What will next stage look like for Ottawa Senators' young core?

Tim Stutzle of the Ottawa Senators gets ready to take a faceoff against the Florida Panthers during the first period at Amerant Bank Arena on March 31, 2026 in Sunrise, Florida. Photo by CARMEN MANDATO /GETTY IMAGES

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In order for the Ottawa Senators to return to the Stanley Cup playoffs and actually do some damage, two things need to happen:

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The team must receive competent goaltending and the franchise’s young core must take the next step.

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It’s easy enough to say, “Hey, Linus Ullmark: Good luck, play well!”

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The latter requirement is much more nuanced.

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Examining the Sens’ impact performers in the 23-26 age range — which will leave out key players like Drake Batherson (28), Thomas Chabot (29) and Artem Zub (30) — here’s what the next stage of their development could be.

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Jake Sanderson

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There’s not much room to improve when you’re arguably a top-three defenceman in the world — you heard me — but expect Sanderson to continue an upward trend in offensive production.

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Points per game by season:

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Before going down with a shoulder injury in early March, he was on pace for 66 points, which would’ve tied Erik Karlsson’s 2014-15 campaign for the fifth-most points by a defenceman in a single Senators season (Karlsson owns the top five spots).

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This will be Sanderson’s fourth straight season quarterbacking the first power-play unit and he has the capability to turn it into pure domination.

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There’s no one in the league that defends harder than Sanderson. As general manager Steve Staios put it earlier this month when discussing team toughness: “He’s an absolute nightmare to play against.”

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Now, let’s see if he can reach nightmare status for opposing goaltenders, too.

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Tyler Kleven

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In his second full NHL season, it took Kleven until mid-January to really settle in. From there, his game built and built and built, finishing the year with two of the best performances of his career in Games 3 and 4 against the Carolina Hurricanes.

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With the way he calmly and efficiently retrieved pucks with a relentless Hurricanes forecheck bearing down on him and the way he led the hit brigade all while still recovering from a broken jaw, Kleven looked mature beyond his years (24 at the time).

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The 6-foot-5 blue liner will begin the season on the Senators’ third pairing, likely playing on the left of either Carter Yakemchuk or Nikolas Matinpalo. But Kleven has the tools to challenge Chabot for second-pairing minutes, at least at 5-on-5.

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If Kleven can be a steadying presence on both sides of the puck and keep that gritty side of his game, Ottawa’s D corps will be amongst the NHL’s elite.

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Jordan Spence

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In the first season of a brand new $20-million US contract, Spence must prove that last year was no anomaly.

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Month by month in 2025-26, he seemed to better understand how to defend and be effective in coach Travis Green’s system. Come October, all that learning needs to be fully applied.

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Spence was a proficient puck-mover alongside Kleven last season, moving up the lineup with ease when injuries occurred. Now, with the departure of Nick Jensen, Spence could begin the year with Chabot, playing slightly heavier minutes.