All eyes on Ottawa’s beleaguered blueline

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On Friday, NHL Network asked fans to grade the Ottawa Senators’ off-season. My initial reaction was to heap praise on general manager Pierre Dorion and the rest of the Senators’ front office.

Trading for 40-goal scorer Alex DeBrincat and giving up next to nothing in the process, was sterling. Signing veteran forward Claude Giroux adds quality depth, though expectations for any 34-year-old should be a bit muted. Erasing Matt Murray’s disastrous contract – a contract signed by Dorion, it must be pointed out – from the ledger was of critical importance.

The Senators are unquestionably a better team from this series of moves. And with a young core certainly on the upswing, we can reasonably assume there is improvement coming across the balance of Ottawa’s young talents.

Brady Tkachuk, Josh Norris (freshly signed to a long-term deal), DeBrincat, Drake Batherson, Tim Stutzle, Alex Formenton, Shane Pinto, Jake Sanderson, Erik Brannstrom, Jacob Bernard-Docker, and Lassi Thomson are all 24 or younger. Tkachuk and DeBrincat are already stars. Another handful seem on the cusp. And sure, a few will not pan out. But there is an awful lot of top-end talent across this lineup, a feather-in-the-cap moment for Dorion and his five-year rebuild.

But grading the off-season must be reconciled against expectations. I think the franchise is serious about contending for a playoff spot as soon as this year. And why wouldn’t it be? For as daunting as the top of the Eastern Conference is, there are plenty of bottom-feeders. Points are there for the taking. And with full respect to the likes of the Boston Bruins, Washington Capitals, and Pittsburgh Penguins, there are three perennial playoff teams whose core is old. At some point,