Making the playoffs for the first time in eight years can get hockey fans to talk about your team again down the road. That is something the Ottawa Senators did in 2025.
The Senators have a young core that is destined to grow more and be around for years to compete to win the Stanley Cup. The first step in doing that for the Senators in the 2025-26 season is on Oct. 9 when they open the season against the Tampa Bay Lightning at Amalie Arena.
With having a roster that can win for years to come, more attention will arrive for the Senators. One of which could be playing in more outdoor games. However, the Senators were recently left off a list as a potential opponent to a division rival.
Senators left off as potential outdoor opponent for Buffalo
One of the Senators' biggest rivals are the Buffalo Sabres. The two teams have had some memorable moments with playing against each other in the playoffs four times. The biggest year of the rivalry came in 2007 with Ray Emery and Martin Biron's iconic goaltending fight, then the Senators defeating the Sabres in the Eastern Conference Finals in the same year.
Since the Conference Finals series in 2007, it's safe to say that the rivalry has boiled down. However, tension was brought back in 2024 and this Summer when the Sabres announced they would use the Senators' "Song 2" goal song for when they where their goat head jerseys, and the Senators were called "plain" when the Sabres made a chicken wing post on social media.
Talks are the Sabres are in discussion on potentially hosting an outdoor game. The Sabres hosted the first ever Winter Classic back in 2008. However, one Sabres writer may have forgotten just how intense the Senators-Sabres rivalry was and can grow more.
Tim Daniels of Sabre Noise wrote an article recently titled "Ranking best opponents as Buffalo Sabres aim to host Winter Classic." Despite being a rival to the Sabres, Daniels didn't mention the Senators, and named three other teams. One of which was in the Western Conference, the Edmonton Oilers.
While the rivalry has boiled down, there can be something to bring the rivalry back up. This past March, the Senators and Sabres made a bold trade when each team traded a core piece. The Senators acquired Dylan Cozens and the Sabres acquired Josh Norris.
Cozens thrived in Ottawa with recording 16 points in 21 games. Of the 21 games, the Senators won 14 of them with Cozens in the lineup. Cozens got to prove the Sabres wrong by helping the Senators clinch a playoff spot for the first time since 2017.
For Norris, he only played in three games with the Sabres following the trade due to injuries. With an injured Norris and a healthy Cozens, the Senators have the edge on the trade so far. Cozens will be eager to raise his game even more as he's capable of doing with recording a 68-point season in Buffalo before.