Ottawa, who has been a laughingstock at times in recent years, has an up arrow. After making the playoffs for the first time since the 2016-17 season, falling in six games to Toronto, the Senators took steps this off-season to avoid that being one and done. Re-signed were Fabian Zetterlund and Claude Giroux, acquired via trade to bolster the blue line was Jordan Spence with Lars Eller inked to assist the fourth line.
Off the field, on August 11, the Senators and the National Capital Commission announced they reached an agreement for the purchase and sale of land parcels totaling approximately 11 acres at LeBreton Flats, a package of land near downtown Ottawa and the Canadian federal parliament buildings, and just across the bridge from Gatineau, Quebec. The Canadian Tire Centre, the Senators’ current home, sits 15 miles west of the city center. The proposed venue would offer much easier accessibility for the public than the current arena, which could spur attendance and the surrounding area.
On paper, the Senators should be better offensively. It’s a group where the collective has been better than the individual parts. Tim Stutzle is the star, though he tallied “only” 79 points. Brady Tkachuk dealt with a hip injury after the 4 Nations, with his production falling for the second straight campaign, from 79 down to 55 points. Drake Batherson, for the third straight season, scored 20+ goals and 60+ points, including 13 goals on the man-advantage.
GM Steve Staios dealt Josh Norris for Dylan Cozens at the deadline last year. In just 21 games with the Senators, Cozens tallied five goals and 11 assists while leading the team in primary assists per 60 minutes (1.15). Cozens is inked in as the second line center with the hope he reverts to his 2022-23 form, where he posted 68 points. Giroux scored 50 points, but his production fell for the second straight season. Signed for one more season, Giroux will skate on the top-two lines.
Ottawa could have an interesting third line if Ridly Grieg-Shane Pinto-Zetterlund skate as a unit. Grieg slightly increased his production, while blocking 134 shots, Pinto set career highs in goals (21), points (37), blocked shots (56) and hits (73) in 70 games, and the dup profile as two-thirds of a solid line. Zetterlund, who came over the Sharks, was vastly better in San Jose than Ottawa. But if he can regain his form, he sets up as the perfect right wing for the pair.
Nick Cousins, Eller and Michael Amadio appear set as the four line. Amadio notched 27 points last season for third straight campaign skating on the bottom six. Eller provides veteran leadership as does Cousins. Arthur Kaliyev waits in the wings.
Jake Sanderson emerged as a top blueliner. He tallied a career-high 11 goals and 46 assists in 80 regular-season games, posting 30 of those points on the power play. Sanderson likely will be paired with Artem Zub, who has become a shutdown defenseman.
Thomas Chabot’s production on the power play has fallen substantially but he made up for it by posting 37 points at even-strength. Last season, he was paired with Nick Jensen, who came over from Jakob Chychrun. Chabot could pair with Spence, though Ottawa would be better off playing Spence with Tyler Kleven and keeping Chabot with Jensen. Carter Yakemchuk, the team’s best prospect and one of the best on the league, could end up on the third pair where skating with Spence would aid his development.
The big key to Ottawa’s success last season was the acquisition of Linus Ullmark. He missed over a month with a back injury, but when healthy, he posted a 25-14-3 record with a 2.72 goals-against average (GAA) and a .909 save percentage over 44 appearances. Last season, Anton Forsberg played 30 games. This year, Leevi Merilainen should be the backup. In 2024-25, he posted an 8-3-1 record with a 1.99 GAA and a .925 save percentage in 12 games, filling in as a short-term starter for much of January while Ullmark was sidelined.
Prediction:
Ottawa shows that their play last season was no fluke. Stutzle gets back over the 80-point mark while Cozens proves to be the perfect second-line center for this team. Cozens helps the Sens improve at even-strength, remediating a weakness from last season.
Yakemchuk opens the season in the WHL but is up by the Olympics break. Sanderson continues his ascension while Chabot is steady as usual. Spence lengthens the blueline, which helps Ullmark come close to 30 wins.
The Senators make the playoffs for the second straight season, bowing out again in the first round.
All stats courtesy of naturalstattrick.com, moneypuck.com, hockeyviz.com, allthreezones.com, hockey-reference.com, eliteprospects.com unless otherwise noted.