2023 Fantasy Hockey Team Previews: Ottawa Senators
The 2023 DailyFaceoff Fantasy Hockey Projections has projected stats for over 650 skaters and goalies.
The Fantasy Hockey Team Previews have all the projections for that team and mini-bios for all the Re-Draft and Dynasty relevant skaters and goalies. We will release the previews from September 5th through September 14th.
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In addition to the Fantasy Hockey Previews, Daily Faceoff is previewing all 32 NHL teams for 2022-23, with a new in-depth breakdown dropping every weekday! Click here to find every preview in one place.
Skaters
Alex DeBrincat
| GP | G | A | PTS | (+/-) | PIM | PPG | PPA | PPP | SOG | S% | ATOI | FOW | BLK | HIT |
| 80.7 | 37.5 | 35.3 | 72.7 | -4.2 | 19.7 | 13.3 | 11.8 | 25.0 | 247.0 | 15.2% | 19.7 | 21.0 | 32.0 | 93.2 |
Debrincat surpassed 40 goals for the second time in his five-year career as he posted a career-high 78 points with 28 power-play points and 270 shots in 2021-22. The Senators’ offseason trade to acquire DeBrincat was surprising after he ranked 14th in both goals (41) and shots last season. It’s unclear how DeBrincat will fare without Patrick Kane, but he lands in a talented top-6 and should be able to maintain his impressive pace. Expect a similar 40-goal, 75-point season as Debrincat gets used to life on a new team. He’s a No.1 fantasy left winger that brings elite goal production in the fourth round of drafts.
Drake Batherson
| GP | G | A | PTS | (+/-) | PIM | PPG | PPA | PPP | SOG | S% | ATOI | FOW | BLK | HIT |
| 75.8 | 25.9 | 34.8 | 61.2 | -2.6 | 26.7 | 6.0 | 16.4 | 22.4 | 175.3 | 14.8% | 18.8 | 22.2 | 35.0 | 147.7 |
Before missing two months with an ankle injury, Batherson was on fire out of the gate with 34 points (13G / 21A) in his first 31 games. The early production led to a career-high in both assists (27) and points (44) while playing ten fewer games than the previous season. His 0.98 points-per-game in 2021-22 suggests he has 80-point potential if he stays healthy for an entire season. However, his 12.5 on-ice SH% is cause for concern. With that said, the additions of DeBrincat and Claude Giroux make it a little more likely he can maintain that impressive rate. Batherson is a mid-round pick whose upside outweighs his risk. He’s got 30-goal, 40-50 assist potential.
Brady Tkachuk
| GP | G | A | PTS | (+/-) | PIM | PPG | PPA | PPP | SOG | S% | ATOI | FOW | BLK | HIT |
| 81.1 | 28.1 | 33.7 | 62.3 | -3.8 | 102.5 | 6.8 | 8.5 | 15.3 | 303.5 | 9.3% | 18.8 | 203.5 | 33.6 | 308.1 |
Tkachuk is an elite option in banger leagues. He’s a rare blend of offence and physicality, finishing 2022 with 288 shots (10th in the NHL) and fifth in hits (270). His offensive totals (30G / 37A in 2022) don’t jump off the page at you, but whenever you approach 300 shots, you have the chance at a 40-goal season. If you’re in a banger league, draft him with confidence in the first three rounds, but he should drop into the fifth round in leagues that don’t count hits. Tkachuk still has room to take his game to another level but comes into 2023 with a safe floor and multi-category coverage.
Claude Giroux
| GP | G | A | PTS | (+/-) | PIM | PPG | PPA | PPP | SOG | S% | ATOI | FOW | BLK | HIT |
| 79.0 | 21.3 | 40.1 | 61.9 | -2.4 | 26.2 | 4.2 | 15.1 | 19.3 | 194.9 | 10.9% | 18.4 | 737.6 | 14.9 | 57.4 |
Fresh off his highest point production in four years (65), Giroux signed a three-year, $6.5M AAV contract with the Senators during their busy 2022 offseason. The long-time Flyers captain collected 43 points in 54 games before being shipped off to Florida at the trade deadline. In a new city for the first time in his career, Florida proved to be the ideal landing spot for Giroux. He was terrific in 28 games between the regular season and playoffs, scoring six goals with 25 assists (31 points). The 34-year-old enters the season a lock to play in the Senators’ top-6 and could have a big year if he builds instant chemistry with DeBrincat. Ottawa’s top-6 could be configured in many different fashions, but Giroux should be productive no matter who his linemates are. Expect another mid-60s point season.
