danielpalfredsson
youtube dot com /watch?v=CdqMZ_s7Y6k
- Aug 14, 2013
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- 9,269
If you ignore reality that we went from having Stone/Karlsson/Duchene/Chabot/Tkachuk as a possible core, just look at things in terms of what we now have on paper, and not try to compare which is better or worse...then Ottawa is in a very good situation, especially so if Karl and Duchene re-sign with their respective teams in order to give the Senators more picks.
This team is going to be a last place team for at least the next two years, so there's a reasonable shot at getting 1st/2nd overall picks. The lottery is always a crap shoot, but we should have a reasonable shot at coming away from this downfall with at least one big star out of the draft.
The Senators have an elite scouting group, and now that group has more ammo than they've ever had in the history of this franchise. Over the next 3 years, the Senators could potentially have as many as 6 first round picks, 7 second round picks, and 4 third round picks. Consider how bad this team is going to be, and two of those first round picks are probably going to be in the top 5, three of the seconds will be in the top 35, and two of the thirds will be in the top 65.
Add in Brannstrom, Batherson, Chabot, Tkachuk, Brown, White as guys who are shaping out to have good chances at being top 6/4 or better F/D, and there is a lot to work with.
With that said, there are two major problems.
This first problem is, those picks and prospects are all on paper. It's going to be an incredibly toxic few seasons for the fan base, and the players are going to require incredibly leadership to not have years of losing ruin them mentally. As a fan, it's one thing to get excited about a prospect/draft pool, it's another to sit through 82 games a year for multiple years that do not matter because the team is out of the playoff running 20 games into the season. As fun as it can be to watch prospects, it's going to be a drag. This rebuild will take meaningful hockey away from Sens fans for the better part of the next five seasons.
The second problem, none of these pieces matter if we aren't committed to building things up and retaining players. If we are constantly spending at or around the cap floor, there's no way to build things up. We'll draft guys, take a few steps forward, and then have to take 100 steps back because we can't keep any of the players.
This team is going to be a last place team for at least the next two years, so there's a reasonable shot at getting 1st/2nd overall picks. The lottery is always a crap shoot, but we should have a reasonable shot at coming away from this downfall with at least one big star out of the draft.
The Senators have an elite scouting group, and now that group has more ammo than they've ever had in the history of this franchise. Over the next 3 years, the Senators could potentially have as many as 6 first round picks, 7 second round picks, and 4 third round picks. Consider how bad this team is going to be, and two of those first round picks are probably going to be in the top 5, three of the seconds will be in the top 35, and two of the thirds will be in the top 65.
Add in Brannstrom, Batherson, Chabot, Tkachuk, Brown, White as guys who are shaping out to have good chances at being top 6/4 or better F/D, and there is a lot to work with.
With that said, there are two major problems.
This first problem is, those picks and prospects are all on paper. It's going to be an incredibly toxic few seasons for the fan base, and the players are going to require incredibly leadership to not have years of losing ruin them mentally. As a fan, it's one thing to get excited about a prospect/draft pool, it's another to sit through 82 games a year for multiple years that do not matter because the team is out of the playoff running 20 games into the season. As fun as it can be to watch prospects, it's going to be a drag. This rebuild will take meaningful hockey away from Sens fans for the better part of the next five seasons.
The second problem, none of these pieces matter if we aren't committed to building things up and retaining players. If we are constantly spending at or around the cap floor, there's no way to build things up. We'll draft guys, take a few steps forward, and then have to take 100 steps back because we can't keep any of the players.