The Ottawa Senators finally made the Stanley Cup Playoffs last season after an 8-year drought, and coming into 2025-26, the expectations were reasonable: make it again, and maybe make some noise.
But just over halfway through the season, the Senators need to defy the odds to return to the playoffs, a position nobody in the organization could have possibly expected to be in.
Advertisement
And the team’s President of Hockey Operations and General Manager Steve Staios has to wear it, marking the first time this front office has faced adversity from its own missteps.
The whole season hasn’t been a disaster. Around the quarter mark, the Senators were right in the mix, sitting top-3 in the Atlantic division, most of which was accomplished without star forward Brady Tkachuk while he recovered from a thumb injury.
However, a record of 8-12-1 since the captain’s return has the Senators tied for last place in the Eastern Conference and 7 points out of a wildcard spot, with six other teams ahead of them.
Typically, in such a disappointing season, the coach is the first one under the microscope. But Travis Green is in a unique position because the results under the hood are very impressive in his 2nd year with the Senators.
Advertisement
According to Moneypuck.com, in all situations, the Senators have the best Expected Goals Against rate in the NHL.
In other words, no team in the league makes life easier for their goaltenders than the Senators do, yet the club is dead last in the NHL in team save percentage at .868.
The issue for the Senators is goaltending, and it’s been so bad that trying to point blame at any other area of their game for this disappointing season is foolish.
That is why Staios is getting scrutinized.
Coming into the season, addressing the crease was not a priority for the Senators. They let Anton Forsberg go in free agency, putting faith in a tandem of Linus Ullmark and Leevi Meriläinen, which has proven to be a colossal mistake.
Advertisement
Forsberg has a respectable .901 save percentage for the Kings, right where he was last season, which was deemed expendable by the Senators’ front office.
It’s notable when a Senators goaltender provides a .900 save percentage or better this season. That’s not good.
Let’s start with Ullmark. He was acquired from the Boston Bruins for a package that included a 1st round pick, one of Staios’ biggest trades as GM. The 32-year-old is in the first season of a 4-year deal that pays him $8.25M per season, the biggest contract Staios has signed to date.
The Senators are all-in on Ullmark, so his results will reflect on this front office. To be blunt, he is having a bad second season in Ottawa through 28 starts.
Advertisement
Ullmark has a -18.3 Goals Saved Above Expected, ranked 2nd last in the NHL this season, according to Moneypuck.
He did seem to be turning his game around before taking a personal leave of absence on Dec. 28th. He had a .908 save percentage in 8 games from Dec. 1 – Dec. 24 with a record of 5-2-1.
Meriläinen has not been any better, especially in Ullmark’s absence, and that’s the biggest knock on Staios. The 23-year-old has a .866 save percentage in 17 games this season.
Meriläinen burst onto the scene a year ago, when Ullmark and Forsberg each went down with an injury. He had a record of 8-3-1 with a .925 and 3 shutouts. Meriläinen’s performance was remarkable, but he’s taken such a significant step back this season that it’s now hard to analyze what the Senators have on their hands.
Advertisement
The way they handled his development feels uncharacteristic for this front office.
23-year-old forward Stephen Halliday had a stint in Ottawa this season with extremely sheltered minutes, and barely got a look in any offensive situations before being returned to Belleville. Top prospect Carter Yakemchuk played well enough in each of his first two training camps to get a look in the NHL, but was sent to junior last year and Belleville this year to develop his defensive game.
Yet Meriläinen was handed a backup role because there was nobody else to push him in camp, which is where his troubled season started.
In what can only be categorized as a desperation move, Staios signed 37-year-old James Reimer last week to help stop the bleeding in Ottawa. When Ullmark returns, Reimer will likely back him up for the rest of the season, and Meriläinen will mercifully be sent to Belleville to find his game.
Advertisement
The Senators need to salvage the season, because they are in danger of missing the playoffs in a year they don’t own a 1st round pick in the draft.
To be fair, not having a pick this season isn’t on Staios. Former GM Pierre Dorion is to blame, as the Senators were ruthlessly punished by the NHL for his blunder while trading away Evgeny Dadonov to the Vegas Golden Knights.
The Senators had to forfeit their pick in either 2024, 2025 or 2026 – and Staios chose to keep 2024’s at 7th overall, selecting Yakemchuk, and then keep 2025’s to trade back and select Logan Hensler at 23rd overall.
The choice to continue deferring was likely made on the assumption that the Senators would progress this season, but as it stands right now, they have regressed.
Advertisement
If the season ended today, the Senators would have the 9th-best odds to win the Draft Lottery and pick 1st overall based on points percentage.
Coupled with a tumultuous week off the ice where he released a strongly worded statement discrediting online rumours about his players, Staios has been busy trying to keep the Senators from tailspinning out of control.
With the season in the balance, the pressure has never been higher on the first-time GM in Ottawa.
Jack Richardson
The Hockey News- Ottawa
This story is from The Hockey News Ottawa. You can visit the site here or click on one of their latest articles below:
Advertisement
Former Senators Head Coach Comes Out Of Retirement To Take Over Bench In Columbus
Ottawa Senators Officially Sign James Reimer To One-Way NHL Contract
Senators Handled Social Media Controversy The Best Way They Could
Why The Senators’ Biggest Rival Right Now Might Be Social Media
Staios Condemns ‘Fabricated And False Stories’ Circulating On Social Media
