SENS SHIP OFF FOR SEASON — BUT WITHOUT THE CAPTAIN
Karlsson’s health remains the biggest question as training camp opens
They’re back. The Senators officially open training camp with medicals and testing on Thursday. It’s the first step in what they hope will be a playoff run that takes them even further than their May run to double overtime of Game 7 against Pittsburgh in the Eastern Conference final.
It will be a long run to that lofty goal, beginning with the uncertainty of the pre-season.
With that in mind, Postmedia takes a look at the top 10 questions facing the Senators at training camp.
1. WHEN WILL ERIK KARLSSON SKATE?: The questions have to start here. The Senators captain will be out of sight, but definitely not out of mind as camp begins. Until the game’s best defenceman and one of the NHL’s top five players attempts to skate for the first time since his left foot surgery, it will be in the final week of September before a timetable is better known for Karlsson’s return. Western Canadian hockey fans’ one and only chance to see Karlsson this season could very well go out the window.
At this point, Karlsson must be deemed questionable for the Senators’ first regular season road trip to Vancouver (Oct. 10), Calgary (Oct. 13) and Edmonton (Oct. 14). At the club’s charity golf tournament earlier this week, he suggested his recovery could extend into November.
2. DOES CLARKE MACARTHUR RETURN?: MacArthur’s storybook comeback from a concussion — scoring the seriesclinching goal in the opening round of the playoffs against Boston — was a rallying point for the Senators earlier this year.
Yet there’s a big question mark about whether MacArthur will receive the necessary clearance from doctors to continue his career.
If he’s not back, it will set up a scenario similar to last training camp, when MacArthur was knocked out following a hit by Patrick Sieloff during the club’s first intrasquad scrimmage. It created an enormous void, but Ryan Dzingel made the most of it, claiming the left-wing spot left vacant while MacArthur underwent his extended recovery.
The Senators re-signed Dzingel to a two-year extension in the summer, partly because of uncertainty over MacArthur’s future.
3. IS THOMAS CHABOT READY?: Before we knew about the extent of Karlsson’s recovery, the door was already open a crack for rookie Chabot. Now it’s wide open. Chabot, who lit up the QMJHL and was MVP of the world junior tournament last season, will be given every opportunity to establish himself as a regular on the blue-line — perhaps as part of the top four. In an era when guaranteed NHL contracts usually dictate who stays or who goes to the American Hockey League after training camp, the pre-season games are worth watching just to see how Chabot stacks up.
The biggest challenge for the 20-year-old will be proving to coach Guy Boucher that he can defend well enough to play 20 minutes per night. Typically, Boucher has a short leash when it comes to defensive mistakes. The leash is even shorter for prospects.
4. WHERE DOES JOHNNY ODUYA FIT?: The most intriguing veteran at training camp is Oduya, who won the Stanley Cup with Chicago in 2013 and 2015.
While Oduya fills the roster spot left vacant by the loss of Marc Methot in the expansion draft, that doesn’t necessarily mean he steps into Methot’s spot as Karlsson’s defence partner.
There’s plenty of motivation for Oduya, who has a base salary of $1 million. The more he plays, the more he can potentially earn in bonuses — all the way up to $2.5 million if he’s among the icetime leaders and the Senators return to the playoffs.
Oduya, heading into his 12th NHL season, brings a wealth of experience, having played in 798 regular season and 106 playoff games.
The age-old question, though, is when does age (he turns 36 on Oct. 1) catch up to a veteran?
5. WHEN DOES THE NEXT WAVE ARRIVE?: Beyond Chabot, the Senators are full of hope about their young blue-line prospects, including Ben Harpur, Andreas Englund, Christian Jaros and Max Lajoie. Due to Karlsson’s injury, one of the above will likely start the season with Ottawa. Harpur’s play against Boston and New York in the playoffs likely gives him the inside track. But there’s a long-term plan developing here, too, and if the youngsters show they can keep up against NHL competition, Senators GM Pierre Dorion will ponder trade possibilities.
