2010-11 NHL Season Preview: Ottawa Senators

Formerly one of the most dynamic teams in the NHL, lately the Ottawa Senators have lacked the punch that made them so formidable. A lot of that can be attributed to key players leaving for other teams, but it can also be chalked up to a management team too willing to gamble. Those gambles sometimes pay off; though it seems more often than not they blow up.

Injuries a Concern
Last season only two Ottawa Senators players managed to make it through the full 82 games season. Only five players missed five games or less. Of those players only Mike Fisher and Chris Phillips were regularly contributors to the Senators' offensive game.

The players who Ottawa needs to have healthy are Daniel Alfredsson, Jason Spezza and Milan Michalek. Daniel Alfredsson is generally rather healthy, though his age is catching up with him. Alfredsson's point production is slipping, and injuries are an increasing concern with each passing season.

Jason Spezza is more of an issue. The past two seasons have seen Spezza's scoring drop enormously, and he has only played more than 75 games twice in the past five seasons. Missing so many games was excusable when Spezza was putting up 90 points in 68 games, but not so much when he cannot even reach the point-a-game mark.

Milan Michalek is one of those gambles mentioned earlier. Michalek is a streaky scorer who has shown the ability to set a point-a-game pace, but fades away for extended stretches. There is potential for more than just 20-something goals from Milan Michalek, now it is up to him to find it.

Bulking Up the Blue Line
Just like the Ottawa Senators' forwards squads, the defense has also seen a large number of injury prone skaters. Filip Kuba leads all Ottawa D-men in points, but his health is always an issue.

Sergei Gonchar was signed over the off season to bolster the blue line. Gonchar is one of the premier power play quarterbacks in the NHL, but he too comes with a high risk of injury. Sergei Gonchar has only played 87 games over the past two seasons, which is not a good indication that he is ready for a full season. When Gonchar is healthy, he is amazing, but the Ottawa Senators better be banking on a 65-game season from him.

Trouble in Net
Not even the goaltenders were immune from the injury bug in Ottawa last year, as starter Pascal Leclaire spent considerable time on the sidelines. Why Leclaire is even the Senators' starter is a question, as his save percentage is regularly below .900. Those numbers do not work in today's NHL.

The Ottawa Senators are not completely lost in net, however. Brian Elliott played admirably as the de facto starter for most of last season, as did Mike Brodeur who went undefeated with a .966 save percentage with one shutout in three games. In Brodeur the Senators appear to have a goalie for their future, now they need to sort out the present.

Aging and Injured
The Ottawa Senators outlook for the 2010-11 NHL Season does not look promising. They have numerous players who have reached, or will soon reach, the 35-year-old mark. The team needs to be younger to compete, especially with Brian Burke creating an army just a few miles south.

A bigger concern is injuries. The Senators missed key members for long stretches last season, and those same players have a long history of injuries. To be successful the Senators need supposed second line players like Alex Kovalev to produce for more than two games at a time.

More concerning is the situation in net. Pascal Leclaire has all the potential in the world, but at 28-years-old he has shown no indication that being a starter in the NHL is for him. It did not work for the Columbus Blue Jackets, and it is not working for the Ottawa Senators. Brian Elliott and Mike Brodeur have shown more during their starts, and both are younger and cheaper.

The Senators will fumble this year, similar to two seasons ago when they missed the playoffs with only 83 points. Like most teams, there is promise here, but the likelihood of injuries damaging team momentum is far too high.

Predicted Standings
Northeast Division: 3^rd
Eastern Conference: 9^th
NHL: 21^st

Depth Chart

Forwards
Milan Michalek - Jason Spezza - Daniel Alfredsson
Nick Foligno - Mike Fisher - Alex Kovalev
Jarkko Ruutu - Chris Kelly - Chris Neil
Roman Wick - Peter Regin - Ryan Shannon
Jesse Winchester

Defense
Sergei Gonchar - Filip Kuba
Chris Phillips - Chris Campoli
Erik Karlsson - David Hale
Matt Carkner - Brian Lee

Goaltenders
Pascal Leclaire
Brian Elliott
Mike Brodeur

Sources

http://www.nhl.com
http://www.tsn.ca
http://www.espn.com
http://www.hockeydb.com
http://www.nhlnumbers.com