(Best E Casino) - What exactly are the
Ottawa Senators expectations coming into the 2008-09 season?
The Senators seemingly erased the notion that they were playoff underachievers by making the Stanley Cup finals in the 2007 postseason, but followed up by getting swept in the opening round by Pittsburgh last year.
Even before the playoff collapse against the Penguins, Ottawa had clearly lost some of the swagger it had gained during the 2007 postseason and head coach John Paddock was the first casualty, as he was fired 64 games into the 2007-08 campaign. General manager Bryan Murray took over for the remainder of the season before hiring Craig Hartsburg to man the bench in 2008-09.
A large part of the Senators' slide had to do with the antics of former goaltender Ray Emery, who was a hero in the run to the Cup, but then became a distraction during the 2007-08 campaign.
Emery was late for practice on a few occasions last season, creating animosity between the netminder and management. Bryan Murray eventually opted to get rid of Emery this offseason, buying out the final two years of his contract. The 25-year-old backstop is now out of the NHL, having signed a one-year deal to play in Russia this year.
The Senators weren't exactly bad last year, recording 94 points, but that was also the first time the franchise failed to gain 100 points in a season since the 2001-02 campaign.
Ottawa has a great deal of offensive talent with the likes of Daniel Alfredsson, Dany Heatley and Jason Spezza, but can the defense and starting goaltender Martin Gerber do their share?
In short, the Senators need to find a way to get back to the level of play that made them a powerhouse in the playoffs two years. Could Hartsburg be the man to get Ottawa's house back in order? Time will only tell.
FORWARDS - The Senators' line of centerman Spezza and wingers Heatley and Alfredsson had been the best in the NHL since being formed at the start of the 2007 playoffs, but Hartsburg has decided to split the trio up this year.
The decision is probably a good one since Ottawa has lived and died by its top line and the switch will give the offense a more diverse look. Then again, the unit has been nothing short of prolific and the run to the Cup finals in '07 would never have been possible without the three stars skating together.
Alfredsson, the Sens' top right wing and team captain, is the player being moved from the top line. The 35-year-old Swede will have the tough task of trying to duplicate his 40 goals and 49 assists from last year without Spezza and Heatley.
Spezza will remain as the top-line center after leading Ottawa with a career- high 92 points (34 goals, 58 assists). The 25-year-old has been criticized for his defense in the past and the scrutiny will be even greater without Alfredsson, who is one of the best defensive forwards in the NHL.
Heatley will once again be the team's top sniper after pacing Ottawa with 41 goals in 2007-08. He led the team with 50 goals in each of the previous two seasons. The 27-year-old missed 11 games with a shoulder injury last year, but still ended up with 82 points.
The unenviable task of filling in for Alfredsson on the top line could go to a number of players, but Hartsburg has given first crack at the job to 24-year- old Jesse Winchester, an undrafted rookie who is coming off a solid collegiate career at Colgate. Winchester signed a free-agent deal with the Sens after his senior year and played in one test with Ottawa last season.
Alfredsson's second-line partners are also not set in stone, but he's been paired in training camp with centerman Chris Kelly and winger Nick Foligno. Kelly had 11 goals and 19 assists in 75 games, while Foligno, Ottawa's first- round pick in the 2006 draft, notched nine points (3g, 6a) in 45 games as a rookie in 2007-08.
If those top-two line combinations work out, the Sens could have a solid third unit of centerman Mike Fisher and wingers Antoine Vermette and notorious pest Jarkko Ruutu.
Vermette was the highest scorer for the Sens outside of the top line in 2007-08, notching 53 points (24g, 29a). Fisher was next with 47 points on 23 goals and 24 assists.
Ruutu was signed to a three-year, $3.9 million contract over the summer after posting six goals, 10 assists and 138 penalty minutes with Pittsburgh last season.
Also returning are veteran forwards Dean McAmmond, Shean Donovan and Chris Neil. Brad Isbister will also be in the mix after signing with the Sens in early September.
DEFENSE - The Senators defense waved goodbye to a staple in the offseason, allowing Wade Redden to sign a free-agent deal with the New York Rangers.
Redden, who was a rookie for Ottawa the first time the franchise made the postseason during the 1996-97 season, had become less productive in recent years, but will still be difficult to replace.
Also, Ottawa opted to exchange promise for experience and depth on their blueline by trading rising star Andrej Meszaros to Tampa in exchange for veteran defenseman Filip Kuba and Alexandre Picard, a 23-year-old rearguard. The Sens also picked up a first-round pick in 2009 for Meszaros.
Meszaros posted nine goals and 36 points in 82 games for Ottawa last season. Kuba, 31, had six goals and 31 points over 75 games with Tampa in 2007-08. Over a nine-year career with the Panthers, Wild and Lightning, Kuba has collected 55 goals and 207 points in 531 games.
Picard picked up six points in 20 games for Tampa last year. The Quebec native has scored six goals with 28 points in 92 games over parts of three seasons with Philadelphia and Tampa Bay.
The Sens also signed Jason Smith to patrol the blueline, inking last year's captain of the Philadelphia Flyers to a two-year, $5.2 million deal. Smith, a physical defensemen at 6-3, 215 pounds, had one goal and nine assists in his only season with Philly.
Ottawa's top returning defensemen is the steady Chris Phillips, who had just 18 points (5g, 13a) last year, but also averaged a team-high 22 minutes and 28 seconds of ice time per game. He also led all Ottawa blueliners in 2007-08 with a plus-15 rating in 81 games.
Anton Volchenkov will also be back on the Ottawa defense after notching one goal and 14 assists last year. Like Phillips, Volchenkov is known primarily as a defensive defenseman and was plus-14 for the season in 2007-08.
GOALTENDING - With Emery gone, the Senators will rely on Gerber to be the main man between the pipes.
Gerber actually was the primary starter for Ottawa a year ago, taking the No. 1 job away from Emery, who started the season injured. The 34-year-old Gerber turned in a solid campaign for the Sens in 2007-08, going 30-18-4 with a 2.72 goals against average and .910 save percentage.
The Sens acquired a backup for Gerber by signing veteran Alex Auld to a two- year, $2 million deal this summer. Auld played in 32 combined games with Phoenix and Boston last season, going 12-13-5 with a 2.68 GAA and .907 save percentage.
WHEN ALL IS SAID AND DONE - The decision to split up the top line will be an interesting experiment to watch early this season, but it could pay off in terms of scoring depth, considering the Sens didn't do much to address that issue in the offseason. Ottawa isn't likely to contend for the Stanley Cup this year, but expect the team to make its 12th straight appearance in the playoffs.
