We are back for another year for the 2024-25 season of our annual Puck Drop Previews here at Last Word on Hockey. As the regular season approaches, Last Word will preview each team’s current outlook and stories to watch for the upcoming year. We’ll also do our best to project how things will go for each team throughout the campaign. Today, we’re previewing the team representing the Canadian national capital and the 2024-25 Ottawa Senators.
Puck Drop Preview: 2024-25 Ottawa Senators
The Ottawa Senators are thirsty for post-season action, but is this the year they get it done? Some analysts find it hard to believe the changes that they have made are enough to sneak in among the ultra-competitive Atlantic Division playoff picture. However, ever since owner Michael Andlauer came to town to kick-start last season, the changes have been plenty. Buzz words like accountability, professionalism, and just plain ol’ doing it right, have been reverberating through the Rideau Canal. Therefore, we shall begin by looking back at 2023-24, and seeing all that has transpired since that point.
Reviewing the Ottawa Senators 2023-24 Campaign
Like many recent seasons, the Sens entered the campaign with barrels of optimism. After being notoriously bad in the first couple months to start recent seasons, things were looking up. When Tim Stutzle was batting a puck over a ducking James Reimer in Stockholm, Sweden, the whole team was beginning to believe. Furthermore, one of, if not the, face of the franchise’s 30-plus years of existence, Daniel Alfredsson, was back working within the organization. Things were going very swimmingly, that is, until they weren’t.
In fact, things had already started to go wrong. Shane Pinto had been suspended for 41-games before the start of the regular season. Pierre Dorion resigned his post. Finally, it culminated with head coach D.J. Smith being relieved of his duties. Fans just wanted an Ottawa storyline to be favourable. It just never did seem to come. The Thomas Chabot injury hurt the team’s performance. Joonas Korpisalo and Anton Forsberg weren’t the answer to all their problems.
With all the roadblocks the team ran into with frustrating regularly, there came some light. For instance, when Pinto played, he maintained a solid points-per-game. However, perhaps more importantly then on-ice personnel, Andlauer was able to start to integrate his own team within the off-ice environment. Some of the bigger moves were naming Steve Staios general manager, bringing on Jacques Martin to help mentor the young players, and eventually, hire head coach Travis Green in the summer. So, just what else did he do in the off-season to inject life into the Senators organization?
The Ottawa Senators Off-Season Highlights
The Sens faithful had been getting sick of the Summer of Pierre moniker the past couple off-seasons. However, this time it has been different with Andlauer and general manager Steve Staios at the helm. It seems the right people are in charge to make the right decisions. First of all, the Sens added a Vezina-calibre goaltender in Linus Ullmark, after shipping off the failed Korpisalo. This could very well be a defining trade for Staios’ Sens GM legacy, that is if the Sens are successful and Ullmark is the reason.
Next to mention, and if we consider it from the casual onlookers viewpoint, was a trade that the Sens loss. The trade saw the swapping of Jakob Chychrun for Nick Jensen. However, the suitability of Jensen as a partner for Chabot made the trade happen. Again, this has the potential to be a defining move for the current management regime. They also brought in some depth pieces to scatter throughout the lineup. David Perron, Michael Amadio, and Nick Cousins are all great examples of adding depth and professionals to the lineup. The big question becomes, did the Sens improve? That’s what we will try our best to breakdown, and first off, the forward group as a whole.
Projected Lineup Starting with the Four Forward Lines
PLAN A:
| LW | C | RW |
| TKACHUK | STUTZLE | BATHERSON |
| NORRIS | PINTO | PERRON |
| AMADIO | GREIG | GIROUX |
| COUSINS | OSTAPCHUK | GREGOR |
PLAN B:
| LW | C | RW |
| TKACHUK | STUTZLE | PERRON |
| COUSINS | PINTO | BATHERSON |
| GREIG | NORRIS | GIROUX |
| AMADIO | OSTAPCHUK | GREGOR |
Top Six Forward Group
The Senators top six comes in with high hopes. Brady Tkachuk and Tim Stutzle both look forward to big seasons individually, as well as for the team. Furthermore, Shane Pinto and Drake Batherson both have hopes of hitting career marks this year. Based on a guess of the alignment of the exact lineup, Josh Norris and David Perron are solid choices to round out their top six. All of these six forwards will put up solid numbers this year, and cannot be looked on as a weakness to opponents in 2024-25.
