The Ottawa Senators have made an effort to strengthen their team by adding Fabian Zetterlund from the San Jose Sharks at the trade deadline. Zetterlund led the Sharks in scoring last year when he netted 24 goals and he has followed up by scoring 17 goals this season.
The Senators also received minor league center Tristen Robins and a fourth-round draft pick from the Sharks. The Senators sent forward Noah Gregor, forward Zack Ostapchuk and a 2025 second-round draft pick to San Jose.
Ottawa has not made the playoffs since the 2016-17 season. They have made solid progress in the last couple of seasons and they are inside the playoff structure at this point. Going into the last quarter of the season — the Senators have 21 games remaining on the schedule — they sit in the No. 8 spot in the Eastern Conference.
The Senators appear to have the kind of offensive talent that could light up the scoreboard on a regular basis. The first line consists of Tim Stutzle, Brady Tkachuk and Claude Giroux and that unit is dangerous and explosive.
After trading for Zetterlund and Dylan Cozens (from Buffalo) at the trade deadline, the second line is also problematic for opponents. In addition to the two newcomers, Drake Batherson fills the right wing spot on that line.
Senators facing a battle to make the playoffs
Ottawa will have to raise its level of consistency if head coach Travis Green’s team is going to make the playoffs. In addition to holding down the No. 8 spot in the playoff standings, the Senators are in 4th place in the Atlantic Division. While they would like to climb in the standings, the Senators have 67 points and that’s 11 points behind the third-place Tampa Bay Lightning and 12 points behind the second-place Florida Panthers. It is very unlikely that they can catch either of those teams.
They could possibly move into the No. 7 spot if they can pass the Columbus Blue Jackets, who have 68 points.
The bigger issue will be holding off the teams below. The New York Rangers also have 67 points, while the Detroit Red Wings and Montreal Canadiens both have 66 points.
The outsiders are the Boston Bruins (64 points), New York Islanders (63 points) and Philadelphia Flyers (62 points). The Bruins are clearly in the sell mode after trading away Charlie Coyle, Brandon Carlo and captain Brad Marchand. They are more likely to fade down the stretch instead of climbing.
The Islanders are also likely to drop after trading Brock Nelson to the Colorado Avalanche. Nelson figures to slot into the No. 2 center role for the Avs.
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