Ottawa Senators: Three Players Who Need to be Better

1 of 4

The Ottawa Senators are off to a fairly terrible start. They currently hold a record that has them sitting near the bottom of the NHL standings. If the Senators are going to be competitive, these three players need to play better and be difference makers on this team.

Coming into the weekend the Senators hold a record of 5-9-1 and currently sit two points up on Detroit who is dead last in the standings. The Senators were not going to win more games than they lost this season, pretty much everyone who knew anything about the team understood that before the first puck was dropped on the season.

For the most part, DJ Smith has done a good job of instilling a work-ethic with this team that has them working hard and competing on a nightly basis. The Senators might not win a lot of games, but it definitely won’t be because they didn’t work hard enough. I feel like DJ Smith would have that printed on a t-shirt or a coffee mug or something.

While the team has been on the wrong side of the scoreboard on more nights than not, there have been several bright spots for this team early on in the season. Like I said, on most nights, regardless of the final score, the majority of the team played hard and was competitive. And really, there isn’t much more that we could ask for as fans.

Give us competitive hockey on a nightly basis that is fun and entertaining to watch but that the Senators end up losing and I’ll be more than happy! I’m kidding. Well, kind of kidding. It’s always more fun to watch our team win, but I can also sit there with the understanding that this team desperately needs another high-level young player that would come from another high draft choice this coming June.

Now, notice how I’ve stopped short of saying that every player has played well and competed on a nightly basis. There’s a reason for that. I have outlined three players that I believe need to increase their level of play if the Senators are going to remain competitive throughout the season.

The problem with the Senators this season is they don’t have a very deep level of competitive depth just yet. Yes, there are a lot of players playing in Belleville right now that could, in theory, play on this team. That does not mean that the Senators have good depth. They have good depth potential. These young players have yet to show us what they can do on a regular basis.

Who are the three players you ask? Considering that the depth the Senators have is relatively quite young, the players that are already in Ottawa have to be better. The players that are in Ottawa have to play to a level where they are not forcing management to bring up young players before they are completely ready. So, with that, let’s take a look at the three Senators players that I believe need to be better.

OTTAWA, ON – NOVEMBER 07: Ottawa Senators Right Wing Tyler Ennis (63) close up during second period National Hockey League action between the Los Angeles Kings and Ottawa Senators on November 7, 2019, at Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa, ON, Canada. (Photo by Richard A. Whittaker/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

3. Tyler Ennis

Tyler Ennis was signed by the Senators as a free agent this past July after spending some time with the other Ontario team. Ennis was brought over, probably by recommendation from new head coach DJ Smith, to be a mentor to the younger players and to take the spot of a younger player that simply wasn’t ready to make the jump to the NHL just yet.

When the Senators signed Ennis I was expecting the small forward to carve out a nice spot for himself on the fourth line and provide DJ Smith with a fourth line that he could put out there and trust. Well, that has not been the case throughout the early goings of the season.

Ennis is currently averaging just over 16 minutes per game, which is almost one minute more than his career average, and over seven minutes more than he was averaging last season in Toronto. Clearly coach Smith values him and considers him to be one of his regular top-9 forwards and a consistent powerplay guy.

If that is the role the Senators and Smith have in mind for Ennis throughout the season, then Ennis is going to have to start playing much better. The fact that the 5’9″ forward is trying and playing hard on a nightly basis simply cannot be enough to justify this level of ice-time and usage.

I’ve watched Ennis repeatedly get destroyed and absolutely manhandled along the boards both in the defensive and offensive zones. Yet, the coach continues to put him out there. If the coach is going to continue to rely on Ennis this much, Ennis is going to have to start winning more puck battles than he loses. And for a forward of his size, maybe he should just start paying attention to what Jean-Gabriel Pageau is doing and start doing that!

Oh, and Ennis’ team-worst -11 is going to have to start getting a lot better. I could understand the coach using Ennis this much if he was a staunch defensive forward, but the fact that he has been on for goals against 11 times more than goals for is not encouraging.

Simply put, he needs to be better.

ABBOTSFORD, BC – SEPTEMBER 23: Right Wing Bobby Ryan (9) celebrates with teammates his opening goal during their NHL preseason game against the Vancouver Canucks at the Abbotsford Events & Sports Centre on September 23, 2019 in Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada.(Photo by Devin Manky/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

2. Bobby Ryan

Now before I begin harping on how better Bobby Ryan needs to be, I want to issue this slight disclaimer: Bobby Ryan has been one of my favourite players ever since he came into the league. I also want to put it out there that I am fully aware that the game has passed him by and he struggles to keep up with the pace of the play.

Bobby Ryan has been a healthy scratch more times than not as of late. One of the biggest reasons for his lack of playing time lately has been his inability to keep up with the pace of play. Coach DJ Smith has said from the beginning that the Senators were going to be a team that was going to play fast and hard, and Bobby Ryan simply, and unfortunately for me, cannot keep up with a fast-paced game.

With that being said, I still believe that there is a role for Ryan on the Senators. Ryan should still have some offensive abilities and I think that is what the coaching staff would love the most out of him. The Senators are a team that struggles to score goals, simply because they lack the high-end talent to score those goals.

The Senators need Bobby Ryan to help them produce offensively, even if it only is on the powerplay. Maybe this is just my blind love for the player, but I think he should be able to transform himself into a powerplay specialist on this team. Clearly the coaching staff does not want to put him out there for too many five-on-five minutes, but I think he can still help the Senators on the man advantage.

Related Story. Senators and Bobby Ryan could be ready to separate. light

Simply put, the Senators need Bobby Ryan to at the very least help them with some offensive production. Even if that production primarily comes on the powerplay. The team has really struggled with their man advantage play, and Ryan should be a forward for the coaching staff to rely on when it comes to powerplay scoring.

In the end, I don’t think there will ever be anything that will change my mind on Bobby Ryan. I will continue loving him for no concrete reason and I am totally fine with that!

UNIONDALE, NY – NOVEMBER 05: Ottawa Senators Goalie Craig Anderson (41) makes a glove save during the second period the National Hockey League game between the Ottawa Senators and the New York Islanders on November 5, 2019, at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY. (Photo by Gregory Fisher/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

1. Craig Anderson

The last and final name on my list is the Senators’ longtime starting netminder. The reason for Craig Anderson being on this list is quite simple: for the Senators to remain competitive on most nights, they are going to need their goaltenders to make some saves.

Anders Nilsson has probably supplanted Craig Anderson for a little while as the go-to option for DJ Smith. However, Smith had said very early on in training camp that the Senators were more than probably rotate both netminders.

Do you love the Ottawa Senators enough to write about them? Are you looking to get more involved in the Ottawa Senators community this season? Have you ever thought about blogging about hockey? SenShot is looking to add more dedicated contributors to our team! Apply today!

So far this season, the split between Nilsson and Anderson has been pretty even. Anderson has started nine games while Nilsson has started seven. Nilsson has more wins than Anderson and also has better numbers when looking at the GAA and the Sv%.

Stats don’t always tell the whole story though. I’m not going to sit here and say that the Senators have lost games because of the play of Craig Anderson, but they surely haven’t won games because of Anderson too often.

The 38-year-old Anderson is in the final year of his current contract and he is definitely showing signs of his age. It will be interesting to see how Smith and the Senators handle the goalie rotation throughout the season, but Anderson does need to play better.

Next. Ottawa Senators fans can save tons. dark

Senators fans, we want to hear from you! What players do you think need to play better? Let us know your thoughts about this and anything Senators related in the comment section below!

Home / Editorials