If you talk to any Ottawa fan about the goal for the Senators 2023-24 season, you'll probably hear the same thing over and over: make the playoffs. The Senators haven't qualified for the dance since advancing to the Eastern Conference Final in 2017, and fans across Canada's national capital are itching for April hockey in Kanata.

The Senators are entering the 2023-24 campaign with the best team they've had on paper since the days of Erik Karlsson (and almost reaching the SCF) six years ago. Although Alex DeBrincat is a big loss, Ottawa general manager Pierre Dorion made a huge splash by signing sniper Vladimir Taranseko in NHL Free Agency. Also expected to play a key role next year is Josh Norris, who scored a fantastic 35 goals and 55 points in just 66 games in 2021-22. He has missed 90 games over the last two years with injury, but if he can stay healthy, he will help to anchor one of the league's best top-six forward groups.

The young core in Ottawa is undoubtably excellent, and will help shape this team into a contender as soon as this upcoming campaign. With Tim Stutzle, Brady Tkachuk, Drake Batherson, Thomas Chabot and now Jake Sanderson all locked up for at least the next four years, the rebuild is over and the time to make noise in the Atlantic Division is now. Here are four bold predictions for the Ottawa Senators' 2023-24 season.

4) Tim Stutzle cracks 100 points

Tim Stutzle had a true breakout campaign in his third NHL season in 2022-23. After increasing his point total from 29 in his rookie season to 58 in his sophomore campaign, the young German put the league on notice by scoring 39 goals and 90 points over a 78-game slate. It was an exceptional season for the former No. 3 overall pick in the 2020 NHL Draft, and the 21-year-old figures to be even better next year.

Scoring 100 points is certainly a bold prediction; only 11 players were able to eclipse the mark last year. But Stutzle has emerged into the true game-breaking, No. 1 center that Ottawa hoped for when they selected him out of the German elite league three years ago. With two excellent linemates in Brady Tkachuk and Claude Giroux, as well as significant powerplay time, there's a very real chance the team's best offensive player could put up video game numbers next year.

3) Vladimir Tarasenko scores 40 goals

The Senators lost a sniper in Alex DeBrincat, and the Senators gained a sniper in Vladimir Tarasenko. The former player is younger and has more potential, but the latter is a Stanley Cup champion who has scored over 30 goals six times in his standout NHL career. Tarasenko went from a floundering St. Louis Blues team to a diminished role with the New York Rangers at the NHL Trade Deadline, but it looks like he'll have a clean slate with the Senators after a bit of a down year in 2022-23.

Let's not forget that Tarasenko is a true sniper who is still close to his prime at 31-years-old, and has already scored 40 goals once in his career. Now playing on a second line with a healthy Josh Norris and Drake Batherson, the Russian star should be back to his near point-per-game self. If he gets a regular spot on PP1, and with two young studs in Norris and Batherson feeding him the puck, it wouldn't be shocking to see the right winger put up 40+ tallies.

2) Josh Norris plays full season, eclipses 70 points

Josh Norris has been billed as one of the future faces of the franchise, but his last two seasons have been derailed following shoulder injuries and subsequent surgeries. He played just eight games in 2022-23, but that's after an incredible 2021-22 season that saw the 24-year-old score 35 goals in 66 games.

When healthy, Norris projects to be a top-six forward with upside of over 70 points. The spotlight will be on the youngster right away as he continues to rehab the shoulder (he shed the no-contact jersey at practice this week), but if he can stay healthy, it could be the difference in this team's playoff aspirations. Let's say he puts the injury bug behind him, anchors the second line and scores at almost a point-per-game clip in 2023-24.

1) Senators finish top-three in Atlantic Division

The Senators aren't going to win the Atlantic Division. This team isn't there yet. But this offseason, two juggernauts in the Boston Bruins and Tampa Bay Lightning both got worse, and an argument can be made that the same happened with both the Florida Panthers and Toronto Maple Leafs.

Without a doubt, the Atlantic is the strongest division in the National Hockey League, and the Sens will not only be competing with those four teams, but also two squads who have similar postseason hopes in the Buffalo Sabres and Detroit Red Wings.

A lot of things need to go right for this team to secure a top-three finish in their division, but if a few of these bold predictions come true, there's a good chance the Ottawa Senators will have much higher hopes than just getting into the playoffs in 2024.