The way Ottawa Senators fans find games is changing again in 2026-27, and the broadcast puzzle is a little messier than it was a year ago.
For most people in the Senators’ region, the practical answer is this: you’ll need three or four services to catch everything, depending on how you watch. Outside the region, it can take anywhere from two to five.
The split between regional and national games still drives everything. Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday games are regional broadcasts, along with Monday afternoon games.
Saturday games are almost entirely national, as are the Monday night games. Wednesday is split right down the middle, with four national and four regional games.
On the regional side, there’s not much that’s new. If you’re in the Senators’ broadcast region - Belleville and east in Ontario, plus all of Quebec and the Atlantic provinces - those games are on TSN.
If you’re outside that area, blackout rules kick in, and you’ll need the local broadcast for the team Ottawa is playing. That means Sportsnet for the Canucks, Oilers and Flames, and TSN for the Jets.
The Leafs games don’t come into play here, because every Senators game against Toronto this season is national.
When neither team’s region applies, the regional games land on NHL Centre Ice on TV or Sportsnet+ Premium for streaming. TSN hasn’t released its official schedule yet, but the expectation is 53 games.
The biggest shift comes on the national side, where Saturday hockey looks very different. CBC is out after Rogers and the network didn’t renew their deal for 2026-27, ending a Canadian TV tradition that goes back before television itself and even before CBC existed. CBC kept the “Hockey Night in Canada” name, and Rogers is moving to “Saturday Night Hockey.”
Rogers is also ending Saturday night games on CityTV. That leaves Saturday hockey exclusive to Sportsnet and shuts the door on over-the-air NHL broadcasts in Canada. Every game is now tied to some kind of subscription.
Ottawa has 20 of its 21 Saturday games on Sportsnet, mostly on Sportsnet One. The lone exception is October 31st.
Wednesday nights now belong to Amazon Prime, which keeps its exclusive game of the week but shifts to a new night. Because Amazon only gets one game each week, not every Wednesday game is on Prime.
For the Senators, four of the eight Wednesday games are there: October 14th, November 4th, January 20th and March 24th. Those games are streaming only, with no traditional TV option.
Monday nights also move to streaming, with Sportsnet+ carrying those games. That “+” matters. These are not on regular TV.
If you already subscribe to Sportsnet directly as a cord cutter, you’re covered. If Sportsnet comes through your TV package, many providers let you sign in to the Sportsnet+ site or app to stream the channels included in your package.
Rogers and Shaw customers will also get the Sportsnet+ “exclusive” content, but customers of other TV providers need a $12.99 upgrade to get Monday night games. If your provider isn’t on the list, the full streaming subscription is $34.99.
Ottawa has seven games exclusive to Sportsnet+: October 5th, October 12th, November 23rd, January 18th, January 25th, February 15th and February 22nd.
There’s one notable French-language change as well. In the past, Amazon’s games were only available in English, which meant those matchups still showed up on TVA or RDS in French.
That changes this season. Amazon now has both English and French rights for the games it carries, so those four Wednesday games are only on Prime.
TVA still handles the Saturday and Monday national French broadcasts, while RDS keeps the regional package. TVA is expected to carry 26 Senators games, and RDS currently has 51. Three French broadcasts are still unsettled: one Monday night game that should go to TVA and two Friday night games that should be on RDS but aren’t on either schedule yet.
In the United States, most Senators games will be on ESPN+ or NHL Center Ice, with the local broadcast still required when Ottawa is playing in another team’s region. The Senators are not part of any US national broadcasts this season.
Here’s the quick breakdown: Sportsnet for TV and streaming, Sportsnet+ for streaming only, Amazon Prime for streaming only, TSN and TVA and RDS for TV and streaming, NHL Centre Ice for TV, and Sportsnet+ Premium for streaming.
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Nikolas Matinpalo is also in the mix, giving the club a different kind of depth option as it sorts out how best to balance development and reliability. Ottawa has made it clear it wants to see what its young players can handle at the NHL level, and the next few weeks should show whether this opening is really Yakemchuks to lose or whether the Senators prefer a more flexible arrangement on the back end. [Read more 🡒]