Would you rather forfeit a mid 2025 first rounder or a low 2026 first rounder?

[Sun God Nika]

Delay and keep pushing to lighten the punishment to something like drafting last in the first round of 2026

 

[Hale The Villain]

I'd be tempted to give our up 1st this year just given the fact our insanely out-of-touch scouting staff is still in place, and there's a good chance they reach for some player ranked late 1st/early 2nd that has the attributes they want in a player (mainly size, physical play and PIM totals).

 

[frightenedinmatenum2]

Delay and keep pushing to lighten the punishment to something like drafting last in the first round of 2026

There is too much parity in the league, and teams are very often not consistent from year-to-year.

The downside of giving up a lottery pick, even if low, is not worth the upside of getting the 32nd pick and keeping a pick in the back half of the draft (assuming we finish in a playoff spot)

If Andlauer was willing to give up the Boston pick, I doubt he realistically expects any kind of reversal from the league.

 

[Golden_Jet]

If Andlauer was willing to give up the Boston pick, I doubt he realistically expects any kind of reversal from the league.

Had nothing to do with any reversal, it was about fixing the goaltending and shipping out Korpi.

 

[frightenedinmatenum2]

Had nothing to do with any reversal, it was about fixing the goaltending and shipping out Korpi.

I wasn't referring to the trade.

I was referring to it being publicly known that the Sens tried to offer the BOS pick as a compromise and the league said no.

 

[Norris4Norris]

But isn't the 16th pick a lottery pick?

So I would take that pick over a late 1st next year. But there is not telling we don't get a lottery pick next year or a higher lottery pick than 16 this year...

I too am optimistic that we will be in the playoffs this year and finish even better next year... but have you heard of jinxing something? Counting chickens before they see the light of day type of thing.

 

[Golden_Jet]

But isn't the 16th pick a lottery pick?

So I would take that pick over a late 1st next year. But there is not telling we don't get a lottery pick next year or a higher lottery pick than 16 this year...

I too am optimistic that we will be in the playoffs this year and finish even better next year... but have you heard of jinxing something? Counting chickens before they see the light of day type of thing.

No it’s not a lottery pick, and could never end up winning the lottery either.

 

[Blotto71]

Neither. f*** Dorion. f*** Bettman. f*** Vegas.

Viva les Senators!!

 

[Norris4Norris]

No it’s not a lottery pick, and could never end up winning the lottery either.

Help me understand,

32 teams, 16 make the playoffs, 16 don't.

The 16 that don't have chances assigned to the lottery, right? So the 16th has a chance to win the lottery, 0.5 percent I think.

 

[PlayOn]

Help me understand,

32 teams, 16 make the playoffs, 16 don't.

The 16 that don't have chances assigned to the lottery, right? So the 16th has a chance to win the lottery, 0.5 percent I think.

It is a lottery pick but you can only move up a max of 10 slots so if you’re 16th and you win it’s technically the 6th overall pick.

Regardless though it doesn’t matter because the decision can be made after the lottery draw, so the Sens would know if they won and had the 6th overall when making that decision.

 

[Golden_Jet]

Help me understand,

32 teams, 16 make the playoffs, 16 don't.

The 16 that don't have chances assigned to the lottery, right? So the 16th has a chance to win the lottery, 0.5 percent I think.

No that changed 3 drafts ago.
You can only move up 10 spots
And only 2 lottery picks now, not 3

 

[frightenedinmatenum2]

When people say give up a lottery pick I think the inference is it is an unprotected shot at a high pick. We could have a step back, injuries, etc, and end up giving up a top 5 pick or worse 1st OA via the lottery.

Even if we miss the playoffs this year, they are allowed to wait for the conclusion of the lottery to decide whether to give up the pick.

If Andlauer actually tried to negotiate to give up the Boston pick, I think it's fair to assume that they may give up our pick this year if it's in the back half of the round like that one. Wanting to give up the Boston pick says they value cost certainty if giving up a playoff pick over getting a prospect 1 year earlier and risking that they give up a better pick.

If the Sens make the playoffs and have a positive run, should they really want to have the negativity of an unprotected 1st being given to the league? Every loss would be magnified by that story. It's better to get it over with and have cost certainty.

 

[Golden_Jet]

When people say give up a lottery pick I think the inference is it is an unprotected shot at a high pick. We could have a step back, injuries, etc, and end up giving up a top 5 pick or worse 1st OA via the lottery.

Even if we miss the playoffs this year, they are allowed to wait for the conclusion of the lottery to decide whether to give up the pick.

If Andlauer actually tried to negotiate to give up the Boston pick, I think it's fair to assume that they may give up our pick this year if it's in the back half of the round like that one. Wanting to give up the Boston pick says they value cost certainty if giving up a playoff pick over getting a prospect 1 year earlier and risking that they give up a better pick.

If the Sens make the playoffs and have a positive run, should they really want to have the negativity of an unprotected 1st being given to the league? Every loss would be magnified by that story. It's better to get it over with and have cost certainty.

I won’t say a 100%, cause never say never
But I’ll say 99% it’s 2026 they forfeit, keep trying until run out of options.

