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So, it's September and the Spezza saga is over. The to-do-list is close to being complete, just waiting on Bobby Ryan and the Methot situation to be done.
As for story lines? There are no shortages at all.
Alex Chiasson is about to put on the Senators sweater and take the ice as a member of this team for the first time. He had an impressive rookie season last year, but was hit with a tremendous flu bug that likely cost him ~15/20 points. So the question is, will he come out and be a 45-50 point impact player in our top 6, or is there an adjustment period? This is one to watch for!
Curtis Lazar did absolutely everything right last season. Assistant captained his team to the WHL championship, Memorial Cup and was arguably Team Canada's best player. Now, all he has to do is prove he's ready to play NHL hockey and there's nothing that suggests he's not.
David Legwand's signing came a couple of days after the initial free agent frenzy, but this is a piece to the puzzle that was absolutely integral for the Sens to have success. 1000 games are in Legwand's future, so he'll provide leadership and likely some timely scoring as well.
Erik Karlsson had another monster year points wise last season, but admitted to not being 100%. Now, he's had a great summer of training and is apparently coming in at close to 100%. Should we be excited? Yes.
Jared Cowen needs to have a big comeback year and most think he will. If he hits his stride, it'll be a matter of time before he's Karlsson's wing man. This is a big, big piece of the puzzle should we have success this year.
Bobby Ryan had a sports hernia last season and tried to play through it. This year if he comes in healthy how many goals can we expect? There's no telling, but his success with Turris and MacArthur last year makes it another important story line to watch.
Kyle Turris is about to take his next step. He was the number one C in Ottawa last year, but also had Spezza behind him taking some of the defensive matchups. This year he'll have Zibanejad and Legwand behind him and he'll either flourish or falter slightly. Here's to thinking he'll flourish!
Mark Stone had a very, very impressive 19 games in the NHL last season and he has a spot to lose. Will he take advantage of it again, this time perhaps posting even bigger numbers? Have to think that he'll be very excited.
Robin Lehner is poised to push Anderson to the limit in the quest to be the next Senators starting goalie and after having a statistically average year, he'll be looking to provide even better netminding this season. That said, if the defence plays the way it did last season a brick wall in net would let in a ton of goals.
Mika Zibanejad is probably the most interesting story line of this year IMO. His GM came out and said that he expected him to be the top line C in Ottawa in the very near future and there's absolutely no reason he can't come out and be an effective 1B/2C to Turris this season. He's got size, speed and is an offensive weapon, so let's see it!!
As for story lines? There are no shortages at all.
Alex Chiasson is about to put on the Senators sweater and take the ice as a member of this team for the first time. He had an impressive rookie season last year, but was hit with a tremendous flu bug that likely cost him ~15/20 points. So the question is, will he come out and be a 45-50 point impact player in our top 6, or is there an adjustment period? This is one to watch for!
Curtis Lazar did absolutely everything right last season. Assistant captained his team to the WHL championship, Memorial Cup and was arguably Team Canada's best player. Now, all he has to do is prove he's ready to play NHL hockey and there's nothing that suggests he's not.
David Legwand's signing came a couple of days after the initial free agent frenzy, but this is a piece to the puzzle that was absolutely integral for the Sens to have success. 1000 games are in Legwand's future, so he'll provide leadership and likely some timely scoring as well.
Erik Karlsson had another monster year points wise last season, but admitted to not being 100%. Now, he's had a great summer of training and is apparently coming in at close to 100%. Should we be excited? Yes.
Jared Cowen needs to have a big comeback year and most think he will. If he hits his stride, it'll be a matter of time before he's Karlsson's wing man. This is a big, big piece of the puzzle should we have success this year.
Bobby Ryan had a sports hernia last season and tried to play through it. This year if he comes in healthy how many goals can we expect? There's no telling, but his success with Turris and MacArthur last year makes it another important story line to watch.
Kyle Turris is about to take his next step. He was the number one C in Ottawa last year, but also had Spezza behind him taking some of the defensive matchups. This year he'll have Zibanejad and Legwand behind him and he'll either flourish or falter slightly. Here's to thinking he'll flourish!
Mark Stone had a very, very impressive 19 games in the NHL last season and he has a spot to lose. Will he take advantage of it again, this time perhaps posting even bigger numbers? Have to think that he'll be very excited.
Robin Lehner is poised to push Anderson to the limit in the quest to be the next Senators starting goalie and after having a statistically average year, he'll be looking to provide even better netminding this season. That said, if the defence plays the way it did last season a brick wall in net would let in a ton of goals.
Mika Zibanejad is probably the most interesting story line of this year IMO. His GM came out and said that he expected him to be the top line C in Ottawa in the very near future and there's absolutely no reason he can't come out and be an effective 1B/2C to Turris this season. He's got size, speed and is an offensive weapon, so let's see it!!
