The Ottawa Senators have unveiled their 2025-26 regular season schedule, bringing with it a wave of familiar faces returning to the Canadian Tire Centre. Fans can anticipate a blend of nostalgia and competitive spirit as several former team members come back wearing different jerseys.<\/p>\n
Among the returning players is Josh Norris, who arrives in Ottawa dressed in white, blue, and gold, switching from number 13 to No. 13. Here\u2019s a quick look at notable dates and players set to reappear in Ottawa:<\/p>\n
– Thursday, October 16 vs. Seattle Kraken: Joey Daccord, originally drafted by Ottawa in 2015, spent part of two seasons with the team before moving to Seattle via the Expansion Draft. He is now back after signing a five-year, $25 million contract.
\n– Saturday, October 18 vs. New York Islanders: JG Pago returns, celebrated for his playoff performances, alongside Anthony Duclair and possibly Matthew Highmore. Pago is in the final year of his contract.
\n– Monday, October 27 vs. Boston Bruins: Mark Castelic, a strong centerman drafted in 2019, faces his former team for the first time since being traded. Goalkeeper Junas Kolpizaro also returns, signing a $1 million annual deal for three years.
\n– Tuesday, November 11 vs. Dallas Stars: Matt Duchene faces a team involved in key trades that brought him to Ottawa, despite a brief and disrupted stint with the Senators.
\n– Thursday, December 4 vs. New York Rangers: Mika Zibanejad, once drafted by Ottawa and traded to New York, returns as a top NHL center.
\n– Saturday, December 6 vs. St. Louis Blues: Matthew Joseph, who spent three seasons with Ottawa, returns after being traded in the 2024 offseason.
\n– Tuesday, December 9 vs. New Jersey Devils: Conor Brown, Evgenii Dadonov, Stephen Nosen, and Angus Crookshank potentially return, each with previous ties to Ottawa.
\n– Thursday, December 18 vs. Pittsburgh Penguins: Eric Carlson, a two-time Norris Trophy winner and nine-season Ottawa captain, comes back to town.
\n– Saturday, December 20 vs. Chicago Blackhawks: Nick Foligno, a five-season Ottawa veteran, continues to play at 37 and returns for a visit.
\n– Tuesday, December 23 vs. Buffalo Sabres: Josh Norris, who was traded last season, returns to face his former team.
\n– Monday, December 29 vs. Columbus Blue Jackets: Eric Gudbranson, an Ottawa native, played part of the 2020-21 season with the Senators and now plays for Columbus.
\n– Thursday, January 1 vs. Washington Capitals: Jakov Chiklung returns after an impressive debut season in Washington.
\n– Saturday, January 3 vs. Winnipeg Jets: Vladislav Namestnikov and Dylan Demelo, both of whom played in Ottawa, return.
\n– Monday, January 5 vs. Detroit Red Wings: Alex DeBrincat, Austin Watson, Cam Talbot, and Jacob Bernard-Docker, all former Senators, face their old team.
\n– Saturday, January 24 vs. Carolina Hurricanes: Mike Riley, a solid defenseman from 2019-21, returns after heart surgery.
\n– Saturday, January 25 vs. Vegas Golden Knights: Mark Stone, who spends summers in Ottawa, performs against the Senators for the first time since 2022.
\n– Wednesday, January 28 vs. Colorado Avalanche: Parker Kelly, known for his work ethic, comes back to Ottawa.
\n– Sunday, March 15 vs. San Jose Sharks: Adam Gaudette and Zach Ostapchuk visit, with Gaudette known for impressive goal scoring with Ottawa.
\n– Saturday, April 4 vs. Minnesota Wild: Philip Gustafsson and Vladimir Tarasenko return. Gustafsson competes with young talent Jesper Wallstedt, while Tarasenko came back to the Wild after a stint in Detroit.
\n– Tuesday, April 7 vs. Tampa Bay Lightning: Nick Paul and Boris Katchouk, both with Ottawa ties, come back for the final notable reunion games.<\/p>\n
This season promises memorable reunions full of emotion, nostalgia, and competitive fire, especially with the recent departures like Norris still fresh in fans\u2019 minds.<\/p>\n
Fan Take: These return games offer fans a chance to relish past memories while witnessing the ongoing growth and evolution of their hometown team. This blend of nostalgia and rivalry adds a compelling narrative to the season that hockey lovers won\u2019t want to miss, highlighting the sport\u2019s deep connections and the personal stories behind the players.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Ottawa Senators have unveiled their 2025-26 regular season schedule, bringing with it a wave of familiar faces returning to the Canadian Tire Centre. Fans can anticipate a blend of nostalgia and competitive spirit as several former team members come back wearing different jerseys. Among the returning players is Josh Norris, who arrives in Ottawa […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":18827,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[730],"tags":[734],"class_list":{"0":"post-18826","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nhl","8":"tag-nhl"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18826","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18826"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18826\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18827"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18826"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18826"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18826"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}