Ottawa Senators preview: Darkest before the dawn
Projected Lineup
How will the Ottawa Senators look this season?
Forwards
Ryan Dzingel – Matt Duchene – Colin White
Mikkel Boedker – Chris Tierney – Mark Stone
Brady Tkachuk – Zack Smith – Bobby Ryan
Magnus Paajarvi – Filip Chlapik – Tom Pyatt
Extra forward: Paul Carey
Injured: Jean-Gabriel Pageau
Yeah, this is a pretty awful forward group. Duchene is a lot better than many people think. You sort of have to feel bad for the guy. Stone is an elite forward who makes an impact all over the ice. Wings rarely get Selke Trophy love, but he fully deserves to get some.
White played quite a bit with Duchene last season. His underlying numbers with Duchene weren’t terrific, but considering Ryan’s the next best option, Senators fans would likely much rather the young, somewhat exciting forward gets a warranted opportunity.
After that, yikes. Tierney is better off in a third-line role, but Pageau’s injury will likely force him up a line. Smith has seen his play driving decrease each season, which isn’t encouraging. His production has gone down as well, going from 32 points in 2016-17 to 19 in 2017-18.
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Defensemen
Mark Borowiecki – Dylan DeMelo
Christian Wolanin – Chris Wideman
Extra defenseman: Ben Harpur
As horrible as their forwards are, the Senators defense is even worse. It’s not a stretch to say this is the worst blueline in the NHL. Chabot is likely their best defenseman and he was very sheltered last season. That’s never a good sign.
DeMelo put up solid numbers with the San Jose Sharks last season. However, much like Chabot, he was a bit sheltered. I am, however, intrigued by DeMelo’s playmaking. Wolanin got a 10 game cup of coffee in the NHL in 2017-18. Though he only got 130 minutes at five-on-five, his relative CorsiFor percentage was the second highest on the team, trailing only Wideman.
Goaltending
The Senators went from having amazing goaltending in 2016-17 to terrible goaltending in 2017-18. They had the second-worst team save percentage, trailing only the Carolina Hurricanes. Anderson is aging and Condon’s resume isn’t impressive, so expect more of the same.