The Ottawa Senators have 19 meaningless games to play before the season’s death march comes to a merciful end. Given the choice between sticking a fork in their thigh or being forced to watch those games, I’d be willing to bet that many fans would choose self-mutilation and a 24-hour wait in one of Ottawa’s overcrowded emergency wards for stitches.
Even if Senators’ President of Hockey Operations and general manager (GM) Steve Staios wanted to join them, it doesn’t change the fact that he has work to do. What should be his focus from now to the end of the season? If his goal is to end the campaign on a high note and salvage a scrap or two of his team’s shredded pride, then he’ll need to play his established roster players hoping they’ll rise to the occasion. Yet if getting a head start on building next year’s roster is the goal, he’ll need to bring up as many prospects as he can from Belleville for a look. And icing American Hockey League players, as good as they may be, isn’t a recipe for winning games down the stretch.
It’s one or the other for Staios now – drive to end the season on a high note or turn to build next year’s roster. He can’t do both. Here’s a look at both options.
Senators Must Play for Pride in Final Games of the 2023-24 Season
In an interview on Mar. 11, captain Brady Tkachuk said this campaign has “been tough, and it’s been frustrating. But, like I said, it’s going to show character and who you are right down to the core for these last 20 games. We have to show the effort and represent this amazing city that I love playing for. These are moments you have to learn from. It’s going to show how we play for the logo, the pride that we have, and what we’ve preached the last few years about never giving up . . .” (from “Senators’ captain Brady Tkachuk calls this season ‘tough and frustrating’”, Ottawa Sun, 11/03/2024).
I’d expect Tkachuk and the rest of the roster to show their commitment to restoring some of the squad’s pride as the curtain falls on the season. That same devotion should be evident across the entire organization. That’s what professionals do – they come to play and win every night.
While showing pride weighs heavily on Tkachuk, there is also the question of the team’s lack of identity. Alternate captain Claude Giroux explained that they have “to keep learning how we want to play as a team and get our identity” (from “Claude Giroux opens up about a ‘frustrating’ Senators season: Missing some consistency”, The Athletic, 06/03/2024).
That the Senators lack an identity is obvious. Who could forget the clear identity of the team of the early 2000s under Jacques Martin with its attention to detail, or the swashbuckling crew of 2007 who went to the Stanley Cup Final? Where have the “Pesky Sens” gone?
Giroux believes that an identity can be found: “It’s important that we play as hard as we can, and we can find our identity.” I admire his optimism, but it’s unlikely they’ll find it in the last 19 games.
Senators’ Management Has Other Priorities as 2023-24 Season End
I know Staios values his team’s pride and identity as much as his players. But as GM, finding it can’t be his sole concern. He has much more to consider in the home stretch of the season.
He’ll be looking at his roster over the final 19 games to determine which players have the character he needs. Who among them will battle through to the end for the sake of principle and who will go through the motions with golf on their mind? The golfers will likely be riding the bench down the stretch before being sent packing in the summer.
With the 2024 NHL Entry Draft quickly approaching, Staios needs to know who is going and who is staying. That knowledge will help him decide how he uses his picks.
In a sense, Staios should use these final games as an extension of training camp. Bringing up prospects like Tyler Kleven, Zack Ostapchuk and Oskar Pettersson will give him a good look at what he has in Belleville. Not only that, but it will send a message to these young players that they have a legitimate shot at making the roster next season. As Staios put it, “All those players have progressed nicely. They’re worthy of an opportunity to play.”
Bringing in prospects will also tell the rest of the roster that it’s time for them to prove that they deserve to stick around. Of course, playing prospects late in the season will open Staios up to charges that he’s deliberately tanking to improve the Senators’ already good odds of landing very high draft selections. As my colleague Jason Billington pointed out in a recent episode of The Senators Roundtable, “GMs are the only ones in the NHL that can actively tank and that’s just because of roster construction.”
True, but there’s a world of difference between players deliberately tanking and GMs presiding over teams that are out of contention experimenting with prospects, which is an important way to improve their roster for the following season.
Rest of the Senators’ Season Will Be Interesting
There is no fault in seeing the final games as an opportunity to restore at least some of the team’s pride and take the first steps in establishing its identity. Even so, Staios has bigger challenges on his mind. Constructing next year’s roster must be his focus and that may mean pride and identity need to take a back seat for the rest of the season.
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