Another item that arose from the end of season press conference with Bryan Murray was the promised attempt to add a top 6 forward.
You can debate about the depth of the current top 6 (or 7 if you include Milan Michalek in that group) but the fact is that 4 of their top 6 had 20 goals. Bobby Ryan ended up with 18 because of his ice cold streak at the end of the season and Clarke MacArthur had 16 in 62 games, so would have been close to the 20 goal mark.
There have been lots of names thrown out there, from obvious (Edmonton) and not-so-obvious places (Pittsburgh and Philadelphia), but for the most part those are pipe dreams.
Top 6 forwards don't grow on trees, and they are tough to come by. If you look at the free agent list, there aren't many players that are reaching that status, simply because they are hard to replace.
Nobody wants you spare parts for elite talent, an no matter how many David Legwands, Chris Neils, Alex Chiassons you put together in a package, its not going to work.
To give up something, you have to give something. Sure, Peter Chiarelli got hosed on the Tyler Seguin deal, but there were extenuating circumstances and I am sure he won't make that mistake again with Hall or Eberle.
If the Senators want to add a top 6 forward, they might as well make a big impact. But also be prepared to give up a guy like Bobby Ryan as the centerpiece of a package to get him.
For instance, to bring in a Claude Giroux (who has been rumoured to be on the block, at least in the tire-kicking stage) or a Malkin-type player, it will take Ryan (+ a lot of other pieces) to get him, in terms of return of talent and budget-wise. And besides, any legitimate top 6 who is going to make that much of an impact and improve the Senators that much is going to bring a hefty salary, and almost certainly overpaid.
The Senators' top 6 might not be the best in the league, but they are pretty solid and are all still at the point where they are improving. I don't know that Hoffman will get 27 again, but he certainly has the release to get 20. Stone will be an annual 30-goal guy who can play both ends of the ice.
The Senators don't have stellar top-end talent up the middle, which is a bit of an issue, but they are deep. There aren't a lot of true #1 centres out there, and a lot of teams are in the same boat. For what they are paying Kyle Turris as opposed to similar type production they are getting great value for their money.
I hesitate to use "production for dollars", but Turris is a bargain even if he isn't a true #1 pivot. Turris scored over 18 points per $M of salary, while Giroux, for example was about 9 points per $M. It is very tough to win a cup without a dominant centre (or two for that matter), but you can make it deep in the playoffs without one (hello 2014 Rangers!). I was impressed by the way Turris handled himself in his first full year in the role, and Zibanejad is improving and may take the role of 1st line centre before too long. Just like Bryan Murray predicted last summer in the wake of the Spezza deal.
So that being said, I would be totally comfortable with getting the RFA extensions done that need to be done to keep most the current roster intact and rolling with the following group either this year or next (depending on how quickly they can move certain salaries to open up roster spots):
Stone - Turris -MacArthur Hoffman - Zibanejad - Ryan Michalek - Lazar - Puempel Prince - Pageau - (one of Neil/Chiasson/Smith/Legwand or if they can get rid of other salaries, Condra)
Exchanging one piece for another for similar talent just for the sake of making changes would be counter-productive, especially if the statement is true about how much the guys liked being together as a group this season.
Unless they make a huge splash, patience should be the key to this group, and whether it is next year or the year after, the improvement from within alone will allow them to make strides.
The question is if that huge splash will be worth it in the end.