With Marc Methot apparently on the verge of finally being able to come back to the Senators roster, Ottawa will have to make the roster decision that they have been able to avoid for nearly 2 months.
They are carrying 7 healthy blueliners right now, and Methot will make 8. It will also, assuming full health on the team when he returns to the lineup, mean that the Senators will be over the roster limit and will have a decision to make. While people point to Colin Greening as the most obvious player to put on waivers, carrying 8 healthy defensemen can create a logjam.
As maligned as the Senators defesnse has been during the first 6 weeks of the season, each blueliner has a place, and there aren't enough places for the 7 defensemen they have now. While each defenseman has had his moments and ups and downs, they seem to be settling into their roles. When Methot returns and is able to resume his spot on the top pairing, that will hopefully alleviate many of the problems (at least that is the plan).
So, what to do with the glut of defensemen? Even if Greening is waived, there are still 8 bodies on the blue line to try to find ice time for. Cody Ceci and Mark Stone are the only players on the roster who are waiver exempt, but Ceci is definitely not going anywhere while I would be shocked to see Stone demoted as well.
Should the Senators dress 7 defensemen? If they did that, it would allow the flexibility to play the bottom 3 in situations where they can succeed. That would also allow Erik Karlsson to dial back slightly on his minutes and increase his effectiveness. Sometimes less is more for Karlsson.
It would mean sitting out two forwards, likely meaning Zack Smith or Chris Neil would join Erik Condra in the press box. The Senators have three solid lines on any given night, and we have discussed potential combinations ad nauseum over the past days in the comments section. Giving 3 lines between 15-20 minutes and using a makeshift 4th line in spot duty isn't unheard of, and if the need arises you could move a defenseman (Borowieki, Gryba?) up front for a shift or two to bang around.
Trade scenarios have come up, but unless the Senators win the trade outright, I don't think it is worth losing one of the defensemen they have put time and money into developing from within for next to nothing. This is especially true since Methot's future with the team is cloudy at the moment. The Senators aren't as deep as some people tend to believe, as Chris Wideman and Frederik Claesson are intriguing prospect but far from proven commodities.
I am sure the Senators have a plan in place, but the clock is starting to tick. Methot aside, the Senators have been pretty healthy on the whole, and you can't expect that to last forever either. Having 8 NHL defensemen (and yes, all 8 are NHL calibre, they just need to find the proper role) in this day in age is a good thing, as long as you can find the time for them to play.