Senators to stick with the Roman general ... for now

Rumblings about a potential major Ottawa Senators logo change have been circulating for weeks.

The marquee across the main entrance of Canadian Tire Centre features the heritage “O,” a nod to the original Senators franchise of the early 1900s. Fans entering the building will see the “O” surrounding the centre-ice faceoff circle.

Then there was captain Erik Karlsson on his Wednesday media tour in New York, wearing a purple Hockey Fights Cancer jersey with “O” across the front.

Alas, the Roman general isn’t going anywhere, at least not yet.

“It’s no secret that we have a lot of fans out there that like the O,” Senators president Tom Anselmi said Thursday. “It’s a great secondary logo. Our primary logo is still our primary logo.”

Still, Anselmi says he’s not married to anything long-term. Part of the new look inside the arena includes backdrops of famous Ottawa landmarks with the O logo in front.

It’s a throwback season in many ways, including the 25th anniversary of the Senators’ rebirth into the National Hockey League, the 100th anniversary of the NHL and the 125th anniversary of the Stanley Cup, and players will sport heritage O sweaters for the Scotiabank NHL 100 Classic outdoor game against the Montreal Canadiens at TD Place stadium on Dec. 16.

“We continue to listen and we’ll see what the future holds, but I see nothing but potential in this (Senators) brand,” Anselmi said.