The Senators are in a funk, and a former Sens player suggests a big move may be coming. But Adam Proteau says the changes must occur with who they have already.
The Ottawa Senators' inconsistent start to the season has a former player suggesting a big change looms if it continues. And it won't be pretty.
The Senators stumbled out to an 8-9-1 record this season, and they’ve dropped three straight games and five of their past seven. Their most recent loss, a 5-2 defeat against the Edmonton Oilers, led to former Sens defenseman Marc Methot suggesting something has to happen.
“Not trying to sound dramatic at all here, but next on the chopping block (if Ottawa’s losing continues) isn’t the coach, or the GM or the owner. It’ll be a core piece player and it’s going to sting,” Methot wrote on X/Twitter.
Despite Methot’s comments, it’s difficult to envision Sens GM Steve Staios moving a key component in a trade.
Ottawa isn’t about to move star forwards Tim Stutzle, Brady Tkachuk and Claude Giroux. And they’re not going to move defensemen Jake Sanderson or Thomas Chabot. So, what must happen with the Senators is internal improvement in terms of the team’s overall consistency, its maturity and its goaltending.
"I don't feel like this is a dire situation for this group at all," Senators GM Steve Staios told reporters on Wednesday. "We've played very well at times, for long stretches as well. What we have done is identify the area where we need to improve."
For example, Sens goalie Linus Ullmark must be more reliable, plain and simple.
Ullmark looked great in recent wins over Boston and Toronto but followed that up with disappointing losses against Philadelphia and Edmonton.
Ullmark’s current 4-5-1 record, .884 save percentage and 2.99 goals-against average this year speak to his consistency issues. Considering the team’s long-term investment in him when they signed him to a four-year, $33-million contract extension, it's clear Staios and Sens coach Travis Green expect more from him.
Ottawa’s defense as a whole is allowing 27 shots against per game, the sixth-fewest in the NHL. They also have allowed some of the fewest chances, high-danger chances and expected goals against at 5-on-5, according to naturalstattrick.com. But the Senators are only 19th in goals-against average at 3.22.
That said, their defense group could be better if the club as a whole is limiting chances. Veteran blueliner Travis Hamonic is getting 16:27 of ice time a night – and youngster Jacob Bernard-Docker is a repeated healthy scratch. Hamonic's used more in the defensive end than Bernard-Docker, but the latter can help generate chances on the offensive end, and the Benard-Docker and Kleven pairing has impressed more than the Kleven-Hamonic pairing.
There's also the maturity question. Their wins over Boston and Toronto showed plenty of maturity and signs of taking a true big step forward. Their loss against Edmonton suggested a setback.
"I thought we had a flat practice yesterday. I thought it carried over to our game today," Green told reporters Tuesday night.
If Methot’s instincts are correct and the Sens could be on the verge of making a major trade, Ottawa fans are in for an emotional rollercoaster ride.
But really, what could Staios bring in via trade to deal with what ails his team? A shutdown defender who can also create offense? Those don’t grow on trees, and they’re certainly not easily available to inquiring GMs.
Maybe they need someone at forward who’s heavier on the puck? But that's also not the type of needle-moving asset that can be easily plucked off another team’s roster, and they already have a mix of talent and grit on offense.
You can see, then, why the changes the Sens need to make must come from within. If Ullmark can improve his consistency, that will be a huge positive development for Ottawa. And if the Senators’ skaters can show consistent energized play and not allow and bad bounces to sink their hopes, the Sens’ fortunes are bound to improve.
To get out of the bottom half of the Atlantic Division and make the playoffs for the first time since 2016-17, the Senators must have nothing short of a total team effort. And while there’s still time left for them to turn their season around, the Sens need to improve quickly together.
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