Ottawa Year end Wrap up
The Ottawa Senators started the season with expectations of making the playoffs based how the previous season went. Things did not go as planned. We spent half the season flirting with the playoffs. We went from being as high as 3rd in the east to out of the playoffs to flirty with 8th. But as the season went on we didn’t see ourselves as contenders and a rebuild was in the cards. Veterans we shipped out for youth and picks
I think the one trade that hurt our chances was trading away Vinnie Lecavalier. We made a deal last year to get him and he seemed to spark the team onto a nice run and a playoff berth. This year we thought we would try and save some cap space and get some depth by trading him. As the season went on we realized what a good 1-2 punch he made with Staal. We never found a someone that was able to mirror this. We did get some good assets in this deal however which coincidentally work nicely with the rebuild.
On to the Predators Highs and Lows of the year:
Leading Scorer: Nicklas Backstrom 82 Gp, 34, 48a 82p
For the first time in a while someone other than Staal lead the way in points. Backstrom had a solid finish to the year as he got more first line minutes.
Best Defenceman: Mike Mottau 80GP, 1g, 15a 16p +3
Mottau finished 2nd in total points for D-men but on a team with some bad +/- players he finished up a +3. Was a stead presence and did whatever we asked of him.
Overall the Senators had a bad season from what I expected. This offseason we face the following challenges:
1. Depth. Need to find some players to go along side of the Staals Backstrom and Havlat.
We have Ladd who we think will take the next step but need another LW to play on our top 2 lines. Need some 3rd and 4th line guys as well or some younger players to step up
2. Free Agents.. have a few to sign in Ladd, Backstrom, Marc Staal and Shultz
Prospects and Minor Leagues:
The system is pretty good for the Senators franchise. The AHL team has some good young players and some dead weight. We look for some young players like Cal O’reilly, Condra, Wahl, Plante, Stoner, Goncharov, Levi, Peters to continue to grow. O’reilly, Condra, Stoner, Plante all have time in the NHL now and all have shown some good potential. All could see time in the CPHL next year.
Joining them in the AHL will be Kyle Beach, Andrei Loktionov, Adam Comrie and Michael Stone from the ECHL. As well Paul Byron, Mark Stone recent acquisitions will also join them in the AHL
Guys we have in the ECHL of note are
1. Cody Eaken: Former 3rd round pick by Washington. Highly Skilled player who almost made the Caps out of training camp and having a good season in the WHL.
2. Zach Kassian : First round pick of Buffalo. Good season by Kassian who also almost made the NHL this past year. Solid scorer, excellent size.. should be in the NHL soon.
3. Ryan Spooner: Acquired in the Rosival trade. Another solid prospect had 82 points in the OHL this year and got some AHL time as well. 3 points in 3 games.
4. Simon Despres: 1st round pick of the Penguins.. was recently names top Defensemen in the QMJL this year. Solid all around player with great offensive potential.
We also have a lot of early picks this year.2 first rounders. 3 second rounders and 2 3rd rounders. Which we hope to use to add more depth to the Senators.
Future looks good in Ottawa. Question is will they be around? Or will they be used to get players to help us win now. Time will tell.
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