Browsing: Tkachuks

OTTAWA — Tim Stutzle has been the Robin to Brady Tkachukâ€s Batman, but even without Tkachuk, Stutzle has shown he is every bit a force of nature.Â

“Heâ€s nasty,†said teammate Drake Batherson about Stutzle — meaning it in a good way, of course.

Stutzleâ€s talent has never been questioned. Heâ€s a dynamic, silky skater with unbelievable hands and a bit of an edge. But, at times, Stutzleâ€s play has felt like empty calories — lots of beautiful plays but lacking the production to match the finesse. The question became, Would Stutzle’s play wane or elevate without Tkachuk?

We appear to have the answer: Stutzle has 13 points in 10 games without Tkachuk while riding a five-game point streak.Â

The Germanâ€s goal against Montreal epitomized his toughness infused with skill.

Sometimes, young uber-talented star centres focus on points over wins. Not Stutzle. Heâ€s become an excellent all-around player, which is back up by the stats. According to Evolving Hockey, since the start of the 2024-25 season, Stutzle is fifth in the league in WAR (wins above replacement). The names in front of him are Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, David Pastrnak and Thomas Harley. One stat doesnâ€t tell the whole story, but that is a stratospheric list.Â

Something the greats in any sport need is belief-in-self while understanding the need to work on their shortcomings.

One Senator last season told Sportsnet.ca that Stutzle is one of the most confident players heâ€s ever played with.

“I know what I can bring to the table, and I just got to stay confident,†said Stutzle.

His adjustments this season include a new tape job. Stutzle used to have a thin layer of tape on the bottom of the stick blade. But following the advice of the GSOAT (Greatest Senator of All-Time) Daniel Alfredsson, Stutzleâ€s entire blade is now covered in a white band of tape.

Alfredsson believed the new tape would allow Stutzle to hold onto the puck rather than “fumbling it 10 times,†as Stutzle mentioned had happened before. It seems to have worked, Stutzle has seven points in 10 periods with the new setup.

If you ask Stutzle about Alfredsson, his face lights up. “Heâ€s awesome,†said Stutzle. The pair frequently pass the puck around to begin practice.

“Learning from the Hall of Famer, he always has some tricks on the ice, off the ice, and he’s just such a smart person,†said Stutzle. “So, it’s just really fun to hear his opinions. And he doesn’t always agree, which is great too.â€

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Stutzle has also elevated his game in the face-off dot. Before this season, he had never had more than a 47 per cent winning percentage in a season. This season has just started, granted, but he has skyrocketed to 60 per cent.Â

“Face-offs, just for example this year, he’s one of the best in the league, and he really put that commitment, time and effort into getting better,†Tkachuk said.Â

Plus, Stutzle knew and stated on multiple occasions that he needed to shoot more this season, after having a career low in shots per game last season. He now leads the team with 40 shots. Heâ€s been rewarded with six goals in 13 games, on pace for 37 goals. He had 24 last season.

The best players sacrifice themselves for the team. Stutzle shifted to the wing for three games last month, and in that time his centreman, Dylan Cozens, had two goals.Â

“He’s such a phenomenal player that said he can play anywhere, any position with anybody, and heâ€s a dominant player in that fashion,†Tkachuk said about Stutzle. Â

Stutzle never complained about playing left wing for the first time since he made the NHL.Â

“Doesn’t matter who’s playing centre, who’s playing wing,†he said.

Subsequently, Senators coach Travis Green slotted Stutzle back to centre and he thrived with Nick Cousins and Batherson on his wings. The trio have a 64 per cent expected goals share, the best of any Senators line this season thatâ€s played over 20 minutes at five-on-five.Â

Stutzle has made Cousins almost as effective as Tkachuk, which would have sounded like an absurd sentence earlier this season. Cousins has two goals in five games on the line.

But, more importantly, the kinship between Batherson and Stutzle has led to Ottawa going 4-2-2 since being united. The duo has combined for 26 points in eight games. Heater.Â

For years, the Senators have been trying to find the rightÂright winger for Stutzle. They’ve found him now. Batherson works off Stutzle tremendously well because he can keep up to his pace, provides elite playmaking and skill with a good scoring touch.

