OTTAWA PUNDITS HIGH ON SENS
By: Stephen Lylyk, RP Show Intern
A new hockey season has brought a new sense of optimism in the nation’s capital for the upcoming Ottawa Senators campaign.
With a strong offseason from General Manager Pierre Dorion, the Senators look to turn the page on the chaos that’s been the last few years. They hope the fans can finally have something positive to root for.
TSN reporter Claire Hanna stopped on the Rod Pedersen show Tuesday to discuss the Senators current hopeful outlook.
“Right now,” offered Hanna, “I’m gonna say an 8.5 out of 10. There is a totally different vibe in Ottawa. People are so excited for opening night. Ottawa is excited for them to make the playoffs; no one wants a dismal season like last year.”
GM Pierre Dorion made big splashes, landing Alex Debrincat from Chicago, Cam Talbot from Minnesota, and Claude Giroux from Florida.
“The moves that GM Pierre Dorion did over the summer,” says Hanna, “were UNREAL! Bringing in Debrincat, Giroux, bringing in Cam Talbot.”
Last season the Senators finished with a 33-42-7 record, however as Hanna explains there was more to the story.
“So many things were out of their control,” Hanna said. “They were the first team hit hard by Covid. At some point there was almost no AHL team to pull from anymore cause they pulled so many guys up. They also had injuries all season”
All these struggles created opportunity for young guys to get NHL experience.
Other young prospects such as forward Shane Pinto and defensemen Erik Brannstrom and Jake Sanderson will be looking to make an impact with the Senators this season. The latter of which as Hanna mentioned could potentially be in a Top 4 Defenseman pairing
NHL Veteran Matthew Barnaby stopped on the Rod Pedersen show Tuesday to give his opinion on the Senators current outlook.
“Seeing the camaraderie within the organization,” Barnaby offered, “I’m intrigued to see what this team does this year. I think this team will be challenge for a playoff spot. This team I believe will a Stanley Cup before the Toronto Maple Leafs, that’s how good I believe they’re built for the future.”
The future for the Ottawa Senators is undeniably very bright and the rest of the league should take notice.
