Nick Jensen Quietly Emerges As The Headliner In The Ottawa Senators' Rebalancing Act

When the Ottawa Senators traded away defenseman Jakob Chychrun just 94 games after his arrival, a lot of people wondered if they couldn't have gotten something more for him than they did.

Just before the 2024 free agency opened, the Sens made a deal with the Washington Capitals, sending them Chychrun for defenseman Nick Jensen and a 2026 third-rounder.

Jensen was a different kind of defenceman. He wasn't as big a name as Chychrun, maybe not as flashy offensively, and most of Jensen's meals weren't still mooing as he scarfed them down.

With the young season now a month old, Sens fans are starting to see the logic behind Steve Staios's rebalanced architecture. Jensen has not only played well, but he's helped Thomas Chabot find his game.

Head coach Travis Green says Jensen went through an adjustment period, coming to a different city, team, and system, but he's happy with what he sees now.

"Yeah, he's been a good surprise," Green said. "Especially the last, I'd say, eight games.

"We slowly started to see his game kind of go from where it was at the beginning to ramping up. And as he's gotten comfortable in our system, in the city, in the new team, his game has really elevated. He's now using his compete and his hockey sense, his work ethic, to play a real strong game. And it's been a pleasant surprise, but he's played well."

It's interesting that Green would describe Jensen's play as a surprise. What's happening now is probably the exact vision Staios had when he made the trade. Not many of us would have the guts to say that the success of our boss's plan is a surprise.

Jensen spoke to the media after today's off-ice workout, and even though the coach and city are thrilled with the Senators' recent play, Jensen wasn't happy with his last two games.

"I think the trend has been upward obviously," Jensen said. "I think the team has been the outstanding part of it. I think my game, personally, the last two games hasn't been the best I've been all year, but getting the win is way more important than any of that. But overall, I think the (team's) play is trending up."

The plus/minus stat has its well-documented flaws, but Jensen's plus 11 is eye-catching. Chabot is the next closest at plus 4 and having a turnaround season, tied with Jake Sanderson at 9 points. So the pairing has been beneficial for both Jensen and Chabot.

"Where I think Thomas is, he's obviously a very highly skilled player, very easy to play with," Jensen said. "He works, wants the puck, competes. I think it's just a combination of the same things that I focus on. So you've got two D out there trying to do the same thing like that. I think it's really easy to play."

As Sanderson and Artem Zub work to reclaim their early season momentum, the top four in Ottawa could help set the stage for an exciting season.