The Senators hit the official mid-way point of the season on Saturday. It's been a difficult, disappointing campaign so far, and the latest report cards reflect that.
The last time I took a crack at player report cards was at the end of November. The Senators were 8-9-0, and compared to where they are now, those look like the good ol' days.
As of January 19th, the Senators sit fourth last in the NHL at 16-24-0. Since those first report cards, the Senators have fired their head coach, D.J. Smith, appointed Steve Staios as General Manager, and named Dave Poulin as Vice President of Hockey Operations.
They now have a new/old coach, Jacques Martin, who first led them more than two decades ago. The team has won just eight games since the start of December, for a record of 8-15-0 in that time frame. They went on a pair of five-game road trips and lost every game in regulation. It has been a flat-out disaster.
The Senators are now at the 40-game mark, and it is time to revisit the player report cards. I warn you, there are not many A's.
Forwards:
Tim Stutzle, Grade: C+
Stutzle is leading the Senators in points this season with 38 points in 39 games.
He has been dealing with a wrist injury and playing with KT tape on his neck. He is not 100%, but what NHLer is? He is on pace for 81 points, but this would be a decline from his 90 points last season. Of course, it's not all about points. But the team's struggles, the powerplay, and Tim Stutzle are intertwined. He's turned it up in the past week, but the Senators need more from him. He only has eight goals so far this season compared with 39 last season. Stutzle is a C+ because he is still producing at a significant clip but has left plenty to be desired.
Brady Tkachuk, Grade: C
Tkachuk has 19 goals in 40 games and is on pace for a career-high 39 goals. But Tkachuk has frequently lost his cool and his composure, not exactly providing the stability you want from a team captain. He has fought often and been kicked out of multiple games, amassing the second-most penalty minutes in the NHL. Fair to say, as the captain of a team that has been so dreadful, Tkachuk takes a chunk of the blame. The team has been immature, like its captain.
Claude Giroux, Grade: A
The 35-year-old Giroux has been Ottawa's best forward with 38 points in 40 games while also providing the penalty killing, leadership, and composure this Senators team has lacked. If the team were winning, he'd be an A+.
Drake Batherson, Grade: B+
Batherson had an abysmal start to the season, with one goal in the first eight games. Since then, he has scored 15 times in 31 games. He has been one of Ottawa's most productive forwards. However, he has played a role in the team's lousy powerplay and is a defensive liability.
Josh Norris, Grade: C
Norris came out of the gates blazing, scoring two goals in his first game. Since then, he has scored a creditable ten goals in 32 games. But for a former 35-goal scorer, that isn't good enough. Norris has also struggled defensively, sporting a minus 6. He has not looked as sharp on the defensive side of the puck as he did before the shoulder injury he suffered last season. Norris was on a seven-game pointless streak until his recent injury and has simply not been good enough for a player making nearly $8 million.
Mathieu Joseph, Grade: A
Before the season began, some Senators fans were screaming for Joseph to be traded. He has turned out to be one of the few bright spots on the team this season. Joseph is third on the team in plus/minus and has 20 points in 30 games. Despite missing time with injury, he has eclipsed his 18 points in 56 games last season.
Vladimir Tarasenko, Grade: B-
Tarasenko was Ottawa's big free-agency acquisition to replace the departing Alex DeBrincat. He has been steady in his point production, with 29 points in 38 games, but he is most likely on his way out of Ottawa by the trade deadline. He has been good but not great, and he takes his fair share of responsibility for the team's struggles.
Ridly Greig, Grade: A
When Greig was injured on November 2nd, he was leading rookie scoring in the NHL, with seven points in eight games. He now leads all Senators with a plus/minus of +14 and has six points in his past five games. Greig has etched his name into the lineup and might be the best story of this Senators' season.
Dominik Kubalik, Grade: C-
Kubalik was the lone active NHL player the Senators received in the Alex DeBrincat trade last summer. Much was expected of him, but he has yet to live up to his scoring potential: he has 12 points in 40 games.
