What will the Senators' offseason look like? Here is Steve Staios' to-do list

New York Times

05-05-2025

OTTAWA — It drew a laugh from Senators coach Travis Green, but it had to be asked.
It was the last time Ottawa media would see him or general manager Steve Staios until the draft, possibly beyond. It was also the right time to ask questions about how the Senators would address their need for scoring this offseason, among others. It had been only days since the team was knocked out of the first round of the playoffs, so things were still fresh. Green, just like many of his players, was quite ticked that his team wasn't still playing. But there he was in the Sens' media room on the podium, flanked by Staios on Monday morning.
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So, when Staios was asked a question about acquiring a scorer externally — a slightly reworded question from the one asked previously — that prompted the laugh. It was as if Green couldn't believe the media weren't getting the point.
'Someone else reword and ask the same thing here,' Green said. 'Make it a hat trick.'
Staios and Green will likely spend the next few weeks recuperating and going off the grid before scouting and personnel meetings begin ahead of next month's draft. The Sens' to-do list for the offseason isn't a short one, thanks to more than $18 million in cap space and a handful of pending free agents to sign. But they will lean heavily on their players to take a step forward, as they did last summer and through most of this season, and hope their internal growth can help fill whatever holes need to be patched.
'I think it's important that we continue to improve,' Green said. 'It's not status quo. As coaches, as an organization, we push our players to have a mindset, a growth mindset of getting better. How you left today isn't going to be acceptable if you just come back the same. I think a lot of our players are in that age group where they still have room to grow as players, and that's going to be very important for us to be a better team next year.'
And that includes a need for scoring up front, something Staios knows he'll have to address in some way. The Sens finished tied for the 19th-best offence leaguewide and 31st in scoring at five-on-five. Only the Nashville Predators scored fewer goals at five-on-five.
'With the group we have returning, there's some areas that I'm going to look at,' Staios said. 'But as we've talked about before, the market will sort of dictate on if you can add those types of players or improve in that area. And until you find that opportunity, it has to come from within.'
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While it's a consistent, unsurprising message from the Sens' front office, there will be pressure find a scoring winger come July 1 — even if they address Claude Giroux and Fabian Zetterlund, which we'll get to further down.
If the Toronto Maple Leafs don't re-sign Mitch Marner, he will enter July as the league's top available free agent after a 100-point season. But that's likely not in the cards for the Sens, considering his high price tag.
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A realistic target could include Winnipeg Jets winger Nikolaj Ehlers, who has been the subject of trade rumours for some time. While it didn't appear the Sens had interest in Brock Boeser ahead of the trade deadline, the Sens will be linked to the American-born winger who may have played his final game in Canucks colours. Mikael Granlund and Ryan Donato are versatile forwards who could also be free agents in July.
That storyline could dominate most of the summer for the Sens via offseason stories, but it doesn't stop there.
The Sens' need for another defenceman appeared evident during their first-round series against Toronto. Their depth held up better than expected, but Ottawa could've still benefited from another defenceman who could help clog up the middle of the ice and kill penalties.
Considering Nick Jensen's injury fogginess, it's something the Senators might have to consider anyway.
Staios declined to disclose more on Jensen's injury situation — or any from the playoffs — and couldn't confirm if Jensen would need surgery for his nagging lower-body injury. But he called Jensen an 'absolute warrior' for being able to play through an injury that affected much of the second half of his season.
'I don't believe in doing that, I think it's personal,' Staios said of revealing injury statuses. 'Our players, if they want to speak to it, they can. Kind of feel like it might be justification on why we didn't get through the series. We don't live in that world. But I can tell you that just about every one of our players was dealing with something.'
The free-agent market could have names such as Aaron Ekblad, Ryan Lindgren and Vladislav Gavrikov. But here's another name worth considering: Calgary Flames defenceman Rasmus Andersson. He has one more year left on a six-year, $27.3 million deal that carries a $4.55 million cap hit. While the Flames have said in the past that Andersson will be in Calgary to stay, his exit interview seemed to suggest his future was up in the air.
