Ottawa Senators GM Steve Staios's cryptic remarks on the Senators' readiness to contend for a Stanley Cup is raising eyebrows. Are the Sens evolving and improving, or treading water on their way to a backward step?
The Ottawa Senators have started the calendar year 2026 on the right foot, with wins over the Washington Capitals and Winnipeg Jets on Thursday and Saturday, respectively. However, it’s a measure of the disappointing previous segment of their season that the Senators are currently in seventh place in the Atlantic Division and 13th place in the Eastern Conference with a 20-15-5 record.
In a media availability on Saturday, Senators GM Steve Staios made some curious comments regarding his team’s progress – or lack thereof – this season.
“We’ll contend when we’re ready to contend, and I think that we’re continuing to build toward that,” Staios said. ”I think that putting a timeline on when our contending window is…I think we have a good young team that continues to develop.”
Now, Staios is correct that the Senators are a good young team. But the rest of Staios' remarks may have alarm bells going off in some corners of Ottawa.
After making the playoffs last season, the Sens shouldn’t be taking a backward step this year by failing to get back into the post-season, and get past the first round of the playoffs for the first time since 2016-17.
To be sure, the Senators are going to be a strong team for the foreseeable future. With stars including forwards Brady Tkachuk, Tim Stutzle and Drake Batherson and defenseman Jake Sanderson as key core components. The Sens have players that other teams would kill to have on their roster.
And although they’ve struggled with sub-par goaltending from veteran Linus Ullmark this season, it’s not as if they’re buried in the standings. Ottawa is two points out of the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference, and five points out of third place in the Atlantic.
Thus, the optics of Staios appearing to prepare to kick the can down the road make Ottawa fans worried something else may be afoot with this team.
Steve Staios (Marc DesRosiers-Imagn Images)Is Staios really suggesting that the Senators aren’t ready to contend for a Cup, or even the playoffs right now? Is he trying to couch Ottawa possibly faltering in the second half of the season as part and parcel of the Sens’ evolution into a true Cup front-runner?
Indeed, patience and focusing on the long-term picture are generally a good thing when you’re talking about a team that’s still learning to be an elite group. But the Sens’ core has been together for some time now, and their step forward last season shouldn’t be followed up with a lateral or backward step this year.
If Ullmark returns from his personal leave of absence and delivers better netminding, there’s no other reason why the Senators should underachieve the rest of the way this year. And if Staios thinks his words are going to make Sens fans digest a backward step better than they otherwise might’ve, he’s got another thing coming.
Ottawa fans have good reason to expect better things from the Senators this season, and pretending they’re still at a point where their win total will drastically fluctuate feels like major-league excuse-making on Staios' behalf.
The Sens are experienced enough right now to be held to a higher standard than that. And while Staios’ heart was in the right place when he tried to deflect pressure on his group, there’s little question he’s going to fail by trying to manage Ottawa fans’ expectations.
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