Inside look at Ottawa Senators

NHL.com is providing in-depth roster, prospect and fantasy analysis for each of its 32 teams from Aug. 1-Sept. 1. Today, the Ottawa Senators.

The Ottawa Senators are looking to end their six-season Stanley Cup Playoffs drought, and they believe goalie Joonas Korpisalo is the one to help them do it.

Since the Senators last qualified for the postseason in 2017, goalies Craig Anderson, Filip Gustavsson, Matt Murray, Anton Forsberg and Cam Talbot are among the big names who've tried to get Ottawa back to the postseason but were not able to do so.

Now it's Korpisalo's chance after he signed a five-year contract with Ottawa as an unrestricted free agent on July 1.

"He's got size, he's athletic, he's powerful, he's played in the playoffs, he's won a series," general manager Pierre Dorion said. "I think we're really comfortable moving forward now with our goaltenders."

This much is certain: Ottawa's two goalies will be comfortable with each other.

Korpisalo and Forsberg were teammates in the Columbus Blue Jackets organization.

"We go a long way back," Korpisalo said. "When I first came over to the U.S. we played together in the minors in Cleveland (American Hockey League) for a couple of years. We won together there and then we spent some time in Columbus. So, we go a long way back and we became friends immediately when we met each other. I'm super happy we created this tandem again."

Korpisalo was 18-14-4 with a 2.87 goals-against average, .915 save percentage and one shutout in 39 games (37 starts) for the Blue Jackets and Los Angeles Kings last season, including 7-3-1 with a 2.13 GAA, .921 save percentage and one shutout in 11 regular-season games after he was traded by the Blue Jackets to the Kings.

He joins a Senators team that went 39-35-8 last season and finished six points behind the Florida Panthers for the second wild card into the playoffs from the Eastern Conference.

"Playing against that team, it's not fun being a goalie being at the other end. I wanted to be part of the team for many years to come and I'm excited about it," he said of the Senators.

He has reason to be stoked, given the team in front of him, which has a different look in other areas besides in goal.

The Senators traded forward Alex DeBrincat to the Detroit Red Wings on July 10 for forward Dominik Kubalik, defenseman prospect Donovan Sebrango, a conditional first-round pick in the 2024 NHL Draft and a fourth-round pick in the 2024 draft. The 25-year-old's 66 points (27 goals, 39 assists) will be missed but the Senators wanted to get some return after he stated he wouldn't re-sign with them when his contract expired after this season.

Ottawa feels it has more than made up for the loss of DeBrincat's offensive production with the addition of Kubalik and forward Vladimir Tarasenko, who signed a one-year contract on July 27. Kubalik (20 goals, 25 assists) and Tarasenko (18 goals, 32 assists) combined for 95 points last season and should play significant roles on the Senators power play.

They join a forward group that features five 20-goal-scorers from a year ago: Tim Stutzle (39), Brady Tkachuk (35), Claude Giroux (35), Drake Batherson (22) and Shane Pinto (20).

"It's an exciting young group of players," Tarasenko said. "I spoke to guys before we signed, and it sounds like guys want to win."

The most significant addition to the blue line came late last season with the acquisition of defenseman Jakob Chychrun in a trade with the Arizona Coyotes on March 1. The 25-year-old augments a promising defenseman core that already features Thomas Chabot and Jake Sanderson.

With the franchise having been purchased by a group led by Toronto businessman Michael Andlauer, ownership security is secure. Dorion and coach D.J. Smith are each back with Andlauer's blessing.

All that remains is getting that elusive playoff berth.

"I think we're going to be entertaining," Dorion said. "I think we're going to be good too."