The Ottawa Senators need help; that’s one major takeaway from how this season has gone. Instead of battling for a wild card spot as we all thought, they have instead been in the battle just to try and stay out of last place in the Atlantic Division.
If there is anything “good” that came from this long 2023-24 season, it’s that the Senators have a solid chance to “win” the Macklin Celebrini sweepstakes in the draft lottery. Put Celebrini on a team with the likes of Brady Tkachuk and Tim Stutzle, and the Senators may have something exciting going on.
But if they lose the Celebrini sweepstakes, the Sens could have enough cap space this offseason to land at least a solid talent. They don’t have much to spend, so there probably won’t be a marquee name coming to the nation’s capital unless general manager Steve Staios moves some players around, as they only have roughly $14.6 million to spend at the moment.
Ottawa Senators won’t have much to spend this offseason
Luckily for the Senators, there is just one pending unrestricted free agent they will have to re-sign this summer if they elect to bring them back. Everyone else will be restricted free agents, and there is a good chance they won’t keep a couple of those pending RFAs.
That said, there will be room in the lineup should Staios elect to bring on at least one, if not two, serviceable names for reasonable deals. If he adds the right supplementary talents, perhaps the Senators will be more competitive next season.
This year was a major disappointment in just about every phase of the game, and with the talent level of this team, such play is unacceptable in the eyes of these loyal Senators fans. Additions need to be made so the Sens can maximize the talents of those who should be among the best players in the league at their respective positions.