The Senators enter the 2026-27 season next month with new expectations.
After earning a Stanley Cup Playoff berth two years in a row, they know that another quick appearance in round one won’t cut it. And that’s with a full understanding that they’re in a brutally tough division that featured five of the top nine teams in the NHL last season.
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Steve Warne and Gregg Kennedy discuss Travis Green’s comments on Brady Tkachuk‘s exit.
GM Steve Staios has said that even with the loss of Brady Tkachuk, the club has no intention of taking a step backward.
So from that standpoint, the entire team has something to prove in 2026-27. But the pressure to get to the next level also applies to several individual Senators.
For some, it’ll be about living up to a big new contract. For others, including a pair of newcomers, it’s about bouncing back and proving Staios was right to bring them in and give them a shot.
Here are five Senators with the most to prove in 2026-27.
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Shane Pinto
I was hesitant to include Pinto here because he’s already proven a lot.
He plays such an important role for the Senators defensively, finishing sixth in this year’s Selke voting. He also took another step offensively, posting career highs of 23 goals and 47 points, while finishing second among Senators forwards in time on ice.
So what is there to prove?
Well, Pinto’s four-year, $30-million extension kicks in this season, meaning his cap hit will double from $3.75 million to $7.5 million.
At that pay grade, his scoring numbers will come under a lot more scrutiny, especially if he bumps up to the second line with higher-producing wingers. Between his new salary and the potential for an elevated offensive role, including more power-play time, Pinto will be out to prove he’s earned all of it.
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Jordan Spence
Few Senators improved their stock more last season than Spence.
Feeling like there wasn’t room for both Spence and Nepean’s Brandt Clarke on their blue line, the LA Kings sent Spence to Ottawa for a couple of picks, eventually replacing him with former Senator Cody Ceci.
In Ottawa last fall, Spence’s fresh start had a false start.
The right-shot defenceman was a healthy scratch on opening night and for several others in October, but he eventually established himself as an important part of the Sens blue line and responded with the best season of his young NHL career.
His reward was a four-year, $20-million contract.
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At $5 million per season, a huge leap from last year’s $1.5 million, Spence doesn’t have to be a Norris candidate. But he’s now being paid to be the Sens’ clear number four defenceman, and not just filling that role as an injury replacement. He’s the guy now.
So he’ll be out to prove his breakout season wasn’t an outlier, and like Pinto, that he’s worth every penny.
If he does, and everyone can stay healthy this season, the Senators’ blue line appears to be in pretty good shape.
Andre Burakovsky
The Senators didn’t give up much to acquire Burakovsky, but they are paying him $5.5 million.
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Burakovsky has dealt with more than his share of injuries, which have unravelled some promising seasons. He had 11 goals and 33 points last season and hasn’t come close to the career-high 61 points he produced with Colorado in 2021-22.
At 31, expecting him to suddenly become that player again seems awfully optimistic, but that seems to be the club’s headspace on the player.
The Senators need something more compelling from him, point-wise, than a re-run of Thirty Something. They already had plenty of guys internally who could accomplish that for a lot less money.
Burakovsky is also in the final year of his contract, so he needs to prove that he deserves another one.
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Samuel Ersson
Staios isn’t shy about telling people that goalie evaluation isn’t his strongest suit. He relies heavily on his goalie coaches, Justin Peters and Maciej Szwoch, who like Ersson’s movement and fundamentals and think he’s better than his Philadelphia Flyers numbers suggest.
After Carter Hart had to step away from the Flyers during the 2023-24 season, Ersson became the number one for the next year and a half. But after a coaching change, Dan Vladar got the lion’s share of starts last season.
Ersson’s .870 save percentage last season and career .884 save percentage through 143 games in Philly aren’t particularly impressive. But the Sens’ goalie whisperers see enough potential that Staios gave him a two-year contract.
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Ersson will be out to prove they were right.
If he can give Ottawa 30 reliable starts and simply make the saves an NHL goalie is supposed to make, he’ll have done his job.
Linus Ullmark
Ullmark might have the most to prove of anyone on this list.
We’ve seen stretches where he has looked exactly like the Vezina-winning goaltender from three years ago. We’ve also seen stretches where he hasn’t been good at all.
Ullmark has never played more than 50 games in an NHL season, and going back to his Boston days, he’s clearly at his best when he’s in a platoon situation and getting plenty of in-season rest.
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Between his personal leave of absence and the Olympic break, Ullmark played in just four hockey games between Dec. 27 and March 3. After that, he was noticeably better over his final 17 games of the regular season, although his save percentage was still .870 or worse in seven of them.
He was then the Senators’ best player in the playoffs, saving his best for last with a .932 save percentage over four games. And bear in mind, based on last season’s numbers, a .910 save percentage or better puts a goalie among the NHL’s elite.
Ullmark needs to prove during the regular season that he can be more consistent, more available and worth his $8.25-million salary.
Even if absolutely everything else goes according to plan, the Senators won’t be able to find the next level unless their goalies do.
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By Steve Warne
The Hockey News
This article was first published in The Hockey News. For more Sens coverage at The Hockey News, click on one of the Sens headlines below:
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