Moving forward in Ottawa

    As we are less than 24 hours away from the 2013 NHL Draft, I cannot begin to explain how excited I am as an Ottawa fan to see what GM Bryan Murray does tomorrow at the Prudential Center. Although, the chances of moving up in the draft are quite slim as Murray has stated already, I can't help but think that Murray has something up his sleeve. Murray has stated the need to address the scoring problems down in Ottawa as they ranked 27th in the NHL in scoring last season with only 2.33 goals/game. There are many things that Ottawa needs to address this offseason, and I don't believe that bringing in a Top 6 forward is at the top of my list. Here is some things that I believe need to get done this offseason:

1. Bring in a Top 4 Defensemen!
 
    I cannot reiterate this enough. Last season was tough as we saw 2012 Norris Trophy winner, Erik Karlsson go down at the beginning with an Achilles Tendon injury. Before the season even started, Ottawa lost promising young defensemen Jared Cowen to injury, and just like that less than a month in to the season, you have lost your best defensemen, and arguably your 3rd best defensemen. Although, those two defensemen returned at the latter part of the season, the Ottawa Senators still struggled defensively. Ottawa gave up 33.1 shots/game last season which wasn't talked about too often due to the sensational play from Anderson, Lehner, and for most part Bishop who is now a member of the Lightning. Luckily, Ottawa also led the league in shots/game with 33.1. Go figure. So if the future seems bright with a great season from Anderson and Lehner, why do we need to get a Top 4 defensemen? Let me answer that with a better question, what if Anderson, Bishop, and Lehner didn't played exceptionally well last season? How would've that changed the outcome of last season?With Gonchar gone, and Mike Lundin providing absolutely nothing last season, Ottawa only has 5 defensemen signed for next year:

1. Erik Karlsson
2.Chris Phillips
3. Marc Methot
4. Jared Cowen
5. Eric Gryba

    Not included in the list are Patrick Wiercioch and Andre Benoit, but it's almost certain that Bryan Murray will bring them back, especially Wiercioch with the high hopes they have for him. I personally believe that Ottawa needs to bring in a top 4 defensive defensemen who can log heavy minutes and that can be deployed against team's best lines. There have been many names floating around leading up to the draft, and while many teams are in the Letang sweepstakes, this could be the perfect moment to address this need. The only question would be, how content is Murray with the defensemen he already has? The media hypes up a lot of big name defensemen, but there are plenty of other RFA's/UFA's out there whose old team may not be able to afford them. For instance, Alex Pietrangelo, and one of my personal favorites, Ryan McDonagh. Just imagine one of those defensemen paired up with Karlsson! How awesome would that be?!

2. Convince Alfredsson to take a pay cut and bring in a top 6 forward!

   Captain, Daniel Alfredsson has already stated that he wants to return for one more season, and you have to figure that the wonders Paul MacLean has worked in Ottawa with the youth has helped make Alfredsson's decision even easier. Alfredsson definitely proved he could play last season and his numbers simply backed it up. However, Alfredsson has one last thing he wants to accomplish before he walks out of the NHL, and that is win a Stanley Cup! You'd have to figure that this season will be Alfredsson's last by the sounds of his statement. If Murray can sit Alfredsson down this weekend in New Jersey to take a pay cut in order to bring a scoring forward, then Ottawa could easily become favorites for next year, but this has to happen first. There are many names out there, and there is no doubt that Ottawa has the money, but the bigger question is, how much is Ottawa willing to spend?

3. NHL Draft

    There is no question that when it comes to drafts, GM Bryan Murray is an absolute genius! 2008 NHL Draft, Murray moved up from 17th overall to 15th and drafted a young Swede named Erik Karlsson who left fans stunned at what Murray did, and now he's a Norris Trophy winner, and arguably the best defensemen in the NHL right now, need I say more about Murray? This year, Ottawa holds the 17th overall pick, and Murray has made it clear he'd like to move up but the price seems to be too "high". Anything could happen tomorrow evening in Newark, but as a Sens fan, you have to believe that Management knows exactly what they're doing, and have all the cards in their hands. Be back with more tomorrow

Thanks for reading!