Ottawa Senators: Dark Horses, Comeback Candidates, and Hidden Gems

After all the roster changes this summer, some key questions remain for the Senators.

Now that the Ottawa Senators have moved out seven players from last year’s roster and several key players from the B-Sens, not everything has been settled. Here are six storylines in Ottawa with unknown endings that could seriously affect the outcome of next season. 

Josh Norris – Healthy or LTIR Casualty? 

All signs point to Norris being healthy and ready to start training camp in the fall. This is something Norris was unable to do last season, and it felt like he was playing catch-up until his season-ending injury in Nashville last February. 

Senator fans are cautiously optimistic about his return, given that this is the third surgery on the same shoulder since he was acquired in the Erik Karlsson trade. 

The trickle-down effect of how Norris’ season unfolds will be felt throughout the lineup. 

When healthy, he's a top-two centre whose shot from the half wall on the power play makes him a 35-40 goal threat. Norris would allow the proper slotting of Shane Pinto, and the Senators would have an enviable depth chart at the centre-ice position, even if Ridly Greig is forced to the wing. 

If Norris cannot regain form or his recovery is unsuccessful, the Senators don’t have a backfill solution in the pipeline. 

Tyler Boucher – Is there anything there? 

The 2021 Draft has been unkind to many NHL teams. Few have as little to show for it as the Senators. 

Their 10th overall pick, Tyler Boucher, has only played 21 career games in the AHL and has missed major parts of every season, including his draft year, due to some form of injury. 

Many want to give up on Boucher by trading him for pennies on the dollar. However, when healthy, the 21-year-old right winger plays a robust two-way game with finish, and it would be a shame to see that find its way onto someone else’s depth chart without really getting a chance to see what he can or cannot do.

The acquisition of Xavier Bourgault (22nd overall in 2021) from Edmonton for Roby Jarventie suggests that the Senators' brain trust believes in player resurrection. They're still hoping Boucher can become what he was once projected to be sooner rather than later. There's a need for what he brings on the right side of the third line. 

Zack Ostapchuk – Ready for Prime Time? 

Ostapchuk and Boucher are all that's left from the 2021 draft class in the Senators' system. Ostapchuk's size, style of play and hands in close have some projecting him as a miniature Brady Tkachuk. 

Steve Staios has obviously been trying to change the make up of the roster by adding veteran leadership and grit. Might he find that grit in the Senators' undervalued prospect pool? 

Ostapchuk’s seven-game pointless audition in Ottawa suggested there's work yet to be done. That said, unless Staios brings in more bodies to eat up the remaining $2.68 in cap space, it means there will be competition internally for spots on the roster. 

It will be up to Ostapchuk to stake his claim. 

Angus Crookshank – Ready for Prime Time? 

No one did more in Belleville to stake their claim to a spot in Ottawa than 2018 5th-rounder Angus Crookshank. Despite only playing in 50 games, he finished second in team scoring, earned himself an All-Star nod, and a 13-game audition with the parent club, where he notched two goals and an assist. 

Did Crookshank look out of place in Ottawa? No. Is he ready for prime time? That will depend on what he brings to training camp in the fall. His size will always work against him, listed at a generous 5’10”. However, his pace and hockey sense have allowed him to flourish at every level along the way. 

Crookshank will need every bit of that to survive the final cuts.

Stephen Halliday – Hidden Gem? 

The 6’4” centre has drawn attention at every prospect camp since being drafted in the fourth round in 2022. 

After signing his entry-level contract following his sophomore season at Ohio State, Halliday gathered five assists in 10 regular-season games. He then led the team in playoff scoring with seven points in seven games. 

This is obviously a small sample size. However, the Senators hope he'll continue to work his way up the depth chart and see some action in Ottawa at some point this season. 

Maxence Guenette – Right Shot D Depth? 

With the Senators mutually parting ways with 2019 first-rounder Lassi Thomson, the club hopes that redemption on the right side of the defence can be found in their last pick in the seventh round of that same draft. 

Over time, Max Guenette has translated his offensive output from junior into his AHL game and supplanted Thomson on the depth chart. He was rewarded for his efforts with an all-star nod last season and a seven-game call-up. 

Given the NHL moves made in the offseason, Guenette's path to the big club hasn’t exactly been paved. However, with Jacob Bernard-Docker and Travis Hamonic in the last year of their deals, Guenette can serve notice in training camp that he is ready to supplant another first-rounder, given the opportunity. 

The status of these six players is open-ended for now, but most of it will quickly be clarified at training camp in the fall.