Ottawa Senators Still Need Another Impact Player

Ottawa Senators Acquired Derick Brassard on Monday, But They Still Need Another Impact Player

Ottawa Senators new GM Pierre Dorion remained fairly quiet up until Monday’s acquisition of Derick Brassard, when we quickly learned a lot about the Sens game plan moving forward. With players such as Erik Karlsson, Bobby Ryan, Kyle Turris, and Mike Hoffman either in/or entering their prime, coupled with an aging starter in Craig Anderson, Ottawa believes they’re ready to win a Stanley Cup now.

How else do you explain trading a 23-year-old yet to reach their ceiling for a player who peaked in 2014-15 (for career-high points)? Yes, the Sens save a bit of money, although that $5 million dollars still counts against the cap whether New York paid out a massive chunk already or not.

There’s another interesting dynamic at work here. Newly hired head coach Guy Boucher brings with him a unique coaching style. He plays a highly criticized 1-3-1 system that is a variation of that boring neutral zone (NZ) trap. It encourages clogging up the NZ to force turnovers and create odd-man rushes on the transition.

The problem? When you force a particular system on players not suited for that style of play, you get precisely what happened between the Philadelphia Flyers/Tampa Bay Lightning, the same thing that originally played a factor in Guy Boucher losing his job in Florida. See video below.

This is why the attitude in Ottawa changed towards Mike Hoffman following Boucher’s hire. Same reason Pierre Dorion went out to acquire Derick Brassard on Monday. These are players familiar with the 1-3-1 who know how to force opponents to where they need to be to execute the system properly.

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Moving forward, it is imperative that Ottawa find a way to add another impact player; ideally, a top-six forward that can play on the left side.

Who knows what to expect from Clarke MacArthur after missing a year, or whether prospect Nick Paul can step up into a bigger role. Sure, you can stick Zack Smith on the left side, but today’s NHL is all about who has the most scoring depth. Why not add a player who can slide into your top-six if needed, but also has the versatility to move down your lineup and still be effective (should a player like Nick Paul emerge)?

Unfortunately, the Ottawa Senators are running thin on options for players familiar with Guy Boucher. Edmonton’s Benoit Pouliot first began to emerge in TB under Boucher back in 2012-13. He also had success with Montreal’s David Desharnais and Nashville FA Signing Yannick Weber back in 2009-10 with AHL Hamilton.

Pouliot would be the only potential target of the three, but the Oilers aren’t moving him unless they get a quality RH defender in return as part of the deal. That conversation starts and stops at Cody Ceci, which means the Sens must look elsewhere for players with the characteristics/attributes that suggest they could have success under a 1-3-1 system.

Ottawa Senators: 5 Potential Impact Targets

Tobias Rieder, Arizona Coyotes