A lot has been made of the Ottawa Senators and their financial situation over the last few years, specifically as it relates to the departures of players like Erik Karlsson, Mark Stone, and Matt Duchene. Combine that with some questionable player personnel decisions (welcome, Ron Hainsey!), and it’s easy to see why the Senators have been the punchline of many jokes around the hockey world.
That kind of negativity can really start to weigh on a fan base, which is why it’s often important to take a step back and look at things that have gone and are going right. Specifically, if you’re looking long-term and hoping that the Senators can build a contender, you have to be really impressed with how Pierre Dorion has gone about stockpiling draft picks for what is considered to be a very deep 2020 draft. Young players on entry-level or restricted free agent deals are truly the great equalizers in hockey today, especially for teams that are reluctant to spend cash on mega deals like the Senators.
Consider the following: The Senators currently hold 11 draft picks for the 2020 draft, including two first round picks. It’s long been known that quantity over quality is the key to successful drafting, especially beyond the first round. That the Senators are in this position, with so many lottery balls to play with, provides for a lot of hope moving forward.
I think that point is worth contrasting with another Canadian team’s ongoing rebuild. During Jim Benning’s tenure as GM in Vancouver, the Canucks have never made more than nine selections at a single draft. Rather than picks, the Canucks elected to move out their valuable or semi-valuable pieces for NHL-ready young players and reclamation projects. It was a short-sighted strategy, and one that now sees that team in an unenviable situation with no visible light at the end of the proverbial tunnel. Making moves like that to compete for eighth place in the conference shouldn’t be the goal. The Canucks haven't learned from those mistakes.
The Senators, on the other hand, are likely to add a very strong crop of prospects to the farm next year with the number of selections they should have available to them. After seeing what happened with the Duchene deal, which resulted in Colorado Avalanche taking Bowen Byram in this year's draft, the current management group seems to have learned their lesson. Shortcuts don't work in today's NHL.
In 2020, this group should be in a position to pick up some true top talent in the first round, with enough depth picks available to play it safe or swing for the fences where it makes sense. Adding 11 new prospects via the 2020 draft to a crop that already includes names like Erik Brannstrom and Logan Brown isn’t a guarantee that the Senators will be a Cup contender down the road, but it’s the right way to try and get there. In short, this upcoming 2019-20 campaign probably isn't going to bring much on-ice success for the Senators, but it should put them in a position to take that next step forward toward a brighter future.
As always, thanks for reading.
Michael Stuart was the Tampa Bay Lightning writer for HockeyBuzz from 2012 to 2015, and has been the Ottawa Senators writer since September 2019. Visit his archive to read more or follow him on Twitter.