FUTURE POWERHOUSE
BEWARE THE SENS
a few years from now. They already boast a top-three prospect crop, they own three first-round picks in 2020, and, because that trio includes their own pick and lowly San Jose’s, the Senators’ two cracks at the top lottery pick combine to give them higher odds at Alexis Lafreniere than lastplace Detroit. Ottawa even has a chance at winning the lottery twice and picking first and second. Can you imagine? IMMEDIATE NEEDS: Talent. The Senators have plenty of it on the way but have stripped almost every useful veteran off the roster over the past two seasons, from Erik Karlsson to Matt Duchene to Mark Stone to Jean-Gabriel Pageau. They can replace the holes by opening up roster spots for a wave of promising youngsters from AHL Belleville or pick up a few cheap veterans as placeholders, like they did with Tyler Ennis last summer. LONG-TERM NEEDS: Ottawa boasts several potential young wingers and blueliners, but if Logan Brown was going to be a true star first-line center, he would’ve shown more by now. Josh Norris looks ready but is more of a goal-scorer. The Sens haven’t had an elite puck distributor up the middle since Jason Spezza’s prime. They also don’t have a goalie of the future in place yet. CAP SITUATION: We can practically write “must sign a whole team” in this space. Ottawa has four NHL forwards, four defensemen and one goalie under contract for 2020-21. The team won’t spend to the cap, though, as several of the open spots will go to prospects on entry-level deals. The Sens are more likely to flirt with the salary floor than ceiling.
IN THE SYSTEM 2020-21: Blue-chip blueliner Erik Brannstrom posted the prolific per-game point production that Ottawa wanted to see in the AHL. He’s ready, as are Norris and Alex Formenton, who were two of the AHL’s best forwards. DID YOU KNOW: If Mads Sogaard reaches the NHL, he’ll tie Ben Bishop and Mikko Koskinen as the tallest goalies ever at 6-foot-7.