Senators open 2026-27 with plan to move past Tkachuk trade

The Story

The Ottawa Senators say they are ready to move on from the June trade that sent former captain Brady Tkachuk to the Florida Panthers, a deal that reshaped the team’s identity and lineup ahead of the 2026-27 season. General manager Steve Staios said the organization is focusing on what remains and what players can do next rather than lingering on what it lost with Tkachuk’s departure. “We certainly feel very good about the direction of our group,” Staios said, adding that the Senators believe their playoff experience from the past two seasons can help them as they develop further as a team.

The Senators kick off their regular season on the road Saturday against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Ottawa’s early expectations include replacing Tkachuk’s offensive impact, but the team’s approach is not built around one single player carrying the load. Instead, Ottawa is leaning into a broader “scoring by committee” model across its forward group as it looks to re-establish consistent offensive production.

Tim Stutzle is positioned as a key piece of that plan after leading Ottawa with 34 goals last season. Drake Batherson, who signed an eight-year extension in early September, is also expected to drive results; Batherson scored a career-high 33 goals. Dylan Cozens posted his best season since 2023 with 28 goals, and newly acquired forward William Eklund—acquired from the San Jose Sharks—brings recent scoring credentials of 15 goals and 53 points with San Jose. Ottawa’s goal, according to this season’s internal focus, is for production to come from multiple lines rather than from one top scorer.

Beyond the headline names, Ottawa’s secondary scoring will be important in determining how smoothly the team adapts after the loss of its captain. The Senators are looking for contributions from Shane Pinto, Fabian Zetterlund, Claude Giroux, and Andre Burakovsky, who was acquired from Chicago in June. With questions still tied to how the offense will translate early in the season, the team’s ability to generate timely scoring beyond its star forwards is expected to affect how quickly it settles into its new forward mix.

Defensively, the Senators anticipate more stability and depth, with their blue line described as a strength. Jake Sanderson is expected to be central after establishing himself among the NHL’s top young defencemen last season with 54 points in 67 games. Ottawa also plans to rely on veteran Thomas Chabot, Artem Zub, Jordan Spence, and Tyler Kleven, with the group’s size and experience meant to help manage minutes across the season.

A key starting question for Ottawa’s defence entering the campaign has been the sixth-defenceman role and who will earn it early. Carter Yakemchuk, drafted seventh overall in 2024, has expressed a desire to become a regular NHL player, and his pre-season performance suggested he may not yet be ready for an extended full-time workload. Because of that, Ottawa is expected to give Yakemchuk an extended opportunity, especially with Zub still recovering from the knee injury he suffered in the first game of the playoffs and not expected to be ready at season start.

Ottawa’s offseason and training approach is also influenced by recent postseason history. The Senators have reached the playoffs in each of the past two seasons but have been eliminated in the first round both times. Staios and the team have framed this experience as something they can build on rather than something that defines the ceiling, with the hope that having spent multiple late-season runs together will translate into better regular-season consistency.

Goaltending is another major storyline heading into the opener. The Senators’ most reliable recent option has been Linus Ullmark, who struggled through the first half of last season, prompting a leave of absence to address mental health. After returning, Ullmark posted a 14-4-3 record down the stretch and helped Ottawa secure the Eastern Conference’s final wild-card spot.

Ullmark said his mindset is different this season, describing the benefit of addressing positives rather than attempting to “catch up” to earlier issues. “It’s nice (to) work through the positives and not feel like you have to catch up on things,” Ullmark said. His comments underscore Ottawa’s focus on consistency and mental readiness as the team tries to reduce fluctuations that can affect results over a long campaign.

The Senators also made changes to improve support behind Ullmark. Ottawa signed Samuel Ersson to a two-year, US$4.4-million contract in an effort to strengthen the backup position. Staios acknowledged at the end of last season that the organization had not done enough to address backup goaltending or to provide Ullmark with adequate support, a concern that contributed to Ottawa’s decision to act in the offseason.

Roster movement already adds additional urgency to that goaltending depth challenge. Ottawa was prepared to begin the season with Ullmark, Ersson, and Leevi Merilainen, but Merilainen was claimed off waivers by the Vancouver Canucks. That outcome may force Staios to consider additional goaltending depth if Ottawa wants to avoid repeating last season’s situation. The Senators would also have first right to reclaim Merilainen if Vancouver attempted to send him to their AHL affiliate, leaving another possible pathway for Ottawa’s depth planning.

Finally, Ottawa still has not named a new team captain to replace Tkachuk. The Senators have multiple candidates across their leadership group, with names suggested ranging from Stutzle to Chabot to Sanderson, reflecting how Ottawa’s leadership and roles are being reassessed as the organization begins a new chapter after the trade.