The Ottawa Senators accomplished a few things with news of a contract extension for Bobby Ryan and a captaincy for Erik Karlsson on Thursday. But beyond settling a potentially distracting situation with Ryan and recognizing Karlsson for the leader he is, the Sens also managed to interrupt a fairly unbroken cycle of predictions that do not paint a rosy picture for the fast-approaching season.
If you’ve been keeping tabs on the crystal ball readings spilling out around the NHL in recent days, you know the Sens aren’t exactly tabbed for great things in the months ahead. Then again, when it comes to recent forecasts, no club has given hockey’s fourth estate fits quite like Ottawa.
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When Sportsnet magazine’s inaugural issue launched just a tick over three years ago, we saved last place in the Eastern Conference for the Senators. I still remember a scout telling me that team should play Jr. B. That was Ottawa’s cue to go out and score its way to a playoff berth, thanks largely to a breakout season from Karlsson that saw him score 78 points and snag the Norris Trophy. The Sens shook the top-seeded New York Rangers to their core that post-season, bowing out only after seven hard-fought games in the first round.
However, the positive vibes created by that success quickly faded in the lockout-shortened 2013 campaign, when the team was staggered by an almost unfathomable series of injuries. Jason Spezza missed all but five contests with a back injury; Karlsson had his left Achilles tendon sliced 14 games into the season and 10 defencemen saw at least six contests in just a 48-game schedule. Once again, the Senators were being written off faster than a business lunch.
But a squad that was defensively better than just six clubs the season prior suddenly tightened up to the tune of posting the second-best goals-against in the league. They clawed into the playoffs and then dismantled the Montreal Canadiens in the opening round, before falling to the Pittsburgh Penguins in round two.
That off-season, Ottawa acquired Ryan from the Anaheim Ducks and, despite the devastating loss of Daniel Alfredsson to free agency, optimism was overflowing in Canada’s capital. Twelve months ago, the Senators were a sexy dark horse pick to win the Eastern Conference.
Wrong again.
There’s no point re-writing the obituary on Ottawa’s dismal 88-point showing from last year. All that really matters now is the fact people are justifiably suspicious of a team that—at the request of the player—traded its best offensive forward, Spezza, to the Dallas Stars, and had all kinds of trouble keeping the puck out of its own net in 2013-14. In fact, the only teams that were worse defensively than Ottawa last season were the Edmonton Oilers, Florida Panthers and New York Islanders.
Three years after picking the Sens to fall flat in the East, Sportsnet magazine once again has them near the cellar, with only the highly troubled Buffalo Sabres and Carolina Hurricanes pegged to finish lower in the conference. Take a quick spin around the Internet and you’ll see our doomsday prediction is pretty much in line with what’s out there.
Could the Senators make us all look silly again? Maybe. Goalies Craig Anderson and Robin Lehner have had their ups and downs, but when they’re on, both are capable of carrying the team. And, really, Ottawa only needs one of those guys to find his game. Karlsson is firmly established as the most explosive offensive defenceman in the game and Ryan — who spent years as the subject of trade rumours in Anaheim before facing long-term contract speculation in Ottawa — can finally feel secure in his situation.
Spezza’s departure leaves a huge hole in the middle, but 21-year-old Mika Zibanejad could be ready to take a step forward as a No. 2 centre behind burgeoning Kyle Turris. And while off-season signing David Legwand might not wow you, he’s still a big middle man who knows how to efficiently navigate both ends of the ice. Blueliner Cody Ceci was one of the few pleasant surprises from last year and, who knows, maybe 2013 first-rounder Curtis Lazar can be that player this season.
Still, the smart money seems to be landing on it being a long year in Ottawa. And that likely suits the Sens just fine.