2018-2019 Ottawa Senators Season Preview
Oct 10, 2016 12:20:44 GMT -5
bjernagris (PHI) and mbest (ANA) like this
Post by brob89 (NSH) on Oct 10, 2016 12:20:44 GMT -5
TSN OTTAWA -
The end is near for this Senator super squad (alliteration!). GM Lawblaw has worked behind the scense in previous seasons and offseasons putting
together a team that is the envy of the league, but the cap complications that are always inevitable with any good team are finally almost here.
This coming off-season 3 of Ottawa's 4 franchise players are up for extensions... big extensions. At $6.5 million per year, Erik Karlsson has been
massively underpaid and reckoning day is coming. He's the world's best defenseman, some might say best player period, and he's going to expect
a contract that reflects that. Add to this extensions for his partner, Ryan Murray, Tyler Seguin, Mika Zibanejad, Andreas Englund, and Anthony Duclair;
it's clear that the clock is about to strike midnight. But spirits remain high in Ottawa. They have another opportunity to strike gold before their time is
up and they plan on taking it.
Major Offseason Changes:
In:
Ryan Johansen (Trade), Logan Couture (Trade)
Out:
Teuvo Teravainen (Trade), Mark Giordano (UFA), Andrew Shaw (Trade), Mark Scheifele (Trade), Alex Guptill (Trade), Ryan Graves (Trade), Jamie Benn (Trade)
Ottawa has spent much of the offseason making room for players already in their organization that are ready to make the jump to the iNHL level
such as Cole Ully, Lukas Vejdemo, Hank Crone, and Austin Wagner. But apart from this they made a couple of surprising decisions trading team
leader and star player, Jamie Benn, to Detroit and moving Teuvo Teravainen in a 3-team trade for pending UFA, Logan Couture.
Projected Lineup:
Couture- Seguin - Johansen
Duclair - Turris - Trotchek
Ully - Zibanejad - Johnson
Desjardins - Wagner - Crone
Murray - Karlsson
Englund - Trouba
Ruopp - Welinski
Andersen
Gustafsson
Goalies:
The goalies in Ottawa remain unchanged from last year where Freddie Andersen and Johan Gustafsson partnered together to backstop the Senators
to another impressive campaign, although falling short of their ultimate goal. Gustafsson, in particular, had excellent numbers in his rookie season
playing in North America. He is expected to have another solid year which should light a fire under Freddie Andersen after the exceptionally average
numbers he posted last season. Andersen has all the talent in the world, but continues to struggle to put all the puzzle pieces together when the
pressure is on. GM Lawblaw gave up a King's ransom for this star goalie, but Andersen still has a long way to go if he plans on justifying that price.
Defense:
Mark Giordano and Ryan Graves have both moved on, but Erik Karlsson is back so there are no concerns here. Their top five D of Karlsson, Murray,
Trouba, Welinski and Englund is still one of the league's best. If there is a question to be asked of Ottawa's defensive corp it's about who will fill that
final spot in the top 6. The competition seems to be between big Sam Ruopp, 2017 1st-round pick Luke Martin, Alex Carrier, and Victor Mete. Sam
Ruopp looks to have the inside track at the moment, but with a strong training camp anything is possible.
Offense:
Even with all of the turn over and players lost over the offseason, this group of forwards looks to continue their excellence in 2018/2019. Led by
Tyler Seguin and Ryan Johansen with secondary scoring from Kyle Turris, Logan Couture, and Anthony Duclair; this will be a high scoring group.
The losses of Benn, Guptill, and Teravainen will likely not be felt too significantly as long as this group can find chemistry and get some momentum
going early. Having Mika Zibanejad as a 3rd line center tells the story of the quality that this group has. From top to bottom, there are no holes.
Perhaps they don't have all the stars that a team like the New York Islanders has, but Offense will be a strength of theirs, for sure.
