When will the Ottawa Senators win the Stanley Cup?

Published Sep 17, 2024  •  5 minute read

Ottawa Senators captain Brady Tkachuk celebrates his goal against the Boston Bruins during the second period at the TD Garden. Photo by Rich Gagnon /GETTY IMAGES

The Ottawa Senators missed the playoffs for the seventh straight spring last season.

But hope springs eternal and, after an off-season of change, the Senators are confident when the tickets are handed out to the National Hockey League’s big dance in April, they’ll have a booked a seat.

A lot needs to go right for the dream to become reality. People often say it’s not about how you start, it’s about how you finish, but in the case of the Senators, both of these hold true.

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The Senators need to get off to a good start to make sure they don’t take themselves out of the mix so early that the rest of the season is meaningless. There’s a fine line and the Senators need to handle it without feeling the pressure.

Steve Staios, the club’s president of hockey operations and general manager, has put his stamp on this team with the hiring of head coach Travis Green and several roster changes.

The time has come for this core to make the next step.

STATUS TODAY

The Senators are built around a core that is led by captain Brady Tkachuk, but Tim Stutzle, Thomas Chabot, Shane Pinto, Jake Sanderson, Drake Batherson, Josh Norris and Ridly Greig will play big roles.

The reality is these guys need to learn how to win and it has to happen this year. By all accounts, they should have a good opportunity with the changes made by Staios in the off-season to get to the next level.

Veterans David Perron, Michael Amadio, Ben Cousins and right-shot defenceman Nick Jensen were added to the roster. Of course, the biggest acquisition was goaltender Linus Ullmark from the Boston Bruins in a deal which sent the underachieving Joonas Korpisalo to Beantown.

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Staios couldn’t roll back with the same crew and hope everybody improved. He didn’t like the way this roster was constructed. The veteran players should take some of the pressure off winger Claude Giroux.

The Senators feel like they’ve add stability to the roster and they hope that rubs off on the young players. If it does, then this team should be improved.

REASON TO BELIEVE

The focus is on Ullmark.

The Senators had zero consistency with their goaltending last season and that has to change for this club to make the playoffs. Ullmark is in the final year of a contract that will pay him $5 million US and will be an unrestricted free agent on July 1, so he needs to have success as well.

The 31-year-old Ullmark had a lot of success with the Bruins. He finished with a 22-10-7 record last season with a 2.57 goals-against average and a .915 save-percentage. He also played a key role in winning a Vezina Trophy two years ago.

Based on personality alone, Ullmark is just what the doctor ordered. He’s a breath of fresh air, what you see is what you get, he has a good sense of humour and he doesn’t take anything too seriously. He even says he never gets too high and never gets too low.

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You want a goalie that is on an even keel because it helps with confidence.

If that can rub off on the rest of the players and he can help Anton Forsberg have a better year than last season, the Senators will be in a good place.

REASON FOR SKEPTICISM

The Senators missed the playoffs by 13 points last season, which means they need to make a huge improvement.

One thing we’ve learned is that all 32 teams feel like they’re better heading into this year and the Senators are no different. Green has his work cut out for him because he has to ensure that this group learns to play away from the puck as well as it does offensively.

The most over-used word in Ottawa is accountability. It feels like it’s a buzz word to be honest. Former coach D.J. Smith held players accountable, he just didn’t do it publicly. Green will do the same in his role and he can always control the message through ice time.

The Senators forwards have to play a two-way game plus Jensen needs to fill a void on the right side on defence. The veteran blueliner will have a lot of pressure to be a strong partner for Chabot and together they’ll have to make each other better.

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You can’t just flip a switch and be better defensively, but that has to be the case for the Senators.

PROSPECT PIPELINE

The Senators hadn’t had a first-round pick for two years until they took defenceman Carter Yakemchuk from the Western Hockey League’s Calgary Hitmen in the draft this past June.

He has a big year ahead of him and should suit up for Team Canada at the IIHF world junior championship in Ottawa during the holiday season.

Zack Ostapchuk was solid in Belleville last year and should be ready to make the jump to the NHL along with defenceman Tyler Kleven. They both helped the club’s American Hockey League affiliate to the second round of the playoffs

Goaltender Mads Sogaard has to push for more playing time in Ottawa during training camp and then needs to carry the load in Belleville. He’s a strong prospect for this team, but has to show that can stay healthy and play at this level. It’s going to be interesting to watch him.

SALARY CAP SITUATION

The Senators don’t have a lot of wiggle room under the cap after signing Cousins. It will be tough for them to add at the deadline, but they could send salary to Belleville to make room.

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We’ll find out soon enough if this is money well spent. Their young players make a lot and they have to carry the load.

POSTMEDIA PREDICTS

The Senators will win the Stanley Cup in three years.

POSTMEDIA EXPLAINS

Talking about a Stanley Cup and the Senators feels far-fetched. How about they make the playoffs first?

That’s how everybody feels here. But the clock already is ticking on this young core and new owner Michael Andlauer knows the next three years are pivotal if this team is going to have success.

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You don’t have players forever anymore and loyalty isn’t what it used to be. If Ullmark can carry the ball, Norris can stay healthy and Sanderson becomes the defenceman everybody expects, then maybe another Tkachuk will lift the Stanley Cup over their head.

At this point, though, a playoff game in Ottawa for the first time since 2017 would be a nice step in the right direction.

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