What’s wrong with Tim Stutzle? Ottawa Senators need him to be a star

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The stats don’t necessarily suggest it’s a slump, but the mannerisms, the on-ice demeanour … there have been plenty of reasons to wonder – what’s wrong with Tim Stutzle?

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And, if there is/was anything off with the 21-year-old Ottawa Senators centre, will a four-point night (all assists) in Saturday’s 5-4 win over the San Jose Sharks fix it?

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Seven goals, 31 assists. Thirty-eight points in 38 games, tied with five others for 47th-best in the NHL. In Stutzle, we see greatness. Sometimes. Not often enough.

You watch Stutzle at his best, you observe the offensive skills that could one day soon place among the NHL’s top point-getters, and you know there is more.

There is potential for next-level elite … and, yet.

Talk to him and he sounds like a guy who wants to be not only good, he wants to be really, really good … and, yet.

“I’ve been struggling a lot,” Stutzle said in a media scrum Saturday. “It’s tough when you’ve been struggling to keep your confidence up. I believe in myself. I think I’m a really good player. (Saturday) I wanted the puck more. I tried to get the swagger back.”

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Swagger. Walk the walk. Maybe that’s it. On Saturday, Stutzle looked more comfortable, less bothered, more like himself.

It has to be a tough for Stutzle, selected third overall by the Senators in the 2020 NHL Draft – picked behind Alexis Lafreniere (who went first overall to the New York Rangers) and Quinton Byfield (second to the Los Angeles Kings). Expectations are high. From his team, from the fanbase and mostly, from himself.

This was going to be the year for Stutzle … and for the Senators. So far, neither has really found its stride.

Flanked by wingers Brady Tkachuk and Claude Giroux a year ago, Stutzle was at his best. Since, there have been new linemates and the frustration that goes with playing for a team that’s lost way more often than it’s won. Stutzle has worn that, putting pressure on himself to do too much. And when it isn’t enough, you can see the disappointment.

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A year ago, in his third NHL season, Stutzle had 39 goals and 51 assists (90 points). He seemed more confident and you knew 100 points was around the corner. Sometime soon.

You look at the 39 goals and you wonder, why just seven so far this year?

Senators winger Vladimir Tarasenko, who is in his 12th NHL season, defended Stutzle.

“Everyone expects him to do something great every shift,” said Tarasenko. “There are a lot of good things him and other guys are doing, things they don’t get credit for. As a young player, there can be big expectations, you have to learn how to deal with the ups and downs. It comes down to belief.”

Asked about Stutzle, Senators head coach Jacques Martin said: “It’s starting to come, it’s coming gradually. He’s been more effective working on his 200-foot game.”

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Back to Saturday’s game.

The Senators had lost five straight games on the road, coming after losing all five games of a road trip in December.

So, even a win over the Sharks, the NHL’s absolute worst team, is good. It was anything but pretty. The Senators, who blew a 2-0 first-period lead and, despite outshooting the toothless Sharks 41-18, needed Tarasenko’s goal with five seconds left to get the W.

Against the Sharks, the Senators did a couple of things better. Their defencemen directed a lot more shots toward the net (Artem Zub had seven shots on goal, with three assists). Their game management and play in the neutral zone was also better. It was far from a perfect game, though.

“We still make mistakes that cost us goals,” said Martin. “We have to keep learning how to manage the puck better. Teams check so well. We still need to understand the concept of delivering the puck on the net to create an offensive play on the rebound or a tip. It’s twofold – the D finding the opening and finding someone in front, whether it’s one or two players going to the net.”

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“When you’re losing, you still have to come to the rink and make the most of it,” said winger Drake Batherson, who scored one of Ottawa’s goals. “All you can do is worry about your own game and work as hard as you can.”

It gets a lot tougher for the Senators, who have tumbled way beyond anyone’s expectations in a season where both the general manager (Pierre Dorion) and head coach (D.J. Smith) have been fired.

On Tuesday, the Senators will play the Colorado Avalanche, who shrugged off a 3-0 deficit to topple the Toronto Maple Leafs 5-3 Saturday. A bit more than three weeks ago, Colorado beat Ottawa 6-4. The Avs are among the top teams in the Western Conference; the Senators are among the East’s worst.

Tarasenko, who scored the game-winning goal (which survived a review for goaltender interference), said finding a level of consistency, without relying on anything fancy, is a big key.

“You don’t have to make highlight-reel plays every time, trust the plan and grind it over again and again,” he said. “You have to learn how to get excited from the simple plays.”

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