The 2017-18 Senators season has been over for about two months, but now that the Washington Capitals have won the Cup, we can finally say that the NHL season as a whole has ended. I can't say I was around for the early Senators days, but I think it's fair to say that this past season was the worst to endure in franchise history.
(Also, as a side note, I have to say how happy I am for Alex Ovechkin. He’s had so many critics over the years, all because he could never “get it done when it mattered.” He’s always shown up in the regular season and playoffs though, and I’m so happy to see a false narrative die. For the first time in years, I’m genuinely happy to see a team win it all).
It wasn't just the fact that they were bad---the early Senators teams were
expected to be bad, but the 2017-18 team was expected to make another playoff run. The PR off the ice was horrendous, as Eugene Melnyk was constantly in the headlines for the wrong reasons, plus Randy Lee got arrested last week for harassment. Since December, fans have had to worry about losing
another franchise superstar. The organization hasn’t shown any reason why we should trust their judgement moving forward, and to top it all off, they moved down two spots in the draft lottery.
But because all of that, the 2018 summer will be the most interesting off-season ever for Ottawa. Pierre Dorion has his hands full as he has to decide what to do with Erik Karlsson (and Matt Duchene to a lesser extent), but he also has to re-sign Mark Stone and Cody Ceci, plus he has to decide how to approach the upcoming season without having a first round pick. Then off the ice, there are still many things unsettled.
There were those rumours
I talked about yesterday in regards to a potential sale of the Senators, although like I said, I’ll believe it when I see it. Either way, Melnyk will find a way to get into the news, and I doubt that talk about new ownership will die soon, especially after Daniel Alfredsson stoked the fire with his recent comments about coming back. In addition, the potential LeBreton rink will continue to be a point of contention between Melnyk and the city.
Even if Melnyk does stay as owner, it will be impossible to not think about every off-ice move they make as it pertains to the internal budget. For example, I’ve been pining for the team to hire more scouts and other executives in the front office, but the team has been extremely reluctant to do so. The organization as a whole is incredibly under-staffed, and until they make solid additions, I have to believe that the small staff is due to payroll restrictions.
It might be strange to worry about who and how many people are working for the team, but with how little faith I have in the Senators, I need to see some change take place or else I won’t have much hope moving forward. Furthermore, there’s nothing wrong with bringing in new people and new ideas, especially if your team has been struggling. I’m not sure exactly what will happen with the off-ice staff, but I bet there will be plenty of discussion about it.
The fun (if we can call it that) begins soon, as the NHL Draft is two weeks from now, where it’s looking like Ottawa may be able to walk away with Filip Zadina. After that, July 1st could be unusually eventful, as hopefully a Karlsson extension will be announced, but there’s also a good chance a trade will happen instead.
Whatever Dorion does has a chance to severely impact the next decade for the Senators, because having Karlsson or not having him is a massive swing. No matter what, we’ll be looking back at the summer of 2018 for better or worse.
There are a million ways this summer could go, which should make for a fascinating few months. It might end up being a lot worse than we want, but one thing is certain: there will be plenty to talk about.
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