Hoffman-Turris-Stone
MacArthur-Brassard-Ryan
Smith-Pageau-Lazar
Pyatt-Kelly-Neil
(x)Puempel
(x)McCormick
Methot-Karlsson
Phaneuf-Ceci
Boroweicki-Wideman
(x)Claesson
Anderson
Hammond
The HST line, Hoffman-Turris-Stone got **** done last season. They were broken up and at times put back together, and then Turris had his Gumby injury which put a stop to that line entirely. MacArthur has great chemistry with Turris, but putting Hoffman with Turris and Stone should be too great of a combination to pass up on.
Ryan with Brassard seems like a given at this point. This is an exciting season for Bobby Ryan. This is the first time the Senators have provided Ryan with a skilled left handed playmaker at centre. Previously, Ryan spent a lot of time playing with Zibanejad who is more of a shoot first centre. Anyone watching Ryan in Ottawa can attest that instead of focusing on being the shooter on his line, Ryan has had to mould his game to fit those he was matched with instead of having players matched with him that fit his game. Ryan had the most success in Ottawa on a line with Turris and MacArthur, but Turris is a right handed centre which put Ryan at a disadvantage as the finisher on that line. Ryan is a two faced player. For the last two seasons he has been a near PPG player for the first half of the year, but has completely dropped off in the second half. Brassard and a better off season could be the key to unlocking Ryan's 30 goal potential. If his value has dropped enough, he would be a good reclamation type pickup in a hockey pool. If any year in Ottawa is going to be Ryan's, it is going to be this one.
Smith and Pageau made a great duo last season. They are both natural centres, one left handed, one right, so it puts Ottawa in a position where they have two faceoff men on one line. Depending on what side the puck will be dropped on, the more beneficial of the two can take the draw. This is a huge benefit for a third line, especially one getting d-zone draws. I'd say there is a small chance the Senators top line from late last year when Turris was out Smith-Pageau-Stone is kept together with someone else as the 1RW if they want to go with three strong ES lines, but I wouldn't bet on it.
A name that will surprise some on the Senators lineup is Pyatt. Pyatt was signed earlier this off season. His signing was speculated to have been done at the recommendation/request of new head coach Guy Boucher who coached Pyatt in Tampa and coached against him last year in Switzerland. With that in mind, it seems logical to assume he'll be on the team.
Puempel is on the team. He earned a spot on the team at the end of 14-15 but suffered an injury. He "made the team" in 15-16 but was forced to start in the AHL due to being exempt from waivers when others weren't. He is no longer exempt from waivers, so it is almost unfathomable that he wouldn't be given a spot. Puempel's been forced to play a bottom 6 role in the NHL but was drafted as a goal scorer. He has put up big enough numbers in the AHL, but he might have a hard time finding an offensive opportunity on the Senators left side with Hoffman, MacArthur, and Smith already there. There is a small chance he gets a shot in the top 6 with MacArthur and Smith pushed down the lineup but I wouldn't bet on it.
Ottawa usually rolls with 14 forwards/7 defense. The last spot at forward is the hardest one to predict. The three favourites would be Dzingel (RW/LW (left handed), McCormick (LW), and Paul (C/LW). All three are different kinds of players. Dzingel is a speedy playmaker, while McCormick is more of a hard working energy guy/pest, and Paul is a young big bodied centre who played wing when up with Ottawa last season. If I had to guess, I would say McCormick gets the final spot. McCormick could fill in perfectly fine on the 4th line when needed, and he doesn't have enough upside for the Senators to worry if he spends a good chunk of the year keeping the press box warm. Paul especially, and to a lesser extent Dzingel would benefit more from getting big minutes in the AHL early on instead of wasting away as a healthy scratch in Ottawa.
As far as the defense goes, there are no huge surprises. It is the same as last year. Pierre Dorion has been looking for a veteran bottom pairing defender to play with Chris Wideman who Dorion seems to be very high on. Dorion described Wideman's play as tentative last season, and thinks that with Wideman now used to the NHL the former AHL defenseman of the year will have a breakout season. The Senators have yet to find their ideal bottom pairing guy. Whether or not Dorion is blowing smoke, he has claimed to be comfortable with what they have on defense going into the season. If he is being honest, it wouldn't be surprising to see Ottawa go in with what is listed above. Claesson seems like the most obvious 7th defender. Ottawa really doesn't have anybody else and Claesson at the very least was passable in a limited role last season. Mike Kostka and Patrick Sieloff round off Ottawa's defensive depth chart, and neither seem to be better options than Claesson. Now you can see why Dorion wanted to add another bottom pairing defender......Although Chabot was criticized for his play by assistant GM Randy Lee at Ottawa's rookie camp a month or so ago, it wouldn't be a huge surprise to see the 2015 18th overall pick be tried out for 9 or less games in the NHL. He's already signed to a contract, the Senators don't have a lot of bottom pairing depth, and it would give them a chance to see how Chabot fares in the actual NHL. Chabot is not old enough to play in the AHL, so if he doesn't make the team, which he most likely won't, he'll have to return to the QMJHL.
Goaltending is incredibly straight forward. The big question isn't who are the goalies, but how will the games be divided. Will we see Anderson play a vast majority of the games? Or will Hammond get a solid 30 or so starts? Anderson has two years left on a very affordable contract. Despite his age, he has not shown any signs of slowing down and in the past former GM Bryan Murray has talked about how he and the Senators staff believe that despite Anderson's age he still has a lot of hockey left in him due to playing so little earlier on in his career. Anderson had a big workload last year as Dave Cameron seemed to be almost afraid to rely on Andrew Hammond. Hammond has proven to be a solid backup goalie and has a few years left on a cheap 1 way contract.
Hammond is most likely not penciled in as the goalie of the future. Ottawa has Matt O'Connor and Chris Driedger fighting for third in their depth chart. Driedger is younger and has looked more impressive than O'Connor who had a troublesome first year as a pro in the AHL. But the Senators completely revamping their AHL coaching staff and firing Senators goalie coach Rick Walmsley might be an indication that the blame for O'Connor's tough transition has been placed on someone other than himself. O'Connor is still very much Ottawa's goalie of the future and could get some time in the NHL if one of Hammond or Anderson go down, but this season will be huge in determining the long term projections for the upcoming 25 year old RFA.
