Next up in our 2023 fantasy hockey team previews is the Ottawa Senators.
The Senators have built one of the most exciting young cores in hockey. They played meaningful hockey into March for the first time in several years. It has given Senator fans a lot to be optimistic about heading into 2023-2024. In recent months, the Senators have made several big moves. They are making a big push to return to the playoffs this year. They acquired Jacob Chychrun at the trade deadline. This addressed one of the team’s biggest needs, defense.
In free agency they addressed another glaring need, goaltending. They signed Joonas Korpisalo to a five-year, four-million dollar contract. Feelings on this contract have been lukewarm at best by fans.
To top it off, they added a ‘Tank’ to their arsenal of offensive weapons. they signed Vladimir Tarasenko to a one-year, five-million-dollar contract. Add in Dominik Kubalik, part of the DeBrincat package and the Senators have the makings of a very deep team.
2023-24 Ottawa Senators Fantasy Team Preview
Senators Forwards
The Senators’ forwards are led by a young, dynamic, two-headed monster. Brady Tkachuk and Tim Stutzle. Together they have the makings to become one of the top offensive tandems in the NHL.
Let’s take a closer look at Brady Tkachuk first. His offense took off last year. He jumped from 66 points in 2021-2022 to 83 points in 2022-2023. At 6’4″ Tkachuk sits at 359 games played. There is a strong possibility he has another level to reach. Don’t be surprised to see both Tkachuks sitting in the top ten in NHL scoring as their careers progress.
Tkachuk is also the multi-cat heir to Alex Ovechkin. Last year, Tkachuk put up a monstrous multi-cat season. On top of his 35-goal, 83-points he had 347 shots and 242 hits. If your league counts penalty minutes well, he had 126 of those too. In the last decade, only Ovechkin has produced this kind of stat line.
Then there’s Tim Stutzle. In his third season, he put up 39-goal, 90-points. It’s hard to say 90 points is the tip of the iceberg, but it could very well be the baseline of expectations. Mitch Marner had a very similar third-year breakout with the Maple Leafs. Stutzle should surpass 90 points and should notch multiple 100-point campaigns. He also had 114 hits, which makes him a tantalizing multi-cat option as well. In multi-cat pools he’ll be drafted behind his teammate, Tkachuk, but not that far below.
We’ll finish off the Senators’ number one line with their likely center Josh Norris. We have yet to see him play a full 82-game season and last year he only played 8 games. Last year would have given a good indication of Norris’ progress and where his ceiling might lie. If D.J. Smith keeps him with Tkachuk and Stutzle there is every chance he produces a point-per-game pace. Whether he hits 80 points will be determined by his health.
Then there’s 35-year-old Claude Giroux. With 79 points, his first year as a Senator was a successful one. He just finds a way to produce. At some point, Father Time is going to catch up with him, just not sure it will happen this year. Even if he declines, Giroux should still hit 70-points. His hockey IQ is still elite. He’ll find a way to hit the scoresheet more games than not.
The list of fantasy options doesn’t end there. Drake Batherson is another 70-point, 100-hit threat. Then there is the Senators’ key free agent signing, Vladimir Tarasenko. Last year was a disappointment with 50 points in 69 games. He is only one year removed from 82 points in 75 games. Ottawa feels like a fresh start for Tarasenko. A return to 70-points is a real possibility.
The Senators also offer potential late-round value. Dominik Kubalik has a 50-plus point upside. Shane Pinto is a real sleeper option for 50-points as well.
There are a lot of reasons to get excited about this offense in Ottawa.
Senators Defense
The Senators boast three legitimate offensive options. Thomas Chabot has been on an island for the last couple of years due to the lack of depth and talent around him. The emergence of Artem Zub as a defensive specialist took a little of the heat off of him.
The talent to produce 60 points is there. Due to the lack of depth on the blue line, Chabot has had to play huge minutes. Hard minutes. In 2022-2023, Chabot’s offensive zone starts were below 50%. Comparatively, Cale Makar, Miro Heiskanen, Erik Karlsson, Roman Josi, Vince Dunn, Brent Burns, were all over 62%. No wonder Chabot produced below expectations.
It will be interesting to see how the addition of Jacob Chychrun affects Chabot’s zone starts. Chychrun isn’t a really strong defender. He is a very good offensive defenseman and moves the puck well. Time will tell if Chabot sees more offensive zone starts or if Chychrun takes them away.
Both are very real 50-point threats. Both are very real injury risks. Chychrun’s injuries appear to be at random. Whereas Chabot’s seem due to overuse and fatigue. If D.J. Smith can lower Chabot’s ice time closer to 23:00 per game some of his injury should disappear.
As mentioned, the Senators boast three legitimate offensive options. Jake Sanderson is the third. A solid first full season in the NHL, Sanderson might have the most upside of all three. It will be a couple of years before he develops into that potential so be patient. He should build on his 32-point season. There is enough offense on this team to support three 40-plus point defensemen. With the 8-year 64.2 million dollar extension, the Senators believe he is the real dear.
Two should break 50-points. Considering injury risks, the trick will be picking which two.
Senators Goalies
That Cam Talbot trade looks dreadful today, doesn’t it? Had they kept Filip Gustavsson, they would have no need to sign Korpisalo. Hindsight, right?
Well, here we are. And there Korpisalo is, for five years. I’m not the biggest fan of the five-year term, but I like the signing. Korpisalo has not played for good teams during his tenure in Columbus. He was a really good goalie last year, for both Los Angeles and Columbus. He was brilliant in the playoff bubble against the Toronto Maple Leafs. He has also produced several mediocre seasons between. The Senators should get something closer to last year’s Korpisalo.
If you prefer to value draft your goalies, that is, wait until the mid-way point or later, Korpisalo could be a great value pick. I don’t have a lot of confidence in the Senators’ ability to limit high-danger chances. Meaning, that there will be nights he is hung out to dry. There should be some nights as well that he flat-out steals games for the Senators. Still, the Senators should win more than they lose.
If Anton Forsberg is healthy, Korpisalo won’t be expected to carry the load of a true number-one goalie. If history tells us anything, Korpisalo’s risk of injury goes up if he’s called upon to carry a heavy load.
This isn’t a true 1A-1B timeshare situation. I would not be drafting Forsberg for the tandem handcuffs unless this were a deep league.
In Summary, Tkachuk should be a first-round selection in any pool that counts hits and blocks. In points leagues, he might be available a round later than he should. Not everyone will be convinced he holds real 100-point potential. Minority opinions make the world go round. The Senators also offer multiple mid-round fantasy value options. There’s no elite offensive option on defense. Instead, you get three potential 50-point options. Chabot likely goes first. Chychrun could slide due to injury concerns. Sanderson is your prototypical sleeper. To finish it off, Korpisalo offers middle of the draft value in net. Statistically, he could find himself being a top-10 goalie by the end of the year.
Well, that’s all for now. Thanks for reading. Hope you enjoyed it and found this useful as you prep for your draft.
Follow me on Twitter @doylelb4; where you’ll find as many hiking musings as you will fantasy hockey.
Make sure to check out all of our Fantasy Hockey Team Previews as they roll out over the coming weeks!