There is no argument that the Ottawa Senators blueline is a work in progress, and as of right now it is not up to par with the elite teams in the league.
The Senators have 7 NHL defensemen on their roster. Some would argue otherwise, but they are all NHL blueliners of some sort.
The problem is, where they are being asked to play and the roles they are being asked to fill. The Senators have a #1, and the best in the league, in Erik Karlsson. They have a #3 who is playing as a #2 because of i) the chemistry Marc Methot has with Karlsson and ii) the lack of a better option. They have a #4 who could develop into a #3 or even #2 in Cody Ceci, but he isn't quite there yet and still needs some time. The other 4 defensemen on the roster are all essentially 6's for the reason that they are basically specialists. Mark Borowiecki is a physical force who doesn't offer any offensive upside and Chris Wideman is a puck mover who doesn't exactly excel in his own end.
That leaves Jared Cowen and Patrick Wiercioch, two players who it was hoped, or rather expected, to take steps forward to filling those empty roles to create a legitimate NHL caliber blue line. That hasn't happened in either case. And it is getting awfully close to the point where you have to say "what you see is what you get" and there isn't going to be the great awakening.
The result is the Senators spending far too much time in their own end, lopsided shots and Corsi% and games where they will get owned. Travis Yost posted on TSN.ca yesterday about how Karlsson is being left on an island and how he needs help.
Now I don't think it is quite as bad as Travis made it out to be, as the Senators were making it work until they met an extremely tough December schedule and injuries began to mount. And it is easy to point at the Chicago example of Duncan Keith, but he didn't mention that after Keith was drafted the Hawks hit rock bottom and benefited from that with a couple of scrubs named Toews (3rd overall in 2006) and Kane (1st in 2007) in back to back years which sort of expedited that rebuild. Ottawa has had 1 top 5 pick in the last 19 years.
So, how do you fix it if you are GM Bryan Murray? Do you go for the instant fix, play a type of shell game or wait it out and play the long game?
The instant fix is hard, and it is going to cost, in terms of money and the future. Let's face it, top 4 defensemen aren't just being given away. In order to not have to pay through the eyes, you will get either a player on the downside, or an expiring contract that would require an extension, or both. They could pick up a player as solely a rental as the trade deadline approaches, but it would likely have to be an expiring contract from a non-contending team which would limit potential trading partners.
Playing a shell game would be to move the current problem(s) out for someone else's problems. For example, the situation dogging Jared Cowen is remarkably similar to that of a comparable type defenseman in Dallas, Jamie Oleksiak. Both have failed to meet expectations and are being maligned in their current situations. Is a swap of the two possible, and would the change of scenery help either/both? Who knows, and the Senators might have to eat some of the salary of Cowen to make it happen, and Oleksiak is an RFA at season's end. Cowen might not fit in their top 6 and would be a very expensive 7, or the new situation might allow him to take a step he can't seem to take in Ottawa. Don't think it is something that Dallas would consider straight up because of the vast salary difference and the fact that Cowen is set to make $4.5M next season.
Then there is the long game. Is Ottawa a serious enough contender right now that simply adding a top 4 defenseman puts them over the top? I am not sure, but its not like the Senators window is closing this season. Karlsson is just entering his prime years and they are among the youngest teams in the league.
Freddie Claesson may or may not be in the Senators' long term plans, and the messy Mikael Wickstrand situation hasn't been resolved as of yet.
So look on the horizon and what is in the pipeline, and we will start to get a good view of that today when 3 of Ottawa's defensive prospects suit up for their respective countries at the World Juniors.
Thomas Chabot (Canada), Andreas Englund (Sweden) and Christian Jaros (Slovakia) will all represent their flag as well as allow Senators fans to get a look at them in this best on best tournament. All three have size and are pretty mobile. (And as an aside, Colin White (USA) and Filip Chlapik (Czech Republic) are also Senators forward prospects playing in the tournament to bring the Senators' representation to 5.)
All 3 are likely a couple of years away or more, but especially Chabot and Englund are trending to where they might be able to fill the vacant roles eventually. Both should play important roles for their teams in the tournament, as Chabot should play on a top pair with returning Joe Hicketts and Englund is in his second go-around at the World Juniors, and is the captain of the club this time around.
While the wait might be agonizing there is light at the end of the tunnel, but it will require patience for a long-term solution and solidification of the Senators' blue line. Until then it might be a case of living with the inconsistencies and mistakes of the current group, like it or not.