Friday Five with SensBuzz

I had time to kill, so why not bring back the Friday Five to you lovely people on the internet? For those unaware, the Friday Five is just a casual five thoughts I had about the Sens this week. I feel like now, one of those weeks where I’ve been off social media for large parts of the Sens games and watched privately for myself, was the perfect time to bring this back.

Friday Five:

1 – Drake Batherson.

Drake Batherson might be the most overlooked player in the National Hockey League as of December 12th, 2025. The right winger has had an excellent start to the 2025–26 season, but I want to take you back even further. Let me take you all the way back to February 14th, 2025, known as Valentine’s Day to some, but to the hockey world, this was the 4 Nations Faceoff competition that saw the best Canadians from the National represent Team Canada for the first time in a decade. Not on that team was Drake Batherson.

We’re all well aware of the fire that’d motivate everyone to play a little better to get on the Olympic team, but Drake Batherson has been next level for the Sens and maybe soon, for his country.

Since the 4 Nations tournament, Drake Batherson has recorded 52 points in 53 games played. Only 15 Canadian forwards have more points than Batherson in that span, and only two of them are right-handed wingers, Mitch Marner and Tom Wilson.

Now Mitch Marner, definitely a lock, will probably be on the first line at the 4 Nations. With Tom Wilson being hailed as too much of a penalty liability, does Team Canada look at Batherson’s 106 hits, look at his size and skill, and invite him as an extra? He’ll come highly regarded from fellow Maritimers Nathan MacKinnon and Sidney Crosby. I’m just saying, if Tom Wilson is too much of a liability but you want that big body, Drake Batherson should be an extra forward as of today.

2 – 5v5 Scoring

Now this one is hilarious, considering the Senators didn’t score a 5v5 goal at all in their three-game homestand recently. You might think this is some recency bias, but the Ottawa Senators are 11th in the NHL in 5v5 goals per game. You’ve got to remember that the Ottawa Senators at last year’s trade deadline wanted to address the 5v5 scoring when they traded the Norris contract to open up the money for Cozens and Zetterlund.

In 53 games last year, Josh Norris had nine goals and three assists for 12 points at 5v5. After 30 games this year, Cozens and Zetterlund are both on eight 5v5 points for the Ottawa Senators. Even if they keep up this ridiculously slow pace, both are projected to produce more points at 5v5 than Josh Norris had for us last year. Great trade, Steve Staios.

3 – Nick Jensen

A very interesting stat that I’ve come across in hours of nerding out on EvolvingHockey. Out of the 168 defencemen who have played 300 minutes this year at 5v5, Nick Jensen ranks 40th in expected goals against per 60 and 46th in chances against per 60.

Nick Jensen worries me nonetheless. I feel like every game where he’s turned his back for a puck retrieval and bobbled it, he has either been absolutely crushed or turned the puck over with a D-to-D pass out of desperation.

You are all going to hate me, and advanced analytics even more, when I tell you that Nick Jensen is not only having a better season this year xGA/60-wise compared to last year, he’s having his best year defensively since 2021–22 in multiple metrics, except the one that’s king, goals against. I’m not even joking. He’s having his best year analytically since 2021–22, where his xG% was a 52.21%. This year he’s on 52.76%! This is where the eye test is very important, eh.

4 – Xavier Bourgault turning it on

Xavier Bourgault has started to turn it on for the Belleville Senators. After 26 points in 61 games played for the Belleville Senators last season, the now 23-year-old right winger has 20 points in 26 games played for the Belleville Senators.

The biggest noticeable and trackable difference between the player he is now and the player he was in the Oilers system is that he’s shooting the puck like there’s no tomorrow. For context, in 117 games with the Condors, Bourgault had 205 shots and scored 21 goals before the trade. Contrast that with his 87 games played with the B-Sens, where Bourgault has scored 21 goals on 201 shots.

While the shooting percentage has stayed steady, the uptick in maturity and familiarity with the professional level of hockey has been nothing but positive for Bourgault. The former first-round pick of the Oilers is showing he has some quality left in the tank.

5 – Going back and forth between Trade Options

Would you rather the Ottawa Senators acquire a top-six forward to help down the line, or a top-four right-handed defenceman to really increase their chances of winning this year? This is a question that I keep battling with myself internally, partly due to the lack of quality around the league when it comes to obvious sellers.

By obvious sellers, there’s only one in the East, and that’s Buffalo. They’re trying to keep that core around unless something dramatic happens, and I really don’t like any of their peripheral assets.

By using our reason, there are six teams in the West tied with or below the Sabres right now. They are the Seattle Kraken, who have a positive record and are two points away from a wild-card spot, the Winnipeg Jets, who have too much money invested in their core, and the St. Louis Blues. Meh, I like Dylan Holloway and Robert Thomas, but so do they, and Colton Parayko gives off too much of a Dion Phaneuf vibe. Plus, they’re tied with the Jets. That leaves the Flames and the Predators, who are where they are for a reason. I really don’t like anybody on either roster. Finally, the Vancouver Canucks.

This is the tire fire team of the league this year. Stuck on 25 points, they have created an eight-point hole for themselves. They’ve got the whale in Quinn Hughes, who wouldn’t fit on the Sens, so no. But names like Brock Boeser, Kiefer Sherwood, Conor Garland, and even Filip Hronek give me reasons to be excited.

Want goals and want to circle back to someone you targeted in the offseason who is locked up? Hi Brock Boeser.

Want someone who fits the mould of this team, hits everything, and scores goals for fun at the moment? Let me introduce you to Kiefer Sherwood.

You’ve got four of the most punchable faces in the NHL already. Want a fifth one who’s also assigned PK1 duties for a team in the NHL? Conor Garland is your man.

Can’t get Quinn Hughes, but want to get the guy that has been learning and complementing his game while in his prime and can sit next to Jake Sanderson for years to come? Filip Hronek, come on down.

No, they’re not the sexiest of names, but they won’t break the bank either, which the Sens can’t afford due to a depleted prospects cabinet. Just some food for thought, then.

I think that’s the perfect place to leave us off. Thank you, guys, for making it to the end of my return to written content. Be sure to head to one of my social pages and comment “Dion Phaneuf” to let me know you really read the whole thing.