After making the playoffs for the first time in eight years, the Ottawa Senators are eager for a bigger season in 2025-26. Last year's six-game series loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs will give the Senators more fuel for next season.
With an impressive young core on the roster, there's reason to believe the Senators are capable of competing for many years to come.
When a new hockey season gets closer, fans will do fantasy hockey. In fantasy hockey, rankings on players with the team that they play for is crucial. For the Senators, the team's top five players to take in fantasy were recently named, but the list may have been off.
Five best Senators on roster ranked for fantasy hockey
Troy Perlowitz from NHL.com recently wrote an article titled "Ottawa Senators fantasy rankings, projections for 2025-26." Perolowitz wrote the best five players to draft in fantasy from the Senators roster. However, the list may have been off based on the players' seasons last year and the bigger expectations for the upcoming 2025-26 season.
Perlowitz's top five rankings on Senators roster to take in fantasy:
1. Brady Tkachuk (82 points projected)
2. Tim Stutzle (81 points projected)
3. Jake Sanderson (57 points projected)
4. Linus Ullmark (29 wins projected)
5. Drake Batherson (67 points projected)
Tkachuk, Stutzle, Sanderson and Batherson each had their point projection made, and Ullmark had his win projection made. However, based on last season, the rankings for the top five players to take on the roster may be off.
Stutzle led the Senators in points last season with 79 points, while Tkachuk recorded 55 points. Even with finishing last season with 24 less points than Stutzle, Tkachuk is ranked ahead of Stutzle. In two of the past three seasons, Stutzle has led the Senators in points. Tkachuk ahead of Stutzle for 2025-26 might be off for some fantasy players.
Sanderson being ranked third is fair with him finishing third on the Senators last season in points. However, Sanderson finished with 57 points last season, which is the same amount he was projected in the article. Sanderson is due for a big step this season, and could be capable of recording 60-65 points or better.
Ullmark being ranked fourth could be too high in the rankings. Ullmark is considered as a "fringe top 10 goaltender" to Perlowitz. However, Ullmark suffered injuries last season to be ranked high at four. Along with that, Leevi Merilainen can be expected to get more playing time as Ullmark's backup after Anton Forsberg left in free agency to sign with the Los Angeles Kings.
Merilainen was impressive in his 12 NHL games he played last season with recording a 1.99 goals against average and winning eight games. While Ullmark did win 25 games last season in 44 games played, his 2.72 GAA was the same as Forsberg's was last season. With the season he had, Merilainen can be expeted to start a solid amount of games to give Ullmark rest.
Batherson should be considered top five on the Senators considering he's recorded three conseuctive 60-point seasons. Batherson recorded 68 points last season to set a new career-high.
One player that may be reasonable to put in the top five based on last season is Thomas Chabot. Along with recording 45 points last season, Chabot is capable of producing more fantasy points in other areas. Chabot's +17 rating was the second highest on the Senators last season, and he finished with 145 blocked shots and 58 hits defensively.
Other players that can be be a sleepers on the Senators are Dylan Cozens, Shane Pinto, Jordan Spence, Claude Giroux and David Perron. However, the top five players to take on the Senators roster in fantasy were named on Monday, but last season's play may have impacted why the rankings may have been wrong.
Fantasy hockey drafts will be approaching soon for fans, and the Senators do have solid players from the roster that can produce solid fantasy points people playing fantasy.