The Ottawa Senators troubles in 2023-24 can at least partly be attributed to their defence. That is hard to imagine when fundamentally they have four defencemen that any team would like on their top four. Conversely, also fundamentally, and what may be, at least partly to blame, is that three of them are lefties. Of course, we are talking about Thomas Chabot, Jakob Chychrun, Jake Sanderson, and Artem Zub. The first three are the lefties. Here we shall discuss why the biggest problem stems from inconsistency.
Just Where Does the Blame Fall for the Ottawa Senators Struggles on Defence
When it boils down to why the defence unit is inconsistent for the Ottawa Senators, there are a couple of factors. If we look at moneypuck.com and filter on pairings with 100 minutes plus, the Sens have 13 such defence pairings. That’s simply too many. Now, 100 minutes isn’t a lot, but it is more than a normal five-game span, or at least enough to notice a pattern or trend. It must be an indication that too many times, the attempted pairings just didn’t work. Or, they weren’t given enough of an opportunity to make it work. If you bump the filter up to 150, you begin to reveal some interesting information. You begin to see why Chabot is the Sens best defenceman. Not only does he play either side, but he is a part of the top-rated pairings.
| Rank | Minutes | xGoals % | xGoals For | xGoals Against | |
| 1 | Chabot-Brannstrom | 159.3 | 61.90% | 8.3 | 5.1 |
| 2 | Sanderson-Zub | 748.8 | 55.60% | 33.5 | 26.7 |
| 3 | Chabot-Chychrun | 327.6 | 54% | 14.7 | 12.5 |
| 4 | Brannstrom-Bernard-Docker | 264.3 | 53.10% | 10.3 | 9.1 |
| 5 | Chychrun-Hamonic | 271.6 | 43.20% | 9.8 | 12.9 |
| 6 | Brannstrom-Hamonic | 218.4 | 42.10% | 7.5 | 10.3 |
| 7 | Chychrun-Bernard-Docker | 362 | 41.20% | 11.9 | 17 |
In terms of inconsistency, injuries definitely played a factor in this group. For example, Thomas Chabot only managed 45 games this year to this point. When Chabot is healthy, he is by far the minute leader. Now Jake Sanderson’s great play is also a cause, but his getting close to Chabot’s ice time was mostly a result of compensating for no Chabot in the lineup. Moreover, even Artem Zub missing 13 games is noticeable when he’s far and away the club’s best right-shot D-man. Between Sanderson and Zub, they make up the Senators most reliable and consistent pairing and sport a solid 55.6 xGoals%.
One further unheralded reason for the inconsistencies would be the coaching change. Overall that wouldn’t be considered a major reason. However, it would play a factor in specific pairings, start zone decisions, and who finds themselves in the press box.
So, Where Do the Solutions Lay on the Ottawa Senators Defence?
Let’s cut to the chase. Given the left-shot factor, the Senators need to bite the bullet. They need to decide on one of two options. There are two ways of looking at it essentially. Do you want Tyler Kleven on the left or right side? Alternatively, can either Chychrun or Chabot be a formidable option long-term on the right side? Therefore, we can definitively decide if they need to move either Chabot or Chychrun.
Make a Plan, and Stick With It
So, let’s re-cap our decisions regarding the Ottawa Senators defence heading into 2024-25. The only easy conclusion is to maintain a pairing of Sanderson and Zub. They play well together and bring a lot of different sides to their games, from offence to skating, to shut-down play. Also, of the three left-shot defencemen, two will play the remaining left-side slots of Chabot, Chychrun, and Kleven. Let’s just say for argument’s sake, that they decide to keep Chabot and shift him to the right side to play with Kleven. Then, they just need a right-hand shot to play with Chychrun. Therefore, this opens the competition among the guys still trying to make it. This list is led by Jacob Bernard-Docker or Max Guenette. Again assuming, this time that Erik Brannstrom is not brought back for next year.
The point is, that the Senators coaching staff just needs to be consistent. Moreover, the Senators do need to be more physical on the backend as well, hence, adding Tyler Kleven should suffice. But in deciding the partner for Chychrun, with internal or external, toughness would be a consideration as well. In any case, the coaches need to stick with the alignment. They really do need to go through those growing pains, and allow the young player time to grow their confidence.
Main photo: Per Haljestam-USA TODAY Sports