 

[Xspyrit]

Forfeit next year’s pick.

While I think our prospect pool issues are somewhat overblown in the sense we don’t actually have that many gaps to fill in our lineup so we don’t need a ton of prospects (assuming the core stays in tact), there will come a time in 2-3 years where UFA contracts start becoming a factor and bridge deals expire etc, so we will need to have a couple of prospects step in.

Developing players takes awhile. Better to get ahead of it sooner than later imo.

It is absolutely a problem. We have been graduating our last good prospects oustide of Yak (Greig, Kleven, Ostapchuk) and had to sign Perron, Amadio, Gregor, Cousins, Gaudette, MacEwen and Hamonic recently and they play most games. It would be nice to have good prospects to fill SOME of these roles instead.

Look at the Stars for example, they have a stacked team but are still graduating quality prospects on the way like Wyatt Johnston, Logan Stankoven, Mavrik Bourque, Thomas Harley, Lian Bichsel, Oskar Back...

Would be a much easier decision if we just make the conference finals.

ok f*** it, let's just win the Cup to close out the debate?

Drafting 20-32 doesn't get you McKenna, even if won lottery.

Yeah OP, the 20-32 defeated the purpose of your poll.

 

[PlayOn]

It is absolutely a problem. We have been graduating our last good prospects oustide of Yak (Greig, Kleven, Ostapchuk) and had to sign Perron, Amadio, Gregor, Cousins, Gaudette, MacEwen and Hamonic recently and they play most games. It would be nice to have good prospects to fill SOME of these roles instead.

Look at the Stars for example, they have a stacked team but are still graduating quality prospects on the way like Wyatt Johnston, Logan Stankoven, Mavrik Bourque, Thomas Harley, Lian Bichsel, Oskar Back...

Well, I didn't say it wasn't a problem, just that it was overblown in my opinion. But I think it's a nuanced issue. I don't think you can ever predict the future and things happen, from injuries, to trade requests to players leaving in FA etc, so I recognize that not having many real options is not a good thing.

But the present day gaps on this team are A. Winger for Stutzle B. Partner for Sanderson (upgrade on Zub? or Zub himself just staying healthy?) C. A back-up goalie.

You can fix A and C quite easily in the off-season - those pieces are available every year and teams that do their homework find good ones. The RD that can handle top pair minutes will be tougher, and I will say I am not a fan of the idea of rushing Yakemchuk. But who knows, maybe Staios can get crafty there.

Bottom line for me is your prospect pool is a tool to fill holes, and especially in a place like Ottawa, you need to rely on it more than a team like Florida. But if you take Stutzle, Tkachuk, Batherson, Norris, Pinto, Greig, Ostapchuk, Chabot, Sanderson, Kleven, Yakemchuk then you are talking about 7/12 forwards, 4/6 dmen. And your goalie is in place. If you can't fill the rest via pro-scouting then that's on you. I doubt you have many teams with more youth than that, and if they have more, I bet they aren't good. (Mind you I recognize some of them aren't that young, but they are young enough that they should be good players for at least 5 more years).

 

[aragorn]

Ottawa needs a good scoring/playmaking RW to replace Giroux who we can see although still good is slowly aging out. There are a few RW in the 2025 draft who could go in the teens where Ott could be drafting. If they are, I would keep it & forfeit the 2026, since IMO they will be even better next season & could end up drafting much later. Why give it up sooner, I'd rather wait to the last second before giving it up? And I'd be looking to make a trade to get another first if possible to replace it.

 

[Tuna99]

It is absolutely a problem. We have been graduating our last good prospects oustide of Yak (Greig, Kleven, Ostapchuk) and had to sign Perron, Amadio, Gregor, Cousins, Gaudette, MacEwen and Hamonic recently and they play most games. It would be nice to have good prospects to fill SOME of these roles instead.

Look at the Stars for example, they have a stacked team but are still graduating quality prospects on the way like Wyatt Johnston, Logan Stankoven, Mavrik Bourque, Thomas Harley, Lian Bichsel, Oskar Back...



ok f*** it, let's just win the Cup to close out the debate?



Yeah OP, the 20-32 defeated the purpose of your poll.

Ottawas pro scouting has given me faith we can fill the holes, especially with salary coming off the books this season and the cap going up - we have a couple of major holes to fill but not lots of holes, only 1 or 2 we could solve via trade / FA

 

[KevinRedkey]

I'd forfeit 2026

 

[Byron Bitz]

The problem with forfeiting the 2026 pick is that we don’t know where the pick will land. This core is far from a safe bet to finish high in the standings then you have the draft lottery. I hate the idea of going into another season without an unprotected pick, it makes every loss feel worse.

 

[Sens of Anarchy]

The problem with forfeiting the 2026 pick is that we don’t know where the pick will land. This core is far from a safe bet to finish high in the standings then you have the draft lottery. I hate the idea of going into another season without an unprotected pick, it makes every loss feel worse.

see San Jose 2019-20. Its nice to bet on your team but a lengthy injury to a key player and ouch

 

[Golden_Jet]

The problem with forfeiting the 2026 pick is that we don’t know where the pick will land. This core is far from a safe bet to finish high in the standings then you have the draft lottery. I hate the idea of going into another season without an unprotected pick, it makes every loss feel worse.

