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The Ottawa Senators are on the cusp of competing for a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. After a scintillating run to the ECF in 2017, the Sens haven't seen postseason competition since. But now with a new owner, a vastly improved young core and a new starting goaltender, the belief around Canada's capital is that this team has what it takes to remain involved next April.
Last season was the coming out party for German superstar Tim Stutzle, who potted 90 points in 78 games and solidified himself as the first-line center of the future for this franchise. Captain Brady Tkachuk was also excellent in his fifth full NHL season, scoring at above a point-per-game clip for the first time in his career and evolving into a well-rounded star in the league. Claude Giroux also proved he's still got some gas left in the tank, in the tune of his first over point-per-game campaign since 2018-19 with the Philadelphia Flyers.
But who is primed to break out for the team this season? Who will be the difference between the 2023-24 Ottawa Senators finishing top three in the Atlantic Division or missing the playoffs altogether? It starts with sophomore Jake Sanderson.
Jake Sanderson ready to shine after breaking bank
Somewhat surprisingly, general manager Pierre Dorion locked Sanderson up on a quite expensive deal that will pay the 21-year-old $64.4 million over the next eight season. It's a steep price for a player who has only played 77 NHL games, but it's clear that the Montana native impressed enough last season to earn the hefty raise. The contract comes after Tkachuk, Stutzle and Thomas Chabot were all signed to megadeals of their own over the last few years.
It seems that, in his second NHL season, Jake Sanderson is ready for the spotlight. After scoring a very reasonable 32 points in 77 games in 2022-23, he looked excellent in the team's season opening loss to the Carolina Hurricanes on Wednesday, and recorded his first assist of the year against the Flyers on Saturday afternoon. The former No. 5 overall pick in the 2020 NHL Draft is sure to mature into a first-pairing defenseman.
Besides his offensive game, Sanderson was above-average at breaking up odd-man rushes last season, and clearing the puck out of danger. He was responsible and tenacious defensively, and chipped in on the offensive side of the puck consistently. As his defensive game continues to mature, the only thing potentially stopping him from a 50+ point season is his lack of usage on the first powerplay unit (which is Chabot's spot to lose).
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Ridly Greig primed for breakout season
The combination of Chabot, Sanderson, Jakob Chychrun and Artem Zub on the back end should be enough to keep this team competitive for a playoff spot all season, and that's especially true if Joonas Korpisalo can live up to his new contract. But up front, a player to keep an eye on this season in Ottawa is Ridly Greig.
The 21-year-old Canadian played just 20 games for the big league club last year, spending most of his team with the Belleville Senators in the American Hockey League. He was stellar there in 2022-23, scoring 15 goals and 29 points in 39 regular-season games. He followed it up with nine points in 20 NHL games, and he should have an even bigger role this year. Entering the second season of his entry-level contract, the former No. 28 overall pick will cost the Sens just over $860,000.
And he's primed for a bigger role this year. With Josh Norris starting the season on the IR and Shane Pinto still working on a new contract with the team, Greig has begun the campaign centering one of either Drake Batherson or Vladimir Tarasenko on the second line. He is also working on the second powerplay unit, along with Sanderson, Tarasenko, Chychrun and Dominik Kubalik. Those additional opportunities should help the former Brandon Wheat King forward drastically improve on his point totals this season, and if he remains in the top-six for a good chunk of the season, he has breakout potential and even potential fantasy relevance in deeper leagues.
There's no rush on this Senators team. Pierre Dorion has built out a young core that should be competitive in the Atlantic Division for years to come. But the window is just opening, and it's hard to see the season being considered a failure if they miss the playoffs but still win 40 games. That's just the parity in the NHL today, and the gauntlet of the division the Sens play in. Still, look for Jake Sanderson and Ridly Greig to have strong sophomore seasons in the capital, regardless of the team's overall performance.
