Do the Senators Need Blue Line Help, or Trust What They Have?
There’s a really interesting tension building around the Ottawa Senators’ blue line right now, and it basically comes down to one question: do they still need to go out and get help, or are they finally at the point where internal growth has to be trusted? Because on paper, this is a team that already has a couple of young, interesting pieces emerging, but the organization’s actions at the trade deadline suggested they still weren’t comfortable with what they’ve got.
The Senators got pushed around by the Hurricanes, and that was telling.
Part of that uncertainty is understandable. When Ottawa got pushed around in a playoff series against Carolina, it was pretty clear they still want more size, stability, and playoff-proof defence on the back end. That kind of thinking usually leads teams to chase a proven top-four defender at the deadline, someone who can absorb pressure when the games tighten up. But the flip side is that Ottawa may already be sitting on two internal options that are starting to look like real NHL pieces.
One of those is Jordan Spence, who quietly put together a strong 31-point season and looks like a legitimate puck-moving option on the right side. The other, and arguably the more important one, is Carter Yakemchuk. The 20-year-old seventh overall pick in 2024 is starting to turn heads quickly. Between a 40-point AHL season, NHL call-ups, and even a playoff debut where he picked up two assists in a single game, he’s already flashing the kind of upside Ottawa has been missing on the back end.
Are these two youngsters enough for the Senators right now?
The question now is whether that’s enough for Ottawa to stand pat. Yakemchuk, in particular, feels like the swing piece here. He’s still young, still learning, and still adjusting to the pace. That said, the skill and offensive instincts are clearly there. If he takes another step next season, a lot of the “Ottawa needs a major blue line upgrade” narrative could shift pretty quickly into “maybe they already have it in-house.”
At the same time, that’s a big “if,” and playoff hockey tends to punish inexperience. That’s why the Senators seem caught between two timelines: trust the growth of Yakemchuk and Spence, or add a veteran stabilizer to take pressure off them. The answer probably isn’t one extreme or the other—but how much faith they show in Yakemchuk next season might end up defining the direction of their entire blue line.