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Tim Stützle Emerging As Next Senators Superstar

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The 2020 NHL Draft checked off a lot of tropes – a clear No. 1, Alexis Lafrenière, a clear power-forward, Quinton Byfield, and a healthy battle for top defense between Jake Sanderson and Jamie Drysdale – but it lacked a clear top European. Swedish pro Lucas Raymond, OHL import Marco Rossi, and generational German Tim Stützle fought over the title, each with different things to love and hate.

For Stützle’s part, he had grown up a superstar of German youth hockey – challenging scoring records and captaining Team Germany at every level between U16 and U20. He spent the 2019-20 season playing out his rookie year in the DEL – Germany’s pro league – where he scored an admirable 34 points in 41 games. But his scoring wasn’t fantastic – it didn’t rival any DEL records or even rank in the top five of his team. Many agreed he was worth a top 10 pick, but whether it should be #2 or #8 was argued in depth, not helped along by his base in an uncommon hockey country.

The year ended with many considering Stützle’s dazzling puck skills and speed too much to argue, and he ended the year as Bob McKenzie’s second-overall prospect and the top European off the board headed to Ottawa at third-overall. It was a bold reach for upside from a usually meager Senators team, and Stützle would quickly vindicate it by making the NHL roster out of camp. He benefited from a late start to the 2020-21 season – with the January start giving him the chance to heal from an October arm surgery.

His rookie NHL season was as quiet as his rookie DEL year – marked by 29 points in 53 games. But he’s grown exponentially over the years. He improved to 58 points in his sophomore year, just enough to earn a routine top-line role – setting Stützle up for a true breakout. He took full advantage of the opportunity in the 2022-23 season, totaling 39 goals and 90 points at just 20 years old.

Looking at U21 seasons in the NHL, Stützle’s 2023 totals rank in the top 30 of all time and made him the third-highest-scoring European behind just Alex Ovechkin and Jaromír Jágr. It was incredible company, and while he returned to earth a bit last year – with just 18 goals and 70 points – he seems back on pace this year. Stützle currently leads the Senators with 39 points in 34 games. That’s an 82-game pace of 94 points, which would tie Alexei Yashin’s 1998-99 campaign for fourth-highest in Senators history. It’d also couple Stützle with Dany Heatley, Daniel Alfredsson, and Jason Spezza as the only player with multiple top-10 scoring seasons in Ottawa’s record books.

At just 22 years of age, the young German is finding himself among incredible company, which has some breaking out the word “superstar”. 13-year NHL veteran Jason York, who himself spent five years in Ottawa, joined Daily Faceoff’s All 32 segment to discuss its veracity. He said, “This is, to me, what I classify a superstar as: Can you bring fans out of their seats? Are you worth the price of admission? How many guys are really worth the price of admission like “wow”? … I’ll put Tim Stützle in that category.”

York went on to speak highly of Stützle’s hockey talent and his ability to get fans out of their seats. His comments ring loud for a Senators team that hasn’t had a clear superstar in nearly a decade. Brady Tkachuk will certainly go down as an all-time great – already captaining the team and posting 382 points in 474 games – but he’s more an era-defining piece than a generational talent. Ottawa hasn’t seen that kind of ability since Erik Karlsson broke records in the 2010s. Before him, it was Alfredsson, Heatley, and Spezza running court from 2005 to 2012.

Now, Stützle seems to be the one set to define Ottawa’s 2020s. As it stands, he’s scored 286 career points: the ninth-most points of any NHLer before turning 23 years old. He’s among the elite company in the top 10 – sandwiched between Mitch Marner (291 points) and Auston Matthews (285 points). Stützle’s current scoring pace has him adding 11 more points before his January 15th birthday, passing Marner and stepping just behind seventh-ranked Nathan MacKinnon (303 points).

The rest of Stützle’s company in that top 10 are also true superstars who each found ways to become leaders of incredible teams. With this degree of offensive performance, Stützle could soon be doing the same – and already seems well worthy of the label as a true, all-time superstar for the Senators.

Senators Recall Cole Reinhardt

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The Ottawa Senators have announced that they’ve recalled forward Cole Reinhardt from the Belleville Senators of the American Hockey League. This recall marks the sixth time that the 24-year-old has been brought up from Belleville as he continues to rack up miles along Highway 7 and 401. Reinhardt plays under a two-way contract that pays him $95K in the AHL and $775K in the NHL. If he remains on the NHL roster until tomorrow, he will receive a nice little bonus over the holidays and earn his NHL salary until at least December 27th due to the NHL roster freeze.

