The Ottawa Senators believe they will be a much better team next season.
But they are not going to add “expectations” to the list of burdens they have to overcome.
After his first season as captain, Brady Tkachuk said the senators would eliminate “outside noise” when it comes to playoff talks and opinions on where the team should be in its development.
“To be honest with you, we will not really listen to outside pressure on our group,” Tkachuk said. “We will just focus on day after day, every game is important. All these points are valuable. You see, it takes a high 90 (in points) to get to the playoffs, so you can’t focus on the numbers, you have to focus on every day.
“I think we are ready for anything that is facing us now.
Sens finished their season just like last year – with a final boom. Ottawa have won five of their last six games, but still missed the playoffs by one mile in the country.
Head coach DJ Smith called it the longest year of his coaching career because of the many injuries, problems with COVID-19, schedule changes and added travel.
However, he said the challenges helped staff learn about the players, while the players learned what they could and could not do.
Smith said the common theme for Saturday’s interviews was that the group was hungry for success.
“They want more – more for themselves,” Smith said. “They want to be part of (the playoffs) action.”
Talks are cheap, of course, but when there are no matches left on the calendar for a team that is not in the playoffs, talking is all there is.
Smith, appointed assistant coach of the Canadian team at the upcoming IIHF World Cup in Finland, is heading home to Windsor for a few days and will then return here on Wednesday to meet with Canadian head coach Claude. Julien in preparation for the tournament.
After three lost seasons as Ottawa’s head coach, Smith admitted that he was looking for a “chance to win something”.
Victory is also on the senators’ menu in 2022-23, although Smith warned that he will have to see what his list looks like after the summer (for you, GM Pierre Dorion, who spoke on Sunday).
Smith believes the main parts are in place, including Tkachuk, Josh Norris, Tim Stutzl, Thomas Shabot and Drake Butterson.
“They need boys to support them,” Smith said.
Tkachuk believes the will is there.
“Internally, we will push each other, we will push ourselves to be as great as possible,” said Tkachuk, whom Smith called a “father figure” for the entire team. Quite a 22-year-old title, but Tkachuk has certainly established himself as a leader. Part of that growth was learning to keep your emotions in check, he said.
Tkachuk Butterson’s teammate said he believed the team was ready to push for a place in the playoffs.
“We have shown that we can beat high-class teams,” Butterson said. “We just need to be more consistent.”
Alternate Captain Shabo agreed it was time to compete.
“As players, I think it’s time to start winning and take this team to a whole different level,” said Shabot. “I think everyone in our division who enters the playoffs has over 100 points, so it’s a long way, but I think it’s a place we can get to.”
A contract is needed for Norris
Josh Norris, Ottawa’s 35-goal leader, says he is not focusing on setting goals for his statistics.
“I think it kind of gets in the way of the way you’re trying to go – it keeps you out of the moment,” Norris said.
Having said that, he added that scoring 35 goals this season is a “nice cornerstone”.
With teammate Brady Tkachuk scoring 30 goals, the two became the top 30+ goal scorers as teammates after Milan Mihalek (35) and Jason Speza (34) in 2011-12.
Although Norris may not have scored, the goals he has scored have given him a good contract this summer as an RFA.
“I hope we get it done pretty quickly,” Norris said. “And I really don’t want to feel dizzy all summer, so we’ll see what happens. But I like it here. I love the city. I think we have a great crew and I want to be here for a long time. “
Norris will bet on Tkachuk and his contract experience from last summer.
“He’s one of my best friends.… I’m sure there will be days when I need a little advice or just a word that will work.”
Tkachuk can advise Norris
Tkachuk promised Norris an “exciting” summer to make a deal.
“Honestly, he did everything he could to leave him there and prove himself, to prove how good a player he is,” Tkachuk told Norris. “I was lucky to play with him all year and see the progress and it was great.
“I know to some extent how emotions work with him and yes, I will do my best to be with him. Sometimes it will look like a long summer – a few difficult days will come… but it’s an exciting process, just enjoy it. “
Stutzle, pumped for worlds
Several senators will join DJ Smith at the World Hockey Championship, including three players who spoke on Saturday morning – Drake Butterson and Thomas Chabot for Canada and Tim Stutzle for Germany.
“It will be fun to see all these guys at the World Cup and we will have dinner together,” said Stutzle.
Interestingly, Stutzle and Smith admitted that the 20-year-old was offered the opportunity to play center directly from training camp, but chose to learn more about the position of the left wing. The possible transfer of Stutzle to the center, due to injuries in the team, proved to be the trigger for his development in an elite perspective of the position.
Smith believes that Stutzle could be a huge star in the league.
“Everything we asked him to do – he got better,” Smith said.
One of the areas Stützle plans to work on: stay on your feet.
Pinto close to 100 percent
Center Shane Pinto, who missed most of the season due to a shoulder injury requiring surgery, says he could probably play this spring if the senators qualify for the postseason.
“We’re just running out of time,” Pinto said. The rookie said he is now about five months old, which is roughly the amount of time he will need a doctor.
“I feel good.” I’ve been working on skating for the last few months (with one contact workout), but now I’m just going to reset. Spend some time with my family and then start training again in June… I’ll come here a little earlier just to get things going faster. ”
As usual, the injuries were a big part of the day’s garbage bag conversations.
Tkachuk said he has two very sore arms, plus back and knee pain – diseases that will protect him from the US tournament. Connor Brown missed the last part of the season with a broken wrist.
Meanwhile, the acquisition deadline for trading Mathieu Joseph, who also missed the final games, revealed that he is dealing with a chest injury.
“It’s kind of like the SC (sternoclavicular) joint, near the sternum and the cartilage on my first rib bothers me, there’s a small fracture inside, so I couldn’t go for the last few weeks of the season,” Joseph said.
On the bright side, Joseph said he had a wonderful experience visiting the White House with his former Tampa Bay teammates last week. Joseph can’t wait to play all season in Ottawa and feels he can be a useful player up and down in the squad, if necessary, on penalties.
Matt Murray is still dealing with concussions
Goalkeeper Matt Murray has not played a game since March 5 and is still dealing with prolonged concussion symptoms.
Murray said he was “pushing hard” to get into some games late in the schedule, but had to shut things down recently as symptoms reappeared. He hopes that a little more rest can lead to his return to the ice. The veteran dryly noted that he reluctantly became very familiar with the problems of the earthquake after suffering one in 2016, which led him to consult with some of the best earthquake experts in the United States.
The most common advice from others who have been through this – take everything else you need. Some cases take longer than others.
The focus, he added, is on staying positive and he hopes to be able to resume training this summer after overcoming the last few obstacles to full health.
Fans and the media can speculate on Murray’s future in Ottawa and whether the team can use the buyout option or not, but Murray certainly speaks as if he will be part of the picture in the fall.
Four of Murray’s five wins this season came in January, and he believes he can return to that level and form a strong tandem with Anton Forsberg next season.
“When I was there, I thought I played well all season,” Murray said. “It’s just about being healthy.”
Murray said he has seen a lot of progress in the team’s game in the second half of the season and believes the future is bright.
“I think you’re starting to see progress, even since I’ve been here,” Murray said. “The boys are maturing both on and off the ice.
After winning two Stanley Cups with the Pittsburgh Penguins, Murray knows what the team needs after the season.
“It’s attention to detail, especially in playoff hockey, the very fine details are what determine whether you win or lose matches. It’s so different, it’s tighter, there’s a much smaller margin of error.
“The fact that we saw a lot more attention to detail in the second half …
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