Ottawa Senators: 10 Things They Need To Do To Become Stanley Cup Contenders

What a great year it has been to be a Senators fan.

Seriously.

The last three years? Now those were tough—watching overrated millionaires go through the motions for 82 games only to miss the playoffs or be discarded by the Penguins in the first round.

Prospects, draft picks, for the first time in years, the future is bright for the Ottawa Senators.

Realistic Sens fans, this is what we’ve been waiting for!

Here’s a list of the top 10 things the Senators need to do to become Stanley Cup contenders.

We could go on for days about why Bryan Murray should have been fired months ago (or the very first moment he uttered the name Sergei Gonchar), but this list is about the future. And as one of the few teams in a parity-stricken league that seems committed to rebuilding, the future is bright for the Ottawa Senators.

Which makes it all the more pivotal that Bryan Murray be shown the door.

His draft resume may be decent, but with his history of unrestricted free agent signings, do you really want Bryan Murray in charge of roughly $20 million in free cap space?

Love him or hate him, the man is 68 years old, and building a Stanley Cup contender takes years. If this team is going to compete going forward, the term ‘youth movement’ needs to be applied throughout the entire organization.

They say you can’t cry over spilled milk, but I’m still weeping over this giant blunder.

With Yzerman having been raised in the Ottawa area, it’s hard to believe he would have passed up the opportunity to manage his hometown team. Having one of the all-time great players in NHL history managing your franchise would have been exciting. But most importantly, Yzerman would have created an immediate culture of accountability—a culture that does not exists under Bryan Murray.

Can you seriously see Dany Heatley walking into Steve Yzerman’s office and demanding a trade?

Or Alexei Kovalev embarrassing the entire city with his $5 million-a-year disinterest?

To compound matters, Bryan Murray’s big contracts have created a ‘me-first’ culture in Ottawa.

Whatever happened to players taking a pay cut for a chance to win the Stanley Cup? Look for Steven Stamkos to do so in Tampa Bay. Because after all, how do you say no to Steve Yzerman?

If this team is going to have any postseason success, it will need to make a drastic shift from its current me-first culture to a more Yzerman-esk team-first attitude.

Although the best option is sitting in Tampa Bay, the blueprint for what could have been should remain a central focus.

The Senators need to go out and get a younger, sharper, and more intimidating presence—somebody with a history of winning who will immediately establish a culture of accountability and hard work.

What’s Joe Sakic doing these days? (Let me dream, ok?)

Ottawa is the capital city of the best hockey country in the world. Yet, the culture of professional hockey in this city is at an embarrassing crossroads brought forth by complacent millionaires who Bryan Murray and company have been enabling for years (anybody else feel embarrassed by just looking at Alexei Kovalev?).

The next general manager of the Ottawa Senators has a lot of work to do in order to change the culture of this team. He needs to be a leader that will command the respect of the entire organization from the outset.

If this cannot be found, then Mike Milbury is also an option.

…just kidding.

With a boatload of cap space coming off the books, it would be very easy for the Senators to get a little carried away on July 1st.

Dishing out short-term contracts that can be turned into assets at the trade deadline is fine, but be weary of long-term deals.

After all, why would you sign a player to a long-term contract when you have no idea what your needs will be in three or four years?

Signing a guy like Brad Richards might sound like a good idea on the surface, but what happens in three years if the Senators have a young star like Ryan Nugent-Hopkins playing on the first or second line? All of a sudden Jason Spezza is a $7 million third line center.

The last thing you want is to be stuck with a Brian Campbell-like contract weighing you down by the time you become a contender.

Plus, franchise players no longer reach unrestricted free agency. Great talents such as Ilya Kovalchuk and Marian Gaborik have been available in the past, but these aren't the type of players you want to build your team around.  

And in case you haven't noticed, the Senators already have an overpaid, one-dimensional, $7 million-a-year forward, remember?

Although in the midst of a rebuild, the Senators still need to put bodies on the ice. Signing veteran talent to short term deals will work wonders on two counts.

A) Mentorship. While it’s nice to get younger, every rebuilding team needs a strong veteran presence to show the youngsters what it takes to be an everyday NHLer, and most importantly, to keep them accountable.

B) Asset Acquisition. Especially nowadays with such parity around the league, there will be plenty of teams willing to part with prospects and draft picks at the trade deadline in return for pieces that could bring them closer to the Stanley Cup. Every year there’s a few wiley vets looking for work come September.

The Senators will almost certainly need to overpay, but they have the cap space.

Give them a shot, Ottawa. If they can put up good numbers, you can turn them into assets at the deadline.

You have nothing to lose.

The cupboard is fairly full when it comes to defensive prospects.

A young core featuring Erik Karlsson and top prospects David Rundblad and Jared Cowen is one of the few bright spots that will be left behind from the Bryan Murray era.

But having either drafted or traded for a defenseman in the first round of five out of the last seven drafts, it’s no surprise that there are no high-end offensive prospects in the entire system.

You can win the Stanley Cup by playing good defense by committee, just ask the Hurricanes.

But you cannot win the Stanley Cup without superstar forwards. It’s never been done, and will never be done.

Draft forwards and cross your fingers.

In most cases, valuing the opinion of your consumer is probably a good idea.

Not in this case.

With so much free cap space, fans will be screaming for the Senators to make a splash.

Ignore them.

For the most part, sports fans talk out of the emotional side of their brain. Only a small percentage of fans seem capable of allowing the rationale do its job when it comes to their favourite team.

This isn’t unique to Senators fans, it’s universal.

Remember when Sergei Gonchar signed with Ottawa? The majority of Senators fans were excited.

Yikes.

The worst thing an NHL franchise can be is mediocre. They will never get better, and never get worse.

The Florida Panthers and Columbus Blue Jacket are perfect examples. They get the odd top 3 pick, and then turn around and make a push for the playoffs the very next season, either limping in like the Jackets did in 2009, only to get pumped in four by the Red Wings, or missing out on the postseason all together and getting left with a crapshoot first round selection.

There is absolutely no sense in the Senators making a push for the playoffs until at least the 2013-2014 season.

Most Senators fans will not enjoy this statement, but the realistic ones will appreciate its merit.

Remember, the Senators were bad for a very long time before they were good.

There is nothing worse for a struggling franchise than a half-assed rebuild.

Easier said than done, but every Stanley Cup winning team since the lockout won within four years of drafting a franchise centerman.

Eric Staal – Drafted 2003 – Stanley Cup Champion 2006
Ryan Getzlaf – Drafted 2003 – Stanley Cup Champion 2007
Pavel Datsyuk – Drafted 1998 – Stanley Cup Champion 2002, 2008
Sidney Crosby – Drafted 2005 – Stanley Cup Champion 2009
Jonathan Toews – Drafted 2006 – Stanley Cup Champion 2010

There is no guarantee that the Senators will be able to select one this year, but if they take this rebuild seriously, they should be able to do so at some point in the next three or four drafts.

Remember, franchise centermen no longer reach unrestricted free agency. They need to be picked up in the draft.

There's no shame in finishing last.

The Capitals did it. The Penguins did it. The Blackhawks did it.

Look at the top of the standings. Every team has franchise players that they drafted. You can draft a franchise player anywhere in the draft, but drafting at the top significantly increases your chances.

With so much parity around the league, only a handful of teams will be dependent on the draft in the upcoming years. These are the teams that will put themselves in a position to be the next powerhouse.

Finishing at the bottom of the standings for three or four years is no fun, but finishing between seventh and twelfth in the conference for a decade is worse.

You need to lose before you win, unless you're the Detroit Red Wings, of course.

But I don't see any Red Wings here, do you?