OTTAWA — The Montreal Canadiens are 10 points up on the Ottawa Senators in the standings — and their rebuild feels about 10 times more exciting, too.
Senators fans’ disdain for Montreal and Toronto are closely matched, but when one is on your same journey and begins to beat you, it hurts just a little bit more.
Four years ago, the Senators and Canadiens were mired in rebuilds, buried at the bottom of the standings. Since then, Montreal has risen up from laughingstock status.
The Senators, meanwhile, hopes to at least get one chuckle after a disappointing and dramatic start to their season when they host the Habs Saturday on Hockey Day In Canada (Sportsnet, Sportsnet+, 7 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. PT).
Their rivalry is just getting started. During the pre-season, Senators forward Nick Cousins slashed Canadiens rookie Ivan Demidov, leading to a fight.
“Nobody likes dirty tricks,” Canadiens defenceman Arber Xhekaj said.
In their most recent matchup, Brady Tkachuk taunted the Montreal crowd after scoring the game-sealing goal.
“Always tight games and with a lot of emotion,” Senators defenceman Thomas Chabot said about the rivalry. “Those are the games you circle on the calendar.”
Pure cinema every time these two foes meet.
Yet the difference between the two has been clear: the Canadiens are younger and more offensively inclined, featuring highly skilled players and a plethora of prospects and draft capital.
So what do the Senators have going for them?
Well, Tkachuk for one. If the Canadiens had drafted him over Jesperi Kotkaniemi back in 2018, the fiery forward might already have a statue in Montreal.
Meanwhile, Tim Stutzle could be as good as any forward in the fearsome rivalry.
Then there’s Jake Sanderson, who will be compared to Lane Hutson until global warming gets us all. There is no question Sanderson is the better defensive defenceman. It ain’t close.
Plus, the Senators have a slew of effective centres from Stutzle to Dylan Cozens, Shane Pinto and Ridly Greig — all of whom are signed through 2029.
We won’t discount the centre Oliver Kapanen has become in Montreal. Nevertheless, the Senators are a bigger team. The Habs’ stars — including Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield, Demidov and Hutson — are all under six-feet tall. None of the Senators’ stars are below six-foot-one.
The issue the Senators face compared with Montreal is twofold: lack of assets and lack of big-market spending power.
The Senators’ most recent two first-round picks are struggling, and the team doesn’t own a first-rounder in 2026. Meanwhile, Demidov, who was picked two spots ahead of Carter Yakemchuk, looks to be a superstar.
At the same time, Canadiens prospects such as Jacob Fowler and Michael Hage could be difference-makers soon. Yakemchuk and Logan Hensler’s progress are less assured.
Right now, the Canadiens are ahead of the Senators in their rebuild. Yet hockey is fickle, and timelines are unknowable. Just look at the last two Presidents’ Trophy winners, who have each spent time at the bottom of their conferences this season.
Montreal’s edge might even be moot if the Senators didn’t have awful goaltending.
If the Senators had the Habs’ goaltending — which is hardly anything to boast about at an .883 team save percentage — the teams could conceivably have swapped spots in the standings.
Ottawa’s Saturday meeting with playoff-destined Montreal on Hockey Day in Canada is more than just a battle of adversaries. For the Senators, it’s an attempt to reclaim some ground in the race to rebuild.
Adams’ apples
Ullmark back with team
We are never able to walk in another man’s shoes, but we’d imagine it’s been quite a month for Ullmark, from taking a leave of absence shortly after Christmas to rumours swirling about his personal life that led to the Senators’ angry denial. Nevertheless, Ullmark was back with the team, skating at practice on Friday.
“It’s great. It’s a big step in the right direction,” Chabot said.
“Obviously, when you have Linus out with the talent that he is and how good he is as a player, you’re obviously going to miss him in net.”
There is no timeline for his return, but it likely won’t be too long until we see Ullmark don a Senators jersey in game action once again.
Who knows what level of Ullmark will be present when he plays again after a month-long hiatus? Maybe time away has helped clear his mind.
Meanwhile, the Senators signed James Reimer to a one-year contract, but he has yet to play in the NHL this season.
“He could get into action soon,” Green said.
You’d expect Reimer to get a chance to play this weekend in Ottawa’s back-to-back with Montreal and Detroit, though he did not play in either end of a back-to-back earlier this week.
It was Leevi Merilainen who got the crease for the rare feat of nine straight games.
“I can’t play every game, every night, even though I want to,” Merilainen said.
Merilainen has produced a sub-standard .868 save percentage and a minus-14.6 goals saved above expected this season, the latter of which ranks third-worst in the league behind only Ullmark and Canadian Olympian Jordan Binnington.
Nothing is clearer than the Senators’ No. 1 issue: goaltending.
But goaltending is voodoo in the NHL. Just look at Brandon Bussi, who was waived in October by the Panthers. Bussi was snagged by the Carolina Hurricanes and has gone on a 16-3-1 run in his first 20 starts.
Merilainen says he hasn’t been told what the plans are for the goalies when Ullmark gets back into the lineup. With Merilainen still waiver-exempt, the Senators can send him down to Belleville if he needs game time.
The right move for the Senators would be to hold on to Ullmark, Merilainen and Reimer and see who gets hot. The Senators only need one to excel.
from Sportsnet.ca
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