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If the Flames wanted to move on from the Swede, it might be worth it for the Sens to take a flier on an all-situations right-shot defenceman who looks to enter his prime at age 28 despite his point totals decreasing since the 2021-22 season.
For those wondering how that affects youngster Carter Yakemchuk and his place in the organization: Patience will be key here.
Since he'll be 20 by year's end, the Sens' 2024 first-round pick will be eligible to play in the AHL with the Belleville Senators next season. It's the likely route for Yakemchuk unless he turns heads again and pushes for NHL minutes as he did last training camp. The Senators needn't be forced to play Yakemchuk in their lineup.
But that doesn't mean they won't challenge him to make their upcoming roster decisions tough on them.
'He knows how important this summer is for him,' Staios said. 'You get an opportunity with the Ottawa Senators on merit, and if he's ready to play and pushes us, we'll be open to that.'
If the Sens want to chase any big fish via trade or use offer sheets to sign restricted free agents, they must be mindful of their draft-pick pool. The first-round-pick issue remains a hurdle. But the Sens also don't have a second-round pick this year (though they do have three in 2026).
It appears the Sens will keep their 2025 first-round pick, according to Staios. That's one item checked off his to-do list. Sens owner Michael Andlauer said it would likely be the case when he spoke last month. It would mean forfeiting their 2026 first-round pick if their punishment for l'affaire Evgenii Dadonov holds up.
The 37-year-old Giroux is the biggest name in the Sens' pending free-agent class and its most fascinating case.
Sens players expressed how much the veteran meant to them Saturday, and Staios affirmed that. Though he declined, as he normally does, to discuss negotiations.
'We love (Giroux and we) want to have him back,' Staios said. 'We touched on it briefly at the exit meetings, and everything's still fresh right now.'
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When we did a contract comparable for Giroux in a recent mailbag, thanks to our friends at PuckPedia, we used teammate David Perron's two-year, $8 million ($4 million AAV) contract as a comparison. PuckPedia estimated that a new deal for Giroux could carry a cap hit between $4.85 million and $5 million.
It has been quiet on the Giroux contract front for much of the year. But if you're Giroux and his agent, Pat Brisson, Perron's contract is an easy jump-off point, and Giroux's statistics (15 goals, 50 points) suggest he could still be some kind of factor at 37. Giroux told the media he still thinks he could be an impact player. But is it a risk worth taking for Staios?
We touched on a few other pending UFAs in our Saturday player postmortem piece, but one player we didn't spend much time on was backup goalie Anton Forsberg. Netminder and fellow Swede Linus Ullmark commended Forsberg for being a big help to him in his first season with the Senators, helping him get acclimated to a new city.
'Whenever there were any sort of questions from me or my wife or whatever it may be,' Ullmark said, 'if it was a play date here or there (with our kids), they were in the same shoes as us. Being a goaltending family, it's a little bit different. So, I have a lot of gratitude towards them, lots of love, as well. They really helped us to thrive in Ottawa quicker than I ever could have imagined.'
But Leevi Merilainen's emergence could spell the end for Forsberg. You may remember the rookie saving the Sens' season when Ullmark was injured — speaking of young players taking a step.
'Anton Forsberg is a great pro and a great teammate,' Staios said. 'We'll look at our goaltending depth. Leevi's come up and played well. But when you have a player like Anton, (he has) the commitment in being in that role as the backup and one of the hardest-working guys on our team. … So we'll take a long look at it and we'll see what the possibilities are.'
The Sens have two restricted free agents in Zetterlund and Tyler Kleven. Zetterlund is arbitration-eligible, according to PuckPedia.
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The Sens signed Nikolas Matinpalo to a two-year contract extension Monday, which takes one restricted free agent off Staios' plate.
Most eyes will fall on Zetterlund, who joined the Sens via trade from San Jose after contract talks broke down between him and the Sharks. Nothing is imminent on a deal just yet, but he's due for some kind of raise. But the backdrop of contract discussions with his previous employer makes his case the most intriguing.
Despite only two regular-season goals with 5 points in 20 games with Ottawa, he finished his regular season with 19 goals and 41 points with two teams. Staios sees him as part of their future. Zetterlund is open to remaining in Ottawa beyond this season.
'We think he's a good fit for our group,' Staios said. 'And like many of our players, we feel like there's room for improvement.'
We'll know in time how much money, and term, the Sens will be willing to commit to the 25-year-old winger.
(Top photo of the Ottawa Senators: André Ringuette / NHLI via Getty Images)