2014-15 Ottawa Senators Preview

(SportsNetwork.com) - When the Ottawa Senators made a surprising trip to the second round of the playoffs in 2013 they seemed like a club on the rise.

Unfortunately for the Sens, last season showed they may have a longer road back to relevancy than previously believed.

For 11 straight seasons from the 1996-97 campaign through 2007-08 the Senators qualified for the playoffs, with the franchise's high point coming in a trip to the 2007 Stanley Cup Finals. After missing the postseason in the spring of 2009, Ottawa qualified three times over the next four seasons culminating with the aforementioned 2013 appearance.

It's hard to say how much captain Daniel Alfredsson's departure had to do with last season's disappointing campaign, but the Senators will have to deal with the loss of a captain yet again as Alfredsson's replacement Jason Spezza was traded to Dallas this summer.

Even more troubling than Spezza's departure is the fact that little was done to fill the hole left behind by the productive centerman. Veteran pivot David Legwand, a serviceable two-way player, was signed in the offseason, but he hardly projects as a replacement for Spezza, who has recorded more points (687) than games played (686) at the NHL level.

Although head coach Paul MacLean won the Jack Adams Award as the league's top coach in 2013, he finds himself on the hot seat heading into this season. At this point it would probably only take a few bad weeks at the start of 2014-15 for general manager Bryan Murray to pull the plug on the MacLean era.

Depth issues all over the roster make Ottawa a long shot to qualify for the postseason in 2015, and things could get even worse if impending free agent winger Bobby Ryan decides to hit the open market next summer.

FORWARDS - Murray tried to make the best of a bad situation by dealing Spezza to Dallas for a trio of promising young players but it will probably be a few years before we can judge the trade.

Spezza finished second to defenseman Erik Karlsson in team scoring last season, posting 23 goals and 66 points over 75 games, but according to Ottawa, the star player requested a trade following the season and Murray decided to accommodate him by shipping Spezza to Big D.

Alex Chiasson offers the only real chance of giving the Senators an immediate return on the Spezza trade. The 23-year-old was a second-round pick by Dallas in 2009 and played his first full season in the NHL last season when he posted 35 points (13 goals, 22 assists) in 79 games for the Stars. At 6-foot-4, 205 pounds, Chiasson is blessed with a combination of size and skill which could come in handy if Ryan chooses to avoid Ottawa's attempts at signing him long term.

The other two players Ottawa received for Spezza -- forwards Alexander Guptill and Nick Paul -- are not expected to be in the mix for spots at the NHL level this season. However, the prospects, and Dallas' second-round draft pick in 2015, could help the Sens if they are forced to rebuild their way out of this downturn.

Ryan, meanwhile, enters 2014-15 as the main man in Ottawa now that Spezza is gone. The 27-year-old winger went over the 30-goal mark four times during his time in Anaheim and managed to post 23 goals in his first season as a Senator.

Ryan was acquired in a trade with Anaheim on July 5, 2013 (also the same day Alfredsson announced he was leaving to sign with Detroit) and Murray is going to do his best to convince the speedy forward to stay in Ottawa. Ryan, who is entering the final year of a five-year, $25 million deal signed with the Ducks, reportedly turned down an initial seven-year extension offer from the Sens but he hasn't ruled out re-signing with the team.

It seems likely MacLean will continue to use Ryan with centerman Kyle Turris and left wing Clarke MacArthur, as the trio formed Ottawa's most productive line last season.

Turris, 25, turned in a career year with personal bests in goals (26), assists (32) and games played (82). While he may never deliver on the hype that led to him being selected third overall by Phoenix at the 2007 draft, Turris' 2013-14 campaign was definitely a pleasant surprise for Ottawa. Especially with loss of Spezza, the Sens absolutely need Turris to build off his long-awaited breakout season as they simply can't afford him to suffer a major drop-off in production.

MacArthur had a career-high 24 goals last season and finished fourth on the team with 55 points.

Ottawa hopes Mika Zibanejad can take a page out of Turris' book this season and make some progress in his development. The sixth overall pick in the 2011 draft is expected to assume the club's No. 2 center spot after recording 16 goals and 17 assists in 69 games last season as a 20-year-old.