Reinhardt is having a terrific season in Belleville, his fifth with the team. In 13 games thus far, he has almost matched all of last season’s production posting six goals and 10 assists. Last year was a difficult one for Reinhardt as he tallied just eight goals and 15 assists in 56 games. He’s never been much of an offensive threat, posting his finest offensive season during his last year in the Western Hockey League when he tallied 31 goals and 24 assists in 56 games.

In the NHL this season, Reinhardt has struggled in five games, turning the puck over three times and being dominated on the possession front with a CF% of 37%. However, he has been a physical presence with 14 hits and has shown a bit of an offensive pulse with a goal and an assist.

The Senators are in Calgary tonight to take on the Flames and it seems likely that Reinhardt will serve as the Senators extra forward for that contest, but we should know more later today.

Afternoon Notes: Red Wings, Ostapchuk, Flames

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The Detroit Red Wings received a handful of reassuring injury updates at Monday’s practice, all documented by Ansar Khan of Michigan Live. Most notably, backup goaltender Alex Lyon returned to practice in full and is expected to return for Wednesday’s game against Philadelphia. Lyon has been out of the lineup since suffering an undisclosed injury at practice on November 27th.  He’s missed eight games. Cam Talbot is also making his way back to full health but isn’t expected to return until Friday. Talbot has missed five of Detroit’s last six games.

The Red Wings could have their top two netminders back to full health by this weekend, finally relieving them of their crisis in net. Ville Husso stepped up as the team’s starter in the absence of Talbot and Lyon, but did little with the role – posting a 1-2-2 record and .894 save percentage. His poor performances paved the way for top goalie prospect Sebastian Cossa to make his NHL debut – relieving Husso on December 9th after he allowed three goals on the first seven shots. Cossa allowed two more goals but banded together with Detroit’s scorers to win in a shootout. It was a promising performance for the 22-year-old Cossa, though it’s clear Detroit prefers him as the AHL starter. That role will be easier to ensure with Talbot and Lyon finally returning to full health.

Khan also shared that forward Marco Kasper is dealing with an illness and will be questionable for the team’s Wednesday game. Kasper has seven points and 12 penalty minutes in 25 games this season.

Other quick notes from Tuesday practice:

  • The Ottawa Senators have sent forward Zack Ostapchuk to the minor leagues. The move appears to be a paper transaction to help accrue daily cap hit during off-days. Ostapchuk will likely be recalled ahead of Ottawa’s Tuesday game against Seattle, giving him a chance to continue searching for his first NHL goal. He has recorded two assists and one fighting major in 16 games this season – his only scoring or penalties through 23 career games. Ostapchuk has also recorded eight points and 10 penalty minutes in nine AHL games this year.
  • Both Jakob Pelletier and Walker Duehr have been returned to the NHL roster, after being assigned to the AHL for Calgary’s off-day. Both players could step back into the lineup when Calgary hosts Boston on Tuesday, after winger Andrei Kuzmenko left the team’s Tuesday practice early, per Pat Steinberg of Sportsnet 960. Kuzmenko is day-to-day with a lower-body injury, and missed Saturday’s game. Pelletier and Duehr are both on a quest to earn full-time roles in the NHL, serving as two of Calgary’s top prospects and minor-league standouts for the last few seasons. Pelletier has scored two points in five NHL games this year, while Duehr has one point in 16 games.
  • Flames goaltender Daniel Vladar returned to the team’s practice on Monday, shares Steinberg. Vladar missed Calgary’s Saturday game due to a lower-body injury, and has since been designated as day-to-day. He’s platooned starts with Dustin Wolf, narrowly beating out the rookie in games played with 16 to Wolf’s 15. Vladar has posted a 6-6-4 record and .885 save percentage in his performances, while Wolf has managed a 9-5-1 record and .915. That imbalance could soon push Wolf into the starter’s role, and return Vladar to the Flames’ backup spot where he spent the last three seasons.

Senators Recall Leevi Meriläinen, Reassign Zack Ostapchuk

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The Ottawa Senators will be without goaltender Anton Forsberg for an undisclosed period due to injury and with that, the team needed a netminder. Ottawa announced they’ve recalled goaltender Leevi Meriläinen from their AHL affiliate, the Belleville Senators, and have reassigned forward Zack Ostapchuk the other way in a corresponding roster move.