Tim Stützle
| GP | G | A | PTS | (+/-) | PIM | PPG | PPA | PPP | SOG | S% | ATOI | FOW | BLK | HIT |
| 79.5 | 23.8 | 38.4 | 61.7 | -9.3 | 36.4 | 7.3 | 16.1 | 23.3 | 189.0 | 12.6% | 18.6 | 144.3 | 45.3 | 116.1 |
Stützle just signed a $66.8 Million contract extension after posting 58 points (22G / 36A) in his second NHL season. It took nearly 100 career games for the 2020 3rd overall pick to gain fantasy relevance, but if his second half of the 2021-22 season was any indication, Stützle is a fantasy star that is here to stay. Collecting 37 points (14G / 23A) in his final 41 games, Stützle was the 47th best point producer in the second half of the NHL season. Across a full 82-game season, those numbers extrapolate to 28 goals and 46 assists (74 points). His impressive finish and the additions of DeBrincat and Giroux mean that Stützle will have great linemates in year 3. As a result, he’s an obvious dynasty building block and a high-upside pick in the mid-rounds of re-draft leagues.
Josh Norris
| GP | G | A | PTS | (+/-) | PIM | PPG | PPA | PPP | SOG | S% | ATOI | FOW | BLK | HIT |
| 75.2 | 33.4 | 25.7 | 59.1 | -5.2 | 18.7 | 13.6 | 10.1 | 23.8 | 179.1 | 18.6% | 18.5 | 596.4 | 49.9 | 95.6 |
Norris closed out a strong 2021-22, doubling his career totals in goals (35) while compiling 20 assists (55 points) in just 66 games. His Goals/60 (1.71) was 15th best in the NHL, and although his 20.3 SH% will likely come down, playing the full complement of games would allow him to score 35-to-40 goals again in 2023. Norris relies heavily on power-play production but adding DeBrincat and Giroux should elevate that unit from No.20 in the NHL. The range of outcomes for Norris seems wide, but he has terrific upside for a player in the middle rounds.
Thomas Chabot
| GP | G | A | PTS | (+/-) | PIM | PPG | PPA | PPP | SOG | S% | ATOI | FOW | BLK | HIT |
| 75.8 | 9.6 | 39.0 | 48.7 | -3.2 | 40.8 | 1.5 | 12.9 | 14.4 | 207.3 | 4.7% | 26.1 | 0.0 | 111.9 | 93.1 |
Averaging nine goals and 41 assists (50 points) per 82 games over the last three seasons, Chabot was 21st in points-per-game (0.64) while appearing in just 59 games in 2021-22. Chabot shot 8.2 percent in his first two seasons but has been unable to maintain that in three years since. He’s hovered around 4.0 SH% and is tied for 99th among defensemen in Goals/60 as a result. As previously mentioned, the Senators have added some key contributors to their top-6 and top power-play unit, giving Chabot some sleeper potential in the 10th round (114.8 ADP). A bounce-back in SH% could result in double-digit goals and 50-plus points for the 25-year-old blueliner.
Jake Sanderson
| GP | G | A | PTS | (+/-) | PIM | PPG | PPA | PPP | SOG | S% | ATOI | FOW | BLK | HIT |
| 69.1 | 8.2 | 23.1 | 30.8 | -2.5 | 17.6 | 0.6 | 6.0 | 6.7 | 143.9 | 5.7% | 19.6 | 0.0 | 82.3 | 56.8 |
Sanderson enjoyed a successful second season at the University of North Dakota (NCAA). His eight goals and 18 assists in 23 games ranked him first on the team with 1.13 points per game. The 20-year-old has excelled offensively at every level throughout his hockey career, making the NHL just another stepping stone on his point-filled journey. The 2020 No.5 overall prospect is an excellent dynasty pick, but don’t expect a Moritz Seider-type rookie season. Seider was the alpha in Detroit; Sanderson will be behind veterans in 5v5 usage and on the second power-play unit behind Chabot. You can take a flier on Sanderson as your No.4 defenseman, but he’ll likely end up closer to Jamie Drysdale’s 32 points than Seider’s 50 points from a season ago.
