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Sometimes, inspiration and motivation can come from the craziest places.

Maybe, just maybe, with September and the start of a new hockey season just around the corner, the Ottawa Senators can look towards that hockey hotbed of New Jersey for some sense of hope.

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It’s a tremendous reach, but, in a dream scenario for Senators fans, an influx of youthful talent including the likes of Brady Tkachuk, Colin White, Thomas Chabot, Logan Brown and Drake Batherson can provide the type of optimism that Nico Hischier, Jesper Bratt, Will Butcher, Miles Wood and Pavel Zacha have given Devils faithful.

Back to the Senators future in a moment. First, here’s a refresher on the Devils.

New Jersey went from 28-40-14 in 2016-17, dead last in the National Hockey League’s Eastern Conference, to 44-29-9 last season and a playoff spot, even though the Devils lost in the first round against the Tampa Bay Lightning.