The question now, of course, is this:
After coming within a well-placed shot of advancing to the Stanley Cup final, what do the Senators do for an encore?
From management to every corner of the dressing room, there is acknowledgement of how tough it will be to just make the playoffs again, with parity and the general improvement of teams in the Eastern Conference.
If they played with no pressure the last six weeks, the opposite will be true in 2017-18, when they will be expected to be a contender.
That means there will be all sorts of pressure, starting with the weight on the slender shoulders of coach Guy Boucher.