TheHockeyNews.com's off-season ranking has the Ottawa Senators slotted in 26th place. Ottawa were hurt by the departure of ex-captain Brady Tkachuk, but they made other moves to stem the bleeding. How will Ottawa do without Tkachuk?
When your team loses its captain who allegedly wasn't committed to the future of the team, you've had a terrible off-season. That’s certainly true of the Ottawa Senators and now-former captain Brady Tkachuk, who made his way to the Florida Panthers in a trade in June.
The Senators made the playoffs this past year, but in a highly competitive Atlantic Division, there’s no assurance they’ll do so again in 2026-27. And while their 2026 off-season was rather eventful, it wasn’t for the better in Ottawa.
In TheHockeyNews.com’s NHL off-season ranking, the Senators come in 26th, seventh-worst of any team. Ranking criteria consist of each team’s off-season moves – departures and arrivals, including coaches and GMs, and internal moves including promotions and contract extensions.
Senators GM Steve Staios is trying to prevent his team from sliding out of the playoff picture. But Ottawa’s net results, so to speak, are that they’ve lost more than they’ve added. So let’s explore the moves the Sens have made, and explain why they’re 26th overall.
Arrivals:
William Eklund (LW), Samuel Ersson (G), Andre Burakovsky (LW), Philip Tomasino (RW), Sammy Blais (LW)
In the wake of the Tkachuk trade, Staios immediately attempted major damage control, adding young left winger Eklund from the San Jose Sharks. But after that, there are legitimate questions about the rest of the Senators’ off-season additions.
The Sens’ trade with the Toronto Maple Leafs for former Philadelphia Flyers goalie Ersson carries with it a lot of risk. Given that the Senators’ goaltending was a problem for them this past season, acquiring a goalie in Ersson who posted an .870 save percentage and a 3.12 goals-against average in 33 appearances doesn’t give them a great look after starter Linus Ullmark. The Flyers were desperate to get a netminding upgrade on Ersson, and as Ottawa’s second goalie option should concern Sens fans.
Otherwise, the Senators added B-level talent. Burakovsky generated 11 goals and 33 points in 75 games in 2025-26, and although he produced 39 assists and 61 points in 80 games with the Colorado Avalanche, that happened in 2021-22. The 31-year-old is on the back nine of his NHL career.
The Senators added depth in Tomasino and Blais, but there’s not enough needle-moving talent to replace the skill and edge Tkachuk brought to the table. And although the Sens have $4.2 million in salary cap space, the incoming talent isn’t enough for Ottawa to keep up in the Atlantic.
Departures:
Brady Tkachuk (LW), Nick Jensen (D), Lars Eller (C), James Reimer (G), David Perron (LW)
Losing Tkachuk is a massive blow, as he set the tone for the rest of the Senators with his aggression and scoring prowess, and he was doing so on a great-value contract paying him $8.2 million per season for the next two years.
Tkachuk had a slight drop-off in production in 2025-26, posting 22 goals and 59 points in 60 games. But from 2021-22 to 2023-24, Tkachuk reeled off three seasons in which he had at least 30 goals.
The Sens will miss Tkachuk, especially given that he’s going to an Atlantic rival. But they lost valuable veterans in defenseman Jensen, center Eller and left winger David Perron. Jensen was a notable part of Ottawa’s blueline, while Eller provided experience and savvy down the middle, and Perron chipped in a handful of points from the bottom six.
There’s no adequate replacement for Jensen this summer, and Ottawa’s overall depth has taken a hit, even with Staios’ moves attempting to stop the bleeding. There’s been speculation that Tkachuk was a divisive force in the Senators’ dressing room, so there may actually be a Sens team with more solidarity with which to start the season.
The Senators lost a pair of 38-year-olds in Reimer and Perron, but they weren't going to be part of the solution in Ottawa. The team's exodus outweighed the influx of talent, which explains why they’re so low in this ranking.
The Bottom Line:
For a while, the Senators were on a slow-but-steady ascent up the Atlantic ranks, and they were seeking to add talent, not replace it. But that’s a course Tkachuk put the franchise on, and Ottawa now is in a place where it may take a step backward next season and miss the playoffs altogether.
If Sens stars Tim Stutzle, Drake Batherson and Jake Sanderson continue to grow as players, the Senators could find a way to rebound from their in-house drama next season. But the Senators will inevitably be battling just to get into the playoffs next season. And the result may not be to the enjoyment of Ottawa fans.
While Staios tried his best to replace what Tkachuk gave the team, that was going to be next to impossible.
Will Ottawa definitely fall out of a playoff spot in their first season without Tkachuk? No. But the Senators aren’t going to be as hard to play against as they were this past season, and they’re not as talented or as deep as they were in 2025-26.
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