The great differentiator for ice time for offensive players ends up being power play opportunity. Claude Giroux and Ridly Greig could easily get decent power play time, and hence, put up big points. As well, they would get lots of ice time with the rest of the talent from the top six. Big picture, the Sens need to find the rhythm that works, so the top six is definitely not set in stone.
The Bottom Six Guys
There is something to like about having a weapon like Giroux available for your third line. That also goes for another player we mentioned, Greig. In addition, the off-season acquisitions of Amadio, Cousins, or Noah Gregor will provide excellent matchups for the Sens. That is something they just didn’t have last season, when many young players were playing out of their element. The other pieces depend on contract statuses, riding the hot hand, perhaps needing a penalty killer, and basically, chemistry with his linemates. When you consider the names we mentioned, it seems the Sens are ahead of their 2023-24 roster depth. We did put Zack Ostapchuk in the lineup, however, he is waiver exempt. So, depending how the final roster settles, such as the professional tryout for Nikolai Kulemin, the last spots really depend on salary cap limitations.
The 2024-25 Ottawa Senators Preview on Defence
| LD | RD |
| CHABOT | JENSEN |
| SANDERSON | ZUB |
| KLEVEN | BERNARD-DOCKER |
Extras: Travis Hamonic
Top Four
The competition for first power play extends to the defence. Both Thomas Chabot and Jake Sanderson should do as they have done recently, road the hot hand. Chabot was injured last year, and Sanderson played a lot with the top unit. Either way, the Sens top four boils down to the matchup game. Situation, momentum, and coach Green’s decision making and game management will dictate the cycle of the top two defence pairs. It seems how we decided to set the lines, is how they will line themselves up, at least to start. Artem Zub playing alongside Sanderson seems to be a successful partnership. If the Sens have a match between Chabot and the newcomer, Jensen, then the top four might actually be a position of strength for the Sens.
Bottom Pair
A possible common theme, is the effective role management has had in shaping the roster. The healthy, internal competition for the third pairing is great for the team. Tyler Kleven may very well be a front-runner, but his waiver-exempt status makes it difficult for management to make that kind of decision. It is further compounded by the fact that Travis Hamonic has a no-movement clause. So there are some ways that the alignment has some constraints. Additions like Filip Roos and Calen Addison are by no means household names, but provide a great incentive for the players to perform. They will provide the internal competition the lineup needs to keep it accountable.
Goalies
- ULLMARK
- FORSBERG
The Ottawa Senators goaltending looks to finally get over the hump. Bringing in the 2023 Vezina Trophy winner can only help your bid for goaltending success. On the other hand, Forsberg is a perfectly acceptable backup in the NHL. He has played 160 career NHL games, and all but ten of those since 2017. So, they theoretically have an actor for each role in net. We will take it a step further to say, they have the ultimate third stringer. An aging AHL prospect chomping at the bit, Mads Sogaard. If each of these goalies play to expectations, expect the Sens to be a playoff team.
Two Senators to Watch in 2024-25
First Up Nick Jensen
Nick Jensen isn’t the most eye-catching name you think of for players to watch. Conversely, his potential impact on the Sens roster makes him our choice. Jensen turns 34 in a couple days, but if he can provide Chabot with a dependable, mobile, and defensively minded, right-shot defence partner, there will be no questioning this selection as players to watch. Ironically, being a good defensive-defencemen relies upon on not being noticed, but Sens fans would be more than happy if that ends up being the case.
Next Sens Player to Watch
Ridly Greig seems to be an intangible to the Sens lineup. He can play anywhere really within the four lines, and is dependable if needed in a two-way role. However, depending on his linemates and power play time, his projected point totals would have a lot of variability. If Greig can get near 50 points in a third line role, it will be a sign that the Sens are entrenched in a playoff battle.
The Best Part of Our Preview and the Prediction For 2024-2025 Ottawa Senators
In continuation of our Montreal predictions, it really all boils down to battling for every inch. The Leafs, Bruins, and Panthers are in a class of their own. Tampa will be difficult to leapfrog, but it is possible. Moreover, the rest of the four teams in the Atlantic Division will duke it out for the prized playoff position. Are the Sens up to the task? As long as they have the depth to overcome injuries, it seems they will get it done.
Prediction: Fourth in the Atlantic
Main Photo Credit: Eric Bolte-USA TODAY Sports
