Excitement is building around the Ottawa Senators as the team has recently started training camp. With new head coach Travis Green and new top goaltender Linus Ullmark, it makes Senators fans more excited for the season with their superstar duo of Brady KTkachuk and Tim Stutzle.
The Senators will play their first preseason game on Sunday against the Toronto Maple Leafs at Scotiabank Arena at 7 p.m. in Toronto. As the first preseason game is days away, the Senators got some added motivation.
Bleacher Report recently posted where all 32 teams are in the power rankings as training camp is underway. Where the Senators are positioned, it can give them a spark to have a tremendous preseason and then a regular season to prove their a team to be reckoned with for the future.
Senators ranked 21 in recent power rankings on Bleacher Report
Bleacher Report's Lyle Fitzsimmons posted an article yesterday titled "NHL Power Rankings: Where Every Team Stands Stands Heading Into 2024 Training Camp." In the article, Fitzsimmons ranked the as the 21st best team in the NHL.
For a team like the Senators with their young core and adding the 2023 Vezina Trophy winner, it is a fair ranking. Most people expect the Senators to be close to making the playoffs, but still will miss out for the eighth consecutive season. One key reason the Senators have been in a playoff drought is goaltending issues. Trading for Ullmark gives Ottawa a better chance to make the playoffs.
"If you're among those who believed the Senators were just a steady goaltender away from contending for a bottom-half playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, this will be your prove-it season," Fitzsimmons said.
Without a doubt, Ullmark will be the key factor if the Senators can make the playoffs in 2025. A realistic ceiling for Ottawa entering this season is a potentially being the first Wild Card seed in the East and the floor being bottom five in the NHL. If Ullmark plays like he did in Boston for the past three seasons, Ottawa will have a better chance of getting in.
Bleacher Report's Joe Yerdon on Sept. 12 gave a reason why every team should optimistic for the 2024-25 season. Yerdon gave the Senators reason as "a breakthrough." Obviously, people see the Senators are close to ending their seven-year playoff drought with their young roster.
This season provides a great chance for Ottawa to silence the critics if they can make the playoffs. However, if the Senators are going to end their drought, the team will need to get more productivity from their young core.
Drake Batherson is one of the most underrated players in the NHL and Shane Pinto had a good season after his 41-game suspension last season.