At the 2017 NHL Draft, the New Jersey Devils had high hopes for Swedish forward Fabian Zetterlund when they drafted him 63rd overall. Being an early third-round draft pick showed the Devils believed Zetterlund could grow into a solid player.
However, in February 2023, the Devils traded Zetterlund to the San Jose Sharks in part of the Timo Meier trade. Zetterlund had recorded 28 points in just 59 games played in his Devils tenure.
Then in March 2025, Zetterlund was traded again this time to the Ottawa Senators. Despite struggles after the trade, Zetterlund was recently projected to have his breakout season as a Senator. One thing is for sure, Zetterlund has shown he can be a breakout player in his career.
Zetterlund projected for breakout season in recent fantasy hockey article
Yesterday, Troy Perlowitz of NHL.com wrote an article titled "Ottawa Senators fantasy rankings, projections for 2025-26." Although Perlowitz ranked the five best Senators to draft in fantasy on the roster, he did put Zetterlund in the category of being a breakout candidate along with Jordan Spence.
Spence did break out last season with recording a career-high 28 points and +23 rating with the Los Angeles Kings. The Senators acquired Spence in a trade at day two of the 2025 NHL Draft this past June. However, Zetterlund will need a breakout season in his first full season in Ottawa, but he's shown in the past he can be a solid player.
Perlowitz projected a 47-point season from Zetterlund this upcoming season. A 47-point season would be a new career-high for Zetterlund with his current career-high for a single season being 44 points.
Zetterlund recorded 44 points during the 2023-24 season with the Sharks. In a twist, that season was his first full season in San Jose. Today, Zetterlund is looking at his first full season as a Senator approaching in under two months.
On a bad Sharks team over the past two seasons, Zetterlund was one of the team's few bright spots. Zetterlund ended his Sharks career with finishing with 83 points in 163 games played. Prior to getting traded in March, had scored 17 goals and recorded 36 points on the season for San Jose in 2024-25, but struggled in Ottawa after the trade with recording five points in 20 games.
Potential is still there for Zetterlund to grow more who will turn 26 years old in four days. After the 2025 playoffs, Zetterlund re-signed to a three-year contract with the Senators.
Learning a new team's system and culture may have been a challenge for Zetterlund after being traded. However, with now being re-signed for years to come, it could not only put more confidence for Zetterlund to breakout in Ottawa, but also show the Senators believe that he can take his game to a new level.
The Senators will be eager to show that making the playoffs for the first time in eight years wasn't fluke, and Zetterlund will be relied on by the team deeply to grow more and play more minutes per game.