Fantasy : Ottawa Senators 2006-07 Preview : Drop the Puck

Offseason Summary

The Ottawa Senators found themselves in a tough situation entering the offseason as they had to decide which of their two all-star defensemen they would keep, Wade Redden or Zdeno Chara? The Senators decided to let go of Chara, who seems to have more of a downside offensively compared to Redden. On top of losing Chara, the Senators traded talented young forward Martin Havlat in a 3-way trade along with veteran center Brian Smolinski. Havlat’s asking price was way too high for the Senators at $6 million a season and he was ultimately shipped to Chicago, the Senators received offensive defenseman Tom Preissing and a couple of prospects in return. The biggest offseason move the Senators made was grabbing goaltender Martin Gerber off the free agent market. Gerber will replace the oft-injured Dominik Hasek as the Senators number one goalie. Gerber did a stellar job in net for the Carolina Hurricanes during the regular season before losing his starting job in the playoffs to the eventual Conn Smythe winner, Cam Ward. The Senators also signed underrated defenseman Joe Corvo who is coming off of a career-year in Los Angeles. Corvo tallied 40 points and is an upgrade from Brian Pothier (who signed with Washington). In terms of offense the Senators added some speed by adding veteran winger Dean McAmmond.

Notable Additions: Martin Gerber, Joe Corvo, Tom Preissing, Dean McAmmond, Serge Payer

Notable Losses: Zdeno Chara, Dominik Hasek, Martin Havlat, Bryan Smolinski, Brian Pothier

2005-06 MVP: Daniel Alfredsson

2005-06 Best Scorer: Dany Heatley

2005-06 Best Defenseman: Zdeno Chara

2005-06 Most Improved Player: Jason Spezza

2005-06 Best Rookie: Andrej Meszaros

2006-07 Outlook: Even though Ottawa was dominant during the 2005-06 season, hockey critics still get on them about failing in the playoffs. I am not a Senators fan, but it is a bit annoying to constantly hear how much they choke in the playoffs. Ottawa lost 4 one-goal games in a 5 game series against the Buffalo Sabres in the 2nd round, it is unacceptable but you have to factor in that Ottawa had their second string goalie in net (Ray Emery) as Hasek was unable to play a game in the playoffs (due to an ongoing groin injury). Now that this team looks weaker than last season’s team on paper, I do not think many experts will pick them to win the Stanley Cup like the last two seasons. So the main question is, can they overcome the loss of Zdeno Chara and still contend for the Eastern Conference? Definitely! The Senators do not have a weak link on their defense corps, and even though they are younger offensively, they will continue to be one of the best offensive teams in the league. However, they are no longer a lock to win the Northeast Division. I only say this because the Buffalo Sabres are built to be one of the best teams in the league next season. Ottawa will once again be a fun team to watch, and fantasy players should continue to try and pickup lots of Ottawa Senator Players in their pools.