I haven’t been this happy since 2017

[Alf Silfversson]

I've been saying it for yrs this team needs to cut down on their goals against & play much better defensively, that is more important than getting more offence. This team has plenty of offence when they are healthy, every team goes through bouts where they have some crappy games & can't score but when they play good consistent defensively sometimes all they need is one goal to win & we have seen that this yr. Good defensive play is what wins in the playoffs too & if that is the way you play all yr then that will only help you in the playoffs.

The Ottawa Senators are 10th in the league in GA/GP. They are 21st in GF/GP. They need another player or two who can create some offense.

The GF rank of the last 5 Cup Champions is 1,4,8,11 and 14. Nothing close to 21st in there. Obviously defense is key to winning in the playoffs; the last 5 teams to win the Cup have ranked T1,6,8,9 and 11 in GAA. Very similar numbers. Balanced teams win Cups in this day and age.

We've done a pretty darn good job at keeping GA down this year, particularly with our starting goalie missing so many games. We need to add offense to take some pressure off our D and G.

 

[Alf Silfversson]

Yep. The key pieces are there. We just need to let them mature and grow.

We have:
1. An elite Vezina winning goalie.
2. Two minute munching studs on defense that can be on the ice 50 minutes a game (Sanderson and Chabot).
3. Excellent depth down the middle that can play a 2w game (Stutzle, Norris, Pinto). Even Greig can pinch in at center.
4. A character leader who is an absolute physical force (Tkachuk).

The best part is our two best players on that list are only 22/23 years old and still have plenty of room to grow.

Also, most of the core is locked down for many years. Out of the players I listed, the next contract to expire is Pinto in 2 years, then Chabot/Tkachuk in 4 years. That means over the next few years, as the cap skyrockets, we'll have plenty cap space to fill out the rest of the team with quality depth. There's a very clear window opening next year that will last 3 years minimum.

There is a lot to like about this team right now. They play a solid defensive game that is pretty consistent. IMO we really made hay with this when our team was using our C depth.

If we can add some secodary pieces to chip in offensively and add a little depth on D I think we can have a decent window of contention. We lack future assets though and that's going to make things tricky for management to go out and acquire the pieces we need. I guess that's why they get paid the big bucks.

 

[Cosmix]

And look at the players they having coming soon to a team near you ...

Yakemchuk RD - top 4 RD who should be ready to replace Jensen when his contract is done.
Ostapchuk C/LW - bottom six forward who can replace any one of Cousins, Gregor or Highmore
Merilainen G - could replace Forsberg next season or they could bring in a cheap vet
Halliday C - could secure a bottom six position at some point
Montgomery LW - remains to be seen, but should be in Belleville next season & could be a callup

MSN

I'd like to add another top D prospect as I think the #5 and #6 D positions are important in creating a strong defensive oriented team. I think those positions are more important than 4th line players and probably should be paid more per player than 4th Liners.