Since reforming in the 1992-93 season, the Sens have been led by several key players. Read our history of every Ottawa Senators captain over 30+ years of games.
Since reforming as a franchise in 1992, the Ottawa Senators have competed through major highs and lows, with one of the most dedicated fanbases in the NHL backing them all the way. As the team for Canada’s capital, their games frequently sell out the Canadian Tire Centre and are watched by fans around the world.
We’ve seen eight different players take the role of Senators captain since their debut as a franchise, with some having much longer tenures than others. Here’s our complete history of every captain of the Ottawa Senators from 1992 to now.
Ottawa Senators captain history
Here’s a brief summary of each captain who has led the Senators over the years:
Brady Tkachuk: 2021 – Present
Brady Tkachuk is the current Ottawa Senators captain, having joined the team in 2018 before taking on the leading role in 2021.
Prior to joining the NHL, Tkachuk was a standout player for Boston University and was selected as the fourth overall pick in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft. Tkachuk was the captain to break the Senators’ playoff drought in the 2024-25 season, and he has appeared in four NHL All-Star games since joining the team. Tkachuk has already broken into the top five goalscorers in Senators history, with his career best being a 37-goal season in 2024.
Erik Karlsson: 2014-18
Swedish defender Erik Karlsson led the Ottawa Senators as captain from 2014 to 2018. After being chosen as the 15th overall pick in the 2008 Entry Draft, he began to gain recognition for his speed on the ice and his playmaking skills.
Under his leadership, the Senators made it through to the NHL postseason twice, and he set the team record for the most assists in one season by a defenceman in 2016. Karlsson left Ottawa for the San Jose Sharks at the end of the 2018 season, and currently plays for the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Jason Spezza: 2013-14
Jason Spezza’s singular season as Ottawa Senators captain gives him a joint record for the shortest time as the team’s leading man, but the Canadian centre was seen as a key player for the team in his prime.
In the 2005-06 season, his 71 assists set a new record for the franchise. He also managed two 90-point seasons for the Senators – in 2005-06 and 2007-08. After failing to reach the playoffs in his sole season as captain, Spezza departed for the Dallas Stars, who he would later earn a Division Championship with in 2016.
Daniel Alfredsson: 1999-2013
The longest-tenured Ottawa Senators captain, Daniel Alfredsson, is often thought of as the most successful by fans. He has set numerous franchise records for the Sens, including career goals scored, career assists, and most playoff games played.
The Senators retired the jersey number 11 to honour him in 2016, and he was inducted into the team’s Hall of Fame in 2022. His highest scoring season came in 2005-06, where he finished with 103 points under his belt.
Alexei Yashin: 1998-99
While his captaincy was short-lived, coming to an abrupt end following contract disagreements, Alexei Yashin played for the Senators since their reformation in 1992, and had cemented himself as a star player. He was drafted 2nd overall in the 1992 Entry Draft, before scoring the most points in a rookie season (1993-94) in Sens history with 79.
He scored 218 career goals for Ottawa, ranking as their third-highest goalscorer of all time behind Jason Spezza and Daniel Alfredsson. During his single season as captain, the Senators topped the Northeast Division before losing 4-0 to the Buffalo Sabres in their first playoff round.
Randy Cunneyworth: 1994-98
Randy Cunneyworth’s captaincy got off to a rough start with the 1994-95 NHL lockout, during which the Senators finished at the bottom of the league.
The same happened in the 1995-96 season, but following this difficult period, Cunneyworth was able to take Ottawa to back-to-back playoffs. While he may not rank among the team’s highest-performing players, he was able to lead a young Senators roster to major improvements by the end of his tenure, and was the team’s nominee for the 1995 King Clancy Award due to his leadership.
Brad Shaw, Mark Lamb and Gord Dineen: 1993-94
The Senators’ second season as a franchise saw them finish at the bottom of the league for the second year in a row, despite finishing with 13 more points than the previous season. During this time, the club swapped from having defender Brad Shaw and centre Mark Lamb as co-captains to running Gord Dineen as their single leader in March.
Despite the team’s struggles, it was a standout year for future captain Alexei Yashin, who earned 79 points and was the recipient of the Molson Cup.
Laurie Boschman: 1992-93
In the Senators’ first season since reforming, they needed a reliable NHL veteran to lead a team that was mostly made up of players who hadn’t played to such a high level previously.
The captain duties were handed to Laurie Boschman, who was in the 13th year of his NHL career at the time. While the new team ended up finishing at the bottom of the league, Boschman was able to let the stars of his new roster shine, with Brad Marsh and Peter Sidorkiewicz both being chosen as All-Stars for the season, while Sylvain Turgeon won the Molson Cup for the franchise in their debut year.
Who is the longest serving Ottawa Senators captain?
The longest-tenured Ottawa Senators captain is Daniel Alfredsson, the Swedish-Canadian right winger who led the team for 14 years between 1999 and 2013.
Alfredsson debuted for the team in the 1994 NHL Entry Draft, but took over as captain five years later when Alexei Yashin became involved in a contract dispute. After retiring in 2014, “Alfie” worked as a senior advisor of hockey operations for the Senators, before becoming an assistant coach in 2023.
Who is the current Ottawa Senators captain?
Currently, the Senators are captained by Brady Tkachuk, an American left winger who joined the team as the fourth overall pick in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft, and took over leading duties from Erik Karlsson in the 2021-22 season. Brady is the son of former player Keith Tkachuk, who scored more than 500 career goals across four teams, and the brother of Florida Panthers forward Matthew Tkachuk.
The 2024-25 season saw him lead the Senators to their first playoffs appearance since 2017, where they lost to their rivals – the Toronto Maple Leafs – in the first round.
Who is the most successful Ottawa Senators captain?
Although they’re one of the eleven teams to have never won a Stanley Cup (at least since reforming), the Senators did reach the finals in 2007, led by their longest-serving captain, Daniel Alfredsson – who most fans consider to be the most successful in the Ottawa Senators’ captain history.
He led the team through their only Eastern Conference Championship season in 2006-07. He’s also the all-time leader in points scored for the Senators, having racked up 1,108 over his 17 seasons with the team (426 goals and 682 – both also franchise records).
Alongside Alfredsson, his predecessor, Alexei Yashin, is also seen as one of the team’s most successful captains. He is the only other captain to have led the Senators to a division championship since their reformation in 1992, and scored 94 points for the team in his single year as captain.
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