The Senators don’t know what to do with Fabian Zetterlund – hockey writers –

Before the 2025-26 season, Fabian Zetterlund was scheduled to fill in on the front line with Tim Stuttzle and Brady Tkachuk. He had the experience and, perhaps most importantly, the speed to keep up with the youth of the top team. Given his 17-Goal Breakout, a 36-point breakout with the San Jose Sharks, the 26-year-old conference seemed to be on the verge of hitting the next generation.

However, that is not what happened this season. 16 games into that span, Zetterlund has just a goal and two homers, and there’s been no shortage of tries. He has spent time with almost every forward in the senators’ lineup and on every line. Ottawa tries everything to help him out, and it just doesn’t work.

Something isn’t clicking with Zetterlund in Ottawa. It doesn’t matter where he plays, he can’t seem to get his goals as close as he did last year. Although the season is early, the Senators are running out of options to help their young sniper find his place on the team.

Zetterlund doesn’t work on the front line

The idea behind starting Zetterlund with Stutzle was strong; Few players are faster than 26-year-old Stede, but Stuttzle is one. Having someone who could keep up with him and make lightning quick decisions seemed like a recipe for success. Add in Tkachuk on the other side, and there was a force that could emerge as a 24-goal scorer and help open up a poor 5-on-5 offense.

An early trial at the end of 2024-25 looked promising. Although Zetsterlund finished with just two goals in 20 games, the line of Stuttzle and Claude Giroux scored a goal, reaching 22 percent in 60 minutes, and had a good corsi percentage. The trio was strong and defensive, activating 1.71 goals against 60 minutes (GA / 60). With Stutzle and Tkachuk, it was very encouraging, with a line that reached four goals in 60 minutes and, in the 30 minutes they played together, they did not concede a single goal.

“I thought he created a lot of opportunities last year,” Senators coach Travis Green told reporters in September. “I think he was better last year. He’s still improving.

But the targets do not come in 2025-26. The front line with Zetterlund produced one goal and 18 shots over 25 minutes for a shooting percentage of 6%, or an average of only 2.6 goals per 60 minutes (GF / 60). The Senators tried to give him and melt time to find out, and Tkachuk’s injury did not help, but Zetsterlund still has a 1.78 expected goals received (xgf) five-five. Meanwhile, Ottawa has eight NHL goalscorers this season, averaging 3.35 goals per game, and the fourth-most five. The Senators were producing despite Zetsterlund’s problems, and he was being left behind.

Zetterlund can’t stay on the fourth line

If Zetrlund can play on the front line, maybe he can find success in the fourth. Although he is a strong goaltender, he is also a reliable defensive presence, and if he were to focus, maybe he could block the puck and find his confidence to do well.

So far, the results have been positive. After 17 games, Zetterlund has an expected goals against 9.81 (XGA) 219 minutes played, or about 2.7 expected goals against 60 minutes (XGA / 60). At even strength, he averages 13 minutes of Ice time, which means he averages a goal every other game. In fact, he was much better than that, reaching 2.5 goals against 60 minutes (GA / 60), better than Larns Eller, David Perron, and Drake Baterson.

Related: Is Tim Stuttzle still a superstar for the Penators?

The biggest problem, however, is that Zetterlund still doesn’t score goals and even create scoring opportunities. While the third line of Giroux, Michael Amadio, and Shane Pinto has been one of the Senators’ best lines this season, despite limited Ice time, Zetterlund’s lines have not been able to score a few points in the few opportunities they did. The three lines used three times with Zetterlund produced 16 shots and no goals over 58 minutes. If Ottawa wants to help Zetterlund regain his scoring touch, he can’t sit on the fourth line, because it clearly doesn’t help.

Where does Zetterlund fit in?

Recently, Zetterlund returned to the second line with Dylan Cozens and the energetic Grig. TROIO has been successful all season by one goal on six shots over 18 minutes. But he’s also one of the least productive Senators right now, perhaps because he’s so familiar. Apart from the recent call-up of Hayden Hodgson, who was placed in the fourth line, every other line was creating scoring opportunities. A sniper cannot be successful without multiple scoring opportunities.

And that’s the problem. As long as Zetrlund is producing alone, he will continue to be the odd man out, preventing him from developing better chemistry with his linemates and limiting his scoring opportunities. It’s a self-fulfilling prophecy: Zetterlund struggles to score, so he’s moved to a new line, where he continues to fight because he’s better acquainted with his linemates than everyone else.

It’s only a matter of time before he leaves again. Even if Zetrandlund regains his goalscoring goals with the police and greig, that will change when Tkachuk returns. Bangerson Now looks like a first-line tool, which means Perron will return to the second line, where he has more experience this season. The Senators won’t be doing away with the third line, so Zetterlund is likely to return to the fourth line, where his production is likely to remain strong.

That’s not how a $4.275 million player should be treated, and yet the Senators don’t have a better option right now. It’s not that Zetterlund doesn’t fit in Ottawa; He has been a solid addition to the team since his arrival last season. He’s a speedy winger with potential to play top-six minutes, which is exactly what his in-demand skills, along with his defensive skills, help make Ottawa better.

But Ottawa can’t hold out forever. The Senators need to make the playoffs, so they need to work with productive players, making it difficult for Zetterlund to pull this off. However, it may cost them in the long run, as Zetsterlund certainly does not want to waste his time playing low-level hockey for the next three years.

All stats and metrics taken from natural stat trick, hockey reference, and frozen dobber tools