Ottawa Senators superstar forward Brady Tkachuk does not care about your parlay. He just wants to see his team win. The former first-round pick has been instrumental to the growth of the franchise and experienced the first postseason action of his career in 2024-25. While Tkachuk has been an X-factor for the team in the past, if the Senators are going to advance in the playoffs in 2025-26, it is a new X-factor that will lead the team.
The Senators made the playoffs for the first time since the 2016-17 season last year. While it was a disappointing finish to the campaign, losing in six games to the Toronto Maple Leafs in Round 1, the team showed major signs of improvement. A major reason for the success was the defense. The Senators ranked 13th in the NHL in goals against in 2024-25. In 2022-23, the team was 20th in the NHL, allowing 271 goals. The next season was even worse, sitting 26th in the NHL, allowing 281 goals. This past season was just 234 goals allowed.
Linus Ullmark was a major part of that jump in his first season in Ottawa. The netminer went 25-14-3 with a 2.72 goals-against average, and tied for ninth in the NHL with a .910 save percentage. He did miss time due to injury, but Anton Forsberg and Leevi Merilainen filled in well. Forsberg is now with the Los Angeles Kings, but Merilainen was great last season and now expects to back up Ullmark. He went 8-3-1 with a 1.99 goals-against average and a .925 save percentage over a short sample size.
While the defense was solid in 2024-25, the offense took a step back. Ottawa scored just 243 goals, down from the 255 scored in 2023-24 and the 261 scored in 2022-23. The team ranked 17th in the NHL in goals scored last season. Tkachuk had his lowest goal and point output since 2020-21, finding the back of the net 29 times while having just 55 points. The 29 goals still led the team, and if Ottawa is going to make a run this year, a player needs to spark the offense.
The post Buffalo boost
Leaving the Buffalo Sabres has often helped players in their careers. One great example is that of the Sens' goaltender, Ullmark. He began his career with the Sabres, bouncing between the AHL and NHL, but never being a star goaltender. He left the Sabres as a free agent to join the Boston Bruins. After going 26-10-2 with a 2.45 goals-against average and a .917 save percentage in 2021-22, he was even better the next season. That year, Ullmark went 40-6-1 with a 1.89 goals-against average and a .938 save percentage, winning the Vezina trophy.
He is not the only former Sabre to become a star. Jack Eichel was growing into a star with the Sabres, but his last season with the team was a major down year, and he had never been to the playoffs. Now, with the Vegas Golden Knights, he set career highs in assists and points this past season. Further, he lifted the Stanley Cup in 2023. Ryan O'Reilly also has post-Sabre success. In his first season after being traded from the Sabres to the St. Louis Blues, he tied a career high in goals, while setting career highs in assists and total points. He also won the Stanley Cup and Conn Smythe in 2019, his first season in St. Louis.
There is also Sam Reinhart, who went from a 50-60 point player to having 80 or more points in three of the last four seasons. He has also lifted Lord Stanley twice with the Florida Panthers. He was just one of six former Sabres to lift the Cup for the Panthers in 2024. There is a former member of the Sabres on the Senators roster, who will be the X-factor this year. His name is Dylan Cozens.
Dylan Cozens is the Senators' X-factor in 2025-26
With the No. 7 overall pick in the 2019 NHL Draft, the Sabres selected Cozens. After making his NHL debut in the 2020-21 season, Cozens stepped into being a top player for the team. In the 2022-23 season, he lit the lamp 31 times while adding 37 assists, good for 68 points. All three of those marks were career highs. Still, the Canadian took a step back in 2023-24, having just a total of 47 points. He was on pace to be even worse in 2024-25. Through 61 games, he had just 31 points, a pace of just 42 points over 82 games. That is when the Sabres traded Cozens to the Senators.
His play immediately improved. In just 21 games in Ottawa, Cozens beat the goaltender five times while adding 11 assists. That pace would be good for 20 goals, 43 assists, and a total of 63 points over 82 games. Now, the center has a full offseason with his new teammates and will continue to improve. Moreover, former Sabres have had a recent history of winning the Stanley Cup after leaving the team.
The offensive attack for the Senators struggled in 2024-25, but if it is going to improve, Cozens is going to have to be a major part of that improvement. He is projected to play on the second line for the team, joining David Perron and Fabian Zetterlund. The team had just two players score over 60 points in 2024-25, both of whom play on the top line. Adding another 60-point scorer to the second line will change the outlook of the offense. Combining this with an already solid defense and great goaltending, Cozens is keeping the trend going to rebounding after leaving Buffalo, making him the X-factor this year. If he can keep the trend going of former players winning it all, maybe the Senators can win their first Stanley Cup in franchise history one of these seasons.
