The Ottawa Senators are rolling into the 2026-27 season with a new message and a familiar challenge: get the city fully behind them.
On Thursday at the Canadian Tire Centre, the club held a lunchtime media session to walk through the off-season upgrades and preview what fans will see when Ottawa opens at home against the Philadelphia Flyers on Oct. 8. The Senators are coming off back-to-back playoff appearances, and there’s a sense inside the organization that this year can mark the start of something different.
That starts with a new slogan: “The Hill We Choose.”
Peter Shier, the team’s director of marketing, said the club wanted something that felt unique to Ottawa and could grow into more than a line on a billboard.
“The ingredients we wanted was that it was ownable and something only we could say,” Shier said. “We want it to be inspiring.
We want to be flexible. We did a little bit of research with focus groups and we got a lot of insight.
“A lot of the people who are in Ottawa choose to be in Ottawa. They could be anywhere else, but they choose to be in Ottawa. So, we kind of leaned into that a little bit.”
Shier said the reference to “the hill” points to Parliament Hill and the nearby Gatineau Hills.
“So it encompasses both regions, which we felt was really important. We’re the capital of the country where hockey is religion and the goal is to bring a Stanley Cup to Ottawa,” said Shier.
“The ‘We’ part of it is an invitation. It’s saying to people, “We want you to be part of this.
We hope you’ll be part of this. Everybody, we’re all in this together.”
The club knows the pitch won’t land with everyone right away. The early reaction on social media has not been especially warm, and Shier acknowledged that change can take time, especially when the slogan needs explaining.
The Senators also understand the fan base in the region has long included supporters who grew up with the Montreal Canadiens and Toronto Maple Leafs, teams that were around before Ottawa returned to the NHL in 1992-93. Shier said the message is meant to give people permission to make Ottawa their team.
“When you choose something, it means you’re selecting that over something else. And we want people to feel that they have permission to choose us now,” Shier said.
There’s at least one concrete sign the team’s recent run has helped. Cyril Leeder, the club’s president and chief executive officer, said season ticket sales are up five percent from last year. Even so, Ottawa still has work to do to get closer to the league average, which is above 11,000.
The playoff appearances over the past two springs have given the organization a boost, but the ticket-sales climb remains a real test.
On the hockey side, Steve Staios has been busy reshaping the roster after Ottawa was knocked out by the Carolina Hurricanes in a four-game sweep in the first round of the playoffs.
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