Senators opening doors to fully vaccinated fans

The Ottawa Senators will welcome back fans to the Canadian Tire Centre on Sept. 18 for a rookie showcase against the Montreal Canadiens, the team announced Friday.

Following guidelines released by the province of Ontario, the club will only welcome back guests who are fully vaccinated.

With the Senators' first home game slated for Oct. 14, the organization's expectation is that the Canadian Tire Centre will be able to host at full capacity.

Earlier in August, the Winnipeg Jets became the first Canadian team to announce that it will host games at full capacity for fully vaccinated fans. The Calgary Flames also announced a similar policy late last month. For the Montreal Canadiens, fans will need to be fully vaccinated but the Bell Centre will be restricted to 7,500 fans.