Stutzle was a 70-point player last season and scored less than half the goals he did the season before.
Stutzle was a 70-point player last season and scored less than half the goals he did the season before.
If the Ottawa Senators are to end their insufferable seven-year playoff drought, they'll need their best offensive player at his best in 2024-25. Tim Stutzle took a terrible tumble statistically last season, going from 90 points to 70. Most of that decline came from a reduction in goal scoring, shockingly dipping from 39 goals to 18.
It's possible that nagging injuries can be blamed for the drop off. Stutzle says he suffered a wrist injury in the fourth game of the season that bothered him for a lot of the year, and he also ended the year with a bad shoulder. Stutzle was hurt on a hit by Florida's Niko Mikkola on April 5th, causing him to miss the final six games of the season.
"I'm gonna try and seek some other opinions in Germany and try to get it better," Stutzle said back in April. "I haven't been feeling great for a year in some things. It's gonna be all good after the summer and gonna be ready to go for next year."
A shoulder injury to a centre in Ottawa? Why not? Why should Josh Norris, Shane Pinto and Ridly Greig have all the fun? All three young players have missed substantial time in the past with shoulder injuries. Stutzle did say he would have played had the final six games been meaningful. That said, players aren't usually seeking out second opinions when medical problems are small.
When asked today about his expectations for Stutzle, GM Steve Staios didn't even mention Stutzle's nagging injuries from last season. Instead, he reminded people that the kid is still only 22.
"Tim is a star player, and because he's been around for a while now, I think we forget how young he is," Staios said on the Coming in Hot Podcast. "With that youth and the passion that he brings along with that skill set, I think that he's going to continue to mature into a star player in our league."
Stutzle's maturation process is one of the key reasons Staios made the kinds of moves he did this summer. To this point, Stutzle has taken his cues from a very young leadership core. Claude Giroux's addition has helped a lot, but based on his additions, Staios clearly felt he needed more of that veteran insulation around Stutzle.
"We're looking for (Stutzle) to continue to mature in his game. And with the support that we're offering in and around him, with leadership and some of the veteran presence, I think that will only help him."
To answer the question posed in the title of this article, a return to 90 points is more than do-able for Stutzle. Not only will there be more veteran presence to help him, he'll be another year closer to his prime, and he's expected to be healthy. Plus, with all the changes, the team should be better. That means less frustration and more fun coming to work every day.