Paul MacLean leads the Ottawa Senators for his second season. Veterans and youth alike returning, the Senators are prime to better last year’s success, perhaps even Stanley Cup bound.
Head Coach MacLean came from the Detroit Red Wings as an Assistant Coach for six seasons. Not expecting much out of a team that finished in 13th a year earlier, MacLean brought a system focusing on conditioning. Despite a rough start to the season, going 1-5-0 in their first six games, the hard skating paid off. The Senators under MacLean ended in 8th seed within the Eastern Conference. Taking the 1st seed New York Rangers to a game seven, the Senators eventually lost and ended what many would deem a successful turnaround season. This year the Senators look to match last year’s performance and then some.
“It very definitely should give us a bit of a springboard this year,” General Manager Bryan Murray said in an interview. “Our finish and our performance in the playoffs last season gave us some confidence that we’re going in the right direction.”
Much of last year’s roster returns, most notably the return of Captain Daniel Alfredsson. Alfredsson, who is 39 years of age will play in his 17th NHL season. The Swede has accumulated 416 goals and 666 assists for 1,082 points in 1,131 games played. Throughout his career, Alfredsson has won many trophies, including the King Clancy Memorial Trophy for Humanitarian of the Year and an Olympic Gold Medal, but he has yet to win a Stanley Cup.
“Daniel is an exceptional captain whose commitment to his teammates and to the great City of Ottawa is second to none,” owner Eugene Melnyk said in a team release. “Daniel expects a lot out of himself both on and off the ice so I fully understand how important a decision this was for him and his family. I couldn’t be more pleased with the outcome and look forward to Daniel having a great year and adding to his long list of extraordinary achievements with our hockey club.”
The Senators also extended young defensman Erik Karlsson to a seven-year contract extension. Playing only three seasons in the NHL so far, Karlsson has become one of the elite defensman on the ice. Last year he led all NHL defenseman in points with 78 in 81 games played.
“Erik is the type of player and person that embodies an Ottawa Senator, and we are confident that on a personal basis, he will quickly become a role model for many of our young Sens fans and a great contributor to our community,” Melnyk stated. “We feel strongly that this long-term commitment will be great for both sides. As one of the cornerstones of our franchise, Erik will be a large part of the future success that Senators fans can look forward to.”
Offensively, the team is looking good as last season they averaged 3.33 goals a game; a statistic that put them at 4th best in the NHL. This was largely in part by Milan Michalek (35G) and Jason Spezza (34G). Spezza has been a workhorse throughout his career, a perennial 70 plus points a season when healthy. Michalek on the other hand, has been a 20 plus goal scorer but never much more than that. Last year was his third season with the Senators, and under a new coach, produced his a career high goals in a season.
The defensive pairings look to be a solid mix of veteran and youngsters. The previously mentioned Karlsson leading the pack, new additions Marc Methot and Mike Lundin working into the system, and veterans Chris Phillips and Sergei Gonchar continuing their productive careers.
In net, the Senators will see prospect Robin Lehner and Ben Bishop fight for the backup position, while Craig Anderson will once again take the starting role. Anderson has 60 starts last season, posting a 33-22-6 record with a 2.83 goals against average and a .914 save percentage. Anderson, as you may recall, cut his hand while preparing a meal that saw him miss 12 games last season. He returned to play in seven of the final eight games of the season and played in all seven playoff games, bettering both his save percentage (.933) and goals against average (2.00).
Like many teams, staying healthy will be one of the biggest concerns to be successful. The Senators have a lot of talent from the top down, including a solid netminder. Currently having 21 players on their roster with just over $18 million of cap space (4th lowest payroll in the NHL), expect the Senators to be buyers come trade deadline, adding that one piece that could put them in the Stanley Sup finals.
