Jake Sanderson Is Quietly Entering Rare Senators Territory
Some stats don’t jump off the page. They don’t scream “breaking news” or demand a graphic package. They sit there, waiting for someone to notice what they actually mean. In last night’s 3-1 loss to the Utah Mammoth, Ottawa Senators defenseman Jake Sanderson tied Sergei Gonchar with four separate five-game point streaks as an Ottawa Senators defenseman. It’s one of those stats that seldom gets mentioned but shows just where Sanderson is in Senators history.
On its own, it sounds like trivia. In context, it’s something else entirely.
The Names Ahead of Sanderson Are a Who’s Who of Senators’ History
The names ahead of Sanderson on that list matter: Erik Karlsson, Wade Redden, Thomas Chabot. That’s not a random collection of players. That’s the short list of defensemen Ottawa has trusted to drive offence over sustained stretches of time. This wasn’t a one-week hot streak or a few lucky bounces; these players consistently delivered team-impacting results.
Karlsson is in his own category. Thirteen separate five-game point streaks reflect a player who bent the game to his will. He didn’t just contribute; he was the offence. Sanderson isn’t that player, but what’s interesting is that he’s tracking closer to the Redden and Gonchar lane — defensemen who created offence without breaking structure.
That’s where Sanderson’s game starts to stand out.
Redden and Sanderson Share Multiple Traits for the Senators
Wade Redden wasn’t flashy. He didn’t dominate highlight reels. But during Ottawa’s best years, he provided reliable offence while taking on real defensive responsibility. Later in his career, Gonchar did something similar; he picked his spots, ran the power plays efficiently, and made smart reads rather than risky ones.
Sanderson’s streaks feel closer to that lineage than Karlsson’s. They aren’t built on high-wire creativity. They’re built on timing, puck movement, and being in the right place again and again. That matters more than people realize.
What makes Sanderson’s achievement more notable is when it happens. He isn’t a finished product. He’s not a veteran squeezing out one last offensive run. He’s still figuring out the league and refining details, yet he’s already showing repeatable offensive stretches. That suggests a baseline is forming — not a peak.
Sanderson’s emergence hints at a quiet shift inside the Senators’ blue line as well. For years, Thomas Chabot carried the offensive burden, sometimes to a fault: heavy minutes, heavy expectations, uneven results. Sanderson’s emergence offers something different: balance. Offence that doesn’t require everything to run through him, but still shows up consistently.
Sanderson Is Building Credibility for the Senators
This isn’t about crowning the next franchise saviour. It’s about recognizing what sustainable impact looks like. Sanderson isn’t chasing history. He’s building credibility — shift by shift, stretch by stretch.
Those five-game streaks don’t mean he’s arrived. They mean he’s becoming reliable. And for a Senators team still searching for its footing, that might matter more than flash ever could.