Brian Bellows

Lore & Background

When the Senators took the ice for the first time in the 1992–93 season, the city was hungry for a hero. Brian Bellows answered that call almost immediately, scoring the franchise's very first goal and establishing himself as the player fans could point to and say, 'That's our guy.' His speed, his confidence, and his unmistakable celebration — the slow, deliberate finger gun aimed at the crowd after each tally — turned every goal into a ritual. In a city that had waited decades for a team, Bellows made the experience personal.

Throughout the mid-1990s, Bellows was the offensive engine around which the Senators built their identity. He was the player the crowd chanted, the one whose name echoed through the arena before every shift. His willingness to carry the scoring load, his competitive fire, and his visible joy in playing made him more than a statistic; he was a symbol. The 1998 playoff run, though ultimately short, cemented the belief that this team, with Bellows at its core, could be something special.

His 1999 trade to New Jersey remains one of the most painful moments in Senators fan memory. For many supporters, it felt like the franchise's soul being shipped out. Yet the jersey retirement that followed ensured his legacy was locked into the building forever. Number 18 hangs in the rafters not as a relic, but as a promise that the era he defined still lives in every voice that fills the arena.

In Their Own Story

The arena is half-full, the lights cutting through the October chill. The puck drops, and Bellows is already moving — that low, skimming stride that made defenders look a half-step slow. He collects a pass at the blue line, doesn't look up, just slides it across the slot. The puck tucks in. He doesn't sprint to the bench. He stops, turns to the north side, raises one finger. The crowd roars like a wave breaking over stone. Somewhere in the third row, a kid in a too-big Senators jersey is screaming. Bellows skates back, taps the glass, and is already gone, chasing the next shift. The finger gun is still out. It never really comes down.

Reader's Guide

Brian Bellows (center, #18) arrived with the Ottawa Senators in 1992 and became the franchise's first true superstar. He scored the opening goal in Senators history and went on to post multiple 40-goal seasons, anchoring the team's offensive identity throughout the 1990s. His speed, his two-way awareness, and his relentless competitive edge made him the player fans associated most with the original Senators era.

His signature celebration — the slow, deliberate finger gun aimed at the crowd after every goal — became a franchise ritual. It was more than a trick; it was a communion between player and city. The sound of the arena shifting in unison after his tally is a memory many fans still describe as the most electric moment of their youth.

Bellows was traded to the New Jersey Devils in 1999, a move that still stings in Ottawa. In response, the Senators retired his number 18, ensuring his legacy was permanent in the building. He is inducted in the club's hall of fame and remains the benchmark against which every subsequent Ottawa center is measured.

For the fanbase, Bellows represents more than statistics. He is the proof that the Senators could be exciting, that a small-market team could produce a player who made the city feel like the center of the hockey world. His name still triggers a collective exhale in the stands, and his number still hangs above the ice as a quiet, permanent reminder of who the franchise was meant to be.

Did You Know?

• Brian Bellows scored the very first goal in Ottawa Senators franchise history during the 1992–93 season.
• His post-goal 'finger gun' celebration became so iconic that it is still referenced by Senators fans decades later as a symbol of the team's identity.
• His #18 jersey was officially retired by the Ottawa Senators, placing him in the company of the franchise's most honored players.
• The 1999 trade of Bellows to the New Jersey Devils is still cited by long-time fans as one of the most difficult roster decisions in club history.