The Ottawa Senators won’t be resting on their laurels.
After making the playoffs for the first time in eight years last spring, they had a bounce in their step as they arrived at the Canadian Tire Centre for the first day of training camp on Wednesday, but they know the road ahead will be long and difficult.
After being poked, prodded and tested, the Senators will hit the ice for the first time on Thursday to begin preparations for the season opener against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Oct. 9 on the road.
Steve Staios, the club’s president of hockey operations and general manager, along with coach Travis Green, are both confident the Senators still have room to grow after a first-round exit last spring.
‘It’s a new season and a new challenge. You can never rest on having a so-called decent season the year before,’ Ottawa Senators coach Travis Green said Wednesday at the Canadian Tire Centre.
“Every season is different, but what you do in the off-season doesn’t change a lot,” Green said, sitting at a podium with Staios. “You’re always analyzing your team, challenging your players on how they’re going to get better, challenging your coaching staff on areas to improve.
“There are different elements to every team and every season. We’ve got a lot of the same players returning. They have the experience from last season, which will help them this year. It’s a new season and a new challenge. You can never rest on having a so-called decent season the year before.
“Our goal isn’t just to make the playoffs; it’s not easy to make the playoffs. It’s not a given that if you did it one year, you’re just going to do it the next. We’re going to have to come back to be a better team and have improvements in our game.”
The Senators head into camp with a roster that is nearly status quo.
The only notable additions were defenceman Jordan Spence from the Los Angeles Kings and veteran centre Lars Eller.
The club was ranked No. 31 in 5-on-5 scoring last season, but Staios is confident the answers can come from within. Lots of teams are looking for a top-six winger, which is why the Senators couldn’t address the area.
How much will 38-year-old Claude Giroux play for the Ottawa Senators this season? ‘Here’s a guy who played 18 minutes a night last season. He was on our penalty kill and power play. I’m not coming into camp thinking that Claude Giroux is going to play 12 minutes a night this year,’ coach Travis Green told the media at the Canadian Tire Centre on Wednesday.
Instead, they are hopeful that winger Fabian Zetterlund, acquired from the San Jose Sharks at the trade deadline, can find his scoring touch with Ottawa. He has good speed and a strong shot.
Centre Dylan Cozens was brought in from the Buffalo Sabres at the deadline, and he needs to have success here. He had five goals and 16 points in 21 games with the Senators after the trade.
A lot of this camp will focus on determining where everybody fits.
That, says Green, is up to the players. Many expect the role of veteran winger Claude Giroux to slip this season, but Green noted nobody has told the 38-year-old alternate captain that, and he’ll let his play do the talking.
“Players are ultimately going to decide how much they play,” Green said. “(Giroux) didn’t just all of a sudden wake up and decide, ‘I want to play 10 minutes a night’. Here’s a guy who played 18 minutes a night last season. He was on our penalty kill and power play.
“I’m not coming into camp thinking that Claude Giroux is going to play 12 minutes a night this year. Claude Giroux is much like any other player on our team. We’ve challenged every player to come back and be better, and I can tell you that he has put in the work.
“He’s had an honest evaluation about his game and how he can improve, and he’s worked at it. I’m expecting G to be good this year, and I can tell he ain’t coming in here thinking he’s going to be worse. He’s going to decide how much he plays, much like the rest of the guys. You play well, you play more.”
Ottawa Senators general manager Steve Staios said Wednesday at the Canadian Tire Centre that he likes the character of the team. ‘They showed that they played for one another,’ he said.
The Senators are no longer a young team. They have four players over 35 years old, including Giroux, David Perron, Eller and Nick Jensen. That means this club has a “win now” mentality.
The clock is ticking on the core of captain Brady Tkachuk, centre Tim Stutzle and defencemen Thomas Chabot and Jake Sanderson, along with Drake Batherson, Ridly Greig, Shane Pinto and Cozens.
“We’ve got good players in every position that are going to battle for jobs,” Green said.
Staios has confidence that this group can get the job done. Why?
“It’s the character,” Staios said. “It’s the evolution of this group. They showed that they played for one another. This core group, we talked about internal growth, and they all took a step forward.
“The veterans that we’ve surrounded them with are committed. I like the character of this group. They’ve been challenged. They rise to the occasion. They took a step forward last year, and we’re excited to see that next step, and they know it’s going to be hard. We don’t have to remind them.
“I believe with the work that they put in last year, and the character of the group, the leadership, that’s what I want to see, and that’s the belief in it. When you make the additions strategically in certain areas to create some competition and some depth, we feel good about starting the season with this group and seeing where they’re at.”
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