Veteran winger Milan Michalek, who had 17 goals last season, re-signed with Ottawa for three years and $12 million this summer and expects to play to the left of Zibanejad with Chiasson penciled in as the line's right winger.

Considering Ottawa's lack of depth there was a small chance Curtis Lazar could earn a spot on the top two lines. Lazar was the Sens' first-round pick (17th overall) in 2013 but the 19-year-old played in juniors last season and might be better suited for the AHL this season.

If either the first or second lines fail to live up to expectations in 2014-15, things could get really ugly in Ottawa because the bottom six forwards will likely offer little help in the scoring department.

Legwand should provide steady play on the third line and he is coming off a season in which he posted 14 goals and 51 points in 83 combined games with Nashville and Detroit. However, the 34-year-old could be due for a dip in production thanks to Ottawa's lack of scoring depth at the bottom of the forward rotation. Colin Greening and Mark Stone could wind up being Legwand's wingers. Greening had just 17 points (6G, 11) in 76 games with the Sens in 2013-14, while Stone had four goals and four assists in 19 games as a rookie.

Zack Smith had 13 goals last season and expects to center the fourth line alongside Erik Condra and enforcer Chris Neil.

DEFENSE - Ottawa's depth at the forward position is a big problem, and the defense isn't exactly stacked with talent either as it's pretty much Karlsson and everybody else.

Karlsson, winner of the Norris Trophy in 2011-12, is quite possibly the best offensive defenseman in the world and is coming off a season in which he led Ottawa -- and all NHL blueliners -- with 74 points (20G, 54A). He also averaged over 27 minutes of ice time per game while suiting up for all 82 contests, which was a great sign considering the 24-year-old suffered a torn Achilles the previous season.

While no sane person would argue against Karlsson's value as an offensive weapon he isn't exactly a shutdown defenseman. Marc Methot, meanwhile, plays a more traditional stay-at-home role and expects to skate alongside Karlsson again this season after posting 23 points (6G, 17A) in 75 games. Methot, however, could miss the start of the season with a back injury.

Steady veteran Chris Phillips, 36, is back for a 17th season on the Ottawa blue line and will usually make up the second pairing with Jared Cowen, who is aiming to bounce back after a disappointing showing in 2013-14. Cowen impressed with 17 points in 82 games as a rookie in 2011-12, but only had six goals and nine assists last season. Ottawa expected Cowen, the ninth overall pick of the 2009 draft, to be further along in his development at this point and the upcoming season gives him another opportunity to take his game to the next level.

The rest of MacLean's options on defense are short on NHL experience, with Cody Ceci -- a first-round pick (15th overall) in 2012 -- standing out as the most intriguing prospect.

GOALTENDING - Craig Anderson didn't exactly deserve a contract extension after suffering through a brutal 2013-14 season, but Ottawa eventually opted to re- sign the netminder in late August.

Anderson signed a three-year, $12.6 million deal to stay with the Sens after going 25-16-8 with a 3.00 goals against average and .911 save percentage. It was a far cry from his performance in the lockout year of 2013 when Anderson went 12-9-2 with a 1.69 GAA and .941 save percentage.

The decision to re-sign Anderson was probably not so much an endorsement of his play as it was an acceptance that there isn't a better option currently residing in the club's organizational pipeline. Of course, now would be a good time to mention how the Senators traded Ben Bishop to Tampa Bay in 2013 only to watch him become a Vezina Trophy finalist for the Lightning the following year

Robin Lehner fared just about as well as Anderson last season, going 12-15-6 with a 2.06 GAA and .913 save percentage. At 23 year old, Lehner still has time to prove himself as the future No. 1 option in Ottawa but the Sens' decision to bring back Anderson isn't a good sign the club believes in him.

WHEN ALL IS SAID AND DONE - Although the Senators were disappointed to miss the playoffs by five points last season, it seems the club would be lucky to get that close to the postseason in 2015. There's probably a better chance Ottawa could challenge Buffalo for the No. 1 pick in the 2015 draft if a key piece like Karlsson or Ryan goes down to injury. Ottawa seemed to get by without a lot of depth en route to a playoff appearance in 2013, but that edition of the Sens was stacked with talent compared to this one. Unless MacLean can somehow work magic like he seemed to do in '13, it's shaping up to be a long season in Ottawa.