For the first time since the Paul MacLean era, the Sens have made the playoffs in back-to-back seasons. Think about that for a second. The last time this franchise strung together consecutive playoff appearances, Jason Spezza was centering the top line with Daniel Alfredsson, and Erik Karlsson was just beginning his dominance in the league. Now, Spezza is the assistant general manager of the Pittsburgh Penguins, also having Karlsson on the team.

That happened in 2012-13. A lot has happened since. A lot of it was painful, trading away elite fan-favourite talent, completely gutting the bones of the team, and taking a massive step back for a number of seasons. While it sucked, it was truly necessary. We don’t need to reopen that wound to understand that this has been a long time coming.

Last season was a big jump for the Sens. While they got eliminated by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the first round, the Sens finally achieved the playoffs for the first time in this era. We lost, but we learned a lot on the way. Sometimes you need to learn to lose before you can win.

We are here now, about to take on the Carolina Hurricanes in the first round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs. This year, we’re better than last year and far better than 2012.

Let’s look back at that squad. It was a good team, good enough to reach the playoffs. Milan Michalek and Alfie flanked Spezza on the top line. Fan favourite Kyle Turris centred Jakob Silfverberg and Corey Conacher. Chris Neil was bullying anybody in his way, protecting the rest of the team in the process, and Karlsson and Marc Methot formed the best defensive pairing in franchise history.

One thing I’ll mention is while that team had some legit firepower, they lacked depth. Silfverberg was just starting out, Colin Greening was playing in a higher role than he was capable of, and we truly had no injury replacements.

Now, we’ve got one of the best young centers in the game in Tim Stutzle centering a line with 33-goal scorer Drake Batherson and future hall of famer Claude Giroux. Team captain Brady Tkachuk is the heartbeat of this team and was still a point per game despite missing 20 games to injury. Dylan Cozens was the only player in the NHL that achieved 25 or more goals while also registering over 200 shots and hits.

Forward depth alone is much stronger. While Jason Spezza and Tim Stutzle are on similar playing fields, Dylan Cozens, Shane Pinto, and Lars Eller are much deeper. On the wing, Tkachuk, Batherson, and Giroux really round out the top 6.

On the back end, the Sens have one of the best young defensemen in the NHL in Jake Sanderson, but he’s not all they have. Thomas Chabot and Artem Zub are legit pieces, while Jordan Spence has truly earned a spot in this lineup this year.

Consider that the Sens this year had the most 20-goal scorers as a team in the NHL this year with 5; I don’t think depth will be an issue at all.

On top of that, Travis Green has proved why he was one of the best coaching prospects in the game, helping Ottawa achieve a true 200-foot style. This has resulted in the Sens having some of the best defensive metrics in the NHL while also scoring a bunch of goals in the process. They are not a defensive team; they are a complete team.

The rebuild has finally reached it’s next step. The pieces are there, they are all performing. The culture feels right, and two years in a row is proof that last year was not a fluke. Go Sens Go.

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