The Senators forward group cracked THN's top five and it looks like Ottawa is just getting started.
The Hockey News’ Adam Proteau has projected the top 5 top-six forward groups in the NHL and placed the Ottawa Senators in fifth spot. The only teams ahead of them were the Leafs, Oilers, Devils and Penguins.
Let’s dissect why the Senators might, indeed, be in this elite club.
The Senators were not one of the top-scoring teams last year, finishing 18th. But that was mostly due to their inability to get any scoring from their bottom-six forwards and lack of goals from their defence.
Their top-six is a different story. It currently consists of Brady Tkachuk, Josh Norris, Tim Stutzle, Vladimir Tarasenko, Drake Batherson and Claude Giroux. Everyone in the top six has scored 22 goals or more in a season in the last two years and everyone except Drake Batherson has scored 30 goals in a season since 2021-22.
And they are likely getting better, with Tkachuk, Stutzle, Batherson and Norris all 25 or younger and entering their prime. Even without Norris last year, the Sens were the only team in the NHL to have six 20-goal scorers. Now Norris is back, despite some continuing concerns about his health. Over the summer, the Senators lost Alex DeBrincat’s scoring but picked up veteran ace Vladimir Tarasenko.
This might be the year that Stutzle becomes a superstar. Last year, he had 90 points as a 21-year-old. The only other active players to score 90 points when they were 21 were Sidney Crosby, Alex Ovechkin, Connor McDavid and Steven Stamkos.
That’s quite a group.
Stutzle has improved his scoring significantly in each of his first 3 seasons. If he matches or improves on his 39 goals last season and becomes a 100-point player, as his trajectory suggests, then Ottawa will have one of the best scorers in the NHL.
Stutzle may not quite be a McDavid or a Nathan Mackinnon—at least not yet. However, unlike a lot of top teams, Senators have no weak links in their top-six, so long as they stay healthy. As they start the season, the Sens look like they could score with anyone in the NHL.
Ottawa’s weakest link might be Josh Norris’ health status. Norris has struggled with shoulder injuries the past two seasons. He played only 8 games last season and has been dealing with that same shoulder injury throughout training camp. It is still unclear if he will play in the pre-season but, according to D.J. Smith, the club is “very hopeful” he plays in the last pre-season game of the year.
If the Sens do stay relatively healthy this season, there is a real possibility that when we come back and do the rankings a year from now, the Sens may be creeping up from the fifth-best top-six to something closer to number one. And given how young this group is, they could be a force for years to come.