It would be a surprise to see Meriläinen play meaningful minutes with the Senators with his last bit of work with the team coming in the 2022-23 NHL season. Meriläinen started two games for Ottawa that year as his only NHL experience and he finished with a 0-1-1 record and a .878 save percentage.

The former 71st overall pick of the 2020 NHL Draft has understandably been more effective with AHL Belleville. Meriläinen has managed a solid 20-11-5 record in 41 AHL contests with a career .908 SV% and 2.65 GAA. Still, it’ll be difficult for the Senators to turn away from Linus Ullmark who’s posted a .966 SV% over his last five starts.

Returning to AHL Belleville is Ostapchuk, who’s been a mildly used forward for the Senators this year. He’s tallied two assists in 16 contests while averaging 9:16 of ice time per game.

As much as Ostapchuk might want to remain in Ottawa he won’t be confined to a fourth-line role for the next few games at the very least. He’s suited up in nine games for Belleville this season where he’s collected one goal and eight points in total.

Reinhardt Assigned To Belleville

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  • The Senators announced (Twitter link) that forward Cole Reinhardt has been re-assigned to AHL Belleville, one day after being recalled. The 24-year-old has been quite productive in the minors so far, picking up five goals and ten assists in just 12 games which has helped earn him five games with Ottawa.  In those outings, he has a goal and an assist, his first points at the NHL level.

Atlantic Notes: Reinhardt, Norris, Lafferty, Stolarz, McMann, Talbot

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The Senators announced Friday that they’ve recalled left-winger Cole Reinhardt from AHL Belleville.

The 24-year-old has been subject to multiple paper transactions this season, but this doesn’t appear to be one of them. Reinhardt has been in Belleville since Sunday and hasn’t been rostered for either of Ottawa’s last two games. He could enter the lineup tonight against the Hurricanes instead of center Zack Ostapchuk, who left Wednesday’s 5-1 win over the Ducks with an undisclosed injury.

Ottawa would need someone to shift to center – Reinhardt has never played the position meaningfully at the professional level. One of Nick Cousins, Noah Gregor or Ridly Greig will likely move to take Ostapchuk’s spot as fourth-line center while Reinhardt slots in on their wing.

In five NHL appearances this season, the 24-year-old Calgary native has a goal and an assist with a -2 rating and 14 hits while averaging 9:15 per game. He’s been dynamic when on assignment to the B-Sens, posting five goals and 10 assists for 15 points in only 12 games. He’s the only Belleville player producing more than a point per game.

In other Sens news, the league announced that center Joshua Norris had been fined $2,000 for being issued his second embellishment citation this season. The incident that spurred the fine occurred on Dec. 5 against the Red Wings, with the league positing that Norris overreacted to a holding offense from Detroit rookie Marco Kasper (video link).

Elsewhere in the Atlantic Division:

  • Sabres forward Sam Lafferty practiced in a regular jersey this morning and could be an option to return to the lineup this weekend, head coach Lindy Ruff told Paul Hamilton of WGR Sports Radio 550. Lafferty has been on injured reserve for over a week with a lower-body issue and has missed Buffalo’s last six games, all of them losses amid a larger eight-game winless streak. Prior to getting hurt, the 29-year-old was averaging just 9:48 per game and had been limited to one goal in 22 appearances with a -2 rating. Buffalo signed him to a two-year, $4MM deal in free agency over the summer to contribute as a fourth-line piece and kill penalties, the latter of which he’s rarely done – he averages just 32 seconds per game shorthanded.
  • It’s all good news on the injury front for the Maple Leafs. Netminder Anthony Stolarz is only day-to-day with his lower-body injury after leaving last night’s win over the Ducks after the first period, head coach Craig Berube said today (via Jonas Siegel of The Athletic). The 30-year-old leads the league with a .927 SV% and has started 17 of Toronto’s 29 games, on pace to break last year’s career-high 24. He’ll likely miss their next two games against the Red Wings and Sabres, but the lack of an IR placement suggests he may be available next Wednesday against the Stars. Berube also said that winger Bobby McMann, who’s missed seven games with a lower-body issue, is “very close” to returning (per David Alter of The Hockey News).
  • Red Wings starter Cam Talbot re-aggravated the lower-body injury that kept him out for most of this month and will be unavailable tomorrow against Toronto, per the team’s Daniella Bruce. He made 32 saves on 34 shots in a loss to the Flyers last night, bringing his SV% on the year up to a strong .916 mark. The team will wait to recall a backup for No. 3 option Ville Husso until tomorrow, Bruce said.

