There’s no question that the Ottawa Senators have one of the most exciting young cores in the NHL. Brady Tkachuk and Tim Stutzle give the team a dangerous one-two punch up front, while blue liner Jake Sanderson is on track to becoming one of the NHL’s best two-way defensemen. Along with Shane Pinto, Ridly Greig, Thomas Chabot, and a healthy Josh Norris, few teams have as much NHL-ready talent coming out of a lengthy rebuild.
The problem is that, despite the Senators’ plethora of up-and-coming stars, the rest of the team has failed to rise to the occasion, bringing the whole ship down. Goaltending and defensive depth have been abysmal over the past few seasons, and although there have been a few bright spots among the bottom-six forwards, for the most part, they’ve struggled to contribute anything meaningful. However, the 2024-25 season will bring a very different group of depth and role players to Ottawa, many of whom could be invaluable in the team’s push for a playoff spot. Here are three underrated Senators who could have a much bigger impact this season than the stat sheets show.
David Perron
When David Perron’s two-year, $8 million deal was announced, fans saw him as a player who could provide some secondary scoring while also bringing much-needed leadership and experience. His 2023-24 stats back up that claim; last season, the 36-year-old scored 17 goals and 47 points with the Detroit Red Wings, and although he ranked seventh on the team in points, it was his lowest total since 2016-17. He is widely considered one of the slower players in the NHL, and along with his health struggles — he’s only played two full seasons in the past seven years — he’s unlikely to be one of the Senators’ key players this season.
But there’s more than meets the eye with Perron, and what made him a valued member of the Red Wings for the past two seasons was his ability to play smart, competitive hockey and to do so consistently. He’s been a 60-point player for much of his career despite playing on six different teams, earning him the nickname “Mr. Consistency,” as well as “Mr. Overtime” for his ability to score when it really counts. Projected to start the season alongside Norris and Batherson on the second line, Perron should have an easy time returning to the 25-goal, 60-point mark in his first season with Ottawa.
Another aspect that makes Perron more valuable than just putting up points consistently is his aggressive style. In Detroit, the problem was they didn’t have anyone else who matched his aggression; his 55 penalty minutes were second on the team last season. That resulted in him becoming somewhat of an enforcer, which led to the unfortunate incident between him and Artem Zub. Now in Ottawa, he won’t have to play that role anymore, as Zack MacEwen is slated to take over most of the team’s pugilistic duties, but he’ll still bring an edge that will mesh well with Tkachuk and Greig, giving the Senators another tough customer that will make nearly every line as frustrating as the next.
Angus Crookshank
Competition will be tight for the fourth line this season. Noah Gregor and MacEwen have one-way deals, leaving just one spot up for grabs that could go to several prospects. Jan Jenik and Adam Gaudette have experience, Xavier Bourgault and Jamieson Rees have the potential to be a top producer, and Zack Ostapchuk likely has the best fit for the team right now. But one player who might have the best angle for that spot is Angus Crookshank.
After three seasons in the minors, Crookshank finally made his NHL debut last season, playing 13 games and scoring two goals and three points. Injuries limited his development, but when he finally could play a full season, he wasted no time getting down to business, putting up back-to-back 24-plus goal and 46-plus point campaigns. In 2023-24, he was named to the American Hockey League (AHL) All-Star game.
Related: Ottawa Senators 2024-25 Prospect Pyramid
But what he did during his NHL stint gives him a leg up on his competition. Despite being the smallest player on the roster, he refused to shy away from anything. In 13 games, he threw 20 hits, including four in his first game. Spread over a full 82-game season, that works out to 126 hits, which would have tied him with Mark Kastelic for fifth place last season. He also recorded eight blocked shots, which averages out to 50 over a full season. Only Parker Kelly had more blocks among Ottawa’s forwards in 2023-24, with 67. With Kastelic and Kelly gone, Crookshank could be called on to take over their jobs on the fourth line while also bringing a higher level of offence, something the Senators desperately lacked in previous years.
Drake Batherson
It’s hard to think of Batherson as underrated, as some consider him part of the Senators’ core. He’s had back-to-back 20-goal, 60-point seasons and was named to the NHL All-Star game in 2021-22. But he’s also not on the same level as Stutzle, Tkachuk, Chabot, Sanderson, and even Norris, whose absence proved how crucial he was to the top six. Batherson has fallen into a second tier in Ottawa where he’s viewed as important, but replaceable. Ahead of the 2024 Trade Deadline, Ian Mendes believed that there’s at least a conversation to be had, writing, “…if Staios and company are looking to shake up the core with a hockey trade, it stands to reason Batherson could be on the list of tradable assets that could fetch a good return” (from “Senators trade tiers: Who stays and who goes ahead of the deadline?,” The Athletic – 26/02/2024).
There are certainly concerns around consistency that keep Batherson out of the untouchable range, but last season showcased his two-way value. He was just one of 23 players to score more than 20 goals and record more than 90 hits, 30 blocks, and 40 takeaways. Of that list, 14 received award considerations with Batherson sitting second in scoring among those who didn’t. The only player above him? Travis Konecny, whose future looked uncertain leading up to the draft and was even briefly connected to the Senators before he signed an eight-year, $8.75 million per season extension with the Philadelphia Flyers.
There’s no question the Senators were intrigued with Konecny’s blend of physicality and offensive skills, but the Senators might have that kind of player with Batherson. The Flyers’ centre scored 33 goals, five more than his Senators’ counterpart, but had just two more points, one fewer block, and eight fewer hits. Batherson also had fewer penalty minutes, a better shooting percentage, and is a year younger. He also put up a 2.51 on-ice expected goals against per 60 minutes, which was the fifth-best total on the team. Konecny, on the other hand, had nearly a full goal more per 60 minutes, sitting at a 3.41, one of the worst for the Flyers. So, while Konecny excels at the offensive side of the game, Batherson is more effective in nearly every other aspect. That’s a pretty good case for being one of the Senators’ most underrated players.
The Senators will be in tough to make the playoffs this season; the Atlantic Division remains incredibly competitive at the top and the Red Wings, Montreal Canadiens, and Buffalo Sabres have made improvements to their rosters, making the fight for a wild-card spot that much tougher. But the Senators core continues to take steps forward, and with Perron, Batherson, and Crookshank able to contribute in multiple ways on and off the ice, they have as good of a chance as any to finally break their playoff drought.
