From rookie games to training camp and a key contract deadline, here are the dates Senators fans should circle as hockey returns this month.
September is now upon us. That means cooler days, fewer mosquitoes (God willing), and the return of Senators hockey.
As we turn the page on the calendar and another summer, here are some of the key dates for the Senators.
Sept. 12–13: NHL Prospects Challenge in Gatineau
We're only 11 days away from the 2026 NHL Prospects Challenge in Gatineau, where Senators rookies will take on their counterparts from the Toronto Maple Leafs and Montreal Canadiens.
The Senators haven't yet released their roster for the event, but in general, their list of prospects is as good as it's been in several years. Carter Yakemchuk, Jonas Lagerberg, Jaxon Cover, Kasper Halttunen, Logan Hensler, Adam Nemec, Blake Montgomery, Gabriel Elliason, and Lucas Beckman are just some of the more compelling names in the system.
Many of them, not all, will play in these two games.
Sept. 15: The Deadline for Eight-Year Extensions
With the new collective bargaining agreement starting on September 16, this will be the final day NHL teams can re-sign players to eight-year contracts. Under the new deal, the maximum term for re-signing your own players is seven years. For all other contracts, the maximum is six.
So September 15 is relevant for both Drake Batherson and Artem Zub, two important Senators who are eligible to sign extensions but won't become unrestricted free agents until next July.
While there have been no whispers out of the Zub camp, he'll be 31 on opening night, so the Senators probably aren't looking at a max term for him or paying him until he's 40.
But there have been whispers out of the Batherson camp.
Postmedia's Bruce Garrioch says he's heard that Batherson would like to get that eight-year term. If it is God's Plan for Drake to re-sign here, he'll likely be the highest-paid player in Senators history, probably getting somewhere around $9–10 million per season. If he waits and heads for the open auction of free agency, he'll likely get more annually.
If the two sides wanted to get something done this summer, and both were game to sign an eight-year deal by September 15, it would probably be done by now.
We'll find out if that's true two weeks from today.
Sept. 21–26: The Three Senators Preseason Dates
With the NHL season expanding to 84 games, the trade-off is a shorter preseason schedule. The Senators have only three preseason dates, but to maximize their time, two will feature split-squad games. All games will be against either the Habs or the Leafs.
They'll open the preseason on September 21 against Montreal at the Colisée Vidéotron in Trois-Rivières. Unlike last year's less-than-successful “home” preseason games in Quebec City, the Sens won't be travelling quite as far to play in front of Habs fans. They also won't have to burn a home preseason date to do it.
This one is part of Kraft Hockeyville Canada. While Trois-Rivières is hosting the game, Saint-Boniface, Quebec, is this year's recognized community.
A series of split-squad games will follow. On Wednesday, September 23, a portion of the players participating in training camp will travel to Toronto to face the Maple Leafs. At the same time, the Leafs will send a group to Ottawa to face the Senators at Canadian Tire Centre.
The same scenario will be repeated on Saturday, September 26, when the Senators and Canadiens face off simultaneously in Montreal and at the CTC.
Sept. 29: NHL Regular-Season Opening Night
The first game features the Florida Panthers visiting the Carolina Hurricanes at 5 pm, a battle between the winners of the last three Stanley Cups.
Even though the Senators were eliminated by the Hurricanes in the first round back in April, most of their fans will be cheering loudly for the 'Canes as they take on Florida newcomer Brady Tkachuk, who completely bailed on Ottawa in the offseason by asking for a trade. He'll be in white for the visiting Panthers, wearing the unfamiliar No. 8 and probably asking Jordan Staal for a pregame fight..
The evening also includes the classic Canadian matchup, the OG, with the Montreal Canadiens visiting the Toronto Maple Leafs at 7 pm.
The Senators won't open their regular season until Saturday, October 3, in Toronto. Their first three games will be on the road, with stops in Boston and Detroit on October 5 and 6. Ottawa's home opener is Thursday, October 8.
Also mixed in there this month is the team's annual golf tournament, the probable naming of a new captain, and later this week, their annual media season launch event.
In the meantime, welcome to September. Sens hockey is almost back.
By Steve Warne
The Hockey News
This article was first published in The Hockey News. For more Sens coverage at The Hockey News, click on one of the latest THN Ottawa headlines below:
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