Senators Loan Nikolas Matinpalo To Belleville

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The Montreal Canadiens tweeted that defenseman Mike Matheson and forward Patrik Laine will not take part in today’s team practice. The tweet wasn’t overly detailed and described their absences as a “Therapy day.”

The Canadiens have been cautious with Laine as he just returned from injury and has played just four games this season. The former second-overall pick suffered a knee injury in the preseason and there were concerns he could miss the entire season. However, the 26-year-old fortunately was able to recover without surgery and missed just two and a half months of action. Laine has been sensational since returning, posting three goals and an assist.

There are no further details on Matheson at this time, but the 30-year-old did miss two games at the end of November with a lower-body injury. Matheson has been terrific once again this season for Montreal, registering two goals and 13 assists in 26 games.

In other Eastern Conference notes:

  • Washington Capitals injured superstar Alex Ovechkin skated this morning as he tries to work his way back into game action (as per Tom Gulitti from NHL.com). Ovechkin skated in a non-contact jersey and had former teammate Nicklas Backstrom join him on the ice in a track suit. The 39-year-old Ovechkin is trying to overcome a fractured fibula that has kept him out of action since November 18th. Ovechkin had seven goals in the five games prior to the injury as he closes in on the NHL’s all-time goals record.
  • The Ottawa Senators announced that they have loaned defenseman Nikolas Matinpalo to the Belleville Senators of the American Hockey League. Matinpalo was recalled yesterday, but is being returned to Belleville as his shuttling back and forth continues. Matinpalo has yet to play an NHL game this season but did dress in four games last season. This year, the 26-year-old has dressed in 17 AHL games, picking up two goals and four assists.

Matinpalo Recalled From Belleville

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  • The Senators announced (Twitter link) that they’ve once again recalled Nikolas Matinpalo from AHL Belleville. The 26-year-old has been shuffled back and forth in recent days but has yet to see any game action with Ottawa in 2024-25 but got into four games with the big club last season.  Matinpalo has played in 17 games with Belleville this season, collecting two goals and four assists, nearly halfway to his point production from 2023-24.

Senators Owner Accuses Rangers Of ‘Soft-Tampering’

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The first day of the NHL Board of Governors meeting has started with some dramatics. According to TSN’s Pierre LeBrun, the owner of the Ottawa Senators, Michael Andlauer, has accused the New York Rangers of  “soft-tampering.”

It’s safe to say there’s now a Brady Tkachuk-sized wedge between the two organizations. Andlauer’s statement was regarding a report from Larry Brooks of the New York Post indicating the Rangers were aggressively pursuing Tkachuk in a trade with the Senators.

Nothing indicates that Brooks’ report came from a leak within the Rangers organization but the Senators organization believes it did. Andlauer told LeBrun that Ottawa hasn’t discussed Tkachuk with any team and he hopes he will be the team’s leader for many years.

The accusation is understandably heavy and will likely be discussed at the Board of Governors meeting. Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff reports the Rangers responded to the accusation by saying, “This is an irresponsible accusation and we defer to the Commissioner’s office.”

It’s a situation the league will likely investigate given its updated policies on tampering. The league was reportedly displeased with the number of contracts preemptively announced before free agency began on July 1st and sent a memo to all 32 teams.

Any team caught tampering could face fines as large as $5MM, lose draft capital, or even have contracts voided (although that wouldn’t apply in this scenario) should they be caught tampering. The last time a team has been charged with tampering by the league came back in 2016 when former-general manager for the Vancouver Canucks, Jim Benning, made public comments regarding P.K. Subban and Steven Stamkos which resulted in a $50K fine.

Sens Weren't In Trouba Trade Talks For Long

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  • While the Senators may have had cursory discussions about acquiring Jacob Trouba, those talks wouldn’t have gone far, reports Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch. The veteran blueliner made it known that he had no interest in playing for a Canadian-based team which also took Montreal, a speculative landing spot with former Ranger GM Jeff Gorton in the front office, off the table.  Trouba eventually accepted a deal to Anaheim on Friday.

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