Do the sens currently have the pieces to make the playoffs next year?

[Big Muddy]

Not totally convinced we do but that's fine. There's just too many good teams in this division.

I think making a desperate move when we have no reason to do so is a bad idea. Hopefully Dorion can take advantage of our good expansion draft situation to pick up a Dman. That's an opportunity we should not be wasting.

Ya, with a little luck (i.e., no injuries to key players), we have a reasonable chance of making the playoffs I suppose.

But, I'd hope we set different kinds of goals.

I'd rather think long term. Knowing Ottawa and its owner, our best chance for more than just barely making the playoffs is going to depend on a lot of good young players that are our core on inexpensive ELC and RFA contracts. I'd love to be wrong, but I don't see Melnyk as a big player in landing the big fish/ticket free agents.

 

[Masked]

Montreal is obviously better too.
...
The sens finished last in the worst division in the league.

Don't agree with either of those statements. Montreal could be in the Wright sweepstakes next year.

 

[Big Muddy]

How is Florida a lock for top 2 let alone the playoffs? They haven’t even signed Barkov yet and their coach might not survive the offseason scandal.

Based on the regular season and this years playoffs, I thought the two teams that gave the Bolts the most trouble were Florida and the Islanders. I'd guess that Barkov will get signed by the Panthers.

 

[Big Muddy]

Does Dorion sign a bunch of has been vets who are liabilities and get played over better players?

That's a good question given what happened last year. They talk about getting a center and a defenseman. But, a lot depends on who they actually get.

I'm not that excited about the free agent centers this year. So, if its a trade, then there's lots of variability on how this could turn out. Maybe we actually land a good center, but if we give up good young prospects or players, how far ahead are we really? Or maybe we trade for an underwhelming center and lose good assets in the process. Seems like the results could vary significantly.

 

[Xspyrit]

That's a lot of confidence for a GM who just had a very poor off-season 8 months ago

Decisions were made by GM (with coach) and in the end, Balcers, White, Logan Brown, Zub, and Brannstrom were sitting in favor of Anisimov, Stepan, Paquette, Josh Brown and Coburn

If he has the same kind of off-season, not chance at the playoffs.

 

[HSF]

as of right now we are a bottom 10 team in the league and probably worse with the division we are in

Sens gotta make a big move and continue to build

 

[Cosmix]

No.

Progression isn't linear, and we have a lot of young kids whoa re due for a sophomore slump or third year blip. And our top line is subpar for the playoff team.

We still need the kids to develop...not all of them will. We need a few more prospects to turn into NHLers. The prospects look good, but they aren't NHLers until they have a good 50+ games under thier belts and we see what they can do in the league. And, we still need to patch whatever holes emerge after that.

Patience. We need patience.

Agreed. We also need a #1 centre, another top 4 defenceman and #1 winger to do something after getting into the playoffs. The rebuild is not complete and the team still has holes. And the competition in our division is high.

 

[Cosmix]

We have Zub.. He'd be a great partner for Chabot.. Can't see us getting a better one

While Zub has looked good defensively, he is not a physical defence man who can punish opposition forwards along the boards or clear the font of the net a la Shea Weber. We don't have any defensemen like him. I also can't see the Senators getting a defenceman better than Zub in the off-season, primarily due to the BUDGET.

 

[Adele Dazeem]

It's going to depend on sophomore slumps. goalies and correct acquisitions in the offseason (mainly a top-4 D + a better center to play top-6).
Three major things needs to go right, so I'll say probably not but not impossible.

 

[Back in Black]

Should have a Hell Ya Poll option....

 

[Cosmix]

Dorion guaranteed a playoff appearance this year. Let’s see if he delivers.

Everyone hold your breath!

 

[Byron Bitz]

If the question is asking if they CAN make the playoffs the answer is yes. It’s not always the best team on paper that makes the playoffs. Ottawa can make it if they find chemistry and play a good team game.

 

[Cosmix]

Does Dorion sign a bunch of has been vets who are liabilities and get played over better players?

Do they have false teeth?

