The Ottawa Senators have done their best to upgrade this summer. The whole Brady Tkachuk situation should have been enough to derail the team. Instead, GM Steve Staios found a way to make lemonade out of a giant lemon this offseason.
The upgrades are clear in the additions of William Eklund, Andre Burakovsky, and Samuel Ersson. But that doesn’t seem to be enough to keep up with the Joneses in the Atlantic Division.
Let’s start with the 800-pound gorilla in the room. The Toronto Maple Leafs blew the doors off the NHL offseason. Of course, Toronto’s moves should come with a grain of salt. How many times have we seen teams win the offseason and fail miserably on the ice?
But there’s no denying that the Leafs will be a major pain in the behind for the Senators. Then, there are the Buffalo Sabres. The Sabres moved on from Alex Tuch but have maintained their uber-talented core. They also moved on from Bowen Byram but don’t seem any less competitive.
The Montreal Canadiens, oh boy, look stacked with their core intact for at least a half-decade. They will be the toughest out in the Atlantic, making them the Sens’ biggest rival.
So, the mushy middle could be where the Senators might have a chance to get out of the Atlantic. The Tampa Bay Lightning, Boston Bruins, and Detroit Red Wings don’t look overly stacked, but could still be too strong for the Senators to overcome.
That leaves the Florida Panthers. The chatter is that the Panthers are back. But even with the addition of Brady Tkachuk, the loss of several key core members, plus Father Time, could lead to another playoff miss.
So, that’s one team, maybe two teams (Panthers and Red Wings) that might struggle to compete. That leaves the Senators in a dog fight with five other teams for three playoff spots in the Atlantic Division.
That’s why the Senators risk falling behind. Even with solid additions, it doesn’t seem like Ottawa has improved as significantly as Toronto has or boasts a core like the Sabres and Canadiens.
Will Ottawa be in the playoff picture next season? Absolutely. The issue will be that the Sens will have to compete with about two or three teams from the Metro Division for one of the two wild card spots in the Eastern Conference.
Please bear in mind that this conversation doesn’t intend to paint a bleak picture. It just serves to highlight how deep the Eastern Conference really is. Aside from the New York Rangers and the Red Wings, there doesn’t seem to be a team that’s not even a fringe playoff contender.
So, Senators fans have to keep an open mind. The club is hardly a finished product at this point. If there is a way to make a significant upgrade, there’s a good chance the team will take it.
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