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All hands are on deck for the Ottawa Senators.
The long off-season isn’t officially over, but the end is in sight as the Senators prepare to kick off training camp on Sept. 18 at the Canadian Tire Centre. The activity ramps up with the club’s annual charity golf tournament set for Monday at Loch March.
The rookies will gather for a skate here next Thursday before boarding the bus for Buffalo in the afternoon to take part in a weekend tournament with prospects from the Sabres, Pittsburgh Penguins and Montreal Canadiens.
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Captain Brady Tkachuk along with alternate captain Thomas Chabot and centre Josh Norris have been skating here for about a month, along with alternate captain Claude Giroux — who makes his home in the Ottawa area — and goaltender Anton Forsberg has been here the whole off-season.
Winger Drake Batherson arrived from Halifax on the weekend along with centre Shane Pinto. Veteran forward David Perron, signed as an unrestricted free agent on July 1 from Detroit, brought his family to town and was taking the kids to their new school Tuesday morning.
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Goaltender Linus Ullmark, acquired from the Boston Bruins in a blockbuster trade in June, has purchased a home in Ottawa and posted a picture outside the local Ikea last week on Instagram. Presumably, he was picking up some furniture, but you also have to love his sense of humour.
The pace of those informal skates being held in Kanata will be stepped up a notch this week. If centre Tim Stutzle hasn’t arrived in Ottawa yet, he’s on his way. Newly signed centre Nick Cousins told Postmedia on Friday he’d be in town later this week.
The club will kick off 2024-25 campaign Wednesday with an event to show off the upgrades made to the rink in the off-season, which includes a new state-of-the-art gym, upgraded medical facilities along with new offices for head coach Travis Green and his staff.
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Steve Staios, the club’s president of hockey operations and general manager, has made plenty of changes during the off-season, but now it’s up to Green to get this group headed in the right direction.
Green along with assistants Mike Yeo, Daniel Alfredsson, Nolan Baumgartner, Ben Sexton and video coach Mike King, are all in town now getting ready for camp. The first on-ice session is set for Sept. 19.
“We’ve been at it for a little while now we’re getting ready for Day 1,” Green said at a season-ticket holder event last Thursday.
After spending parts of four seasons behind the bench of the Vancouver Canucks, Green, who is in his second stint as a head coach, knows that he’ll be under the microscope in Ottawa.
“Whenever you’re coaching or playing in Canada, the passion for the local team, no matter which team you’re on, there’s a burning desire for the team to win,” Green said. “A lot of people are looking to see where the team is at this year.
“Ultimately, that’s what you want, you want fans that are dying for their team to win or are passionate for their team to win. We have that in Ottawa and I think that’s what everybody is looking forward to.”
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Usually, a coach is better on their second turn and people here are hopeful that will be the case for Green.
The Senators have missed the playoffs for eight straight years and the players feel the pain that has been experienced by their faithful. They’ve had enough of going home early every spring.
Green has spoken with or met face-to-face with every player since he was hired by the Senators in late-May. The message they’ve given him has been simple: It’s time to push for a playoff spot.
“The hunger of the group, the willingness to be honest of where and how they need to improve, in each player is different,” Green said. “They all have different areas where they need to improve at. A big part of our team getting better is our young players becoming better players with age.”
Ullmark has the chance to be the biggest difference-maker.
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“Coaches like goalies that stop a lot of pucks,” Green said with a smile. “And he’s done that. He’s a big guy. You talk about being in a better place mentally as he’s aged. When I talked to Linus, I was impressed with his maturity level as a person but also as a player and what he’s learned over the years.
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“I think he’s going to bring a lot of valuable experience not just on the ice and in the net with how he plays, but also he’s coming from a winning organization and understands the commitment level, not just in games but in practice.
“That’s part of our group as well: Coming to the rink every day and being committed to getting better with a win the day mentality.”
The club confirmed Tuesday it will hold an intra-squad game on Saturday, Sept. 21, at the Slush Puppie Center in Gatineau. The day will get under way with a red-carpet entrance by the players beginning at 8 a.m. and this is all part of owner Michael Andlauer trying to make this team more regional.
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