3 Ottawa Senators Who Need to Show Results This Season – The Hockey Writers – Ottawa Senators

Deep into the summer is the time when pundits are making projections and predictions for all 32 NHL clubs. Who’s going to rise to the top or drop back? Which players are going to break out or decline in production? 

A lot of positive things can be said about the Ottawa Senators. With a lot of pieces from last season still around and arguably improving their forward depth, they are once again lined up to battle with the big boys of the Atlantic Division. That said, there are still plenty of improvements that could come from certain individuals for the team as a whole to get better. 

This might include the growth of youngsters like Carter Yakemchuk and Stephen Halliday, or even Jake Sanderson and Tim Stutzle continuing to emerge as both elite players and the club’s leaders. What is also important is certain others bouncing back from either poor performances last season or finally performing to their standards.

Three Senators – a forward, a defenceman, and a goalie – will be watched by a lot of fans and executives for improvement or breakouts starting in the fall. 

Fabian Zetterlund

The need for the physical winger to show more offence has become more apparent since being acquired from the San Jose Sharks at the 2025 Trade Deadline. Fabian Zetterlund has filled in nicely in a few spots since coming to Ottawa; he throws the body – he finished fourth on the team in hits last season – is disciplined, and is a decent defender in his own end. 

His point totals, however, have been pretty underwhelming for someone signed to a deal worth $4.275 million per year. The Senators tendered this contract in hopes of Zetterlund blossoming into a scoring winger who can bounce around in the middle six. When the Swede first joined the Sens, he only managed five points in 20 games to close out the 2024-25 campaign, finishing with 41 total. 

He tallied 33 this past season, including 17 goals and was sheltered on the fourth line for a good chunk of the campaign. Most importantly, he has yet to get on the scoresheet in the playoffs – going 10 games without a point. Is it a David Clarkson-type disaster? Of course not. But it has become apparent that the Senators’ front office was expecting a lot more from him. 

If Zetterlund wants to gain the trust of executives and coaches, he’ll have to start working for a promotion right out of training camp. He’ll be competing with the likes of Michael Amadio, Warren Foegle, and Andre Burakovsky for certain spots in the forward core. But if he plays with the right guys – say, complementing Stutzle and his Sharks buddy William Eklund on the top line with his physicality – then that could be just what he needs to get his offence back on track. 

Linus Ullmark

After his brief playoff performance in the crease – arguably the only factor that gave the Senators a chance in the postseason against the eventual Stanley Cup Champion Carolina Hurricanes – it may be a shock to see Linus Ullmark on this list. The only thing that undid his .932 save percentage (SV%) and 2.03 goals-against average (GAA) was Ottawa’s lack of offensive production, with just five goals in their four-game sweep.

The fact of the matter is: that was the postseason. Ullmark has never posted a GAA lower than 2.70 in two regular seasons with the Senators. He had an average SV% of .910 in his first go around, but that was undone by a .880 against the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 2025 first round. He surrendered three-plus goals in five of the six games. 

Ullmark’s downward spiral only continued into the start of last season, where, after starting with a minus-11.5 goals saved above expected, he took a 35-day leave of absence from the club. It was only when he came back that he started finding form again, becoming the goaltender the Senators needed at the right time to squeak into the last Eastern Conference wild-card spot. 

So, now the question becomes: can Ullmark take last season’s positive second half into this season and perform just like he did in his four playoff starts? That stretch certainly earned him another chance as Ottawa’s starter, but if he doesn’t maintain that form – or worse, he regresses back to his early-season state from last fall – the concerns about his future with the club will only reemerge. 

Jordan Spence

It says something when a 25-year-old defender coming off a career season of 31 points and a plus-15 in 73 games is expected to take even greater heights. Jordan Spence was a fantastic lower-pairing defenceman for the Senators last season, but that only leaves him with even greater expectations entering training camp. 

Given a four-year, $20 million extension earlier this offseason, it’s clear that Ottawa’s front office and coaching staff expect Spence to log legit top-four minutes alongside Thomas Chabot. The Senators have long been looking for a partner for their 18th-overall 2015 selection, and they have all either regressed, not fit the scheme, or been injured for long stretches – just ask Nick Jensen last season. 

The chemistry between Chabot and Spence from last season justifies their right to stay together. The two averaged a 64.4% expected goals percentage (xGoals %) in their 46 games as a pairing, per MoneyPuck, good enough for second on the team’s blue line. But whether that same play transitions into a new season becomes the question. Sanderson and Artem Zub have only gotten better as a top pair throughout the years, so why not give this unit another go?

What’s important is that Spence keeps up his defensive game just as much as his offence. He averaged an on-ice expected goals against per 60 minutes of 2.11 last season, but his defensive side wasn’t smooth off the bat, with a few mishaps at the start of the season. The Senators would likely prefer consistency all season long, especially if there is no true defensive anchor on that second pair. 

All in all, while it should be another competitive season for Ottawa, a lot of things still need to go right for them in arguably the toughest division in hockey – whether that’s inside or outside of their control. What will help them in the long run is keeping things internally smooth, whether that’s stand-out performances from these three or overall growth throughout the roster.