With the trade of Andrej Meszaros to the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Ottawa Senators acquiring two defensemen in the deal, a logjam has been created on the blueline for the 5th and 6th defense spots on the Sens blueline.
Which leads to me my question. Will Christoph Schubert play defense or forward to start the season?
With so many capable defensemen to fill the 5th and 6th spots on the blueline, Schubert could once again find himself playing on the 4th line and receiving special team minutes on defense for the 2008-09 season. Then again, most Sens fans want to find out of Schubert is capable of playing a regular shift on the blueline.
Here is a look at the Sens blueline heading into the 2008-09 season.
Chris Phillips, Anton Volchenkov, Jason Smith, Filip Kuba, Brian Lee, Schubert, Lawrence Nycholat, Alexandre Picard, Brendan Bell and Matt Carkner.
There is alot of depth on defense and with Nycholat already asking on a few occasions for a trade, one has to wonder how everything will shake out when training camp opens.
As it stands now, the top five blueliners are pretty much set. That leaves the 6th spot open for Schubert, Nycholat, Picard, Bell and Carkner. That is quite the competition for one spot.
One has to wonder if GM Bryan Murray will trade a blueliner, along with a draft pick and another player or two, to acquire a bonafide number one goaltender. Murray now has two first round draft picks in next years draft and with an abundance of blueliners, someone has to be expendable.
With the signing of Jarkku Ruutu this summer and the emergence of Cody Bass in the later part of the season and the shortlived playoffs, Chris Neil is extremely expendable having two players who can fill his role. Neil has one year left on his deal and becomes a free agent next summer. If Murray had any plans of keeping Neil past this season, he would have given him an extension this summer, but he hasn't which means Neil most likely won't be in a Sens uniform come the trade deadline. Keep in mind, Neil and his agent have made it clear to Murray that Neil wants to be here longterm, yet no contract extension has been offered by Murray.
Dean McAmmond had a tough year last season and although he brings some solid qualities to the table, he is yet another player who could be expendable. All of a sudden, Murray has the ability to put together a package to acquire a goaltender or better yet, strengthen his blueline or he could quite possibly add some depth at the forward position. A combination of any of the following - Neil, McAmmond, Nycholat and a first rounder, might be enough to get another solid contributor for the Sens via trade.
Regardless, the Meszaros trade has strengthened Murray's bargaining power when looking at adding a solid experienced NHL player. The blueline could very well sort itself out in the pre-season but who is to say Murray won't pull off a trade before training camp opens. With anywhere from 4 to 5 million in cap space, the cap number varies depending on who makes the team on the blueline, Murray has alot of cap space to play with and a few players who could be on their way out of Ottawa, Murray is far from being happy with his roster.
Does Schubert play forward or defense this season or does he find his way out of town like that of his former teammate and close friend Andrej Meszaros?
So many possibilities as training camp gets closer. Let the rumour mill begin!
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Kevin
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