Ottawa Senators centre Matt Duchene scores on Montreal Canadiens goaltender Carey Price during preseason action on Sept. 29, 2018.Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press
For the Ottawa Senators, it’s all about the future.
After finishing second last in the NHL last season, Senators ownership and management decided to move ahead with a full rebuild.
With that mindset, the Senators made the decision to trade captain Erik Karlsson to the San Jose Sharks last month. Earlier in the off-season, the Senators traded Mike Hoffman, leaving them with the dubious task of replacing a significant portion of their offence.
Karlsson had led or tied for the team lead in scoring the past five seasons, while Hoffman contributed 20-plus goals the past four seasons.
Last season, the Senators finished 25th overall with 219 goals.
They’ll need contributions from across the board on offence this season. The Senators will look to Matt Duchene and Mark Stone to lead the way, but will need Bobby Ryan to improve on the 11 goals he scored last season and hope that Ryan Dzingel can improve on his 23.
The two most notable additions will be rookie Brady Tkachuk, selected fourth overall in the 2018 NHL draft, and Alex Formenton, Ottawa’s second-round pick, 47th overall, from 2017.
Formenton made a solid impression last season and made the team out of camp, but was sent back to the OHL’s London Knights two weeks into the season. The 19-year-old came back and turned heads this year, with Senators coach Guy Boucher declaring the young forward had “McDavid type speed.”
“He’s got all the mental tools to be in the NHL,” said Boucher. “He goes to the net, he pays the price, he’s first on puck, taking checks to make plays happen.”
Boucher is just as eager about Tkachuk, who has shown a willingness to play a gritty style of game.
“His emotional control off-ice and on-ice was a big thing,” said Boucher. “He’s not fazed by anything and so I think in that respect that’s probably what makes you decide if a kid is ready or not because we all know what he can (do) on the ice, but it’s the majority as a person, as a player, as a teammate that makes you decide most of the time if those guys are ready or not.”
Without Karlsson, the Senators are left to fill a huge void on their blue line. Cody Ceci and Thomas Chabot will become the top pair, while Mark Borowiecki and Chris Wideman have shown they work well together. The question remains who will play with Dylan DeMelo, acquired from the Sharks in the Karlsson trade.
Ben Harpur, Maxime Lajoie and Christian Jaros are all vying for the sixth spot. Harpur could have the inside edge as he signed a two-year, one-way contract in February and would need to clear waivers to be sent to the AHL.
However, Lajoie and Jaros both have had solid pre-seasons. The Senators have hinted they might start the season carrying eight defencemen.
Regardless of who the Senators end up keeping, there’s no denying their blue line is inexperienced. They will need goalie Craig Anderson to be significantly better than he was last season when he went 23-25-6 with a 3.32 goals-against average and .898 save percentage in 58 games.
“We’ve got everyone on the same page here,” said Anderson. “I think everyone is pulling the rope in the same direction. We’ve got guys buying into the team game right now and it’s showing.”
Last season, the Senators were left with a “broken” locker room, according to general manager Pierre Dorion. As a result, there is a focus on moving forward as a united group.
“We have a really good group of guys, to a man,” said Duchene. “We’re jelling in here first and the best teams that I’ve ever played on, at any level, have been the ones that get along the best off the ice and are close and have each other’s backs. You want to push each other, but at the same time it’s a respect that you have and I think there’s that in this room. The leadership right now is really strong throughout, top to bottom, and we want to keep that going.”
HEAD COACH
Guy Boucher, third season and final year of his contract
LAST SEASON
28-43-11, missed playoffs and finished second last in the league
KEY PLAYERS
Matt Duchene: In the final year of his contract and set to become an unrestricted free agent July 1. Duchene will be expected to take on a big leadership role both on and off the ice. The Senators will need him to be at his best to have any chance of winning most nights.
Mark Stone: Like Duchene, Stone is set to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season after signing a one-year extension in August. Stone has grown into one of the Senators’ top leaders and will be counted on to help with the development of Brady Tkachuk.
Thomas Chabot: In just his second full season, the 21-year-old defenceman will be asked to eat a number of minutes that were usually given to Erik Karlsson. Last season, Chabot averaged 17:31 of ice time, but he will likely find himself in the 20-22 minute range this season. Through three pre-season games, he averaged 20:47. In addition Chabot is expected to quarterback the first power-play unit.
THE BIG QUESTION
The Senators are coming off their worst season in more than a decade and a summer of turmoil, trading away their best player. Now, they are in the midst of a full rebuild. Not many people give the Senators any chance of being very competitive, but Duchene says players are out to prove last season was an anomaly. The question remains can this team find strength in all the turmoil of the past year and surprise the hockey world?