The Ottawa Senators have a five-day All-Star break to reflect on what was surely the strangest first half of a hockey season in franchise history.
At times the Senators have been pretty good (most of January), at times uncompetitive (all of November). They didn’t play for days on end, and now face a schedule crammed to the gills.
The overall result after 40 games is a team that sits too far back of the playoff contenders to have any hope of making the post-season, and yet with individual stories of triumph that paint a completely different picture of the first half.
Through it all, this was a Senators half-season that started and stopped – twice – due to COVID-19 outbreaks and arena attendance restrictions.
So, how to rate Ottawa’s first 40 of 82 scheduled games?
Let’s try it this way: The standings are a disappointment for a franchise that was supposed to make some noise in the Atlantic Division this season. But as for the development of some of the Senators' best and youngest talent, and the broader picture of a team looking to compete with the big boys next season and beyond – the first half has been a roaring success.
Tim Stützle, Drake Batherson, Alex Formenton, Erik Brannstrom and Josh Norris have all taken huge strides, while being led by that human wrecking ball, consummate leader and point producer Brady Tkachuk, the newly named captain. Tkachuk was named Ottawa’s All-Star Game representative when the injured Batherson couldn’t go. Starting goaltender Matt Murray, who didn’t have a win before Christmas, has suddenly won four of his last six, with both losses coming in extra time. There will be plenty of personal stories, on and off the ice, to watch in the final three months of the regular season.
Key stats
Team record: 14-22-4 (7th in Atlantic, 29th NHL)
Goals For per game: 2.7 (24th)
Goals Against per game: 3.18 (26th)
Power Play: 18.4% (22nd)
Penalty Kill: 80.7% (13th)
Best surprise
It’s a challenge to boil it down to one surprise because there have been so many on a roster bursting with young talent. But we have to go with Stützle in his second NHL season, shifting over to the centre position from left wing after three, and then four, of Ottawa’s four resident centres went down with injuries. Now, it is no longer a question of where Stützle plays but IF he is going to become the Senators No. 1 centre or No. 2 behind Norris. Stützle is certainly more flashy and dynamic than Norris, while Norris has proved himself to be a consistent goal scorer, especially on the power play, where he has seven goals. The trio of Tkachuk-Norris-Batherson was a chemical force until Batherson (high-ankle sprain) and then Norris, went down with injury. The club hopes the Norris shoulder injury is not serious and is taking every precaution. The development of Stützle, and his willingness to play a two-way game and become a strong faceoff guy is huge because it drops Shane Pinto (recovering from shoulder surgery) into the 3-hole, where his all-around game gives Ottawa true depth down the middle. Colin White then becomes either a too-expensive No. 4 centre or could slide up and play wing. An issue for another day.
Biggest disappointment
The Senators were planning to be in a position to play meaningful games down the stretch, with an outside shot at making the playoffs for the first time since 2017. As much as we can explain away the disappointment by how sick players were with COVID in November, and how injuries have since taken out four forwards from the top two lines, these developments don’t remove the disappointment that the team and its fans won’t be watching life-and-death games in March and April. It was utterly disheartening to see the Sens – and Murray – get off to a slow start again when everyone vowed they were going to avoid a repeat of last year’s lousy start in a compressed schedule.
Biggest question for second half
Who stays and who goes at the March 21 trade deadline? The Senators have several pending UFAs, mostly at forward, where the likes of Nick Paul, Tyler Ennis and Zach Sanford could generate interest from teams looking for playoff depth. Anton Forsberg is another pending UFA, and he could be useful as goalie insurance. Veteran forwards Chris Tierney and Scott Sabourin and D-man Josh Brown are also available. Veteran defenceman Nick Holden could have been a key trading chip, but he recently signed a one-year contract for next season to help nurture the Senators incoming talent on the blueline, including Jake Sanderson, Lassi Thompson and Jacob Bernard-Docker.
The most intriguing name of all is winger Nick Paul (who “does it all"). His is a heartwarming story of a player who spent four seasons in the minors before nailing down a roster spot in Ottawa as a 24-year-old. Paul turns 27 the day before the trade deadline, can play any forward position, is loved by teammates and Senators head coach D.J. Smith, but would be a solid addition to any playoff-bound team. Paul wants to stay in Ottawa and the organization would like to keep him, but unless the price is Sens-friendly, Paul will “do it all” for a contender this spring.
