Stutzle ‘very committed’ in 5th NHL season for Senators

OTTAWA -- Tim Stutzle is raising his game in his fifth NHL season to a level previously unseen.

The German-born star forward has 24 points (nine goals, 15 assists) in 20 games and is currently on a 98-point pace, which would surpass his career high of 90 in 2022-23.

“I’ve been working with some guys, doing a lot of video and stuff on how to get better offensively,” Stutzle said. “I always thought that was the best part of my game, to create offense, and I think so far this year, when I get my legs going it creates a lot of offense.

“I think what’s helped me a lot, too, is playing smarter with the puck. Like, I’m not trying to 1-on-3 if I don’t have to and maybe just chip it or have my teammates come and support me. I think a big part of that, too, is trusting your teammates. I think we’ve got to do a better job of that as well. If you trust them, then it makes it a lot easier for everyone out there.”

Travis Green, who was hired as Senators coach May 8, replacing Jacques Martin, has been instrumental in developing Stutzle’s two-way game. The 22-year-old has been called on to evolve, and he’s perfectly happy to be pushed.

“What’s helped me a lot is that he demands a lot of myself, and I do the same for me too,” Stutzle said. “I think that helped me a lot. He wants me to get better every day. And the biggest thing is being able to play against the top players in the League.

“I think he believes in me. I think he believes in the way I play. Obviously, there’s still a lot of areas I can get better in, and he’s trying to help me do that.”

Green has been impressed thus far with Stutzle, the No. 3 pick in the 2020 NHL Draft. Stutzle has a 57.4 shot attempts percentage at 5-on-5, the highest among Ottawa forwards with at least 10 games played this season. Green believes Stutzle's focus on the minutiae of his game has been invaluable.

“He’s a very committed player,” Green said. “For his age, he’s mature. He understands what it takes to win and understands that he has had to make improvements in his game to become a winning player.

“What he was known for is what you could almost say about every high-end skilled player that comes into the League. They’re known for their rush game, their power play, but what you see is the top players mature; they become better in all areas. They own the puck more in the offensive zone … they cycle the puck, they hang onto the puck in the hard areas, they also defend well. … You’ve seen it over the course of time, dating back to (Sidney) Crosby, (Steve) Yzerman, like, you see how players mature in the League and eventually win. Those are conversations we’ve had with Tim and he’s been very coachable in that dialogue, in having open conversation and honest conversation. He’s very coachable that way.”

Ever since officially entering the NHL on Jan. 15, 2021 (his 19th birthday), Stutzle has broken numerous Senators records for offensive production by a certain age. On Saturday, he one-timed a cross-slot pass from Claude Giroux with 44 seconds remaining in a 4-3 loss to the Vancouver Canucks for his 100th NHL goal. Until Saturday, no player in franchise history had scored 100 goals before his 23rd birthday.

Twenty games into the 2024-25 season, Stutzle has shaken an unflattering reputation of being too easy to knock off the puck. He’s fighting through checks instead of looking for a penalty call, he's commanding the play during the offensive-zone cycle and he’s fearlessly driving to the slot to create scoring opportunities.

There's a reason why no Senators forward plays more than Stutzle, who is averaging 19:56 of ice time heading into Monday’s game against the Calgary Flames at Canadian Tire Centre (7:30 p.m. ET; Prime).

“I thought about it a lot in the summer, what we could fine-tune to play better hockey and be better," Stutzle said. "I talked a lot to [Green] as well, and I think what he’s trying to teach me is that when I play the right way every night and try to do the right things and work hard that other guys are going to try and do the same thing. I think that kind of helped me a lot.

“There’s a lot to learn still. I’m still trying to figure it out and get better. I still [make] mistakes, but I think he’s there for me. All my teammates are there for me to try to get better.”