Ottawa Senators Under the Most Pressure to Perform in 2014/15

Oct 5, 2013; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Ottawa Senators left wing

(14) skates with the puck against the Toronto Maple Leafs at the Air Canada Centre. The Maple Leafs beat the Senators 5-4 in the shootout. Mandatory Credit: Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports

Ottawa Senators – Most Pressure to Perform: 2014/15

2013-2014 was an all-round disappointing season for the Ottawa Senators, with everyone expected to perform better than last year, there are those who head into the 14-15 season with more pressure than most.

Colin Greening saw a dip in production. Erik Karlsson was criticized for his defensive gaffs. Former Senator Jason Spezza was constantly on the end of criticism. Clarke MacArthur and Kyle Turris were some of the only bright spots as Milan Michalek‘s knees were in bad shape. The entire defence core under performed. This is all well known.

Whether it be due to contract reasons, poor performance, or high expectations the following players need to have big seasons in 14-15

Apr 13, 2014; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Ottawa Senators left wing Colin Greening (14) skates with the puck against pressure from Pittsburgh Penguins right wing

(27) during the third period at the CONSOL Energy Center. The Senators won 3-2 in a shootout. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

Colin Greening:

When the poster boy for your teams “bad contract” is only being paid $2.65 Million per year over the next three years, its clear to see that Ottawa does not hand out poor contracts often.

When Greening signed his deal last summer, Sens management figured they were buying a couple UFA years from the 27-year-old winger (at the time). Greening was coming off of two solid seasons including one which saw him score nearly 20 goals and another that included a solid playoff performance, scoring a very memorable goal against Pittsburgh.

The Senators saw a 6 foot 3 “power forward” type with the ability to score. He had played on a line with Jason Spezza in the past, but most thought Greening was not cut out for a top 6 role, but more of a solid top 9 forward. That being said, Bryan Murray showed faith in Greening by offering him a 3-year deal with an AAV of 2.65 million.

If Greening had played up to his expectations, Ottawa would be loving his cap hit and term right now. Assuming that expectation is a big top 9 forward who can score around 15 goals and 35 points consistently, 2.65 Million is a very fair cap hit for that style of player.

Then came last season, Greening’s game fell off the rails. After putting up dismal numbers with a Plus/Minus of -15 and a dreary point total with 6 goals and 17 points, expectations for Greening’s game are at an all time low.

It is not a sure thing as to whether or not Greening’s game could pick up this year, but in the event it does a solid season of around 15 goals and 30+ points would be ideal for the Senators and Greening.

Mar 22, 2014; Dallas, TX, USA; Ottawa Senators right wing

(6) skates against the Dallas Stars during the game at the American Airlines Center. The Stars defeated the Senators 3-1. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

Bobby Ryan:

When Bobby Ryan was brought in last off-season, Ottawa Fans and the NHL community saw a new look team.  Ryan, along with other young NHLers Kyle Turris and Erik Karlsson as well as can’t miss prospects like Mika Zibanejad and Cory Conacher provided Ottawa with a young team. That along with the veteran presence of players like Jason Spezza, Marc Methot and Chris Phillips had some calling Ottawa a “contender”. It also helped that Craig Anderson was coming off a Vezina Caliber season.

Bobby Ryan was deemed as the missing piece Ottawa needed to become a contender. He came in and performed well over the first half of the season, yet when the Olympics came around and Ryan was snubbed, things fell off. It was later revealed Bobby Ryan had been dealing with a sports hernia injury since November and required surgery.

This season Ryan will be “Coming in Hot”. Sens fans will expect what they saw in the first half of the 13-14 season from Ryan and that being a respectable pace north of 30 goals. Bobby Ryan is also in a contract year. Ottawa has held talks with Ryan and his agent and things seem to be heating up as of late, Ryan has been begging for a new contract, reiterating how much he wants to stay in Ottawa.

Ryan has a chance to be Ottawa’s best forward this year and playing on a line with Kyle Turris and Clarke MacArthur may provide him the resources he needs to put up that 30 goal, 60 point season we want from him in Ottawa. Last year one of the few and only bright spots was the 16 – 7 – 6 line and it will have to be a bright spot again this year for Bobby Ryan and for the Senators.

Mar 5, 2014; Calgary, Alberta, CAN; Ottawa Senators defenseman

(46) controls the puck against the Calgary Flames during the first period at Scotiabank Saddledome. Calgary Flames won 4-1. Mandatory Credit: Sergei Belski-USA TODAY Sports

Patrick Wiercioch:

Patty W, everyone’s favourite PP specialist. He’s a tall defenceman, but doesn’t always fit into Paul Maclean’s system. We saw that last season. Despite being a wizard on the Powerplay, Paul Maclean favoured the services of Eric Gryba over Patrick Wiercioch. This season will allow Wiercioch to erase all of that and try to earn himself a full time spot ahead of Mark Borowiecki, Eric Gryba, and Cody Ceci.

He’s been penciled into Ottawa’s Top 4 again by fans and himself. Whether or not he can play the solid 20+ minutes a top 4 guy plays a night is up to him. Wiercioch is on a cheap deal at only a $2 million AAV over the next two years. With a lot of teams having interest in the services of a 6 foot 5, puck moving defenceman, Wiercioch could see his services shipped out of town if he can’t find away into the lineup night in and night out.

Being linked to trade rumours in the past is Wiercioch and with the Senators still looking for that “harder forward”, Patrick Wiercioch may come as the perfect trading chip if Bryan Murray were to decide if Wiercioch didn’t fit in the system.

Wiercioch has shown what he can do in the past in spurts and is very capable of putting up a solid NHL season. I’d look to Tyson Barrie in Colorado as an example of Wiercioch’s ceiling, but we just don’t know whether or not Wiercioch is capable of owning a roster spot in Paul Maclean’s system all season long.

Mar 25, 2014; Sunrise, FL, USA; Ottawa Senators goalie

(40) makes a save against the Florida Panthers in the second period at BB&T Center. Mandatory Credit: Robert Mayer-USA TODAY Sports

Honorable Mentions: 

Robin Lehner – The swedish goalie is still only 23, and has plenty of time to develop; but with Craig Anderson guarenteed 4 more years in the NHL, Robin Lehner will have to push him out of his job sometime between now and 2019. Will this be the year Robin Lehner becomes an NHL starter, he’d be doing it at a young age; but it is possible. [featured-category]

Marc Methot – Heading into a contract year and seeming to be quite a ways off on negotiations with the Senators at this point, Methot needs to have a big year for his own sake and to help his team. Methot and his negotiation group may be looking at players like Dan Girardi as a contract comparable, where the Senators see Mark Fayne or Johnny Boychuk to be of good comparison.

Mike Hoffman – Mark Stone, Alex Chiasson, Mika Zibanejad are all guaranteed spots on the team next year, but Mike Hoffman is a 24-year-old forward who has yet to show whether or not he’s an NHL player. He is flashy and has speed to back up his game, but he’s on a two-way deal. He does require waivers and Bryan Murray believes he’ll never clear them, but if Mike Hoffman doesn’t get off to the start he was hoping for he may just see his name on the waiver wire.