To say that Tim Stützle is having a good start to the season is an understatement. Since joining the league at the start of the 2020-2021 season, Stützle’s most productive first five games of the season happened during the 2024-2025 season, when he had three goals and four assists to garner an impressive seven points. That all changed last night when the Ottawa Senators hosted the Nashville Predators for their fifth game of the season. With last night’s goal and assist (and one of the most silky smooth shootout goals that we have ever seen), Stützle finished the first five games of the season with four goals, four assists and a total of eight points.
This phenomenal start has him in good company amongst the league rankings this morning. The German centre is tied for sixth across the league in points, third for goals and ninth for his 26.4% shooting percentage.
Not just a fluke
Yes, these numbers look good on paper, but if you look deeper into the game statistics, it’s even more exciting for Senators fans and surely the organization. First and foremost, the 2020 third overall NHL draft pick is scoring in all kinds of situations. Stützle has already been credited for two even-strength goals, a power-play goal and a short-handed goal. His first of two goals scored on October 5 against the Boston Bruins was also the team’s game-winning goal. Only Stützle and Vancouver’s Paul Cotter have been credited with goals in each of these four categories so far this season. This shows that he is delivering in important and critical moments. Last night alone, he scored on the power play and assisted on Drake Batherson’s tying goal with 1:23 minutes left in regulation.
If you look beyond the scoresheet, you can also see just how much his game has improved since last season. His face-off percentages have improved. So far, he has won 39 of 67 draws with a 58.2% winning percentage. This is a very encouraging number at this point in the season with face-off wins being an area that he has needed to improve on in the past. He’s also feeling himself so much that head coach Travis Green has him playing major minutes. He is averaging 21:57 of ice time this season, which has him tied for third among the Senators and first among their forward group. Last night, his remarkable 26:06 ice-time minutes was his sixth-highest marker across the 452 NHL games that he has played so far.
Although it is just a small sample size thus far, all of these accolades point to Stützle having a career-high year if he continues even a fraction of this offensive production. His involvement in the club’s special teams units and his strong face-off numbers show that he is not only ready but also capable of taking the next step. Whether or not he will surpass the 40-goal mark or the 100-point season is yet to be determined, but all signs are there.
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