One of the Senators' priorities this offseason was to add veteran leadership to the group. They believe they addressed that by bringing in Del Zotto, a 31-year-old who has played 710 NHL games, and Holden, a 34-year-old with 513 games of NHL experience.
Del Zotto, who agreed to a two-year contract July 28, scored 13 points (four goals, nine assists) in 53 games with the Columbus Blue Jackets last season. On the same day Del Zotto signed, the Senators acquired Holden and a third-round pick in the 2022 NHL Draft from the Vegas Golden Knights for forward Evgenii Dadonov. Holden had two assists in 17 regular-season games and scored seven points (two goals, five assists) in 15 Stanley Cup Playoff games last season.
"If this is the group (of defensemen) that we come to camp with, I think we're ahead of where we were last year," Dorion said.