The Ottawa Senators have had an inconsistent start to 2025-26, and some of that blame invariably falls on the defencemen. Of course, it is a team sport, everyone must take accountability and ownership, and the Sens defence are no exception. However, for Sen fans, it might seem that Jordan Spence, having just come over from the Los Angeles Kings in the offseason, has been unfairly shouldering more than his share of the blame. So, let’s figure out what it means for the Sens and Spence going forward.

The Senators Defence and Jordan Spence’s Impact

Jordan Spence has played well for the Ottawa Senators, thus far. The trick is for him to leapfrog the guys that were basically all there last year. The defensive pairings, in particular, were all very set, especially towards the end of the year and into the playoffs. Now, as well as the fact that Spence may or may not play, his mistakes are magnified. It seems he needs to play better than others, rather than just focus on his own game.

The consequence for him has been sitting in the press box. That can be the type of thing that can be detrimental to a young player, like Spence. In contrast, in games like last night’s versus Utah, he has shown to play with a short memory. He seems like he has the maturity to put the bad in the rearview, and quickly. Then, he turns it around with hard work, and ultimately, having learned from his mistakes, he turns it into success.

SPENCE hammers home his first goal as a Senator 😤🚨 pic.twitter.com/GocRSVeSH7

— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) November 10, 2025

It seems between Spence’s play and Leevi Merilainen between the pipes, we forgot about the issues that have seemingly been plaguing the Senators so far this year.

Jordan Spence had an excellent game against the Utah Mammoth. He recorded a goal and an assist. Also, he was shooting with confidence, a great sign for a defenceman. He played with poise and using his speed to win puck battles or beat forecheckers. Moreover, he was making smart, short passes, too. The kind that helps you maintain possession when getting out of trouble in your own zone. The Detroit Red Wings, led by Nicklas Lidstrom, were masters at that idea.

Expanding Our Discussion to the Rest of the Sens Defence

The Senators defence, in general, do pinch a fair bit. They have offensively minded guys like Thomas Chabot and Jake Sanderson, that not only like to (they probably are more successful when they do) pinch. What that does do, is it relies on the forwards to cover for them. When it is working, the Sens are a much better team defensively. However, based on the premise of it being, the defence pinching, you can see where things could go wrong. That’s why decision making is so crucial. Perhaps that plays on the idea it made sense for Spence to spend time watching from the press box. To understand the rhythm and flow, especially of the forwards backchecking. Plus, it can be a strength of the Sens, because they do have a group of defensively responsible forwards.

For Spence, one play stands out so far as to why he’s missed time. That was a tough, but costly play against Anders Lee. It led to a late-game play that cost the Sens that game in mid-October versus the New York Islanders.

However, let’s skip ahead. Spence played well enough against Utah, that head coach Travis Green was rewarding him. He had him out there with Thomas Chabot at times. That means, he usual partner, Tyler Kleven, would be paired with Chabot’s normal partner, Nick Jensen. Spence played about seven-and-a-half minutes with Kleven last night versus Utah. Disclaimer, you aren’t separating the Jake Sanderson and Artem Zub combination.

Taking a look at the defence pairings, we have some interesting findings.

The Sens top pairing of Sanderson and Zub, has been just that, their best defensive duo. Luckily for Spence, neither of the other two pairings have been great. As a matter of fact, both of the main other two pairs, have been below average or replacement value, if you will. Therefore, Spence has the opportunity to jump into the lineup. Whether that is with Chabot or Kleven, Spence really couldn’t mind. The Chabot and Jensen partnership, hasn’t been at the level it was for the first half of 2024-25. So, there’s opportunity there for Spence. Also, Matinpalo doesn’t seem to be quite as smooth as last year. Moreover, Kleven has played well, and not afraid to administer bone-jarring kabooms. Like he seems to do on a nightly basis. In any sense, it seems more and more like Spence is sliding up the depth charts.

So, we have found some insight towards the Sens defensive struggles to start 2025-26. It isn’t time to discuss Linus Ullmark and the goaltending. Here, we are focusing on what is currently working well. What that is, is Jordan Spence.

Main Photo Credit: Marc DesRosiers-IMAGN Images