Five Reasons Why the Ottawa Senators Will Have a Huge Rebound This Season

The Senators have so many new components entering the new season. What they won't have is last year's nonsense.

If the Ottawa Senators are to make the playoffs this season, they'll need a few things to fall their way. Some of them, like injuries or suspensions, are out of their control. The club played a massive chunk of the season without two of their top three centres (Josh Norris and Shane Pinto) and one of their top defencemen (Thomas Chabot).

But they have addressed many things that were in their control. 

The Great Re-Balancing Act

They've added some veterans (Nick Jensen, David Perron, Michael Amadio) who play a robust game and care about doing the right thing without the puck. As experienced NHL players, they'll also care about their younger teammates doing the right things without the puck. 

Jensen rebalances the blue line, adding a much-needed defence-first defenceman who plays the right side. Now the Sens have two creative lefties on the blue line and two defensive righties in their top four. 

Linus Ullmark

No NHL goalie played more than 64 games last season. Ullmark might give that number a run this season. Ullmark doesn't have a tough act to follow, replacing Joonas Korpisalo, but if he can play like he has for Boston or even Buffalo, that will have a calming effect on the roster like no other. The days of starting games immediately deflated because their goalie gave up a goal on the first two shots are over.

Jealous Brady

From the moment he could walk, Brady Tkachuk has probably battled his brother for everything – from winning at sports to "he got more ice cream than me."

Now, he just watched Matthew win the Stanley Cup, lift the Stanley Cup, and party with the Cup. So, that famous Hyundai ad is one big metaphor right now. Matthew is the winner, sitting in the front seat, grinning like a Cheshire cat. And while Brady is wildly proud of him, he's still in the back seat, wanting what his brother has.

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No one would ever question Brady's desire to compete or win in the past. But something tells us that sibling rivalry will help him find a new level this fall. We're expecting a laser-focused, no-nonsense captain this fall. And speaking of which...

Free of the Nonsense From the Past

Some have suggested that last year's distractions are nothing more than excuse-making. But the reality is, it was a lot. The Sens had new ownership, not enough cap room to have a full lineup on opening night, a fired GM, a hired GM, a fired coach, a hired interim coach, a star player suspended for half a year, the team fined a first-round pick for messing up an old trade, some key injuries... the list goes on.

You can't control injuries, but none of that other stuff will happen this season. The Sens do have a couple of extensions they could still get done with key players like Ullmark or Claude Giroux, but the distractions will be comparatively non-existent. This will allow the Sens to enter the season prepared and organized, free of nonsense, and able to focus on what matters.

New Staff

For the first time in five years, D.J. Smith won't be running the show as head coach in Ottawa. Smith, by the way, signed up to be an assistant coach again this season in L.A. The Senators never got off to good starts under Smith, and if fitness was part of that, new coach Travis Green has already tuned up his players, strongly suggesting they arrive in camp in September and be ready to go. 

To that end, the players got their summer marching orders for the first time from Matt Nichol, the team's new director of player health and performance, who was hired last October. Nichol was one of the new regime's first hires, even before they swapped out their coach and GM. 

Green is spending the summer watching games, identifying strengths and weaknesses and deciding how the Senators should play. Whatever systems he decides on, the buy-in from players must be absolute. Mistakes will be made, but when they're made too often, Green won't just keep throwing that player over the boards. He's not a soft touch, and there will be consequences.

So, does all this amount to a playoff spot? It's hard to say, given the strength of the Atlantic powers. Barring an unreasonable number of injuries, we're expecting the Senators to be 15-20 points better than last season, which would put them right in the battle for a wild card.