Senators add Ullmark, Jensen, Perron to talented young core

After the NHL Draft, free agency and other offseason moves, NHL.com is examining where each team stands in preparation for the 2024-25 regular season, which starts Oct. 4. Today, the Ottawa Senators:

2023-24 season: 37-41-4, seventh in Atlantic Division; missed Stanley Cup Playoffs

Key arrivals

Linus Ullmark, G: The 30-year-old will be given the reins as the No. 1 goalie after being acquired in a trade with the Boston Bruins on June 24. Ullmark, who mostly split the crease with Jeremy Swayman in Boston, was 22-10-7 with a .915 save percentage in 40 games last season. The prior season, he won the Vezina Trophy, voted as best goalie in the NHL, with a record of 40-6-1 and a .938 save percentage. … Nick Jensen, D: A penalty kill specialist (216 minutes in 2023-24, second most on the Washington Capitals), Jensen could be a key contributor in special teams and provide some stability to the Senators second defense pair after being acquired with a third-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft in a trade with the Capitals for defenseman Jakob Chychrun on July 1. The 33-year-old had 14 points (one goal, 13 assists) last season, his ninth in the League. ... David Perron, F: A veteran of 1,131 NHL games, Perron could bring leadership to a relatively young group and depth to the bottom six. The 36-year-old, who had 47 points (17 goals, 30 assists) in 76 games with the Detroit Red Wings last season, signed a two-year contract with Ottawa on July 1. ... Travis Green, coach: Set to stand behind the bench for his third NHL team, Green has said he sees the Senators as a “very young, talented team,” but with room to grow. The 53-year-old previously coached the Vancouver Canucks from 2017-21 (133-147-34), but was fired after an 8-15-2 start to the 2021-22 season. Green went 8-12-1 with the New Jersey Devils after taking over for Lindy Ruff late last season

Key departures

Mathieu Joseph, F: The 27-year-old was a versatile weapon for the Senators for three seasons, used on the power play and penalty kill. Joseph, who admittedly played through injury at times, had 65 points (18 goals, 47 assists) in 139 games with Ottawa and was traded to the St. Louis Blues along with a 2025 third-round pick for future considerations on July 2. … Jakob Chychrun, D: The 26-year-old flourished offensively in his only full season in Ottawa, matching his career high with  41 points (14 goals, 27 assists) in 82 games, but finished with a minus-30 rating and was traded to Washington in the deal that brought Jensen to Ottawa on July 1. … Joonas Korpisalo, G: After signing a five-year contract with the Senators on July 1, 2023, Korpisalo was 21-26-4 with an .890 save percentage in 55 games last season and was traded to Boston in the deal that returned Ullmark on June 26.

On the cusp

Tyler Kleven, D: A second-round pick (No. 44) in the 2020 NHL Draft, Kleven has three assists in 17 games with the Senators over the past two seasons. The 22-year-old could make the NHL squad this season as the seventh defenseman. ... Carter Yakemchuk, D: He might not be ready to step into an NHL job right away, but the No. 7 pick in the 2024 NHL Draft wants to make the team “in the next two years.” Yakemchuk shot up draft rankings last season with an impressive offensive season, with 71 points (30 goals, 41 assists) in 66 games with Calgary of the Western Hockey League. Ottawa general manager Steve Staios says “there’s a great deal of potential" with the 18-year-old.

What they still need

The Senators have high-end talent at the top of their forward and defense groups, and have added Ullmark as the No. 1 goalie. Injuries to key players over the past few seasons have held Ottawa back and most of the organization’s players with high ceilings have already graduated to the NHL, leaving a prospect pool with very few sure things. Newcomers like forwards Perron, Noah Gregor and Michael Amadio will add to the depth of the starting lineup, but the Senators must find a way to bolster their non-roster depth or hope a number of young players make a giant leap in the minors this season.

They said it

“Our core group of players and their age and their experience, wrapping them around the players that we’ve brought in, I think, is hopefully going to take them to the next level. I think we’ve got depth, we have experience and we’re hopefully looking to take the next step with this group.” -- general manager Steve Staios

Fantasy focus

The Senators addressed their biggest positional need by acquiring Ullmark; the 2023 Vezina Trophy winner likely will take a step back individually from this move but also gives a promising young team, led by elite fantasy talents Brady Tkachuk and Tim Stutzle, a chance to finally reach its potential. How Ullmark fares in high-danger save percentage will be most crucial toward his success with Ottawa this season; he was much better in high-danger areas (.859 save percentage; third in NHL) two seasons ago than last season (.822; 75th percentile). Waiting for Ullmark to potentially fall outside the top 125 overall in fantasy drafts could pay dividends if he bounces back to help the Senators become one of the surprises of the new season. -- Pete Jensen

Projected lineup

Brady Tkachuk -- Tim Stutzle -- Drake Batherson

Josh Norris -- Shane Pinto -- Claude Giroux

David Perron -- Ridly Greig -- Michael Amadio

Noah Gregor -- Matthew Highmore -- Zack MacEwen

Jake Sanderson -- Artem Zub

Thomas Chabot -- Nick Jensen

Travis Hamonic -- Jacob Bernard-Docker

Linus Ullmark

Anton Forsberg