The fall of 2021 was the Ottawa Senators’ autumn horribilis.
Whatever might have gone wrong, actually did.
The funny thing is, looking back, disaster was not readily apparent. The Sens actually won two of their first three games, including an opening night victory over the rival Toronto Maple Leafs, a team that would finish the season with 115 points.
Ottawa then lost on the road to Toronto and bounced back to beat the Dallas Stars at the Canadian Tire Centre, to move to 2-1. No one could have foreseen that the Sens would only win two of their next 17 games to fall to 4-15-1 and essentially lose sight of the contenders in the Eastern Conference. Season over. Playing out the string by U.S. Thanksgiving.
There was sickness and injury, which felt more like a biblical plague and pestilence.
Starting goaltender Matt Murray got injured, not for the first time. Perhaps the biggest culprit was the spread of COVID-19 that sapped the team of strength and personnel through mid-November, before the NHL finally stepped in and shut the Sens down for a week, too little and too late.
Yet another compressed schedule to work around the coronavirus interruptions did not help. Four times through the first 19 games the Senators faced a back-to-back scenario and nine of those first 19 were on the road, with seven of the 19 involving time zone changes.
What a difference a year makes. The Senators don’t have a back-to-back scenario this season until Dec. 2-3. Not only do the Senators have a revamped roster and set of expectations (more on this to follow), they have a kinder schedule as the NHL gets back to a more normal way of doing things.
Of course, other teams will catch breaks as well, but Ottawa’s schedule, especially to start the season, sets up very well for a franchise desperate to avoid the kind of slow starts that have plagued every campaign since 2017.
It will be important to play well at home, because the Senators play 11 of their first 17 games at the CTC.
13 of first 20 games vs non-playoff teams
Strength of competition can be tricky to gauge because Ottawa wasn’t the only team to improve its roster in the off-season, but using last year’s results as a measuring stick, the Senators do not have a lot of tough opposition over their first 20 games, through Nov. 25. In fact, 13 of those 20 games involve teams that did not make the playoffs last spring: Buffalo (twice) Philadelphia (twice), Vancouver, Arizona, New Jersey (twice), Vegas (twice), the New York Islanders, San Jose and Anaheim.
Regarding the 2021-22 playoff teams the Senators meet early on, the Florida Panthers aren’t expected to be the first-place team they were last season. And the Boston Bruins are a team that Ottawa is targeting as a potential club to displace from the top eight. The Buffalo Sabres should be better, but still beatable.
On paper. It all looks good on paper. This week, it gets real, with the season opener in Buffalo on Thursday. The Senators held a team bonding session in Mont Tremblant Tuesday and were scheduled to return to the ice in Quebec on Wednesday before leaving for Buffalo.
Forsberg could roll with it
Head coach D.J. Smith admitted the staff has thought about using the friendly schedule to stick with goaltender Anton Forsberg for every game in October, assuming he is going well. Cam Talbot, signed to be a co-starter with Forsberg, is injured and expected out for about four weeks.
“There’s no back-to-backs,” Smith said. “If he’s not overly taxed, I don’t see why not.”
The Senators signed veteran journeyman Magnus Hellberg to back up Forsberg.
Brassard is back, in a new role
Smith admitted that one of the highlights of a coach’s job is telling someone he has made the team. That moment is just as gratifying if the player is a veteran player on a camp PTO or a prospect making it for the first time.
On Thanksgiving Monday, Smith was able to announce to Derick Brassard and the rest of the team on the ice that Brassard was being rewarded with a contract. That one-year deal, for $750,000 puts Brassard in the role of veteran sage, much as centre Jason Spezza was for the Maple Leafs the past three seasons.
Brassard, 35, was a top-line centre the last time the Senators were a playoff team, in 2017. Now he will be used as an extra forward, as needed, whether due to injuries or other circumstances.
“I’m excited to be back here and have a chance to play with those guys,” Brassard said. “This has been great, the last three weeks, meeting all the young guys and all the energy they bring on the ice – I’m pretty excited for the start of the season.”
Smith is happy to have Brassard at his disposal.
“As a 13th or 14th guy, he’s very useful, whether it be a bottom guy on the penalty kill or faceoffs, or being able to play on the power play,” Smith said. “He still has tons of ability and hockey sense.”
As it was for Spezza, a former Senators captain, adjusting to a bottom-six role and occasionally just a cheerleader in the press box is a big change after a career as an offensive player. Brassard says he’s fine with it and didn’t want to go anywhere but Ottawa. Brassard can play centre or wing, which adds to his versatility.
All in all, a smart depth signing by the Senators. Brassard could be an important veteran voice in a room that is still pretty young.