In my first piece of the day, I revisited the forward of the 2016-17 Ottawa Senators team that made it all the way to the Eastern Conference Finals. Now it’s time to look at defense. For the purpose of this article, I will only look at the main 6 defensemen the team used that season.
Marc Methot
The Ottawa Native Marc Methot would play in his final season with the Ottawa Senators during the 2016-17 season, being a great defensive partner to the best defenseman in franchise history for quite a long time. Methot would be left unprotected in the Vegas Expansion Draft because of Dion Phaneuf’s no movement clause, and the team opting to protect the young Cody Ceci instead of Methot. Methot would not last long in Vegas however as he was traded to the Dallas Stars just days later, where he would finish his career due to injuries adding up over the years, specifically to the knees. He is now a TSN analysis on Sens Game Days, and makes the casual appearance on Locked On Senators Podcast, and formerly was the Co Host of the Wally And Methot Show. “Meth” Is easily a top 5 Greatest Defensemen in Ottawa Senators History for me.
Erik Karlsson
The captain of the team, and the second greatest Ottawa Senator of all time, Erik Karlsson should have played his entire career with the Ottawa Senators but unfortunately that would not happen. He would play in two more seasons with the team before being traded to the San Jose Sharks for a boat load. He just came off the best season of his entire NHL career, scoring 101 points, and will msot likely win the third Norris trophy of his career so far.