Ottawa Senators' Early-Season Grade

The Ottawa Senators saw the loss of their captain for the second season in a row. After losing Daniel Alfredsson last season to the Detroit Red Wings, Jason Spezza demanded out of Ottawa this offseason. He was traded to the Dallas Stars for Alex Chiasson and some prospects. They also lost Ales Hemsky, but that doesn’t seem like that big of a deal now.

They didn’t make many moves to replace talent. They signed Milan Michalek to a three-year deal, and he is a very good player, but he isn’t the level of Bobby Ryan, whom they acquired the season prior.

Despite the lack of moves, the Senators are still having a decent season. Unfortunately, they play in the Atlantic division, where decent gets you in 7th place.

How do the Senators grade out in the early part of 2014-15?

They have positives and negatives going for them. They have a positive team plus/minus, which is more than most teams can say. Despite being in seventh place, they are only one point out of a playoff spot. The second Wild Card spot is currently held by the Toronto Maple Leafs with only 25 points, while the Senators have 24.

The Senators are not great at anything and not terrible at anything this season. They rank in between 12th and 17th in goals per game, goals against, power play and penalty kill. They will never overwhelm with a strength, but at the same time don’t have an overall weakness.

Erik Karlsson has been by far the best player on this team. He is their superstar, and they will compete as long as he stays healthy. As a defenseman, he leads the team in points and assists. He averages just under 28 minutes per game. Only Drew Doughty and Ryan Suter play more minutes than Karlsson. He has taken 84 shots, which is 31 more than anyone else on the team. He understands he is looked upon to carry this team, and he is ready to take on that responsibility.

There is something to be desired with this team, but they seem to be doing what they can with what they have. Michalek has not been comfortable in a Sens uniform yet, and Ryan has not played like they are paying him. They have potential to get better. They have still been above average so far this year.

Season Grade: B-