 

[Cosmix]

Don't agree with either of those statements. Montreal could be in the Wright sweepstakes next year.

Time will tell which one of you have the better insight.

 

[Byron Bitz]

Everyone seems to think Ottawa would have to fight for a wild card spot but im not convinced they can’t take one of the top 3 spots in the Atlantic. I think we will see age related regression from Boston’s top players Bergeron and Marchand. Toronto may lose Hyman and they will lack motivation for the regular season. They have nothing to prove in the regular season. All they care about is trying to show the world they are capable of finally winning a playoff series, they have already had tons of regular season success already I think it will be really hard for them to get up for the regular season after this latest playoff disappointment.

 

[Ice-Tray]

Sure they do. That doesn’t mean they will, but they have inspired some degree of confidence based on their play.

I don’t buy the division difficulty argument. Our team plays hard against teams and has good records against good teams.

It will be good to see how we push some different teams next season.

 

[yogibear]

Why not? But I wouldn’t bet my house on it .

 

[Alf Silfversson]

I think they're trending in the right way but will struggle to compete in a tough division this year.

I think next year is the year to start being truly competitive. Should line up nicely with Boston declining due to age. Toronto's window may be closing too shortly after that.

 

[aragorn]

I don't think anything PD does in the offseason will change anything with this team given that any vets they pickup likely won't be here all that long. They already have most of the forward group in place with the exception of maybe 2 or 3 players, but it's the defence & in net that will need to be improved on. What they lack is experience because the team is so young, but once they get a few more of the right pieces in place (Sanderson, Kleven, Sokolov, Jarventie) & with a little more experience not only should they make the playoffs, but I think they will be able to challenge for a SC within 3 to 5 yrs.

In 5 yrs Tkachuk will be around 26 yrs old in his prime & a beast & so should most of the players around him & on the team. If they win it sooner that would be great, but I expect that it's right around this 24 to 26 yrs of age that this team will be a contender & challenge for a SC.

 

[Shruggs Peterson]

The mountain to make the playoffs looks awfully steep. Imo, two, maybe three teams in the Atlantic need to falter to have a shot.

Tampa and Toronto will likely come back with similar rosters to what they have now. Even if the cap squeezes their team (more Tampa since they're already over the cap) and they lose some guys, they are as close to locks as there is in the division.

Florida has all of their core pieces in place for next season and what could be the perfect solution to an inflated Bobrovsky contract in Spencer Knight. Boston could regress but they also have their top line for next year and lots of cap space (30 mil) to burn this offseason.

There is no reason to think Montreal can't improve upon their very mediocre regular season for next year, even with some kind of cinderella run hangover to start.

Wild card spots are also hard to think of because the Metro division has dominated. Since 2015-16, the Metro has claimed every wild card spot except one (Toronto in 16-17). They would have taken both again last year. Any two teams among the Caps, Isles, Penguins, Hurricanes, Rangers, and maybe Flyers could shut the door if we can't jump Florida, Boston or Montreal.

I'm excited for what this team has put together, but there are a lot of things that would have to go right with the existing pieces to make it next year.

 

[PoutineSp00nZ]

If key players avoid sophomore slumps and continue to elevate their game they have a shot.

Never know with young players though.

 

[Erik Alfredsson]

Of course they do. Will they is another question all together. But they certainly have the potential to.

Not to mention, for whatever holes they have on their roster, well-coached, hard-working teams always seem to exceed expectations, so while there may be 16 other teams in the league that are better on paper, the game is played on the ice.

 

[robsenz]

Playoffs should be within reason, however Dorions offseason moves last year kind of screwed up our season and put us back a bit, which wasn't the worst thing with how the team finished the year with the young guns. Just hoping they hold off on signing mediocre vets this time around.

 

[DanyHeatley]

ADD
Henrique
Mangiapane
Cernak

maybe ottawa can steal a wildcard

 

[SensontheRush]

I think people need to consider that every team in our division is going to get weaker because of the Expansion Draft, while we will be losing Gustavsson, at worst, with a full goalie bullpen.