM and fellow players, not to anyone on social media. And, as professionals, they should have the discipline to resist tuning into social media. Article content 4. I'm on social media for work and pleasure. I have come to enjoy it immensely. You won't find a better source of breaking Oilers news than X (Twitter), nor will you find more informed and sharp hockey talk. It's a great place to meet and discuss hockey with other fans and pundits. Article content As most of you know, I have plenty of opinions and make no end of criticisms on social media, sp it's only right that I should have a thick skin and take plenty of heat. Article content I accept that. As the years have gone by (I've been on Twitter since March 2007) I have learned that social media is just talk, it's often fury, froth, nonsense and madness, it's no big deal, so no sense in getting too worked up. At same time if some accounts libel and defame me, or hallucinate and make up dark and fantastical things about what they believe I think, I employ the mute and/or block buttons. Article content Article content I reserve the block button mostly for anonymous accounts. If someone uses their real name I'm far more likely to give them a hearing, even if I find they're obnoxious. I can be obnoxious myself, so I try to cut some slack, hoping others will reciprocate. Article content I've also found that it's sometimes the folks who criticize me most ardently who have also sharpened up my own thinking and work the most. Article content 5. Having trouble with social media? Getting wound up? Constantly triggered? Article content Plenty of great advice on this particular foible comes from Stoic philosophy, such as this from modern day American stoic writer Ryan Holiday: 'A Stoic knows they will be the recipient of unfair criticism. They don't whine and bitch about it. They don't get distracted by it or make impotent threats. They certainly don't take it personally either (In fact, Epictetus liked to joke that when someone unfairly criticizes you, feel grateful that they didn't point out your real flaws). No, they didn't do any of that. Because they had a job to do. Because they knew that trying to control other people's opinions was like trying to control the weather—and that a public life guarantees public scrutiny. And they knew one other thing: They knew that if they stuck to their ideals and ethics and did their work well, in the end, proper judgement would be rendered. We would do well to remember the same thing.' Article content Article content And then there's what Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius had to say: 'Begin the morning by saying to yourself, I shall meet with the busybody, the ungrateful, arrogant, deceitful, envious, unsocial. All these things happen to them by reason of their ignorance of what is good and evil. But I who have seen the nature of the good that it is beautiful, and of the bad that it is ugly, and the nature of him who does wrong, that it is akin to me, not of the same blood or seed, but of the same mind, and possessing a share of the divine… I can neither be injured by any of them, for no one can fix on me what is ugly, nor can I be angry with my kinsman, nor hate him. For we are made for cooperation, like feet, like hands, like eyelids, like the rows of the upper and lower teeth. To act against one another then is contrary to nature; and it is acting against one another to be vexed and to turn away.'
Winnipeg Free Press
2 days ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Clemson's Dabo Swinney rooting for Hunter Renfrow as he attempts NFL comeback with Panthers
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Hunter Renfrow remembers being cut by the Las Vegas Raiders on March 13, 2024, and not even caring all that much. He had no desire to play football. Physically, he felt awful. He'd lost 35 pounds, went a week with a 103-degree fever and was completely zapped of the energy and fire he was once known to bring to the football field. Running routes, catching passes and being blasted by defensive backs was the last thing on his mind. But after being diagnosed with a severe case of ulcerative colitis, a chronic inflammatory bowel disease that causes inflammation and ulcers in the lining of the large intestine and rectum, the 2021 Pro Bowler is now feeling like himself again. He's trying to make an NFL comeback with the Carolina Panthers, the team he rooted for as a kid growing up in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Dabo Swinney, his college coach at Clemson, believes if anyone can make it back it's Renfrow. 'You're playing football at the highest level and he just couldn't eat,' Swinney said. 'It affected him, and he was really done (with football). I didn't think he was gonna play again.' Neither did Renfrow. 'I was like, I'm never playing a football again,' Renfroe said. 'Like when you feel like that, you feel like you're letting your teammates down.' Renfrow's problems surfaced late in the 2021 season in which he caught a career-high 103 passes for 1,038 yards and nine touchdowns. He noticed his energy level had dropped off significantly and he could never seem to get it all the way back, even after taking a month off to prep for his first Pro Bowl appearance. The Raiders rewarded Renfrow with a two-year, $32 million contract extension that offseason, but he never came close to reaching that level of production again. He caught just 36 passes for 330 yards and two touchdowns in 2022 and 25 passes for 255 yards and no touchdowns in 2023, leading to his release. But after several hospital visits and a referral to a Charlotte-area pediatrician, Renfrow finally received a diagnosis. He began receiving treatment, started a new diet and saw his appetite return. By September he'd put back on the 35 pounds he'd lost and then some. His energy returned. He played pickleball, basketball and golf and the competitive juices began to return. As the 2024 NFL season went out without him, Renfrow privately began discussing a possible comeback with Swinney, who has remained a close friend and father figure. 'I was like Hunter, listen, you know you're gonna be 40 one day,' Swinney said. 'So if you got more left in you …' In January, Renfrow took Swinney's advice and began to work his way back into football shape. He asked his agent if the Panthers might be interested in giving him a workout. They were, and that ultimately led to a one-year, $1.22 million contract that included a modest $50,000 signing bonus. It was a no-lose proposition for the Panthers. But if Monday is any indication, Renfrow might just be a solid under-the-radar free agent addition for the Panthers. With Swinney observing from the Panthers sideline as a guest of coach Dave Canales, the 5-foot-10 Renfrow made two impressive catches reminiscent of the player who went from walk-on to catching the game-winning touchdown pass with 1 second remaining in Clemson's dramatic 35-31 win over Alabama in the national championship game in the 2016 season. Renfrow said he feels appreciative as he continues 'pushing toward something special.' While the unimposing Renfrow may look like an ordinary guy off the field, Swinney said that when he puts on the pads he 'turns into Superman.' 'He catches it. He makes plays,' Swinney said. 'He understands the leverage and influence and route-running and break points and how to set things up and how to play with his hands at full speed. And he's just got elite change of direction. … But he's a little guy that plays really big, and is really crafty. Just his ability to separate and change direction, that's hard to find.' Renfrow is no lock to make the Panthers roster. The Panthers have upgraded their wide receiver position in recent years, drafting Xavier Legette and Tetairoa McMillan in the first round in 2024 and 2025, respectively. They also have veteran wide receivers Adam Thielen and David Moore, and the team remains high on last year's surprise undrafted rookie standout Jalen Coker. But Canales likes what he's seen so far from Renfrow. 'He looks like the Hunter that I remember,' Canales said. Canales said Renfrow began to show a burst during the team's OTAs in the spring, and he's been pleased with his development ever since, citing the five-year NFL veteran's knowledge of coverages and leverages and ability to attack defenses. Thursdays Keep up to date on sports with Mike McIntyre's weekly newsletter. The next month will go a long way toward determining whether Renfrow is able to make it all the way back. Either way, at least he has his health. 'I'm just pulling for him,' Swinney said. 'He's having fun again. He's 29 and so I'm just happy that he's back out here. If he stays healthy he'll do what Renfrow does. That's just who he is.' ___ AP NFL:
Toronto Star
2 days ago
- Toronto Star
Bubba Wallace overcame questions and doubts to end 3-year drought with 1st Brickyard 400 win
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Bubba Wallace spent three long years questioning everything about his racing world. During a 100-race winless streak, he saw teammate Tyler Reddick win five times and post three top 10 finishes in NASCAR's final standings. Wallace also watched team co-owner Denny Hamlin make regular trips to victory lane while still chasing his elusive Cup title.