“I think he’s a hell of a player. I told you guys that many times,†said Stutzle about Batherson. “I think he’s one of the most underrated players, one of the best playmakers in the game, in my opinion.â€

The good problem for Green will be, when Tkachuk returns, is whether to overload the top line. Could we be seeing shades of the Pizza Line (Daniel Alfredsson-Jason Spezza-Dany Heatley)?

Thereâ€s no question Stutzle wants to be one of the best players in the world. The Senators have weathered the storm without their captain because theyâ€ve had “the guyâ€Âand need that to continue to make the playoffs in the ultra-competitive Eastern Conference.

Senators fans have affectionately nicknamed Stutzle “Timmy Superstar.â€

Heâ€s living up to it.

Bathersonâ€s blunder: We spoke glowingly about Batherson earlier, but hereâ€s some hard truths. We canâ€t dismiss the gaffe Batherson had against Montreal that led directly to Montrealâ€s overtime winner by Alex Newhook on Saturday.Â

After the game, Batherson declined to talk to the media. It was a similar blunder to when he lost Max Domi in transition in Game 2 of last yearâ€s playoff series against the Maple Leafs, leading to Domiâ€s overtime winner. Itâ€s funny how one mistake changes the discourse around a player. But there is no doubt Batherson has to become a more complete player.Â

Jordan Spence loses his spot: Five points in five games and the best expected goals per cent of any Senator defenceman wasnâ€t enough for Jordan Spence to keep his spot. But Green reinserted Nikolas Matinpalo with Tyler Kleven on Saturday. The two were caved in with a putrid eight per cent expected goals share against Montreal. However, on the season, Matinpalo and Kleven have done a good job in sheltered third-pairing minutes but have not been on the ice for a five-on-five goal for the Senators. Meanwhile, Nick Jensen and Thomas Chabotâ€s underlying numbers are all right, but the eye test suggests Jensen is a 35-year-old coming off major hip-surgery and both were also caved in late against Montreal, which led to Ivan Demidovâ€s late equalizing goal. Maybe it would be fruitful for Jensen to sit a game and let Green see how a new look backend would look.Â

Sandersonâ€s impact: While sifting through analytics, we found a fascinating statistic: Jake Sanderson ranks first among all skaters in the NHL in Wins Above Replacement, according to Evolving Hockey. The Senators have survived the absence of Tkachuk; we are not sure they would similarly survive a Sanderson injury.Â

–Some statistics from Evolving Hockey, Natural Stat Trick and Moneypuck.com.

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OTTAWA — Good teams survive the loss of their most important player.

The injury appears to have occurred on Monday when Predators captain Roman Josi slammed Tkachuk with a cross-check from behind, causing him to go awkwardly into the boards.

Tkachuk was irate, possibly a telling sign that he knew it was a significant injury right away. He continued playing but didnâ€t in the last nine minutes of the game.

According to Senators head coach Travis Green, Tkachuk will be out “a significant amount of time,†or, more specifically, a minimum of four weeks.

There is still no clarity as to whether Tkachuk broke his hand or wrist on the play, and whether he will need surgery. If surgery is required, recovery could be even longer.  Zach Hyman broke his wrist and dislocated it in May and wonâ€t return until November.

“At the end of the day, you canâ€t replace a player like that,†said Drake Batherson, who will make his own return from injury Wednesday against the Buffalo Sabres (7 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. PT on Sportsnet and Sportsnet+).

You can fill the Canadian Tire Centre with all the clichés about what makes a great captain, and theyâ€d all fit Tkachuk.

The Senators will miss his goal production. Tkachuk has led or been second in goals for the Senators each of the last four seasons, including leading the team last season with 29 goals in just 72 games.

Then thereâ€s the fighting, sheer toughness and the not-fun-to-play-against component he brings to every game.

And theyâ€ll miss his passionate commitment to win: Leadership.

Itâ€s a massive loss, but the Senators have experience to lean on from last season when Tkachuk went down after the 4 Nations Face-Off. The Senators went 5-4-1 from late February to early April, good enough to propel themselves into the playoffs. During that stretch, Tim Stutzle had multiple different linemates, including David Perron, Batherson and even longtime AHLer Angus Crookshank. The Senators, always a stout defensive team, became even more suffocating, with two shutouts while allowing 2.73 goals per game, significantly lower than their season average of 2.93. Defensive, low-event hockey kept the Senators in games.

