The Ottawa Senators have been clear about one thing in the last 3 seasons: they are trying to contend. They made 2 playoff appearances, and while they never made it past the 2nd round, they looked like a team that at least could have a chance. Then came the disastrous start to last season. The Senators found themselves far out of a playoff spot before even hitting the halfway mark of the season. A late season surge was not enough to save them.
GM Yann Schneider made some important changes this summer, the biggest of all was moving out star forward Max Pacioretty after an underwhelming season and bringing in John Tavares. The Senators have a new captain and the lineup has shifted. As the pre season draws to a close, GM Yann Schneider has made one thing clear; how this team performs this season could shift the direction of the organization.
"We feel we have a lot of good young players coming up, and we like our mix of veterans and young guys. But now they need to start performing. We wanted to keep this balance and challenge for a Cup, but these veterans need to prove that they are the guys for the job now, because last year put some doubt on that."
James van Riemsdyk, Drew Doughty and Dustin Brown are among those who's performances last season were widely considered underwhelming. They've openly said their performance needs to be better. A return to elite status from Sergei Bobrovsky could go a long way to bringing the Senators back to the playoffs.
Can these Senators rise to the challenge? We are about to find out.