TAKING A CLOSER LOOK AT SENS’ YOUTH MOVEMENT
In the Ottawa Senators’ new grand plan, the club is going to get much younger, much faster — in a flash.
In an editorial board meeting with the Citizen on Wednesday, top Senators brass released the finer details of the approach owner Eugene Melnyk first addressed in the controversial video that made the rounds earlier in the week.
It essentially boils down to this: Senators Land will eventually become no country for old men. Or at least home to only a select few long-term veterans.
“The direction we’re trying to go into is younger, faster, stronger,” general manager Pierre Dorion said in the meeting, which also included Melnyk and chief operating officer Nicolas Ruszkowski.
“That’s the direction of the NHL right now. That’s the direction that we need to get to.”
By the 2020-21 season, the goal is for the Senators’ roster to have an average age of 25.
While the lineup for the upcoming season will be determined following training camp, the Senators went into the 201718 campaign with an average age of 28.5. The Detroit Red Wings were the only older NHL squad.
Going young is also a far more cost-effective approach, in that the salaries of younger players, in their first and second contracts, are typically cheaper than veterans who have either hit or are approaching unrestricted free agency status.
The Senators are currently staring at a cash crunch and a pivotal moment with their three most accomplished players: captain Erik Karlsson, Matt Duchene and Mark Stone are all in their final season before becoming unrestricted free agents.
Karlsson could be traded at any moment, the first major step in a bold and rather dramatic move for an organization aiming to find a path back to consistency and a way to win back long-lost fans.
From 1997 to 2008, the Senators made the playoffs year after year and hit a high-water mark of the 11,500 season-ticket range following the run to the Stanley Cup final in 2007.
While Ruszkowski isn’t saying what the current season-ticket base is — one recent report suggested it could be as low as 4,000 — the goal is to eventually climb back to the 8,000-to-8,500 range.
Accordingly, the go-youngin-a-hurry approach to eventually win back fans and win more games is a gamble, albeit a calculated one.
Considering that the recent “patchwork” approach of filling holes in the lineup has resulted in a hit-and-miss run toward the playoffs for the past six seasons, the Senators are now banking on making the long road back on the backs of youngsters.
From a management perspective, it will require patience to not force prospects into roles too soon. From a coaching point of view, it will mean extending the leash for young players to make mistakes, allowing for on-the-job training.
From a fans’ point of view, it will mean trying to find small glimmers of hope in the short term, while maintaining trust that the big-picture plan will eventually pay off.
It could be ugly for a while, on and off the ice, as the Senators attempt to skate through the growing pains.
Dorion was careful Wednesday in defining what he would deem progress on the path, steering clear of where the Senators could finish in the standings this season.
“Be patient, but at the same time see progression,” said Dorion of what he’s asking from fans.
“See how our young kids are getting better, see how they are producing, see how their impact on the game is coming. See how our core veterans are helping get them better. See the implementation of youth. It’s not just about wins and losses. It’s about seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.”
The Senators are already making room for the kids.
In an unusually forthcoming presentation Wednesday, Dorion also made it clear that numerous spots, including a right-winger to potentially play on a line with Matt Duchene and Ryan Dzingel and a left winger to perhaps play alongside Jean- Gabriel Pageau and Mark Stone, could be open to up-and-coming prospects immediately.
Colin White and Brady Tkachuk are among those knocking on the door for those positions.
Meanwhile, Logan Brown and Filip Chlapik are in the running for the fourth-line centre job, with the belief that they could move further up the depth chart based on how they develop.
The Senators’ presentation also showed there’s an opening for a second-pairing defenceman alongside Cody Ceci, along with a seventh defenceman spot. Christian Wolanin and Ben Harpur will be given the opportunity to fill those roles.
What was interesting is that Karlsson remained on the chart, in his familiar position as the club’s top defenceman.
When that hole opens up, the most difficult part of the grand plan — finding a way, any way, to replace Karlsson’s impact — will come into play.