 Alfredsson won the Calder Memorial Trophy, awarded to the NHL's rookie of the year.After getting off to a good start with a 6–5–0 record, the Senators lost their next eight games, which ended up costing head coach Rick Bowness his job, as the club replaced him with Dave Allison, who was previously the head coach of the Senators AHL affiliate, the Prince Edward Island Senators.The Dave Allison era did not last long in Ottawa, as the club won two of 25 games (2–22–1) before he was replaced by Jacques Martin.