2018-2019 Outlook:
This team is too good and too deep to fail. Another significant injury could certainly derail their cup hopes, but expect to see them in the playoffs
and more once again. It's the end of an era. Enjoy this final ride Senators' fans.
The end is near for this Senator super squad (alliteration!). GM Lawblaw has worked behind the scense in previous seasons and offseasons putting
together a team that is the envy of the league, but the cap complications that are always inevitable with any good team are finally almost here.
This coming off-season 3 of Ottawa's 4 franchise players are up for extensions... big extensions. At $6.5 million per year, Erik Karlsson has been
massively underpaid and reckoning day is coming. He's the world's best defenseman, some might say best player period, and he's going to expect
a contract that reflects that. Add to this extensions for his partner, Ryan Murray, Tyler Seguin, Mika Zibanejad, Andreas Englund, and Anthony Duclair;
it's clear that the clock is about to strike midnight. But spirits remain high in Ottawa. They have another opportunity to strike gold before their time is
up and they plan on taking it.
Major Offseason Changes:
In:
Ryan Johansen (Trade), Logan Couture (Trade)
Out:
Teuvo Teravainen (Trade), Mark Giordano (UFA), Andrew Shaw (Trade), Mark Scheifele (Trade), Alex Guptill (Trade), Ryan Graves (Trade), Jamie Benn (Trade)
Ottawa has spent much of the offseason making room for players already in their organization that are ready to make the jump to the iNHL level
such as Cole Ully, Lukas Vejdemo, Hank Crone, and Austin Wagner. But apart from this they made a couple of surprising decisions trading team
leader and star player, Jamie Benn, to Detroit and moving Teuvo Teravainen in a 3-team trade for pending UFA, Logan Couture.
Projected Lineup:
Couture- Seguin - Johansen
Duclair - Turris - Trotchek
Ully - Zibanejad - Johnson
Desjardins - Wagner - Crone
Murray - Karlsson
Englund - Trouba
Ruopp - Welinski
Andersen
Gustafsson
Goalies:
The goalies in Ottawa remain unchanged from last year where Freddie Andersen and Johan Gustafsson partnered together to backstop the Senators
to another impressive campaign, although falling short of their ultimate goal. Gustafsson, in particular, had excellent numbers in his rookie season
playing in North America. He is expected to have another solid year which should light a fire under Freddie Andersen after the exceptionally average
numbers he posted last season. Andersen has all the talent in the world, but continues to struggle to put all the puzzle pieces together when the
pressure is on. GM Lawblaw gave up a King's ransom for this star goalie, but Andersen still has a long way to go if he plans on justifying that price.
Defense:
Mark Giordano and Ryan Graves have both moved on, but Erik Karlsson is back so there are no concerns here. Their top five D of Karlsson, Murray,
Trouba, Welinski and Englund is still one of the league's best. If there is a question to be asked of Ottawa's defensive corp it's about who will fill that
final spot in the top 6. The competition seems to be between big Sam Ruopp, 2017 1st-round pick Luke Martin, Alex Carrier, and Victor Mete. Sam
Ruopp looks to have the inside track at the moment, but with a strong training camp anything is possible.
Offense:
Even with all of the turn over and players lost over the offseason, this group of forwards looks to continue their excellence in 2018/2019. Led by
Tyler Seguin and Ryan Johansen with secondary scoring from Kyle Turris, Logan Couture, and Anthony Duclair; this will be a high scoring group.
The losses of Benn, Guptill, and Teravainen will likely not be felt too significantly as long as this group can find chemistry and get some momentum
going early. Having Mika Zibanejad as a 3rd line center tells the story of the quality that this group has. From top to bottom, there are no holes.
Perhaps they don't have all the stars that a team like the New York Islanders has, but Offense will be a strength of theirs, for sure.
2018-2019 Outlook:
This team is too good and too deep to fail. Another significant injury could certainly derail their cup hopes, but expect to see them in the playoffs
and more once again. It's the end of an era. Enjoy this final ride Senators' fans.