Ottawa Senators goaltender Linus Ullmark (35) makes a glove save during third period NHL pre-season hockey action against the Montreal Canadiens on Oct. 1 in Montreal.Ryan Remiorz/The Canadian Press
It was the oddest scrum question of the preseason.
“Do you think it’s time to panic?” a journalist asked new Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube after the Leafs opened the preseason with two close losses.
“It’s preseason,” Berube answered dismissively.
True enough, but this is Canada, where, for a full generation, panic has become part of the genetic code among hockey fans. Montreal fans felt a twinge of it when new high-scoring forward Patrik Laine had his left knee snapped in a preseason hit by a member of the Leafs.
And in Ottawa, the most panic-sensitive fans in the league felt their collective hearts leap into their throats while watching Kraft Hockeyville’s Sunday match, the Senators falling 5-2 to the Pittsburgh Penguins in Sudbury. (Elliot Lake won the Hockeyville honours, but the exhibition game had been moved to a much larger arena.)
Brady Tkachuk, captain, star forward and, for the past several seasons, heart-and-soul of the Ottawa team, seemed to tweak his shoulder when being checked. He quickly left for the dressing room with training staff, the loud “NOOOOO!!” audible from Ottawa, nearly 500 kilometres down Highway 17.
Tkachuk was soon back on the bench and taking a shift, though visibly discomforted.
The Senators have not made the playoffs for seven years. While each Ottawa season is different, there seems a pattern: high hopes in preseason, hopes holding in the early going, then hope collapsing through a late-fall collapse from which the team is unable to recover.
Fire the coach! Get a goalie! Bring in new ownership! …
Pittsburgh Penguins left wing Bokondji Imama (14) chases down Ottawa Senators centre Tim Stutzle (18) during third period NHL preseason hockey action in Sudbury, Ont., on Sept. 29.Gino Donato/The Canadian Press
A year ago, fans did get new ownership in a group headed by Michael Andlauer, a southern Ontario businessman who made his fortune in transportation and health care. After years of frustration with the unpredictable Eugene Melnyk, who died in 2022, fans felt they had a chance for a new beginning under new ownership. There was talk of new management, new players, even a new rink that would one day be built downtown rather than remain in the nearly 30-year-old Canadian Tire Centre out in suburban Kanata.
Andlauer did indeed clean house. He brought in Steve Staios as general manager and Dave Poulin as senior vice-president of hockey operations. The Senators hired a new coach in Travis Green. Green brought in new assistants Mike Yeo and Nolan Baumgartner. They kept long-time captain Daniel Alfredsson, who had briefly served as an assistant as last year wound down to its familiar sorry end. They made Jacques Martin, the team’s most successful coach in the past, a senior adviser to the coaching staff.
On the ice, the No. 1 priority was to find a solid NHL goaltender. They struck a deal with the Boston Bruins to acquire Linus Ullmark for two players, goaltender Joonas Korpisalo and forward Mark Kastelic, a low first-round draft pick and a commitment to retain 25 per cent of the salary of Korpisalo.
Two seasons ago, Ullmark won the Vézina Trophy as the league’s top goalie. He recorded a 40-6-1 record with a .938 save percentage and a goals-against average of 1.89. The Bruins chose to stick with Ullmark’s goaltending partner Jeremy Swayman. Ullmark, 30, is in the final year of a four-year US$20-million contract, meaning he could command top dollars next year should he work out.
“Ullmark will bring back consistency last known with Craig Anderson,” said Shawn Simpson, an Ottawa podcaster and former professional goalie. “Sens have every right to get excited.”
Ottawa Senators forward Carter Yakemchuk (58) scores the winning goal in overtime past Toronto Maple Leafs goalie Matt Murray at Scotiabank Arena on Sept. 22.Dan Hamilton/Reuters
Ullmark did not play the first two preseason games while nursing an injury – “IS IT TIME TO PANIC?” – but did play superbly when he was finally cleared to play.
The Battle of Ontario marked the opening of the 2024-25 preseason, with Ottawa winning both games against the much-disliked Leafs. The highlight of the first match was an end-to-end rush for an overtime goal by newcomer Carter Yakemchuk, who turned 19 last week.
Large, 6-foot-4, 200-plus pounds, Yakemchuk, from Fort McMurray, is not only a mobile defenceman but a right-hand shot – considered the Golden Fleece by today’s NHL scouts. It had been presumed he would be returned to his junior team in Calgary.
“On this day,” the Coming In Hot podcast announced on his Sept. 29 birthday, “a future @Senators king was born.”
Another young defenceman, 22-year-old Jake Sanderson, continues to be a standout for the oft-criticized Senators defensive core. Known as The Hulk to his teammates, Sanderson is a fluid, fast skater who shows smart positional play and can quarterback the power play.
“He does everything well,” Green told reporters this week.
Sanderson says it’s his “maturity level – I’m getting older, getting strong and heavier.”
Also getting older and stronger is Tim Stützle, now 22 and a force on a preseason line with Tkachuk and 36-year-old veteran Claude Giroux. Forward Josh Norris is also a possibility for the top line and power play.
Ottawa Senators head coach Travis Green talks to his players during training camp in Ottawa on Sept. 19.Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press
All this has fans recalling the glory days from early this century when the Senators reached the Stanley Cup final in 2007 and featured The Pizza Line of Alfredsson, Jason Spezza and Dany Heatley.
As fifth-year forward Shane Pinto said last week, “I think there is a different level of confidence coming into camp this year.”
A different level of confidence, yes.
But the same level of potential panic – at least until Christmas …