Better chance of finishing higher in the standings next year, than this year.
Gives one more year to work on Gary.

 

[Gil Gunderson]

I am not going to bet on us getting a lottery pick next year, that seems inherently defeatist.

I wouldn't bet on us either, but shit happens. Nobody bet on Nashville being where they are right now either. Things go wrong, players get injured. It's not defeatist to acknowledge that.

If 2026 was a weak draft year, then sure maybe, but there's a McDavid-level player in that draft.

 

[Micklebot]

I wouldn't bet on us either, but shit happens. Nobody bet on Nashville being where they are right now either. Things go wrong, players get injured. It's not defeatist to acknowledge that.

If 2026 was a weak draft year, then sure maybe, but there's a McDavid-level player in that draft.

Acknowledging things can go poorly is one thing, Anything can happen, we could win the SC next year, we could draft 1st OA.

But acknowledging something is possible doesn't mean you have to assume since it can happen it likely will and change your behavior accordingly. I acknowledge that I could get in a car accident and die on my way to work, but I don't quite my job and bunker down in my basement to avoid that possibility.

We haven't drafted 1st OA since 1996, I have no reason to believe 2026 is the year it happens again.

 

[Bjornar Moxnes]

It is absolutely a problem. We have been graduating our last good prospects oustide of Yak (Greig, Kleven, Ostapchuk) and had to sign Perron, Amadio, Gregor, Cousins, Gaudette, MacEwen and Hamonic recently and they play most games. It would be nice to have good prospects to fill SOME of these roles instead.

Look at the Stars for example, they have a stacked team but are still graduating quality prospects on the way like Wyatt Johnston, Logan Stankoven, Mavrik Bourque, Thomas Harley, Lian Bichsel, Oskar Back...



ok f*** it, let's just win the Cup to close out the debate?



Yeah OP, the 20-32 defeated the purpose of your poll.

Johnston Harley and bischel have already been graduated. Stankoven and bourque yes.

 

[Xspyrit]

Johnston Harley and bischel have already been graduated. Stankoven and bourque yes.

I'm talking in recent years. Greig also graduated last season so obviously not talking only this season

Well, I didn't say it wasn't a problem, just that it was overblown in my opinion. But I think it's a nuanced issue. I don't think you can ever predict the future and things happen, from injuries, to trade requests to players leaving in FA etc, so I recognize that not having many real options is not a good thing.

Yes and that is what I am arguing. It's a mini disaster that we had to sign/acquire all these mediocre or bad free agents in the last 2 years. And yes you can predict things, I do that all the time. It's impossible to predict everything perfectly and see everything coming but you can EASILY predict that you will need these guys on ELC stepping in and contribute.

But the present day gaps on this team are A. Winger for Stutzle B. Partner for Sanderson (upgrade on Zub? or Zub himself just staying healthy?) C. A back-up goalie. You can fix A and C quite easily in the off-season - those pieces are available every year and teams that do their homework find good ones. The RD that can handle top pair minutes will be tougher, and I will say I am not a fan of the idea of rushing Yakemchuk. But who knows, maybe Staios can get crafty there.

100% agree but overpaying marginal players and not having good youth prevents you from filling up all your needs

Bottom line for me is your prospect pool is a tool to fill holes, and especially in a place like Ottawa, you need to rely on it more than a team like Florida. But if you take Stutzle, Tkachuk, Batherson, Norris, Pinto, Greig, Ostapchuk, Chabot, Sanderson, Kleven, Yakemchuk then you are talking about 7/12 forwards, 4/6 dmen. And your goalie is in place. If you can't fill the rest via pro-scouting then that's on you. I doubt you have many teams with more youth than that, and if they have more, I bet they aren't good. (Mind you I recognize some of them aren't that young, but they are young enough that they should be good players for at least 5 more years).

Josh Norris was acquired by trade, Yakemchuk is not on the team yet. We have 6 forwards and 4 D-men (10/23 players) drafted by the team after 7 full years of rebuilding. I mean, it's not that bad but some of them aren't young like you said, Tkachuk going on 26, Batherson going on 27 and Chabot on 28. You never know what can happen, particularly with guys like Greig, Pinto, Ostapchuk, Kleven and JBD who are not guaranteed to be long term guys. You need youth to be constantly able to step in.

And yes, like you said, we need to be good at drafting more than most NHL markets. I never said we can't have players that were acquired by pro scouting, I'm saying too many of our depth/support/role players this seasons had to be picked in the "left overs" pool.

Ottawas pro scouting has given me faith we can fill the holes, especially with salary coming off the books this season and the cap going up - we have a couple of major holes to fill but not lots of holes, only 1 or 2 we could solve via trade / FA

Ullmark, Jensen and Gaudette gives hope. Perron (while being a bit expensive and one too many years for me), could have maybe worked out with more luck. Gregor and Cousins are ok at their price tag I guess. Amadio not a fan

I don't know what changes have been made but it seems that it's already improving from Dorion's era.

All that said, we absolutely need to have a better prospect pool.