The Ottawa Senators success last season can be attributed in large part to the young core the team has built over the last handful of years. Guys like Brady Tkachuk, Tim Stutzle, and Jake Sanderson are the foundation on which the organization is currently built and will be the ones to carry the franchise to success in the future. All had standout 2024-25 seasons and will look to build upon them next season.
While maybe not front of mind when thinking about the contributing factors to the Senators’ recent success, much of it could be owed to the squad’s veterans. Not only were those players integral from an on-ice standpoint, they were also big in terms of bringing an element of experience and leadership that a young group could greatly benefit being around.
While those players are great to have around, eventually time catches up to them, leading to the juice no longer being worth the squeeze. General manager Steve Staios hopes for his sake that that moment is a little ways away. He’s not keen to seek out veterans just due to them being veterans (as an example, he let defenseman Travis Hamonic walk earlier this summer.)
He has four players on his roster who will be over 35 years old heading into next season. What can be expected from them and what will they have to do to warrant a spot on this team moving forward?
Claude Giroux
Claude Giroux signed with his hometown team three years ago and eventually re-upped with them after a bit of a long negotiation earlier this summer. He will be 37 going into the season and for someone who was never fleet of foot to begin with, the speed remains a big concern. However, he’s still a great playmaker and faceoff specialist.
He’ll be motivated to have a bounce-back season but a lot will depend upon how he’s utilized by head coach Travis Green. If he’s able to get ample opportunity and time on the power play, he could eclipse the 60-point mark. It remains to be seen who he plays with and if he can ward off some of the effects of aging but only time will tell.
David Perron
David Perron will also be 37 going into this season and recently signed a two-year deal worth $4 million annually. Perron is still a tenacious and competitive player who is not afraid to go on the forecheck to retrieve pucks or take abuse in front of the net. That’s an element of the game the Senators could definitely use more of….
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