Parker Kelly, Grade: B+
Kelly has been the Senators' most consistent fourth-liner this season. He has two short-handed goals and has been a valuable penalty-killer. He has done his job, unlike many of his teammates.
Mark Kastelic, Grade: C
Kastelic has looked better since returning from an injury, but two points in 26 games is not enough. He is good at winning faceoffs at 57% this season; outside of that, it has not been a good season for Kastelic.
Zack MacEwen, Grade: C-
MacEwen has not brought much to the table: 2 points in 20 games. The fourth line has generated virtually no offense, and he has been part of the reason.
Rourke Chartier, Grade: B
Rourke Chartier has been Rourke Chartier. Steady and serviceable but not very noticeable.
On to the Defence:
Jake Sanderson, Grade: B
Sanderson has been the Senators' best defenceman. But, like his team, he has yet to reach the heights expected of him. Sanderson started the season with seven points in the first six games. He has had 16 points in the remaining 34 games. He is a +5 on the season and can still make clean exit passes, poke pucks away, and skate the puck out of his zone. Yet, as the Senators have fallen apart, in many ways, so has Sanderson. The offensive side of his game has plateaued, and his signature calm and poise have faded to more defensive zone turnovers. He can and should be better, which you would say about the Senators.
Jakob Chychrun, Grade: B-
Chychrun came to Ottawa with high expectations of revamping the Senators' defensive unit, which many felt was one defenceman away from having a great core. Things have gone in the diametrically opposite direction. Chychrun has produced points, but he's a minus 11. He does have 26 points in 40 games, which is very good for a defenceman. He has been paired with every defenceman on the roster this season.
Artem Zub, Grade: B
Zub has been a stable and steadying force for the Senators. However, he has still been prone to far too many turnovers in his end. He is also key to the penalty kill, yet the Senators have the 30th-worst PK in the league. He is not a significant reason for the Senators' stumbles this season, but he has not been part of the solution; Zub has been slightly underwhelming.
Thomas Chabot, Grade: B
Chabot has battled injuries all season, limiting him to only 16 games. He has only one goal but 10 points in 18 games. The Senators' woes started well before Chabot returned but have continued with him back in the lineup. He is still a defensively challenged defenceman and has not helped keep the puck out of the net. Overall, he has been pedestrian.
Travis Hamonic, Grade: C-
Hamonic has not performed well enough to be a regular defenceman in the NHL. Whichever pairing Hamonic has been on has been Ottawa's worst. Some of this is on coaches and management because, until the Montreal game on Thursday, he's played in every single Senators game this season. However, he has been part of the problem, leading to a C- grade.
Erik Brannstrom, Grade: B
Brannstrom has been good but not great. He has been producing a bit more this season (even playing briefly as a forward), but he still needs to take that next step in his game. He could be better but hasn't been Ottawa's major issue.
Jacob Bernard-Docker, Grade: B+
Bernard-Docker, or "Cold Tub," as Tkachuk nicknamed him, has actually been one of Ottawa's most consistent defencemen. He also has been able to rack up four goals this season, which is as many goals as he had in the AHL. Bernard-Docker has brought a stabilizing presence to the blue line, blocking shots, and killing penalties. He has been in and out of the lineup all season. Yet, Bernard-Docker has maintained his consistent play, antithetical to many of his teammates' play this season.
Ah, the Goalies:
Joonas Korpisalo, Grade: D
Korpisalo was Ottawa's flashy off-season signing to shore up the goaltending position. Did it work? Nope. He has a .885% save percentage and the third worst goals saved above expected in the NHL. He has been one of the worst goalies in the league, and the Senators' woes have plenty to do with his poor performance. That gets him a D grade.
Anton Forsberg, Grade: D
Anton Forsberg has been marginally better than Korpisalo, with a .889 save percentage. Forsberg has the eighth-worst goals saved above expected in the NHL. The Senators have the second-worst team save percentage. A lot of that is on the goalies.
Class dismissed. The upcoming winter semester should be interesting.