Summer is always a difficult time for hockey fans but for fans of the Ottawa Senators, the last four months have been especially tedious.
From another Captain walking out the door to the constant discussion about that pesky internal budget, there has been a shortage of (fun) topics to discuss and unfortunately, not a whole lot of optimism and positive vibes around the team. But in the last few weeks the mood around the Senators is starting to shift a little bit. With about three weeks to go until the preseason opener, excitement is clearly building within the fan base.
You see the Senators, led by Bryan Murray, Pierre Dorion and Randy Lee, have been unusually busy the last few weeks. While most teams have spent the last days of the off season going over their depth chart for the millionth time, or adding a 25th Assistant GM to the ranks, the Senators have been quietly showing a commitment to winning and to building a competitive hockey team here in Ottawa.
And for fans that have struggled through a couple seasons of budget talk and watched two Captains exit on somewhat uncertain terms, the idea of a commitment to winning is certainly a welcomed change of pace.
First it was Robin Lehner. Locked up to a bargain contract that will keep him in Ottawa for three more years. A couple weeks later the Senators made a long term commitment to Mark Borowiecki, a player they have always been extremely high on and a guy that exemplifies the hardworking team they want to become. The next day, Clarke MacArthur, who became a fan favourite in his first year with the Senators, gave up a chance at free agency to be an Ottawa Senator long term. Less than a week after that, Craig Anderson did the same thing.
These are respected veterans in this league making the choice to stay here in Ottawa- obviously a refreshing change to all the doom and gloom that hovered around this team after the departures of Alfredsson and Spezza.
Now I don’t want to get ahead of myself here because a visit to CapGeek clearly shows the Senators right near the bottom of the league in spending. The internal budget is still a reality facing this team and has clearly influenced the decisions they’ve had to make the last couple seasons. The Sens will be a hard working bunch this year but with a salary budget near the bottom of the league, they’ll need everything to go right to be in the mix for a playoff spot in April.
But the extensions to MacArthur and Anderson (and eventually Bobby Ryan and Marc Methot) seem to indicate that free(er) spending days may not be far off.
The Sens already have $47.8 million in salary committed to 16 players next season. Add in contracts for Ryan($6-$7 mil), Methot ($4-$5 mil) and the restricted free agents (Zibanejad, Chiasson, Stone, Hoffman) and it’s pretty clear they’ll be well beyond this year’s internal budget of $54-$56 million.
Pierre Dorion was on a conference call last week and talked about why it was so important to get these deals done now. He mentioned a big part of signing these UFAs-to-be now was to show the fans that they are working to build a competitive hockey team.
The Senators won’t necessarily be a cap team but the recent moves suggest that this team is committed to retaining their core players and spending the money to make that happen.
And ultimately, building a winning hockey team in the Nation’s Capital.
