In Pierre Dorions’ last briefing with TSN 1200, the interview was highlighted by the general manager’s desire for a top four defenseman and a top six forward. Needs that just about any person cheering for the Ottawa Senators knows would make them a much better hockey club. However Sens fans have also been aware of this need for some time now, with little to show the front office’s “wish list” to date.
Aside from the well documented top 6F/top 4D needs, what else do the Senators need to figure going into next season? Let’s take a look.
Figure out the 4th line center
It may be one of the least important roles on paper, but a true 4th line center will help the forward group in a variety of ways. Right now, Josh Norris, Tim Stutzle and Shane Pinto are slotted in as the top 3 centers.
Ideally, the 4th line center needs to be good on faceoffs and be responsible in his own end. If they can score between 20-30 points in a full season and not take costly penalties, that’s pretty much your ideal 4th line player. An area this player could help out in is the penalty kill, which in turn means Josh Norris and Tim Stutzle would not be counted on to kill penalties, theoretically saving their energy for offensive production.
The Senators have many wingers who can kill penalties, but none of them are over 50% in the faceoff dot. Someone who may have the inside track to this job, is 23-year-old Mark Kastelic. He’s a physical center who is known to be good at the faceoff dot. He had a brief stint in the NHL this year, scoring 4 points in 14 games. If he makes the team next year and scores at that pace, management will likely be very happy with that. The other option would be Dylan Gambrell, who spent most of the year as the 4th line center. He was rewarded a 1 year extension recently, but could be alternating between the press box and the active lineup throughout 2022-23.
Resolve the goalie situation
When Matt Murray, Anton Forsberg and Filip Gustavsson were in the rotation for the 2021 shortened season, it was clear that management had a plan in place. Because Forsberg was signed to a 1 year extension that would take him to the end of 2021-22, many thought this would create some clarity ahead of the 2022-23 campaign.
Filip Gustavsson signed a two-year extension in the summer, including a two-way contract in 2021-22 and a one-way contract in 2022-23. So ideally, Forsberg was supposed to back up Matt Murray this season and then Gustavsson would slide in as the back up in 2022-23. However, Forsberg proved he was more than a backup this year, resulting in a 3-year extension with the club. So now, all three goalies are on one-way contracts for the 2022-23 season, and none of them can be sent down without needing to first clear waivers. A three-goalie rotation has never worked, so something has to give on the Matt Murray or Filip Gustavsson front this summer.
Acquire a power play specialist forward
The Senators have a great first powerplay, led by Josh Norris who is a serious threat at the right faceoff dot. The second unit this year was the complete opposite however. The Senators already have puck moving defensemen who can hold their own on the powerplay but need more skill on the half wall.
Mathieu Joseph, Connor Brown, and Shane Pinto all have the offensive ability to be on a second powerplay. However, they are more fit to be in the slot or in front of the net. So, when acquiring a top six forward this off season, Pierre Dorion needs to make sure that they have the vision and the creativity to play the half wall on the powerplay. The first unit was largely responsible for Ottawa finishing in the middle of the pack with a 19.3% power play success rate last year. So having that extra unit scoring threat will add another dimension to the Sens offense with the man advantage.
-Damian Smith
Twitter: @Damian__Smith
Photo: All-Pro Reels. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.