The Ottawa Senators exceeded all expectations and came within one goal of reaching the Stanley Cup Finals this past season. Now they will have the opportunity to build on that run as they reload ahead of next season. The Senators have the majority of their key players under contract for at one more season and they should have some flexibility under the salary cap if they want to make a substantial offseason splash. Here is a look at the offseason plan for Ottawa.
3 Things The Senators Have To Work On
1. Trade Bobby Ryan
Ryan was the Senators second-leading scorer throughout the postseason with six goals and nine assists. However, the veteran winger struggled mightily during the regular season with just 13 goals and 25 points. The fact that he is scheduled to make $7.25 million per season over the next five years makes those regular season numbers that much more concerning.
Ryan is set to turn 31-years-old next season, so his best days are likely behind him. What we’ve learned about him during his time with Ottawa is that he’s a solid finisher but he doesn’t make everyone around him better. In Anaheim, he played with Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry, and he looked great as a result. In Ottawa, he was charged as being the leader who elevates the play of others, but that never came to fruition. That’s why his numbers dropped.
Ottawa will need to take a proactive approach to the situation and will likely need to sweeten the pot for another team in order to get his terrible contract off of the books.
2. Sign A Scoring Winger
If Ryan is traded, the Senators will have even more flexibility under the salary cap to address their forward core. Mike Hoffman, Derick Brassard, Kyle Turris and Mark Stone are all under contract through next season. However, Turris is set to become an unrestricted free agent the following year while Stone will become a restricted free agent. The Senators will have to find a way to sign those key forwards to reasonable extensions while also looking outside of the organization for some help up front. Ottawa is a smaller market team based north of the border. However, they do have enough talent and money that they should be able to convince a key scorer to sign with them this offseason.
3. Make Room For Chabot On Defense
In addition to testing the free agent market, the Senators need to continue to grow from within. Thomas Chabot is coming off another monster season in the minors and he is ready for the NHL spotlight. Erik Karlsson is already one of the best defensemen in the NHL and Chabot could give Ottawa even more flare on the back end. After putting up 45 points in 34 regular season games for St. John’s in the QMJHL and then earning MVP honors at the World Junior Championship it’s clear that Chabot is ready to take the next step in his career.
Key Free Agents
The most pressing free agents for the Senators are both RFA’s in Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Ryan Dzingel. Both players will likely be in line for reasonable bridge contracts that keep them in Ottawa. Pageau was excellent in the playoffs, scoring eight goals. However, it’s worth keeping in mind that he only had 12 goals in the 82-game regular season. Dzingel was also a decent playoff performer but he only had 14 goals and 32 points in the regular season as well. Dzingel is 25 and Pageau is 24, so both should be on the rise in the coming years.
Meanwhile, the Senators might want to bring back Chris Neil, Victor Stalberg and Chris Kelly as UFA’S but none of those three players is going to command big money. Backup netminder Mike Condon is also a UFA so Ottawa will have to make a decision in goal. The Senators have some flexibility when it comes to approaching the free agent market so it will be interesting to see what they do this offseason with a chance to reload for another playoff run in 2018.
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