The 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs are drawing closer. One of the 16 teams that will be competing to win the 2025 Stanley Cup are the Ottawa Senators.
After not making the playoffs since 2017, the Senators broke through this season and ended their playoff drought. Belief is rightfully back in Canada's capital. The Senators have 44 wins this season after yesterday's 4-3 overtime win against the Philadelphia Flyers.
As the Senators are eager to play some playoff hockey, the Senators will be mostly viewed as underdogs. There is one thing that the Senators don't have that will cause experts to be against them in the 2025 playoffs.
Core players not having playoff experience will have Senators doubted in 2025 playoffs
Having playoff experience with your core players can be seen as helpful for a team to win a Stanley Cup due to those players knowing what it takes to win. Unfortunately, the Senators don't have their core players on the roster who have had playoff experience.
From the longest tenured Senator at the moment Thomas Chabot, to captain Brady Tkachuk, to Tim Stutzle, to Jake Sanderson, to Ridly Greig, to Shane Pinto, to Drake Batherson and to even Artem Zub. All eight players have never played in the playoffs, so pressure will be on them to live up to playoff expectations. Even newly acquired players at the trade deadline Dylan Cozens and Fabian Zetterlund never played in the playoffs before.
However, despite core players not having playoff experience, that doesn't mean the Senators don't have veteran players who have played in the playoffs. The Senators will need to rely on their veteran players more than ever to show their core players what playoff hockey is about.
David Perron is a former Stanley Cup champion as a member of the 2019 St. Louis Blues. At 36 years old, Perron will be relied on by the Senators for a player who is nearing the end of his 18th NHL season.
Just like Perron, Claude Giroux is also winding down his 18th NHL season. Although Giroux has never won a Stanley Cup, he has played in the playoffs nine times. In 2010, Giroux recorded 21 points to help the Flyers reach the 2010 Stanley Cup Finals. In the 2012 playoffs, Giroux recorded 17 points in 10 games.
Nick Cousins and Michael Amadio have each won a Stanley Cup in each of the last two seasons. Cousins won with the Florida Panthers last year and Amadio won with the Vegas Golden Knights in 2023.
Having core players having playoff experience is always important to have because those players might not know how hard the grind is to hoist the Stanley Cup. While the Senators don't have it from their core players, the team is fortunate to have veteran players who have playoff experience on the roster.
The veteran experience can help the Senators when the playoffs arrive The Senators will be looking to shock the world when the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs do start.