Few teams in the NHL had as eventful offseason as the Ottawa Senators. 

After being swept out of the first round by the Carolina Hurricanes, the Senators had to talk about their captain potentially wanting out. 

Although Brady Tkachuk vehemently denied that in the days following the season’s close, he did indeed work his way out of Ottawa — and right into the arms of division rival Florida. 

Tkachuk joining his older brother Matthew with the Panthers has certainly strengthened Florida’s Stanley Cup aspirations following an injury-filled season — and it certainly weakened an Ottawa team that made it to the playoffs the past two years. 

So, where did the Senators go from there?

Give GM Steve Staios credit for making something out of nothing; with Tkachuk forcing a trade and only agreeing to go to the Panthers, Staios did not have much negotiating power but ended up with three first-round draft picks. 

Staios quickly flipped Florida’s pick — No. 9 in the 2026 Draft — to the San Jose Sharks for an up-and-coming forward in William Eklund.

With the Philadelphia Flyers having to put their signings on hold after offering Anaheim’s Leo Carlsson, the Senators were able to swoop in and keep Claude Giroux.   

All told, the Senators do not look all that different from last season minus losing one of their top players, of course. 

Still, of the five Atlantic Division teams that made the playoffs last season, you know someone is going to drop out.

Is it the Senators? The Bruins? 

We shall see.  

OTTAWA SENATORS OFFSEASON

Key Additions: F William Eklund (Trade-San Jose); F Andrew Burakovsky (T-Chicago); F Kasper Halttunen (T-San Jose); G Sam Ersson (T-Toronto/Philadelphia) 

Key Subtractions: F Brady Tkachuk (T-Florida); C Lars Eller (FA-Florida); G James Reimer (UFA); F David Perron (UFA)

The Big Move: Trading Tkachuk was not something the Senators wanted to do — but letting him walk as a free agent in 2028 after telling Ottawa he was not going to re-sign long-term would have been a disaster. A divisional team (Florida) got better due to the trade, there is no underselling that. But the Senators still have a good core and added afterward to try and stay in the mix in an unforgiving Atlantic.

The Big Gamble: The Tkachuk deal was no gamble; it was necessary. Adding Ersson as the backup to Linus Ullmark could turn out to be a good move after he has spent his whole career with the Flyers. But, there is no guarantee of that. Ersson comes at an affordable contract so if it doesn’t work out, OK. But, with things as tight as they are in the Atlantic, Ottawa is going to need good starts from its backup. We’ll see if Ersson is up to the task.

The Grade: C+. Staios did the best he could under the circumstances and certainly did not wave any white flag after the Tkachuk blockbuster. Yes, the Panthers got the now-factor by trading first-round picks, but Ottawa at least got a good player in Eklund. Ottawa also kept Giroux and also signed Nick Cousins and D Jordan Spence to extensions. It could have been a lot worse.

ON DECK: FLORIDA PANTHERS OFFSEASON