It may just be August but the 2017-2018 NHL season will be on our hands before we know it. Training Camp will start in September and all the players will be brought together as they prepare for another season. With August as a down month in the NHL I thought this would be a great time to preview each of the players on the Ottawa Senators for next season.
If you missed it here’s our last preview!
Ottawa Senators: Cody Ceci 2017-2018 Season Preview
The off-season has been rather dull for Ottawa Senators so far. For much of July their most notable signing was Nate Thompson. Other than that all they had done were some RFA signings. However, near the end of the month the Sens finally made a splash. They signed defenceman Johnny Oduya to a one year contract.
Oduya comes in as a natural replacement for Marc Methot. Not known for his offensive capabilities, Oduya will be asked to cover for Karlsson when he is making a play. As long as he can be a reliable defensively so that Karlsson can do his thing, Oduya will have a successful year.
At the age of 35, Oduya’s play has begun to falter. He is not the player he used to be while he was with the Blackhawks during their era of championships. However, he is still very capable of playing a shutdown defensive role.
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Going into next season there will be a lot of competition on the left side of defence. As the season begins there is a very good chance he will be slotted next to Karlsson on the first pairing. However, players such as Claesson and Chabot will be looking to prove themselves and both have the capability to move up the lineup and take his spot. Oduya will not keep his spot in the lineup on merit. He will have to prove to Coach Guy Boucher that he is deserving of his spot on the Ottawa Senators.