Could Jake DeBrusk Solve the Senators' Net-Front Issue?
If you look at the Ottawa Senators right now, the question isn’t whether they have skill. The question is whether they have enough easy offence — the kind that shows up in tight games when systems lock down, and space disappears.
That’s where a player like Jake DeBrusk starts to make a lot of sense.
DeBrusk would bring the Senators consistent net-front scoring.
DeBrusk isn’t coming in as a driver of play. He’s not the guy carrying a line end-to-end or tilting the ice through possession. That’s not his game, and Ottawa doesn’t need him to be that. What they need is something more specific and a lot harder to find. They need a finisher who lives at the net front and actually converts the chaos into goals.
This is the part of Ottawa’s roster that still feels missing. They’ve got young forwards who can move the puck and create entries. They’ve got skill up the middle. They’ve got flashes of offence that look dangerous in transition. But when the game slows down in the playoffs-type environments they’re trying to reach, the Senators still don’t consistently have that player who turns second chances into goals.
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DeBrusk thrives in the chaos of tight games.
He is great at converting tips, rebounds, broken plays, and power-play scrambles. That’s where he lives. He’s the type of player who doesn’t need ten touches to matter in a game. One puck at the top of the crease can change everything.
And that’s why the 51 goals over his last two seasons matter in Ottawa more than they might elsewhere. It’s repeatable, dirty-area scoring in a league where those goals tend to decide series, not just games.
For DeBrusk, moving to a contender fits his career trajectory.
From the Senators’ perspective, this is also about timing. They are no longer a rebuilding team. They’re entering the stage where the roster needs to be shaped around matchups, special teams, and playoff structure. That’s where complementary scorers become more valuable than raw upside bets.
DeBrusk doesn’t have to lift the offence; he just has to raise its floor. He would be especially effective on a power play that already has enough puck movement but could use more finishing instinct near the crease. In simple terms, he can turn good chances into automatic ones.