Thanks to everyone who took time to submit question to the mailbag. We had so many submissions, which allows me to split this up into a couple blog posts. Let’s get to some answers:

Bona asks: Chabot is the best D we currently have by a long shot, but the minutes he is playing this season (and last year for that matter) make me want to tear my hair out – 30-plus minutes per game is beyond stupid. Why are we gunning a Porsche on a gravel road? We have an eight-year contract on this guy, so shouldn’t we be waiting to hit the pavement before doing so? Why are we risking an injury to him by giving him ridiculous minutes when the playoffs are not even a realistic option? I understand that a coach wants to win and is going to use his best assets available, but if DJ is worrying about Ws and Ls at this time, he is NOT the right person for the position.

You won’t get any disagreement from me about Chabot’s minutes; there’s no rationale for overworking him to this extent, especially in a year where the team isn’t going to be in a playoff race. The major issue here – and I’m not sure whether it’s a coaching issue, management issue, or combination of both – is a talent assessment issue. Smith relies on Chabot, seemingly because he views him as the only truly competent option on the back end. If some of those Chabot minutes were spread out among Artem Zub, Erik Brannstrom, and Christian Wolanin, the blue line would look a whole lot more balanced.

Even if there are defensive warts to worry about with the latter two names there, the Senators are going to have to develop these young players at some point. Using Chabot’s minutes to give them a bit of runway should be a priority. As for Zub, he’s been one of the team’s best performers this season; why not try giving him a slightly heavier workload?

Until the organization decides to put some trust in its most promising pieces, Chabot’s workload seems like it will stay crazy. It doesn’t help that the other trusted options are names like Erik Gudbranson and Nikita Zaitsev.

Matty P asks: Where in the world is Logan Brown? Does Dzingel get traded again? Why won’t DJ give an extended look at a Stützle, Norris, Batherson line?

1) Brown is out injured with a back ailment, and there’s no timeline for his return.
2) Dzingel should be traded again, especially if he stays hot. There’s a real opportunity for Pierre Dorion to generate a crazy return on investment with him.
3) My guess is that Smith likes the idea of a veteran/responsible presence between his two rookies, even if the results would likely be better by running with the most talented players available on a single line.

Mister Brown asks: What are the chances Ottawa trades Dzingel for a first-round pick at the trade deadline? Or trades anyone for a first?

I don’t think there will be a lot of first-round pick movement with the cap expected to stay flat, as teams will be looking to retain low-cost, high-potential pieces. I do think, though, that Dzingel can be traded for a whole lot more than Dorion gave up to get him. That probably sits somewhere in the second/third-round pick range, if I were to guess now.

Alex asks: What do you think the ceiling (points wise) is on Batherson, Tkachuk, and Stützle?

The ceiling on Stützle strikes me as being the highest; it’s not hard for me to envision him turning into a 90-point player with the right supporting cast around him. Batherson and Tkachuk seem like they could be 65-75-point contributors. Tkachuk, in particular, will always provide more value than his point totals might suggest.

So much of their potential is going to depend on the Senators getting the blue line rebuild right. If there aren't defenders to move the puck up to them, all the potential in the world won’t help put pucks in the net.

Spatso asks: Assume the top prospect rich Rangers, Kings, and Canadiens have all made their best offers for Jack Eichel. Buffalo has asked for Ottawa’s #1 pick (2021, not protected) plus Jake Sanderson and Shane Pinto. What is your counter to that ask?

Honestly, I expect that Buffalo would start the asking at quite a bit more than that. And I’m not really willing to go there, from Ottawa’s perspective. The blue line is a major weakness for this organization right now, which makes the idea of selling Sanderson seem counterintuitive. If the organization truly feels that Josh Norris can be a contributing second-line centre, and that Tim Stützle can make the shift to the middle down the road, the need for a player like Eichel at the cost of such a huge package of assets feels a little less pressing.

Brake Datherson asks: Which UFA goalie(s) should the Sens target in the offseason assuming the budget for such a player is 2-3M per year for no more than two years? They can’t possibly go with who they had this year… can they?

Regrettably, I think they are stuck with what they’ve got. Unless Seattle can somehow be convinced to take Matt Murray, he’ll be the team’s number-one goalie next season… and the season after that… and probably the season after that. The only thing we can do is hope he figures things out. There simply won’t be the budget available to allocate more dollars to the goaltending position as long as his contract is on the books.

Jesse B asks: Who do you see us trading at the deadline?

I’m not expecting a whole bunch of movement, really. Dzingel is the name that immediately jumps off the page as a competent addition for a contending team, but other than that it’s tough to imagine organizations giving up value to acquire the available pieces on this roster.

Richard asks: If Logan Brown doesn’t pan out with the opportunity in front of him this year, does Ottawa pursue a top centre via trade or do they stay the course and develop from within?

I think we need to wait and see what Brown looks like when healthy before making any determinations on a long-term plan. It certainly sounds like the organization is going to give him a shot at some point:

Pierre Dorion - Logan Brown was going to play with Stutzle and Batherson when he was called up, but the injury has put those plans back. He will get his chance.

— TSN 1200 (@TSN1200) March 19, 2021

If he doesn’t seize the opportunity, I still think the best thing to do is develop from within for now. There are so many unknowns in the system, with most of those unknowns still having oodles of potential. What does Norris look like two years from now? Does Stützle end up in the middle? How easily does Pinto make the transition to pro? Until some of those questions are answered, I wouldn’t be selling the farm to fill a potential hole.

Bob asks: Senators have been terrible in their own end for years. Is coaching or personnel to blame? What changes would you suggest?

Personnel seems to be a bigger impediment than coaching, but that’s not to say that the coaches have been perfect. Until DJ Smith is willing to trust players like Erik Brannstrom over players like Erik Gudbranson, concern about coaching will remain. But pro scouting is a big issue, in that players like Gudbranson should never be targeted as value-add acquisitions in the first place. We are never going to see stellar results in the defensive zone with Gudbranson and Nikita Zaitsev getting consistent minutes.

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Thanks to everyone who took time to submit questions! I’ll have another set of answers up later this week.

As always, thanks for reading.

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