
Ottawa Senators confident of continued improvement next season
Article content
Though the Senators were eliminated from the National Hockey League playoffs by the Toronto Maple Leafs in Game 6 of the first-round series on May 1, the faithful cheered their heroes off the ice after experiencing the big dance for the first time since 2017.
Article content
Article content
Article content
Fans were excited because they knew there were better days ahead, and, as fans returned to Canadian Tire Centre on Tuesday night for the second Season Ticket Holders spring members summit, the organization remained confident that would be the case.
Article content
Article content
'We're just getting started,' Dave Poulin, the Senators' senior vice-president of hockey operations, told the fans. 'This has been fun to grow with you.'
Article content
This is a busy time of year for Steve Staios, the president of hockey operations and general manager, and the rest of the staff. With NHL free agency set to start July 1, the off-season is going to continue to ramp up after the club held its amateur and pro scouting meetings in the past three weeks.
Article content
Poulin noted the Senators had heavy lifting to do before the NHL draft on June 28-29. He said the organization was studying the free-agent market and was also trying to determine which players on the current roster they wanted to keep.
Article content
The Senators are in negotiations with forwards Claude Giroux, Nick Cousins and Adam Gaudette and goaltender Anton Forsberg. It's anybody's guess if any of those players will return, but Forsberg and Gaudette are doubtful.
Article content
There will be make changes, but Poulin said the growth would have to come from the core. A lot of that will be about consistency from the likes of Brady Tkachuk, Tim Stutzle, Drake Batherson, Dylan Cozens, Shane Pinto, Jake Sanderson, Thomas Chabot and Ridly Greig.
Article content
'We talked about the group learning in the playoffs and playing in the playoffs for the first time,' Poulin said. 'We have to carry that experience into the next year, and we have to increase our consistency, and we have to take our bandwidth to a higher level.
Article content
'When I talked about hockey players, when I was a coach, when I was a manager, as a player, they have a bandwidth, and we want them in that bandwidth, but we want them in the top end of that band, and you'll see some players that have huge highs, then huge lows, then huge highs, then huge lows, and as a group we have to get used to playing here on a more consistent basis that will eliminate the lows, increase the highs overall as a team, become more consistent.'
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


National Post
9 hours ago
- National Post
Zayne Parekh out for remainder of World Junior Summer Showcase
Zayne Parekh won't be participating in the rest of the World Junior Summer Showcase. Article content The Calgary Flames ' prized prospect will skip the rest of Team Canada's mid-summer camp for precautionary reasons related to a lower-body injury. Article content Article content The Flames announced Tuesday afternoon that he'd already returned to Calgary to follow up with the team's medical staff but is expected to be a full participant at training camp when it starts in September. Article content 'It'd be awesome, hopefully I'm playing in Calgary around that time,' Parekh told TSN on Monday when asked about playing for Canada in the IIHF World Junior Championships in December. 'I guess my future is a little up in the air right now, but my goal is to play in Calgary for the whole year. Article content 'As weird as it sounds, best case scenario is I might not be playing in the tournament if I'm fortunate enough to be selected, but any time you can wear that Maple Leaf, it's an honour.' Article content Parekh, selected ninth overall in the 2024 NHL Draft, is widely expected to be with the Flames and playing NHL minutes next season. He's too young to play for the Wranglers in the AHL and after leading the CHL in defensive scoring last season, there's little good that can be done for his development if he were to return to the OHL for another year with the Saginaw Spirit. Article content


Calgary Herald
9 hours ago
- Calgary Herald
Zayne Parekh out for remainder of World Junior Summer Showcase
Article content Zayne Parekh won't be participating in the rest of the World Junior Summer Showcase. Article content The Calgary Flames ' prized prospect will skip the rest of Team Canada's mid-summer camp for precautionary reasons related to a lower-body injury. Article content Article content The Flames announced Tuesday afternoon that he'd already returned to Calgary to follow up with the team's medical staff but is expected to be a full participant at training camp when it starts in September. Article content Article content 'It'd be awesome, hopefully I'm playing in Calgary around that time,' Parekh told TSN on Monday when asked about playing for Canada in the IIHF World Junior Championships in December. 'I guess my future is a little up in the air right now, but my goal is to play in Calgary for the whole year. Article content Article content 'As weird as it sounds, best case scenario is I might not be playing in the tournament if I'm fortunate enough to be selected, but any time you can wear that Maple Leaf, it's an honour.' Article content Parekh, selected ninth overall in the 2024 NHL Draft, is widely expected to be with the Flames and playing NHL minutes next season. He's too young to play for the Wranglers in the AHL and after leading the CHL in defensive scoring last season, there's little good that can be done for his development if he were to return to the OHL for another year with the Saginaw Spirit. Article content


Edmonton Journal
9 hours ago
- Edmonton Journal
Zayne Parekh out for remainder of World Junior Summer Showcase
Article content Zayne Parekh won't be participating in the rest of the World Junior Summer Showcase. Article content The Calgary Flames ' prized prospect will skip the rest of Team Canada's mid-summer camp for precautionary reasons related to a lower-body injury. Article content Article content The Flames announced Tuesday afternoon that he'd already returned to Calgary to follow up with the team's medical staff but is expected to be a full participant at training camp when it starts in September. Article content 'It'd be awesome, hopefully I'm playing in Calgary around that time,' Parekh told TSN on Monday when asked about playing for Canada in the IIHF World Junior Championships in December. 'I guess my future is a little up in the air right now, but my goal is to play in Calgary for the whole year. Article content Article content 'As weird as it sounds, best case scenario is I might not be playing in the tournament if I'm fortunate enough to be selected, but any time you can wear that Maple Leaf, it's an honour.' Parekh, selected ninth overall in the 2024 NHL Draft, is widely expected to be with the Flames and playing NHL minutes next season. He's too young to play for the Wranglers in the AHL and after leading the CHL in defensive scoring last season, there's little good that can be done for his development if he were to return to the OHL for another year with the Saginaw Spirit. Article content