With all the signs pointing to Clarke MacArthur being 100% healthy (or at least as close to that figure as someone who missed the better part of a year with a concussion, and ready to resume his role as a top 6 forward, what does that mean for the Senators going forward.

Free Agency opens on Friday, and while the Senators are unlikely to be involved in the sweepstakes for the big fish like Stamkos, Lucic, Backes, or Ladd, would it make sense to sign a fringe top 6 forward as insurance, like a Stempniak or Versteeg type player?

Or would it be better to give the kids like Nick Paul, Ryan Dzingel and Buddy Robinson a chance to play night in and night out in order to see what you have, and if the team is close to whatever come trade deadline, to take a shot at that point.

I guess it really comes down to how flukey you believe Zack Smith's career season was, and if he can fill the void should one of the top 6 go down. Alternatively, the line of Pageau, Smith and Stone demonstrated so much chemistry in the absence of Turris and MacArthur, do you consider leaving the trio together even if that opens a void on the top line by taking Stone away from that group? That would essentially make it a top 9 with hopefully 3 balanced scoring lines, but would also mean there would be an opening for someone to seize, whether it be Curtis Lazar, Matt Puempel or a relatively inexpensive but veteran free agent/trade target.

A couple of scenarios for the forward lines:

MacArthur - Turris - Stone
Hoffman - Zibanejad - Ryan
Smith - Pageau - Lazar
Neil/Paul/Robinson/Puempel/Dzingel/McCormick


or

MacArthur - Turris - Lazar/Puempel/Player X
Hoffman - Zibanejad - Ryan
Smith -Pageau - Stone
Neil/Paul/Robinson/Lazar/Puempel

Of course, as teams reach the cap and have to shed salary to add other free agents, the Senators might get a bargain somewhere along the way. I still wouldn't expect a Taylor Hall, even if he were available because the Senators don't have the established top pairing blueliner the Oilers will want in return should the rumors of his being available end up coming to fruition.

A lot of it hinges on the confidence that MacArthur can play every day and return to 20 goal form. If he gets knocked out of action by the first hit he takes, and the Senators don't have a solid backup plan the house of cards could fall quickly.

So while the Senators might not be big players during silly season where most of the signings are ridiculous over-payments, they could be on the fringes looking for table scraps and might be able to unearth a surprise or two that will help in both the short and long term. It won't be a big splash but could be the result of someone else's.

We are only a few days away from finding out the answers in Pierre Dorion's first real test as Sens GM.

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