Now that it's over, what is (realistically) our Ottawa starting lineup in October?

Now that the B-Sens have the Calder Cup, and we've all had some time to watch and evaluate the talent down there, what will be our starting lineup in October? Le's start off with our current depth chart (courtesy of Yahoo! Sports):

Center:
Spezza
Greening
Smith
DaCosta

Winchester is listed as a winger but I'm pretty sure he played 4th line center. Not sure about Greening, but he has top-9 size and speed as a winger, no problem. So we have a 1st line center and a 4th line center. Is DaCosta ready for the NHL? I don't think so. Is Smith a 4th line plug like Clouston told him, or can he provide some secondary scoring as a 3rd line center, as Kleinendorst said? 20 points in 23 games playing 3rd line minutes says Clouston mis-diagnosed him.

We have room for a 2nd line center, we just don't have a 2nd line center. Couturier would fill that void, but you can't expect him to step right in as a 2nd line center. Good thing we're not planning on going far this year. Smith can pay 3rd line center. O'Brien is a long shot, too. Regin played *some* time at center but at this point he is a big question mark in my mind.

Left Wing:
Alfredsson, Michalek, Foligno

Alfie is a right winger, is he not? Greening should be a candidate for the top-nine as left winger. If we're short a winger on the 4th line I'm sure that's not a problem.

Right Wing:
Shannon
Neil
Winchester

Ugh. Winch played center. Alfie's name should be there, same as Butler's. Not sure if Shannon will be back. Need a 3rd/4th line right winger. I'd love the idea of an all-Bingo 3rd line to provide tertiary scoring instead of a checking line, so Neil to 4th. But who would play 3rd then? Condra or Wick? Depends what they show in camp. Maybe I'll shelve my idea of a Bingo 3rd line and keep Neil on the 3rd where he (probably) belongs. Keep him there to keep an eye on things, make sure the Bingo-kids aren't taken advantage of, or slacking of.

Defense:
Gonchar
Kuba
Phillips
Karlsson
Lee
Carkner

Plus Cowen and Rundblad have been practically assured of a job (even as I remain skeptical, one of the two should be in the lineup). Someone is going to be moved. Has to happen IMO. Gryba and D. Smith are also waiting to jump in. We have Gonchar who prefers the right side, plus Karlsson, Lee and Carkner are all righties, as are Rundblad and Gryba. Lee and Carkner are expendable (Lee, especially, since he doesn't bring Carkner's toughness). I expect a move there.

Goal:
Anderson

Do we reward Brust with a backup contract? He certainly deserves it, just as Dave Cameron "deserves" the coaching job. And he needs to be taken out of Bingo so Lehner has room to run. Or do we anoint Lehner the next Patrick Roy (they both won the Calder Cup MVP, at 19, after all). Anyhow, backup goalies are a dime a dozen, right?

OK, I've set up the canvas. Now paint your lineup on it.

We'll likely sign a top 6 forward. Greening and Z Smith were given 1-way deals, so they'll likely be playing in Ottawa next year.

You can't make a realistic lineup until we see what happens at the draft. I'm guessing at least one player out of the ones listed gets moved and that one veteran gets added as part of a deal at the draft too.

Then there's free agency...

SeawaySensFan wrote:You can't make a realistic lineup until we see what happens at the draft. I'm guessing at least one player out of the ones listed gets moved and that one veteran gets added as part of a deal at the draft too.

Then there's free agency...

Yeah, I agree. Give it a month and I'll be all over the 'imagine our lineup' game. But right now, there are so many X factors -- the draft, the buyout period, the FA period, etc. -- that stand in the way. We should have a much clearer picture of what the 2011-12 Sens will look like in 3-4 weeks.

Man... our depth at "C" needs some help...

Just remember that in '09 the avalanche iced their top 2 picks, Duchene and O'Reilly. It is possible that the Senators draft someone who surprises out of camp, or someone like Bass comes up.

There's also going to be some CHLers and NCAA players coming to Bingo fulltime.

Ottawa's back-up goalie situation is not important. There will likely be a lot of veterans looking for last minute deals.

I'd rather the Sens stick with filling the roster from within. Bring back Shannon to fill in.

Top Line LW - Spezza - Butler
Michalek - Da Costa/Regin/UFA/Trade - Alfredsson
Greening - Z.Smith - Condra
Foligno - J.Winchester - Neil

Phillips - Lee
Cowen - Gonchar
Kuba - Karlsson
Carkner

Rundblad starts in AHL

Anderson
BACKUP

As people have mentioned, there's a long way to go. We need a top line LW, a 2nd line C (although, I would let the guys push for a spot there internally and a backup goalie (Ty Conklin please!). There's the draft, trades, UFA - tons and tons of other stuff before we can do this properly.

