CHABOT AND CECI ABOUT TO BE CAST INTO SPOTLIGHT IN OTTAWA

With Karlsson gone, the pressure shifts to Senators’ young and restless blueliners

In the moments before Erik Karlsson left Canadian Tire Centre, Thomas Chabot talked about how comfortable Karlsson has made him feel inside the arena.

“Last year as a guy being a little nervous in the games and the (training) camps and everything, he was just there for me,” Chabot said, glowing about the impact the outgoing captain has had on his adjustment into the NHL.

“He told me to shake it off when I (made) a mistake and all the tips he’s doing on the ice … just to be playing with him on the ice, the way he sees the game, it’s just great to learn from that.”

Chabot, speaking before the deal went down, labelled Karlsson “as one of the best, if not the best, defencemen” in the world.

Hopefully, for his sake and the Senators’ sake, Chabot is a quick learner.

However the Senators defence ends up looking in the postKarlsson era, Chabot will be in the spotlight. The most likely scenario would see Chabot and Cody Ceci serving together as the first pairing on defence.

At this point, a second pairing could feature Christian Wolanin and the incoming Dylan DeMelo, who have a combined 143 games of NHL experience.

Mark Borowiecki, Chris Wideman and Ben Harpur also figure to fall into the Top 7 somewhere.

At a glance, the picture suggests that there could very well be some long, long nights for a young and restless blue line.

Central to it all will be the 21-year-old Chabot, who has only 64 NHL games behind him, but has suddenly become the biggest offensive catalyst on the Senators defence.

He did make his mark in his rookie season in 2017-18, scoring nine goals and 16 assists in 63 games and he received an additional boost when he was invited to play for Canada at the world championships following the season.

While it seems obvious from the outside, Chabot isn’t about to get ahead of himself, thinking that he has automatically won any type of top pairing position.

“Nobody will say ‘no’ to those roles, but we’ll see what happens,” he said.

“I played last year, but I’m coming into camp the same as the past years. I still want to

improve myself. I don’t feel like I’ve been around long enough to just be comfortable coming in.”

Chabot will likely assume Karlsson’s spot as the power play quarterback.

That role may actually be easier than adjusting to seeing regular action against top opponents inside the Senators blue line.

“It has always been in my own zone,” Chabot said when asked about where he needs to raise his game the most.

“I did work to get stronger (in the summer), to have more confidence in the battles and everything.”

Ceci, who has 366 NHL games to his name, is now the leader in experience on defence. He recognizes the enormous challenge of improving on his shaky 2017-18 season, as well as trying to lead the youngsters.

“I’ve got to hold myself accountable every single game,” said Ceci. “I’ve got to be that guy for the team every game and be a good example for the young guys.”

For much of the season, Ceci had a bull’s-eye on his back, regularly taking abuse from a frustrated fan base.

He finished with five goals and 14 assists in 82 games, but his plus/minus of minus-27 was a glaring example of how often he struggled in his own zone. There were other factors involved, including the struggles of playing partner Dion Phaneuf, but Ceci isn’t hiding from the fact everyone, including himself, needs to be better.

“We have to be,” he said. “It was a bad season. We were in tough every single game. It was just not a fun season and having a bit of extra time this summer allows you to fully reset. There are going to be a lot of new faces, it’s going to bring excitement.”

Ceci acknowledges there was some sourness from an August salary arbitration hearing where the team outlined his weaknesses — he was eventually awarded a US$4.3 million salary — but he has since moved on.

“I think that’s natural,” he said. “Everyone comes out of arbitration hearing and nobody is ever happy. But I got a contract, I’m up (for a new deal) again next summer and I want to have a good year.”

Ceci said that once he was signed, “a bit of a weight” was lifted from his shoulders.

Yet after Thursday’s trade, the weight on Ceci’s shoulders to carry a largely untested crew has become as heavy as ever.