The three pillars of the Ottawa Senators‘ playoff push – and the three biggest questions heading into camp – are the coach, the general manager, and the team’s captain.
After years of rebuild fatigue, the Senators finally gave fans something to cheer about last spring: playoff hockey. A 45–30–7 regular season record and a feisty first-round tilt against the Toronto Maple Leafs put the Sens back on the NHL map. It wasn’t perfect—consistency came late, and depth was an issue—but for a team stuck in neutral for years, it felt like a shift into high gear. Now comes the hard part: doing it again.
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Expectations are higher, the Atlantic Division is no picnic, and the Senators are officially past the “surprise team” phase. With head coach Travis Green, GM Steve Staios, and captain Brady Tkachuk steering the ship, Ottawa has the right leadership in place—but each one of them enters 2025–26 with a spotlight squarely on their back.
The Coach: Travis Green’s Tough Love—Does It Still Work?
Green made his mark right away in Ottawa, demanding conditioning, strict accountability, and a no-nonsense attitude. His players knew where they stood.
The results? A playoff berth and a system that finally tightened up the defensive lapses that plagued the team for years. But there’s a growing undercurrent of speculation: Is Green’s hard-edged style sustainable over the long haul?
Some insiders suggest he may need to ease up to keep the locker room fresh. Word around the rink is that the front office could bring in a more tactical assistant—likely with a defensive or special-teams focus—to fine-tune the system and help share the load. It’s not about turning Green into a players’ coach; it’s about evolving his approach as expectations rise.
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Fans know he can push his team to compete, but can he also push them to thrive?
The General Manager: Staios’ Silent Shuffle—Is a Trade Brewing?
Since stepping into the GM role full-time, Staios has been walking a tightrope: build for now, but don’t mortgage the future. So far, he’s threaded the needle well. Acquiring Linus Ullmark shored up Ottawa’s goaltending in a big way, and flipping Josh Norris and Jacob…
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