30 teams in 30 days: Ottawa Senators
Finished: 11th eastern conference
Leading scorers: Daniel Alfredsson 74, Jason Spezza 73, Dany Heatley 72, Filip Kuba 40
Who did they add?: Alex Kovalev
Who did they lose?: Brendan Bell
Overview: Things looked so promising in hockey country after making it all the way to Stanley Cup Finals in 2007, but things took a turn for the worst after that. Starting off the next season on a blistering pace, the sens looked to be destined for a first place finish and another cup run, but the all-star break hit and the sens tumbled all the way down to 8th place and got swept in the first round by the Penguins. Last season, they never really found their grove until it was too late, and missed the playoffs for the first time since 95-96. But things look to be getting back on the right track for the Senators, all they need is production. The forward group is led by Daniel Alfredsson, Jason Spezza and new acquisition Alex Kovalev. Dany Heatley is currently in the mix, but his fate is unknown as talks continue to swirl about a trade involving him. Its hard to see Heatley coming back though, because of the selfishness he has portrayed. The Sens have solid secondary lines, with Mike Fisher, Nick Foligno, Chris Kelly and Ryan Shannon, among others. The blue line is solid, but didn’t live up to their potential last year, and was one of the sens’ achilles heals. Led by Filip Kuba and Chris Phillips, with Chris Campoli, Brian Lee, Anton Volchenkov and Jason Smith rounding out the gorup, the D look to be in good shape. They will need to do a better job staying at home in their own zone if Ottawa is to be successful. The goaltending is inn good, young hands. Pascale Leclaire and Brian Elliott are two solid, young net-minders who will share time keeping many pucks out of Ottawa’s net. The Sens are an improved team, and if they play the whole season like they did the last 20 games of last season, then they should be a shoe-in for the playoffs.
Winners or losers?: The Sens are winners this offseason. They went out and signed Alex Kovalev with the intention of replacing Dany Heatley, but what a mighty offense it will be if Heatley manages to stay, which is looking more and more likely every day.
