Jake Sanderson Joins Exclusive Group in Senators History

With his goal last night, Jake Sanderson officially joined a small group of Senators defensemen to ever score 50 points in a season. He became just the fifth defensemen in Senators history to reach the 50 point mark. Let’s dive into the details on who else has hit that mark, and take a look at the season as a whole for Jake Sanderson.

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Ottawa Senators 50 points Defensemen

Here are the other d-men to reach 50 plus points in a season for the Senators:

• Norm MacIver
• Wade Redden
• Erik Karlsson
• Thomas Chabot

They all did it once, with the exception of Erik Karlsson who went for 50 plus points six times. The full list is here, with Erik Karlsson at the top when he scored 82 points in 2015-16 and was robbed of the Norris Trophy. Sanderson’s season currently sits tied with Wade Redden as the ninth most productive season by a defensemen in Senators history. With eight games to go, he could approach Thomas Chabot for eighth, when he scored 55 points in 2018-19.

First Half Struggles, Dominance Since

Here are Sanderson’s splits this season:

• First 47 games: 2 goals, 25 points
• Last 26 games: 7 goals, 25 points

There were signs that Sanderson was going to get going. First of all, his talent and work ethic made him an easy breakout candidate after his slow start. In the early going, he was playing with Travis Hamonic when Artem Zub was hurt, which negatively impacted his play. He was also shooting just 2% through his first 47 games.

Sanderson ranked 22nd among defensemen in points during those first 47 games. In the last 25 games, he’s 2nd, behind only Cale Makar. For the entire season, his 50 points rank 12th among all NHL d-men.

Final Thoughts

What makes Sanderson so special is that he’s not purely an offensive defenseman. His commitment to the defensive side of the ice is equally impressive. He leads Senators defensemen in takeaways with 47, blocked shots with 149, and shorthanded time on ice with over 188 minutes. In fact, he ranks 4th, 14th, and 22nd in those categories among all defensemen league wide.

Jake Sanderson’s game is predicated on speed and intelligence right now, with a whole lot of effort as well. If there is something lacking in his game, it’s his creativity. Keep in mind, he’s still only 22 and has shown growth one year to the next in each of his first three seasons. Given what he’s accomplished already, it wouldn’t be the least bit surprising to see his game continue to develop, with Sanderson adding the type of creativity as a passer and offensive player that could push him into the Norris conversation. Signed for the next seven seasons at just over $8 million per season, the Senators are extremely fortunate to have Sanderson for the long term on what is already looking like a bargain contract.