Is this the year the Ottawa Senators will take the next step?
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The Ottawa Senators have not made the playoffs since 2017. In that year, they lost in the Eastern Conference Finals to the Pittsburgh Penguins, falling just short of reaching the Stanley Cup finals. Since then, there has been significant turnover throughout the entire organization. This past year was another disastrous season for the Senators. Whether it was the Shane Pinto situation or the Senators forfeiting a first-round draft pick for their role in the July 2021 trade of Player Evgenii Dadonov from the Senators to the Vegas Golden Knights.
The Senators ended the season with 78 points, placing 14th in the Eastern Conference. In short, they struggled on defense and had weak goaltending. Despite signing Joonas Korpisalo to a five-year, $20 million contract, his performance was disappointing. In 55 games, he had a 3.27 goals against average and an 0.890 save percentage. The Senators also had the lowest combined save percentage in the NHL, at 0.884. They aimed for a playoff push but fell far short. Offseason moves were made to hopefully bolster the team.
Starting in net where the Senators acquired former Vezina trophy winner Linus Ullmark from the Boston Bruins.
The Sens managed to get rid of the Korpisalo contract, which was a big win for them, even if it meant giving up a first-round draft pick. With just league-average goaltending, the Sens are expected to greatly improve. In free agency, they made more additions. First, they re-signed 23-year-old forward Shane Pinto to a two-year contract. Pinto has scored 27 points in 41 games and will be a great addition as a third-line center behind Tim Stutzle and Josh Norris. The Sens also brought in veteran forward David Perron, who, at 36 years old, scored 17 goals in 76 games with the Red Wings. To round out the bottom six, they re-signed Michael Amadio to a three-year contract worth $7.8 million. With a solid left-sided defense in Jake Sanderson and Thomas Chabot, who are both making $8 million per year until the 2027–28 season, Jakob Chychrun became the odd man out and was traded to the Washington Capitals.
The Senators traded a first-round pick, two second-round picks, and acquired Chychrun in 2023. In return, they received a third-round pick and 33-year-old defenseman Nick Jensen, who is on the decline and earns $4 million per year. Despite the questionable management of the Chychrun trade, it is expected that the Senators will significantly improve their performance on the ice.
With a young core established, the Senators are poised to improve over time. The goaltending will be reliable, and with new coach Travis Green in place, we can expect a much more prepared Senators team right from the start, ready to make an impact. It would be disappointing if the Senators were not in the playoff mix towards the end of the year, but considering they are in the highly competitive Atlantic Division and a deep Eastern Conference, it will be a challenging task. The next goal for the Senators is to secure a playoff spot, and they will be pushing hard for it this season.