Dion Phaneuf and his anchor of a contract (four years, $24.5 million remaining) isn’t likely going anywhere, but given that Cody Ceci ($2.8 million), Mark Borowiecki ($1.1 million), Oduya ($1 million, plus bonuses), Chris Wideman ($800,000) and Freddy Claesson ($650,000) are all in the final year of their contracts, the Senators’ blue-line could look considerably different by this time next year.
6. WHAT IS THE FORWARD THINKING?: Even a failing Grade 6 Ontario math student should be able to figure this one out: the Senators have 12 forwards on guaranteed NHL contracts and they can only play four lines per game.
On the surface, there wouldn’t appear to be room for a prospect or minor-leaguer.
For the time being, though, there’s a void as centre Derick Brassard continues to recover from shoulder surgery, an injury which could extend into the beginning of the season.
MacArthur’s status (see above) is also cause for concern.
There’s a compelling argument for Colin White to take Brassard’s spot. Training camp will dictate whether Dorion and Boucher think White is ready to play in the NHL now or will be better served by starting the season with Belleville in the AHL.
Max McCormick, who has a guaranteed NHL contract for the 2018-19 season, could earn a roster spot if MacArthur isn’t cleared.
7. WHO IS THE PHIL VARONE OF 2017?: When training camps open, the attention usually surrounds high draft picks or players who have been in the system for a while, names that have at least some cache with the fan base.
Then there are surprises like Varone, a minor-league journeyman who was largely overlooked at the start of camp a year ago. He went on to lead the Senators in pre-season scoring and made the opening day roster.
This time around, that class includes the likes of Ben Sexton, Tyler Randell and Max Reinhart. While they are long shots, at least they have contracts. Chris Vande-Velde and Brendan Woods are NHL veterans who are attending camp on professional tryout offers.
The aim is to have as competitive a camp as possible and it could be the last chance for Nick Paul — the last remaining piece from the Jason Spezza trade — to prove himself.
8. HOW DOES GOALTENDING DEPTH SHAKE OUT?: After the snafu state of the Binghamton Senators’ netminding last season and the turmoil that existed in Ottawa, Dorion was adamant that change was necessary.
Barring pre-season injuries, Craig Anderson and Mike Condon will start the regular season as Ottawa’s tandem.
After that, though, the only certainty is that the Senators have plenty of insurance.
Andrew Hammond remains, at least until the club can find a taker for the $1.5 million remaining on his contract. There are high hopes for Swedish prospect Marcus Hogberg. Danny Taylor, who played in the KHL last season, is guaranteed a spot in Belleville. Chris Driedger, who spent most of last season in Binghamton, is also in the mix.
Expect Anderson and Condon to see limited action in the exhibition schedule — management fingers will be crossed hoping for good health — as the others fight for positioning below them.
9. IS THE LEARNING CURVE QUICKER?: When Boucher arrived a year ago, much of training camp was dedicated to familiarizing players with his detailed system.
Countless players struggled with the adjustment, uncertain of when to be aggressive or when to sit back in defensive posture. It took several months before players were comfortable enough to read and react on the ice.
Yet with so few newcomers — fourth-line centre Nate Thompson played for Boucher in Tampa — the Senators won’t be starting over this time. A refresher course is all that’s needed.
While NHL rules require teams to dress a minimum of eight veterans for all exhibition games, the Senators figure to be careful in not overworking their returning players through the pre-season schedule. Considering the long playoff run, it was a short summer.
If we heard it once, we heard it 100 times from Boucher last season: rest is a weapon.
10. WHEN DO CONTRACT TALKS START? It’s not as big a deal as the New York Islanders with star centre John Tavares, but both Anderson and centre Kyle Turris are in position to become unrestricted free agents next summer.
Dorion has said that he plans on talking with Anderson’s agent Justin Duberman during training camp to discuss where the future lies for the 36-year-old goaltender. Anderson’s 2017-18 salary is $3.1 million with a $4.2-million cap hit.
Dorion also plans on talking with Turris’s agent Kurt Overhardt before the regular season.
Turris, who signed a five-year, $17.5-million contract in 2012, is due a substantial raise. Making $4 million this season ($3.5-million salary cap hit) he has been a relative bargain for the Senators while serving primarily as a No. 1 centre.
Neither situation should serve as a distraction. Yet.