The Ottawa Senators are heading into the season with a clear mandate from Travis Green: don’t just repeat last year, improve on it.
Green said at his pre-camp presser on Wednesday that the club wants to keep climbing after two straight postseason appearances. For him, the bar is no longer simply getting back into the playoffs. Ottawa is trying to take the next step and turn recent progress into something bigger.
"We were definitely a better team last year than we were the year before. And you know, we want to be better again this year."
That growth could show up in the standings, with the Senators eyeing the century mark in points, but Green’s message went beyond numbers. Ottawa is still a young team, and the internal expectation is that the group should keep developing together.
"We've still got a relatively young group. I looked at our board the other day with the age of our players. I think they've all become better hockey players and quite honestly, I expect them to be better again."
That kind of outlook fits the roster the Senators have built. There’s enough talent there to think Ottawa can keep rising and make itself a tougher out in the Eastern Conference.
A big part of that push, Green believes, will come from competition within the organization. Young players trying to force their way into the lineup can change the tone of a team, and he thinks Ottawa has more of that pressure this season than it has in the past.
"Teams progress and teams improve are young guys pushing to take, you know, take a spot on the team. And uh I think we have that more this year than we have had in the past."
That matters because every prospect who pushes for a job raises the standard for everyone else. It lifts the ceiling, sure, but it also strengthens the floor if injuries or slumps hit along the way.
There’s plenty in Ottawa to feel good about, and the loss of Brady Tkachuk’s presence does not appear to be a roadblock in Green’s view. The sense around the team, as the article puts it, feels lighter now.
For the Senators, the story of this season is simple enough: last year was a step forward, but it’s not the finish line. Under Green, the focus is on turning that momentum into something even more substantial in 2026-27.
In Other News...
Senators Just Showed How Much They Mean To Ottawa Off The Ice
Long before the puck drops, the Senators have spent the season making themselves visible around Ottawa in the places that matter most. Players, alumni, staff and their families have turned up for hospital visits, fan meet-and-greets and Toy Mountain support, while the Senators Community Foundation has kept the charity work rolling through events like the Fullscript Black, Red & Gold Gala and the Sens Charity Open, along with help from community-led initiatives.
The through line has been connection, and it has shown up in plenty of forms, from CHEO visits to other outreach across the city. For a team that plays in front of a passionate market, those appearances are part of the job too, and theyve left open a larger question about just how much more the Senators can keep weaving themselves into Ottawa life beyond hockey. [Read more 🡒]
Senators Captaincy Debate Just Got More Complicated
The captaincy question around Ottawa has become a little more open-ended than many expected, and Travis Green says there is no urgency to settle it. With Brady Tkachuk gone, the Senators are taking a slower approach to a decision that could shape the tone of the dressing room, and Green has made it clear the club is willing to let the process breathe, even if that means opening the season without a captain at all.
Jake Sanderson and Thomas Chabot are the most obvious names to watch from inside the room, but Green is framing the discussion as one about leadership, not labels. He also brushed aside any notion that citizenship would play into the call, which only adds another layer to a conversation that already figures to linger as Ottawa sorts out what this team wants its next voice to look like. [Read more 🡒]
Senators Are Betting Big On One Goalie Rebound
Samuel Ersson arrives in Ottawa with something to prove, and the Senators are willing to give him the runway to do it. After a difficult season in Philadelphia, the 25-year-old goaltender signed on with a team that views its own structure, and its goaltending voice, as a better fit for a rebound than the numbers he put up elsewhere.
Coach Travis Green and Ottawas goalie staff have shown real confidence in Erssons ability, pointing to the way he finished the previous season as a reminder that the talent is still there. The bigger question now is how he handles the wear and tear that has followed him in recent years, and whether his game can settle into the Senators defensive system well enough to turn that optimism into something lasting. [Read more 🡒]