Realistic ceiling and floor for Ottawa's 2024-25 season

The Ottawa Senators are battling a tough stretch in franchise history. They have missed the playoffs for the past seven seasons. But as the 2024-25 season is approaching, there seems to be new hope.

The Senators made a bold and aggressive trade to acquire 2023 Vezina Trophy winner Linus Ullmark from the Boston Bruins. Having Ullmark in net gives Ottawa a legit goaltender for the first time since Craig Anderson. Having their superstar young duo of Brady Tkachuk and Tim Stutzle also gives the team another push.

With young potential superstars and now an elite goaltender, Senators fans are excited for the 2024-25 season. But what can be the realistic ceiling and floor for the Senators with them playing in a tough Atlantic Division? Having the Bruins, Toronto Maple Leafs, and defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers doesn't make it easy.

Patience will be needed for the Ottawa Senators this upcoming season

With young players on the team, they could miss the playoffs again because of their inexperience. But having former Philadelphia Flyers captain Claude Giroux and a former Vezina Trophy winner can give a team hope to be a sneaky team.

However, playing in a tough division makes it tough for a team trying to escape a playoff drought. But the Senators won't back down from making the playoffs.

Ceiling: First Wild Card seed

Just about everyone expects the top three teams in the Atlantic Division to be the Panthers, Bruins and Maple Leafs again. All three teams had over 100 points, and are deep teams. So, Ottawa cracking the top-three in the Atlantic will be tough. But, there's another way Ottawa could crack the playoffs and reach its ceiling.

That is by being the first Wild Card seed. The Metropolitan Division has two elite teams: the New York Rangers and the Carolina Hurricanes. But the Metropolitan's third seed last season was the New York Islanders, who had 17 fewer points than the Hurricanes, and uncertainty is upon the third seed in the Metropolitan.

The Philadelphia Flyers collapsed at the end of the season; the Washington Capitals and Pittsburgh Penguins are getting older; and the New Jersey Devils finished under .500 last season. Also, for another Atlantic Division opponent, the Tampa Bay Lightning, they lost Steven Stamkos and Mikhail Sergachev in the off-season.

Ullmark will have to be an impactful goaltender, just as he was with the Bruins, but if the Senators didn't believe in him, they wouldn't have traded for him. Drake Batherson also broke out last season. If things go right for Ottawa, the ceiling would end the seven-year playoff drought, and they would be the first Wild Card seed.

Floor: Bottom five team in the NHL

The Senators' floor is to miss the playoffs for the eighth consecutive season and finish in the bottom five again. Being in a playoff drought is a tough grind to get out of, and the Senators could have another season without making the playoffs.

Despite having a young, talented duo in Tkachuk and Stutzle, the team will be relying on more than just their duo. Batherson will be relied on to have another good season after his 66-point season last year, and Giroux will be relied on to have another good season as a veteran. But Ottawa didn't have any player on their team who recorded over 50 points.

The biggest key to how Ottawa can flop this season is if Ullmark doesn't play like he did in Boston. Ullmark's game in Boston was elite, winning a Vezina Trophy and having a 2.28 goals against average to go with a .924 save percentage in his three seasons in Boston. So, there is more pressure on Ullmark in Ottawa than in Boston because Ottawa traded for him, which means they believe in him deeply.

A way they could finish bottom five is what would happen at the trade deadline. Giroux and Ullmark are both unrestricted free agents after 2024, and contending teams would likely go shopping for both of them at the deadline to add a piece for their playoff push. If Ottawa is out of playoff contention by the trade deadline, and they trade both of them, it could drop them in the standings big.

The whole Atlantic and other teams in the Metropolitan could be too much for the Senators to handle again. The Senators finished with 78 points last season, which was the seventh-worst record in the NHL and the third-worst record in the Eastern Conference.