Winning now is a dream world for the Ottawa Senators, but they are on right track

Learning to walk before they can run is key for the Ottawa Senators right now.

There is a strange sense of optimism surrounding the Ottawa Senators currently, a franchise that has done far more wrong than right over the past few years.

From constant disfunction off the ice to rumors of unrest in the locker room that led to the departure of franchise icon Erik Karlsson to the complete tearing down of a team that was a couple of games away from making it to the Stanley Cup Final in 2016-17, it has been a tough row to hoe for the Senators.

It hasn’t helped that their Owner, Eugene Melnyk, has developed a habit of putting the franchise in the headlines for all the wrong reasons, making the Ottawa Senators one of the biggest laughing stocks in the entire National Hockey League.

More from Puck Prose

• Detroit Red Wings 2023 Rookie Camp Has Plenty of Ups and Downs
• This Columbus Blue Jackets rookie doesn’t want to be forgotten
• 2 trades the Boston Bruins must make to secure the Stanley Cup
• 3 reasons the Avalanche won’t win the Stanley Cup in 2024
• This is a big year for Alex Turcotte and the Los Angeles Kings

However, in the words of the great Bob Dylan, the times they-are-a-changin’.

After showing some fight in 2019-20 and boasting a young, talent-laden core spearheaded by defenseman Thomas Chabot and stud forward Brady Tkachuk, the Senators really went to work in the offseason.

They shedded some veterans, namely forward Bobby Ryan, defensemen Ron Hainsey and Mark Borowiecki and goalie Craig Anderson, while winger Anthony Duclair also hit Free Agency after carving out a career-year in 2019-20 with 40 points (23 G, 17 A) in 66 games.

Ottawa reloaded, though, trading for two-time Stanley Cup Champion Matt Murray from the Pittsburgh Penguins and then signing him to a four-year, $25 million contract, acquiring gritty forward Austin Watson in a trade from the Nashville Predators and signing potential diamond in the rough center Alex Galchenyuk in Free Agency as well as scorer Evgenii Dadonov.

Add those additions to an exciting core already featuring the likes of Tkachuk, Chabot, Colin White, Logan Brown and Erik Brannstrom, then the Ottawa Senators are on the right path in this gigantic rebuilding operation.

Not to mention that the Sens also reloaded at the 2020 NHL Entry Draft, picking uber-talented German center Tim Stuetzle with the No. 3 overall pick and defenseman Jake Sanderson with the No. 5 overall selection.

Stuetzle in particular could be NHL-ready from the get-go and he will add some real creativity and offensive flair to this roster, while also giving Ottawa some depth and strength down the middle.

They should be improved in 2020-21 as a result of the mass roster construction undertaken during the offseason, and the overall maturation process of this young group should be accelerated further.

Now, while Eugene Melnyk may be getting slightly ahead of himself when he stated that this team as it is currently constituted can win a Stanley Cup, there is no doubt that the Senators have gotten better and they are heading in the right direction.

For context, before we move on, here’s exactly what Melnyk said in an interview with the Ottawa Sun on Sunday:

“We have turned the corner. We just now need to execute on what we have. This is the team, with what we have right now, I believe we can win a Stanley Cup already, and that’s without adding some veterans, which we plan to do.“We’ll be a team that’s active at the Trade Deadline and not as sellers, but as buyers, just liked we used to be.”

That is some interesting stuff from Melnyk and it hints at a change in mentality within the organization, which is certainly a good thing given that it seemed from the outside looking in that they had just given up.

However, the Ottawa Senators need to keep on taking baby steps and learn to walk before they can run, or they could end up worse off than what they were before and that isn’t a good place to be in.

While they will be more competitive and a tougher out in 2020-21, they probably won’t be a Playoff team although, in what will be a shortened season, anything is possible.

Anyway, they should be able to punch above their weight in what will be an all-Canadian Division for the 2020-21 season due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, and they could cause some of the big hitters in the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Montreal Canadiens some serious problems.

Melnyk’s sentiment that the Sens will be aggressive at the Trade Deadline is an interesting one too given that Ottawa currently has $12,502,501 in cap space according to CapFriendly, and they could certainly benefit from adding some proven veterans to this young core.

I mean, if the Senators did go all out at the Trade Deadline in order to make a postseason push in what will be a strange year anyway, having some Playoff experience even if it is a swift First Round exit would be beneficial for this team’s swathe of young talent.

But, if Matt Murray can stay healthy between the pipes and be the franchise goalie that he was during the Pittsburgh Penguins’ two Stanley Cup wins in 2016 and 2017, if the likes of Thomas Chabot and Brady Tkachuk continue on their rapid ascension to stardom, if Tim Stuetzle can carve out a strong rookie year and the new recruits can make an instant impact, then the Ottawa Senators will be a relevant force again in 2020-21.

And, while the Stanley Cup is more than likely out of reach for them just yet, they have the pieces in place to build towards being a genuine competitor down the road and a strong year this season could be the springboard for true championship success in a few years once this young core has matured and developed and experienced the adversity you need to win in the NHL.

But learning to walk before they can run will be important for this Ottawa Senators team in 2020-21.