These are tense times for the Ottawa Senators.
With the NHL Draft now just a few weeks away, and the inevitable Jason Spezza deal set for the not too distant future, fans are a little uneasy about the direction this team is heading. With Ales Hemsky and Milan Michalek also seemingly headed elsewhere, it’s hard to imagine how the Senators will improve next season. With that said, I think we are all guilty of panicking a little bit before we know exactly what is in store this off season. A recent run of reactionary, budget-conscious moves has everybody a little on edge.
But as AJ Jakubec from TSN1200 pointed out, maybe we all need to take a deep breath here.
@SensChirp I do think the hand wringing has been a little over the top lately. Can’t we wait until July 5th to complain about the roster?
— AJ Jakubec (@AJonSports) June 4, 2014
The Senators are certainly going to have a different look next season. They are not going to spend with the top teams though, especially with the cap possibly hitting $70 mil next season. With that said, they will have to spend some money just to get to the cap floor and if Melnyk is looking to ice a mid-cap team, Bryan Murray may have even more wiggle room. They won’t be free spending, but they do have some options.
There aren’t many “big fish” in this year’s free agent class but there are some interesting names that I’m sure the Sens will make a call on. Like most teams, Ottawa could use another top six forward and another defenceman who can play on the top two pairings. Those kind of players don’t usually come cheap but Murray will be searching the market for affordable free agent and trade options.
There has been some unease about the potential acquisition of guys like Chris Stewart and Nick Bonino. Jakubec was also pretty quick to silence those rumours last night.
Don’t rush out to get your Nick Bonino or Chris Stewart jerseys. I don’t expect either to be an Ottawa Senator anytime soon. #Sens
— AJ Jakubec (@AJonSports) June 4, 2014
That’s certainly good news because a lot of what has been written about both Stewart and Bonino isn’t exactly favourable.
Let’s all give Bryan Murray some credit here and hope that he’ll be able to work some magic over the next few weeks. He doesn’t have a ton of money to work with but with half of the team’s top six forwards likely moving on, he will have some wiggle room. He also holds a key trade piece that teams around the league would love to have. This is going to be an interesting summer for the Ottawa Senators.
Let’s hope it’s the good kind of interesting this time around.