Goalies
Cam Talbot
| GS | W | L | T/O | SV% | GAA | SO |
| 45.0 | 21.1 | 18.5 | 5.4 | 0.911 | 2.89 | 2.5 |
In 2021-22, Cam Talbot enjoyed his third 30-plus win season in his 10-year career. Before losing his starting job to Marc-Andre Fleury in the playoffs, Talbot helped fantasy teams by landing 10th in the league in wins (32), 13th in shutouts (3), and 21st in GAA (2.76). Similar production may be challenging as Talbot is 35 years old and has watched his SV% and GAA decline in the past three seasons. His last team ranked sixth in xGA/60 (2.73), and Ottawa was 26th (3.16). The move will likely affect his splits, but the Senators’ offence should allow him to win more games than he loses. Because of the timeshare with Anton Forsberg, Talbot should be considered a low-end No.2/high-end No.3 fantasy netminder.
Anton Forsberg
| GS | W | L | T/O | SV% | GAA | SO |
| 37.0 | 17.7 | 14.6 | 4.2 | 0.908 | 2.98 | 1.2 |
Forsberg enjoyed a breakout season in 2021-22 as he watched his fellow Senator goalies fall apart around him (3.22 GAA as a team). He posted an impressive .917 SV%, which ranked him eighth among all goaltenders. Forsberg gave the Senators a chance to win on a nightly basis, despite the fact they were bottom 10 in xGF% (47.2). Forsberg was 13th in the NHL in GoalsSavedAboveExpected/60, ahead of Talbot, Connor Hellebuyck, Marc-Andre Fleury, Sergei Bobrovsky, and more. That gives you a good idea of how good Forsberg was in 2022. In 2023, he’ll split time with Talbot, making him a No.3 fantasy option.
Remaining Senators Projections
| Player | Pos | GP | G | A | PTS | (+/-) | PIM | PPG | PPA | PPP | SOG | S% | ATOI | FOW | BLK | HIT |
| Erik Brannstrom | D | 68.2 | 2.1 | 19.1 | 20.7 | -5.4 | 43.7 | 0.8 | 5.4 | 6.2 | 111.8 | 1.9% | 19.4 | 0.0 | 76.5 | 60.9 |
| Travis Hamonic | D | 69.0 | 5.3 | 11.0 | 16.4 | 0.2 | 36.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 125.6 | 4.2% | 19.1 | 0.0 | 134.9 | 88.0 |
| Alex Formenton | LW | 77.5 | 17.9 | 14.7 | 32.7 | -5.3 | 47.2 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 1.0 | 154.5 | 11.6% | 15.3 | 7.4 | 28.6 | 101.2 |
| Artem Zub | D | 77.5 | 5.7 | 16.9 | 23.1 | 2.2 | 71.8 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 85.8 | 6.6% | 20.7 | 0.0 | 117.8 | 144.1 |
| Mathieu Joseph | LW/RW | 75.1 | 16.7 | 18.2 | 34.3 | -3.5 | 31.4 | 1.4 | 1.4 | 2.8 | 108.9 | 15.3% | 15.7 | 33.6 | 30.5 | 131.4 |
| Nikita Zaitsev | D | 74.6 | 2.9 | 11.5 | 14.4 | -6.6 | 29.8 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 73.8 | 3.9% | 18.4 | 0.0 | 116.4 | 126.4 |
| Shane Pinto | C | 70.1 | 9.9 | 20.8 | 31.2 | -3.0 | 47.4 | 1.6 | 3.8 | 5.3 | 88.1 | 11.2% | 14.8 | 304.8 | 44.9 | 63.2 |
| Parker Kelly | LW/RW | 69.5 | 10.1 | 8.5 | 19.1 | -4.1 | 69.6 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 80.3 | 12.6% | 10.6 | 0.0 | 46.1 | 201.2 |
| Austin Watson | RW | 73.6 | 8.8 | 9.1 | 17.9 | -4.7 | 81.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 86.9 | 10.2% | 11.7 | 8.5 | 69.9 | 202.9 |
| Dylan Gambrell | C/RW | 69.4 | 4.6 | 6.3 | 10.9 | -4.7 | 15.4 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 58.7 | 7.8% | 11.9 | 295.2 | 46.0 | 90.6 |