The development of Ottawa Senators defenceman Jake Sanderson took a big jump in 2024–25, his third season in the NHL, and his efforts didn’t go unnoticed. For the first time, Sanderson finished in the top 10 in voting for the Norris Trophy, awarded annually to the NHL’s best defenceman.

This year, and for the second time, the trophy went to Colorado’s Cale Makar.

Sanderson was the Senators’ workhorse, leading all skaters in average time on ice at 24:27. He led all Sens' defencemen with 57 points, which placed him third overall on the team, one point ahead of Brady Tkachuk. Sanderson quarterbacked the power play, led the team in shorthanded minutes, and remains one of the game’s finest skaters.

Not only does he have elite ability to handle the puck in tight spaces, but he often manufactures those spaces himself with a quick move or cutback that buys time and allows for something creative, rather than a desperate rim pass or dump in.

At 6-foot-2 and 204 pounds, Sanderson also doesn’t get enough credit for his strength and physical maturity, traits that will only grow as he continues to develop and gains that so-called “man-strength” and the confidence that comes with it.

And if you want a player who thrives in big moments, look no further than his overtime goal against the Leafs in April that kept the Senators’ season alive in Round One. With Game 4 tied at 3, Sanderson held the zone and fired a seeing-eye shot that beat Anthony Stolarz, top corner, to secure the overtime victory.

But for most Ottawa fans, Sanderson’s excellence is already clear. Most of you probably feel like he's considerably better than at least a couple of the guys on the list who finished ahead of him.

As a side note, all nine of Sanderson's fourth place votes came from out of town writers who don't regularly cover the Senators, which is maybe another sign that the kid is getting noticed around the league.

But what Sens fans should be most excited about is this: Sanderson is already regarded as one of the top ten in the game, and you can could make a strong case the franchise has never had a defenceman quite like this. That, in itself, is exciting.

But Sanderson is all of that, and he's only 22 years old.

He still has seven more years on a deal that already looks highly club-friendly at $8.05 million AAV. Imagine how good it will look in, say, three years as Sanderson continues to grow as both a player and a man, while the NHL salary cap continues grow as well.

• 2025–26: $95.5 million
• 2026–27: $104 million
• 2027–28: $113.5 million

For Sanderson to close the Norris gap, he'll probably need to add 15-20 points to his current production levels. Weirdly enough, offensive numbers tend to win the day when it comes to voting for the game's best defender. 

For example, Montreal's Lane Hutson is a wonderful young talent, who finished 9 points ahead of Sanderson in scoring. Hutson was leaned on for big power play minutes, but was almost never on the ice to kill a penalty.

Meanwhile, the trust in Sanderson in all situations is off the charts. He led his team in shorthanded ice time and was second only to Tim Stutzle in team power play time.

But he had nine fewer points than the Canadiens' rookie, so the voters liked Hutson better. 

As the team continues to mature, and they start to go deeper into the playoffs, more and more writers will be exposed to what Sanderson can do and maybe they'll jump on his Norris bandwagon. 

Whether they do or not, Ottawa fans have every reason to be excited: their team has secured a true number one through 2032, and the best of Jake Sanderson is yet to come.

Steve Warne
The Hockey News-Ottawa

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