Ottawa will need to replicate that and more this time around. Luckily for the Senators, the schedule for the next four weeks is light, with only four of their 15 games against teams that made the playoffs last year. There are winnable games that should allow the Senators to pick up points without Tkachuk.Â

Tkachuk’s injury will shift the onus for offensive production onto Stutzle. Who will be his left winger?

The only natural left-winger the Senators have on their roster is Olle Lycksell, who has just one goal in his 46-game career. Not ideal.

Perron and Ridly Greig are the next two left wingers on the depth chart, with Claude Giroux and Fabian Zetterlund as other possibilities. The Senators donâ€t just need someone to step up and fill that spot to Stutzleâ€s left, they also need players on every line to step up their play.

But Green loves his options, and Tkachuk’s injury gives him opportunities to juggle. There are lots of moving parts, and thereâ€s no question Green will have a blender out to try new combinations, as he should.

The next month will be a real litmus test for Zetterlund and Dylan Cozens, neither of whom has yet to match expectations since coming to the Senators before the trade deadline last season.

In Zetterlund’s case, he has been playing on the right side of Stutzle and Tkachuk but is comfortable as a right-shot left winger. He has had great analytics with Stutzle and Tkachuk on the top line, but is still looking for his first point through three games this season after signing a three-year, $12.75-million contract in the off-season. Zetterlund has two goals and five points in 29 games with the Senators, including playoffs. Sometimes stats speak for themselves, but Zetterlund was once a 20-goal scorer with the Sharks, and the Senators are counting on him to do it again.

Similar to Zetterlund, there is a ton of pressure on Cozens to step up without Tkachuk. That was the case even before the injury. So far, heâ€s been fine and produced on the power play, but not at five-on-five. For Ottawa to become a great team, a lot rides on whether Cozens is the 30-goal scorer from three seasons ago or the player who hasnâ€t reached over 20 in any other year. Like with Zetterlund, if Cozens doesnâ€t score much with Tkachuk out, the Senators will be starved for offence.

Maybe Cozens is better as a finishing winger on Stutzleâ€s right side. Shane Pinto, who plays the more important matchups while producing more than Cozens, could slide into the second-line centre role.

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Another option in the top six for the Senators is Batherson, who has been a consistent scorer, with three consecutive 60-point seasons.

Interestingly, Batherson hasnâ€t played much with Stutzle over the years, but he did unite with the German in the majority of games when Tkachuk was out last season. When the two were on the ice together last season, the Senators had a 57 per cent expected goals share at five-on-five. It could be time to reunite Ottawaâ€s two most dynamic players with Tkachuk out. Batherson might have the pace and skill to match Stutzle, if he’s fully up to speed after missing the end of the pre-season.

But the obvious solution to filling the hole on Stutzle’s wing could be hiding in plain sight. Giroux could return to the top line, where heâ€s played with Stutzle the past three seasons alongside Tkachuk. The elder statesman has looked as effective this season as last, by analytics and the eye test. The problem with moving Giroux is that this season the third line of Giroux-Pinto-Greig has been the Senators’ best unit. Theyâ€ve contributed three of Ottawaâ€s five five-on-five goals with an expected goals share of 63 per cent. It would be risky to break that group up.

Regardless of how Ottawa tries to make up for Tkachukâ€s absence with scoring by committee, the Senators are in a win-now mode. A regression to missing the playoffs would be a “disappointment,†owner Michael Andlauer has said previously. It’s still only Week 2 but if the Senators free-fall down the standings without Tkachuk, they wonâ€t get the reward of a high first-round draft pick this season due to the punishment for the botched Evgenii Dadonov trade (they were docked their first-round pick). The Senators have zero incentive to tank.

The Panthers could serve as inspiration for the Senators during this next stretch. They’re playing without their captain (Aleksander Barkov) and their Tkachuk (older brother Matthew) and thumped the Senators 6-2 last weekend. Theyâ€re fine. Ottawa is no Florida, but to even come close, the Senators will need to emulate the Panthers. Next man up.Â

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