Despite injuries, controversy, and constant outside noise, Ottawa stuck to its identity and now enters the playoffs as one of the NHL’s most resilient teams.
The last time folks saw a winner with this much drama around them was at the Academy Awards. Actors make a career out of drama, but professional sports teams can easily drown in it.
From the start of the season; and if we’re being frank, for huge swaths of their existence; the Ottawa Senators have been utterly inundated with negative press, outside noise, and bizarre circumstances that threatened to derail their season. Every excuse was built in this season.
Folks forgot to tell that to the Senators, though.
It’s been a gauntlet for drama and bad vibes all season, even by Ottawa’s standards. But while previous teams collapsed under the weight of Uber-gates, baffling ownership decisions, and the exits of star players, this team put their heads down, got to work, and went about their business of securing a playoff spot, even when it seemed unattainable.
Trade rumors surrounding their captain, who picked this season to perhaps overshare his thoughts on a podcast with his brother. Questions about whether the Senators would welcome back Alex Formenton after a sexual assault trial. Their goalie taking a multi-week leave of absence and vicious online rumors that sprung forth from it. Snail’s pace progress on a new arena. Controversy surrounding the American Olympic gold medalist team members. No first-round pick to soften the sting of their last place standing in January. Virtually their entire defensive corps injured during the home stretch. A playoff race where none of the teams they were chasing were conceding any ground until the Detroit Red Wings, Columbus Blue Jackets, and New York Islanders finally blinked in the final stretch of the season.
A record of 15-5-3 since the Olympic break later (before their regular season finale against Toronto), and the noise is now focused on how much damage the Senators can do in the playoffs.
It’s a credit to the organization, particularly head coach Travis Green and his staff as well as General Manager Steve Staios and his crew, owner Michael Andlauer, the Senators’ PR team led by former Sens writers Ian Mendes and Sylvain St Laurent for creating an environment that not only shuts out the outside noise, but will also go to bat for their players and let both them and anyone outside the organization know that the Senators have their players’ backs.
Playing the NHL’s game and quietly waiting to get a first round pick back from the botched Evgeny Dadonov trade. Even the medical staff worked miracles to bring Thomas Chabot back from a 6-8 week injury in 17 days. Everyone just doing their jobs well, top to bottom.
Rewind to mid-January when the Senators were languishing at the bottom of the Atlantic Division, and number 1 goalie Linus Ullmark was in the middle of his self imposed hiatus. No reasons were given publicly, but his performance on the ice leading up to his absence made rumors start flying on social media.
The team put out a harshly worded statement, Ullmark gave a vulnerable interview about his mental health struggles. In the moment, the organization was criticized for giving more oxygen to the rumors, but a few months out, we can see the results.
The ugly rumors faded away.
Ullmark returned in late January and looked more like his old self, with a 14-4-3 record and a goals against average of 2.41 and save percentage of .904. In other words, the organization took a situation ripe for disaster, made the player as supported as possible, and he responded with more quality starts and being available for nearly all of the team’s games, tying his career high of 49 starts before the Toronto game, despite missing six weeks.
Patience in the face of overwhelming noise.
Many fans and analysts wanted more aggressive moves from the team when things looked bleak earlier in the year. Instead, Staios showed his belief in this roster, saw the defensive metrics were excellent but not being supported by quality goaltending or penalty killing, and tinkered on the fringes.
Signing goalie James Reimer, who has been steady enough after goalie of the future Leevi Merilainen was getting caved in with Ullmark out. Trading for Jordan Spence in the off season for two mid-draft picks, who responded by stepping up to quality minutes in a top pair role when all his defence corps was going to the infirmary around him. Buying low on speedy and tough Warren Foegele at the trade deadline, who has nearly matched his 47 game output in Los Angeles in 20 games with Ottawa.
Staios has shown that he understands team chemistry, roles, and fit on a team, but also the ability to act when something isn’t working. Call him sleepy if you will, but he’s shown during his tenure that he doesn’t sleep, he waits. These moves have yielded much better results with much less going out the door the other way than the Debrincat, Murray, and Chychrun deals of years past.
Most impressively, however, has been Travis Green and his staff’s management of these obstacles.
In a viral video from the locker room, the message from Coach Travis Green was simple. “It's not f***ing complicated. Skate. Want the puck. Work your butts off. Play harder than the other team. We can f***ing beat anyone.”
The real victory there has been that regardless of who is in the lineup, that style of play has been apparent. Limit shots. All three forwards back to support. Making sure that if you’re giving up shots that the goalie can see it. Quick counter attacks stemming from aggressive pursuit in the neutral zone and winning board battles. Being first on pucks in all three zones. Putting yourself in good positions. No panic if you go down by a goal or two.
This coaching staff turned the defensive nightmares that was Senators hockey from 2018-2024 into a defensive shell that even the most talented offensive rosters have had trouble penetrating most of the season.
Even the minor adjustment of taking defensive coach Nolan Baumgartner off penalty kill duties and putting them on Mike Yeo has resulted in a dead last unit now killing penalties at a sixth-best rate of 83.1 percent since January 24th.
Small adjustments. Steady hands. No panic.
Accountability from the coaching staff was a key demand from fans for years, and Green has shown that real accountability doesn’t come from yelling, benching, and bag skating players. It’s a mix of clearly defined roles, supporting your teammates, and presenting everyone with a clear job that they’re capable of.
While Green is up against tough competition for the Jack Adams award as the coach of the year with what Lindy Ruff has done to take Buffalo from a 14-year playoff drought to the top of the division, Martin St Louis and his development clinic in Montreal, as well as stalwarts like Jared Bednar (Colorado) and Jon Cooper (Tampa Bay), but he should certainly be on the short list for what this team has overcome.
This organization has a vision, and believes in it from top to bottom. It took nearly all season, but they’ve slowly allowed their fans to believe as well. One obstacle, one controversy, one game, one shift at a time.
Rather than collapsing under the weight of adversity, they enter the playoffs as a red hot team that has as good a chance as anyone in the playoffs. A team that’s been through hardship, emerged from it stronger can be the toughest opponents.
It’s all thanks to the steady hands on the rudder and everyone rowing in the same direction that has this team sailing into the seas of their second playoff appearance in a row.
Andrew Sztein
The Hockey News
This article was first published at The Hockey News Ottawa. Check out more great Sens features from The Hockey News at the links below:
Through All The Noise, The Playoff-Bound Senators Held Their Ground
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