The Ottawa Senators’ offensive profile last season was built on one thing: they spent a ton of time in the right end of the ice.
Ottawa ranked second in the NHL in offensive zone time percentage at 43.4, a jump from seventh at 41.8 the year before. That pressure showed up all over the roster.
Drake Batherson finished fifth in the league in offensive zone time percentage at 48.3, fourth among forwards, after ranking in the 98th percentile among forwards in offensive zone starts percentage at 46.0. Dylan Cozens was right there too, tying for eighth at 48.0.
Tim Stutzle stayed in the thick of it as well. He ranked in the 95th percentile among forwards in offensive zone time percentage at 46.5 and in the 99th percentile in offensive zone starts percentage at 48.0. And with William Eklund now in the picture after the offseason trade from the San Jose Sharks, Ottawa may have another forward who can help keep the puck pinned in the attacking end; Eklund ranked in the 93rd percentile among forwards in offensive zone time percentage at 45.9 last season.
The blue line played a big part in that, too. Jordan Spence and Thomas Chabot both landed in the top 10 among defensemen in offensive zone time percentage, with Spence tied for third at 47.6 and Chabot sixth at 47.0. Jake Sanderson was also well above the pack at 44.8, good for the 90th percentile among defensemen.
Ottawa’s team numbers in different situations back up the same story. The Senators ranked among the League leaders in offensive zone time percentage at even strength at 43.0, second overall, while also sitting tied for fourth on the power play at 60.6 and third on the penalty kill at 29.0. Chabot was seventh among defensemen in offensive zone time percentage on the power play at 61.7, and Michael Amadio ranked seventh among forwards in offensive zone time percentage on the penalty kill at 37.0.
The Senators also made a habit of generating dangerous looks. They finished fifth in the NHL in high-danger shots on goal with 715 and fifth in high-danger goals with 143. They were strong in the middle of the ice, too, ranking seventh in mid-range shots on goal with 699, and they finished tied for eighth in long-range goals with 21.
Batherson was a big part of that damage. He tied for fifth in the NHL in high-danger goals with 24, and he also ranked among the forward leaders in high-danger shots on goal with 70, mid-range goals with seven, and mid-range shots on goal with 49. Stutzle was even more of a volume threat, ranking among the forward leaders in high-danger goals with 20, high-danger shots on goal with 81, mid-range goals with 11, and mid-range shots on goal with 68.
Cozens added another layer. He finished tied for 10th among forwards in mid-range goals with 15 and ranked highly in mid-range shots on goal with 86, high-danger shots on goal with 83, and long-range goals with two. Fabian Zetterlund, who could take on a bigger role this season, was tied for third among forwards in long-range goals with four and ranked in the 95th percentile at his position in hardest shot at 94.30 mph.
Shane Pinto, coming off NHL career highs in points with 46 and goals with 23, also showed up across the board. He ranked at or above the 80th percentile among forwards in mid-range goals with seven, high-danger goals with 12, long-range shots on goal with 19, mid-range shots on goal with 55 and high-danger shots on goal with 59.
Sanderson brought the same kind of threat from the back end. He ranked in the 96th percentile among defensemen in hardest shot at 99.72 mph and in the 91st percentile in average shot speed at 72.28 last season, and he tied for third among defensemen in high-danger goals with five.
He also ranked among the defenseman leaders in long-range goals with five, mid-range goals with four, high-danger shots on goal with 12, mid-range shots on goal with 33 and long-range shots on goal with 74. Tyler Kleven, meanwhile, recorded the hardest shot attempt in the NHL last season at 103.51 and ranked in the 83rd percentile among defensemen in high-danger goals with two.
Then there’s the skating, where Stutzle and Sanderson remain the engine and the exclamation point.
Ottawa ranked ninth in the NHL in 20-plus mph speed bursts with 1,953 and fifth in 22-plus mph bursts with 126. Stutzle led the way, finishing fifth in the NHL in 20-plus mph bursts with 364 and third in 22-plus mph bursts with 46.
He also ranked sixth among forwards in total miles skated on the power play at 43.05 and posted a max skating speed of 23.54 mph, which put him in the 96th percentile among forwards. He has now finished in the 90th percentile or higher among forwards in max skating speed and 20-plus mph speed bursts in four straight seasons.
Sanderson was just as elite from the blue line. He led all defensemen and ranked fifth in the NHL in max skating speed at 24.37 mph last season, while also placing second among defensemen in 22-plus mph bursts with 31 and third in 20-plus mph bursts with 204. Across all four of his NHL seasons, he has ranked in the 95th percentile or higher among defensemen in max skating speed, 20-plus mph speed bursts and 22-plus mph speed bursts.
At 24 years old apiece, Stutzle and Sanderson have already built a résumé that puts them near the top of the league in the advanced skating numbers that matter most.
In Other News...
Senators Face A Painful Drake Batherson Decision As Deadline Nears
The Senators are trying to get ahead of a delicate contract situation with Drake Batherson, whose future has become one of the more important questions on their summer to-do list. Ottawa wants to keep the winger as part of its core and has been working on a long-term extension, a reflection of how much value the club places on his play and stability in the lineup.
The backdrop makes the urgency even sharper for Canadian teams, with a growing trend of American players asking out and other clubs, like Montreal, weighing their own roster and trade decisions carefully. For Ottawa, the Batherson talks are not just about keeping a useful forward in place. They are also about avoiding a situation where the club is forced to consider a trade path if the sides cannot find common ground in time. [Read more 🡒]
Senators Forward Depth Could Get Tested Fast Next Season
The Senators forward depth could be one of the more interesting early-season storylines if Ottawa comes out of the gate slowly next year. Andre Burakovsky and Warren Foegele both arrived with clear expectations attached, and their fits in the lineup may be judged quickly if the offense sputters and the club needs a jolt.
Burakovskys future in particular appears tied to whether he can deliver enough scoring to justify his spot, while Foegeles value will be measured in much the same way. If those contributions do not come, Ottawa could explore moving either veteran, though both players have limited no-trade clauses that would shape the process and add another layer to a decision the Senators may not want to make in a hurry. [Read more 🡒]
Senators Core Is Running Out Of Time To Prove Itself
The Senators are heading into another season with a core group that has now been together for seven years, a stretch long enough to demand something more than promise. Tim Stutzle, Drake Batherson, Shane Pinto and Thomas Chabot have grown up together in Ottawa, and the front office has already shown it wants some continuity by bringing Claude Giroux back on a one-year contract.
What makes this moment feel more urgent is that the organization is still sorting out what comes next around that core. Batherson is entering the final year of his deal, so his future has become an obvious focal point as the Senators try to keep their main pieces aligned for a push. Off the ice, there is also the longer-running question of the proposed downtown arena, with the club saying fans should get an update in the new year. [Read more 🡒]