5 burning questions for the Ottawa Senators in 2024-25 – Hockey Writers – Ottawa Senators

Earlier this summer I wrote about five Ottawa Senators stories to keep an eye on as the 2024-25 season approaches. My piece asked if Tim Stutzle would bounce back this season and if new head coach Travis Green could build a winning tradition in Ottawa.

Related: 5 Ottawa Senators storylines to watch in 2024-25

However, there are more burning questions than these. Here’s a look at five of them as the Senators look to open their training camp on Oct. 18.

Will David Perron Come Out As Senatorial Leader?

The Senators signed free agent David Perron on July 1 to a two-year, $8 million contract. They didn’t sign a big lefty, who is bad because he could score goals (although he usually scores 20 a season). They expect Perron to add sandpaper to their roster and make the Senators difficult to play against.

More importantly, hockey president and general manager (GM) Steve Staios hopes Perron will help inject his DNA into the team. With 17 seasons under his belt, a Stanley Cup win with the St. Louis Blues in 2019 and an All-Star Game appearance in 2020, Perron knows what it takes to win in the NHL.

Related: 7 Cool Things About David Perron

The burning question is whether Perron and the other veterans Staios added to his roster this summer will affect the core of his team. Will the likes of Stutzle, Josh Norris and Shane Pinto adopt Perron’s style and attitude to take their game to the next level? Will he emerge as part of the heart and soul of the Senators along with Brady Tkachuk and Claude Giroux?

Whether he does or not could determine whether the Senators see playoff action next spring or hit the golf course early.

Will Linus Ullmark stay in Ottawa?

There’s no doubt that Staios hit the jackpot this summer when he sent Joonas Korpisalo, Mark Kastelic and his 2024 first-round draft pick to the Boston Bruins in exchange for Linus Ullmark. Not only will the 6-foot-4, 212-pound Swede fill most of the net for Ottawa, but he brings a career save percentage (SV%) of .918 and a goals-against average (GAA) of 2.51. That’s a big improvement over what Ottawa has had in goal the past few years.

However, his performance is not what should worry the Senators. His contract needs to be extended past the 2024-25 season — something that will be much easier for Staios to do if the Senators are in a playoff spot by the time the 2025 Trade Deadline rolls around. If not, Ullmark will likely want out of Ottawa. And if he’s not signed at the deadline, Staios needs to trade him or risk getting nothing. That will put a big shadow on the Senators’ playoff hopes next spring – assuming they’re in contention for a spot.

Will 2024-25 Be Shane Pinto’s Breakout Year?

Pinto is expected to be the third line center for the Senators this season playing between Michael Amadio and Ridly Greig. With a center back and strong talent like this on both wings, it’s reasonable to expect him to put up 60 points over the course of a full season assuming he stays healthy. After all, he scored nine goals and 18 assists for 27 points in half of the 2023-24 season.

Not only that, but all the drama over his contract and activities related to sports betting that got him suspended for 41 games last season is over. He can do nothing but focus on his game and take advantage of this season to step up and take the next step.

Look for the Pinto to have an interesting breakout year in 2024-25. Depending on whether Josh Norris can bounce back, he may emerge as the team’s best player.

Which Rookies Can Make The Senators’ Roster?

Like most NHL rosters, that of the Senators will be very difficult for a rookie to crack. Arguably the only open spots are in the middle of the fourth line and to the right of the third defensive pairing.

Zack Ostapchuk will be fighting hard in training camp to convince Sens management that he should focus on the fourth line between Nick Cousins ​​and Noah Gregor. However, Belleville Senator Matthew Highmore will work hard to convince the administration otherwise.

Ostapchuk is only 21 years old with only one season in the AHL. The 6-foot-4, 205-pound Albertan is exciting fans in Ottawa with what they can see from him at the IIHF World Junior Championships in 2022 and 2023. Hockey Writers noted in their 2021 NHL Draft Prospect Profile, he brings size, strength, solid skating and puck control to the roster. Not only that, but he has a reputation for being a great player. Still, with such limited career experience under his belt, finding a solid roster spot this season may be a bridge too far.

On the other hand, Highmore, 28 years old, is probably facing his last best chance to earn a permanent spot on an NHL roster. He played 146 games over parts of six seasons in the league and has seen five seasons in the AHL. He may bring maturity and experience that many youngsters like Ostapchuk cannot.

As for the right side of the third defensive pairing, that spot belongs to Jacob Bernard-Docker’s (JBD) who will lose at this point. There are a few rookie players who could take his job away from him and one of them is rookie Maxence Guenette. Many thought he was off the practice roster last season and was eventually sent back to Belleville. He will fight hard to ensure he finds permanent housing in Ottawa after training camp is over.

Could This Be Josh Norris’ Last Season in Ottawa?

There will be a lot of focus during practice on Norris to see if he can be the gun he once was. In 2021-22, he challenged Stutzle for second place on the Senators’ scoring list. His performance this season took some of the sting out of letting go of Erik Karlsson in the 2018 trade that brought Norris to Bytown.

After that impressive season, the shoulder injury he first picked up at the 2019 World Junior Championship started to take its toll. In the last two seasons he managed to play only 58 games. He missed almost all of 2022-23 and played just 50 games last season before going under the knife when he underwent a third operation on his left shoulder.

If he doesn’t respond this season, questions will arise in Ottawa about what to do with him. He has a contract for the next four seasons in which the Senators must pay him $31.8 million.

Obviously, given his performance over the past few seasons, he’s not worth even approaching that much money. Buying him would be a pain, but it could be the team’s only option given how few teams would consider taking him on a contract with an average annual value (AAV) of $7.95 million. That is unless the Senators keep the bulk of his annual salary.

These five questions will fuel many debates in the nation’s capital. Stay tuned for more as training camp continues!