Ottawa Senators 2016-2017 Season Preview
Mar 22, 2016 15:00:31 GMT -5
Rob, Beans (BOS), and 2 more like this
Post by brob89 (NSH) on Mar 22, 2016 15:00:31 GMT -5
- Ottawa
The 2016/17 iNHL season is almost upon us, and so it's time to do our annual season preview.
Like a number of iNHL franchises, the Ottawa Senators made a number of significant moves this
Summer. The face of the franchise remains, but beyond Karlsson, it's looking like the Senators
will have 13 new faces (Chris Phillips not included) on their NHL roster come the start of Pre-Season
this week. That amount of change has made fans a little wary of what play might look like initially for the
Sens as the players get used to each other and build up chemistry. But Senators' coach, Dave Cameron,
will be hoping that these growing pains can be overcome quickly, so that he can see what this evidently
talented team can do. Senators fans are hoping for a continuation of the run that they were on at the end of
last year; winning 17 of the last 23 games only to fall one point short by losing to the lowly Bruins
on the final day of the season.
Offense:
The Sedins are gone. Michalek is gone. Hansen is gone. But in their place the Senators have brought
in Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin from Dallas, Kyle Okposo from Long Island, and Anthony Duclair from
Arizona. It's not fully clear who will be playing with Benn and Seguin on the top line, but then, does it
really matter? Whoever it is will be getting points, points, and more points. Look for Seguin to be near
the top of the league in point production. Barring injury, it's hard to see this group of forwards not putting
up significant numbers.
Defense:
It's hard to see a weakness in the Senators defense. Karlsson and Vatanen are two of the best offensive
defenseman in the league and should probably put up over 100 points between them. Hamonic and Michael
Stone round out the top four quite well, and even old faithful, Chris Phillips should offer experience and
solid defense alongside Connor Murphy on the final pairing. Nick Schultz looks to be the only other defenseman
that the Senators plan to keep up in the iNHL, but Oskari Manninen, whom the Sens picked up via free agency,
looks iNHL ready if anyone goes down. As for now, Manninen looks to start the season in Binghamton.
Goal:
If the Senators have an area of weakness, this is it. Steve Mason and Scott Darling is not the best goalie
tandem in the league by far. That said; this is not an area of weakness. Mason is coming off a great year played
mostly with the Edmonton Oilers, and while past injuries are a concern, if healthy, he should backstop
the Senators to success. With his contract up at the end of the season, Mason should be a well motivated player.
Prediction:
The Ottawa Senators should make the playoffs, injuries or not. They are too good to miss the playoffs again,
even considering the strength of their division. However, it's still hard to call a team that missed the playoffs 4
months ago, a cup favorite. That mantle probably belongs to the Lighting, the Devils, the Capitals or the Blues.
But don't be surprised to see the Senators in the dog fight of the conference finals pushing for a game 7.
-end-
The 2016/17 iNHL season is almost upon us, and so it's time to do our annual season preview.
Like a number of iNHL franchises, the Ottawa Senators made a number of significant moves this
Summer. The face of the franchise remains, but beyond Karlsson, it's looking like the Senators
will have 13 new faces (Chris Phillips not included) on their NHL roster come the start of Pre-Season
this week. That amount of change has made fans a little wary of what play might look like initially for the
Sens as the players get used to each other and build up chemistry. But Senators' coach, Dave Cameron,
will be hoping that these growing pains can be overcome quickly, so that he can see what this evidently
talented team can do. Senators fans are hoping for a continuation of the run that they were on at the end of
last year; winning 17 of the last 23 games only to fall one point short by losing to the lowly Bruins
on the final day of the season.
Offense:
The Sedins are gone. Michalek is gone. Hansen is gone. But in their place the Senators have brought
in Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin from Dallas, Kyle Okposo from Long Island, and Anthony Duclair from
Arizona. It's not fully clear who will be playing with Benn and Seguin on the top line, but then, does it
really matter? Whoever it is will be getting points, points, and more points. Look for Seguin to be near
the top of the league in point production. Barring injury, it's hard to see this group of forwards not putting
up significant numbers.
Defense:
It's hard to see a weakness in the Senators defense. Karlsson and Vatanen are two of the best offensive
defenseman in the league and should probably put up over 100 points between them. Hamonic and Michael
Stone round out the top four quite well, and even old faithful, Chris Phillips should offer experience and
solid defense alongside Connor Murphy on the final pairing. Nick Schultz looks to be the only other defenseman
that the Senators plan to keep up in the iNHL, but Oskari Manninen, whom the Sens picked up via free agency,
looks iNHL ready if anyone goes down. As for now, Manninen looks to start the season in Binghamton.
Goal:
If the Senators have an area of weakness, this is it. Steve Mason and Scott Darling is not the best goalie
tandem in the league by far. That said; this is not an area of weakness. Mason is coming off a great year played
mostly with the Edmonton Oilers, and while past injuries are a concern, if healthy, he should backstop
the Senators to success. With his contract up at the end of the season, Mason should be a well motivated player.
Prediction:
The Ottawa Senators should make the playoffs, injuries or not. They are too good to miss the playoffs again,
even considering the strength of their division. However, it's still hard to call a team that missed the playoffs 4
months ago, a cup favorite. That mantle probably belongs to the Lighting, the Devils, the Capitals or the Blues.
But don't be surprised to see the Senators in the dog fight of the conference finals pushing for a game 7.
-end-
