Adamo Marinelli
November 2, 2021
The Ottawa Senators’ season has barely gotten underway but there is already so much to be happy about if you are a Sens fan.
The bad news is the Senators are currently sitting at 3-5 on the young season, seventh place in the Atlantic Division. The good news is the Senators are right in the thick of the Atlantic Division playoff race and with almost the whole season ahead, there is a lot more room for success and improvement. The better news is that the Senators will be competing for a playoff spot with pretty much their entire roster. The only significant piece that is missing is Colin White who is on the injured reserve. His absence will hurt the Senators as he can do a lot of things for the team, including taking faceoffs, playing on special teams, scoring goals, etc.
The Senators finally signed Brady Tkachuk on October 14 to a seven-year, $57.5 million deal, which is something all Sens fans have been anticipating since the last offseason began.
Alongside him on the first line are Josh Norris and Drake Batherson, two budding stars in the NHL. This line has been deadly so far this season combining for 17 points (10 goals, 7 assists) and if their production continues, it could be one of the better two-way lines in the league.
The Senators have acquired many young prospects on both sides of the puck and are currently in the phase where the rebuild is reaching its end and their time to compete for a playoff spot is approaching rapidly.
The Senators have many talented young players on offense such as Brady Tkachuk, Tim Stutzle, Josh Norris, Drake Batherson, Connor Brown, and Chris Tierney among others. In addition, they have reliable veterans in Tyler Ennis, Zach Sanford, Logan Shaw, and Colin White - who is currently on the injured reserve but is a factor on this team when healthy - that can contribute every night on the scoresheet and be a mentor to the young guys in the locker room and on the ice. Their top six is extremely talented and their bottom six is a decent unit that ranks around the middle of the league.
Also, the Senators have a pretty underrated defensive core with a lot of talent all over the blue line, particularly with guys like Thomas Chabot, Victor Mete, Artem Zub, Nikita Zaitsev, Michael Del Zotto, and Josh Brown among others. They are by no means the best defense in the league and have a lot of room to improve even further. But, they have a lot of skill on both the left and right side of the defense, and with some more development and playing time for the youngsters, they can outperform expectations.
This is a defensive unit that will not necessarily be a top-five team in fewest shots allowed or fewest goals against, as they are still a pretty young group. However, this is a defense that can control possession time, make it tough for opponents to get quality chances and they are a defensive unit that likes to get involved offensively. Thomas Chabot in particular is a premier offensive defenseman considering his shot, ability to set teammates up, and the fact that he plays a lot of minutes every night. He’s one of the NHL leaders in time on ice and makes an impact on both sides of the puck. Zub and Del Zotto are the veterans in this group that will mentor the young core. They’re just as tough as they are on offense as they are on defense.
The Senators still have quite a few talented prospects that will be in the team’s future anywhere from 2-4 years down the line like Jake Sanderson and Jakob Bernard-Docker on defense; Shane Pinto and Ridley Grieg at center, and Roby Jarventie on the left-wing among others. Lassi Thompson and Tyler Kleven are also potential future studs at the blue line.
Finally, the goaltending position is one of, if not the most important position for the success of the hockey team.
Last year, the Senators had a plethora of goalies with guys like Matt Murray, Joey Daccord, Anton Forsberg, and Filip Gustavsson. This season, with Murray out and Daccord gone, the Senators will rely a lot on Anton Forsberg and Filip Gustavsson, two guys that really came into form last season and look to have an even better season this year. They don’t have the best goalies in the league, but both are reliable and if they get hot, the Senators can make a run.
The Senators have a pretty good roster with depth and talent on both sides of the puck and have a pretty good coaching staff led by DJ Smith. They also have a pretty wide prospect pool.
They have the talent, but now they have to execute on both sides of the puck to succeed. That starts with their special teams unit.
Last year, the Senators struggled mightily on the powerplay, finishing with the fifth-worst powerplay percentage in the league at 15.52 percent.
This year, the Senators’ powerplay unit should perform much better. They’ve all had more time to work together, D.J Smith has made the special teams a priority during training camp and during practices - as special teams win games. Their first powerplay unit is Tkachuk, Norris, and Batherson as forwards and Chabot as defensemen with Stutzle also on the back end as the one-timer specialist. Their second unit is good too, consisting of Zach Sanford, Chris Tierney, Connor Brown on offense, and Artem Zub and Tyler Ennis on offense.
Last year, the Senators had the 11th worst penalty kill percentage at 78.95 percent. For a group of young guys, reaching almost 80 percent is an achievement. This year, their first unit of penalty killers is Nick Paul, Connor Brown, Nick Holden, and Josh Brown. Their second line is Dylan Gambrell, Zach Sanford, Nikita Zaitsev, and Artem Zub. Their first PK line provides speed and the ability to create short-handed chances in transition - something the Senators excelled at last season. They had seven shorthanded goals last year which was top 10 in the league and it should improve this year. Their second PK line has some defensive veterans to slow down the opponents’ offensive attack and limit shots on goal and zone time by clearing the zone and using their transition offense. This penalty kill should be around 85 percent success this year.
The Senators in all likelihood will not be competing for the Atlantic Division crown and the Stanley Cup this season. However, if everything goes according to plan and the Senators get great goaltending in front of a solid defensive core and a talented young offense, this team could compete for a wild card spot.
If they don’t make the playoffs this season, they will be able to compete for a playoff spot and potentially even the division title 2-3 years down the road when more of their top prospects like Jake Sanderson, Shane Pinto, Jakob Bernard-Docker, Shane Pinto, and Ridley Grieg among others get permanent spots on the roster.
For this season, I am predicting a 35-36-11 record for 81 points, which should be enough for fifth place in the Atlantic Division. The Panthers, Lightning, Bruins, and Maple Leafs will all finish above Ottawa. At the very best, Ottawa can finish fourth above Boston but that is a tough task. This means they will miss the playoffs this season, but next year, the Senators can start competing for a playoff spot, a division title, and even more.
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