The Senators are Ready to Steal a Playoff Spot in 2023

The dust has settled in the 2022 NHL offseason, and the Ottawa Senators have emerged as a new team.

When the Sens acquired forward Alex DeBrincat from the Chicago Blackhawks at the 2022 NHL Draft, it was clear that this team was prepared to put its best foot forward this summer. That held true when Ottawa signed one of the biggest names on the market in free agency.

Former Philadelphia Flyers captain Claude Giroux agreed to a three-year deal with the Senators, which helps put this team on the map. The club saw a major change between the pipes as well, as Matt Murray was traded out of Ottawa and replaced by Cam Talbot.

Now, the new-look Senators are patiently waiting for the 2022-2023 regular season to prove that these moves, and the team’s young core, are enough to send the Sens back to the postseason.

The Senators have a great chance to make the playoffs.

Although they finished seventh in the Atlantic Division last season, the Senators did manage to improve their win total by ten victories, going 33-42-7 a year ago.

Now, with additional experience and talent in the lineup, the Sens are one of the freshest, most exciting teams ahead of the upcoming campaign.

Without a doubt, the Tampa Bay Lightning will still be their dominant selves this year, and the Toronto Maple Leafs, playoff struggles aside, will come to play in the regular season. However, the Florida Panthers have lost a lot of talent, and the Boston Bruins are in for an interesting year.

That opens the door in the Atlantic for a team like Ottawa or the Detroit Red Wings to climb into the top three and automatically clinch a postseason berth. If the Senators don’t turn out to be a top-three team in their division, I still like their chances of picking up a wild card spot.

After all, the Metropolitan Division isn’t perfect. The Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals are aging, and the New York Rangers are without some of last season’s major contributors.

All things considered, the Senators are ready to return to the Stanley Cup Playoffs this season, and I can’t wait to see just how high they’ll climb.