3 questions facing 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, three important questions facing the Ottawa Senators.

1. Can Chabot finally stay healthy enough to anchor the defense?

Defenseman Thomas Chabot is entering his eighth NHL season and should be stepping into the prime of his career. The talent certainly is there. Unfortunately for the Senators, the durability isn’t.

When the 27-year-old is heathy, he’s an influential mixture of size (6-foot-2, 203 pounds) and speed. In 432 career NHL games, all with Ottawa, he has 259 points (62 goals, 197 assists), which averages to .6 per game. Over an 82-game schedule, that works out to a respectable 49-point season.

Chabot has the upside to exceed those numbers this season, but only if he avoids injuries; he has missed at least 14 games in each of the past four seasons, including 31 in 2023-24. He was slated to undergo wrist surgery this offseason after coming off a season in which he battled upper-body, lower-body and hand injuries.

He is hoping to finally get a clean bill of health; the Senators hope he does, too.

2. Can Stutzle have a bounce-back season?

The 22-year-old forward has shown spectacular flashes at times in his four NHL seasons since being selected with the No. 3 pick in the 2020 NHL Draft.

There just weren’t enough of those flashes in 2023-24.

Coming off an NHL career-high 90 points (39 goals, 51 assists) in 78 games the previous season, Stutzle had 70 points (18 goals, 52 assists) in 75 games last season -- 21 fewer goals and 20 fewer points -- numbers that were grounds for concern.

Wrist and shoulder injuries limited his effectiveness, but not enough from letting himself off the hook.

“It shouldn’t be an excuse,” Stutzle said. “I just wasn’t good enough throughout the year.

“I’m going to work really hard in the summer and be better next year.”

As a top-line forward, he’ll have to be if Ottawa is to reach the postseason for the first time in eight years. With 247 points (91 goals, 156 assists) in 285 NHL games, he’s certainly shown he’s capable of it.

3. Is there finally enough off-ice stability to keep attention on the on-ice product?

There should be, especially with the organizational changes the Senators have undergone.

Michael Andlauer, who officially bought the team last September, acted decisively in appointing Steve Staios as general manager last season. Under Staios’ watch, Ottawa then hired Travis Green as coach; he has a 141-159-35 record with the Vancouver Canucks and New Jersey Devils, and is known for being able to develop young players.

Green, who was hired May 8, said he came away from the interview process impressed with Andlauer and the hierarchy of the organization.

“You look at management. Like, where's the management at in relationship with the coach, to ownership? Is there a collaboration there?”

The answer, at least in his mind, was a resounding yes.

“I was blown away throughout this process,” Green said.

With Andlauer finally settling the uncertain ownership issue that had lingered since the death of former owner Eugene Melnyk on March 28, 2022, the focus can now shift from the boardroom to the ice.