With the Ottawa Senators ready to start the 2026-27 season, one of the questions that has consistently surrounded the club is their status as a playoff team.
The pundits have tried to sound smart by picking Florida for a bounce-back return to the Stanley Cup Final, with the Tampa Bay Lightning looking more dominant than ever in the Atlantic Division. Meanwhile, the talking heads have discounted the Senators, often ranking them below the playoff line.
But there's plenty of reason to figure the pundits are wrong.
Right off the bat, the Panthers have run into injury woes. The Lightning lost their season opener to the New York Rangers, the Maple Leafs look a little iffy, and the Buffalo Sabres were outplayed by the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Yes, we’re just a couple of days into the season. But you have to think that there’s a legit chance in the Atlantic for the Senators to thrive. The offseason additions and some additions by subtraction (Hello, Brady) should make the Senators a strong contender to get back into the playoff hunt.
While expectations are justifiably high, there is a need to be tempered.
Senators will be good in 2026-27, but it’s unclear how good
The Senators should be good this season. The only question is how good. Will they be good enough to claim one of the top three spots in the division? Or are we talking about the Sens claiming a wild card spot again?
As it stands, Ottawa is in a quantum state. The Sens are both good and bad at this point. It won’t be until they hit the ice that fans will know which team will show up.
That’s the reality of things. The Senators will need to prove they have what it takes to be a solid playoff contender. And with the last two seasons as precedent, there’s really no reason to see a regression on the horizon.
A regression could occur if the Sens ran into massive injury issues. In fact, that’s something that just about every team has to contend with at one point or another.
Barring an irrational barrage of injuries, the Senators’ only obstacle will be consistency. A regular all-around effort every game, coupled with decent goaltending, should give Ottawa a good shot at locking up a playoff spot.
The biggest question will then focus on what the Senators can do once in the postseason. But that’s something that we can address more intelligently well into the second half of the season.
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