The Devils’ example offers hope
Sometimes, inspiration and motivation can come from the craziest places.
Maybe, just maybe, with September and the start of a new hockey season just around the corner, the Ottawa Senators can look toward that hockey hotbed of New Jersey for some sense of hope. It’s a tremendous reach but, in a dream scenario for Senators fans, an influx of youthful talent including the likes of Brady Tkachuk, Colin White, Thomas Chabot, Logan Brown and Drake Batherson can provide the type of optimism that Nico Hischier, Jesper Bratt, Will Butcher, Miles Wood and Pavel Zacha have given Devils faithful.
Back to the Senators’ future in a moment. First, here’s a refresher on the Devils. New Jersey went from 28-40-14 in 2016-17, dead last in the National Hockey League’s Eastern Conference, to 44-29-9 last season and a playoff spot, even though the Devils lost in the first round against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Suddenly, the Devils’ future looks bright. Hischier, who turns 20 in January, already has a 20-goal (and 52-point) season behind him. Bratt, who had 13 goals and 22 assists last season, turned 20 two weeks ago. Zacha, 21, and Wood, 22, have already played two full NHL seasons. Butcher, 23, left college last summer and immediately established himself as one of the league’s top rookie defencemen. Devils coach John Hynes gave them all the room to skate and they responded.
As the youngest team in the NHL, the Devils could have been dubbed The Kids and Taylor Hall, who provided leadership for the speedy youngsters en route to winning the Hart Trophy as the NHL’s most valuable player.
The whole situation was a handy reminder that turnarounds can happen quickly in today’s NHL. At this point, of course, the environment in Ottawa is far from perfect.
Veteran leaders Erik Karlsson, Mark Stone and Matt Duchene will enter training camp in states of limbo, only months away from unrestricted free agency.
In particular, the insecurity surrounding Karlsson and the likelihood of a trade could create a circus-like distraction, at least until an ownership change occurs and/or Senators management delivers a sense of direction. Accordingly, season-ticket sales have stalled. Nobody should be surprised to see Canadian Tire Centre half-empty on any night that the Toronto Maple Leafs aren’t in town.
All that said, recent weeks have been quiet for the Senators, if only because there has been a latesummer vacation from the seemingly endless negative vibrations that surrounded the organization for months.
After meeting with Mayor Jim Watson last week, Senators owner Eugene Melnyk managed to avoid inserting his foot into his mouth over the LeBreton Flats development project, unquestionably the most important factor for the franchise’s long-term stability. The current mood of cautious optimism about moving to a downtown arena has been a major upgrade from what had been a sea of red flags.
Then came Tkachuk’s decision to sign a pro contract.
Whether he’s ready to play in the NHL or not, Tkachuk represents a spark for a fan base anxious to have something to cheer about. We’re about to see the most spirited Senators training camp in years.
Typically, the primary goal for veterans is to avoid injury in September, recognizing that guaranteed NHL contracts pretty much secure them roster spots for the regular-season games that matter.
This time, though, it will really be true when the Senators’ general manager and coach say there are jobs to be won and lost in pre-season.
In only a few weeks, we will see just how Senators head coach Guy Boucher plans to switch gears in pushing the new wave of players into more prominent roles. Ultimately, their success — or lack of it — will define how long Boucher remains in his post.
Tkachuk, who turns 19 on Sept. 16, will be trying to become the first Senators draft pick to step directly into a permanent NHL role since Radek Bonk in 1994.
And what about Tkachuk’s close friends, Colin White and Logan Brown?
White, 21, appears poised to finally escape the Belleville to Ottawa to Belleville shuttle and become an NHL regular. We suspect that Boucher will revisit the Duchene-White connection that produced some chemistry late in the forgettable 2017-18 season.
Don’t rule out the 20-year-old Batherson or Alex Formenton, who turns 19 on Sept. 13. Both played pivotal roles for Canada’s world junior team last year.
Formenton, like Tkachuk, can be sent to London, of the Ontario Hockey League, if he doesn’t make the NHL roster, but his speed is a dimension that can’t be overlooked.
Devils fans know all about that.