The Ottawa Senators had a disappointing finish to season 9, losing in the first round. The organization however was considered to be in a strong position to contend, having just won the President’s Trophy. Free Agency went as well as any Sens fan could have hoped, with Eric Staal and Corey Crawford both signing 1 year deals to try and win a Stanley Cup late in their careers. But the dream quickly turned into a nightmare. Ottawa had a strong pre season, then managed to stay around .500 for the first 15 games or so. Then it all went south. Expectations were high, but no one other than maybe Robert Thomas played up to expectations and before the halfway mark of the season the team has already fallen out of the playoff race. Two and a half seasons ago Ryan Getzlaf signed a large deal with Ottawa and was immediately made captain. The team didn’t make it out of the first round with him, but with 4 years left on his deal the belief was that the best was yet to come. When the team underperformed so heavily however something had to change. Out goes Ryan Getzlaf, in comes Shea Weber. The results haven’t been any better in Ottawa, and fans are already starting to think of next season.