One of the problems with the Ottawa Senators this season was the lack of depth up front, and I will divide that analysis into two sections - the bottom six today and the top 6 up next.

An issue I had with the deployment was that for too much of the season, players that should have been in the bottom 6 were forced (either by injury or coaches decision) to play above their suitable slot in the lineup.

At the beginning of the season, when things were going well for the Senators, part of it was due to the production of the bottom 6, who were putting in decent numbers and timely production offensively. Nate Thompson, Alex Burrows and Tom Pyatt all had 3 goals in the first 15 games, which is pretty solid for their roles. I even remember writing an article addressing that point near the 1/4 mark of the season, but that production dried up quickly and bottom six offense became spotty at best.

The problem came when injuries hit and the bottom 6 became a revolving door. Chris DiDomenico came in and did alright, but the whole Gabriel Dumont experiment went awry and while young guys like Logan Brown and Alex Formenton stuck around at the start of the season, they didn't get much time and didn't get to make an impact before heading back to junior.

Magnus Paajarvi played a decent role after the Senators picked him up on waivers, but Nick Paul didn't do much in his 11 game stint, retread Jim O'Brien fizzled and Nick Shore was only around for a cup of coffee before being moved on quickly. Max McCormick did his job on the 4th line and Marian Gaborik actually put up decent numbers offensively, but he isn't exactly suited for a bottom 6 role.

By the end of the season, Jean-Gabriel Pageau, who was a good third line centre was forced to become the #2 centre after Derick Brassard was traded, but his production wasn't there either.

Only 3 forwards played more than 71 games (Pageau, Ryan Dzingel and Mike Hoffman), meaning there was a lot of turnover and upheaval.

The bottom line is, even when the lineup was consistent for a stretch, the lines within were in constant upheaval and there seemed to be no chemistry. The lack of depth in the top 6 played a role, as did coaching and overall roster composition. Playing aging veterans over younger prospects was a definite issue, especially later in the season where the club wasn't getting much from them and the writing was already on the wall.

Pierre Dorion addressed that last part at his season-ending press conference, but what that really means going forward remains to be seen. Perhaps buyouts might be coming, but until the depth in the top 6 is addressed, the uncertainty in the bottom 6 won't end. And this certainly isn't at the top of the list of the Senators' problems, but one that if solidified, can provide some confidence to be able to be used in certain situations and create at least a bit of an identity, something that was sorely lacking this past season.

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