We'll agree to disagree, then. Spezza is gone, I think, but this team is not better off without him. Losing him leaves us without a true #1C, and ask Toronto how easy that role is to fill.
Ask Montreal and New York if you can win without a ''#1 centre''. Stepan, Richards, Plekanec, Desharnais, Eller. That's Turris and Zibanejad territory. And I'd argue the Sens duo could surpass that in time.
Spezza is not Toews, Getzlaf, Kopitar level - and because of that, he's replaceable (maybe not offensively, but as an overall player). A high scoring centre is not necessary for success; see MTL and NYR.
Anderson and Lehner are NOT a wash, although I'll give you that it's getting closer and closer every year. Anderson is still the better goalie, and there's a lot to be said about goaltending depth. Even if he and Lehner ARE a wash, I'd rather have an Andy/Lehner tandem than a Lehner/Hammond, Lehner/Lawson or Lehner/FA pickup tandem.
Lehner had a better save % than Anderson this year. Lehner stole games while Anderson lost some on his own. Lehner had a bad month, and other than that would blow Anderson out of the water. I think they're close, with Lehner about to surpass at any time; therefore, there is no need to spend precious $3.5M on Anderson.
There are plenty decent UFA options out there: Peters, Montoya, Johnson, Bryz, Giguere, McElhinney, Greiss, Elliott, Halak. Good year for goalies. Pair Lehner with any of these and I doubt the Sens suffer in the standings.
Getting rid of Michalek, IMO, is not the answer either. He's the kind of player who doesn't make those around him any better. That's true. But Ottawa is working from a position of weakness on the wing. Getting rid of another top six winger when nobody is ready to step into his role is not the answer — it just creates another gap.
Michalek is not a top 6 winger anymore though. He's bad defensively and doesn't create offense. Hemsky could easily be re-signed if you have concerns. Stone looked very good. Hoffman has the skills, just needs to put it together. Who knows what Puempel and Prince can do at the NHL level. Da Costa could be converted. UFA signing in the mould of Jussi Jokinen, etc.
Greening (and I know, not a popular opinion around these parts) is not as bad as everyone is making him out to be. He has one off year and all of a sudden he's a bum, a waste of space and a liability? No. He regressed this year. So did most of the team. His regression just happened to come right as a big-money contract is about to kick in. After what he gave us two seasons ago, I'm willing to gamble on him for at least the upcoming season.
No arguments on Phillips or Neil, though.
Greening's problem is that he can't score in the bottom 6. He needs guys to handle the puck for him to create time and space. Guy can shoot but has no puck handling skills. He was a good fit chemistry wise with Spezza in 2011-12, but Ottawa doesn't have that caliber of player anymore. Best case scenario for Greening and the Senators is Greening playing in the top 6 with Spezza and scoring over 30 points; in which case the Sens will be desperate for an upgrade in the top 6.
I also don't see Greening putting more than 20 points in the bottom 6, especially if his minutes go down like they should. #OverpaidandUseless
Either way, Greening should be outta here