Lots can change, but as of right now I'm gonna go with this.

xxxxxxxxx - Spezza - Butler
Michalek - Regin - Alfredsson
Foligno - Winchester - Neil
Greening - Smith - xxxxxxxx

Phillips - Karlsson
Kuba - Gonchar
Cowen - Lee
Carkner

Anderson
xxxxxxxx

Really depends on our UFAs and draft but I'm predicting we pick up Gagne and draft Strome/Couturier. Kuba on waivers, Shannon lost to UFA.

Gagne - Spezza - Butler
Foligno - Strome - Michalek
Condra - Da Costa - Alfredsson
Greening - Smith - Neil
Winchester

Lee - Karlsson
Rundblad- Gonchar
Cowen - Phillips
Carkner

Anderson
Lallime


Gagne - Pure scorer. Will benefit from a solid set-up man. Help mentor Butler to score at the NHL level.

Strome/Couturier - Probably the best available pick left at the 6th spot. Both bring different things to the table but are expected to perform next year.

Rundblad/Cowen - Both make the team. No way you're convincing Rundblad to come to Canada to play in the AHL. Will take a while to adjust but will be fantastic by the midway point of the season. Cowen will be used as a shutdown defenceman similar to Volchenkov. I don't think there will be a real 5-6 pairing as a young gun will be on all three defensive lines and will be rotated as required.

Lee - I personally think Lee evolved into a better stay at home defenceman but his offensive upside will help Karlsson and will let him take chances.

Lallime - Solid vet. Liked Ottawa. No room left in Buffalo.

SeawaySensFan wrote:You can't make a realistic lineup until we see what happens at the draft. I'm guessing at least one player out of the ones listed gets moved and that one veteran gets added as part of a deal at the draft too.

Then there's free agency...

and then there's Maude

DefenceWinsChampionships wrote:Really depends on our UFAs and draft but I'm predicting we pick up Gagne and draft Strome/Couturier. Kuba on waivers, Shannon lost to UFA.

I agree with most, except, if we tell Rundblad to play in the AHL, he needs to play in the AHL without any kind of argument. It isn't a question of whether he'll make it or not, it's a question of if we think he's ready. If he balks at going to the AHL, it won't be a good situation.

As for Gagne, I had him ranked 6th I think:

1.Tanguay
2.Leino
3.Fleishmann
4.Jokinen
5.Laich
6.Gagne

...but any of these guys are really strong options.

Foligno-Spezza-Butler
Michalek-Regin-Alfredsson
Greening-Smith-Condra
Shannon-Winchester-Neil

Phillips-Karlsson
Gonchar-Lee
Kuba-Carkner

Anderson

That's the most likely roster. Maybe put Greening on the top line, move Foligno down.

Dash wrote:Foligno-Spezza-Butler
Michalek-Regin-Alfredsson
Greening-Smith-Condra
Shannon-Winchester-Neil

Phillips-Karlsson
Gonchar-Lee
Kuba-Carkner

Anderson

That's the most likely roster. Maybe put Greening on the top line, move Foligno down.

My forwards are the same, though I consider the 2nd line center to be up for grabs between Da Costa, Regin, and our FRP.

Phillips Lee
EK Cowen
Gonchar Carkner
(not necessarily in first, second, third pairing order)

...is how I think the D plays out. Of course, BM said that he's looking to move defencemen, so I guess we'll see. I assumed that he moved Kuba or relegated him to 7th D.

Trade/UFA-Spezza-Butler
Michalek-Regin/DaCosta/1st Rd Pick-Alfredsson
Greening-Smith-Condra
Foligno-Winchester-Neil

Phillips-Lee
Cowen-Gonchar
Kuba-Karlsson
Carkner

Anderson
xxxxx

I expect Lee will be gone to make room for Rundblad though.
#2C will be up for grabs

SeawaySensFan wrote:You can't make a realistic lineup until we see what happens at the draft. I'm guessing at least one player out of the ones listed gets moved and that one veteran gets added as part of a deal at the draft too.

Then there's free agency...

I think you can realistically assume that we will get *at most* one player into the lineup from the draft. Likely a center, as that is our biggest need. I *don't* think we'll be getting a high draft pick in 2012, certainly not as high as this year's 6, and we absolutely need a 2nd line center. Even if we can get one via trade or free agent signing to play 2nd line in 2-3 seasons, we will eventually need someone to succeed Spezza.