The Ottawa Senators' annual charity golf tournament always feels like the unofficial beginning to a new NHL season. In hockey or golf – whether you're at the start of a fresh new season or standing on the first tee – hope springs eternal. At the event, held again this year at The Marshes in Kanata on Monday, the Senators generally make a few of their people available to the local media. This year, that included GM Steve Staios, who spoke with excitement about being on the precipice of another NHL campaign. Ottawa Senators GM Steve Staios discusses the optimism he has for his team this season. "Well, there's great energy and optimism," Staios said. "And I think I draw optimism from gauging the character of the group, and the way that they've bonded together and grown together – the steps that they've taken together. That's where I'm drawing the optimism for the group." After ending their long playoff drought last spring, Ottawa's fan base is equally optimistic. Entering last summer, it was quite different, and judging by his actions, Staios wasn't nearly as optimistic back then. So he went about the business of rebalancing the roster, bringing in the likes of goalie Linus Ullmark, defenseman Nick Jensen, and forwards David Perron, Michael Amadio, Noah Gregor, and Adam Gaudette. At the deadline, he added Fabian Zetterlund and Dylan Cozens. By contrast, and as proof of his confidence and optimism in his current group, he wasn't nearly as busy this summer. "When you take an honest look at our group and how they performed (last season) post-trade deadline, and even how they grew in that playoff series in round 1, at times as a manager, you look back, and you see that growth, and that (gave) me optimism to bring the group back," Staios said. The Senators made the playoffs for the first time in eight years, so that alone should give fans reason for optimism. But Staios is quite right to point out how good the Sens were after the deadline. They put up a record of I4-5-2, good for a .714 points percentage, the second-best in the NHL. If anyone discusses what they're concerned about in Ottawa, or where they might lack optimism, one of the first topics is always the club's 31st ranking in 5-on-5 scoring last season. It's a meaningful stat, but it's often discussed as if it's the only signal of whether a team is good or not, even though the Columbus Blue Jackets were the best in that category while the Florida Panthers were outside the top 20. Still, Staios rarely holds a news conference where he isn't asked about 5-on-5 scoring, and this one was no different. "I know it's been a big topic of conversation as far as 5-on-5, but I think there's optimism within the group that we can we can improve in that area." Perhaps they have already. After the deadline, at a time when it's harder to score and everyone is fighting for their playoff lives, the Senators finished as the 11th-best team in 5-on-5 scoring over the final 21 games of the season. But can these highly positive, post-deadline trends continue into this season? Staios says his optimism also comes from what the coaching staff accomplished last season, helping to keep the team focused, especially after a lot of tough years of missing the playoffs. "I think Travis and the coaching staff did a wonderful job of keeping them in the moment. Last year at this time, there were a lot of things that had happened in the past and some negative experiences for this group, and we stayed focused on the day-to-day. It's a bit cliché, but that gave us the focus to continue to grow together as a group. Staying in the moment was to take away all the negativity that had happened in the past. And now we're looking forward. "As far as next steps, I think it's a process. We know how hard it is just to get into the playoffs and being able to focus on having the confidence to know that we can play a certain style that'll lend itself to becoming a playoff team again, and then the confidence of those experiences, I think will help." Only time will tell, of course. But with camps about to get underway, there's little reason in Ottawa to be anything but optimistic. More Sens Headlines at THN: Can The Senators Still Avoid Losing Their 2026 First Round Pick? 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