Buffalo Sabres division rivals’ 2023 offseasons Part V: Sens Rising?

The Buffalo Sabres and Ottawa Senators could find themselves vying against one another for a playoff spot in 2023-24 given both teams’ improvements.

Across this series, we have covered the Tampa Bay Lightning, Boston Bruins, Toronto Maple Leafs, and the Florida Panthers. One common denominator regarding each of the aforementioned teams is that there is a chance they start off the 2023-24 season with some “growing pains” thanks to some roster turnover with three of the four teams, which can play into the Buffalo Sabres hands early.

The Florida Panthers are the one exception, as they didn’t see as much turnover, but offseason injuries could set them back early. However, as I’ve said in each article, none of the above are to be underestimated, and you can count on them to be at full strength and ready to roll when the playoff race heats up.

The Ottawa Senators, however, may be an exception thanks to their rather solid offseason. Like the Sabres, they didn’t add many names to their presumed lineup, with Vladimir Tarasenko, Joonas Korpisalo, and Dominik Kubalik, a trio of solid players.

Buffalo Sabres could be battling with the Senators this season

They also ended the Alex DeBrincat experiment after one season, trading him to the Detroit Red Wings. Swapping the winger off to a division rival tells me that the Senators aren’t too worried about competing against him, nor should the Sabres, but more on that in another piece. Other notable losses included Cam Talbot and Patrick Brown, the latter of whom will be playing in Boston.

Usually, I’ve been creating long slideshows regarding each team’s moves and outlook, but with Ottawa, it just isn’t necessary given the lesser turnover. And as it stands, the Senators, who finished five points behind the Buffalo Sabres, should very well be right up there and competing with the Blue and Gold.

However, it’s also important to know that this team is under new ownership, so if the Senators underperform early, what’s the plan? Do they clean house and start fresh? Or do they keep everything intact, and keep trying to build what they already have?

Ottawa has quite a few players capable of taking this team places, like Brady Tkachuk, Tim Stutzle, and Claude Giroux, and we also can’t forget about Josh Norris. Jake Sanderson and Thomas Chabot are a pair of blueliners that are core pieces to this Sens team, so there is undeniable talent on this hockey team, and the more logical approach from my perspective would be for the team to continue building.

From a scheduling standpoint, three of Buffalo’s four games against Ottawa occur between October 24th and January 11th, but they could very well be facing one another in a meaningful game in late March. And that’s one game our Buffalo Sabres cannot lose if they’re in the same position that they were in last season.

Source: Atlantic Division summer outlook: Are Sabres at the top of the ‘rebuilders’ group? by Mike Harrington, Buffalo News